Do you build factories?

[Terrapin]

Ditto with Funxus and Marlos

 

[minionman]

I don't build many factories except in a few cities. I usually have a very big civilization with pretty good production when the advance rolls around, and am stayin ahead in research, so the factory maintmence costs for a lot of them usually aren't worth the cost. I usually have such big civilizations that I can outproduce everyone else anyway.

 

[Sub]

I build factories everywhere. I usually have a huge income by the time I get factories so I just buy them everywhere.

 

[Fundamentality]

I build factories in cities that are near to enemy territory so i can make bombers faster

 

[Konstabel Bach]

Well factories can easily pay themselves of, if you like to build you civilization.
If you are a "power-gaming-comquisidor", i can see that it's not neccesary.
Sometimes i start out with going for the conquest, but I get sympathy for the other nations and let most of them live, and then i must go for an alternative way to victory.
Long games=Factories!!

 

[sethos]

Don't be afraid of pollution. Build factories, when available, later build mass transits and solar plants. Every solar plant will reduce the risk of a global warming.
I normally rush buy solar plants.
Fill some transports with freights and send them to fat AI cities - and you'll have enough money.
A tip for new players: An airbase field prevents from pollution.
Cover all tiles in a city radius with airbase fields, and you'll have no more pollution
in that city.

 

[Peaster]

I don't get to ind'n very often. But I play according to an economic theory which would only rarely favor a factory (or King Richard's) -

1) In most civ2 and RL situations, having something (eg shields) NOW is better than having it later. I estimate the civ2 "interest rate" is normally about 5 per cent. This means an investment must pay off within about 20 turns or it's not worthy.

2) A factory costs 200 shields NOW. So, it must increase production by 10 shields per turn to be worthy. Only if the city already has a production of 20s/t or more, do you get a good return from the factory.

3) Other factors - Having Hoover, etc, makes a factory more attractive. Paying 4g per turn is a small argument against a factory. Playing for early victory implies a higher interest rate... hence it's anti-factory.

 

[ElephantU]

Don't be afraid of pollution. Build factories, when available, later build mass transits and solar plants. Every solar plant will reduce the risk of a global warming.

Nuc Plants and Hydro Plants reduce pollution long before Solar comes along. I'd say "Don't be afraid of NucPower" - but then I'd also say "Be VERY careful of NucFission!"...

A tip for new players: An airbase field prevents from pollution. Cover all tiles in a city radius with airbase fields, and you'll have no more pollution in that city.

That's an interesting one I haven't heard before. Mind if I add it to "Tips&Tricks"? Airbases also prevent air units from attacking your cities if the ring around the city is complete. Some games have rules against airbase rings, though. Putting them on hills is often considered cheating because of how they multiply the terrain yield.

 

[sethos]

@ElephantU
That wasn't known at Apolyton, too, until I posted it there (my Apolyton nick:ramses II).
Add it to your "Tips and Tricks"-Thread.
Here's another trick I posted some times ago: Double Diplo Trick
If you want to bribe a city, take 2 diplos. The 1st one steals a tech, the
2nd bribes the city = 2 new techs.
I've already added your "Tips and Tricks" to my Strategy Guide
[ http://www.sethos.gmxhome.de ]. See "Book of Wisdom".
I hope you don't mind that.

 

[RegentMan]

I build factories in cities that reach a certain shield production (varies from game to game). If they don't, then they don't get a factory.

 

[bouncelot]

Pollution is only a problem when it gets totally out of hand. Ussually once I get industry I get Hoover Dam asap so its nto much of a problem.

Same here, I build them in my decently producing cities, as in low production cities they're rarely worth it.By the end of the game I usually have a dozen cities which can produce over 50 shields per turn, so I don't need as much cash.

Maybe I should start aiming for quick games rather than maximum score...

 

[Titi]

My games always need production (whether to build armies or space ship parts), so I always build factories (and get Hoover Dam). I don't build nuclear plants though, directly from factories to solar plants when I know the tech.

 

[Panzerking]

I build lots of Factories and Power-plants (also Nuclear/Solar etc) to boost my production in high sheild producing cities. I particularly enjoy this when at war as I can use these giant cities to mass-produce Fanatics to the point where there are just wave after wave of them to smite my enemies!!

 

[starlifter]

Don't be afraid of pollution. Build factories, when available, later build mass transits and solar plants. Every solar plant will reduce the risk of a global warming.
I normally rush buy solar plants.
Fill some transports with freights and send them to fat AI cities - and you'll have enough money.
A tip for new players: An airbase field prevents from pollution.
Cover all tiles in a city radius with airbase fields, and you'll have no more pollution
in that city.

That is a good general guide. Pollute now, clean later, if the game requires a "push." Generally, in a PD, such a push is not necessary, and one can pay up front for the pollution control/reducer.

If a city made over 62 shields, I normally just clean the pollution and skip the Recycling plant, preferring to keep production going while waiting to get the Solar Plant. If a city's ultimate destiny is to produce fewer shields, it just gets the cheaper Recycling Plant, usually with an IPRB from 160 (e.g., a University IRPB).

IMO, Factories are not really necessary, or even effective, in all cities, particularly and especially if you transform all to grassland in certain games like HoF. But for getting certain multiples (e.g., 20 [Fanatics in Fundy], 40, 50, 80, etc.), they are great.

 

[Dong2Long]

That is civilization.

Do not be a woosie, build them everywhere... come on, you all build them, who is shading truth in poll?

 

[starlifter]

Do not be a woosie, build them everywhere... come on, you all build them, who is shading truth in poll?

If one has a strong ecomomy, or is growing fast, its actually not effective to build factories; a shield is just a trade of resources for a Gold (or visa-versa). Making 19 or 27 or 38 shields with expensive infrastructure is not much help in building in 1 turn, for instance, city improvements as a city is growing fast, like in a GOTM (see #68 for example). So maybe not all cities need the whole MT-F-RP/SP-OP series to do their job; the "gold" can be a factory .

 

[Ali Ardavan]

Before Hoover I only build a few factories in key high production cities. Afterwards, I build them in any major city since with Hoover production increases by 100% instead of 50% and little extra pollution is generated.

You are going to need Mass Transit in big cities after automobile is discovered whethere or not you have a factory there.

 

[Peaster]

Before Hoover I only build a few factories in key high production cities. Afterwards, I build them in any major city since with Hoover production increases by 100% instead of 50% and little extra pollution is generated.

You are going to need Mass Transit in big cities after automobile is discovered whethere or not you have a factory there.

Let's see... according to the online manual, Hoover reduces pollution caused by factories. In GOTM69 I did not build any factories [I had some large cities, but they were mostly surrounded by farmland, without many shields]. I did build some offshore platforms in some cities, which then had increased pollution levels - until I built Hoover. So, I guess Hoover works against pollution caused by all shield production (not just by factories). Correct?

Mass Transit works against pollution from high population. I started building MT in most cities over about size 20, but as soon as I got Environmentalism, this kind of pollution almost disappeared. So, I've stopped building new MTs, and am wondering if I should have built any at all. I suppose my engineers could have handled pollution in the period between Automobile and Environmentalism, only about 15 turns.

 

[Ace]

Hoover only works on shield pollution when you have a factory in the city. A big city with lots of shields and, maybe, an offshore platform will have lots of shield pollution even if you do have Hoover's. No factory, no benefit from Hoover.

AFAIK, Environmentalism has no effect on pollution of either type. MT eliminates all population pollution in a city, period. And the Solar Plant does the same for shield pollution with the added benefit of negating the effect of 1/2 a skull per plant for global warming.

Hoover with a factory is good for up to about 31+/- 2 shields, than a recycling center works up to about 63+/-2 shields, after that you need a solar plant.

 

[Ali Ardavan]

I agree with Ace.
I do not think there is any benefit from Hoover without a factory. At least that is what the manual says and I have never done any testing or seen anything that implies otherwise.
Also, I do not think discovery of Environmentalism by it self has any effect.