Barbarian Cities

[ditchhook]

Has anyone recognized any patterns to help predict the creation of Barbarian city-states? I've seen some very limited circumstantial evidence (one revert to a saved turn) that indicates they might appear on top of unexplored goodie-huts which are guarded by barbarians.

I certainly would like to find a means of "cultivating" barbarian cities, in order to grab them once they are well established.

Since they are by default at war with the player, one can neither convert them with a missionary, nor gift exotic units to them (like missionaries) to see what happens.

Has anyone discovered any funky way to exploit a Barbarian City or potential city before taking it over?

 

[JerichoHill]

The idea of using a barbarian city as a "proving grounds" for your units, was suggested.

Personally, if I can seal off an area, I will purposefully leave one part of the sealed off area undeveloped and NOT pop any goody huts there. It seems that normally, barbarian cities spring from this area around 1000AD.

I easily take the cities, but I imagine I save somewhere around 20 turns due to not having to churn out settlers/city growth.

 

[chewbaccad]

hmm.. interesting hypothesis. I've seen barbarians guarding goody-huts, but I thought they were just hanging out in likely places for combat. One thing I've noticed is that barbs always seem to have cities where there are at least 2 resources.

There aren't many ways to exploit them, other than stealing a worker. I've often found that if I don't want to waste the military power crushing them that they do flip culturally rather easily.

 

[Amourek]

they might appear on top of unexplored goodie-huts which are guarded by barbarians.

The result of exploring a goodie hut changes from turn to turn, so no particular hut can be "guarded by barbarians." And I've never seen a barbarian unit on top of a goodie hut if thats what you mean.

AFAIK, they appear at random in territory under fog-of-war. If you keep a unit on look-out in these areas, barbarians won't spawn in your field of vision.

The only thing you can use a barbarian city is for generating experience for your units by fortifying them outside the city and waiting for them to attack you.

 

[vyapti]

I've had barbarian cities develop in areas that I have explored previously. At the very least, they do not need to spawn from goodie huts. My guess is that they are not related to goodie huts at all. They seem to spawn in good city locations (good resources) that are undeveloped and unused--maybe wandering bards settle down when they have nothing to attack.

 

[Gargoyle]

Yeah! I'm a llama again.

The same Llama from Star Chamber? (If anybody else wants to know what I'm talking about head over to: www.starchamber.net)

 

[flytyer]

The result of exploring a goodie hut changes from turn to turn, so no particular hut can be "guarded by barbarians." And I've never seen a barbarian unit on top of a goodie hut if thats what you mean.

I have noticed this before as well. There will be a barb just sitting on a goodie hut. I tried to use my scout to take the barb and the hut but the barb killed me. I ended up having to send out a knight to get the hut.

 

[Jantis]

Barbarians guard villages all the time. But I have seen the villages interspersed between barbarian cities, so I'm not sure they are at all related. Many times I've explored an area (ie, no villages), only to have a barbarian city spring up several turns later. I have seen barbarian cities also spring up where a previous AI city was destroyed, if that area was left alone for long enough.

 

[Shillen]

I've had a guard sitting on a goody hut until like 1000AD and it never turned into a barb city. I think barbarian cities just spawn randomly in the fog, in a good city location with at least one resource in workable range, usually more.

 

[AmnesiaA]

The result of exploring a goodie hut changes from turn to turn, so no particular hut can be "guarded by barbarians." And I've never seen a barbarian unit on top of a goodie hut if thats what you mean.

AFAIK, they appear at random in territory under fog-of-war. If you keep a unit on look-out in these areas, barbarians won't spawn in your field of vision.

The only thing you can use a barbarian city is for generating experience for your units by fortifying them outside the city and waiting for them to attack you.

I've come across barbarians guarding goodie huts plenty of times. They are annoying buggers too. I watched a barbarian archer once just walk over to a goodie hut, stop over it, fortify, and then not move once for ten turns--after the ten turns I killed it. They do guard goodie huts for some reason.

As for where barbarian cities spawn, it seems rather random. Sometimes one lone barbarian city spawns in the middle of nowhere, next ALWAYS to at least one resource. I've never seen them make settlers though, so I assume the other cities that spawn are also randomly made. What I usually do for barbarian cities is I park troops nearby--not too close--and let the worker the city spawns build up the landscape around the barbarian city. Only after the city is somewhat developed, and a few buildings appear, do I bother taking it. You can 'cultivate' a barbarian city by leaving it alone to grow--it can even make wonders--before either flipping or conquering it. The attacks the city makes won't cause too much trouble if you keep a small army stationed in the most likely path of attack; you'll get both experience, and an already established city, in the end.

 

[Draetor24]

I've only noticed barb cities spawning in the fog of war. Station troops in certain areas, and they never settle in areas visible to you. I've also seen major thriving barbarian nations with roads connecting multiple cities with resources and improved lands.

 

[the_dong146]

interesting idea, however I love barbarian cities (if I'm not getting run over), somehow they tend to be in very good spots and often turn into some of my best cities after developing them (+ in early game getting a ~4pop city at virtually no cost to you is HUGE)

 

[MyOtherName]

A couple of times, I've watched a barb archer travel along out of my field of view, and then *poof* a barb city appears not to much further along. I conjecture that barb cities appear when barbarians gather together. (Which would also explain why people seem to think they appear on guarded goody huts -- it would be more likely to find multiple barbarians gathered together at a place where one is just standing around!)

 

[Blazer6]

I have seen barbarian animals change into weaker animals. That injured bear regained his Lion strength.

 

[Dr Corbett]

Yes - I noticed interesting placement of Barbarian cities myself. I was playing the Earth scenario as the Germans. After dominating Europe and wiping out the Romans, I cast my eyes westward towards the New World. Floating over there I discovered massive Barbarian cities linked into nations with roving strike forces, guards, workers, developed land, farms, etc.

I eventually plopped a city which I called New Berlin down there with a machine gunner, and rushed a castle and walls to deal with the axemen. That worked great, but man were there ever a massive horde of barbs!

 

[ditchhook]

Fun and probably easy to deploy modification:

Have a list of small sects and cults and give them to barbarian cities when they are founded. Let these "pest" religions spread at the same rate as normal religions along rivers and coasts, etc. (but don't let them create missionaries) don't let these pest religions enable temples etc. in other cities, just let them "hold a space" in each of the cities they spread to, making it more difficult to introduce the next religion to that city.

For example Pastafarianism (Google it), Atheism, Shakerism, could establish itself in your city and ruin the chance your favored religion spreads to it naturally, and decrease the chance missionaries can gain a foot hold there.

This would give players a reason to destroy barbarian cities ASAP instead of milking them.

The old Colonization game gave missionaries the option of denouncing competetitors, that might also be something worth adding.

 

[flytyer]

Speaking of barb citites popping up. I was playing a game and had a city near the bottom of the map where there was a lot of ice tundra. Of course I did not found a city there. A Barb city popped up and i sent a few axemen down to take it. It was only a size one so it was auto razed. Then I sent my axemen back up to my city. about 10 turns later, another barb city popped up near the one I had razed. Again, i sent my axemen down and razed it as well. This would lend to the theory that they develope basically where there is no other civ's developing.

 

[Blazer6]

They always appeared under fog of war.