Recent content by mike p

Grrr. Would enjoy another succession game right now. Hadn't logged in in about 6 years so that's probably on me... HMU if we're going to get one started.

Move Quick Combat from the setup screen to someplace where it can be toggled after a game starts. Not having quick combat made me want to pull my hair out when I tried the Mongol scenario.

I bought the deluxe edition, but not through a preorder, so I only have Babylon and Mongolia for DLC. I don't think I'm ever going to buy another computer game until it's been out long enough for a 'complete' edition at a lower price. There's enough old stuff I haven't gotten to yet.

I've used Settler first with Justinian up to Immortal level. I wouldn't do it all the time, but if you have rivers and can get at least 4 hammers to start, you can have your two cities finish their workers while you get worker techs done. A river is nice so that you can found both cities...

Just a quibble, maintenance increases in relation to the size of the city, so maintenance costs will increase, but higher population can allow you to net out higher by working more commerce so it's generally a good trade off. This is why whipping infrastructure can help you get out of a REX...

Remember, Shaka pays 40% less maintenance than everyone else once Courthouses are built because the AI will also (rightly) spam Ikhandas. So he can have a bigger army and still tech faster than non PHI, ORG or FIN civs once those buildings are in place. Not a tech powerhouse, but still can be...

My favorite move on Emperor/Immortal is to use the Oracle to get Monarchy to enable vertical expansion. Unless you have multiple precious metals and/or furs or are making a run for the Pyramids, it's the fastest way to get happiness while still allowing you to research a couple of worker techs...

Probably a mistake, if you mean adding it to a new unit to get it XPs out of the gate. If you're going to add it to a unit, you should add it to your most experienced older unit. With a GG attached, you get free upgrades (for example, axe to maceman or maceman to Grenadier or Rifleman) and you...

Stonehenge is best if you are founding an early religion or want to bulb Theology later on. It's cheap GPP with some nice side benefits if not CRE. Also, it can be very useful in your second city if you are settling right up against an expanding AI.

Priests are way better than spies (if you aren't playing an Espionage Economy, the value of :espionage: is minimal, and the Great Person really blows). Did you have Angkor Wat? Before it obsoletes, you get a lot of priests assigned, because unless you specifically want GPP for a GE, the...

Communism all the way. Then Oracle up the Metal Casting/Machinery Line.

As long as the map gives you either a semi isolated start, or a nice choke point to block of territory for backfilling later, it's doable on Immortal, though it's far from guaranteed.

I had a game recently where Ironclads were very useful. If you have Steam Power but not Astronomy, you can still build Ironclads. And if Sitting Bull left you four settled GGs in his capitol, you can Nav II Ironclads right away to chase away pesky Privateers. As for why I didn't have...

The reason below is almost right: Except that the Totem gives XPs which can be lost on upgrade, not free promotions. So you can have a 9XP Drill 4 Oromo Warrior upgrade to a 9xp Drill 4 Rifle who gets his next promotion after the next battle. Even with PRO, if you upgrade a Drill 4...

Usually a mix. If I don't have Pottery, I might build a farm or two on a flood plain heavy start to build a nice worker/settler pump city. Production cities get farms, or watermills, or workshops. Flood plains are extra food, which can be diverted into anything else, not just commerce via...