Administrative Centers

[wioneo]

Overall, is it best to wait a bit before building the forbidden palace? I know that versailles, as a unique wonder has to be built asap, but you have all of history to decide on a FP locale. Before I used to always just swap to state property later on to get rid of the need for consideration, but recently I've been getting a bit better at gold production, and it feels like I'm cheating myself to cut off corporations

So I was wondering, in an average continents style fractal map with 2 groups of 2 to 4 civilizations(I always play with 7 due to hardware limitations), on average is it best to save the forbidden palace until after assessing the second(and possibly third) continent/group? It seems a bit pompous to always expect to conquer lands in all areas(even though it usually happens), so this would leave you with the option to plop the palace down closer to home if future aggressive war is unlikely.

Also, I recently started toying with the colonization feature(just offed a backwards civ that was isolated on a relatively small island before the last city's border popped), and it seems a bit useful, but is it really better to have a vassal as opposed to 5 or so cities in most cases?

Also, what exactly are the requirements for colonization? I noticed that it was on the same screen as the gifting screen(I often capture garbage cities of prospective vassals and then gift them back to expedite the capitulations, increase their usefulness, and improve relations), but I have yet to see both options present at the same time, and I've only ever colonized the cities of the deceased.

Hmm...got a bit off track there, need to consider cutting back on the ranting which I just noticed I'm starting to do again...

 

[Ignorant Teacher]

Well, if I got your point, I usually wait a while before building the FP because I tend to try hard to build Versailles. In some games I don't even build the FP.

 

[FlyinJohnnyL]

If you build your FP fairly early in the game, then later on you can move your palace to a new location while the FP keeps costs lower close to home.

That being said, there are plenty of games where I don't even build it.

 

[DaveMcW]

A continent with 6 cities has ridiculous colonial upkeep.

Your options are Forbidden Palace, Versailles, State Property, or turning them into a vassal on F1.

 

[timmy827]

Even better option is to turn off vassal states for your next game...this prevents colonies and ends colonial maintenance.

 

[JammerUno]

Build the FP early and in the centre of a cluster of cities, then move your capital to the centre of the second cluster when you acquire it.

I'm not sure why people dislike colonies, they're cheap to set up, they (usually) provide you with resources, they get you extra land for a dom victory and they deny land to the AI at virtually no costs. The trick, I've found, is to just rush some settlers/workers/LBs over to the place you want, settle two cities and then liberate the rest as you found them. You can grab a big patch of land at the cost of only a couple of settlers/workers, since you only need to send 3 LBs, new colonies start with garrison forces once you liberate them. Of course, liberating conquered lands is different, but then it's just a cost/benefit analysis, which isn't hard.

 

[Birdman6]

I often don't build Versailles at all. I'm generally able to found a religion and my higher priority is Spiral Minaret, which also comes with Divine Right. I let some distant AI build Versailles and later in the game when I conquer that city I automatically have a new administrative center in a region of the world that really needs it.

I wait on FP a little until I'm expanded enough to warrant building it.

 

[wioneo]

Well I'm a bit nostalgic about moving my capital even when it's ina horribly unadvantage place...just feels wrong to not see that star next to Rome

On colonies...so the requirement is 2 cities? I'm in the middle of another game now and I checked the screen after taking a few coastal cities across the world, and the colonizing feature was available for them. Will that option dissappear if i vassalize him?

Also is it even possible to vassalize the master of a vassal? and what happens if you do?

In this game I started next to the peaceful techers(Ramses/De Gaulle), and they did not live very long so that left all the pschos(Monty, Ghengis, Hannibal, Hammurabi) to duke it out on a freaking huge island(with only one soure of oil ). So while they were killining and vassalizing each other I just positioned a stack of fighters/infantry/paras a few squares off from his rifleman loaded city...Artillery seem like a great way to get general points with that always retreating update...

 

[MadmanAtW]

The thing about Versailles at least in my games is the AI never seems to care about it at all. Even when half of them have divine right, the wonder goes WAY later than it would if someone were actually working on it.

But I often don't wind up getting it because unless I really want it, really want the SM, or grabbed Islam to have a religion, I usually skip DR entirely.

 

[Birdman6]

The thing about Versailles at least in my games is the AI never seems to care about it at all. Even when half of them have divine right, the wonder goes WAY later than it would if someone were actually working on it.

Quite true. Generally if you want the Versailles it's very easy to get it even without marble because the AI takes forever on it. But it costs a ton of (800) which I feel are better used on more important things in that era. Compare that to the Spiral Minaret which costs 550 and provides a fantastic, long-term monetary boost if you've founded a religion.

I figure let some AI waste their on Versailles and meanwhile I'll build a strong military to steal it from them.