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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2417 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for June 19, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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I can't get into any civ after civ iv, the last civ with stackable armies. It's just so much more satisfying to walk around with a doomstack, and the map is visually simpler and easier to understand at a glance compared to later civ games.

I couldn't stand the doom stack armies, I wanted that feel of using the terrain and flanking enemies, battle lines like I'm a roman legion, and the "hold the line!" feeling. I hear less of the Civ IV purists these days, its mostly Civ V boosters, which I don't understand because that version was deeply unbalanced around wonderspaming

I consider Civ IV the mechanical high point of the series before it began its slide into bullshit. The main reasons why I stopped playing Civ IV and have since been waiting for the next big 4X are battles and wonders. Battles in Civ IV are, IMO, too hard to follow. Civ CtP had much more legible battles by way of limiting stack sizes, and resolving fights as all VS all instead of sequentially 1 vs 1. And I've never ever liked the win-more nature of wonders.

Speaking of, Civ CtP is IMO the underrated champ in terms of atmosphere and historical scope.

Civ IV has terrain, but it's only used defensively. Main usage was defending against enemy doomstacks with a mini-stack, and it's kind of fun estimating what you actually need to safely hold the enemy back. There's also that wonderful feeling where you perfectly estimate the minimum defense needed and you bait the AI doomstack into engaging your fortified-to-the-teeth city for a total loss.

To get the a good hold the line feeling I prefer the total war series.

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