Playing by Ironman Rules

from GalCiv2 Forums
A lot of people do not like to play beyond "tough" difficulty because they feel that the computer should not get artificial bonuses. A lot of people also feel the AI is lacking and that games are too easy. In previous games I've played, someone always develops "Ironman" rules to make the game more difficult without giving the AI more advantages than it deserves. So I thought I'd get the ball rolling and maybe increase the enjoyment for a few of you. Feel free to use any or all of these rules to make the game more difficult.

1) Cannot play as Yor or Drath due to racial bonuses.
2) Cannot spend any points in +Diplomacy racial bonuses.
3) Cannot research any +Diplomacy techs except government techs.
4) Once a civilization declares war on you, you cannot declare peace with them ever.
5) You must always choose the "good" path in any random event.
6) Use only the core ship designs.
7) Do not build any Galactic Achievements.
8) Cannot build Influence Starbases.
9) Cannot research any +Influence techs.

If even those are too easy then try these:

1) Declare war on everyone in the galaxy as soon as you meet them. Refuse to declare peace with any civilzation.
2) Set your research slider to 0. Only advance tech through trading, espionage, or conquering planets.
7,955 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If you did a lot of those Gal Civ 2 would be as much fun as watching paint dry. 1,2,4,7,8 I would be willing to do though.

Lenius.
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If you read some of the posts on this board you might think that already. KIDDING!

But seriously, I played one game where I set my research slider to 0. The computer does not research influence or diplomatic techs, 3 and 9 were included in the deal. I had to sell off my planets to get planetary invasion, so I could take my planets back and get more tech. It was actually one of the more interesting games I've played.
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
lol...

i really ought to try no1 of the harder rules, but i always die cuz my early military sucks >.<
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
My only Ironman rule is no sensor ships, because the A.I doesn't use them.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
"Not researching any +influence techs will get you creamed."

Oh not at all, actually that was one of my easier games. It's definitely important to choose your enemies carefully, but what ends up happening is that all of your front-line sectors are on the verge or revolt, so you have to keep conquring 2-3 planets every turn to push that front forward. It's extremely rare for your planet to actually flip in 1-10 turns (I've held onto a planet with an IP flip value of 56.4 for 40+ turns now.) If one of your planets turns, it has no ships in orbit and you can take it back immediately with transports. Ultimately I found that game to be too easy and had to impose additional penalties on myself.

I apologize, this post was not meant to show people who to utterly dominate the game or anything. An entertaining loss is still entertaining. But I'm probably like a lot of people and don't find tough to be even remotely difficult. Using Diplomacy and tech trading I can beat 9 tough opponents without ever building a single ship. It got a little old, so I tried to spice the game up a bit.