Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[r_rolo1]

That is the ratio between the total EP that particular AI have put against you against the total EP you have put against them since the beginning of the game. it is a regulr game feature and that number is actually a modifier in the EP missions cost ...

Having 100% + ratios means that the AI have been putting more EP on you than you on them

 

[Pangaea]

Really? That doesn't seem right to me when I'm looking at the screen.

Look at this screenshot.

Spoiler :

For example, Lincoln. I have more EPs than him on me (assuming the numbers are correct), but it's 107%.

Hammurabi has almost exactly twice as many points as me, with 150%.
But Pericles and Suleiman have about 3 times as many points as me, but 'only' 143% and 129%.

Maybe I'm missing something, or misunderstood what you wrote, but there doesn't seem to be a direct correlation.

 

[r_rolo1]

I said Total EP invested since the beginning of the game What you are talking about is the current EP reserves on both sides ...

 

[Pangaea]

There has been no sabotage or anything like that against me though, which would lower points, nor have I done any spy stuff to anybody. Is "steal technology" or "counterespionage" hidden from the target, so those could be the culprits?

Maybe I should look up some espionage articles, they probably explain all this stuff. I'm sure you're right, being a mod and all, I've just never liked espionage much and only (try to) use it to see the ratio of forces or at best next technology. Hence, why I despise the gov'nor adding spy specialists.

 

[Leathaface]

What benefit does Custom House have?

The game says 100% trade route yield, but what practical benefits is that? Sometimes I get more gold when I build a customs house, other times not. I don't know if the extra gold is from the customs house or some other factor.

 

[lvdz]

Yes, I believe that is correct. Even if you trade away the cow, as long as a citizen works it, you still get the benefits of its hammers and food. But by trading it away, you can get additional benefits depending on what resource you get back: , or

Thanks.

I found further clarification on the subject in those threads (thanks tranx for the info):

--> Can the resources listed in trade screen be all trade out?

--> Can I trade my last resource?

 

[s.bernbaum]

What benefit does Custom House have?

The game says 100% trade route yield, but what practical benefits is that? Sometimes I get more gold when I build a customs house, other times not. I don't know if the extra gold is from the customs house or some other factor.

In the city screen you can see your trade routes and yields in the upper left, below the amount going for culture, science, gold, etc. The 100% yield doubles the base (the total may already be increased by other multipliers such as a harbor - mouse over each to see) amount for each of the trade routes. This yield is commerce. So, the increased gold, science, culture, or espionage depends on how you have your percentages (commonly called sliders) set.

 

[bcool]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Leathaface
What benefit does Custom House have?

The game says 100% trade route yield, but what practical benefits is that? Sometimes I get more gold when I build a customs house, other times not. I don't know if the extra gold is from the customs house or some other factor.
In the city screen you can see your trade routes and yields in the upper left, below the amount going for culture, science, gold, etc. The 100% yield doubles the base (the total may already be increased by other multipliers such as a harbor - mouse over each to see) amount for each of the trade routes. This yield is commerce. So, the increased gold, science, culture, or espionage depends on how you have your percentages (commonly called sliders) set.

I think the answer to his question is more complex.

First the 100% yield bonus only doubles foreign trade routes, so if your city only has trade routes with your own cities the custom house likely will not increase your commerce. However with the bonus from the custom house you might draw foreign trade routes to the this city after it is built.

As I understand it only one of your cities can have a trade route to a specific foreign city. The game automatically calculates which city will have the maximum trade route value for each foreign city and maximizes your trade route income for you.

So by building a custom house you might switch a foreign trade route from one of your other cities to the city with the custom house because now with the custom house bonus that city has a better trade route value.

This actually could be a bad thing. Say your capital has Oxford University and has a +6 foreign trade route but is landlocked and does not have a custom house. Then you build a custom house in one of your coastal cities and now that +6 foreign trade switches over to that coastal city because now it has a total value of +7 with that city. So yes your foreign trade route value is higher but the total value of that trade route is less to you because the coastal city doesn't have as great a science multiplier as your capital did.

It is a rare situation that a custom house is actually beneficial to you.
1) you have or expect to get foreign trade routes by building the custom house
a) the trade route value to the foreign cities is higher than trade routes between your own cities
b) the other civilizations are not running mercantilism

2) the city you build the custom house has nice science and/or wealth modifying buildings

3) you don't expect to lose the foreign trade routes anytime in the near future. This happens frequently. Another city (foreign or domestic) can draw away the trade routes you have.

I don't understand all the trade route mechanics but the value of the trade route is largely determined by
1) size of the cities
2) distance between the cities
3) whether or not they are on another landmass or not

So if your city is not as large as another city (again foreign or domestic) or if there is a city that is farther away you can lose the foreign trade route.

The custom house might help prevent foreign trade routes from being stolen by other foreign civilizations as they build custom houses and lure away your trade routes. I was wrong about this.

 

[Pangaea]

Is there much point in bothering with binary research (0% and 100%)? Or will the lost to shorting errors be so insignificant you may as well put research to 70%, or whever you're more or less breaking even?

Also, apart from improving food and resource tiles in the beginning, what is the best way to manage your cities early on? Spam farms to grow and regrow quicker after whipping, or should I cottage non-capital cities too quite early on (assuming they're be commerce or mixed cites)?

Always struggling around the happiness cap and not sure how to best manage things. Reading Seraiel's Replay 4 thread, and one thing I noticed is that he has relatively few buildings in each city, and seem to specialise them very early on. I will try to adapt that in future games; however, what to do about the tiles. Farm the lot for growth, for example, or cottage and wait?

 

[Ghpstage]

The custom house might help prevent foreign trade routes from being stolen by other foreign civilizations as they build custom houses and lure away your trade routes.

This can't happen as theres no competition between civs fro trade routes. The rule is simply that empirewide you can only have 1 route to each foreign city.

Is there much point in bothering with binary research (0% and 100%)? Or will the lost to shorting errors be so insignificant you may as well put research to 70%, or whever you're more or less breaking even?

In BTS the gain from shorting errors is nearly negligible, the real impacts come from delaying commerce spending till multipliers are in place, and waiting till you can research at the fastest pace so you can watch for AIs going for the same techs (for trades).
Its not something I would bother with below Immortal though, its only really useful when you need every litte advantage, though playing around with it on a few Monarch/Emperor games could be useful practice.

Also, apart from improving food and resource tiles in the beginning, what is the best way to manage your cities early on? Spam farms to grow and regrow quicker after whipping, or should I cottage non-capital cities too quite early on (assuming they're be commerce or mixed cites)?

Best way? Depends on your empires needs and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.
Myself i'm not a cottage fan, unless i'm using a fin leader I often build none at all opting for farms, mines (and later workshops) instead. Remember that there is a considerable difference between fin and non-fin cottages, be careful not to overestimate the latter.

 

[Pangaea]

Isn't it difficult to get by with so few cottages, do you run many merchants instead, fuelled by the farms?

 

[Mec AntiKythera]

That's one option, but I've never done it that way. You can build wealth or research. You can run scientists for research and then pop the Great Scientists for techs and trade them around or sell them to rich AI. You can invade someone, pillage their cottages, profit from taking cities, and force them to finance your empire. You can concentrate on good trade income, make friends, build wonders, and grow your cities. You can build wonders and not complete them and let the fail gold finance your empire. As you see, there are many ways and they are mostly not mutually exclusive. Generally one does most of those together for a solid non-cottage empire.

Later in the game you may benefit from focus, say building workshops and running State Property while building wealth or building farms, running representation and employing many specialists. Both work, the land and the neighbors may influence the decision making. You should give a cottage free game a shot, it is fun to try out. Perhaps you want some cottages in the capital for the bureaucracy bonus.

 

[Pangaea]

May try that just to see how it pans out. It's things like this I need to pin down to be able to properly handle Monarch. Am reading articles and so forth to learn and think I got things nailed, then it doesn't really work out like I hoped in-game.

How can you get failgold from wonders in multiple cities btw, from building the same wonder? Wouldn't think that was possible :?

 

[Pangaea]

Have one more questions too, perhaps more relevant middle to late game. Do you prefer windmills or mines, and why? How about watermills?

 

[Verarde]

I prefer windmills for the food, but mines are good for production. So, I do a mix.

 

[SamSniped]

May try that just to see how it pans out. It's things like this I need to pin down to be able to properly handle Monarch. Am reading articles and so forth to learn and think I got things nailed, then it doesn't really work out like I hoped in-game.

How can you get failgold from wonders in multiple cities btw, from building the same wonder? Wouldn't think that was possible :?

Link to the answer.

 

[charity]

I haven't got used to how this forum works yet. Is there a way that I could quickly revisit the questions that I posted?

 

[Pangaea]

Link to the answer.

Interesting. So you would start to build the wonder, chop inflated hammers into it, then put another item ahead of it in the queue, and then you're able to start building the wonder elsewhere again? Sounds like a pretty serious exploit. Do people consider this cheese?

Will try it out though

 

[s.bernbaum]

I haven't got used to how this forum works yet. Is there a way that I could quickly revisit the questions that I posted?

Click on your name, next to a post. You will get a drop down menu. Among other choices will be one to find more posts by you and one to find threads started by you. If you click on either of those, you will get a screen listing all the posts or threads started by you. Scroll through the list and click on any that you want to revisit.

 

[Darth Fred]

I prefer windmills for the food, but mines are good for production. So, I do a mix.

Ditto.
F