city improvements or what??

[rafisher]

I've read in many postings that many players build only
a limited number of city improvements, or selected ones
for different cities.

My question: what do you build in lieu of city improvements?
I've tried the strategy of selective building but my other
options seem to be:
1) build more settlers -- then I have hunger problems
2) build more military units -- then when I switch to
Republic, they all get disbanded because I don't have enough
shields
3) build more caravan -- OK, great for speeding up Wonders
and trade, but then I get a backlog.
4) build more diplomats -- and keep them on reserve or
exploring.

I've found that in games that I've won (King level), almost every
city has eventually built every improvement (although cities
built late, I eventually switch to Capitalization).

Thanks for any tips.

 

[duke o' york]

By all means build all city improvements, but you have to prioritise. For example if you've just build Shakespeare's Theatre then you can sell your temple in that city and have no need to build cathedrals, colossea or anything to keep them happy. From the options you give above then I'd suggest that you build more settlers but remember to actually found new cities rather than let their home cities starve. You shouldn't have two settlers form the same city in the early game ever so get one of them to a new city site and solve the problem of starvation and support.
If your city is on a river then you should take advantage of it by building a marketplace and/or library to make the most of the extra trade. If it's right in the centre of your empire then it's probably a waste building city walls but if you've got a frontier town that will definitely come under AI attack then I'd say it's a must, along with barracks so that your defending troops can heal quickly.
I wouldn't complain about a stack of caravans though. The ability to have a wonder finished the turn after you get the tech can be vital to pushing home your advantage or clawing back any ground necessary.

 

[AnarchyBoy]

When I run out of city improvements to build, I usually either take the oppurtunity to build up the army, or switch to capitalization. If a few cities are on capitalization, I can take the taxes way down and the science way up.

 

[ElephantU]

The "limited improvements" strategy usually goes along with another strategy called ICS, for Infinite City Sleaze (or Strategy), which is the idea of building hundreds of cities but keeping most of them very small, with no improvements, just churning out settlers.

 

[Titi]

I build as many improvements as I can. Of course it depends on the geography (islands or big continent ?), the location (are you alone or with many neighbours ?), the difficulty level, but I would say my typical "building list" looks like the following :
- temple (for happiness)
- library (for science)
- market (for gold and science)
- colosseum (for happiness)
- aqueduct (for growth)
In between, some settlers, wonders and military units (not in that order though, it depends : is there a war going on, or do I need to travel the seas to expand my empire, and so on...)
After that, I don't have any particular rule.
Of course, what works for me may not be exactly what is required for other players (by the way, I don't score as high as Starlifter, Smash, Thunderfall, etc...)

 

[GenShwartzCough]

I too have wondered about prioritizing my improvements. I can beat the game, but my scores are not anywhere near the scores that I have seen in the GOTMs. Nor are my finish dates even close to the dates there either. My typical game will end around 1940 AD with an AC landing. I would really like to improve on this. Also, any hints and tips on production for MP games would be appreciated.

 

[sethos]

In most cities, I build two defenders, a settler , a temple - and from then on, I build caravans for wonder production.
When I get the Statue of Liberty, I switch to Fundy to make money. My cities build aqueducts and collissea to prepare democracy, some build sewer systems.
Some cities build diplos for defense purposes. They bribe the enemies.
And some special cities with a good production build triremes. I put diplos on them. Thei order: Explore the world, contact other civs, open goody huts.

 

[Old n Slow]

Let’s divide this set of thoughts into three parts: 1) early cities & growth, 2) great cities, 3) special cases.

For the early cities & growth, I usually build a warrior to get out & search ASAP, and then build a second warrior (or phalanx) for civil unrest purposes. Having a single city with a waving flag also stops the barbs from successful entering. Then comes a settler (or more) for a new city. (Repeat as needed until the cake fills the pan.)

Great cities -- the SSC is a prime example, similar thoughts for rapid growth in the end game. My SSC usually has two or three defenders from other cities (freeing all the shields) and builds a temple first, followed buy a wonder (probably Col, maybe HG and then Col), library, marketplace, aqueduct (if it is time), courthouse (or palace sometimes). After that level of infrastructure, it may be time for more wonders, then a sewer, bank & the boatload of worthy infrastructures. My other four to five great cities (with wonders) proceed similarly. The remaining grand cities with premium growth desired follow similar but reduced priorities to maintain the WLTP day growth. Often infrastructure is interrupted with freight building and occasionally war and pre war building needs.

Special cases include the frontier needs of city walls for the front I intend to ignore for a while and a few barracks for those locations that will generate some military units (for healing and non Sun Tsu situations). Islands and coastal cities will get offshore platforms early on -- sometimes ahead of an aqueduct if the growth plan & money are in tune.