Old World from Soren Johnson

[Rayfer]

I've got over 53 hours in this now so am starting to get a decent grasp on what it's all about. What I have played a lot of over the last year is Shadow Empire and so naturally make comparisons in gameplay. An initial strong impression is that those that have tried Shadow Empire and were turned off by the character element will have problems with this. Characters and events drive the gameplay, and you have very little control over them. You aren't in a sports car instantly reacting to a sudden corner, you are in a semi-truck on a highway just keeping it between the lines. In fact, Shadow Empire gives you somewhat more control over event outcomes through manipulating characters through the card system. All said, that doesn't detract from the game. I'm quite enjoying myself. After the tutorial I've focused on playing Babylon. I figure once I get comfortable with them I'll go back to Greece. I see playing this for awhile.

This is exactly why I have no interest in Old World in spite of being a huge Civ fan.  I tried but quickly dropped out of the Crusader Kings and Shadow Empires series because of the very reasons you outline above. I'm not criticizing Old World, I'm just not interested in Crusader Kings Civ game.  :-[

[W8taminute]

^You can play Old World by enabling the "play without characters" option in the setup menu.  I bet they included that option for players like yourself that have no interest in character development in a Civ type game.   8)

[Gusington]

^Yep you can shut that part of the game off entirely.

I am about to lose my first real game as Assyria vs. Babylon but I have learned a ton and am very much looking forward to my next game as Persia.

Discovered that I was only playing on the 2nd difficulty level which bummed me out a bit but hey it was my first real game.

[W8taminute]

^I'm currently playing on that second difficulty level as Persia.  So far I'm doing ok but I can clearly see my military might is lacking compared to my neighbors.

I've got a really good economy with the exception of iron. 

[Rayfer]

^You can play Old World by enabling the "play without characters" option in the setup menu.  I bet they included that option for players like yourself that have no interest in character development in a Civ type game.   8)

Hmm...I didn't know that.  Thanks. 

[Gusington]

Even when I lose this I am going to chalk it up as a win because I enjoyed myself muchly.

[matt3916]

I highly recommend the You Tube series "Old World - Getting Started - A Beginner's Guide" by Unstable Voltage.

He's up to Part 22 already (a bit over 8 hours of footage).  I've completed all the tutorials for OW (and read the manual a couple of times) and I learned some things I didn't know when I watched Part 1 of the you tube series.  I'm now onto Part 7 of the series and while I won't say that I learned something for every part, I will say that I don't consider any of my viewing time to be wasted (and I plan to continue viewing).

[devoncop]

Even when I lose this I am going to chalk it up as a win because I enjoyed myself muchly.

Are you losing as a score loss after 200 turns or as an early finish due to your enemy getting to the target score early Gus ?

I am about to start a new game on the level up from "The Good".....Not confident....I think I will give Babylon a go.

[W8taminute]

I highly recommend the You Tube series "Old World - Getting Started - A Beginner's Guide" by Unstable Voltage.

He's up to Part 22 already (a bit over 8 hours of footage).  I've completed all the tutorials for OW (and read the manual a couple of times) and I learned some things I didn't know when I watched Part 1 of the you tube series.  I'm now onto Part 7 of the series and while I won't say that I learned something for every part, I will say that I don't consider any of my viewing time to be wasted (and I plan to continue viewing).

Nice, thanks for the link.  I'll have to check out those videos.

[Gusington]

Thanks for that link matt3916, definitely going to use that.

I am predicting a loss by score after 200 turns to Babylon as Assyria. I've gotten as close as 5 points to Babylon but have been behind the whole game.

The war between Babylon and Assyria was devastating to us both, and probably why one of us did not get an early win.

Now we're partners and are jointly eliminating Thrace from the face of the earth.

[devoncop]

Thanks for that link matt3916, definitely going to use that.

I am predicting a loss by score after 200 turns to Babylon as Assyria. I've gotten as close as 5 points to Babylon but have been behind the whole game.

The war between Babylon and Assyria was devastating to us both, and probably why one of us did not get an early win.

Now we're partners and are jointly eliminating Thrace from the face of the earth.

Sounds a tight one !

Get those Wonders built ! 5 points is nothing  ;)

[Gusington]

^I did! I built almost every wonder available to me. But that war with Babylon set us both back.

I also think my understanding money and of the economy came too late but I have a firm grasp now. I'd like to bump up the difficulty of the next game to the third level (The Good) you mention above but a victory first would be appropriate before I do that :)

I have roughly 30 turns left of this first game. Not sure if I will play as Persia in a skirmish game with a few more powers next (3-4 on a larger map) or if I will try out Heroes of the Aegean. Both sound good.

But I love that I can wrap up a campaign in a few weeks, playing an hour or two a night. Very much in my wheel-house.

[devoncop]

I would recommend a medium map with three opponents. In my Carthage playthrough Assyria was kept in check by Egypt and Babylon pretty well as they kept getting involved in wars while Carthage played the honest broker and was able to stay out of any big conflicts with diplomacy.

If you only set one AI opponent you will always be a target for the other civ which as you point out is very expensive !

[Gusington]

^Heh lesson learned...but after that large years' long war, Babylon and Assyria are great pals. As long as there's a power like Thrace to smack around. And Thrace in this game is almost eliminated, and wouldn't you know it...Babylon is rattling their saber again. Maybe I can just bribe them into peace until the game ends at this point, while building everything I possibly can for a late game pull-ahead win!

[bobarossa]

I've got over 53 hours in this now so am starting to get a decent grasp on what it's all about. What I have played a lot of over the last year is Shadow Empire and so naturally make comparisons in gameplay. An initial strong impression is that those that have tried Shadow Empire and were turned off by the character element will have problems with this. Characters and events drive the gameplay, and you have very little control over them. You aren't in a sports car instantly reacting to a sudden corner, you are in a semi-truck on a highway just keeping it between the lines. In fact, Shadow Empire gives you somewhat more control over event outcomes through manipulating characters through the card system. All said, that doesn't detract from the game. I'm quite enjoying myself. After the tutorial I've focused on playing Babylon. I figure once I get comfortable with them I'll go back to Greece. I see playing this for awhile.

This makes me worry that I will not like Old World when I get back to it.  I skipped out on Crusader Kings because of the emphasis on characters.  Also is my biggest annoyance with Shadow Empire.  I'm a stereotypical engineer with few people skills.  Dealing with people didn't interest me at work and certainly doesn't interest me in my entertainment choices.  Will have to try Old World with characters turned off once I complete the tutorials.  Hopefully there's enough game left to enjoy it.