For Edge:
As a new member to this Forum, I'll make a few comments, since you asked.
To run a republic or democracy, you need to be able to generate trade and set luxuries high enough to offset the unhappiness. In a small map, republic works out nicely... but you have to commit the high (as much as 60 to 80%) luxuries to celebrate WLT__ days in the ancient eras. Marketplaces and temples, plus irrigation and of course, roads, are a great help. Ocean terrain and a harbor will ensure maximum growth, and after growing is done (I do it in furious cycles), you can drop the luxuries to about 20 or 30%, and put citizens to work on more shield-producing terrain.
One key is to understand trade and caravan bonuses. You get both gold and science for a caravan delivery... plus you get the trade route! In a low-corruption Republic, those bonuses can get HUGE. In GOTM 5, I was getting over 1000 gold and 1000 science for some caravans. In the late game, Oil and Uranium freight got up to 2200 gold AND 2200 science... even on this small map... and that was trading with myself, which curtails the bonus a lot. On big maps, I expect well over 3,000.
Every turn from about year 1400 onwards in GOTM 5, I'd get thousands in gold almost every turn. That finanaces rush construction of almost everything... I rarely sit around and build improvements from scratch in Democracy or Republic. I partially rush smaller units, or build the big ones (larger than Cruiser).
Trade routes and marketplaces will allow a dark ages republic to grow, though to max out, it will take democracy and a lot of late-game city improvements (JS Bach helps a lot).
For reference (on a big map), I'm thinking about SDI networks (placement pattern) and Battleship construction (eventual shield production and water access/distance to enemy) as early as 1000 BC, as I place my cities. On a small map like GOTM 5 however, none of that matters... because I have never seen an AI make it to the modern Era on a small map unless I allow them to (Normally, I always play diety on a large map, 7 civs, raging hordes).
Caravans/freight build wonders, make spaceships parts, create trade, defend cities, block spies, crowd/restrict ally movement (block choke points), explore territory, prevent partisan creation (when capturing a city in late game), even start wars (act as a juicy target for a "peaceful" nation that the senate won't let me attack) when governing in democracy or republic. BTW, caravans/freight cannot be expelled from enemy territory.
In the GOTM 5 Map, I used the early Republic strategy, and kept my science at one advance every 2 turns for much of the AD years, except when I underwent growth spurts (like after Aquaducts or Sewer systems). That allowed me to have destroyers facing phalanxes and Veteran Cavalry facing warriors and the odd pikeman when I lazily got around to killing off the rest of the world in the 1400 and 1500's. Most civs were toast in one game turn... I like wiping out a whole civ at one time, and consider it a semi-failure if I can't blitz the whole civ in one turn after railroad. BTW, this is actually a very helpful skill in late game because it will render partisan destruction moot if you can destroy the whole civ.
In the late game of GOTM 5, it was an advance almost every turn, and near the end, it was 2 to 4 advances per turn (FT is worth 5 points per advance on the final score), except if I really need 4 or 6 thousand more cash in one turn to finance something, like an sudden expansion (then I'd drop the science and raise taxes... Luxuries are 30% to grow, and 10 or 20% to maintain status quo in democracy, for me).
BTW, since I knew the GOTM 5 map was small, I was never concerned about aggressive expansion. In 1550, I left only one enemy city (a size 2 Sioux city), and gave the Sioux the entire technology tree (even Stealth). My 39-8-8-4-4-4 spaceship will land a little before 1800, but the end-game is tedious due to growing the cities and improving the terrain. My growth/FT is still ahead of the curve (GOTM score still increasing) as I finish the last few years...
[This message has been edited by starlifter (edited June 20, 2001).]
