Is there any reason to play Civ3 or PTW, if I have Conquests?
What is the "Age of Science" that Science leaders are supposed to be able to do? I actually don't find them useless at all, as I can use them to rush production on important projects (e.g., the UN).- Science leaders (which are actually broken, though Sulla didn't know that)
I used them to try & get my preferred GWs (e.g., UN again) faster in case someone else is building it and is ahead of me.- Conquests adds Civil Engineers and Policemen, which the AI doesn't know how to use, further buffing humans. <-- I'm curious how many people use these in practice.
What is the "Age of Science" that Science leaders are supposed to be able to do? I actually don't find them useless at all, as I can use them to rush production on important projects (e.g., the UN).
I used them to try & get my preferred GWs (e.g., UN again) faster in case someone else is building it and is ahead of me.
I don't know about PTW (I jumped from Vanilla to C3C), but Vanilla had GLs that were not specifically military or scientific, so they could either form an Army or rush a Wonder. I had one game playing a SCI civ (I forget which) in which had something like seven SGLs, where usually I'm lucky to get 2 or 3. Got pretty much all the wonders I wanted, and building the Spaceship was a piece of cake.You're right that they can rush important projects, which is another reason someone might prefer PTW, actually - in PTW (or was it Vanilla?), military leaders can rush great wonders.
I don't remember which tech makes engineers available, but it's typically late-game anyway. I've had games where I missed several important wonders by a turn or two. My most hated loss was one in which I'd missed getting the UN, then suffered a Diplomatic loss while well on my way to some other form of victory (I've forgotten which).Good idea using engineers for wonders. I'd used them once or twice as vorlon_mi described, but had never thought to use them on late wonders or spaceship parts.
I do understand the compulsion (oh boy, do I!) , but from a gameplay cost–benefit perspective, there's really no point doing this.I like to put a harbor in every coastal town, even those that have tundra or desert around them so that they can grow.
The "Science Age" has always been broken in C3C.It's supposed to boost science production by 20% for 20 turns, IIRC. I think it's the boost that's broken, it might be the UI for the boost. Sulla's complaint was specifically about that function, namely that rewarding a civ that's ahead in science by making them more ahead in science is a kind of broken mechanic. From a balance perspective.
I always tend to forget that CE-shields can build Wonders as well!Good idea using engineers for wonders. I'd used them once or twice as vorlon_mi described, but had never thought to use them on late wonders or spaceship parts.
Replaceable Parts gives CEs. And it might be an Industrial tech, but the beeline is only 3 techs from the start of the era (Steam —> Electricity —> RP).I don't remember which tech makes engineers available, but it's typically late-game anyway.
Policemen are often useful in core- and semi-core towns to decorrupt those last couple of shields you need to make a nice round number for minimum wastage on builds (e.g. in a town generating 19 SPT, hiring a Cop to get that to 20-21 SPT is usually more efficient than putting up a[nother] production-boosting building!), and/or to decorrupt commerce in in towns where I already have multiplier-buildings like Libs and Markets.- Conquests adds Civil Engineers and Policemen, which the AI doesn't know how to use, further buffing humans. <-- I'm curious how many people use these in practice.
How would Cops be better than CEs in any particular instance? It appears to me a CE reduces production turns more than a Cop.Policemen are often useful in core- and semi-core towns to decorrupt those last couple of shields you need to make a nice round number for minimum wastage on builds (e.g. in a town generating 19 SPT, hiring a Cop to get that to 20-21 SPT is usually more efficient than putting up a[nother] production-boosting building!), and/or to decorrupt commerce in in towns where I already have multiplier-buildings like Libs and Markets.
CEs are usually a better option to speed up builds — especially Courthouses — in new/captured towns which are approaching the 90% corruption-cap.
However, a more distant town's underlying corruption-value may be (much) higher than this, and since Cops act on that underlying value (rather than the capped value), an individual Cop has no noticeable effect on towns which already have significantly more than 90% corruption. So I'll sometimes use a Cop to test whether a Courthouse (or other buildings) might even be worth putting up in the first place. And if not, excess Citizens will get converted to Scientists straight off the bat.
That is true, but CE-shields can only be directly put to use for buildings and Wonders; decorrupted shields from Cops can be used for units as well (there is a workaround to allow CE-shields to be also added to units, but it's arguably an exploit).How would Cops be better than CEs in any particular instance? It appears to me a CE reduces production turns more than a Cop.
The "Science Age" has always been broken in C3C. Until @Flintlock patched it, that is!
In Conquests, the cap is 'only' 90%, so (if I'm right about fractional shields being rounded up) you get the 2 SPT unwasted once you reach 11 shields harvested.
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So I'll sometimes use a Cop to test whether a Courthouse (or other buildings) might even be worth putting up in the first place. And if not, excess Citizens will get converted to Scientists straight off the bat.
The only reasons I play vanilla (which I don't play often) are nostalgia and Religious/Expansionist Iroquois.
Apologies if I am telling an experienced player how to suck eggs, but I think you may get enjoyment if you modified the Conquests Iroquois traits back to Religious / Expansionist and simply created maps off the back of that modification.
Your post has actually made me think to do that given how overpowered they arguably are with Agriculture plus fantastic UU.