Colossus & lighthouse

[BlueMonday]

Even though I generally do not pursue the lighthouse or colussus, they both have tactical advantages. If you are headed down the road of conquest then its lighthouse you want. It gives you the quick ability to cross large oceans and invade enemy territory.

However, if you are the peaceful sort, Colossus is your bag. Built in a city with a large trade base, the colossus will give you heaps of science and taxes for a long time; combine it with copernicus observatory...then you the s***dog!

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[willemvanoranje]

I used to build the Lighthouse all the time (back when I played Chieftain and Warlord) but now I don't. I always build the Colossus, and I try to get the Copernicus's Observatory as well.

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Concordia res parvae cres****.

 

[woke25]

Since no hard school gameleague players have replied to this to enlighten the newbies in this forum, i will make a try.

Why does the Colusses SUCK so bad?

Let us compare the colusses with 4 caravans, like Mindfields suggested. What can a caravan do more then build wonders? Right, build trade routes. 1 trade route gives always +1 trade, for both cities, that is +2 trade per trade route. But if the city grows bigger and better, it can be soon +2, and even +5 is possible, thats +10 per trade route. You can see where im heading. Let us pressume a trade route has an average of +2 in a city, that is then +4 per trade route. If you have 4 caravans, this means +16 trade every turn. Then i dont even mention the gold you get from it. And also, because its 4 cities, you can build improvements in 4 cities to expand instead of only 1 city.

This +16 is kind of a starting, and will increase dramatically, and does not expire. Colusses can NEVER catch up in this.

 

[woke25]

Why is the lighthouse the best wonder of civ2?

You guys are using the lighthouse the wrong way. You should use the lighthouse to control the seas. with the veteran ships, you can prevent your opponent to come to your cities, while you can go to theirs. use this to steal technologies and build all the wonders. Lighthouse can be THE key to control over the other wonders.

Besides this, you can use the lighthouse for veteran ironclads. you can research steamengine earlier then magnetism. veteran ironclads can kill all the old defense units in cities, and your rule over the seas is complete.

 

[Pedro]

Playing the devil's advocate there, woke?
The colossus comes early in the game, before you can lay your hands on trade, you can have it in one of your cities. As research early on requires less beakers, the colossus can cut quite some years off the research time, which *will* make the difference. Of course it's nothing compared with caravans, but those can a) be used later and b) in addition to the colossus for some really impressive results! Colossus should always be in your SSC!

 

[BlueMonday]

Originally posted by woke23:

Why does the Colusses SUCK so bad?

Let us compare the colusses with 4 caravans, like Mindfields suggested. What can a caravan do more then build wonders? Right, build trade routes. 1 trade route gives always +1 trade, for both cities, that is +2 trade per trade route. But if the city grows bigger and better, it can be soon +2, and even +5 is possible, thats +10 per trade route. You can see where im heading. Let us pressume a trade route has an average of +2 in a city, that is then +4 per trade route. If you have 4 caravans, this means +16 trade every turn.

A good point, but having colossus is always a good and reliable way to increase trade without worrying about trade routes. It doesn't matter where you are, you always are guarunteed to get x trade added. Also, building the colussus does not prevent you from adding trade routes.

Trade routes + collusus + research improvements + market improvements + copernicus observatory = a whole s***load of bonuses.

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[woke25]

colussus is in my honest opinion, just a very expensive copy of the city improvement that you can build by researching automobile: super highways. I do not see the need for such huge waste of resources this early in the game. If you want lots of science in 1 city, there is a much easier way to do this, that doesnt cost that much shields: found your city very close to water and build a harbor in it, a library and university. Celibrate the city to 12 by puting all workers on the water. then put science back up, and voila, in 1x1x at least worthy of 50 science output.

I forgot to mention 1 more thing. If you build the hanging gardens in monarchy, it will give you also the result of the colussus because celebrating in monarchy, will give you +1 trade for every square. If a wonder is only a part of another wonder that is the same expense, it is per definition a crappy wonder.

Colussus is therefor the worsed wonder that excists in civ2. The day i lose a game against someone who builds colussus, will be the day i stop playing this game.

[This message has been edited by woke23 (edited April 02, 2001).]

 

[BlueMonday]

I think you're being a little too dismissive, Woke. Granted, colossus is not my priority wonder, but it can be used very effectively. It is a relatively cheap wonder at only 200 shields and it gives a guarunteed benefit, but it does require some discretion when building.

Never build it in a low trade city, always use it to boost an already booming trade city. Also, it comes very early (bronze working) and is only slighty more expensive than superhighways which doesn't arrive until much, much later. Proper use of colussus equals big rewards for the peaceful civ which lacks the trade resources to divert into luxuries for we love the ___ day.

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[Andu Indorin]

Agreeing with Blue Monday: "too dismissive."

While the Colussus is like a Superhighways improvement, it's one you can build at the start of the game. And Woke, consider your own strategy as stated plus the Colussus (i.e., booming trade site + Hanging Gardens + trade routes + Colussus); your strategy is sound, but it becomes even more potent when you get the Colussus in the same city as the Hanging Gardens. It virtually gaurantees growth up size 16 or 18 without any other "happiness" improvements; this significantly boosts trade/happiness/science/revenue in every other city trading with the Colussus city. Consequently, achieving the Colussus-Hanging Gardens combo is one of my highest objectives in the early game; together, a very potent combination. (At Deity level, the all-important Mike's Chapel usually becomes the third part of this equation).