Losing Games? Coming back?

Another gamer's confession from rattyboy

from GalCiv2 Forums

I am looking for some advice on dealing with another form of gamer guilt and narcissistic coping.

 

The problem:  I HATE it when I hit that point that i realize I am probably going to lose unless I can pull some magik out of thin air and beat the AI back (I play on 'tough' since some say the AI doesn't cheat and doesn't get disadvantages at that point).

For the record, I can NEVER it seems come back from a losing position.  I am not exactly the best strategy gamer on the planet.  I currently have 3 worlds on a small map, the AI I think has 7 or 8.  I have checked on the trade screen and noticed that the AI has A LOT of tech ready to go to counter my Missile Boats I have made.

Anyway, I am not here to get advice on how to save the game.

What I am here to ask is when do you give up on a game vs ai?  Have you every come back from being beaten down and thinking it was all going to end horribly?

I can't even always turn a losing chess game around. =)

 

8,861 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Hi!

I'll tell you the secret: virtually every GalCiv game can be won, if you don't play the way the game was meant to play; if you don't play by your strenght, but by AIs' weaknesses.

AIs in game can't addapt to certain strategies, can't change their responses, and fall to the same trick again and again. In my case, it was interesting to try and to test these strategies and weaknesses, but at the end it feelt like playing the same game again and again. 

In your case and with tough AI IMO you don't need to play that way. Just try to expand more agresively at the beginneing of the game, and use diplomatic options (that 2000  years old roman method of "divide and conquer") more often in mid game, and you should be fine.

One more tip: going against the odds, using a tiny window of opportunity, and prevailing, usualy made my most memorable games. Before you quit, try some options. You can't lose more, can you? ;) 

BR,  Iztok

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Oh, you are so right.

Those comeback games are divine.  Checkmating with a pawn, for instance. *grin* Yes, that happened for me once.

As far as galciv goes, oh yea its worth trying some diplomatic tricks and what not.  I have always been a gamer who can still have fun losing.  This was one of those sessions.  I did lose.  The AI built up a counter to my defenses and started protecting the military resource base I kept blowing up.  Then, boom, all ships removed and invasion.

But it was still a fun game.

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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

First problem:  Small map.  The smaller the map, the closer your enemies start out.  The whole game will be an exhausting battle of attrition.  If you choose the most ginormic map available, you'll have more time to prepare your attacks/defences. For example, they might only be able to reach you because of some stupid little defenseless influence starbase in your area.  Take it out and you'll be out of range.  Then you can maneuver to strike their worlds.

Also, remember to always be poised to grab resources as they become available often with all of the wars and such.  When someone declares war on me, it's usually because my military strength is low.  But when they do, I grab all of their red and green resources first, since the red can make them up to 4 times more powerful and also they won't be able to afford their military once I grab the green ones.  It's nice to reverse the circumstances on them.  Get the advanced starbase construction researched and make your starbases virtually impossible to destroy with modules.

If you start out fairly isolated, you'll have more time to research while the others are wasting their money on ships and upgrades which will all be obsolete when they declare war on you.