SSC vs Wonders

I recently started using the SSC strategy and I encountered a problem. I use Republic (Democracy ALWAYS fails on me), so I get tech advances pretty fast early on. Here's my problem: by about 500 BC, I have the ability to build Colossus, Pyramids, Great Library, Marco Polo's, Statue, and Leonardo's. Most of these belong in the SSC. However, I cannot get all these built in my SSC without completely neglecting my SSC's citizens' needs, and/or having other civs take a couple. What do I do?

The 'SSC' requires but 3 or 4 wonders.

1. Colossus
2. Copernicus' Observatory
3. Isaac Newton's College
4. Shakespeare's Theatre (optional but very nice for this kind of city)

the other wonders you mentioned are not city-specific wonders, so it doesn't matter where they are built.

PS - If I can I try to get the Hanging Gardens built in my SSC, just for the 3 happy people as a boost to Republican orgies.

Of the Wonder's you listed, only the Colussus is required for a good science city. And, likewise, the Hanging Gardens is always desirable for a science city. The other wonders you list can be placed in any other city you choose.

Andu Indorin (AI? sorry... ), but the 3 together in the SSC is a huge improvement over the 3 in separate cities. Yes, each will have increased science - but together, that one city blows away the 3 cities with one each.

Exsanguination, with the 3 wonder (or 4 with Shakespeare's Theatre) SSC, you have no need for the Great Library. If you never plan to leave republic or democracy, the Statue o' Liberty is worthless to you, as you'll have both gov't techs before you can build it. The pyramids can be built elsewhere, if at all.

Sodak:

It would seem that Andu and Magnus posted at the same time, and Andu was referring to Exsanguination's original post.

There are those who also espouse putting King Richard's Crusade within the SSC as well - helps with building everything from sewer systems to later wonders. However, if you do this it would be nice to have an egineer or two about as pollution could become a problem as you grow the city. You don't want those skulls showing up and disrupting your trade tiles.

Personally, I like to designate a different city as a prodcution city. Preferably on a coast, with with great shield potential. Along with KRC, it can be nice to build Shake's Theatre here if you cannot do so in your SSC. This way you can build plenty ships of war without any happiness worries.

so the SCC doesn't require seti?? hmmm, i thought there was a bonus for the city the seti was in. ahh... well the AI seems to always beat me to the observatory, i can never get it before someone else, thus my science isn't as great as it could be.

Originally posted by jc011
so the SCC doesn't require seti?? hmmm, i thought there was a bonus for the city the seti was in...

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No, SETI affects all of your cities, so it can be built anywhere.

If you plan to have a science city, C's Observatory is crucial. It may be worth your while to stock up some caravans so that you can rush build it as soon as you discover astronomy. Try a research path that goes directly to astronomy. Each time you select a tech to research, click the Goal button and choose astronomy, it will tell you what to do next.

To minimize a Wonder's drain on your city’s production time, you should maintain a well-connected network of smaller cities surrounding your SSC nexus and build caravans. These caravans should not be employed for trade - it wouldn't be preferable as all of your trade routes should run overseas - but rather as means to expedite Wonder production.

Since you have discovered Trade entailed by Banking and ultimately Democracy, you can mete out the SSC's production between any number of cities using Caravans. A Caravan/Freight, its home city, cargo and rank notwithstanding, will invariably add 50 shields – the cost of the unit itself - to any Wonder production. The Colossus, which is essential to any SSC, requires a mere 200 shields, or 4 Caravans; since Caravan induction can take place all in one turn, even the cheating AI civilizations will not keep up. Autonomous production is not a key element to a SSC, though improvements, mainly the Library, University and Superhighways, are necessary to build.

By reducing the Wonder production time you can focus on building "happiness" improvements. Rush to Trade and, if feasible, get both the Colossus and Hanging Gardens in your SSC; the latter adds three happy citizens and the former, of course, is a trade-boost conducive to high science. You can cumulatively increase your science production by an additional 150% with the Copernicus Observatory and Isaac Newton's College.

To maintain your SSC's food production without causing disorder, order settlers with other home cities to improve nearby terrain. With Michelangelo's Chapel and J.S. Bach's Cathedral, your SSC can grow beyond 24 (when the city can no longer work on more tiles) and you can convert additional citizens - forced to be specialists - into scientists. In addition, you can safely become a Democracy, a volatile gov't that does have its advantages.

Towards the end, the Hoover Dam will allow cheap, instant production and the SETI Program will double your research in every city.

PS: Ignore the Pyramids and the Great Library (Marco Polo's Embassy can be helpful if you are engaged in early conquest, esp. overseas, or are willing to trade advances). They have little to do with - and are often times detrimental to - the SSC strategy.

Originally posted by jc011
so the SCC doesn't require seti?? hmmm, i thought there was a bonus for the city the seti was in. ahh... well the AI seems to always beat me to the observatory, i can never get it before someone else, thus my science isn't as great as it could be.

Click to expand...

No, as Magnus aludes to, the classic SSC requires but three wonders: Colossus/Copernicus/Newton; plus Library/University/Superhighways; and after the discovery of flight, an Airport should be installed. The SETI, since it adds a Research Center to every city, can be built anywhere; it's more or less a force of habit to build it in the same city. Hanging Gardens and Shakespeare's Theatre are desirable in that they promote demographic growth to a SSC, hence facilitating trade, hence promoting science. (Of course, both are also useful in the proverbial Production City: i.e., "Guns or Margarine.")

But Exsanguination's original question posed the assumption: "Colossus, Pyramids, Great Library, Marco Polo's, Statue, and Leonardo's. Most of these belong in the SSC." Of these wonders, only the Colossus is important to an SSC. The remainder -- if you choose to build them -- can go in any other city.

(And I totally agree w/ BVD's point: ignore the Pyramids. Better to capture in mid-game than build to build in early game -- though opinions are strongly divided on this issue !)

Shakespeare's Theatre is a single-city Wonder – one I forgot to mention - that eliminates disorder altogether, and can be built with only ten early advances (Bronze Working, Ceremonial Burial, Mysticism, Alphabet, Code of Laws, Writing, Literacy, Trade, Philosophy and, the prerequisite, Medicine) so it is an obvious project for your SSC. Beyond that, you no longer have to worry about your city's "needs" during protracted Wonder production, and your specialists can all increase science output (no more Elvis).

you need eleven techs - you forgot Currency.

Indeed, Medicine is one I get quickly mainly due to the fact that the first two techs I push toward in the early game are Philosphy and Trade, which are the direct pre-requisites for Medicine.

I think the hanging garden is superb for the SSC. I never thought about it before, I just thought you could build it anywhere, but if you build it in the SSC, you will get some extra trade in monarchy because of the WLTK day (citizen <=6). The other effect is that you don't have to think about happiness as much as before, which is great in diety level.

So from now on my SSC shall contain Colussus, hanging gardens, coopernicus and Isaac Newton, and I shall build them in that order. (Diety level)

A short note: if you still need accelerated technological progression when you've got Computers, a way to make sure that your tech scales appreciably is to buy a Research Lab in the SSC first, then wait for SETI to complete. When SETI completes you can sell it. You get a few more turns of high science this way.

-Sev

I may sound ignorant, but, what's SSC? This is something I don't remember seeing

SSC = Super Science City.

Ohh! Now it makes sense. Thanks.

Andu Indorin :
No, as Magnus aludes to, the classic SSC requires but three wonders: Colossus/Copernicus/Newton; plus Library/University/Superhighways; and after the discovery of flight, an Airport should be installed.

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I have built some very successful SSC's including in GOTM8 an SSC producing 1328 beakers, as i recall it didn't have an airport(I'll check when I get home), and I not aware of anything that suggests the airport has any effect on science production.

If you know otherwise, then enlighten me please.

ferenginar

Airports are good for trading. If you have a trade route between two cities which both have airport, and they are on the same continent, you get x1.5 multiplyer. If they are not on the same continent, but both cities have airport, you get x2 multiplyer.

Shortly: Airports just give a little better trade routes.

Edit: Look at this link about trading.

http://coc.apolyton.net/guides/trade_payoff.shtml

el_kalkylus

Many thanks - now my SSC will be SSSC
Super Super Science City

ferenginar

The airport means that the value of trade with the SSC is boosted so that you get higher science and gold premiums for all freight delivered to it. This is often the only way to get the Future Techs past 100 or so. They require so many beakers for each one, your science slows down unless you keep delivering freights to boost your science rate. Another reason why the SSC should be surrounded by RRs and boast all the improvements that improve trade arrows, both incoming and outgoing.

[edit] - doh! I should have refreshed the page when I came back to the computer instead of just typing out what someone else said ages ago.