Caravans

[soprismb]

I asked Morte this in a PM but I want to pull rank on him (sorry, buddy) and ask you all what your thoughts on Caravans are. Does anyone use them? I'm Egypt right now and in my style of play it seems almost like I have no modern bonus because I've literally never purchased a caravan in my life.

PS--do the caravans get bigger by era like the explorers do? Early explorers net you 50, then 100, then 200 then 400 gold, right? Do caravans go up in price as well with eras? is it worth pursuing?

 

[Hertsh]

If you wanna go for a quick economic victory Caravans are much stronger than you might think. They let you transfer hammers into gold better than any other activity. A production centered city with little sea or desserts can still produce gold for you.

With the patch (I think 1.30) that makes any city being able to switch to gold production (and no production) in modern era, this bonus has significantly lost its value in the game. However, it still is valuable for you if you are rushing for an economic victory as fast as possible and can/want to avoid war with too many foes.

And yes, the value of a caravan increases by the ages.

 

[bonafide11]

I very rarely build caravans, but they can be useful if you're going for an economic victory. I just prefer to use my production cities for military purposes, and the cities near the sea for gold.

 

[Sir.Binary]

With the patch (I think 1.30) that makes any city being able to switch to gold production...QUOTE]

Sorry for being late on this topic, but I am new to the forums here, and was just browsing...
How do you patch the DS game? Can you? Am I missing something?
I just got the game and have not seen this ability yet so if you can, how do you patch to 1.30?

Thanks!

Sir.Binary

 

[PiMan]

Can't patch the DS version. He is referring to the 360 and PS3 versions.