beginner needing advice

[suzi17]

Hi all. I just started playing civ iv after Christmas and I can't stop! I've been picking through the thread here and I have some questions.

I usually build basically everything in every city. (theater, forge, colosseum, factory, etc) Should I specialize cities? If so, what should I always have and in a city and what should I specialize? (I know that cities on water will have things that others won't.)


When you start a game and they give you that first settler/warrior: is it better to move around a bit and find "the best spot" to build on, or is it better to get started asap? I've been moving a space or two if it's obvious to do so, but usually build right away.


It seems as if a lot of you guys don't automate workers. I do. Is it better, as I get better, to control them individually and not automate?


When I try a game on Warlord, (yes, I'm a beginner) the barbarians always come calling, or everyone else builds and develops so much faster than me and will make war on me, even though I try to appease them with trades when they ask. I've changed approaches recently, and that is helping, but I can't imagine winning the space war or total domination unless I do a lot of things differently. What did you guys do to get over this hurdle?


Is there some leader(s) that is really that much better to be? Just financial in general?


Thanks!
suzi17

 

[Kerrang]

Hi Suzi, welcome to the wonderful world of Civ, you will soon come to know (if you haven't already) the true meaning of the phrase, "just one more turn!" The game is as addictive as it is nuanced.

That said, there are several strategies that you can employ, and although some are better given certain cultures and starting conditions, you will find that few are superior in all cases. Do plenty of experimenting while you are still on the lower difficulty settings to find out what strategy suits your style best.

In many cases, specializing cities can be very helpful, but if you get into a situation where the enemy lays seige to, or manages to capture one of your specialized cities, your civ can go downhill very quickly. If you plan to specialize, make sure those cities are far removed from any potential flash points. This can be a problem when it comes to a military city, because if you can't get your troops to the front line quickly enough, you wil find yourself reacting to the moves your enemy is making, and this is never a good thing.

You generally do not want to build every improvement in every city. If you are not going to use the city to produce many military units, for example, you will want to avoid building a barracks. Likewise, if your city is not near your borders, it may not be necessary to build walls. Remember that each improvement to your city is going to cost you money that you could be using to support your research, and research is key to winning the game no matter what type of victory you are going for. Once I have researched the correct techs, I normally start each new city by building a Theatre and Courthouse first, then proceed depending upon the needs of my civ, and the needs of the city.

With your initial settler, it doesn't hurt to spend a turn or two finding a suitable spot. If you plop your city down wherever your settler lands at the beginning of the game, you run the risk of the city developing too slowly to expand your Civ at a decent rate. Then again, you do not want to spend more than 3-4 turns finding a good spot, or you will have the same problem. At the lower difficulties this is not too much of a problem, as the bonuses you get compared to the AI will allow you to make up for those mistakes. Once you get to Noble though, placement of that first city can make or break your Civ in the early game.

I never automate workers, never have and never will. For some reason, in Civ4 the worker AI seems very fond of building windmills, which I seldom build until late in the game when my larger cities are beginning to stagnate or starve. The AI will also improve tiles that have already been improved for no fathomable reason, converting your town into a farm for instance, when you desperately need the extra cash. Keep control of those workers, and make sure they are making the improvements that you need.

As far as Barbarians go, on the lower difficulties they are normally not much of a bother for me, and can sometimes be helpful in providing experience for your units. Make sure you are not sending out settlers without an escort of your best military unit (or several lower units), and you will find that the Barbarians will not hurt you all tha much. Sometimes, once I find a barabarian city of 1 population, I will keep my new units camped around it, and let the barabrians come out and attack them, increasing their experience. Then, once the city hits 2 or 3 population, I will go in and take it over, providing a free city without much worry of flipping. On higher difficulty levels, I turn off Barbarians entirely, as they can get to be a real pain, but you have to be careful in doing so, as Barbarians provide a hedge to limit the expansion of your opponents as well. Make sure you expand quickly if you turn off Barabarians.

Don't just jump on a trade to appease another Civ, unless you are sure an attack is imminent and you know you can't hold your own against them. Make sure the trade is at least an even one, if it isn't then try negotiating with them to try to get a better deal. Don't trade away important resources like stone, copper, horses, iron, etc. Doing so can put your Civ at a disadvantage, and give your opponent an advantage that they did not have previously.

As far as leaders go, for a beginner, you are probably best going with a Financial or Scientific leader, as both will aid in keeping your research on the cutting edge. I prefer Expansive and Military leaders on higher difficulty settings.

 

[Hells_Hammers]

city specialization: establish a city among a lot of hills and forests - which produce hammers - and turn this into your military unit generator for your entire civilization. i usually build a worker first to forest chop and build mines, then build a barracks, and lastly, military units.

your coastal cities are going to be your commerce, science, and great people generators (the amount of science a city produces is partly dependent on commerce).

this does not mean that you still shouldn't build, say, a library or theater in your military generator and military units in your commerce generator, but you should prioritize what they build based on their strengths and your current situation. another user summed it up nicely: have your cities generate buildings/units that help your overall civ, not just themselves.

forest chop: i normally have 3 workers for every two cities, and one of them is always out chopping forests to speed building or unit production...i've found that it helps immensely, especially with coastal cities that aren't generating a lot of hammers from the surrounding tiles. remember, you can forest chop outside of your cultural borders, and the hammers generated from a forest go to the nearest city. in order to chop as early, i make a tech beeline for bronze working, which is a requirement for the chop.

starting location: personally, i'll wait a few turns to settle a city if it means the location is choice: i can always make up the lost turns in the amount of production the surrounding tiles generate over the course of the game.

worker automation: i only automate workers to connect resources via roads/railroads, and that only after every tile in the area has been as developed as can be for the time being.

as far as dealing with barbarians: make a beeline for archery to build the archers unit, which is a great early city defender. again, i also make a beeline for bronze working...once copper appears on the map, i mine it, connect it with a road, and start generating axemen.