Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Bonyduck Campersang]

Are Archers ranged units? How much tiles is their range? I just initiated combat with them twice but they just engaged in melee??

 

[Lexicus]

Are Archers ranged units? How much tiles is their range? I just initiated combat with them twice but they just engaged in melee??

In regular (ie, unmodded) civ 4 there are no ranged units (except air units). All ground combat is "melee". Archers get some first strikes, which are like "extra" combat rounds where only the first striking unit has a chance to do damage.

 

[civac]

Archer units are mostly used as defense. You can hold strong points with them, they get large bonuses if they defend cities or hill and especially cities on hills. They are unsuited for attacking, but of course it comes up now and then.

 

[NickGabben]

In my current game, Napoleon attacked Frederick rather early on and after some back and forth, they had taken one city each and then signed peace. A couple of years later, Frederick wanted my protection and offered to become my vassal (not quite sure why - I didn't really have any military strength to talk about). Now, if Napoleon decides to attack us - which I suppose will happen sooner or later - will he go for me as the boss or for Frederick whom he likes decidedly less (Nappy is pleased with me and annoyed with Freddie)? Most of Nappy's borders are with Germany, but we share borders as well.

 

[Samson]

In my current game, Napoleon attacked Frederick rather early on and after some back and forth, they had taken one city each and then signed peace. A couple of years later, Frederick wanted my protection and offered to become my vassal (not quite sure why - I didn't really have any military strength to talk about). Now, if Napoleon decides to attack us - which I suppose will happen sooner or later - will he go for me as the boss or for Frederick whom he likes decidedly less (Nappy is pleased with me and annoyed with Freddie)? Most of Nappy's borders are with Germany, but we share borders as well.

I do not think who he attacks is anything to do with attitude, but where the AI thinks is weakest, with possibly some "war objectives" as well.

 

[civac]

Try to find his stack. If you don't have open borders use spies. Sometimes you can use sentry chariots/knights work too, especially looking down from hills,

 

[NickGabben]

I got tired of waiting, so I attacked him instead. He sent his stack towards Germany (and took one city) while I claimed most of his Eastern territory. And then he capitulated.

 

[Lennier]

That's generally the best way to deal with such situations.

 

[Bonyduck Campersang]

I had 0 Gold and -9 GPT one turn, the next 2 Gold and +2 GPT. What happened?

 

[Qactus]

As you had negative gpt at the end of the turn, the game automatically adjusted your research expenses by lowering the science slider in 10% increments until it reached positive gpt, in this case +2. Now you got those 2 gold in the bank, +2 gpt and slower research.

 

[R82]

Does the AI sometimes have pretty weird research priorities, at least of levels like Noble? I just won a space race that I really should have lost. I had waited too long with building the Apollo Project - dunno what I was thinking - and Pacal pulled ahead of me in terms of spaceship components built, and he would clearly have won if he had beelined researching Fusion, but he kept researching non-spaceship military techs instead, which allowed me to regain my lead. Felt kinda like cheating.

 

[civac]

Yes, this is known behaviour and does not depend on difficulty level either. The AI is not very organized in doing a spaceship attempt. They will research the techs in a non-optimal order and usually also get Stealth/Laser/Robotics on the way.

 

[Pipiskus]

Does my city have access to the sea here?

 

[lymond]

Yes. That would be a coastal city.

 

[R82]

If you win a UN election, does what you're doing in office - that is, which resolutions you introduce or don't introduce - have any impact on your reelection chances? Or is that all about how much people like or dislike you for unrelated reasons?

 

[AcaMetis]

It doesn't directly influence it, but depending on how those resolutions play out, it might have an indirect impact. For example proposing a Free Religion resolution won't tick off theocratic religious zealots making them less likely to vote for you, but if one of them defies the resolution and loses full UN membership status, than they can no longer be your opponent in the elections. Alternatively an AI might vote for your opponent because of shared faith/religion modifiers, but if a Free Religion resolution passes that modifier will go away, perhaps tipping the scales and making the AI vote for you instead.

 

[R82]

Why is it that, when you play on normal settings, you sometimes get really a lot of Barbarians, and sometimes hardly any at all?

 

[sampsa]

Well, I guess it is always related to how much space they have to spawn. Note that also barbarian cities "spawn bust", i.e. prevent barbarian units from spawning in that area.