Hagia Sofia- Ever built it???

[moggydave]

I must say I ave nver built the Hagia Sofia. Though an awesome peace of art and engineering in real life and my wishing that it had a useful bonus, I see no reason to buid it. Unless you have beelined to engineering usually by this point in a game I have built vitually all the main improvements that my cities need and I have other things to focus production on, such as an army, culture or money based improvements.

Can someone find me a situation in which it could be a very effecive wonder within certain strategies, like the Sistine Chapel is very important in a cultura victory.

(PS. Wouldn't it be better for a wonder with this kind of bonus to appear much earlier in the game, then it would be fantastic)

 

[The Tyrant]

Great Engineer points. There are too few wonders that give GE points, and this is one of them. I consider this the main benefit of the wonder, with the official bonus being just a side benefit.

 

[vormuir]

I think I've built it once, in a game where I was so far ahead that I could do it just because.

It does seem to be the least popular Wonder. Comes late, at a time when most of your improvements are built already; and then stops working soon thereafter, when Steam Power shows up.

As you say -- if it were available earlier (with Construction, say, or Divine Right) it would be much better.

Hm, there's a thought. Make Spiral Minaret and HS the two Divine Right wonders, and move Versailles over to Engineering.

Hm.


Waldo

 

[MrCynical]

Only when I had absolutely nothing else to build. The Hagia Sofia's effect of boosting worker speed is essentially useless, since it appears after the vast majority of worker improvements are complete. While Great Engineers are worh having, there are better wonders available at around the same time.

 

[binhthuy71]

The Hagia Sofia doesn't really seem to fit in with city specialization gameplay. At 550 hammers for eight Culture it's a bit expensive too. That its Worker productivity benefits expire with Steam Power when you could use the increased productivity to build railroads later on makes the Culture and the possibility of two GE's the only reason to build it.
If it came in earlier in the game, and/or expired later, and popped one of two GE's on completion then it would be worth more consideration.

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Yeah, I've built it as Industrious trait civ, with a v large empire that needed a lot of tile catchup (on marathon of course), on normal speed it goes obsolete too quickly.

 

[Andrei_V]

That its Worker productivity benefits expire with Steam Power when you could use the increased productivity to build railroads later on

Actually, Steam Power by itself gives 50% to Workers... You just replace the wonder's benefit by the tech's benefit.

PS. I've never built Hagia Sophia myself...

 

[yavoon]

Great Engineer points. There are too few wonders that give GE points, and this is one of them. I consider this the main benefit of the wonder, with the official bonus being just a side benefit.

so instead of 2 frickin food for an engineer specialist u'd rather build an entire wonder?

I find a lot of wonders to be underwhelming and dont build them.

 

[pigswill]

The problem with engineer specialists for producing GE is you're limited to 1 for a forge until you hit assembly line and factories. I rarely build Hagia Sofia unless I'm going for a GE factory in which case it goes in same city as pyramids,hanging gardens,forge+engineer. This is generally a lower level game tactic.

 

[Pantastic]

so instead of 2 frickin food for an engineer specialist u'd rather build an entire wonder?

You can only run 1 engineer in a city until ironworks and factories, the idea is not that you build this instead of running 1 engineer but in addition to running your engineer and with engineering wonders.

 

[yavoon]

You can only run 1 engineer in a city until ironworks and factories, the idea is not that you build this instead of running 1 engineer but in addition to running your engineer and with engineering wonders.

still too much cost.

 

[uberfish]

The effect is weak, but I build this fairly often when playing OCC anyway for the great engineer points. In OCC you have plenty of time to build wonders and GE points are extremely valuable.

 

[Feyd Rautha]

I often build it simply because I normally have a city with which I can spare to build it and in a lot of games I try to set up a GE farm. I do think it should come earlier though. The problem becomes you can't really make it leave later since Steam Power gives a 50% bonus which would be a bit much to add to the Hagia Sophia civ.

Maybe adding it to Construction instead of Engineering?

 

[Andrei_V]

I'd like to see it with Iron Working. Probably the right moment for 50% bonus.

 

[BadHorsie]

Hagia Sophia comes too late I think, because Steam Power obsoletes it almost immediately. Also too late in the game.

 

[futurehermit]

This is an amazing wonder under the right circumstances. For example, if you are running a specialist econ throughout the early game, hagia sophia comes into play just before you get democracy. Democracy is when you want to switch over to a cottage empire since this tech unlocks democracy and cottages are more powerful during the final stages of the game.

At that point in the game you'll have a whack-load of farms and no cottages. Hagia sophia's benefit will allow you to switch over to cottages much faster. And since you're running emancipation, you can't use serfdom.

It's a specialized use, true, but a great one, especially considering how powerful a specialist (farms) econ is early in the game and how powerful a town-based (cottages) econ is late in the game.

 

[Boom22]

Culture points if you want a cultural victory

 

[Pantastic]

still too much cost.

For you in your games, obviously not for all people in all games.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Only when I need great engineers. They should give it a different effect.
I'd suggest one free engineer in the city where it is built and +1 hammers for every engineer. Then it would be very useful (osolete with assembly line ?).

 

[Murky]

Culture points if you want a cultural victory

This about the only time that I have built it but it's not required for a cultural victory but if you can pop a bunch of GEs early, it can help a lot.

The main drawback that I see is by the time I can build this, my workers are having problems finding work to do so the +50% worker speed is a bit of waste.