All Civ 4 BTS buildings ranked and explained - Henrik

[Tecumseh1]

But that's only because people choose to play running science high. I can run long periods of expansion because of markets. Again, the hammer argument is a red herring, because library's while 60% of the hammers of a market, are Super expensive when considering the era you build them. If you only build libraries when you have access to build markets, it's a different story, but most people build them early at the cost of hammers when they are not as abundant without chopping trees.

Interesting I haven't heard much discussion of this approach in the forums. Are you doing HA or construction rushes pretty often so your economy dies and you recover via currency/markets until engineering or something?

 

[antimony]

But that's only because people choose to play running science high. I can run long periods of expansion because of markets.

The longest periods of low science % I would run are when at war due to unit maintenance and supply costs, but then the production is devoted to units and there isn't space for a market. Maybe in the bureau capital if I can afford building less units there to maintain the economy during the war.

Also, whether you rapidly expand peacefully or go to war, isn't the long term goal to recover the economy and run a higher %? In new cities (conquered or founded) far from your capital, courthouses are often better return on investment than markets, or you could build libraries if you need to establish your culture.

Again, the hammer argument is a red herring, because library's while 60% of the hammers of a market, are Super expensive when considering the era you build them. If you only build libraries when you have access to build markets, it's a different story, but most people build them early at the cost of hammers when they are not as abundant without chopping trees.

It only takes a 6 pop city to whip a library (or 4 pop with 1 chop), but a 10 pop city to whip a market (8 with 1 chop). This is a big difference, especially given that population growth costs more food as the city gets larger. So in a way it's more than 60% difference if some of the hammer cost is paid via slavery.

 

[antimony]

To be very clear, I don't think markets / banks are "never build". But there is an anti-synergy to it that makes it so you wouldn't build too many of them. Put simply, for a gold multiplier building to be good, the city needs to have good commerce (unless it's a religious shrine or a corporation HQ), but if you have many cities with good commerce at any point in the game, then you should be able to afford your maintenance without having a high % of gold on the slider, especially if you build courthouses that are cheaper than markets and a better ROI in most cities.

 

[Fippy]

Markets are fine buildings with happy bonuses for very common resources, but they cost as much as an Artillery piece..
which is just ridiculous in itself
In times long ago they prolly didn't need resources to be "built"..peoples just gathered somewhere for trade.
In game, building a market feels like constructing a skyscraper.

 

[SittinDown]

i feel like historically, libraries were probably a lot harder to come by than markets.