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General Category => Off the Record => Gaming HQ => Topic started by: FunkMonk on April 15, 2020, 09:15:28 AM

Title: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on April 15, 2020, 09:15:28 AM
This sounds quite good, and possibly more promising than Humankind, which also launches this year.

https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/14/21219937/old-world-soren-johnson-civilization-preview-impressions-mohawk-epic-game-store-windows-pc
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: mongers on April 15, 2020, 09:31:43 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on April 15, 2020, 09:15:28 AM
This sounds quite good, and possibly more promising than Humankind, which also launches this year.

https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/14/21219937/old-world-soren-johnson-civilization-preview-impressions-mohawk-epic-game-store-windows-pc

:cool: potentially. 
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Maladict on April 15, 2020, 09:40:27 AM
Yes. But the map kind of sucks.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Habbaku on April 15, 2020, 10:06:53 AM
I'm interested, at least, but Humankind still has more pull for me based on a record of success from Amplitude. But Soren Johnson is a big name too...
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on April 15, 2020, 10:13:40 AM
Might be a pretty good year for Civ-likes, if both this and Humankind turn out well.  :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: fromtia on April 15, 2020, 12:16:00 PM
Ooh yes that is tickling my undercarriage in the right way. Looks more promising than Humankind at first glance.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Solmyr on April 16, 2020, 04:22:19 AM
Going to be Epic exclusive? :bleeding:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on April 16, 2020, 06:02:01 AM
Quote from: Solmyr on April 16, 2020, 04:22:19 AM
Going to be Epic exclusive? :bleeding:

Uncle Xi demands your data!
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: jimmy olsen on June 04, 2021, 12:00:18 AM
It looks good

https://twitter.com/mohawkgames/status/1399727435243995148
QuoteThe full release of Old World is coming July 1st 2021 to the Epic Games Store!

Dynamic Event System with over 3000 unique events!
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 04, 2021, 12:51:53 PM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on April 16, 2020, 06:02:01 AM
Quote from: Solmyr on April 16, 2020, 04:22:19 AM
Going to be Epic exclusive? :bleeding:

Uncle Xi demands your data!

Epic is in bed with China?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: garbon on June 04, 2021, 01:16:52 PM
Doesn't Tencent own a good chunk of Epic?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Oexmelin on June 04, 2021, 03:00:37 PM
40% or thereabouts, yes.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 04, 2021, 03:33:15 PM
Oh.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 04, 2021, 03:54:55 PM
like I said: Uncle Xi wants your data
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Eddie Teach on June 04, 2021, 05:46:50 PM
Not sure what good it does him.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Darth Wagtaros on June 05, 2021, 11:35:38 AM
He can make sure you aren't calling him Winnie the Pooh.

Can I be Ottoman Empire?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tonitrus on June 06, 2021, 07:32:49 AM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on June 05, 2021, 11:35:38 AM
He can make sure you aren't calling him Winnie the Pooh.

Can I be Ottoman Empire?

No.  Only Han Empire.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on June 06, 2021, 09:06:32 AM
It's been quite a while I played this game in Early Access so it is entirely possible my opinion is outdated to irrelevance, but I found the game had good ideas and the early game was pleasant enough, however it had two big problems: one was that the CK-light dynasty building seemed entirely disjointed from the main 4X gameplay, and that it seemed to make no attempt to address the usual late-game micro-overload, and in fact the design must become extremely micro heavy. It's the CIV6-style "if I put this building there then this other one gets this bonus in that tile, and if I put this third one there all 3 gets this other bonus, but if I place this other building instead of the second then I get slightly different bonuses", except only with, what, 4 kinds of districts, it's like a dozen building types.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: jimmy olsen on June 07, 2021, 05:02:50 AM
This review raves about the gameplay, but says they can't recommend it because after turn 100 performance issues spiral out of control and make it unplayable

https://bluntlyhonestreviews.com/2021/04/11/is-old-world-worth-playing-in-2021/
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: jimmy olsen on July 02, 2021, 02:37:27 AM
Another review

https://www.pcgamesn.com/old-world/review
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: celedhring on July 02, 2021, 03:03:13 AM
Quote from: garbon on June 04, 2021, 01:16:52 PM
Doesn't Tencent own a good chunk of Epic?

And a small chunk of Spotify, if you want to be paranoid.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on July 02, 2021, 03:08:41 AM
The outrage over Epic was because people got used to using only Steam.

I think it was on Grogheads that I found this the funniest, because I remember several of those guys (maybe they were still at the Wargamer forum at the time) taking a principled stance against Steam when that was new. Fast forward a decade and they were taking a principled stance against the new online store trying to become an alternative.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: garbon on July 02, 2021, 03:17:12 AM
Quote from: celedhring on July 02, 2021, 03:03:13 AM
Quote from: garbon on June 04, 2021, 01:16:52 PM
Doesn't Tencent own a good chunk of Epic?

And a small chunk of Spotify, if you want to be paranoid.

Looking it up I'm not sure 7.5% stake is the same as 40%. :P

I'm not that excited about Epic as it doesn't seem to offer much that I can't get elsewhere apart from the free giveaways of games I never end up playing. :D
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on July 02, 2021, 03:29:34 AM
Quote from: garbon on July 02, 2021, 03:17:12 AM
Quote from: celedhring on July 02, 2021, 03:03:13 AM
Quote from: garbon on June 04, 2021, 01:16:52 PM
Doesn't Tencent own a good chunk of Epic?

And a small chunk of Spotify, if you want to be paranoid.

Looking it up I'm not sure 7.5% stake is the same as 40%. :P

I'm not that excited about Epic as it doesn't seem to offer much that I can't get elsewhere apart from the free giveaways of games I never end up playing. :D

Same, but shilling over it is ridiculous. People were/are pissed some games go Epic exclusive for a while so they'd need to launch a separate client to play them (or god forbid wait a few months), and put some moral justification around that outrage.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Syt on July 02, 2021, 03:51:38 AM
I think some of the outrage was justified in cases where people had pre-ordered titles on Steam and then were told to wait a year. Or folks who backed a Kickstarter and who wanted a Steam or GOG key.

Not to mention that the Epic store had quite rudimentary functionality (it still doesn't have a cart ...), and there were concerns about data security (e.g. Epic digging through your Steam cache (https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/valve-to-investigate-epics-use-of-steam-data-after-users-raise-privacy-concerns/), or not verifying email addresses (https://sea.ign.com/epic-135483/146591/news/the-epic-games-store-doesnt-verify-email-addresses). (though those issues seem to have been solved?)

Also, people in general seemed miffed because in order to play certain games they were forced to use a store that is less convenient than most other stores, and certainly Steam.

The "one more launcher" thing is certainly annoying. I have Steam, Origin, uPlay, GOG Galaxy, and now Epic installed, used to have the Blizzard launcher, Bethesda's ESO launcher, and whenever I want to play RDR2 I will have to download the Rockstar launcher. :bleeding:

The only one I log in daily is Steam. If the developers of games are doing their thing I'm up to date on the news on their games (or at least the ones I want to keep up to date on), with new releases I can quickly see what the general feedback from gamers is (and if they downvote the game en masse if it's a campaign of some sort or if there's genuine concerns and issues), and check the game's forum to see what people there are saying or if the dev is posting info there about what changes are coming, or if I have issues with a game to see if anyone else had the same problem before doing a wider search on the web. For a lot of games there's community guides, and there's the Workshop. I don't even use the friends features of Steam, But even without those I find it incredibly convenient and comfortable to use to the point that every time I see a game I want is on Epic I groan a bit. For me, Steam is just a better experience.

And whenever a game like Old World pops up in discussion I regularly wonder, "Oh yeah, haven't seen/heard anything about it in a while, wonder why that is", and then I realize it's because it's on Epic.

For some games (well, two: Total War: Troy, which was free, and Chivalry II) I held my nose and got them on Epic.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Richard Hakluyt on July 02, 2021, 04:27:05 AM
Yeah, it would be convenient for me if everything physical was on Amazon and the digital stuff was all on steam.

How much effort am I willing to make to not support quasi-monopolies? Not a lot it turns out  :(
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Darth Wagtaros on July 05, 2021, 08:14:06 AM
So this is another one of those epic (epic as in epic, not as in Epic even though it is) games that will never actually be completed?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on July 05, 2021, 08:18:33 AM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on July 05, 2021, 08:14:06 AM
So this is another one of those epic (epic as in epic, not as in Epic even though it is) games that will never actually be completed?

I think it completely fell into the early access trap where from the EA release onwards it was adjusted around the needs of keeping the interest of early access veteran players as opposed to keeping it even remotely accessible to new ones. It just feels needlessly convoluted and complex. If you are making an abstracted civilisation building 4X game don't make the abstractions so complex that you could might as well have built a grand strategy simulation-ish game.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: garbon on July 05, 2021, 08:33:31 AM
How fair is this comment that I saw on the PCGamer review:

Quote200 turns only? I don't really get the placement of this. I mean a Civ with CK's dynasty building and diplomacy would be great. But the Civ part actually means a civilization that stands the test of time. You know, like how in civilization you can start from the cradle of a civilization and eventually leave the planet in search for another one.

In CK you have the deep diplomacy, the sprawling network of interpersonal relationships, the inheritance system that allows a lowly count in a small country to wake up one morning finding himself to be an emperor (it happened to me in CK2).

So this game seems to take a small part of the civilization thingy (as it's not the 4x that's special in that game, but the actual building of a civilization) and sprinkles it with some watered down parts of CK. But while the CK inspired systems of CK3 seem to be much deeper or at least I have that impression by this review, it also covers 586 years of history, not just 200.

So it feels like if I wanted to build a civilization and don't want to bother with the dynasty, inheritance, interpersonal relations part I should play civilization because I can't do that here and if I do want to build a dynasty I should play CK as it gives me more of that and on the side it give me more time to do it as well.

If I want a made up world where I can place my cities for myself and I want some legacy building then I suppose I should play this, but I don't know, it doesn't feel enough for me. I would be all over it if it let me start a civilization and lead it to the modern age, but it doesn't.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on July 05, 2021, 10:17:05 AM
It's a bit harsh but captures the game's problem well.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 24, 2022, 05:23:46 AM
Seems like a good time to res this thread with the game's release on Steam because people are actually playing it now.

So after playing about 60 turns I have to say I don't get the same vibe as the comments garbon posted from the comments section under the PC Gamer review. The game doesn't feel like it's merely a "small part of the civilization thingy" with "some watered down parts of CK." It sounds to me like the commenter hoped this would be Civ 7. Old World is not Civ and if you play it like Civ you will have a bad time.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Tamas on May 24, 2022, 05:53:10 AM
Is it possible to turn off the character stuff? :P It feels like watered down CK2 and a pointless tack-on to a Civ-like game.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Syt on May 24, 2022, 06:13:20 AM
I found the character stuff to more interesting than I initially thought, tbh. My main complaint is the starting rulers always being the same. I think there are options to tune the settings, though, and even switching them off? But I feel the game without them wouldn't be as good, plus they provide some dramatic modifiers (currently everyone loves me because I have a crazy good diplomat :P ). I like the option that hides the outcomes/modifiers of your decisions in events, though, but I feel you can also screw yourself over a lot if you just go with "what sounds right" :D
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: garbon on May 24, 2022, 06:32:18 AM
Yes you can turn them off in settings. I like them. When I find them dull, I notice my session has gone on too long. ;)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on May 24, 2022, 07:04:19 AM
Syt, there is an option to change the starting ruler archetype.

I like the characters and the impacts they have on the overall strategy.

Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on May 24, 2022, 07:07:25 AM
FunkMonk, try Babylon.  It plays very differently from Rome.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Syt on May 24, 2022, 02:02:37 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on May 24, 2022, 07:04:19 AMSyt, there is an option to change the starting ruler archetype.

I like the characters and the impacts they have on the overall strategy.



Yeah, I've seen that. Just thought it might be fun to start with completely random characters and not, say, Dido every time you play as Carthage. :)

Btw, I've thrown together a playlist of soundtracks, from movies and games, plus other stuff that's now my Old World soundtrack: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2LKAR49si3N8j5YQJRREwl?si=3868adffd2574d48
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 25, 2022, 11:52:56 AM
I bought the game on the strength of this thread. Enjoying it so far. Lots of things to figure out... how do I keep my cities happy at the beginning (spam festivals?), do you go single family or balance them between many, what resources are the bottle neck ones, what does "not enough family seats" mean and how do I fix it?

So far, so good though.

The orders system is interesting, I like it. The "you're the first one who found this feature, so name it" is fun too.

Still figuring out how much I like the characters... so far I'm in favour of them.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on May 25, 2022, 12:09:44 PM
I think festivals are a waste of valuable time that could be used making specialists, armies or more valuable developments - like Forums.  Later on you are going to get tech, buildings and events that help keep discontent levels down.  Don't worry about it in the early game.

Definitely go for three families in your first three cities.  Not only do you get legitimacy points, but you also get the one time boon for a family founding a city, as well as more happiness for that family.  After that try to appoint new cities in a balanced way.  The more unbalanced they are they more unhappy the family with the least cities becomes.

The bottleneck varies across the civ and families you choose.  Playing as Babylonia my main problem was getting enough civics and had lots of tech.  As Carthage I had civics to burn (which was great since I went the diplo/trade route to glory) but very little tech.  Your basic resources -iron, stone, wood and food - are pretty easy to balance.  Keep in mind you can buy anything you are short of right at the start of the game and you will probably buy a lot of stone at first.  Also remember to cut trees -  they regrow and you can cut outside your city limits.  When you get lumbermills you then can just get a steady stream.

The characters vary greatly from game to game and it really matters who you allow to marry into your family.  Their attributes show up in the children and grand children.  So choose wisely to get the attributes that will assist with the strategy you are planning on using.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 25, 2022, 12:21:42 PM
Thanks for those tips :)

What does "not enough family seats" mean?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on May 25, 2022, 12:31:57 PM
When you decide on what family to settle a city - look at the tool tips and that will tell you how assigning the city to a particular family will effect the happiness of that family and the others.

So for example if you give 3 cities to family 1, 2 to family 2 and 1 to family 3 you are going to have a very happy family 1, a moderately displeased family 2 and a very unhappy family 3. If you keep giving cities to family 1, family 3 will eventually rebel or at the very least their units will become ineffective.  But if you keep them balanced so that there is never more than a one city difference amongst the families the unhappiness will be minimized.  The optimal goal is completely equal distribution, but of course that will only happen with every third city.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 27, 2022, 08:53:25 AM
I am really enjoying this game. It gives me Alpha Centauri vibes for some reason. Maybe just because it's really well-made? Good design that improves the genre without leaving it completely behind is hard to find. Humankind fell flat. Firaxis' own Alpha Centuari successor was a pale imitation. Civ 6 is only good for one playthrough before it gets stale. But this? It makes me want to win with every civ on the hardest difficulty, create new scenarios, and try out mods.

Good game, man. GG
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 27, 2022, 09:59:20 AM
Yeah, I'm enjoying it too now that I've figured it out at least a little bit. It's still going to take me some time to assimilate how to get the most out of all the different resources, modifiers, and interactions and decide how to prioritize them depending on context - but at least I can get out of the first 20-30 turns without being horribly behind now.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: garbon on May 27, 2022, 10:29:43 AM
One thing I don't get is religion. I generally see the local paganism only develop onces the 'main faiths' have already started spreading. I also saw tooltip about don't worry if you miss out on founding Judaism and Zoroastrianism as you can always found Christianity and Manichaeism later, but I also see those founded pretty quick and again generally sooner than local paganism.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 27, 2022, 10:44:10 AM
Yeah I'm a little perplexed on religion too. I know that once you build a Shrine you automatically start your paganism in the city it was built but I don't know how the monotheisms start or propagate.

I need to read that part of the manual again  :blush:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on May 27, 2022, 11:08:06 AM
If you go to the in game wiki thingie, click on religions and then hover over each one to see what is needed to found it.  Also remember that if you have Egypt or, iirc, Persia in your game, they can instantly found a world religion when their clerical family founds a city.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 27, 2022, 11:23:38 AM
Yeah, my first playthroughs have been with Persia and if I use the Clerical family I get Zoroastrianism when I found my first city.

What I'm less clear on is how the different religions interact and how to manage them.... In due time, I guess.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 27, 2022, 01:38:17 PM
Having a leader with Orator is really useful when rolling over tribes.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 28, 2022, 09:03:00 AM
Any folks interested in a possible cloud-based MP game in the future? More convenient than a network game for everyone, I'd think.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Berkut on May 28, 2022, 10:07:39 AM
This is pretty overwhelming praise. Is it really this good (and I should go pay full price for it) or are people just that desperate for something that doesn't suck?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 28, 2022, 10:11:12 AM
Not gonna tell you what to do with your money, but yeah I think it's pretty good.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Berkut on May 28, 2022, 10:33:16 AM
Languish praise plus potential multi-player carries a lot of weight for me...
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on May 28, 2022, 11:22:21 AM
Quote from: Berkut on May 28, 2022, 10:07:39 AMThis is pretty overwhelming praise. Is it really this good (and I should go pay full price for it) or are people just that desperate for something that doesn't suck?

I got it a few days ago based on the chatter in this thread. I got it a small discount, but would not have regretted paying full price. I have no doubt I'll reach my "at least 1 hour played per CDN$1 paid" benchmark for "good purchase". Thought to be fair, I was hungry for something that didn't suck in this space.

I'm still in my first real play through on easy mode, finally getting the hang of the mechanics, learning by trial and error. My mini review:

- The UI can be a bit opaque, but it's not awful.
- I had a hard time just playing and learning, I did end up doing the "learn to play" scenarios and that helped.
- The leader & court & decisions mechanics are not CK level of depth, but they do add both RP and strategic interest.
- There are enough resources, buildings, units, terrain, and tech to add real strategic and contextual depth.
- Having a limited number of orders you can give - and orders being a resource you can farm based on buildings and other choices - keeps most turns interesting. There's almost always more to do than you can, so you have to prioritize. If you want to fight multi-front wars effectively, you'll probably have to neglect your economic development for a bit, for example.
- Other unique mechanics that I'm enjoying include having multiple families within your empire that you have to balance, upgrading units, and assigning governors & generals.
- The battles are, so far, interesting and it feels like the tactical decisions being made matter.
- There's an undo button, which is nice (and I expect that using it effectively is going to be a key skill in MP).

One of the guiding principles seems to be that you have to take several actions to unlock most game actions. The most idiosyncratic (and kind of silly) one is that to play the score you have to research the music-related tech  :lol:.

More to the point, to give a luxury resource to a city (to lower discontent), to a noble family (to increase opinion), or to a foreign power (to increase opinion) you need to 1) Have the resource tile within the borders of a city, 2) Farm it (which takes time and may have a tech pre-req), 3) Build the relevant specialist in the city within the city (which has a population pre-req, which may have a tech pre-req, and which also takes time in your build queue), 4) And finally give it to the target (which takes a bit of your "order" resource for a turn). Each of these decisions have both a resource cost and a real opportunity cost, and still feels reasonable. These kind of decision chains are layered throughout, and generates a satisfying complexity from multiple competing priorities.

For the languish demographic, I think this game is likely to be a good purchase. I'm certainly enjoying it (much more than that last couple of civs).
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on May 28, 2022, 11:36:28 PM
For all the wonderful 4X things this game does well, it has enough CK bones in it to make the game feel alive: playing Greece as an elderly Alexander the Great, my estranged sister just murdered my new heir like 20 years after I removed her from the line of succession, throwing my succession plans completely out of whack during my phony war with the Hittites.

Not long afterward, the Seleucid family head accidentally start a slave revolt across my empire, eventually leading to the death of the family head, a woman who hated my guys, and replacement by a new family head who absolutely loves me.

I'm presented with an event choice: Give the slaves their freedom (thereby forcing me to change my in-game law from Slavery to Freedom with the attendant gameplay changes) or allow a bunch of rebel units to spawn so I can crush them with my army.

My army is mostly stationed out on the frontier guarding against Hittite aggression and Carthaginian efforts to retake their old capital so I have only a few token defenses where the rebel units will spawn. I'd have to reposition half my army to kill these rebels, so that sucks. But because I'm feeling grateful they killed the old Selucid family head (whose animosity was hurting my family opinion stat with a third of the empire) I allow them their freedom. Fair fucks dudes, you did me a solid and I can keep warmongering on the edges of the empire.  :ccr

Cool game. :lol:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on May 29, 2022, 09:34:43 AM
I wonder in which direction the game will expand in the longer term. I can see a few directions that might be interesting and a few others that haven't been successfully done in a 4x game (yet).

There's definately some place for some of the other cultures of the ancient world if you willing to travel to furthest reaches of Alexander's campaigns.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 02, 2022, 11:39:49 AM
I'm still learning, that's for sure.

I had my first victory recently, having figured out the basics more or less. Played another game. It was going really well (I thought). Then one neighbour demanded some tribute to not declare war and I told them to fuck off. Then another neighbour made an even more outrageous demand and I told them to fuck themselves too.

It was early enough that my economy hadn't taken off yet and I didn't quite have enough actions... nor did I have diplomacy to ask for peace.

Man, the AI likes to build up and just suddenly swarm you. And with two opponents doing it on the opposite end of the map it didn't work out too great for me. If I'd had unlimited actions per turn, I might have pulled it off... but I didn't.

Didn't help I was on an open plain. At first I was excited about it (I can build chariots and race them to whatever border needs help! Flexibility!). Unfortunately, it meant there were no choke points to stem the advancing tides in any directions and then defeat in detail :(

Still figuring out the right balance of resources, infrastructure, military build up, and aggressive land grab.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on June 02, 2022, 12:32:40 PM
I am finding that in the early game get farmers, so then you can get a bunch of stone cutters - the stone cutters give civil development points in the city which in turn lets you build forums (and other infrastructure) more quickly.  The Forums then give you more action points.

At least that is my strategy with Egypt, which is becoming my favourite - by about turn 40 my eco is booming and I have at least two cities that can pump out military units - then, if my neighbours are behaving themselves I can take out the tribes, or fight a war with belligerent neighbours.

I really love this game. :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 02, 2022, 03:18:37 PM
got my ass handed to me by the Carthaginians (playing as Rome...).
Let's say that the AI's performance was better than that of the Russians.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 02, 2022, 10:23:25 PM
Yeah the Cartaghinians figured in my beatdown as well. Maybe I'll try playing them....
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on June 03, 2022, 08:21:40 AM
I found playing Carthage focusing on trading was easy mode.  Very powerful, buy all the resources you need and focus on building the stuff you can't buy.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 05, 2022, 03:25:14 PM
One thing I noticed is that you really can't slack on building a capable army. And that's not always more units.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 15, 2022, 11:34:32 AM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on June 05, 2022, 03:25:14 PMOne thing I noticed is that you really can't slack on building a capable army. And that's not always more units.

Definitely. And terrain - especially using choke points - matters significantly.

I just played a game where I started right on top of a couple of other civs. I managed to early rush one neighbour and thought I might as well go all in in (since I had a large army) and roll over the next one as well... but I just couldn't. I replayed the critical period a few times and I couldn't get over the hump and break through, and that was definitely a combination of a few inconvenient mountains and my opponent having an advantage in unit quality.

That said, in spite of hoping for more considered positional strategies with different unit types, it seems the best strategy in combat is to overwhelm locally and focus fire to kill units one by one. If you can get flanking or terrain advantages, great, but really it's primarily about focusing sufficient damage on units one by one to take them out
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on June 17, 2022, 05:37:59 AM
Newest patch is out. The patch notes: https://gist.github.com/MohawkGames/09b854c59e192f6f5df660d566c25e75

Biggest changes I think are doubling religious opinion from shrines, changes to some laws, and most units now consume food. They've added a 'Bisexual' character trait now too.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: grumbler on June 19, 2022, 07:03:48 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on June 17, 2022, 05:37:59 AMThey've added a 'Bisexual' character trait now too.

Are all women bi?


(Too soon?)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Berkut on June 19, 2022, 07:19:40 AM
Quote from: grumbler on June 19, 2022, 07:03:48 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on June 17, 2022, 05:37:59 AMThey've added a 'Bisexual' character trait now too.

Are all women bi?


(Too soon?)
:lmfao:


I thought it was a pretty good joke, actually.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on June 19, 2022, 08:18:57 AM
Quote from: Berkut on June 19, 2022, 07:19:40 AM
Quote from: grumbler on June 19, 2022, 07:03:48 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on June 17, 2022, 05:37:59 AMThey've added a 'Bisexual' character trait now too.

Are all women bi?


(Too soon?)
:lmfao:


I thought it was a pretty good joke, actually.

Consider both of you reported to HR.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: grumbler on June 19, 2022, 09:50:24 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on June 19, 2022, 08:18:57 AMConsider both of you reported to HR.

Can we tell this one safely?
QuoteWhy do doctors slap babies' bottoms as soon as they're born?
To knock the penises off the smart ones.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Syt on June 19, 2022, 10:29:29 AM
Ugh.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on June 20, 2022, 12:15:36 AM
Quote from: FunkMonk on June 19, 2022, 08:18:57 AMConsider both of you reported to HR.

It's AR, and usually we refer to him as Dorsey.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on July 04, 2022, 04:27:24 PM
Started playing on the premade Middle East and Med maps.  Pick a civ that belongs on that map and it is a great.  I am coming to the conclusion there is no cookie cutter build (even with preset maps), so much depends on the random events and adapting to the results of that.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on July 26, 2022, 03:38:53 PM
Playing as Carthage on the Med premade map is easy mode - if you want to do some experimentation with build/tech optimization I recommend playing that.  North Africa is all theirs - with the exception of a barbarian village or two.  Then they can expand to the South of Europe, or the islands in the Med.  Pretty easy to get the double score victory condition if you want a quicker game, because of the ease of expanding from that starting position.  If not, I recommend disabling that win condition.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on August 11, 2022, 10:44:11 AM
I thought I read somewhere that you can turn a city-site into the part of another city's area somehow... but I can't figure out how. Is that because you can't actually do that? Or do any of you know how to do that?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on August 11, 2022, 12:04:39 PM
Quote from: Jacob on August 11, 2022, 10:44:11 AMI thought I read somewhere that you can turn a city-site into the part of another city's area somehow... but I can't figure out how. Is that because you can't actually do that? Or do any of you know how to do that?

One city can buy the tiles of another city
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: mongers on November 28, 2022, 08:19:13 AM
Looked on steam and this has a demo, downloaded it, I like it, a lot; I'll get it went it's next on sale.

Surprised it runs at all on my outdated laptop, will the later game slowdowns described in the thread be a real headache?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: chipwich on February 09, 2023, 08:07:46 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXH9_d_pDa4&ab_channel=GDC

Soren Johnsons CDC talk convinced me to buy this game and I've fallen in love with it, it has completely fired Civ and Endless.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on February 09, 2023, 01:09:51 PM
Quote from: chipwich on February 09, 2023, 08:07:46 AMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXH9_d_pDa4&ab_channel=GDC

Soren Johnsons CDC talk convinced me to buy this game and I've fallen in love with it, it has completely fired Civ and Endless.

Yeah, it's way better than Civ IMO.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 05, 2023, 04:23:11 PM
New DLC is out.  Focus on Egypt
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 07, 2023, 09:45:17 AM
The Heroes of the Aegean DLC is also on sale for 90% off - it will cost you a buck or less depending on your currency.

They base game is also on sale 25% off.

On Steam
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: mongers on October 07, 2023, 05:14:20 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 07, 2023, 09:45:17 AMThe Heroes of the Aegean DLC is also on sale for 90% off - it will cost you a buck or less depending on your currency.

They base game is also on sale 25% off.

On Steam

Oh good, thanks for that CC. :cheers:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 10, 2023, 10:59:07 PM
I've been playing a bunch the Old World again recently. Going to get back to my Persia game after the kid's in bed. Still love it.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 11, 2023, 09:37:50 PM
What maps do you use?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 12, 2023, 02:25:39 AM
A whle ago I did a bunch of games using the Northern Ocean map. Then I had a few games using the historical maps. Right now I'm playing using the pseudo-mediterranean map (the one with the central ocean, I forget what it's called).

I'm about to win my first game on "the Magnificent". Once that's done I'll give "the Great" a go.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 12, 2023, 02:58:02 PM
Wow, I am still only managing the lower difficulty levels.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 12, 2023, 07:09:43 PM
Yeah it took me a while to get there, that's for sure.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 17, 2023, 02:12:06 PM
Just got my first victory on "the Great" difficulty.

Two things that I particularly enjoy about "the Old World" is that:

1) You have meaningful decisions to make almost throughout the whole game; and

2) The physical landscape really shapes how you play - defensible mountain passes are important and your home terrain to some extent impacts your troop mix, your physical transportation infrastructure matters (roads, coastal borders, and anchored ships).

Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 17, 2023, 02:27:11 PM
I've been playing with Persia almost exclusively this time around. I believe they're considered a weaker nation, but I really like them for the following reasons:

1) Their special units are mounted archers, and I really enjoy the strategic mobility mounted units offer (especially when combined with a good road and maritime transportation network).

2) Their temples all provide a good solid boost (though the maritime temple is a little more limited). My approach includes going for Polytheism fairly quickly, allowing me to build all temples in each city; later (but as soon as I can) I enact Divine Rule giving me +1 happiness for each temple built which helps me pull out of the unhappinness descent.

3) Their starting tech gives access to all early game resources (except marble), which I appreciate. Nothing worse than having three cows in your starting city that you can't exploit because you lack the tech. The downside is that I don't have quarrying to begin which was a struggle (especially as I always pick Divination as my first tech ot research).

... though of course, now I'll try other Nations to see if my general approach holds or, if it doesn't, how much it has to be adjusted to succeed.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 17, 2023, 02:37:04 PM
And, ironically, everything in my approach is about building up an army strong enough to take out a rival and win... except when I was just about ready to kick off the war I had second thoughts.

My preferred targets were kind of out of reach, adding too much risk. I was at peace with my neighbours and I prefer not breaking a peace agreement.

I was being indecisive, when I realized I could just squeeze out a points victory by building the last available wonder and investing heavily in (hitherto) ignored culture buildings to push my last few developing cities into strong culture.

It made the last 15 turns a bit dull compared to the full engagement the previous 125 turns required... which is why I suppose they have the setting for turning the AI extra aggressive when you're close to victory.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: chipwich on October 17, 2023, 08:40:34 PM
I will emphasize that this is the Best 4x on the market at present.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 17, 2023, 09:06:42 PM
Quote from: chipwich on October 17, 2023, 08:40:34 PMI will emphasize that this is the Best 4x on the market at present.

No argument from me.

Only caveat is that I haven't played all of them, so I can't offer an opinion based on a fair comparison. But it is very very good IMO.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: FunkMonk on October 17, 2023, 10:11:38 PM
Yeah it's very good. I haven't played it in ages though. When I get the 4X itch back I plan on reinstalling.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Solmyr on October 18, 2023, 02:28:35 AM
Sounds like I need to play this.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 18, 2023, 06:06:12 AM
Quote from: Jacob on October 17, 2023, 02:37:04 PMAnd, ironically, everything in my approach is about building up an army strong enough to take out a rival and win... except when I was just about ready to kick off the war I had second thoughts.

My preferred targets were kind of out of reach, adding too much risk. I was at peace with my neighbours and I prefer not breaking a peace agreement.

I was being indecisive, when I realized I could just squeeze out a points victory by building the last available wonder and investing heavily in (hitherto) ignored culture buildings to push my last few developing cities into strong culture.

It made the last 15 turns a bit dull compared to the full engagement the previous 125 turns required... which is why I suppose they have the setting for turning the AI extra aggressive when you're close to victory.

This cultural victory, by developing the levels of the cities, is the route I usually try to take.

But I haven't tried the higher difficulty levels yet and I'm glad to hear that it is viable in those settings.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: mongers on October 18, 2023, 07:27:58 AM
I really need to sit down and give this game a go. :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 18, 2023, 09:58:35 AM
So it turns out that there's enough difference between the culture that I'm getting my ass kicked on a Roman start on "the Great" :lol:

I'll have to keep poking at it.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 18, 2023, 10:00:21 AM
Quote from: crazy canuck on October 18, 2023, 06:06:12 AMThis cultural victory, by developing the levels of the cities, is the route I usually try to take.

But I haven't tried the higher difficulty levels yet and I'm glad to hear that it is viable in those settings.

Yeah, I think it is - but I expect you still have to commit heavily to the military simply so the others don't invade you. That, or massive Caravan spam / diplomats / an economy able to support paying tribute I suppose.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Syt on October 18, 2023, 10:01:44 AM
I need to get back to this. It's one of the few 4X games where I actually enjoyed playing the scenarios/campaigns. :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 18, 2023, 12:18:32 PM
Got trounced in five or six starts last night Brutal random maps didn't help. Nor did having internal rebellion + 4 unit tribal raid on turn 15 or so :lol:

Going to try again as Rome. "The Great" difficulty, strong barbarians, no advantages or initial boost for AI, aggressive AI (they'll come after you if you're close to winning). However, I'll try the "Imperium RomanumO" map, which will give me the advantage of knowing where everything is (more or less) and hopefully room to expand into Celtic and Germannic Europe without it being too wild.

... though we'll see if starting wars with the tribes right off the bat is as manageable as on regular barbarian settings.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on October 18, 2023, 02:23:53 PM
I think with Rome you need to go full expansion to take advantage of the perks of its civilization and tribal bonuses.  Kind of the exact opposite of say Carthage - my favourite route to cultural victories because, as you noted above, I can afford to pay everyone off.  :D
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 18, 2023, 04:38:35 PM
I've been getting fucking trounced. The Greeks are clearing tribal sites at a solid pace while I'm just drowning in tribal raids and tribal invasions.

Maybe I'll turn tribe strength down to normal. The +1 fatigue and +10% war chance has been killing me.

I do really enjoyo Carthage as well, but I play them very expansionary as well - basically I roll up to a tribal site with a unit (or maybe two) and just buy the other ones, allowing me to take the site easily. Lots of fun.

The problem is in the end game when you have 20-30-40 tribal units in your army. They're just not as good as regular units.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 11:22:43 AM
Quote from: Solmyr on October 18, 2023, 02:28:35 AMSounds like I need to play this.

I think you should. It's a good game :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 11:59:21 AM
So I finally got my second victory on "the Great", this time using Romans with the maximum number of opponents.

I turned Barbarian aggression down to normal again, because using "stronger barbarians" had me completely choked by the early mid-game in my previous tries.

I did have aggressive AI on, which made the end game more spicy.

I had a large number of aborted/ failed games between this one and my last victory, and again geography was a key determinant. I ended up going back to the mediterranean map (I forget what it's called). There were two key geographical elements to succeeding in my games:

1) A good starting location - appropriate starting resources (i.e. few special resources that require additional tech to exploit, good quarrying / mining/ and food growing locations available near the first three city sites); and no rivals starting right up in my face (unless they can be hemmed in very quickly).

2) Once my empire was established, I had very defensible borders. North was pure desert and the edge of the maps (still a source of tribal raids), while East and West were mountain ranges, each with a single mountain pass (both of which saw extensive bloodshed over the years). The South was open coast line, but the AI doesn't seem to go all in on amphibious invasions, thank goodness (though I did have a strategy for dealing with it, even if it didn't get tested).

I typically try to play aggressively expansionistic in the early game, to get more city sites - but in spite of my best efforts I only ended up with 13 cities. Persia also had 13 and Carthage 11, so I never built up the lead that I usually go for.

If the geography hadn't worked out, I don't think I would've made it.

Unlike my Persia game, I never got into position to have a superior military. I was often lagging behind and at best was at par with my serious rivals in terms of military strength. I was significantly behind in terms of military tech, but I still made it. A big part of this was that I got barracks and archery ranges up much later than I prefer, but between the random draws and immediate short term priorities that's just how it worked out.

Also in contrast to the Persia game I went single religion and monotheism (I didn't establish my own paganism). It made managing my families significantly easier as everyone was the same faith. On the flipside, I put much more effort into building city happiness features (buildings and specialists) in the mid to late game. This is in contrast to my Persia game, where I went with polytheism and divine rule, building three or all four temples in every city for happiness and production boosts.

The game felt very different than the last victory, and I'm definitely going back for another kick.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: mongers on October 22, 2023, 02:10:07 PM
Quote from: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 11:59:21 AMSo I finally got my second victory on "the Great", this time using Romans with the maximum number of opponents.
.....
The game felt very different than the last victory, and I'm definitely going back for another kick.

:cool:

Nice AAR Jacob.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Solmyr on October 22, 2023, 04:00:07 PM
Quote from: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 11:22:43 AM
Quote from: Solmyr on October 18, 2023, 02:28:35 AMSounds like I need to play this.

I think you should. It's a good game :)

I tried it out and good hooked. :) Still fairly uncertain about strategies for this, but played through the first learning game as Babylon and won on points.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 08:58:40 PM
Quote from: Solmyr on October 22, 2023, 04:00:07 PMI tried it out and good hooked. :) Still fairly uncertain about strategies for this, but played through the first learning game as Babylon and won on points.

:cheers:

I think there's enough variables in play that there aren't just a few dominant strategies - or if there is there's enough variability that you still have to trim them depending on specifics.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 08:58:55 PM
Quote from: mongers on October 22, 2023, 02:10:07 PM
Quote from: Jacob on October 22, 2023, 11:59:21 AMSo I finally got my second victory on "the Great", this time using Romans with the maximum number of opponents.
.....
The game felt very different than the last victory, and I'm definitely going back for another kick.

:cool:

Nice AAR Jacob.

Thanks :)
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on January 19, 2024, 06:35:28 PM
So I just picked this up (it was just under $40 on Steam). Looking forward to diving in.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on January 20, 2024, 01:35:18 PM
Enjoy :cheers:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on January 26, 2024, 07:06:16 AM
Thanks.

Playing a tutorial game. Trying to make sense of it. Enjoying it. But now it seems like all of my cities are surrounded by raiders. Having a hard time dealing with all of them.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on January 26, 2024, 07:19:49 AM
One of the tips I got when starting to play this is that old world is more of a wargame that civ, so you do need to build up that army.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on January 27, 2024, 09:44:37 PM
Yes. You basically you need to build more units than you think you do. No more than that. Even more.

This is not like Civ where you can have a couple of strong units around and then quickly pump out an army if war starts. Some of your neighbours will build military units non-stop, and if they think they're stronger than you they'll attack.

And, of course, barbarians and tribals will be running at you constantly too.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on January 28, 2024, 06:30:42 AM
Quote from: Jacob on January 27, 2024, 09:44:37 PMYes. You basically you need to build more units than you think you do. No more than that. Even more.

This is not like Civ where you can have a couple of strong units around and then quickly pump out an army if war starts. Some of your neighbours will build military units non-stop, and if they think they're stronger than you they'll attack.

And, of course, barbarians and tribals will be running at you constantly too.

Yup beginning to figure that out. LOL
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on January 28, 2024, 07:38:00 AM
and even then you might find that ambassadors of the other nations arrive at your doorstep, carrying a nicely decorated silver platter on which you'll find your derrière, perfectly seasoned of course, being served to you since the amount of units you built was still to low.

you're opponents can be really vicious.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on January 28, 2024, 01:04:54 PM
Yeah. The Old World is one of the few 4X strategy games where I fairly frequently take a shitty deal with or pay tribute to a rival while playing to win.

In most other 4X games it seems to me if you're in a position to win the game, you can brush off demands by rivals because you're strong enough to crush them. Conversely, if you feel it's probably necessary to take to give in to a rival's demands you've basically already lost the game.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on January 29, 2024, 10:33:18 PM
Yeah beginning to realize that. That saud I did win one war and made my enemy pay me some ridiculous amount for 40 years

Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: chipwich on February 02, 2024, 06:57:07 AM
Quote from: Crazy_Ivan80 on January 26, 2024, 07:19:49 AMOne of the tips I got when starting to play this is that old world is more of a wargame that civ, so you do need to build up that army.

I'd call it more civ with very high aggression baked into the tempo and balance of the game. To emphasize, the game is set in "mean" sword and board times and all the civs are aggressor civs.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on February 02, 2024, 07:44:47 AM
I am able to win without fighting much with Carthage, using a trade and diplomacy strategy.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on February 04, 2024, 05:48:02 PM
Finished my first tutorial game. Was doing OK...but then an old foe, attacked me and I was totally overwhelmed.
Well I preferred it to Humankind, that's for sure. I like many of the mechanics. The only thing I found was after a while i was just building things without really knowing why and unlike Civ, I never really felt i was working towards anything.
Gonna try another tutorial game, I think it's a harder level. I'm making notes of some questions I may have for you.

Also, DLCs worth it? They seem like they're just scenario add-ons, right?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on February 04, 2024, 05:56:29 PM
If you play at higher difficulties, every decision matters.

At medium and easier levels, yeah you'll end up building random stuff without really knowing what the point is.

As for working towards something I found that happened more once I got a proper feel for the mechanics.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on February 09, 2024, 07:01:08 AM
Got killed in my next tutorial game which was a higher setting.
Anyway gonna play for real now.

Quick question. You know how when you discover an empty city tile you can place a unit on it to safeguard it. Can it be any unit? Even workers or scouts?
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Crazy_Ivan80 on February 09, 2024, 07:54:39 AM
I think so, it's been a while but anything should do
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on February 09, 2024, 09:12:02 AM
Quote from: Josephus on February 09, 2024, 07:01:08 AMGot killed in my next tutorial game which was a higher setting.
Anyway gonna play for real now.

Quick question. You know how when you discover an empty city tile you can place a unit on it to safeguard it. Can it be any unit? Even workers or scouts?

Scouts are the best way to do it, but it can be anything
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on February 09, 2024, 06:12:15 PM
Yeah scouts are probably the best. What I usually do is park a Scout there and then - on turns where I have excess orders - range out and collect a few resources before ranging back to the spot.

Sometimes I'll move a military unit into position to camp it, if it makes sense for that unit to garrison the city once it's built. That'll free the Scout up to do more Scouting/ resource collecting. It's usually low on the priority list for orders, but it's there.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Josephus on February 12, 2024, 06:51:02 AM
I made a newbie mistake with that :lol:  I had a scout sitting on a city spot for a while. I had a settler coming. His last turn had him two tiles away, so I figured close enough, and moved my scout away. On the AI turn, some chariot dude I didn't see comes in and takes the spot away from me.  :mad:
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on February 12, 2024, 09:31:53 AM
Yeah, one of the first things you learn is how well the AI prioritizes occupying the empty city sites

Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: Jacob on February 12, 2024, 01:52:00 PM
On the other hand, I've had some good moments sharking city sites from AI as well. When they're clearing out a barbarian site, if you have a few military units around you can hold back and time your attacks to occupy the site. And don't feel bad about it, the AI will do the same to you.

Occasionally I've also had some good luck with a Scout hidden somewhere near an occupied city site and the AI (foolishly) moves off for a moment. Yoink.
Title: Re: The Old World, a new Civ-like from Soren Johnson
Post by: crazy canuck on February 12, 2024, 03:34:48 PM
Quote from: Jacob on February 12, 2024, 01:52:00 PMOn the other hand, I've had some good moments sharking city sites from AI as well. When they're clearing out a barbarian site, if you have a few military units around you can hold back and time your attacks to occupy the site. And don't feel bad about it, the AI will do the same to you.

Occasionally I've also had some good luck with a Scout hidden somewhere near an occupied city site and the AI (foolishly) moves off for a moment. Yoink.

Yeah, its the thing that makes the game mechanic less frustrating.  At first I thought the AI cheated by calculating how to go directly to the empty sites and occupy them, but with enough time spent playing I realized that it does not race immediately to the sites and it can be outmaneuvered with good game play.

One of the things I enjoy about the game  :)