HELP: Deleting Cities by Creating Engineers

[jadelicia]

Hey guys!

I've been playing Civilization II for a few years now, and I love the game. However, on one of my games, I built a "stupid city". In the Civilization Instruction Manual, on pg. 114 it says the following:

"...When [a settler or engineer] is completed, the population of the city that produced it is reduced by one point (one citizen on the POPULATION ROSTER), representing the emigration of these pioneers. If a city has only one population point when it completes the task of building a Settlers or Engineers unit, the city disappears when its population is absorbed into the new unit. This is one of the only ways to eliminate a city that is in a poor or inconventient location."

However, I've tried this with the stupid city I built and it does not work. I've got enough shields, but each turn, instead of building the unit, there are more shields added outside of what is needed for the engineer. Does this have to do with the amount of food in storage? Why won't the city go away and the engineer take its place? Please email me if you know at jadelicia@telus.net.

~Jadelicia

 

[la fayette]

The manual is correct (for once ):
If you are building a settler (or an engineer) and the city is size one when the settler is completed, then you are offered the choice:
- build the settler (and the city is destroyed)
- keep the city (and your 40 shields are wasted)

The simplest way to achieve that is to rushbuy the settler:
- Step 1: City size 1
- Step 2: Rushbuy the settler
- Step 3 (next turn): Choose to build the settler (your city will be destroyed)

 

[jadelicia]

Thanks for replying so fast However, I did just what you said, but I never got that option. I know this should work because I've done it in one of my other games, though I don't remember getting that option. Do you have any idea why it wouldn't work? If I enter the city right now, there are enough shields to produce the engineers, plus three extra ones outside the box from the turns that have passed while waiting.

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

I can think of two reasons: either you are playing at cheiftain difficulty level, or it is your first and only city.

The game does not allow you to disband a city on chieftain. I think it was intended to protect new players who would be more likely to build a settler in a high sheild, low food city and accidently disband the city. If you're savvy enough to realize a city is in a bad enough place that it's worth disbanding and moving, I guess they figure you're not playing at the lowest level any more. I'm not sure if it creates the settler, or just keeps adding shields as you are experiencing.

The other is a trick you can use if you get a lot of gold from a hut or something - the game will not disband your first city if it is still your only city, but in that case it will create the settler without reducing your population. This does not sound like your problem since you're not even getting the settler.

If it's not one of these situations, you can post a save file and someone can probably take a look at it to see if there is something odd going on.

 

[jadelicia]

Thanks so much. I probably am playing on a cheifton level. Is there a way to tell? If this is the case... I guess I'll just have to put up with this city. I built it without realizing an enemy city was two squares away. In other words, the other city sits on this territory. I guess I could cheat to get rid of it, though I'd hate to do that.

 

[DvR]

You could offcourse get rid of the enemy city

 

[TimTheEnchanter]

Originally posted by jadelicia
Thanks so much. I probably am playing on a cheifton level. Is there a way to tell? If this is the case... I guess I'll just have to put up with this city. I built it without realizing an enemy city was two squares away. In other words, the other city sits on this territory. I guess I could cheat to get rid of it, though I'd hate to do that.

I think if you save the game and quit, then when you load up the saved game there is a popup that says the level of the game.

 

[dylandlr]

Originally posted by DvR
You could offcourse get rid of the enemy city

Get rid? That hardly sounds like the generous sharing of an advanced and enlightened civilization with a less fortunate neighbour.

 

[funxus]

You can always call it "liberation", and it'll be perfectly legitimate.

If you bribe it, you will also avoid a blood bath...

 

[Ace]

Originally posted by TimTheEnchanter
I think if you save the game and quit, then when you load up the saved game there is a popup that says the level of the game.

That is correct. Except that you do not have to quit. anytime you load a saved game you get that box that says the difficulty level.

 

[jadelicia]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I actually took over the enemy city a long time ago, and it's now one of mine. The reason I want to get rid of the city I built is that it is interfering with not only this one other city (though mostly this city), but several of my other cities. Without it, it would clear up some room. Maybe if I just leave no one on guard, an enemy will eventually come along and take it over. This way, the population being one, the city will be destroyed.

 

[ElephantU]

If you make the one citizen into an Elvis it will not have Food to grow. It won't disappear, but it will add one or two gold or beakers to your totals. Set it to building Settlers, and it will help your civ along even if it takes up a single space.

BTW, Welcome to CFC!

 

[Nylan]

Originally posted by funxus
You can always call it "liberation", and it'll be perfectly legitimate.

If you bribe it, you will also avoid a blood bath...

Reminds me of a quote:

"When one person dies, it is a tragety. When 10,000 people die, it is a statistic."