Can't play non-financial :(

[rooban]

Hi all,

I have recently realized that I can only do decently when playing financial races. I tried to go for SE (using Germans), but overexpanded, let my cities grow too much and now I'm eons behind in tech and negative on cash flow even on 0% research. I do have a decent army tearing through closest neighbour Napoleon, but I don't really want to capture any more cities as I'll probably go bankrupt. Raze cities?

Anyway, any input on how to learn playing a non-CE game is more than welcome

Thanks!

 

[SenhorDaGuerra]

{whisper} you can play CE with non-financial civs... but dont tell anyone i told you!

i really recommend you read sisiutils guide for beginners. one of the best guides available, even if your not a beginner. you can find it in te war academy, somewhere on the left hand side of your browser.

some additional info would be useful too... upload a savegame so people can comment on your game.

best of luck!

 

[rooban]

Thanks,
Sisutil really uses down-to-earth language and it's very easy to understand

I guess I could post this question on the noob topic but since I have already created one, I'll ask here.

How much of an impact on my ecomony will a city bring if I try to specialize it for Commerce City? I mean, most of the time I'm running 70-80% of research, not much is left for money-making... Or this city should build only wealth once the initial buildings are complete?

 

[Elkad]

if you are running high research percentage, then your commerce/wealth city can let you bump the slider even higher. Use farms and merchants, not towns. Good chance you can take your civ all the way to 100% research with 1 city feeding it gold.

On your original post. If your army is too big to pay for, then it had better start razing cities and pillaging improvements for cash.

 

[Supr49er]

Hi all,

I have recently realized that I can only do decently when playing financial races. I tried to go for SE (using Germans), but overexpanded, let my cities grow too much and now I'm eons behind in tech and negative on cash flow even on 0% research. I do have a decent army tearing through closest neighbour Napoleon, but I don't really want to capture any more cities as I'll probably go bankrupt. Raze cities?

Anyway, any input on how to learn playing a non-CE game is more than welcome

Thanks!

You can gift the poor cities to an ally or backward AI instead of razing them. Keep only productive cities, or those which have founded religions.

I find playing an Org(anized) leader like Zara Yaqob can allow for an efficient large empire.

Welcome to the Forums rooban.

 

[Clam Spammer]

I'll expand on what Supr49er said about Organized leaders.

If you are a warmongering type (sounds like you are) then Organized is a good substitute for Financial, and in some cases it is even better. Make sure you have Code of Laws before you go to war, or at least shortly after, and then you can whip (hurry using Slavery) courthouses in captured cities as soon as the resistance ends. If you capture some workers then you can chop them out instead. Reduced civic costs are very useful when running wartime civics like Vassalage and Theocracy.

Basically, Organized lets you expand more (much more than Expansive ) early in the game, peacefully or otherwise, without worrying so much about your economy.

 

[Kesshi]

Thanks,
Sisutil really uses down-to-earth language and it's very easy to understand

I guess I could post this question on the noob topic but since I have already created one, I'll ask here.

How much of an impact on my ecomony will a city bring if I try to specialize it for Commerce City? I mean, most of the time I'm running 70-80% of research, not much is left for money-making... Or this city should build only wealth once the initial buildings are complete?

rooban,

The nice thing about having a specialist economy is that each city specializes. This means with the proper management you will need fewer buildings on average. For example, most cities won't need a market (unless you need the extra happiness), a grocer (unless you need the extra health) nor a bank (unless you need to build the minimum to get your Wall Street.) However because every specialist produces science (under representation) your science buildings should be built mostly everywhere. There are exceptions, of course.

By the way, did you build the Pyramids and switch to Representation?

 

[Branded Swine]

Here are some links I have found pretty good for varied ways of saying the same thing (in case you want more).

One for Roosevelt and how good he is...
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=263277&highlight=roosevelt

Then some on economy stuff...

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=257732&highlight=guide+hybrid+economy

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=266293&highlight=guide+hybrid+economy

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=252717&highlight=guide+hybrid+economy


Happy Gaming
B.S.

 

[rooban]

Hey, thanks for your input guys

I gave my current game a thought and decided to start a new one. I also decided to stop save-loading, that's something I have been doing way too much.

So, the game is a huge continents map with normal speed, i guess 7 or 8 civs (what's the default?) and prince difficulty.

I decided to go with Augustus Caesar because I like wonders and I'll be able to win early wars with praetorians. After several bad starting positions I landed near a stone and some flood plains and decided to go for it.

I revealed a few juicy spots nearby that I simply had to take. In addition, the nearest neighbour spawned just 15 tiles to the south, so I could not afford to waste any time. Luckily it's Darius I who started cottage-spamming right away and didn't expand fast.

But I really wanted to get the GW just for synergy with Imperialistic. I actually managed to get both it and the Stonehenge ) But in doing that, I missed the Oracle so that sucked

In 3080 BC suddenly the Incas have become extinct! followed by the Byzantines in 2520 BC

In 775 BC first GP popped (spy), settled in the capital.

675 BC built Pyramids, yes! But switched to Representation only in 300 BC, lamer

In 125 AD the second GP popped, a scientist. Lightbulbed Mathematics. I don't have a Commerce or a Science sity yet, Academy won't give as much a bonus.

Now I discovered another feature which I haven't thought of before - because I have built the GW, barbs don't enter my cultural borders and go strait for Darius cities, giving his defenders valuable exp. But now I have Iron and pumping Praetorians from 3 cities. I am about to attack Darius.

To the right I have built Neapolis and I hope eventually will become a GP farm with 12 flood plains, 1 wheat and 1 cow in the BFC.

Here is the initial save and my current save.

So I'll try to keep you guys posted if you are interested. If not, I'll still post, legacy for future generations

P.S: Oh, and I've done some dot-mapping (thanks, Sisutil!) - here are the next expansion targets. I didn't research Horse Riding yet and don't plan to unless I steal it or get with a peace treaty. So I am not in a hurry to tap horse.

 

[Kesshi]

675 BC built Pyramids, yes! But switched to Representation only in 300 BC, lamer

In 125 AD the second GP popped, a scientist. Lightbulbed Mathematics. I don't have a Commerce or a Science sity yet, Academy won't give as much a bonus.

rooban,

These were your two biggest mistakes. The pyramids should have been completed must quicker (the quicker you get them, the quicker you can get the happiness bonus) and you know why converting late was bad.

The second mistake was not settling your great person. Your capital looks like it'll be a wonderful city. You should be settling every single great person there. Even settled great people get the +3 beaker bonus, and that is BEFORE you factor in multipliers (like Libraries, and Oxford University.) A settled Great Scientist nets you 9 beakers and 1 hammer per turn, before multipliers! Also, if you knew you were going to eventually make that city your great person city (I would!) it's actually quite nice to build the academy early. One library + 2 scientist specialists = a lot of beakers very early on. Add in an academy, and you've got yourself 1/3 or more of your science output, and the best part about this is it won't matter what your commerce slider is at, because it's pure beakers.

There have been games where I've been in the red at 30% Science, but still out-teching everybody because of my libraries +2 scientists everywhere. A Specialist Economy requires specialization. So get specializing!

 

[rooban]

Kesshi, point taken.

Now another dilemma I am facing is what to do with forests. In one of my recent games I captured several cities with a lot of forests around them. Because I already had Railroad etc I did not chop them but rather built lumbermills there. That was so cool! I mean, with railroad they give +2 hammers and don't take away the health bonus!
So should I really chop all the forests to rush wonders and clear out space for farms (especially if I am going for SE)? This will definitely hurt the health.

P.S. I still have three cities to settle. So should I? If not, when? The locations themselves are great, much food which means I can run some early scientists. But I'm afraid this will cripple the economy.

 

[oranges]

I city with many forests that late in the game just begs to become the National Park city, when you'll convert those lumbermills to forest preserves. Meanwhile, build the buildings allowing you to run all those specialists.

 

[pxpdoo]

I city with many forests that late in the game just begs to become the National Park city, when you'll convert those lumbermills to forest preserves. Meanwhile, build the buildings allowing you to run all those specialists.

lol SDG
For the very first time, have followed advice and made a NP Sp city... and won by Culture by accident!
Was thinking about spinning it off into a Colony, but just couldn't bear the loss (Versasilles, Hermatige, NP, Mining, Inc., and preparing for invasion...)
Those NP Specialists really add up, if you can find some forests...

 

[rooban]

I city with many forests that late in the game just begs to become the National Park city, when you'll convert those lumbermills to forest preserves. Meanwhile, build the buildings allowing you to run all those specialists.

So you're saying leave only one city forested and chop others for improvements/wonder rush?

I thought of another reason to leave forests - if they are on a tundra for instance.

 

[oranges]

I don't know what happened that many remained with forests, both the AI and human players are usually eager to chop them all way before the industrial era, but good for you. For non NP cities, I would chop parts that would be better off with some other improvement, hammers from chops do not mean as much as early in the game, so that is not an important element for the decision. Health bonus form forests could be if it will allow you to, for instance, build a factory, power plant or industrial park and remain healthy. I chop forests on tundra only if the city will not be able to work the tile due to a lack of food anyway.