How many and how to Build cities?

[rakovsky]

When I start out a game I race to make almost as many cities as possible. Is this wise, though? I read Civ III has a built in problem with corruption so that you can't own too many cities over a certain limit or corruption will take over and practically kill production and commerce in the cities over the limit. If so, how many cities should I build? this is a problem especially if I expect to conquer more cities from other players, which will shoot up my number towards the limit.

Another thing I do is build cities in the best locations near my starting location. I don't build them in mountain areas where the city will decay. Sometimes we have sets of nine squares together where it is all hills, forests and mountains. I avoid it and this leaves a gap. But then the AI will come in and build a city right there, in the middle of my civilization. As a result, the AI blocks the roads going through the mountain. Sometimes, the AI has done this so that I can't get to a few important cities that I need to get to so I can launch an attack on the enemy.

The 2 problems are related, because if I have a practical, unofficial limit on cities, then I don't want to build useless decaying ones!

This happened fo example, after I spent 6 hours on the FALL OF ROME scenario, and hobbled me!

 

[The Professor]

Most people here will build as many cities as possible. True, after you reach the Optimal City Number (OCN), any cities you build will be mostly corrupt, but those towns make wonderful specialist farms--a term you can search for in these forums, but the general idea is to pack towns close together, irrigate everything, and turn as many citizens as possible in specialists, either scientists or taxcollectors.

Don't attempt to build much of anything in those towns, either just set them on wealth, or have them build artillery or settlers that don't require barracks.

This means that you should go ahead and put cities even in the hilly areas. If it's close to the capitol, you may be able to share some food production tiles from other cities, so they can be large enough to be productive. If it's far from the capitol, make the one and only citizen into a specialist, and pack many little towns close together to get lots of specialists that way.

 

[Spoonwood]

If so, how many cities should I build?

It's hard to say without seeing a map. Can you post a save for us? I think the most important rule for city spacing comes as to have all the tiles within your cultural borders as useable by some city at some point in the game. If the AI plops a city down in the middle of your civilization, I would suspect you have too wide of city spacing, as many newer posters around here seem to have. You don't want CxxxxxC spacing as neither city can ever use the middle x there, and if you go with CxxxxC you probably want to take care that all the spots within your cultural borders can get used at size 12 pre-hospitals in a conquest, domination, 20k, or diplomatic game (in other words, don't use CxxxxC in these games, use CxxxC or CxxC), or all tiles can get used after hospitals in probably a space or histographic game (maybe a diplomatic game also, and maybe not for a space game also). See below for a 100k game. If it seems strange a that tighter spacing with overlap would work better, check the best XOTM and HoF for confirmation. The main reason comes as that tiles really only do you good when you have citizens that use them, and with too wide of a spacing you end up with too many citizens not using tiles.

Most people here will build as many cities as possible.

Pretty sure not. In civ II people would use smallpox spacing (that's CxC), but here players tend to use CxxC or CxxxxC, or a mixture which lies somewhere between CxxC and CxxxxC overall with possibly some CxC spots. Only in 100k games do players really use smallpox spacing all that much, and even then not always.

 

[Aabraxan]

As noted, you can turn 90% corrupt cities into specialist farms. See Bede's "The Role of the Specialist Citizen" in the War Academy. Specialist output is exempt from both corruption and multiplier buildings, so a scientist produces 3 beakers per turn, whether it's in the capital with a library, a university, and a couple of Great Wonders, or whether it's out in the boonies with 90% corruption and zero city improvements.

 

[Hellfiredoom]

I REX each game, cause I'm a war-monger and I'm all about expanding my turf, especially from Day One. I build CxxC on the veritical and horizontal axis, and CxxxC on the diagonal axis, adjusting for terrain bonus resources, water, and mtns/hills as needed. I'll build near mtns for strategic reasons, knowing the town will never amount to much but will keep the AI out of my territory. It really bothers me when the AI sends those settler/spearman combos into my territory. I'll look for where they are heading, then try and build there before them.

Corruption is a problem in Civ3, especially for conquerors with vast empires to manage. But there are ways to considerably reduce corruption. Here's a link to a nice article by Alexman regarding corruption in CQ:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=76619
The short and quick of it is:
- Load Conquests if you haven't already. The corruption formula was tweaked, making it less harmful.
- Play a commercial Civ. (I usually play France or India).
- Make sure your cities are connected to the trade network and your capital.
- Build the Forbidden Palace sooner rather than later.
- Go Commie when it's available. This increases the OCN by 25% and introduces communal corruption so even your furthest city can be productive. Commie (with the Espionage tech) also allows the SPHQ. Build this too!
- I build courthouses and sometimes police stations in every city.

Following these rules, corruption and waste average ~10%, even on Huge maps. I can live with that.

 

[Bucephalus]

Most people here will build as many cities as possible..

Pretty sure not. In civ II people would use smallpox spacing (that's CxC), but here players tend to use CxxC or CxxxxC, or a mixture which lies somewhere between CxxC and CxxxxC overall with possibly some CxC spots. Only in 100k games do players really use smallpox spacing all that much, and even then not always.

I suspect that wonderfully logical mind of yours has been too literal in it's interpretation of what 'The Professor' meant, Spoons; technically you are correct - to have as many cities as possible would require CXC spacing.

I suggest he was obliquely refering to REX.

 

[Fiddlin Nero]

So Rakovsky, I'm wondering if you have been shaken loose from your fear of exceeding the OCN? Yes, when you exceed it cities become less productive. So what, they still claim terrain and any unclaimed terrain will always draw those pesky settler/defender pairs. I played several games keeping my city count down, I was trying to beat the pollution generator, found it was just making it difficult to claim more territory.

 

[GamezRule]

Expand, Expand, Expand! You will find that early units can still be produced quickly, and build courthouses in all city's outside of your palace radius as soon as possible, finally, don't build forbidden palace unless it is at least 15 squares away from the palace, and make sure it has plenty of cities around it. Also later in the game, you will make up the difference with all you resources you otherwise wouldn't have.