Bankruptcy question

[jonpfl]

All,

In the early game I know that building too many cities will lead to bankruptcy.

What I would like to know is the best way to earn more money early in the game to build more cities. I think I am getting confused how commerce works. If your slider is set to 100% science, I do not understand how you can make any money since all your money will go to science.

Thx
jonpfl

 

[_alphaBeta_]

All,

In the early game I know that building too many cities will lead to bankruptcy.

What I would like to know is the best way to earn more money early in the game to build more cities. I think I am getting confused how commerce works. If your slider is set to 100% science, I do not understand how you can make any money since all your money will go to science.

Thx
jonpfl

Well I haven't been playing very long, but you'll probably have to decrease the research percentage to 90% or something to offset the maintenance cost of cities. If you're on 100% research, and you generate more commerce with the cities, that's not going to solve your problem. It's only going to research things faster. At least if you have a lower percentage, and increase commerce, you'll be making more money.

You can always switch back and forth between 90% and 100% to essentially break even, while keeping your research maximized.

 

[Darwin420]

Play a financial civ, and try to start near lakes.

Build cottages early, and watch your investment grow.

I've found in every game that there are times when I'll have to set my science slider to as low as 60%, just to avoid bankruptcy.

If you're lucky enough to have gold nearby, place a mine on it and have your city work it - it will produce a significant amount of commerce.

Just a few (hopefully) helpful tips.

 

[Chopperhead]

the very best way to build a strong econonmy and fairly early is to found a relgion and build that relgions holy shrine. then spread your religion to every city that you possibly can. you will make enourmous amounts amounts of money. I base my whole early economy on this and It plays out fine for me. plus many civs will then convert to your religion and thus giving you good relations with your neighbours and they will also spread the relgion giving you even more commerce.

 

[Psyringe]

What I would like to know is the best way to earn more money early in the game to build more cities. I think I am getting confused how commerce works. If your slider is set to 100% science, I do not understand how you can make any money since all your money will go to science.

Found religions and build their shrines. Each shrine will give you 1 gold (gold, not commerce) for every city that follows this religion. This will allow you to produce gold even when your science slider is set at 100%. Having a bank / market / grocery in your holy city also helps a lot. Great prophets produce 5 gold per turn if you add them as super specialists to a city, great merchants even more.

Also, building cottages is highly advisable, but of course you need to lower your science slider a little if you want them to produce gold (and not only science).

 

[gram123]

Think there is different ways to get commece. At best use them all since commece is winning game. But you need to look at your options due to your stating site.

1. Water
If starting near Lakes thats and easy way to get both food and commece. Eventhough you have to compremise that you wont get any produktion.
While Lakes are best (producing two not one food) sea can also be used for commece. You will then need Lighthouses to get food enouth to make the coastal citys grow. If you are playing finacial, watertitle is even better as you will get tre not two commence from each

2. Resourese
If you are near resources like Gold, diamont, fur, etc. use them, they are by far the easiest way to commece.

3. Cottage
This is the way to get all the commece you need, but it takes a long time. In the ealy ages you wont make much money from those, plus when using them, you compromise the growth in the city(by not building farms) This is the sure way to make a lot of commece. But it is less useful in the early ages, becourse youll need food and produktion, to grow your city, and to produce workes and settles

4.Religion
As copperhead said it religion can be a way to gold, but not the sure way, i more look of religion money as some ekstra if you can get it. To get this you need a great prospect, and you'll only get this if you have wonders (or specialist) but surely if you can get it religion is a way to commece also

 

[Glinka]

What I would like to know is the best way to earn more money early in the game to build more cities. I think I am getting confused how commerce works. If your slider is set to 100% science, I do not understand how you can make any money since all your money will go to science.

Think of the money you spend as going down a drain--literally. Only at the start of the game, with nothing to absorb that money--no libraries, universities, inflation, maintanence for distance, etc--the drain is so closed off that nothing makes it out. That's why you can have research set to 100% at the start, but still lose nothing after native villages "donate" to your cause.

As your costs begin to mount and you research buildings arrive, the drain widens, and the money in that pool begins to leak out quicker and quicker. Typically, I place cities close but not overlapping in resources, to minimize distance, and I go for Commerce early in the game. I also look for cities that need courthouses. After granaries and forges, courthouses and banks are prime candidates for forest slashing.

 

[gram123]

Hmm acctually I was woundering is the Maintance for distance and number of city bigger at higher levels. Never thought of it as a problem when playing noble or lower. But playing prince, monach emperor it seems to be a problem, or is it becourse I started playing smaller maps, so cityis come farer from each orther(playing duel or tiny maps you empire can easily reach 1/3 of the globe

 

[Darwin420]

I'd have to disagree about Cottages not being useful early.. If you plop them on a grassland tile, they will provide the 2 food, PLUS 1 xtra commerce.. In 7 turns, you wil receive 2 xtra commerce, and in 14 turns (I think) you get 3 xtra commerce. That's still the EARLY stage of the game. You sacrifice some production by doing this, but you will see the payout after only a few short turns.

Religion, as was said, is also useful, especially if you can nab 2 of them in the beginning of the game (though that can be hard). Like cottages, religion is an investment, and takes time to build up to the point of great returns, but you can make some MAD money that way (just look at RB1 succession game, with the Hydra(TM)

Make sure your cities are connected to each other, to nab those inter-city trade routes, and try to get open borders with your neighbors, and connections to their cities.. that will help produce more commerce and money.

Early game expansion is sloooooow (a little too slow in my opinion), but doable, if you pay attention. For your second expansion phase, you will probably have no choice but to drop your science slider while those 3 new cities mature. But, again, it's a temporary setback for greater returns.

You have to spend money to make money, after all!

 

[Phoenix]

Well I finished my first game last night (won a space race on a large map set at warlord - I knew I'd make some mistakes so wanted a gentle learning curve) and until I reached the industrial age I was having problems with my economy (though the slider only went as low as 80% once whilst the Aztec declared war and I had to rapidly expand my military). From my experience you can go too trigger happy with the cottage spamming as then you're cities wont grow large enough to use them. However I may still struggle with my economy yet as I was blessed in my start with aboout 4 tiles of wine nearby and 4 gold within close proximy to my capital so I was getting some quite big bonuses.

 

[gram123]

I'd have to disagree about Cottages not being useful early.. If you plop them on a grassland tile, they will provide the 2 food, PLUS 1 xtra commerce.. In 7 turns, you wil receive 2 xtra commerce, and in 14 turns (I think) you get 3 xtra commerce. That's still the EARLY stage of the game. You sacrifice some production by doing this, but you will see the payout after only a few short turns.

It is not that you should note use cottage in the early game, just remeber that eventhough you place a cottage at grasslands it is a sacrifice for the ekstra food you could get if you made a farm insted. But surely you need some cottages otherwise you economi will ruins and you will end up by getting a science rate below even 50%

 

[Abdomination]

I usually acquire Stonegenge or the Oracle, that way, when i found a religion and get organized religion, i will be able to get a holy shrine in my holy city, and start raking in 10-30 gold per turn. serious cash