how can i keep up with AI's number of cities?

[sailormoon]

How can I build as many cities as the AI do? Everytime I think i've got a huge country, I find out i'm one of the smallest. This is what I've been doing: 1. build warrior 2. build settler 3.worker or wonder, depending on city size 4. build spearman 5. build settler again. Some cities build more settlers than that, but I never seem to have as many cities as everyone else! What can I do differently?


Sailormoon

 

[SesnOfWthr]

you should read some of the strategy articles in the war academy. They have impressive tutorials from better players than you or I. That being said, I generally focus on settlers, workers, and def. units before building anything(except a granary in some cities). You probably shouldn't worry about wonders until the expansion phase is complete. Oh, and don't stop until every bit of land is taken.

Welcome to CFC!!

 

[widdowmaker]

That is not quite true. I start from the outside in. MEaning the first thing i do is make 3 warriros to go in three different directions. THen once i "Mark my BOunds" i make settlers and form a rign around me. Then work my way back to the capital. Once i have a decent sized nation up i let the AI fight for land while i build up my core. THen i just turn around and kill the AI off.

 

[homeyg]

Expand, expand, expand, until you are stopped in all directions!

I've found that it is easier, rather than having cities produce settlers and units, to have one city producing settlers and one city producing units to guard the settlers. You should also know how to make a settler factory. Read Babylon's Diety Settlers in the War Academy to learn how to build a settler factory.

What I do to expand quickly is, first in your capital build a warrior to defend it. Build a couple more warriors to explore. Reaseach pottery (if you don't already have it) and build a granary next. Granaries are the key to settler factories, do not disregard these Now once you have the granary, build a settler. The city you build with that settler is going to be the unit producing city. Keep producing settlers in the first city and units in the second city (use these to defend the settlers) and in highly corrupted cities build only improvments and workers. Make sure you have alot of workers. Moderately corrupted cities can go through a rotation of unit, unit, settler, improvement, unit, unit, settler, improvement and so on.
Even if you can't build as many cities as the AI, the option of warfare is always open.
Btw, always keep about five extra settlers in your cities incase land opens up near your territory because of a war between AIs.
Don't bother with wonders, I mean in the higher levels you are almost never able to beat the AI to a wonder. If you're playing cheiftain- regent, go ahead pick up a couple wonders, work them into your rotation, but in the higher levels (monarch and above) its just to much time to be wasting to build a wonder and then the AI finishes it before you. Never base your strategy on wonders. This will cause you to fall into wonder fixation. Just focus on expansion.

Hope this helps.

 

[wilbill]

There are several articles in the War Academy that will help you learn to grow your empire in the early game. One of the best is...

Babylon's Deity Settlers

Learn how to build a settler factory. Don't worry about too many units or buildings too early. If you build enough cities early enough the rest of the game is a lot easier.

 

[Zardnaar]

Originally posted by widdowmaker
That is not quite true. I start from the outside in. MEaning the first thing i do is make 3 warriros to go in three different directions. THen once i "Mark my BOunds" i make settlers and form a rign around me. Then work my way back to the capital. Once i have a decent sized nation up i let the AI fight for land while i build up my core. THen i just turn around and kill the AI off.

Not such a great strategy if the AI decides to attack. I had 4 cities in my current game and had to go on the offensive to secure more land. You only need 2-3 decent unit producing cities early on and you can expand militarily if you have to.

 

[pelmeister]

I'd also say, don't get too hung up on building lots of cities. Corruption makes a lot of the furthest ones away pretty pointless. With the exception of domination and 100,000 or 200,000 point culture victory, it is possible to make an type of victory with a handful of well-run well-positioned cities.

 

[sailormoon]

thanks everyone. the way I had been doing things worked very well for civ 2, but i was having trouble adjusting to civ3, even tho i've been playing it since it came out--well, when i'm not playing the sims; i have to admit those little pests have taken up most of my game time, I just love them so much. my husband isn't much help with city growing advice, since he is just tells me to crush people in my way, and i'm such a peacenik i'd rather build than stomp on people.

Sailormoon

 

[wilbill]

Sounds like you've got that Mars/Venus conflict going on.
You're not the first to let Civ2 strategies cause problems with Civ3. I'd given up on Civ2 a year or so before 3 was released so I'd forgotten most of my old habits. The games really play differently.

 

[CIVPhilzilla]

Originally posted by sailormoon
How can I build as many cities as the AI do? Everytime I think i've got a huge country, I find out i'm one of the smallest. This is what I've been doing: 1. build warrior 2. build settler 3.worker or wonder, depending on city size 4. build spearman 5. build settler again. Some cities build more settlers than that, but I never seem to have as many cities as everyone else! What can I do differently?


Sailormoon

Building early wonders is usally a big mistake the 400 sheilds you spend on Pyramids for example could net you a granery, 11 settlers, and even enough for another worker. This make you grown a lot lot faster, and expand quickier if you stray away from early wonders. Also expand outwards in so the AI doesn't get to settle some good land you were about to grab.

 

[lordbasl]

Originally posted by CIVPhilzilla


Building early wonders is usally a big mistake the 400 sheilds you spend on Pyramids for example could net you a granery, 11 settlers, and even enough for another worker. This make you grown a lot lot faster, and expand quickier if you stray away from early wonders. Also expand outwards in so the AI doesn't get to settle some good land you were about to grab.

I agree; I've seen the effects of building an early Wonder vs. using the turns and shields to build land-grab units (defensive, settlers) and workers...and the difference was startling. With the 400 shields I spent on the Pyramids, I bought some settlers and Immortals (I was playing Persia; I researched Iron Working early and was fortunate enough to discover an Iron deposit in a hills tile right next to Persopolis...lucky me), the former to stake out the frontier and latter to hold it until I was ready to go on the offensive.

With the Pyramids, I had to hold off the expansion of my neighbors long enough to build the SoDs of Immortals I needed to continue my expansion -- by conquest.

In the no-Pyramid game, I was able to execute a conventional peaceful rapid expansion and my usual Immortal-triggered GA did not happen until after I discovered Construction to end the Ancient Age. I was attacked, my GA triggered when my Immortals won a battle. I put the GA bonus into building Sun Tzu's Art of War and other wonders worth having once I had enough towns to build the units I needed to keep rolling forward.

 

[mihoshi]

I can live without wonders too, but
1. Often(on monarch level) in some developed cities there is nothing to build, but wonders. I'm not gonna pay for oversized military upkeep.
2. Happy-face wonders are extremely useful on high levels. With Bach cathedral (or Sistine?) you have base happiness like four levels easier.
I think, Sistine and Bach are two must have wonders. Others are useful, but these two are game-breaking.