Is it worth delaying National college for future gainz?

[reddishrecue]

But how can you keep up with happiness in this scenario? If I would try and succeed in this I get 3 captured capitals in addition to any cities I have founded myself. That's a lot of even if you capture luxuries.

There should be enough luxuries in the captured capitals and if not theres ways of making happiness.
- importing luxuries through trade or purchase from other civilizations are both fine as long as you get a new resource in.
- happiness buildings such as coloseums, circuses or even stoneworks could all pitch in to happiness. Circus maximus also contributes a good amount of happiness to your civilization.
- making alliances with city states that have luxuries that you dont have can also pitch in on your happiness.
- expanding tiles to nearby new luxuries could be helpful if you send a worker over to improve the resource acquired through border expansion done by purchasing in the city screen or making a citadel expansion to the new resource.

 

[Sclb]

But how can you keep up with happiness in this scenario? If I would try and succeed in this I get 3 captured capitals in addition to any cities I have founded myself. That's a lot of even if you capture luxuries.

You probably need a religion with buildings. Circus/coliseum. One of the most difficult decision you'll need to make is to whether to keep non capitals as puppet, or just raze them. Most of the time, razing them is preferred since you only get hit by unhappiness until the city disappears. You can also use citadels to extend your tiles to get additional lux, or regain the ones lost because of razed city.
You'll not be able to trade for lux since the entire continent will hate you. Also if you have a significant army, your gpt will be very low until you meet the new continent and they're always willing to trade your resources and lux AS LONG AS they don't know about your previous genocide. That's why it's important to clear your continent before other continent find you.

 

[dasaard200]

" AS LONG AS they don't know about your previous genocide", 'tis true, if/when AIs find you, you can claim that carpet of bodies, "Well, they wuz barbs; donno where they got them uniforms ..." ; if unlucky, and AIs find you before you finish off current Bozo, expect diplomatic hits (dammit !!) .

 

[reddishrecue]

Unless you have someone else to finish off the job for you or the difficulty is low enough to not allow the AI to enforce the penalties.

 

[Talcove]

I say put it in your capital. Jungles don't get a science yield until you build a University, which isn't available until you research education, in the city in question. That's pretty far off, and you're sacrificing a significant early science boost for that. Science, arguably the most important yield in the game, bonuses and leads in the early game tend to snowball very significantly, which is why Babylon (Free Great Scientist at Writing) is seen as so OP. Missing out on a whole 50% science in your capitol, what should be your most populous city that early on, for all those turns until Education, would hurt you a lot. It leaves you open to being heavily out-teched, and would make it significantly harder to even tech up to Education.

IMO, it's not worth the risk. Build the National College early on in your most populous city (Often your capitol), and let the science boost carry you on over to Education for Universities.