beginner questions

[TimPeters]

I've played a few rounds of civ 4, having only played a little bit of call to power before this, and thought I caught on. I just tried a game on noble and lost quite quickly, so I came here to look for some strategies, but I suppose I don't understand a few basic points.

First question, What is the positive to having a lot of gold? Can you pay for faster production? I always seemed to have lots of money, with constant 100% research and only being able to spend it on upgrading units.

Also, tips for amassing an army quickly? It seemed I could only have a few longbowman and knights before I was overwhelmed with thrice the amount early on.

The spreading of religion seemed a bit spotty to me. I pumped out a bunch of missionaries and spread one of he religions I founded, and even having three different civ's empires with all their cities having my religion in it, but it did not show up on the score board. How/when would they switch state religions?

 

[anton_z1]

First question, What is the positive to having a lot of gold? Can you pay for faster production? I always seemed to have lots of money, with constant 100% research and only being able to spend it on upgrading units.

Also, tips for amassing an army quickly? It seemed I could only have a few longbowman and knights before I was overwhelmed with thrice the amount early on.

The spreading of religion seemed a bit spotty to me. I pumped out a bunch of missionaries and spread one of he religions I founded, and even having three different civ's empires with all their cities having my religion in it, but it did not show up on the score board. How/when would they switch state religions?

If you have too much gold means 1) Your military is small. 2) your empire is too small (not egnough cities) 3) your civics are not the best you could get.

To build a big army you need more and bigger cities.

The religion is good for the following reasons:
1) AI with the same religion as you loves you
2) If you founded a religion and have built a shrine you get 1 gold per city (even ennemy city) with the same religion.
3) Religious building are good to increase happiness/culture (and some research)
4) Religious civics can give you good bonuses (Organised religon + 25% building production !!! for every city with your state religion)

Hovewer note tha Civilizations with other religion the yours will hate you.

 

[TimPeters]

so the purpose of having a good economy is the ability to expand?

In my last game I had read on here that I should specialize my cities, so I had 1 culture, 1 economy, and 2 military production, and I had a huge stock pile of gold while constantly building military units. Should I have built more military cities?

 

[weimingshi]

You can use gold to rush whatever you are building be it army, building or wonder. To do this you need change your government civic to universal suffrage. You have 2 ways of getting this civic, tech way is discover democracy which is a early industrial age tech. second, is to build the pyramid world wonder, it enables all government type civic, this you can get in ancient age.

 

[huang di]

If you're earning a ton of cash early on, it means you have the ability to grow your empire. Add a couple of cities, as suggested, and create barracks. Also, if you've got the dough, try using vassalage or theocracy civics to get your units some extra experience points: overcome numbers with skill.

 

[QiZhe]

The spreading of religion seemed a bit spotty to me. I pumped out a bunch of missionaries and spread one of he religions I founded, and even having three different civ's empires with all their cities having my religion in it, but it did not show up on the score board. How/when would they switch state religions?

If the AI also has another religion in all of their cities, they're not going to change it automatically. What would be the point? Changing the state religion requires one turn of anarchy for non-spiritual civilizations. Especially if they founded a different religion themselves. If I were the AI and I had Taoism in all of my cities and one of my cities was the Taoist Holy City, you spreading Judaism into all my cities doesn't exactly make me want to switch over to Christianity, as there's nothing in it for me. However, you could use diplomacy and you can choose to have them convert their state religion to yours. If your religion is in most of their cities, they may do it for a price.

Tim, you underestimate the difficulty levels. Play settler first. If that's too easy for you (it should be), play chieftain, then warlord, and just move up the ladder until you get to a level that's comfortable yet still challenging for you.

 

[TimPeters]

Well, I began on the easiest difficulty and moved my way up to warlord after finding it too easy. I was able to win a domination victory on warlord with little strategy, just a mass quantity of samurai, and now beginning anew on noble, I notice my tactics and understanding to be very lacking.

Another question, the gold coins on the terrain tiles, those don't actually stand for 1 gold per turn per gold icon if I choose a worker to work the tile? (Putting the circle on it in the city screen) I understand bread = food = population growth which enables the ability to use more terrain tiles on the city, and hammer = quicker production, so am I correct to assume the coins = more gold per turn?

If so, I don't understand why one would focus on commerce; is rushing production that much of an advantage?

 

[clegg318]

Im brand new to the civ series and this one thing just doesn't make any sense to me at all....the gold on the tile doesnt give me any gold...am i missing something about the commerce income? and is it like that with the hammers and food icons and i just missed it?

but the only way i see making gold is through building in-city buildings, not cottages...please reply

 

[Arathorn]

Cottages and other sources of those little "gold piece" symbols you see on your map are commerce. They generate commerce. Commerce goes into one of three places.

Science -- this starts at 100% of your commerce. In the upper left, you can change this at will. Science is also produced by specialists.

Culture -- after you get the right tech (drama, I think), you can put commerce into culture. This produces culture and some happiness with your commerce. LOTS of things produce culture.

Gold -- Whatever % is of commerce is not used above goes into your treasury for gold. It pays for things like armies, city upkeep, etc. Gold can also be produced by specialists and some buildings (e.g., religious shrines).

I hope that helps.

Arathorn

 

[clegg318]

keep in mind im brand new....i did a quick test and made a bunch of cottages. Now a base city if im correct has +10 gold going to research. i took all the gold away from research and let turn and turn pass but the +10 stayed +10. But since i built, lets say, 5 cottages, shouldnt i be getting +15 each turn? i know that once i get the gold i can put it into research and culure, maybe the gold is going into the treasury, but i havent seen a treasury button...

 

[snepp]

keep in mind im brand new....i did a quick test and made a bunch of cottages. Now a base city if im correct has +10 gold going to research. i took all the gold away from research and let turn and turn pass but the +10 stayed +10. But since i built, lets say, 5 cottages, shouldnt i be getting +15 each turn? i know that once i get the gold i can put it into research and culure, maybe the gold is going into the treasury, but i havent seen a treasury button...

Do you have citizens working those tiles? You'll only get the benefits if the city has someone working that particular tile.

 

[JavalTigar]

Im brand new to the civ series and this one thing just doesn't make any sense to me at all....the gold on the tile doesnt give me any gold...am i missing something about the commerce income? and is it like that with the hammers and food icons and i just missed it?

but the only way i see making gold is through building in-city buildings, not cottages...please reply

If you want gold,then you have to down your science from 100%. All of your "taxes" gained buy your cottages is going in to the lab so to speak. If you stop funding techs, then more cash goes in to the coffers.

Hammers add up to the total production in a city.

Food also adds up to the total amount produced in a city. However, each population point "eats" 2 food. So a typical 1 point city has the town center (which doesn't eat any food) and works one square (usually by default a square that will generate max food) therefore the surplus is 2+ food - usually. This determins how fast your city grows. Health now plays a part in growth because every point of unhealthyness subtracts 1 food from your surplus.

Hope this helps. And welcome to CFC!

 

[clegg318]

yes it did, just not about the gold......and thanks for answering me and the welcome...but just one more question, i took the research all the way down, had 5 cottages and still only had +10 gold, wheres the +5 gold from my cottages going to? Its not telling me in the city management screen. And i think i have citizens working the land, i have blue circles over the tile in the management screen...I dont remember having this problem in the tutorial

 

[TimPeters]

ah, much thanks. I finally realize the importance of commerce. Research. It finally makes sense, and should help my playing.

After starting a new game, I think I realized that in the very beginning, food is to be emphasized, so I can get more tiles worked?

 

[snepp]

yes it did, just not about the gold......and thanks for answering me and the welcome...but just one more question, i took the research all the way down, had 5 cottages and still only had +10 gold, wheres the +5 gold from my cottages going to? Its not telling me in the city management screen. And i think i have citizens working the land, i have blue circles over the tile in the management screen...I dont remember having this problem in the tutorial

Hopefully this will help you out a bit.

Where the gold is coming from:
+8 Palace
+1 City square
+3 Grassland/Hamlet square

Where the gold is going, 50/50:
6 to Research
6 to Gold (treasury)

 

[clegg318]

YES! you just made me realize im blind .....so im guessing you get one citizen to work the land per population growth? and one more stupid question....if i have like 15 people happy and unhappy and what not, why only 1 guy working the land? how lazy are my people??

 

[JavalTigar]

YES! you just made me realize im blind .....so im guessing you get one citizen to work the land per population growth? and one more stupid question....if i have like 15 people happy and unhappy and what not, why only 1 guy working the land? how lazy are my people??

Not sure what your asking, but if you have a happiness of 15 and a unhappiness of 17 then you will have 2 workers on strike. They show up at the bottom of your specialist column in red. Which means that (assuming you have no specialists set and not counting the city center square) you would have 13 worked tiles.

Just increase luxuries or culture or build a temple/coloseum/theater or make a priest or artist to help remove the extra unhappiness and they will go back to work. If you mouse over the happy/unhappy tally it will let you know wher improvement is needed.

 

[snepp]

YES! you just made me realize im blind

Happy I could be of assistance.

.....so im guessing you get one citizen to work the land per population growth?

This is correct. Alternatively, rather than having a citizen work the land, you can turn them into a specialist. (assuming you produce enough food per turn)

and one more stupid question....if i have like 15 people happy and unhappy and what not, why only 1 guy working the land? how lazy are my people??

I'm not understanding this last one, care to elaborate a bit?

 

[clegg318]

it was a joke, i was just saying i have 6 happy faces and 10 healthy people starting out and yet only one guy works the land,...so why dont they work the land, those lazy bums....

 

[snepp]

it was a joke, i was just saying i have 6 happy faces and 10 healthy people starting out and yet only one guy works the land,...so why dont they work the land, those lazy bums....

I gotcha now, was taking you a bit too literally.