C4C need an heavy industry because they are harder to defend. If you manage to get it, the money, culture and units flow is worth the work, i think.
Actually, I'm in war with five other civs, one of them ranting first in power and culture, and two directly in contact with me. Their alliance have litterally the size of CCCP and mine of Nazi Germany.
But they can't hope to invade a line of frontier cities 18+ with Civil defense backed by a production of around 20 tanks, mechanized infantry, arty and bombers (modern armor in one turn, guys) EACH TURN flowing the line by railroad or airport (i have one isolated city, plus one they managed to cut of)... And i can probably product three times that.
90% of my cities fully upgraded (power of money flow !).
With my new allie the Incas (and, i hope, with my 3000 years commercial partner Lincoln - selling him the same luxury all theses years can create links, no ? 500 years he want ally with me. I feel as i can make him this pleasure), it's russian-style on all the front (around 8-9 cities) in two-three turns max.
Forgot Pearl Harbour, i show them what bomber-armaggedon is).
Well, i have been helped by a capital put in Dreamland : More or less 5-7 grassland with bonus, two cows, nearly all tiles with rivers...
I go directly for Republic and pump setlers as crazy in the same time.
And then, i find Abu is my foreigner. And by foreigner, his Capital is at, what, 20-30 tiles max from mine ! On a huge map, and nerfed with that...
Then i think : Abu is very warlike, is really close, and also "close" the peninsula where we are.
Only one thing to do : Make him before he make me.
I go for something i have never considered in a Civ3 game, and rarely before : Attacking early.
More often, i wait for tank or, at least, cavalry.
Yes, some guys tried to explain me Civ is not a Sim City with entire countries. They horribly failed.
I think : Why not use theses tactics i read in Civfanatics forums from others, more seasoned, warriors ?
Early attacks, combined arms with archers and spearmans ? I need to attack now, before he got powerfull... and attack me where and with what he want.
My capital begin to pump archers and spearmans as crazy, more or less at a ratio of 3-1. I make a little troop of around 10 units near my frontiers, and build roads until i it his frontier.
The first battles are a cakewalk, I take one city, destroy a second, and then go for the third with workers building the roads needed by the renforts for reaching quickly the combat zones : His capital. I want to be fast : I just see he has iron, but i don't think he has already Iron Working. It's now or probably never.
But the bad guy, in the same time answer by attacking my northern and newly founded cities : Mostly undefended, they take the full force of his warriors, and then archers and spearmens too.
One fall quikly and, been level 1, is destroyed.
The second fight furiously : As level 2, she's better defended (Spearman in place of Warrior) and draw a line of blood in the attacking forces. But the C4C take his price and no renfort can join her in time, the workers failing to build a road for join the poor doomed defenders to the rest of my empire (i was a little slow on that).
And worker also fell under the wave of archers that surround the city in few times.
I have no fear : Others cities joined the capital in the unit-building craziness. The battle will be blooded - after all, i'm not an hardcore general -, but if he can't defend his cores cities, i know i can re-take a city that is only at 12 tiles from my capital.
Two cities join their forces to build archers and spearmens and launch them against the evil invaders. On a C4C, distances are huge, and since i am still in the early game, my empire lack roads in sufficient number.
For units with 1 movement engageds in a war between too literally parallel empires (mean the ennemy can attack where he want), that mean HUGE distances. I know now something : In C4C, building as quickly as possible an big and redondant road system is a priority. You have no time for go around by others ways, because other ways are too long or don't even exist.
That mean also, at least in the beginning, road control is entirely part of the strategy. My attacking force (the units that go against the evildoer Arabs capital) need a road litteraly build under their foots and covered from flank attacks. Good use of surrounding hills for spearman (with an archer for dangerous positions) is important.
The battle for the conquered city doors is a bloodshed. Lot of deaths, but i learn quickly, in the hard way, than alone archers are easy pick.
The Arab Evil Empire begin to show is power as, without stoping to attack the reinforcing army laying siege around my conquered city, begin to attack my first army that has reached, at least, the ennemy capital. Lot of skirmishs near the renfort road, the Arabs seeming to try to cut it by the north.
And then, Gods remember France is the First Daughter of Church.
As i discover Philosophy (and got Republic as gift), a leader appear in my capital.
A leader for my sixth tech. Isn't it nifty ?
...
What can do with th... him ?
Saving him for what ? Pyramids, maybe (i'm a builder more than a warrior, remember) ?
And then i look at the Mausoleum.
+3 happy faces ?
And then i look at my capital.
Fully builded (thank to the heavy choice of good tiles in the 20 tiles around), with ivory roaded ? Mmh...
Archers in one turn look good, for me... Let's go insta-build a mausoleum in my Capital.
The next years are not war. As the Daleks say, it's pest control.
I build/research Mathematics and HorseRiding, and since, even better, i have horses under one of my roads, my cities stop the archers and begin to pump horsemens and catapults.
Since they are C4C with 20 tiles for a lot (yes, you need to build temple if you want the C4C be an use early), they produce really fast : Units, buildings, money, culture, you name it.
After catapults joined the armies sieging before my conquered city, there is nothing the Arabs can do : The city was re-taken in one turn after heavy bombardment, and the Arabs troops slaughtered by the numerous troops.
In the other combat zone, the fightings was hard, and i lost a lot of archers, but Abu has nothing to answers to my horsemens. All his cities fell in one assault. The conquest only accelerate after the second army joined the first in the pond and attacked the evil empire.
After the loss of their capital, their was nothing the ennemy can do against the insane production of my cities.
Well, the Capital was probably capable to conquer the entire Arab empire (20-30 cities, maybe) all by herself, but that's probably the more lucky city i have had since a moment.
Now, i have in my possession all the French-Arab peninsula. Arabs was destroyed when their two last colonies, far away from me, attacked foolishly the Portuguese Empire, the big power of this game.
And i'm happy to not have let the Arab live : In their former territory, i found ALL the strategic ressource save Salpeters (but i have managed to keep happy the Portugueses by trading ivory with him. I think i have monopoly on ivory) !
My conclusion is C4C is really efficace if you can overcome the distance problem. each city can choose in a bigger pool of tiles, and then produce far more quickly, build what construction she want very fast.
The distance mean you need to look after your road with more acuity, and probably put more workers on the task.
The distance problem can be overcome in part by fast units (horsemens joining local garrisons of catapults and spearmens, for examples) or bombers, and disapear when you have a good railroad system : Then, you have overgrown unit-producing machines that can react instantly how diverse the menace can be and immediately direct what and how much renforts where you want.
Now, with the Traits...
Religious :
Cheap temples mean you can use faster the numerous tiles each city has. And that mean "snowball" : You build quickly more units, grown faster (more tiles used, more food), build settlers more early, then more often, and build more cities...
The temple is THE building you can't overlook in C4C, because it's the one who give you the second ring of tiles early.
The "no anarchy between governments change" can be a good thing for you in the second half of the game. With C4C, you can put, maybe less little units on the road on the long run, but you can create far more biggests shockwaves. Use production-friendly governement for prepare the wave, and insta-change for a warlike governement the exact moment you finish the wave for use them immediately.
No waiting, no war-weariness, capacity to use ALL calm periods for quickly rearm...
Not necessarily simple to master, but devastating.
Expansionist :
C4C mean more place needed, and also 4 lost tiles by cities (the four corners). Know what tiles you can lose and what tiles you can't before building the city is not a bad thing.
Even if i build more or less in rows, personally
Seafaring :
Not really difference. As you have less cities, you probably can launch simultaneously less little ships, but you can launch bigger ships far more quickly. The Seafaring can help your fleet to defend more easilly your scattered cities (don't forget coast bombers for help to take away the zerg-rush that probably attack them).
Militaristic :
Probably not big difference, but if you need to put down early a foreigner, the faster battlefield promotion can be of use (because C4C is a long-term strategy, and then often less powerfull in the early game. Well, if you don't have a gifted capital, that's it.)
The reduced building cost is not really important : You build already faster and grow so fast you probably don't need ramparts.
Agricultural :
The food bonuse in center tile is not an advantage here, because in C4C you have less cities, but it can help greatly for put your city in the "growing side" when in areas as tundras (even cities in tundras can be powerhouses in C4C if they have the sea nearby).
But the bonuse in desert is a advantage, because your cities cover a lot of lands and with this trait can use entirely a desert.
Industrial :
Workers working faster IS a really good thing for you.
1° Your cities are far of each others : That mean this trait reduce the distance problem for build your vital road system.
2° By micromanaging you cities, you can easilly make them growing as lightning, thank for their high choice of tiles (the majority get probably good tiles for what you want). Fast workers mean each new tile used can be put at his maximum efficiency quickly, making the already powerfull city even more productive.
3° Big cities mean big pollution. Fast workers can be of great help here.
The production bonuse in the center of the city is so-so ; Not an advantage after a while because you have few cities, advantage early because your scattered cities are alone and in danger and need to defend and build themselves quickly : A production ressource can help.
Scientific :
The random free tech is not an advantage nor a disadvantage here.
The reduced science cost, same thing.
Commercial :
The reduced corruption is maybe of less use (you have less cities, after all).
Same thing for the bonus of commerce in center tile.
.
