Civilization score

[gealai]

Hello everyone.

I lost interest in computer games for a few years, but recently I have started playing civ 1 and 2 again, and started trying out number 3. I don't like number three as much as the other two for some reason. It was good to play number one again but the stupid AI got irritating- It would be great if number one had a better AI and more civs, it would be perfect in that case. But Game number two is the one I have been playing mostly.

I have a few questions regarding civ two. I have played a few games of it recently using the Persians (Always my civilization of choice) on various levels. In one of my first games of civ 2 I played on Prince and did quite well but the Zulus (who started off on a large continent) Invaded me about the time I got 'mobile warfare'. Now, I am good at some things when I play civ- for example I usualy have a good economy, I got 10,000 gold once when I played civ 1. But overall I am not the best player. In this Prince game I played I found that the other civilizations had many more technologies than me. My questions are: How do I survive on Prince level?. I don't play very aggressively- Is this a problem?. How do I keep up with the other civilizations when I play on Prince?. Does the computer get technologies faster than you on Prince?.

A second question relates to the last game of Civ 2 I played, this time on Warlord Level. I thought I did very well, getting about 60% of the Wonders and having a civ score of 996 at the end; and I got a spaceship to the new world in 1972 thus ending the game. But I only got a score of 49% (Forkbeard). Now as I have said I am not very aggressive as players go; I only conquered two cities in that last game I played. Is this a problem?. Or is it possible to get a better score without being aggressive?.

If someone could provide me with some answers I would be grateful.
Thanks for reading, gealai.

 

[Specialist290]

As for the second question, civ rating is calculated by civ score and player level, not by your actual actions. Warlord is one of the lower levels, so you got a lower rating. The same score on, say Deity (hypothetically speaking) would probably net you a somewhat higher rating, since at that level the game is more difficult.

Now for number one:

In this Prince game I played I found that the other civilizations had many more technologies than me.

I'll assume that you're familiar w/ the fact that science, money, and luxuries are all generated by "trade arrows," so I'll give you the short version: Build roads within your city radii. Early in the game, set your Tax/Luxuries/Science slider as low on money as you can afford (a small surplus, or even a temporary deficit if you have a large treasury). Send Caravans/Freight to other civs--not only do you get a per-turn bonus for trade arrows in the city of origin, but if it's a foreign city that you deliver the Caravan/Freight to you get a one-time bonus of beakers added to your science equal to the one-time money bonus you get added to the treasury.

My questions are: How do I survive on Prince level?.

Early in the game, focus on expansion and exploration, not military. Build a Warrior and a Settler right away--defense can come afterward. Use the Settler to build a new city (not to build Roads and Irrigation--that can come later), then have both cities build another in each when they reach a population of 2. Continue building Settlers and settling new cities until you reach a level you're comfortable with, and when that's done you can concentrate on the "finer points" of your empire. Even then, continue builidng new cities if you can.

I don't play very aggressively- Is this a problem?.

Not necessarily. It's possible to win an entire game by Spaceship w/ only one city. It all depends on your playing style. Tailor your strategy around your own personal strengths and use your advantages to cover your weaknesses. Don't be conformed to a rigid strategy; allow yourself to adapt to changing circumstances.

How do I keep up with the other civilizations when I play on Prince?.

Follow my advice, and listen to the others who give advice as well. If one's advice contradicts the other, go with the other guy's; many of the people here have played Civ2 longer than I have.

Does the computer get technologies faster than you on Prince?.

Not always. One piece of key advice is to choose the tech path you want to "follow" and get the other techs through huts, tech trades, etc. This allows you to concentrate your efforts in one direction.

 

[ElephantU]

Civ2 score is based on seven criteria:
- Number of citizens (2 points for happy, 1 point for content) (note this is city size, not "population")
- Number of Wonders (20 points each)
- Turns of "world peace" (3 points per turn) (definition of "peace" seems vague...)
- Number of "your" polluted tiles (-10 points each)
- Number of Future Techs discovered (5 points each)
- Starting Barb Level (Villages= -50; Roving= -25; Restless=0; Raging= +50)
- Number of Hab Modules that reach Alpha Centauri (100 points each, multiplied by the "percent chance")

There is also a Bonus Score option if you conquer the world quickly - I have not found documentation on how that score is calculated.

Quick ways to boost your score:
- Just before you finish, set your Luxuries to at least 50%
- Take a look at each city and see if a quick rush-bought improvement will turn a few unhappy people content
- Consider a couple turns of WLTC/PD to boost your number of citizens (but not if unhappiness is a growing problem)
- Look for cheap, obsolete Wonders to build or conquer
- Clean up pollution (takes two Engineer turns, or four Settler turns)
- Deliver a couple more freights to get an extra Future Tech (beware the FT number resets around 160)
- Before you launch, consider putting another Hab Module on your ship (usually Structures have to be added as well)
- If you're going to spend a few turns to do one or more of the above, try to make/buy peace with other civs - unless conquering one of their Wonders will get you more points than the "peace prize"...

Note that there is no component of score related to the size of your military or the amount of your treasury, so use them up to boost your score.

As to the "keeping up" issue, Spec290's advice is generally good. Look around for threads on Trade and pay more attention to research in your city development. Read about the Super Science City (SSC) and how improvements increase your research rate. Improve your government to Monarchy as quickly as possible, and work toward getting a stable Republic once you have the right happiness improvements. Keep expanding till you bump into other civs, and try making peace rather than war. At peace you can trade techs and maps (helpful for setting up trade routes). Getting Marco Polo gives you an automatic embassy with all civs, even those you have not yet discovered.

A final suggestion would be to join one of the cooperative/competitive games like GOTM or Democracy. You can compare notes with other players and ask questions of more experienced players. There is a King level GOTM going on this month.

BTW, Welcome back to Civ2!

 

[gealai]

Thanks for those responses Specialist290 and ElephantU.

When I played my last game of civ (the one I got 49% in) I made sure that every new city produced two settlers right away, but from the sound of it I will have to up that to three (or more) if I want to play on Prince. I didn't realise the importance of caravans in helping with Science. Although I did use them in my last game it looks like I will have to use them in greater numbers if I want to play on Prince.
I also think In need to concentrate on getting one technology (i.e Trade or Philosophy or Gunpowder) and get the left over techs through trade or via huts.
Finally, I should have put my luxuries rate up high on the second last turn- I normally put it only up by 10% or so. Thanks again for that advice.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Send Caravans/Freight to other civs--not only do you get a per-turn bonus for trade arrows in the city of origin, but if it's a foreign city that you deliver the Caravan/Freight to you get a one-time bonus of beakers added to your science equal to the one-time money bonus you get added to the treasury.

Lots of good advice here for you, but just to clarify the point made by specialist...whenever you make a trade delivery and get that bonus payment, you can get the equal bonus of beakers regardless of whether it was to a foreign or domestic city. However, deliveries to foreign cities usually pay larger bonuses than domestic deliveries, all things being equal (which they rarely are )

 

[Ace]

" (Deliver a couple more freights to get an extra Future Tech (beware the FT number resets around 160)"

The reset takes place if you discover FT 256. your FT score goes back to zero. The action that takes place around 160-170 FT is that the number of beakers required for the next advance is reset to 10 (in effect, your starting over) and you will discovery 15-20+ advances on one turn. This can be unnerving if you don't expect it, but it adds greatly to your score! The Maximum number of beakers required for an advance is just over 32,000, so when the beaker requirement is reset to 10, and the beakers you are generating per turn is in the 5 figure range....you will get some advances!!!!

In fact, after you pass this milestone, you will have to watch your science very carefully. You will have to shut it off after you discover FT 255 or you will lose your FT score when it resets to zero on discovery of FT256. Once you reach FT255, you can still deliver freight if you turn off all science beakers, since freight delivery alone cannot generate an advance. it takes at least one beaker generated by trade arrows or scientists.

 

[ElephantU]

Thanks, Ace! I knew I was not sure about the exact effect of high FTs. You've summarized exactly what I found on researching that.

On the more general subject of "ways to quickly increase your Civ Score", one I forgot to mention:
- Any Settler or Engineer you have at the end is a potential citizen - plant a new city or "join" him to an existing city of 7 or less citizens. If you have a stack of Engineers working on something, click them to wake them up BEFORE they "do their work" that turn, have the first one found a city and join the rest into the city. Note that you cannot join Settlers or Engineers to cities greater than size 7.

 

[Ace]

ElephantU: excellent point!! A settler/engineer is worthless at games end, but is worth points if converted to cities/citizens. While engineers are needed in droves during a game, they lose their purpose at the end and should always be converted back to citizens to buff up one's score. If your in democracy and you jack up the luxuries to max at the end of the game to maximize happiness points, doing this a turn early may net you an extra couple of citizens since the engineers you convert to cities/citizens will free up food in their home cities which will allow one more citizen in each of those cities. (assuming the cities are not running a negative food supply.)

Except for cleaning up pollution, engineer work in the last couple of turns is not productive. A road, irrigation, farmland, mines, etc., just do not add to one's resourses on the last turn. But engineers coverted to citizens do add points to your score.