How am I doing?

[Achilles_]

Hello,
I've played Civilization III Gold on the second hardest level, SID level being stupid hard cause the computer cheats too badly to have a chance.

Anyways, I figured that I'd try out Civ IV for a change and seem to like it. i set the diffucultly level to warlord just so I would get familiar with the game. So, I would like to know how I am doing. Remember, this is the first time I've played Civ IV.

The game is on Civ IV without the expansion. I haven't expanded like mad like I would have in Civ III. One thing I've noticed is that going to war takes a lot longer to get the city to fall. I have to bomb the crap out of it before sending in the tanks. I've also just learned about using bombers to level the Americans enough to have a good enough chance at taking one of thier cities.

In Civ III I would have never built a navy or airforce. I would have just built 150 modern amours and drove in to get cities quick before my cities revolted forced me to sign a peace treaty with the emeny. In Civ IV I find that you need a more rounded military to conquour.

Anyways, how I am doing for my first time playing this version of Civilization?
The game link is below.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/113967/Sean_AD-1873.Civ4SavedGame

Thank you,
Achilles_

 

[Cam_H]

There's a lot to like about your game for a 'first timer'!

Weird map settings

... but I do want to note one thing ... I am unsure why you have deviated so dramatically from the default game settings for your first ever game. You have changed the size of the landmass, the climate, the sea level, and the game speed - sometimes to extreme settings. The more the map settings drift from the default set up, the more the game rewards or punishes unusual strategic approaches. It's your game and your learning experience - so do what you want but I would recommend to play with the default settings if you want to understand the game's general mechanism.

Victory target unclear

I am not sure if you're trying to win the game, or just run the game out close to the end to see the different WoWs and technologies and so forth - which is understandable given that you're wanting to get a feel for the game. If you're trying to win, then I'd focus on getting your spaceship up. Research Computers, Satellites and Robotics initially, and continue on with the other required technologies.

Use your big bank balance

You can use Universal Suffrage to hurry a lot of cheap (Organised Religion) buildings, or upgrade your military. You can even add to your reserve by selling Refrigeration to Kublai Kanhn and Julius Caesar if you want more cash.

Cottages vs. Farms

You have been running a generally food-heavy strategy, and this excess food has been used to support lots of specialists. Specialists are great for popping Great People, and with other tactics such as running the Representation civic can add extra science to your cities. In many instances however you have massive food surpluses in cities that could have comfortably grown with cottages for significant commerce benefits.

Wonders

You don't need to build them all. Again, I'm not sure if you're building so many in order to see the movies for the first time, or conversely whether you feel that you actually need them (you don't!).

Your National Wonders (available to every tribe, as opposed to World Wonders) are not well placed. For instance Hermitage placed in your capital, The Forbidden Palace in a city next to your capital are a couple of unfortunate choices. As you familiarise yourself with the game further, you will see how certain National Wonders work well together and how to maximise their benefit.

You've settled a Great Engineer in Berlin?

Civics

Some good decisions here. Your wide-spread use of Buddhism allows you to maintain Organised Religion to good effect. It's expensive, but there are still a few buildings you need to come on line.

All up - good stuff! Keep reading threads and playing on. Sisiutil's Guide may be worth going through if you've yet to do so.

 

[Achilles_]

Thank you for your help.

for most of your comments, inexperience is why these things happened. With the map size, I made it huge to spread out the computer to advoid land wars early on. I just wanted to get more of a feel of the military before heading into a land war.

With the victory target, it's unclear for me as well, just letting the game play out to get as much of a feel for it and let the head in any direction that it takes.

bank, I think I'll do that.

Cottages vs. farms
I decieded to let the computer handle that department but next time, I might take control of it and tinker with it some to get a better feel for it. I didn't want to worry about it too much cause I wanted to focus more on tech, military, civics and city improvements.

I built the wonders so the computer didn't get the culture, but I'll take your advice and be more selective about the wonders that I do build. With the national wonders, do I need to focus a city on a certain function? I'd break out the manual and read it but I left that back in Canada. :-( Whoops.

With the great engineer, no idea how to use them so I place that poor soul in Berlin.

I'll have to read more post and forums on this site to learn more about the strageys that people are using to enhance mine.

Thank you for your help.

Also, just though of it, do some wonders compliment other wonders?

Thank you again.
Achilles

 

[Cam_H]

Thanks for your reply.

You'll read it elsewhere, but avoid automated workers. They tend to emphasise growth - which in itself is often a good thing - but the computer is poor at grasping good commercial sites versus good production sites, and does not work towards specialising the roles of cities, which is widely regarded as an important plank in successful strategising.

Your question is a good one - there are some WoWs that favour running certain strategies and/or victory conditions. Take a combination of The Pyramids - The Great Library - The Parthenon in the one empire ... you can run Representation (specialists +) through The Pyramids, get a boosted rate through The Parthenon, and get two free Specialist Scientists through The Great Library. Consequently you get more Great Scientists and your Specialist Scientists are more effective. Throw in The Statue of Liberty for another free specialist per city, Angkor Wat if you run Specialist Priests, or if you want there's The Sistine Chapel.

Another example may be the Great Engineer farm, where you build The Pyramids, The Great Wall (Warlords WoW), The Hanging Gardens, Hagia Sophia, etc. to create a city that natually produces a lot of Great Engineer points to self-perpetuate Wonders. If you build The Parthenon in another city, you won't pollute your pool with points going to Great Artists instead, but still get The Pathenon's benefit directed to your Great Engineer city.

A third example would be The Eiffel Tower with Rock 'n' Roll / Hollywood / Broadway.

Yet another might be The Kremlin and The Pyramids - you can run Universal Suffrage with The Pyramids and get the cheaper hurry cost through The Kremlin without having to acquire Democracy first.

While a less direct synergy, The Great Lighthouse and The Colossus are a good combination should you have lots of coastal cities. A Financial leader on an archipelligo map can do very nicely with this combo.

Sisiutil's Guide looks at National Wonder combinations that also provide plenty of food for thought in that regard.

I'm sure others have some good ideas here.