going way backwards

[tombeef]

I would really appreciate some help. I got CIV IV for Christmas and have gotten to the point where I can defeat the AI regularly on Noble, and sometimes the next difficulty, and I have won my last three MP games in a row. Since I figured I was OK at it, I decided to pick up CIV II since I have heard so many good things about it. After playing that a while, and getting comforatble woth it, I then picked up CIV I. Now, in CIV IV the typical strategy is chop down trees to get production, then take down the AI's through war. Now, since you cant chop trees in CIV I, I was wondering what are some easy ways to go about CIV I.

Now I'm starting to realize that more cities in CIV II is good, and that incremental rush buying is good to. So, what's the scoop in the original?

So, I guess I need some help. I'm so used to the strategies in CIV IV that CIV I seems kind of foreign to me. Again, I would appreciate some easy ways to go about a game, and some simple hints. I'm not expecting a full blown guide by any means, just something to get myself started. So far I have enjoyed the game, and I hope to help contribute to the CIV I forums, since I post a lot in the CIV IV forums, and I'm starting to get involved with CIV II. Thanks for any help in advance, and yes, I did copy and paste some of this from another post. Help appreciated.

 

[Tenochtitlan]

Production in Civ 1 is in the form
of shields in the city menu.

For increased production, use settlers
and try mining on hills near the city.
After you get a little more advanced
research railroad and build railroads
on the hills that have mining on them.

Once you research industrialization you
can build factories, factories increase
50% production, but becareful of the high
pollution level. Pollution problems can be
solved by building mass transit and recycling
centers. You can also try building hydro plants.
Hydro plants increase factory production by 50%
and also reduce pollution.

A cleaner alternative to factories are Mfg. Plants
(requires research of robotics). They are a bit
costly but they double production in a city.

Hoover dam is a very useful wonder on your main
continent. Hoover dam will emulate a free hydro plant
in every city on that continent. This will allow you
to have cheaper and cleaner production. Don't forget
to have factories in all of the cities though, because
hydro plants don't work unless factories are there.

Another tip is to find hills that have oil.

Also, try different forms of government such as
republic or democracy, because they have different
production levels.

Try to mess around with this in Chieftan, and once
you get the hang of it you can increase in difficulty.

 

[Alex Johnson]

There really isn't any need for a "strategy" to get started on Civ1. It is as simple as it looks. Later Civ games pile layer upon layer of complexity to challenge players who get too good at developing a formula, but Civ1 doesn't have all that. To get started you want to build in the vicinity of as much shield-grassland as possible, and possibly near other bonuses like game-forests. Once you have 2+ populace and a granary you should start producing settlers. Make sure you get a couple towns in place. Having just one is the only drain on production capacity that I've found. Don't build all your units from 1 city because unlike later Civs, in Civ1 each city "maintains" all its units at the cost of shields per turn. Don't switch out of Despotism until you have a couple of 6+ cities or you won't be able to build anything new with the maintenance cost of units you already have. (Despotism counters your maintenance costs to a great degree.) Be sure to build roads early so you get tax revenue and research beakers. You don't need to connect your towns except to move units faster, so worry more about infrastructure at home than connecting things together.