Help my Prince game!

Right guys,

This screenie is the only one I have of this game at the moment.



I have been trying Prince for the last couple of months, variations between getting knocked out just around the Medieval period or getting my riflemen or muskets getting pounded by marines / mech. My problem is always my economy, which really impacts everything.

I would just like to say that I am impressed with how I have managed to keep my neck above the water in this game, and this has very much to do with peoples contributions on this board that I have been reading recently. So thanks!

(Might not be perfect, and I know where I went wrong I think. However, MY FIRST PRINCE NUCLEAR WAR! Yeah! )

This game I tried to specialise some of my cities. Didn’t work out quite to plan, however I did try to play the game as a hybrid SE as things inevitably change.

I always go for Buddhism, this is now an integral part of my game, and it was a long slog but Glasgow build the Pyramids so I could run Representation. Unfortunately in this game I never got a Prophet, so couldn’t really kick start my economy that way 

As I had marble, I went for the Wall for easy expansion (ha!), this was after founding Glasgow and Stirling and one or two workers. Unfortunately I had to found my fourth city, Perth, quite a distance away, for Iron (no copper initially!) and horse access. This proved annoying in the long term, waiting for a border pop so I could grab the resources.

Early on, Pacal II was on an even keel with me and my closest neighbour. He started to plant settlers along my borders to block me in, as well as having resources I needed. If you look on the map of the world in my screenshot, the two most southern cities of mine on the large continent are the only ones I kept from his empire, his Capital and 2nd city. I had to burn the rest of that empire, as by this point the crazy ass chop and whipping of a lot of axemen and highlanders (swordsmen) and catapults had run my economy into the ground. Immediately, Pacal vassaled to Qin Shi Huang. So I destroyed what was left of Pacal, however the war with China went on for over 30 years. They never launched an attack though. The fact that he was so far ahead so early in the game (Longbowmen) concerned me. Because of my lacklustre economy, I couldn’t occupy the now empty lands full of farms etc. Obviously the Chinese had ample opportunity too, which I feel bad about now as I handed them good land.

What also concerned me was Civilisations, well before AD, who were on an even foot with me but still behind the Chinese vassalising with them peacefully (Cuza and Kublai Khan at one point!)?

How on earth can you achieve this? The AI seems to breeze it! I’ve never managed it once!


What my main question after all this would be, if I have an early war using chop/whip etc how can I pull my economy up enough afterwards? Sustainable growth is ok, only the finances. I endured one Strike around this period, and lost only a couple of swordsmen.

I need to be able to make more of an expansion on Prince, as I was struggling in this game to have enough cities for, well everything.. It meant I had to rely on small poor production cities to make up the numbers of Banks, temples and Universities to try and help my hybrid SE with wonders in my Specialist cities. On levels below prince, I’d be worried if I didn’t have a continent and at least a few dead / vassal civs by the year in the screenshot. I’ve won domination before 1600AD on the level below prince!

Oh and on a side not, I have never had a game in my life where the AI has gifted me a Technology, let alone two! Artillery and Plastics both from China! Was a bit of a surprise!

Also, I had a Defensive Pact with Kublai Khan and America declared war on me. Immediately after the declaration KK revoked the DP agreement? I thought this would only happen if I declared war, or he did? Not a third party on me? Thought that was the idea behind it? Needless to say I don’t think its very fair if the AI can drop out of agreements, but player can’t! I’m not playing emperor here!

Anyway, the game ended with me pissing nukes all over America, and a pretty bad retaliation (thought he didn’t have nukes, obviously buying his Uranium elsewhere. I did however have SDI, I ensured I built this before I endured on a nuclear war as I was scared of the Chinese Nuclear threat. However, I would have been better getting Perth to make paper planes, as not one nuke was intercepted and Perth was hit heavy. Afterwards, there was no mention of SDI in the city? Everything else had gone, like my Steel Works!  Why?

Oh and to make sure, I did hear the big ‘clunk’ construction noise and the left hand corner said Soneji Builds SDI. So I did make it!

I will get screenies of my finance page when I get home, if that would be of help to anyone.

Thanks!

As to your question regarding economy during/after an early expansive war.

You get some money taking cities, don't research 100 % on it, plan ahead so you avoid a strike.

In CE: If you build some cottages early you should be able to cope.

In SE: if you have COL you can run merchants from caste system.
also courthouses help though i find them somewhat expensive to build this early in the game.

I am not sure if I had CoL at that precise moment, but I did for sure shortly afterwards. I tried it, but chucked it as due to whipping I didn't have enough growth / food for it to have an impact. It was increasing my construction times substantially. I later implimented Caste around gunpowder time, and found the impact of adding extra scientists in my SE SSC was negliable.. and by the end of the game its too late to use it.

I think my stunted growth, and lack of land did not help as if I were able to specialise Edinburgh into science or gold alone, not all three as a super city.

Cottages wouldn't help, ages to build and mature, and I didn't have civics in place to make the most of a CE at the time so I feel that would have been diversionary..

Dirk1302 said:

You get some money taking cities, don't research 100 % on it, plan ahead so you avoid a strike.

Click to expand...

I think I may have over chopped / whipped the axe and swords then, as I was encountering my strike while taking their capitol. A couple of units in the hills around them, vanished. I used the money from capture and destruction to get myself out of the strike!

Not prevent it!

I don't know how many cities you took early. If more then 6-8 then a strike might be unavoidable. Of course running merchants from caste system is a bit of an emergency and it sure makes construction times much longer. On the other hand you should have enough troops in the field to continue the war, if not it's time to take a break and sue for peace building up again.

As for caste system having an impact on science after gunpowder, research constitution and go representation, running some 6+ scientists in capital is bound to have an impact with academy and bureaucracy in place.

Early cottages in CE do help but when i mean implemented early i mean implemented and worked (at times when capital is at happiness cap and can't grow further) before 1500 bc. Also run 2 scientists off a library so you get your first GS for academy before 750 bc.

The capital is and normally in my first kill or vassal war the main and first target, chop the head off as they say. It was the seige of Pacals capital when the strike was occuring, before I had taken my first city that the strike happened. It was having no copper, and having to stretch both tech and city wise for Iron that had that effect I think, but if I hadn't I wouldn't have a game ie no metal.

I did have enough troops, with what I chopwhipped I killed him completely, with 5 units to send back to Edinburgh. Just as a chinese stack approached, I upped archers to longB and he promptly re-thought it. He settled Pacals old territory almost quicker than I could on lower levels at that period in the game. Those cities of his took off like a rocket too population wise.

I did bee line straight for representation with the pyramids, then getting beuarocracy to complete that part. I couldn't commit Edinburgh to a super science city I think thats the problem. I have stopped building academys, instead going on the later wonders ie oxford and lightbulbing a lot of the GP I get. Unless its an engineer and there is a tasty wonder about.

Well I will give it a bash, but I have the thinking of FOOD = SE / Science Beakers. Whereas I will cottage a 'bank' city to the heavens.

As with the 2 scientists with the library, I always do!

Oh and I play a spiritual and industrious leader every game. That cannot change.

So I do get to play about quite a bit with my civics, even changing them to suite political needs if I feel I really must. Which other than the 5 turn change penalty is ok. As is early forges with barracks if you get there quickly.

You're probably too busy building wonders if you like playing as Industrious leaders. One thing to learn when moving up in difficulty: don't build wonders unless you really need to.

You also need to build more cottages, and that late in the game you should have a super science city producing around 400-500 beakers per turn.

Hmm can't get anywhere near that, I've started a new game which is panning out slightly similar.. I'll post proper screenies of that.

Only getting 230max beakers :/