Hence quoting myself. Also, water provides fewer food stocks than land. There's no way to raise the land above water like in Sim City.
I suppose you can build on the coast. I do it sparringly for said reasons.
Priorities for the early years
- Thread starter Sir_Lancelot
- Start date
Hence quoting myself. Also, water provides fewer food stocks than land. There's no way to raise the land above water like in Sim City.
I suppose you can build on the coast. I do it sparringly for said reasons.
In Monarchy, I can research a little bit faster if my cities are celebrating, but only a little bit (my last game). Monarchy and WLTKD is a strategy I've had since I played Civ1 in the early '90s.It may not be the best government in the modern era, but I love how little food engineers eats in Monarchy, it matters a lot because I try to have 2-3 engineers per city. (I terraform a lot.)
You really need to start switching to republic when it becomes available, much earlier than the modern era btw. The WLTKD is nothing compared to WLTCD or WLTPD. Republic admittedly requires a bit of preparation and adjustment but the ability to grow all your cities from small to huge in a few turns is awesome. Trade income almost doubles, science goes much faster and you can rushbuy much more. And don't worry, after refrigeration you can spam as many engineers you want even in democracy, big cities surrounded by farmland and mines can support anything.
Sir_Lancelot
Emperor
I take your advice and will try it. The "P" in WLTPD must stand for President, but what is the "C" in WLTCD? Are you talking about Comrade/Communism? Science and economy in Communism is not much better than Monarchy?
This makes no sense. The opposite is true. Build on the coast unless you have to. Seafaring is an early tech and with it you can build Harbors which allow each ocean tile to support its own worker. It does not get you any shields till Miniaturization and offshore platforms but the free arrows (no need to build a road to get them) pretty much make up for it. Moreover, whale is hands down the best special to have early in the game and still one of the best later on.
I think Ali knows what he's talking about. And whales are without doubt objectively, not subjectively, the best tile to work early game, and the ability to set up intercontinental trade routes trumphs any of the supposed lack of production. Sure don't place cities with too much ocean in their big fat cross, I agree, and costal cities without specials like fish or whales aren't that great either. But with good city placement the lack of production really isn't a concern since you will by the time your coastal city needs to work all it's ocean you can rushbuy everything anyway with the profit from that intercontinental trade you've set up. And some coastal cities can be set up for purely strategic reasons, on a natural place to block of the AI to get access to your land or as a canal between different oceans. Then lack of productivity doesn't even come into the equation.
New member here....
Been playing Civilization II for a long time. My goals very early in the game are for tech: Bronze Working & Monarchy, and the first unit I will build in a new city in a settler, unless I know there is a hostile foreign country close by. My reasoning for Bronze Workings is: Phalanx are much better than warriors, and one you have Bronze Working, you can start building Wonders...you can build the same wonder in more than one city, and than switch one to a different Wonder once that tech is discovered.
Been playing Civilization II for a long time. My goals very early in the game are for tech: Bronze Working & Monarchy, and the first unit I will build in a new city in a settler, unless I know there is a hostile foreign country close by. My reasoning for Bronze Workings is: Phalanx are much better than warriors, and one you have Bronze Working, you can start building Wonders...you can build the same wonder in more than one city, and than switch one to a different Wonder once that tech is discovered.
welcome to CFC, Nohomers. Changing away from Despotism is a universal early goal regardless of strategy and circumstances; most often it is to Monarchy but sometimes people try early Republic.
Come join us in the GOTMs where you can see others playing the same game you are and learn a lot more than you can ever learn on your own.
Come join us in the GOTMs where you can see others playing the same game you are and learn a lot more than you can ever learn on your own.
novaquasar
Chieftain
I normally play on king. I usually start off trying to get Elephants because they are by far the best unit at the start of the game. But i never improve the land early on i usually just build a phalanx in my cities then after that's done i build a settler. NEVER build warriors. I only use settlers for building cities. I use my horsemen to explore other territories and elephants to attack them. If you are trying to win via bloodlust then always take over as much as you can early on. Granaries are worthless if you can just build the pyramids or capture them. Barracks are useful but i rarely build them.
As someone who only plays diety on the pre-done world map, I'd typically go warrior > Warrior > temple (if I have CB), > settler > found new city > wonder/2'nd set. Also don't bother upgrading tiles until you have monarchy as it won't do you any good and is a waste of the settlers time. Also, depending on how you want to play or starting position I'd have my first wonder in priority pyramids > HG > collosus.
I'm a wide empire style and almost always have the tech lead, which late game causes the AI to allways all be at war with me, but cause I've got the tech lead can either turtle, or build some units and smash through a civ in 5-10 turns.
mpescatori
Chieftain
Hi all, it's been a while since the last post but as I like to play CIV2almost every day (even twice/day on weekends!) I have a few things to say.
I grew tired of playing at Chieftain level rather quickly, and meekly tried higher levels, which did prove to be a bit of a handful... until I tried Deity!
Addawaytogo !!!
In Deity, you start with two unsupported settlers, and more often than not your neighboring civs will be anything from uppity to downright hostile, but will not attack you unless you really upset them, so...
... so here's my strategy:
1. I start by exploring the terrain around me, sending the two settlers in opposite directions (if I start in the middle of a plain) or in parallel directions (if I start in highly compartimented territory). This helps pop a few huts, obtain horsemen, get freebie techs and treasures and, most of all, see where is the ideal location for my Capital City which MUST also double up as my HighTech City (others call it the Super Science City or SSC). Why is this? Because the Capital City is the one with lowest unhappiness and lowest corruption, hence with highest productivity. I can go on and explore up until 3000BC (i.e. one full thousand years) which makes me the slowest and poorest civ, but it does have its benefits.
2. I found my Capital City, build one warrior and reinforce, more warriors and sentry any fundamental land spots, i.e. buffalo, grain, gems, spice which are in my area of control.
3. I research Bronze Working and fortify my city with one, two legions, export all warrior to sentry my land spots AND any other spot where I want to build a future city.
4. I research Alphabet, Code of Laws and Cerimonial Burial in order to find Monarchy; not only will Monarchy give me more efficient scientific research, it finally unlocks full terraforming potential! THAT is when I can finally start creating more settlers and found my new Cities!
5. If at all possible, all my cities are within exactly 3 (or 5 or 6) spaces away, with roads or river between them; this allows for fast transfer of military units and for efficient trade (to build my Wonders)
6. Under Monarchy, I finally obtain Philosophy (before everybody else, harrharrharr) and get my +1 Civ advance, which will possibly be either Bronze Working (if I haven't got it yet) or Trade... or Map Making (for Triremes and exploring coastline... later on you'll see why...)
7. only NOW will I start building my Wonders! Generally speaking, Colossus will be #1, immediately followed by The Wall; that, in order to be ahead of the pack in both economics and Foreign Politics (the AI will either think twice before declaring war, or be committed to applying for peace)
8. next wonders will be the Hanging Gardens and the Library.
9. next wonders will be the Crusades and Newton's Observatory.
All this will produce a Super Science City which will be well defended (at least 3 units fortified inside, one/two phalanx, one horsemen/chariot, one catapult) and well guarded (warriors all around in fortified fortifications...)
I will have built in average another 3:6 cities all around, exploiting either rivers or plains with roads in order to ensure fast communications between all cities.
I will still have my original "unsupported settler #2" !
I use him for road building so he works and toils at no cost.
I often wind up having the smallest Civ by extension (maybe only 6 cities by the Middle Ages, sandwiched between much larger, warring AIs)
However, I have such an edge in terms of Treasury (Colossus and marketplaces!) and Technology (with Leonardo all my units are automatically updated, and the Library ensures I never fall behind) that most of the time I am very well off, thank you very much
Now is the race to discover Navigation and Steam Power; why? because I get long range ironclads, that's why !
So, I build two or three Ironclads, have them followed by a caravel or two (forget Magnetism, who needs Magnetism if you have Navigation and Magellan's Voyage + Steam and Ironclad firepower!) and go seek out foreign cities built along the coastline.
From this point of view, I keep an open tab on those AIs who picked on me early in the game, and carve their cities away one by one;
I buy them out with a Diplomat if it is convenient, else I just cannonade them to smithereens and march in with my one Phalanx, thank you very much!
All from the sea... no way they can shoot back at me...
This way, unless an AI has built ALL its cities away from the coastline, I can easily increase my own Civiolization until most AIs are left with the Capital city and little else.
DURING ALL THIS WHILE... those cities which are not relevant to the Naval battle of Expansion will be producing more and more caravans... so that once I discover the Railway, I immediately build the relevant Wonder, +2 more Tech advances, obtain Economy, build the "Gold bar" thingie that gives me free city improvements...
... ho-hum... at this point I can be anywhere between 1850 and 1950, and I'm already Master of the World... no point going for the Space race, and going for the single City-States would be like stealing candy from a child.
So I save and start a new game.
PS I am always a WHITE Civ, Roman, Russian or Celt. I just like white.
Unless I start on a pre-made world, in which case I am Sioux (to have full availability of North America) or Zulu (to have full availability of Sub-Saharan Africa) and I can crush the Aztecs, Egyptians or Carthaginians quite easily
I grew tired of playing at Chieftain level rather quickly, and meekly tried higher levels, which did prove to be a bit of a handful... until I tried Deity!
Addawaytogo !!!
In Deity, you start with two unsupported settlers, and more often than not your neighboring civs will be anything from uppity to downright hostile, but will not attack you unless you really upset them, so...
... so here's my strategy:
1. I start by exploring the terrain around me, sending the two settlers in opposite directions (if I start in the middle of a plain) or in parallel directions (if I start in highly compartimented territory). This helps pop a few huts, obtain horsemen, get freebie techs and treasures and, most of all, see where is the ideal location for my Capital City which MUST also double up as my HighTech City (others call it the Super Science City or SSC). Why is this? Because the Capital City is the one with lowest unhappiness and lowest corruption, hence with highest productivity. I can go on and explore up until 3000BC (i.e. one full thousand years) which makes me the slowest and poorest civ, but it does have its benefits.
2. I found my Capital City, build one warrior and reinforce, more warriors and sentry any fundamental land spots, i.e. buffalo, grain, gems, spice which are in my area of control.
3. I research Bronze Working and fortify my city with one, two legions, export all warrior to sentry my land spots AND any other spot where I want to build a future city.
4. I research Alphabet, Code of Laws and Cerimonial Burial in order to find Monarchy; not only will Monarchy give me more efficient scientific research, it finally unlocks full terraforming potential! THAT is when I can finally start creating more settlers and found my new Cities!
5. If at all possible, all my cities are within exactly 3 (or 5 or 6) spaces away, with roads or river between them; this allows for fast transfer of military units and for efficient trade (to build my Wonders)
6. Under Monarchy, I finally obtain Philosophy (before everybody else, harrharrharr) and get my +1 Civ advance, which will possibly be either Bronze Working (if I haven't got it yet) or Trade... or Map Making (for Triremes and exploring coastline... later on you'll see why...)
7. only NOW will I start building my Wonders! Generally speaking, Colossus will be #1, immediately followed by The Wall; that, in order to be ahead of the pack in both economics and Foreign Politics (the AI will either think twice before declaring war, or be committed to applying for peace)
8. next wonders will be the Hanging Gardens and the Library.
9. next wonders will be the Crusades and Newton's Observatory.
All this will produce a Super Science City which will be well defended (at least 3 units fortified inside, one/two phalanx, one horsemen/chariot, one catapult) and well guarded (warriors all around in fortified fortifications...)
I will have built in average another 3:6 cities all around, exploiting either rivers or plains with roads in order to ensure fast communications between all cities.
I will still have my original "unsupported settler #2" !
I use him for road building so he works and toils at no cost.I often wind up having the smallest Civ by extension (maybe only 6 cities by the Middle Ages, sandwiched between much larger, warring AIs)
However, I have such an edge in terms of Treasury (Colossus and marketplaces!) and Technology (with Leonardo all my units are automatically updated, and the Library ensures I never fall behind) that most of the time I am very well off, thank you very much
Now is the race to discover Navigation and Steam Power; why? because I get long range ironclads, that's why !
So, I build two or three Ironclads, have them followed by a caravel or two (forget Magnetism, who needs Magnetism if you have Navigation and Magellan's Voyage + Steam and Ironclad firepower!) and go seek out foreign cities built along the coastline.
From this point of view, I keep an open tab on those AIs who picked on me early in the game, and carve their cities away one by one;
I buy them out with a Diplomat if it is convenient, else I just cannonade them to smithereens and march in with my one Phalanx, thank you very much!
All from the sea... no way they can shoot back at me...
This way, unless an AI has built ALL its cities away from the coastline, I can easily increase my own Civiolization until most AIs are left with the Capital city and little else.
DURING ALL THIS WHILE... those cities which are not relevant to the Naval battle of Expansion will be producing more and more caravans... so that once I discover the Railway, I immediately build the relevant Wonder, +2 more Tech advances, obtain Economy, build the "Gold bar" thingie that gives me free city improvements...
... ho-hum... at this point I can be anywhere between 1850 and 1950, and I'm already Master of the World... no point going for the Space race, and going for the single City-States would be like stealing candy from a child.
So I save and start a new game.
PS I am always a WHITE Civ, Roman, Russian or Celt. I just like white.
Unless I start on a pre-made world, in which case I am Sioux (to have full availability of North America) or Zulu (to have full availability of Sub-Saharan Africa) and I can crush the Aztecs, Egyptians or Carthaginians quite easily
mpescatori,
search for and read tips and tricks for new players by ElephantU on this forum. Some of them will already be known by you but others will be useful. Also consider joining the ongoing GOTM to improve your game. You obviously know a lot of good stuff but also have quite a bit of room for improvement. The situation you describe for "anywhere between 1850 and 1950" can be achieved 50-100 turns earlier.
search for and read tips and tricks for new players by ElephantU on this forum. Some of them will already be known by you but others will be useful. Also consider joining the ongoing GOTM to improve your game. You obviously know a lot of good stuff but also have quite a bit of room for improvement. The situation you describe for "anywhere between 1850 and 1950" can be achieved 50-100 turns earlier.
The simple answer to this question is - just build settlers. And use those to build cities. And use those to build settlers. Etc. This is sometimes called "ICS" and it has been proven to work, by careful formulas and by lots of testing.
If you have to adjust this routine, do so as slightly as possible. On Deity, you will have to build a few warriors to keep the peace. You may be tempted to build units for defense, temples, etc, but resist as long as you can (til 2000BC or even 1000BC or ....).
The exceptions: 1) this may not work against human opponents, who are smart enough to invade you early on. Very small maps with 7 civs can cause a similar problem, but most maps do not. 2) sometimes players beat ICS by madly popping huts, which give them more units, for popping more huts, etc. With luck, this might beat ICS on a large grassy continent, but it is usually a poor bet.
By the way, you will see many different ideas in these forums, and some are pretty random. You can usually trust regular GOTM players, including me (of course), and Ali, ElephantU, etc, because we have tested our ideas in comparison games. Everyone is welcome in the GOTMs, especially noobs.
If you have to adjust this routine, do so as slightly as possible. On Deity, you will have to build a few warriors to keep the peace. You may be tempted to build units for defense, temples, etc, but resist as long as you can (til 2000BC or even 1000BC or ....).
The exceptions: 1) this may not work against human opponents, who are smart enough to invade you early on. Very small maps with 7 civs can cause a similar problem, but most maps do not. 2) sometimes players beat ICS by madly popping huts, which give them more units, for popping more huts, etc. With luck, this might beat ICS on a large grassy continent, but it is usually a poor bet.
By the way, you will see many different ideas in these forums, and some are pretty random. You can usually trust regular GOTM players, including me (of course), and Ali, ElephantU, etc, because we have tested our ideas in comparison games. Everyone is welcome in the GOTMs, especially noobs.
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