If you annex the puppet later, it will grow and be able to build the courthouse faster. That's less turns you eat the unhappiness. I tend to annex when the city governor is doing something ********, like a size-2 city building a Stock Market. Also, you can do what I do and annex during Golden Age. The unhappiness doesn't matter unless it puts you below 0.
Civ V - Aqueduct not saving food
- Thread starter Titanius Rex
- Start date
Titanius Rex
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2012
- Messages
- 48
Yup, I can see that. Annexing during a Golden Age would be ideal. The trouble is that Golden Ages don't come along all that often. I'm currently at around 500 BC and have had only 1 Golden Age in this game, which came from a social policy I adopted. If you wait for a GA to annex, you'll be waiting for a very long time.
Even if I do end up spending a few more turns with all that extra unhappiness when annexing right away, I'll still be much further ahead. An annexed city could be gown to pop 6 or 7 with several buildings built by the time you get the next GA to come along.
I view happiness/unhappiness as a resource that can be strategically spent or saved depending on what the need at hand is. In the BC years, growth and expansion are critical. I don't mind spending my happiness to gain some expansion early on.
But that's just my way.
Even if I do end up spending a few more turns with all that extra unhappiness when annexing right away, I'll still be much further ahead. An annexed city could be gown to pop 6 or 7 with several buildings built by the time you get the next GA to come along.
I view happiness/unhappiness as a resource that can be strategically spent or saved depending on what the need at hand is. In the BC years, growth and expansion are critical. I don't mind spending my happiness to gain some expansion early on.
But that's just my way.
krc
King
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2010
- Messages
- 891
If you are planning to hard-build the courthouse, then it probably does not matter much if you annex immediately or puppet until unrest is over and then annex. The real difference arises if you have enough gold in hand to rush-buy the courthouse. In that case, puppet first is a clear advantage, since you never suffer the extra unhappiness penalty.
You are forgetting the culture growth hit to acquiring the next SP that is received with immediate annexation. That usually decides it for me in favor of puppeting for the short-medium term. Unless it is a cwap city I plan to immediately sell to the AI after it gets out of unrest, to avoid raze hate.
Otherwise, this cycle:
- Puppet captured city.
- Prep for annexation: Build culture bldgs/ally cultural CCs to raise culture rate.
- Save gold to rush buy courthouses. If city has high production, build courthouse.
- Annex city, do courthouse.
Criterion is best cities (captured capitals, etc) first, work down list, selling cities as necessary.
The Autocracy courthouse happiness boost works well with this.
Otherwise, this cycle:
- Puppet captured city.
- Prep for annexation: Build culture bldgs/ally cultural CCs to raise culture rate.
- Save gold to rush buy courthouses. If city has high production, build courthouse.
- Annex city, do courthouse.
Criterion is best cities (captured capitals, etc) first, work down list, selling cities as necessary.
The Autocracy courthouse happiness boost works well with this.
Titanius Rex
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2012
- Messages
- 48
That works great, if you just want to capture cities to sell them. And that's a good objective.
But I capture cities to keep them, grow them, and produce. I take them only if they have a strategic importance... either they have a lux res, or they are on the coast on the side of the continent that I need to have a port on, or they have extra food or gold or iron, etc.
So I pick my cities carefully before conquering them. And when I do conquer them, it's for keeps. For this objective, I find it best to annex right away and build the courthouse right away, clearing forests to speed-up the courthouse construction.
For culture, the hit I take is short lived when annexing. Besides, monuments and temples are among the first buildings I build in all my cities. I usually start with the granary first, then the monument second. After that it depends on whether I can build a water wheel or stone works. Then aqueduct, market and temple, the order of which depends on my research progress.
I then get extra culture and extra happiness through social policies, especially the policy that gives you 1 happiness for each monument and temple in your cities.
So from the loads of culture I gain from all of the above, loosing a little culture from an annexation is like loosing a teaspoon of water from a bucket. Besides, once I build a monument and temple in the annexed city, I'll be getting culture from it for the rest of the game.
But then that's just my way of playing. That's one really great thing about this game, you can follow any number of paths. Just like a real civilization, I guess.
But I like your strategy too. I'd like to try it in a really short game.
But I capture cities to keep them, grow them, and produce. I take them only if they have a strategic importance... either they have a lux res, or they are on the coast on the side of the continent that I need to have a port on, or they have extra food or gold or iron, etc.
So I pick my cities carefully before conquering them. And when I do conquer them, it's for keeps. For this objective, I find it best to annex right away and build the courthouse right away, clearing forests to speed-up the courthouse construction.
For culture, the hit I take is short lived when annexing. Besides, monuments and temples are among the first buildings I build in all my cities. I usually start with the granary first, then the monument second. After that it depends on whether I can build a water wheel or stone works. Then aqueduct, market and temple, the order of which depends on my research progress.
I then get extra culture and extra happiness through social policies, especially the policy that gives you 1 happiness for each monument and temple in your cities.
So from the loads of culture I gain from all of the above, loosing a little culture from an annexation is like loosing a teaspoon of water from a bucket. Besides, once I build a monument and temple in the annexed city, I'll be getting culture from it for the rest of the game.
But then that's just my way of playing. That's one really great thing about this game, you can follow any number of paths. Just like a real civilization, I guess.
But I like your strategy too. I'd like to try it in a really short game.
I'm the opposite. If the city has people in it, I take it. I need the experience for my troops. If I'm paying maintenance on units, then I need to put them to good use. Only time I will pass up a city is for priorities--if the units need to be doing something else, then....
OMG....... countless turns wasted timing/rush buying aqueducts and medical labs exactly 1 turn before population growth. I cannot believe this!!!! This must have been one of the biggest holes in my game. I mean, even when i had money for medical labs, i would wait until it was exactly 1 turn to save on maintenance cost. This changes my world..
TractorBoy
Prince
Ditto, no wonder I am crap at this game, I still have a lot to learn and this is why I still play the Vanilla version. I will move on once I have cracked it!!
