I started playing CIV2 in... 1996, and "graduated" to deity one day when I was bored with winning everything and getting fying saucers in 0 BC at Chieftain level.
So much more interesting.
At Deity level the more cities you havem the moreunhappy your people are, and after the first few cities you'll need one, even two military units to keep the peace of even a size one city.
So, here's my strategy:
1) I build cities ON the goody hexes, such as grain, copper, buffalo etc. so that their benefit cannot be stolen unless the city is taken/destroyed; building a city with two/three goody hexes in its radius means I will always be quarreling with the AI who will inevitably stand its own units on it.
This also means that I can lead a group of three units (two infantry + one settler) and build an instantly defendable city ON an enemy goody hex 8^D
2) RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH ! Discovering Philosophy has two results:
a) you get a free advance, and
b) the AI doesn't. Genrally, I ask for Monarchy so that my military units become LEO.
3) WONDERS in this order:
a) Hanging Gardens (to keep the peace)
b) Colossus IF I can build a city ON a gold/jewel hex, or with two/three fish/whale hexes in its radius (ships cannot bully me out of a sea hex like army units on land)
after that
c) Great Library (keep abreast of the others AND prevent AI from getting ahead of me)
d) Great Wall (not only will AI beg for peace, instant city walls in new cities!)
e) Richard's Crusade (only if I have the time... either in a heavily exploitable city (like, full of forests/mines all around) or in a seaport, to boost inherently poor production)
f) Leonardo's Laboratory (I'm really bullish on this one)
g) Michelangelo's Chapel (boosts/replaces Hanging Gardens)
h) Bach's wotsit (boosts Mike's Chapel)
i) Magellan's Expedition (if I have the time, else it could be a trap and they snatch...)
ii) The Wonder you get with Economics, woooo, I forget the name of the gold ingot Wonder, but it makes you rich! Rich!! RICH !!!
j) DARWIN'S VOYAGE ! Two free advances for me, none for the AI... 8^D
k) Hoover Dam even before building factories
l) United Nations (by this time the Great Wall will hve been made obsolete and lost)
This seems like a whole lot, but my point is the Wonders all have somethign useful...
Are there "useless" Wonders ?
Well, there are a few which I have little or no use for...
- The Oracle, because I skip Temples and go for the Colisseum in any city that needs one,
- The Pyramids, because early in the game cities will grow too fast and riot too often,
- King Richard's Crusade is nice to have but not essential.. indeed, once in Republic/Democracy you may find yourselves in a mess if KRCrusade becomes obsolete and your shields go negative!
- Eiffel Tower: if I have the Great wall and get to build the United Nations fast enough... harrharrharr...
- Vote to Women (Universal Suffrage) only really required in Democracy if you DON'T have Mike'sChapel + Bach, but the previous two are easier to build sequentially than Suffrage alone.
- SETI is important only if one has so much advance... just to maintain that advance...
- APOLLO will give you the entire map, OK, so what, I should have explored all I need by then...
- Cure for Cancer - again, mostly to keep it from AI,
- Manhattan Project: now, this one I really do not understand... I work to achieve the Manhattan Project and ALL the AI civs get nuclear weapons ? This is absurd, either the original programmers were "no-nukes" activists or they toggled the logic switch the wrong way... if I achieve the manhatan Project, I am the ONLY one to have nuclear weapons... (like in the real world) but it worls the wrong way around - so if any AI is working on the MP I send spies to sabotage it.
I have also edited "rules.txt" and "units.gif" to my taste, these next few days I will be experimenting... freight trains (which boost trade) and the Guns of Navarone (since I don't know how to create a new Wonder, I've created an unconquerable coastal battery)
*^)
Some notes:
3b- it is impossible to be on a special and have any other specials in a city radius. Civ2 maps have the specials arranged so that you can have up to 4 specials in a city radius, but they will be at the corners of the radius. If you "sit" on one, the others will be out of range.
3c- Never, ever, ever build the Great Library. The cost of researching techs is based, in part, on how many techs you have. This effect is re-doubled because the cost is also based on how far ahead you are (Further ahead means higher cost) so building the GL is more than just a waste of time. It actively slows your effort at getting techs you actually want by larding you down with whatever idiot stuff the ai is researching.
3e If you are doing it right, by the time King Richards become available you will be 10-20 turns from making it obsolete.
3h Bach's Cathedral does a bit more than boost Mike Chapel. Because the effects of Bach's are accounted for in the Wonders phase of the happiness, it is the only thing in the game which will reverse unhappiness due to units in-the-field under Republic and Democracy.
3ii- Adam Smith's Trading Co. It pays the maintenance cost on any structure whose cost is 1g/turn. I like it. Some of the Build-units-not-buildings purists do not.
Note that if you skip Temples in favor of coliseums you will not get the benefit of Adam Smith's Trading Co. Most of the Hall of Fame players never build coliseums.
Women's Suffrage- indispensable (along with Bach's) for war in Democracy. Note that Mike's Chapel will have no effect whatsoever on unhappiness due to units-in-the-field. Its effects occur during the Buildings phase of the Unhappiness calculation.
Cure for Cancer- Helps in late game to keep your cities celebrating. Note that because the number of chalices (units of luxury) which a city can use is capped at 2xCity Size, once you have enough cities to set off the extra unhappiness riot factor, your cities will stop celebrating every time they have an odd numbered population. After the Hanging Gardens expire, CfC will overcome this problem. So will Courthouses, but they need to be built in every city. If you have a more than about 5 cities, CfC is worthwhile, especially if you are going for high score.
Overall, Monarchy should be your first priority, before Philosophy. The loss of production in despotism pretty much means that you can get to Phil just as fast, if not faster, by getting into Monarchy first. Also, small cities (which all your cities will be if you are producing a steady stream of settlers) do much, much better under Monarchy because they can each automatically support three units, regardless of size.
Finally, the Super Science City- Your first or second city. Settle on the coast, hopefully with a whale in the city radius. Make sure it is all the way in the corner if there are blacked out spots nearby. They may be specials and you will want them if they would be in the city radius. Build no more than one settler here. Once you have Bronze Working, build the Colossus. Once you have the Colossus, build Copernicus' Observatory. (The Civilopedia is wrong. This Wonder doubles city science output.) Once you have Copernicus', build Shakespeare's Theater. Once you have Shakes, build Issac Newton's College. Naturally, there will be periods when you are waiting for the appropriate tech before you can build you next Wonder. Spend the time building a library, marketplace, university and a harbor in this city. Now you will have a city which produces 350% science and will never riot due to unhappiness. With Colossus, your trade in the city will be increased by one-third to one-half. Colossus will also increase the value of caravans delivered to and from this city.
Speaking of caravans, they are, after settlers, the most important unit in the game. They pay you off in gold and an equal amount of science. Build them early and often. The payoffs are bigger for when delivered to foreign cities, more distant cities, cities on separate land masses and cities with marketplaces.
Finally, the ship chain. If a ship carrying units enters a square containing another ship, the units may be transferred to the new ship and continue their voyage. Lather, rinse, repeat. If they were picked up in your city (rather than walking off the coast onto your ship), they will be able to land the same turn they start no matter how far they have to go.
Looking forward to learning from some pros,
Playing my very first multiplayer game over lan vs a friend right now and i've got to say it's a totally different game against another human player.
