Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

If you start a game using the 'Custom Game' option rather than 'Play Now' you can set how many AI civs you want. Just change some of the slots marked 'closed' to 'open' to add more AI's and vice versa for fewer. Map size affects the default number of AI's, but there's nothing to stop you playing with 18 civs (that's the maximum) on a duel sized map or against only one AI on a huge map if you want.

In the same custom game panel you can change the civs you get from randsom to specific civs if you want.
 
Samson said:
There is nothing bad about a city having a religion (exeption at [1]).
It is very good through most of the game to have as many of your cities as possible wiht your state religion, as those cities get 1 extra happiness and bonues dependant on your religious civic.
The more religeons your cities have the more remples and monastries they can build, and this is often a good thing.

When you discover a tech that gives you a religion it is founded in a random city. To spread it around you have to build missonaries (or you could wait for "free" spread like the AI does, but that is very slow).
To build missonaries a city must have;
That religion
Either a monastry, or you must be in the organised religion civic (a very power civic when you are not at war).

It does not use food. It MAY cost you money.my normal use of it is to go to a high production city that does not have too many other religions and spread religion. Then you can build a monasry if needed and get on with spreading it about.

You are welcome. Hang around, you shall learn loads.
[EDIT] Iforgot [1]
[1] the only disadvantage I can think of is that if the city has a chance of revolting to a neigbours civ, then if that city is his state religeon, and that religion is not your state religioun) then it will have a higher chance of flipping. Can anyone think of any other?

Thanks. So, right now I think I won't worry about Religion in my Civ as long as they have Religion. Will build the shrine for them when it's ready.

I think religion is pretty confusing. I hope I can get used to it sooner or later.
 
The only other real disadvantages is that you are funding his war effort (and it's commerce, so it also helps science (if he has the shrine) and that they get LOS into a 4 square radius around all citites that have the relgion (as long as the civ containing the holy city has adopted that religion).
 
Is there a way to stop the AI from trading technologies? Reason i want this is because i want each civ to be a reflection of their own research and not how many techs they traded. I notice that there is a "no technology trading" option when trying to start a custom game, but does that apply to both the AI and me or is it only something that applies to me? As in, i can't trade techs through diplomacy but they are still happily trading away?
 
Ok, usually I win or lose the game much earlier then this, and I have finally gotten a game to the point where I have built Scotland Yard and Spy's. Yaa!

So I am a little puzzeled about the Experience points thing. WOuld not expected them to HAVE EP. But I see they start with the SENTRY promotion, although they initially have 0/2 EP.

How do they get more? I mean they cannot fight battles? I have moved my first spy through my current target civ (Aztecs ... don't ya hate Montezuma?). I see his units in his cities in my fog of war. But the spy is supposed to be able to ... sabotage production right? And improvements like Oil Wells. HOW? Does doing this give EP? What promotions are worth while for Spys?

(Yea, I understand that spys will no longer be able to do the really cool stuff like propaganda, ignite revolts (come over to your side) or BRIBE UNITS (sigh).

But how do they get EP and what promotions are worthwhile? Anything else useful on spys or using them?

THanks all for any help.
 
The sentry promotion is a promotion that is always given to the spy, which gives an extra ring of squares that it can see.

As for how to use it, when a spy is on improved terrain you should be able to destroy an improvement (which can take away needed resources for the other player):


And in a city it can sabatoge a cities production (which can be vital for winning a space race) and can also steel the plans for where every unit is (which has a better chance in the countries' capital:


These pictures were made (obviously for those who have civ4) using cheat mode, but they help demonstrate what royfurr asked. :)

Remember also that the price for sabatoging production goes up as the number of hammers invested goes up.
 
lost_civantares,

Thank you for taking the time to post the screenies. I knew about "comes standard with Sentry" and that it increased the view range, but I am sure there are plenty of others who didn't.

I had not seen the buttons for sabotoge at the bottom center, probably because I have just started moving the first spy around. Thats what I was trying to find out about, the "how" to do it. I didn't know about the steal plans thing, thanks! And the note about increased cost is also new info.

WHEN the spy DOES those things, if successful, is that when they get EP? I presume if they fail they die, no in between. (Hard work, being a Spy.)

What promotions are good, do they have anything special to Spys? For example, can a flanking or combat promotion improve their chance of success or escaping detection, or give more movement (woodsman??) Drill? Doesn't seem to be much info out there about promotions for spys.

Thanks again lost_civantares. Anyone else got any "experince" with Spy Experience Points?
 
Spies don't get XP. At least, not that I can remember. I don't often use them. So no promotions.

Their chance of success depends on the number of units on the tile and the type of mission being conducted.
 
Though I've been playing this game since it's released, I don't quite get the whole Great Person Generation thing.

Okay, you earn points either through wonders or specialists... is that for every city, or just whatever city reaches the next GP barrier first? i.e. if you adopt mercantilism, does that mean all your cities will produce a GP after 34 turns?

I'm asking because looking through my cities at the end of my current game, all of them display their current GP points, and list them as being out of 3600- none of my cities are ever going to reach that much. They're not all pooled together are they?
 
Mr. Do said:
Though I've been playing this game since it's released, I don't quite get the whole Great Person Generation thing.

Okay, you earn points either through wonders or specialists... is that for every city, or just whatever city reaches the next GP barrier first? i.e. if you adopt mercantilism, does that mean all your cities will produce a GP after 34 turns?

I'm asking because looking through my cities at the end of my current game, all of them display their current GP points, and list them as being out of 3600- none of my cities are ever going to reach that much. They're not all pooled together are they?

Yeah i also didnt understand gp production but i've figured it out.
Each city get their GP points only from their own wonders and specialist. But whats common for each city is the limit where they get a GP, and the first city to reach that get one. Then the limit is raised for all cities, but every city keep all their GP points except for the one that gained a GP. Its starts from zero. Some cities that produce GP points will never get the GP since the limit keep raising fastes than gp points are produced in that city.
Hmm, hope that answers it...
 
My question:

One of the advises in the pedia is, "Never fight a land war in asia".
Why is this? I've faught succesfull land wars in asia...

Enlighten me...
 
sweetpete said:
My question:

One of the advises in the pedia is, "Never fight a land war in asia".
Why is this? I've faught succesfull land wars in asia...

Enlighten me...

I've seen about eighty different explanations of this quote. One is that it was a statment made by Field Marshal Montgomery to a newspaper during the late sixties or early seventies, when the US was bogged down in Vietnam. I think the quote was included by the game designers as a dig at the powers that be here in the US.
 
sweetpete said:
Yeah i also didnt understand gp production but i've figured it out.
Each city get their GP points only from their own wonders and specialist. But whats common for each city is the limit where they get a GP, and the first city to reach that get one. Then the limit is raised for all cities, but every city keep all their GP points except for the one that gained a GP. Its starts from zero. Some cities that produce GP points will never get the GP since the limit keep raising fastes than gp points are produced in that city.
Hmm, hope that answers it...

Ah, I see now, it makes sense the way you put it. So all those cities with ~10GP points a turn aren't useless, some of them might eventually get there...
 
Belboz said:
I've seen about eighty different explanations of this quote. One is that it was a statment made by Field Marshal Montgomery to a newspaper during the late sixties or early seventies, when the US was bogged down in Vietnam. I think the quote was included by the game designers as a dig at the powers that be here in the US.

Really, so it hasnt anything to do with actual gameplay. Perhaps many will avoid land wars in asia for no good then. Ah well, at the end of the day old Monty probably knows best.


Mr. Do said:
Ah, I see now, it makes sense the way you put it. So all those cities with ~10GP points a turn aren't useless, some of them might eventually get there...

Exactly, But the best way to use your GP points is to gather them in as few cities as possible. So-called GP-farms, then they all come to good use.:king:
 
Remember also that the type of specialist changes what type of GP you could get, if you have a scientist (giving you +3 gp points), and the oracle (giving you 6 IIRC, I could be way off), you will have a much higher percentage of getting a great prophet, then of getting a great scientist.
 
Remember also that the type of specialist changes what type of GP you could get, if you have a scientist (giving you +3 gp points), and the oracle (giving you 6 IIRC, I could be way off), you will have a much higher percentage of getting a great prophet, then of getting a great scientist.

It's the number of sources of GPPs that give the probabilities of each type, not the actual number of GPPs contributed by each source. In your example there will be a 50% chance of a great prophet and a 50% chance of a great scientist as there is one source of each. Each wonder is one source and each specialist is one source. By the way, the Oracle gives 2 GPPs per turn, not 6.
 
in case you're curious here's a good article as to why it works out best if you concentrate your GP's
 
Top Bottom