Newbie Qs

[Paradisio]

Well I am pretty new to this game, I don't have any expansions or anything.

So I make a medium continent/huge world/middle temperment and years and select Japanese.

I start game, put worker on auto, make warrior, fortify, make another warrior, explore, make granary, make settlers and make more cities. I try to do this for each following city and eventually I'll run into another civilization. Then I build up. Making more workers as I go as well.

Ok I did this, I run into the Chinese, I get up to the second age, I get into a very long war, whipe them off the continent. They offer to peace, I take it and get a map, just to finish them off. I take a boat, run into english who won't let me through. So I load up the boats full of samurai and take out their costal cities. I get to the last city of the chinese and take it out, but nothing happens? Then the germans get to the third age.... How do they get technology so fast? The only way to get my science up to a decent % is to lose 200 gpt.

What am I doing wrong?

[Turner]

Without seeing your save game, I'd say you're not trading enough.

What level are you playing on? On Chieftain/Warlord, you should be able to out tech all the AIs on your own. On Regent, they AI isn't as crippled when it comes to tech/research, and the AI will always trade tech when it can.

[Paradisio]

I don't trade at all, doesn't it just give the AI an even greater advantage? I play on the basic setting

[Turner]

By 'basic' I'm going to assume Chieftian.

I used to think like that, and you're right to a certain extent. But by trading with them you can get GPT deals that basically keep them bankrupt. I had a game where I was doing just that. I was making so much GPT from them that they couldn't afford to upgrade their units. I was running around with tanks, and they still had archers and musketmen.

Now, is this going to happen every time? Of course not. But trading is really the only way to stay in the game in the higher levels. You probably won't trade very effectively until Regent level (Where it's pretty much an even field) because the AI gets crippled in the lower levels.

If you upload your latest save, we can look at it and see what's going on.

[Paradisio]

Is there anyway to upload on here or do I have to do it on another site?

[Turner]

Look at the bottom of the page. There will be 'Upload File'. It will tell you how to upload. You can also attach the file when clicking 'Post Reply'. There are limits on the attachments tho, so make sure you save the game by doing 'Ctrl-S' in game (this automatically compresses it) and it will probably make it small enough to attach.

[Paradisio]

Ok here it is if it works

[Turner]

I see it, so it uploaded okay. Just don't have Civ3 at work.

[T-Money]

OK, i downloaded the save and I think I found your problem. You have boatloads of incense, 13 extra is WAY too much to keep around. I went to the other leaders and looked at what they had to offer. The Persians and Babylonians were the only ones who weren't dirt poor, so I asked what they would offer for incense and they both gave me GPT deals, putting me up to I think +11 GPT. Now, this isn't much, especially with science at only 40%. I think part of your problem is that scientifically you're going down the "smart" path instead of the "money" path. I switched my research over to banking instead of physics, built banks in ALL cities that were big enough to get one fairly quick, then built Wall Street and began raking in the dough with something like +30 GPT with science at 60%. Not anything great, but pretty damn good. Now, peace with China definitely helps. So I signed peace with them (temporarily) until I had sufficient funds to go to war. Read the articles in the war academy for a better idea, but IMHO it's best to go to war in the late medieval/early industrial ages only when you have 10,000 or so gold. I didn't have nearly that much, but enough. Signed ROP with China, conducted ROP rape, and had that much more land in which to build banks and in which to have more unit support. Oh, and one last thing, research Democracy after Banking and SWITCH TO DEMOCRACY. If you prefer Monarchy that's fine, but Democracy allows you to rake in oodles of cash.

[Psychonaut777]

I would not recommend ever automating workers, they are your number one unit behind settlers. You want to improve every tile in your empire - road every one and the rest either mine or irrigate depending on what they are. You want large cities producing lots of shields and gold so that you can increase your tech pace. Also, I try to contact every civ as early as possible and on almost every turn I look at what can be traded to see if there are any possible deals to my advantage. You'll learn over time what to do to increase your tech rate and success but those are some tips.

[Tomoyo]

If you think that you will be warring more, you should switch to Republic, which is much more suited for war than Democracy but has the main advantage of Democracy (extra gold).

I would not recommend ever automating workers, they are your number one unit behind settlers. You want to improve every tile in your empire - road every one and the rest either mine or irrigate depending on what they are. You want large cities producing lots of shields and gold so that you can increase your tech pace. Also, I try to contact every civ as early as possible and on almost every turn I look at what can be traded to see if there are any possible deals to my advantage. You'll learn over time what to do to increase your tech rate and success but those are some tips.

This was what I was going to say.