How the hell do you beat the AI to ____ culture?

[Fatum]

I was trying to mess with various 'builds' and so I am trying to get certain cultures to test out...but the AI just god modes in and takes them every single time. On 'fast' the Egyptians and Babylonians are taken first turn by the AI every time.

My last game I actually played through (on Regular speed) the AI was almost 2 eras ahead of me...

I play on metropolis, because I find the lower difficulty the AI just doesn't do anything at all. The only threat is from early game independent city states.

I really like....most of this game but the total dependency on RNG in the early game and cruddy AI system make it nearly unplayable for me. Just feels half finished.

[knighttemplar1960]

If you want to play the way you want you have to add mods. The mod you are looking for is called "The Allow Duplicate Cultures Mod". I don't know if it is up to date or not with the latest patch.

(All the usual warnings about downloading unofficial content and clicking on links that you aren't sure are completely safe)

https://www.games2gether.com/amplitude-studios/humankind/forums/178-modding/threads/46055-mod-duplicate-cultures?page=1

[Tanstaafl]

I play on metropolis using a custom map which locates the other spawn points on other continents. But the game always spawns a 6 pop AI city in a nearby territory on the same continent that has multiple light cavalry units that seem to move much quicker than they're supposed to be able to. So I tweak the map to add obstacles to prevent them from rushing me so easily and choose a culture provided by a mod. You can also configure the "content" to give a low spawn probability for any culture in a specific add-on/DLC.

The location it spawns the other culture isn't a spawn point when using 8 players, but is a spawn point when using a different number of players. I guess the next thing I need to try is to edit the spawn points for every combination of how many players there are.

I can clear a spawn point in the map editor by selecting it, pressing F, and then using middle click to add the spawn point somewhere else. It may also change the id of the spawn point when you do that.

[Fatum]

hmmm..didnt think to try to look for mods. I did install a custom map, lol because who doesn't want to try to conquer earth? So I'll try that.

I should look into other good mods, maybe some fix the issues I'm having.

[Fatum]

hmm...got another mod i found to work but that one wont show in game. both installed in the same place

[skunkno1]

I would love to see an option to skip the neolithic era and be able to start as the culture of your choosing.

[ourorboros]

you might want to play on different settings, i play on civilisation,normal pace, large world with 8 players 2-4 continents and the AI almost never chooses Egypt or Babylonian...

they always seem to prioritise zhoe, assyrians and nubians in my games.

[ourorboros]

Originally posted by Tanstaafl:

the game always spawns a 6 pop AI city in a nearby territory on the same continent that has multiple light cavalry

the independent cities always start with 0 pop, its actually a great way to get early cities because if you camp out their outpost and move onto the turn it becomes a city you just get a free city and if they're peaceful they dont even bother fighting you for it back.

[Spacesuit Spiff]

Give this a try: https://humankind.old.mod.io/14-stars
You'll likely get first pick out of Neolithic because the AI usually relies on the science star and that's harder with this mod. In the remaining eras it stops their rush somewhat

[Daarkarr0w]

Hey! Yep we are aware that this is something that is requested by the community, not gonna do any promises about it. It has 2 sides to me, it loses a bit the idea of "unique" culture but I understand the frustration of some players not being able to play the culture they wants to play.

[Tanstaafl]

Originally posted by ourorboros:

Originally posted by Tanstaafl:

the game always spawns a 6 pop AI city in a nearby territory on the same continent that has multiple light cavalry

the independent cities always start with 0 pop, its actually a great way to get early cities because if you camp out their outpost and move onto the turn it becomes a city you just get a free city and if they're peaceful they dont even bother fighting you for it back.

Its not a independent city, its one of the chosen AI players. I usually don't discover any independent cities until the classic era because I'm playing with a huge map.

[knighttemplar1960]

Originally posted by Daarkarr0w:

Hey! Yep we are aware that this is something that is requested by the community, not gonna do any promises about it. It has 2 sides to me, it loses a bit the idea of "unique" culture but I understand the frustration of some players not being able to play the culture they wants to play.

What would be the point of playing a game based on cultural shifts if you can't shift to the one you want?

[ourorboros]

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

Originally posted by Daarkarr0w:

Hey! Yep we are aware that this is something that is requested by the community, not gonna do any promises about it. It has 2 sides to me, it loses a bit the idea of "unique" culture but I understand the frustration of some players not being able to play the culture they wants to play.

What would be the point of playing a game based on cultural shifts if you can't shift to the one you want?

kinda like asking what the point of playing a competitive game is if you cant just always win.

the AI are essentially other players, if they get their stars before you they get to choose before you. it doesn't diminish the ability to shift cultures, you just maybe dont get the one you wanted but honestly this only really seems a problem with the ancient era as the AI usually holds on aslong as possible before choosing cultures in the other eras.

even then i wouldn't call it a problem.

[83athom]

On the 2 lowest difficulty settings, Hamlet and Town, the AI will always wait for you to pick a civ in an era before picking their own. If you're just playing to test things that require you to have specific civs then Town is generally the best one to go for, however for actual playing you need to "get good" and focus on getting era stars more.

If you are somehow 2 eras behind the AI on the default difficulty... then something else is going wrong and you just aren't playing well. I found that most of that 'lagging behind' is from not spending influence wisely, not making use of your culture ability, and not enough science. However funnily at higher difficulties the AI will try and maximize fame and be a little slower at going up the eras because it's easier to get fame by getting more and more starts at each era than just getting to the end of the game asap.

Originally posted by skunkno1:

I would love to see an option to skip the neolithic era and be able to start as the culture of your choosing.

+1 for this idea for a quick start... however I would also like the opposite option for stretching out neolithic a bit longer (which there is a mod to technically do but it screws other things up).

Originally posted by Daarkarr0w:

Hey! Yep we are aware that this is something that is requested by the community, not gonna do any promises about it. It has 2 sides to me, it loses a bit the idea of "unique" culture but I understand the frustration of some players not being able to play the culture they wants to play.

No, his problem seems to be the AI always being ahead of him in era stars and getting the culture he wanted to grab to test things out. However I am all for a rework of upgrading a lower 'era' culture into the next to provide more than just a little extra fame. The Italians for example don't have a Contemporary era lineage despite still existing in the current age while having a lot of cool ♥♥♥♥. Nowadays they're known for luxury cars so they could get a cultural bonus upon 'keeping' their culture that gives money based on their industrial production (like +2 gold on Makers Quarters or +5 gold on Market Quarter for adjacent Maker Quarter).

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

What would be the point of playing a game based on cultural shifts if you can't shift to the one you want?

Well for starters the other guy gets a say too.

[knighttemplar1960]

Originally posted by ourorboros:

Originally posted by knighttemplar1960:

What would be the point of playing a game based on cultural shifts if you can't shift to the one you want?

kinda like asking what the point of playing a competitive game is if you cant just always win.

the AI are essentially other players, if they get their stars before you they get to choose before you. it doesn't diminish the ability to shift cultures, you just maybe dont get the one you wanted but honestly this only really seems a problem with the ancient era as the AI usually holds on aslong as possible before choosing cultures in the other eras.

even then i wouldn't call it a problem.

No, its more like going to a track meeting and then having to swim instead of run. If you have to rush to get the culture you want that's not any fun either. They should have applied the same system that was used on wonders to the cultures.

I don't really want to get to the end of the game as soon as possible. I like to experience what each culture has to offer and I really don't like to have to save scum or keep starting over. Why would I buy a culture pack if the game is set up so that unless I play perfectly I'll never get to choose the new culture(s) I paid for? (Which, among other reasons, is why I haven't bought any of the culture packs.)

[shakee]

The AIs on Metropolis and higher are setup to win the game. If that is not yours, play on one of the lower two difficulties. And they rough choose a new culture every 50 turns on normal.
And what the heck would that change change? The AI will still choose the culture first because you do not play to win.