Quote Originally Posted by Kadagar_AV
Didz>>> He kind of blizzed yeah, but note that almost EVERY player ever play the game in the way the game points them. Basicly you stick to what seems to be working when you first get a new game... So if he blizzed, it was because the game taught him to do so.
I disagree, as someone else mentioned, the computer gives you tools other than blitzing, they give you diplomats, princesses, and merchants at the start of your game. This seems to be the game "pointing" you in the direction of using them. It does seem to me to indicate there was something driving him to use military force to accomplish his goals as fast as possible. Whether influence from you, or his natural personality, or whatever else, I couldn't say. Maybe blitzing is just the way he does things the first time he tries something, then only moves to a slower pace if that doesn't work for him.

I do like your suggestions a lot, but they are problematic as it would make the learning curve of the game significantly steeper. Newer and younger players wouldn't touch the game (it allready takes a lot to get started).
So wait, first we're saying the game is too easy and that's bad; now we're saying the game being harder would be bad. Also you make a post illustrating how players can accomplish total victory without much effort, but yet also saying "it takes a lot to get started."


And yes of COURSE someone with a different approach would look at the game with another perspective... But the point is that this playstyle is what new players learn FROM the game... New players dont learn (from playing) they need merchants to win, they learn that the micro-management needed for controlling, say, merchants isnt worth it as you can beat the game regardless... And games ARE about winning, and having fun.
Again, I believe the game tries to teach you to use diplomacy and merchants, rather than 100% brute force.

And yes, most games have tricks you can learn to win... But you can not honestly say that most games can be beaten on the hardest settings first time you give them a go.... I know it takes me a bit of time in any other game to start winning against "hard" or "brutal" AI or whatever...
But do other games that take you a bit of time to start winning against {insert highest AI setting here} enemies have a "do this and you won't fail pretty much no matter what" strategy? If not, then you're making an apples to oranges comparison. Think about it this way, if any other game had an "unlimited lives" code you used on your first play, you could win your first time against the hardest AI. Same thing here, it's just not a "true" cheat and you don't have to manually activate it. In fact, you have to manually DEactivate it by how you choose to play.

I mean, I dare anyone to call the game challenging without house rules... when was the last time any of you guys lost a campaign?
I find the game challenging, but then I don't blitz. I don't have like "house rules" in that I do this, or don't do that. But, I develop before moving on. So like I start a game, develop my core, take what rebels I can get to first. Then I develop my core some more and the new territory I captured. I treat excommunication very seriously (usually a catholic faction) and so I obey non-agression orders, and I don't let myself be excommed.

Ultimately, I don't think anyone is going to deny that, yes, if you do things a certain way, it makes the game very easy. But equally, if you know a glitch in a shooter that lets you shoot everyone else and not be hit, you'll have a very easy time with that game also.

As you said yourself, playing games is about having fun, nothing more nothing less. It comes down to choosing the most fun way to play for you, and playing that way.

If your main source of fun is the victory itself, then using exploits in the way a game is designed to make your job as effortless as possible to beat the game quickly will maximise your fun as you'll win more often. Like the guys who can beat the game in under 20 turns. Hey if that's fun, go for it! Win 10 games between getting home from work and dinnertime.

If you enjoy the road to victory as much as the final outcome, you can do that to, it's what I always do. Choose to take it slow and have as much fun as you want. Set the game to 1/2 year turns and you have time to go like molasses and have loads of fun.

I'll repeat it. As you said yourself, playing games is about having fun. As a gamer it is up to you to decide what experiance is "most fun" for you, and give yourself that enjoyment. Whether that means blitzing in vanilla, or taking the slow simmering approach in a fully modded game that gives an entirely new experiance due to the hard work of our talented community, that's up to you.

I'll leave you with this thought:
Ultimatly, the vanilla game is relatively easy. I don't think anyone here will argue that. However, it is that way for a reason. Company's make games to make money, and that's a fact of life. What is also a (sad) fact of life, is that the games that are most likely to make money will appeal to the lowest common denominator - that is the casual gamer who wants to play for 10-15 minutes when they have free time, and feel like they accomplished something. That's why you don't see very many hardcore simulators anymore, like many of Janes sims, or Falcon 4.0, where you have to spend time learning how sonar, radar, thermal layers, and flight dynamics work.

The final word (at last )- The game is what you make of it.