This thread will present a Civilization 4 (BTS) game at the Prince level in enough detail to allow beginning and intermediate players to learn some basic techniques they can apply to middle-difficulty games. The saved games require the BAT mod to open.
There are many ways to play any position in Civilization 4 (BTS). Advanced players will doubtless be able to find improvements on what I did. Posting suggestions is encouraged, especially if the tone is positive and the style literate.
I will show my evolving position every fifty moves or so, and discuss each position in some detail.
4000 BC:
2000 BC:
375 BC:
800 AD:
My horsemen ate up Korea and also snatched a town that Caesar planted awkwardly in territory that I wish to dominate. I still don't have an iron mine, but will soon get copper, and another source of horses is nice. Kublai Khan is on track to be my strongest competitor, but take another look at the military ratio. Can you spot my next victim?
The monastery in South Slope is needed to push out my cultural boundary against Boudicca, who is still holding on to the iron mine I built near Southshire. She has only 2/3 of my military power, a friendly disposition, and some juicy territory along my southern border. Could I be planning something truly dastardly against that nice lady? Now look where my forces are arrayed: I just finished cutting off Caesar's nose, so I'm expecting retaliation as soon as our peace treaty expires. Hmmm....
Note that I'm building wealth in half my cities, still trying to keep the research rate up. I'm 22 turns from Liberalism and determined to get there first. If you look at the foreign advisor (another button in the upper right corner) you can see on the tech tab that I'm well ahead of my neighbors. The demographics screen (found under the chart icon) shows me well ahead of the competition in almost every important metric, so I feel I have a good chance of beating whoever is on the other continent to Liberalism. Note, however, that somebody over there beat me to Confucianism (click the praying hands icon), probably the same one who got the free technology from the Oracle (cities/wonders under the graph icon). On the other hand, I captured the Buddhism holy city from Korea, so I have two religions. On the third hand, Boudicca spread Hinduism to my cities (I helped a little) so I'm keeping on her good side and also getting culture points and happiness points by adopting her religion.
1400 AD:
Oops! I ate the lady. She complicated my life by going vassal to Kublai Khan when she had but one city left. Why he fell for that I can't guess. He had no hope of protecting her remaining city from me. He eventually sent a party into my territory but I was ready for him, and as soon as I made him bleed he was ready to pay for peace.
Note the complete lack of siege engines. If you can make a lot of powerful, mobile units, you don't need sieges: you just ride over the walls and mow down the resistance. You lose some of your attackers, but you save a lot of time, including the time it takes to build and move siege engines and put them to work. Here's where the tech advantage really pays off! My hypermobile style keeps the enemy disorganized. He can't move his defenders around fast enough to keep ahead of my darting attackers, and he's very likely to see his units picked off by mine if he tries.
Now take a long look at Ravenna. What's Caesar planning and who is he planning it against? Hmmm.... Those war elephants can make mincemeat out of my horsemen, so I better watch out!
In between wars, I hurry to build the infrastructure I need to keep my financial, research, and manufacturing strong. Take a look at what my cities are building right now, for example. I'm near the end of the golden age I got for building the Taj Mahal; that really helped me get through the post-war period. I researched Monarchy to better manage my happiness deficit, and am now close to Gunpowder. It's past time to build a couple of caravels so I can try to get the reward for being the first to prove the world is round (movement bonus for my navy).
1700 AD:
1860 AD:
1909 AD:
I feel confident that some of our deity players will be able to demonstrate how to win this one a thousand years earlier. I can't wait to learn those tricks!
There are many ways to play any position in Civilization 4 (BTS). Advanced players will doubtless be able to find improvements on what I did. Posting suggestions is encouraged, especially if the tone is positive and the style literate.
I will show my evolving position every fifty moves or so, and discuss each position in some detail.
4000 BC:
Spoiler :
The usual dilemma is whether to settle in place, gaining time, or to try to find a better location. Here we have gold, pigs, rice, ivory, and a tribal village, with a nice mixture of hills, trees, and river tiles. It's unlikely we could quickly find a better spot, so I'll settle in place and grab the tribal village for 46 gold. The warrior move discovers a marble deposit and more fresh water. I think I'm gonna like this place! There's some ugly desert in the northeast, though... par for a Prince game. Pay attention to terrain because it's your most important raw material.
2000 BC:
Spoiler :
I've built two workers, a scout, three warriors and a settler. I settled my second city to grab the marble and soon the cattle. Eventually I'll get the crabs, too. I'm blocking Boudicca's westward expansion and will block her northward expansion by settling the nice river valley with more cattle. I've marked a possible site for my fourth city up north, near the disgusting jungle. I've met three neighbors but don't know where two of them are. North of the jungle and east of the mountains are logical bets. I've discovered all the technologies in the first column plus Bronze Working, Animal Husbandry, and Archery. I'll soon have Pottery so I can built granaries and cottages.
Beginners should note Boudicca's territory in yellow and mine in white. The purplish areas you can draw with alt-x wherever you want. I use them to outline the "Big Fat Cross" within which I will get full value of chopping forests and most value of building improvements even without the need for roads (but only in the areas that are also colored white). Study the info available for each city by double-clicking the city diagram. You can see which tiles each city is working and what each city is building. Sadly, I haven't uncovered a copper deposit, so I have to rely on archers to defend cities for now.
I have a warrior up north and one in the east, both supervising sites where I plan to put cities. Note that my settler is not exposed to attack from a grey area on any adjoining tile. Settlers and workers are expensive and have no self-defense, so always plan their routes carefully. I'm drooling over the horses up north, but have given priority to cutting off Boudicca's plans to envelop my eastern flank.
Beginners should note Boudicca's territory in yellow and mine in white. The purplish areas you can draw with alt-x wherever you want. I use them to outline the "Big Fat Cross" within which I will get full value of chopping forests and most value of building improvements even without the need for roads (but only in the areas that are also colored white). Study the info available for each city by double-clicking the city diagram. You can see which tiles each city is working and what each city is building. Sadly, I haven't uncovered a copper deposit, so I have to rely on archers to defend cities for now.
I have a warrior up north and one in the east, both supervising sites where I plan to put cities. Note that my settler is not exposed to attack from a grey area on any adjoining tile. Settlers and workers are expensive and have no self-defense, so always plan their routes carefully. I'm drooling over the horses up north, but have given priority to cutting off Boudicca's plans to envelop my eastern flank.
375 BC:
Spoiler :
Now you can see my neighbors starting to hem me in: Rome in the north and Korea in the east. My scout has mapped a lot of the continent and now I know I'm on the major land mass in the world with four other civilizations. This will turn into an advantage that determines what sort of victory I'll be trying for. I got my horses and am building chariots, in line with my preference for mobile units. Sadly, Boudicca has poached the iron mine I built. To try to get it back, I built a library in Southshire, which also benefits my research. I have seven workers for my five cities and I've built a work boat in Fair Harbor so I can grab some Tuna as soon as my cultural boundary expands.
Three of my cities are building research, and take a look at the tech chart now (the button with the beaker in the upper right corner). I hope to found two religions with Code of Laws and Philosophy, and will hurry towards Liberalism to get Nationalism free so I can build the Taj Mahal and start a Golden Age. Becoming the tech leader is one way to get an unbeatable position. Usually you can trade your advanced techs for the ones you skipped over, but in this game I didn't find a good tech trading partner.
Have you figured out why I like being on the largest continent with four other civilizations? Hint: look at my military power vs my neighbors on the list of rivals in the lower right corner. I have 220% of Korea's power. Does that suggest anything?
Three of my cities are building research, and take a look at the tech chart now (the button with the beaker in the upper right corner). I hope to found two religions with Code of Laws and Philosophy, and will hurry towards Liberalism to get Nationalism free so I can build the Taj Mahal and start a Golden Age. Becoming the tech leader is one way to get an unbeatable position. Usually you can trade your advanced techs for the ones you skipped over, but in this game I didn't find a good tech trading partner.
Have you figured out why I like being on the largest continent with four other civilizations? Hint: look at my military power vs my neighbors on the list of rivals in the lower right corner. I have 220% of Korea's power. Does that suggest anything?
800 AD:
Spoiler :
My horsemen ate up Korea and also snatched a town that Caesar planted awkwardly in territory that I wish to dominate. I still don't have an iron mine, but will soon get copper, and another source of horses is nice. Kublai Khan is on track to be my strongest competitor, but take another look at the military ratio. Can you spot my next victim?
The monastery in South Slope is needed to push out my cultural boundary against Boudicca, who is still holding on to the iron mine I built near Southshire. She has only 2/3 of my military power, a friendly disposition, and some juicy territory along my southern border. Could I be planning something truly dastardly against that nice lady? Now look where my forces are arrayed: I just finished cutting off Caesar's nose, so I'm expecting retaliation as soon as our peace treaty expires. Hmmm....
Note that I'm building wealth in half my cities, still trying to keep the research rate up. I'm 22 turns from Liberalism and determined to get there first. If you look at the foreign advisor (another button in the upper right corner) you can see on the tech tab that I'm well ahead of my neighbors. The demographics screen (found under the chart icon) shows me well ahead of the competition in almost every important metric, so I feel I have a good chance of beating whoever is on the other continent to Liberalism. Note, however, that somebody over there beat me to Confucianism (click the praying hands icon), probably the same one who got the free technology from the Oracle (cities/wonders under the graph icon). On the other hand, I captured the Buddhism holy city from Korea, so I have two religions. On the third hand, Boudicca spread Hinduism to my cities (I helped a little) so I'm keeping on her good side and also getting culture points and happiness points by adopting her religion.
1400 AD:
Spoiler :
Oops! I ate the lady. She complicated my life by going vassal to Kublai Khan when she had but one city left. Why he fell for that I can't guess. He had no hope of protecting her remaining city from me. He eventually sent a party into my territory but I was ready for him, and as soon as I made him bleed he was ready to pay for peace.
Note the complete lack of siege engines. If you can make a lot of powerful, mobile units, you don't need sieges: you just ride over the walls and mow down the resistance. You lose some of your attackers, but you save a lot of time, including the time it takes to build and move siege engines and put them to work. Here's where the tech advantage really pays off! My hypermobile style keeps the enemy disorganized. He can't move his defenders around fast enough to keep ahead of my darting attackers, and he's very likely to see his units picked off by mine if he tries.
Now take a long look at Ravenna. What's Caesar planning and who is he planning it against? Hmmm.... Those war elephants can make mincemeat out of my horsemen, so I better watch out!
In between wars, I hurry to build the infrastructure I need to keep my financial, research, and manufacturing strong. Take a look at what my cities are building right now, for example. I'm near the end of the golden age I got for building the Taj Mahal; that really helped me get through the post-war period. I researched Monarchy to better manage my happiness deficit, and am now close to Gunpowder. It's past time to build a couple of caravels so I can try to get the reward for being the first to prove the world is round (movement bonus for my navy).
1700 AD:
Spoiler :
As you can see from the small map, I found the other continent. Mansa Musa is serious technological competition for me in most games, but much less so in this one. I got the circumnavigation prize, negotiated open borders with Mansa Musa and De Gaulle, and dropped off a couple of explorers to help me keep track of their development. Now my caravels are exploring the oceans so I'll be able to move faster on the day I invade De Gaulle. Of course I have some rivals nearby to attend to first. I'm pleased to see that De Gaulle and Mansa Musa don't get along. They can waste their energy beating up on each other and let me alone until I'm good and ready. De Gaulle isn't speaking to me right now because I acceded to Mansa Musa's demand that I not trade with his worst enemy. Sometimes you have to choose sides. It's nice to have Mansa Musa as a friend. He looks like he might be a threat for a Culture victory one day, but only if I do something leisurely like the Space Race. My momentum seems to be towards a Domination victory, however. That's often quicker and gives you a higher score. Tech is the key, either way.
Now look up north. I bribed Kublai Khan to declare war on Rome. Caesar responded by launching his "stack of doom" from Ravenna into Mongolia. I then swept into Ravenna with minimal resistance (big wide grin) while Kublai Khan slaughtered Caesar beneath the walls of Samarkand. It looks like I'm about to take Neapolis with my cavalry against his four primitive units defending. My big tech lead makes the rest of this game trivial. Cavalry is the sweetest thing in the Middle Ages!
Of course no plan of attack survives contact with the enemy. Before my next turn, Caesar goes vassal to Kublai Khan, leaving me to gnash my teeth. I really wanted Neapolis because the Apostolic Palace is there, and now I'm going to be plagued with "return a city to its rightful owner" motions from Caesar. Fortunately, I now have more Buddhists than the other two guys combined, so there's no practical effect.
In two turns I will discover Scientific Method and learn that my only source of oil is between Antium and Cumae. Without oil I would be neutered in the next phase of the game, so I thank my lucky stars!
Now look up north. I bribed Kublai Khan to declare war on Rome. Caesar responded by launching his "stack of doom" from Ravenna into Mongolia. I then swept into Ravenna with minimal resistance (big wide grin) while Kublai Khan slaughtered Caesar beneath the walls of Samarkand. It looks like I'm about to take Neapolis with my cavalry against his four primitive units defending. My big tech lead makes the rest of this game trivial. Cavalry is the sweetest thing in the Middle Ages!
Of course no plan of attack survives contact with the enemy. Before my next turn, Caesar goes vassal to Kublai Khan, leaving me to gnash my teeth. I really wanted Neapolis because the Apostolic Palace is there, and now I'm going to be plagued with "return a city to its rightful owner" motions from Caesar. Fortunately, I now have more Buddhists than the other two guys combined, so there's no practical effect.
In two turns I will discover Scientific Method and learn that my only source of oil is between Antium and Cumae. Without oil I would be neutered in the next phase of the game, so I thank my lucky stars!
1860 AD:
Spoiler :
The most obvious thing on the board is my tanks against Kublai Khan's muskets. Again, the tech lead makes the rest easy. Moves take a long time when you have this many units in the field. Again, I'm mobile and have overwhelming force at my disposal. The tanks I'm building get where they're needed double quick, especially over my rail system. Given their heads, workers just love to build roads and railroads!
Notice I'm protective of my one oil field. Without that, my attack collapses pretty quickly. I'm starting to build fighter planes in the towns that can't handle tanks. I'll use them to scout the territory ahead and reduce city defenses as much as I can without slowing down the pace of my blitzkrieg. Kublai Khan has no defense against air power, but I'm moving so fast that my air force will have trouble keeping up with me.
With railroads come machine guns. These are useless for offense but are capable defenders for what they cost you. Against his muskets they have no worries at all. My cavalry are still useful as garrison troops and for mopping up stragglers. If he had key resource vulnerabilities, I could use a gang of cavalry to take them out, but it's hardly worth the effort here.
Both Caesar and Kublai Khan were plaguing me with sabotage before I started spending points on counterespionage. I've built about 20 spies to help the defense against espionage and will be moving them to the periphery as my territory expands.
I started to research Composites so I could build modern armor, the pinnacle of mobile power. Then I realized I need computers to build modern armor, and once you have computers it's a short step to mechanized infantry, the pinnacle of defense. As I recall, I decided to get mechanized infantry first and then finish Composites. I'm too used to building the Space Race, which has its own logic, different from domination. In this case, I'm finding domination seductively easy. Advanced players adapt to individual circumstances with individualized strategies. I'm still a learner.
Notice I'm protective of my one oil field. Without that, my attack collapses pretty quickly. I'm starting to build fighter planes in the towns that can't handle tanks. I'll use them to scout the territory ahead and reduce city defenses as much as I can without slowing down the pace of my blitzkrieg. Kublai Khan has no defense against air power, but I'm moving so fast that my air force will have trouble keeping up with me.
With railroads come machine guns. These are useless for offense but are capable defenders for what they cost you. Against his muskets they have no worries at all. My cavalry are still useful as garrison troops and for mopping up stragglers. If he had key resource vulnerabilities, I could use a gang of cavalry to take them out, but it's hardly worth the effort here.
Both Caesar and Kublai Khan were plaguing me with sabotage before I started spending points on counterespionage. I've built about 20 spies to help the defense against espionage and will be moving them to the periphery as my territory expands.
I started to research Composites so I could build modern armor, the pinnacle of mobile power. Then I realized I need computers to build modern armor, and once you have computers it's a short step to mechanized infantry, the pinnacle of defense. As I recall, I decided to get mechanized infantry first and then finish Composites. I'm too used to building the Space Race, which has its own logic, different from domination. In this case, I'm finding domination seductively easy. Advanced players adapt to individual circumstances with individualized strategies. I'm still a learner.
1909 AD:
Spoiler :
Not much suspense to the end of Kublai Khan. He managed to get a few rifles built, so I lost a couple of tanks against a city that my fighter planes couldn't reach. Before the end I had multiple columns of armor rampaging his cities and he was huddled indoors, wretchedly wishing I'd let him be my vassal. I like vassals, but in this case I wanted ALL of his points, not 50%. It brought me very close to the win, but not quite.
De Gaulle is the natural next target. I was preparing to march into Paris when I realized that those two lightly-defended islands were the low-hanging fruit. The big problem with going overseas is the long resupply time. By moving the fight off shore, I gave De Gaulle a much bigger problem getting his forces to the fight.
I built six transports and two aircraft carriers. Ceasing my research effort, I poured gold into upgrading tanks, fighter planes, cavalry, and machine guns. My armada landed 24 modern armor under cover of six fighter jets and a naval bombardment, quickly taking his northern island and then swarming into Avignon from the sea. I also bribed Mansa Musa to attack De Gaulle, just to keep De Gaulle from going vassal to Mansa Musa. De Gaulle didn't take long to decide that being my vassal was not his worst option. I grabbed it, and that gave me the domination victory in 1910, with a much-appreciated Augustus Caesar award.
De Gaulle is the natural next target. I was preparing to march into Paris when I realized that those two lightly-defended islands were the low-hanging fruit. The big problem with going overseas is the long resupply time. By moving the fight off shore, I gave De Gaulle a much bigger problem getting his forces to the fight.
I built six transports and two aircraft carriers. Ceasing my research effort, I poured gold into upgrading tanks, fighter planes, cavalry, and machine guns. My armada landed 24 modern armor under cover of six fighter jets and a naval bombardment, quickly taking his northern island and then swarming into Avignon from the sea. I also bribed Mansa Musa to attack De Gaulle, just to keep De Gaulle from going vassal to Mansa Musa. De Gaulle didn't take long to decide that being my vassal was not his worst option. I grabbed it, and that gave me the domination victory in 1910, with a much-appreciated Augustus Caesar award.
I feel confident that some of our deity players will be able to demonstrate how to win this one a thousand years earlier. I can't wait to learn those tricks!
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