Condensed tips for beginners?

[CivilizedTiger]

Thank you for the information! If I become better with specialists, I might finally become a good player with my favourite leader (Pericles) who I haven't played as almost at all.

 

[Sisiutil]

Thank you for the information! If I become better with specialists, I might finally become a good player with my favourite leader (Pericles) who I haven't played as almost at all.

Pericles is an excellent choice for the SE; he's Philosophical for more GP, and as a Creative leader he gets cheap libraries.

 

[robbyextreme]

Yeah well Philosophical+anything is great. =)

so great Phi/Ind isn't in the game.

 

[CivIVMonger]

Pericles is an excellent choice for the SE; he's Philosophical for more GP, and as a Creative leader he gets cheap libraries.

Agreed, one of my favorites too. Although I think (IMHO) that Mehmed is the best at least in my playstyle. Suileman is also a great choice for SE.

 

[CivilizedTiger]

Is there any way to tell whether an AI is willing to capitulate to another?

I'm currently decimating Shaka and will switch to his freshly-ex vassal, Montezuma afterwards, and at some point I took peace with him (before redeclaring) and in that time I've asked Darius, who's also very strong economy wise, to attack Shaka, thinking that this will help severely thin the forces of all three leaders involved. (And it did )

And at some point I got overexcited and asked Ghandi to join in as well, despite the fact that there's nothing he will ever do in this war, other than perhaps lose a few fishing boats.

I'd like at least Darius to keep losing forces and to keep thinning the forces of Monty, but I don't know for how long I can keep this up without Shaka vassaling to him. Shaka is already willing to capitulate to me, btw, but I don't want him as a vassal, I want him off the map, to get rid of the motherland happiness penalty and to get rid of a leader who'll be furious with me for the rest of the game.

Is there anyway to tell when Shaka vassals? Or should I play it safe and ask Darius and Ghandi to settle for peace?

 

[cabert]

Is there any way to tell whether an AI is willing to capitulate to another?

I'm currently decimating Shaka and will switch to his freshly-ex vassal, Montezuma afterwards, and at some point I took peace with him (before redeclaring) and in that time I've asked Darius, who's also very strong economy wise, to attack Shaka, thinking that this will help severely thin the forces of all three leaders involved. (And it did )

And at some point I got overexcited and asked Ghandi to join in as well, despite the fact that there's nothing he will ever do in this war, other than perhaps lose a few fishing boats.

I'd like at least Darius to keep losing forces and to keep thinning the forces of Monty, but I don't know for how long I can keep this up without Shaka vassaling to him. Shaka is already willing to capitulate to me, btw, but I don't want him as a vassal, I want him off the map, to get rid of the motherland happiness penalty and to get rid of a leader who'll be furious with me for the rest of the game.

Is there anyway to tell when Shaka vassals? Or should I play it safe and ask Darius and Ghandi to settle for peace?

I don't know a way of telling, but it must be pretty close, since you could vassalize him, it's very much likely all others could.
With the changes in the code, you can trade techs with your furious vassal, so I suggest vassaling him and going over to the next.

 

[Silv Something]

I need to know about the Internet. How does it steal techs? How do you decide who to steal techs from? Does it keep stealing techs after it is built?

 

[Ghpstage]

I need to know about the Internet. How does it steal techs? How do you decide who to steal techs from? Does it keep stealing techs after it is built?

The internet doesn't steal techs from anyone, it gives you any and all techs that 2 or more AI have and it carries on giving any tech 2 or more civs get that you don't after you built it.

 

[Yxklyx]

Is there anyway to tell when Shaka vassals? Or should I play it safe and ask Darius and Ghandi to settle for peace?

Seems to me Shaka would make a perfect Vassal what with all the units he builds and he won't go for Cultural or Tech well.

 

[roguepro92]

The internet doesn't steal techs from anyone, it gives you any and all techs that 2 or more AI have and it carries on giving any tech 2 or more civs get that you don't after you built it.

having the internet + knowing what all others are teching helps nicely cuz then you can tech something besides what they are teching and their techs will come to you thru internet anyways

 

[Phoenix Firess]

How long does it take for the Internet to start giving you techs after it has been built? And how long a period is their between techs you gain from its nefarious use of copper wire?

 

[CivilizedTiger]

There is no time limit. As soon as you get the Internet, you get all the techs which you didn't have, but at least two other civs had at that time. After that, you always get a new tech from the Internet every time it is researched by a second civ.

I don't understand the second question.

 

[Phoenix Firess]

Sorry, I was totally misunderstanding the parametres, I understand now why I didn't immediately get the techs I thought I should have in my most recent game. I was reading it as you get all the techs known by any two known civs, not any tech known by two other civs. My misunderstanding led me to think there was some sort of time period you had to wait to get a tech, and further time period between each new acquisition, because I didn't immediately get some techs I thought should have. In reality, it must have been the case that only one civ had the techs I thought I should get. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[CivilizedTiger]

Don't apologize, we all make mistakes, and mistakes about the game don't affect anyone else anyway... and I had the EXACT same misunderstanding as you did about the Internet , and I also had someone tell me how it works. (I was going after the internet thinking that I'd get medicine from Cathy, and when I got the internet, I was surprised not to get medicine, and I was angry, I was thinking "how %#$!%$ did the game choose those civs?" - then someone told me on this forum how it works)

 

[kcd_swede]

Sorry, I was totally misunderstanding the parametres, I understand now why I didn't immediately get the techs I thought I should have in my most recent game. I was reading it as you get all the techs known by any two known civs, not any tech known by two other civs. My misunderstanding led me to think there was some sort of time period you had to wait to get a tech, and further time period between each new acquisition, because I didn't immediately get some techs I thought should have. In reality, it must have been the case that only one civ had the techs I thought I should get. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

I think you do not get a tech until you have the pre-req's for it, either. But if 2 civs have Mass Media, they also both have to have Radio. You'd get radio on turn 1, and then next turn Mass Media, I think, rather than getting Radio and Mass Media on the same turn.

 

[CivilizedTiger]

In the spirit of some earlier questions I've asked... do I really need a cottage city?

I've just abandoned a game in which I had good enough cities, had built the GLh and was settling cities like crazy (including on 3 islands... one of those cities, immediately at settling, offered 10 extra gold per turn ) But the problem with this game is that I saw no good cottage city place. And... I got discouraged and quit.

If I try a SE with coastal driven economy, can I manage without a cottage city? And when I do have a grassland river spot, but it doesn't have any high commerce resources, should I make it a cottage capital?

 

[Silu]

If I try a SE with coastal driven economy, can I manage without a cottage city?

Yes. Often you manage better without one in such circumstances.

And when I do have a grassland river spot, but it doesn't have any high commerce resources, should I make it a cottage capital?

Not as a rule, no. Depends on the circumstances.

Especially on higher levels it's perfectly viable to consistently play with no cottages at all, due to higher yields from bulbs and tech trading.

 

[CivilizedTiger]

Thanks for the input! In some of these things, I go by bias, so it helps to see that other ideas do work for other people.

 

[CivilizedTiger]

I have run into a slight problem with my latest game, in that I have a horse resource inside my borders, I've pastured and roaded it, but the problem is that it's the only thing I have on that island and I don't know how to get the resource. I thought the road would do it, but it doesn't, and settling on that island is a terrible prospect. Is there anything I can do short of settling there? For instance, if I build a fort in stead of the pasture, will that help? Or if I build a fort next to the pasture and road it?

 

[Silu]

Fort it or wait until your culture spreads to another tile on the island, then fort that tile and road the Horse to it.