how often do you build cottages? do you prefer them over workshops?

[lordmacroer]

are you a cottage spammer?
are you somebody who does not like to build cottages at all?
are you somebody who does not like to build them untill late game?
for those who do not like to build lots of cottages, then how in the heck do you get money to expand and for unit costs???

 

[yanner39]

are you somebody who does not like to build them untill late game?

Why would you build cottages until late game?

To get gold:

Build it
Sell old techs
Sell resources. Even if you have one fish, sell it. Health shouldn't be an issue early in the game
Beg for gold
Wonder fail gold

 

[lordmacroer]

Why would you build cottages until late game?

To get gold:

Build it
Sell old techs
Sell resources. Even if you have one fish, sell it. Health shouldn't be an issue early in
the game
Beg for gold
Wonder fail gold

Build it:
my science is usually running at like 0-10 percent by time i get currency if i dont have a bunch of cottages, due to all the unit costs

Sell old techs:
works against the ai sometimes but there is no way that will work vs a human player lol

Sell resources:
again, not going to work in mp

Beg for gold:
again, nobody is going to give you money in a real game only the dumb computer will

Wonder fail gold:
not the most reliable way to get coins, and id rather spend my production on something more usefull than wonders bound to fail


so thanks for the attempt, but i am still looking for some advice that will work in a real game, and by that i mean vs an actual person.

 

[JujuLautre]

I hope you do realize that, while there are people playing mp, most people on this board play sp games. You should then be specific when you talk about mp.

 

[lordmacroer]

oh, i was just figuring i would get advice that would work in all games and not just things to take advantage of the AI

 

[s.bernbaum]

There is a multiplayer forum:

Civ4 - Multiplayer & PBEM
Find other MP players, organize MP games, & discuss MP, PBEM and Pitboss related issues.

Perhaps you can get the sort of response that you are looking for there. I only play SP and have never looked at that forum but I do see that it has activity.

 

[lordmacroer]

i dont play much mp other because the civ 4 community is like dead (just check out the multiplayer lobby) but i would prefer to use a strategy that will work in all situations. I think taking advantage of the computer does not make you a better player, it just helps you get a higher score

 

[tdy99]

Cottages in commerce cities, workshop everywhere else. I don't see much point in having a single cottage in a city that doesn't have much commerce otherwise. I'd rather build a workshop and boost it's production a little.

 

[cseanny]

for those who do not like to build lots of cottages, then how in the heck do you get money to expand and for unit costs???

Regardless what type of economy one is using I find a simply beeline to Writing/Alpha does wonders. Let's me completely skip pottery (even in a CE) until I can trade for it so that saves some tech turns too and helps me reach other key techs faster (via trade/building research). Besides, before 1500 BC you don't need to be building granaries or cottages yet. Focus should be on food and production (along with picking up some strategic and other happiness luxuries if available).

And when I do go the CE route it's more of a hybrid economy geared towards bulbing Liberalism and a 1000-1100 AD 50-60 unit Rifle/Draft/Whip war. I normally only have a super Bureaucracy Capital all cottaged up and an early Academy and other cities are typically farm/hammer heavy (maybe 1 additional cottage city, maybe!). After I conquer 15-20+ cities I make the decision to either cottage up and settle in for a launch date or I just stay with hammers and conquer everything.

 

[Agent327]

I rarely (if ever) build workshops. Gimme trade!

 

[bay23]

Having played a lot of games recently where I purposely built as few cottages as possible (had a super science capital where I built them and that was it), I think the most effective way to get money is just to simply build wealth in a lot of cities. Have one or two constantly pumping units and keep the rest building wealth. Typically, after I bulb liberalism, I find it's best to stop running scientists in my NE city and then just try to get as many GMs as possible for trade missions. I ended up keeping my slider on 100% for more or less the entire game this way...

 

[Akbarthegreat]

I rarely (if ever) build workshops. Gimme trade and cottages!

^Pretty much what I do.

 

[yanner39]

oh, i was just figuring i would get advice that would work in all games and not just things to take advantage of the AI

How so? Building wealth is taking advantage of the AI? As opposed to over-building infrastructure like a lot of players do? As far as fail gold is concerned a lot of great players do this. All the others point in made are useful to help counter AI bonuses on higher levels.

SP or MP, I don't see how this take advantage of the AI.

 

[Agent327]

Having played a lot of games recently where I purposely built as few cottages as possible (had a super science capital where I built them and that was it), I think the most effective way to get money is just to simply build wealth in a lot of cities. Have one or two constantly pumping units and keep the rest building wealth. Typically, after I bulb liberalism, I find it's best to stop running scientists in my NE city and then just try to get as many GMs as possible for trade missions. I ended up keeping my slider on 100% for more or less the entire game this way...

Cottages basically eliminate the need for extensive trade if you have plenty of em. The reason I build cottages is because they generate trade and science. (And a lot of cities building Wealth - or Science - basically produce nothing; they just add to income/science, which your cities should generate anyway if they´re any good.)

 

[elohssa]

Cottages are situational. With early pyramids, farms/specialists are more potent. On isolated/semi-isolated starts cottages are vital though, they also help with financing medieval wars. Supporting 50+ units without some cottage cities is very difficult pre-currency and rather inefficient post-currency.

not the most reliable way to get coins, and id rather spend my production on something more usefull than wonders bound to fail

On the topic of fail gold, I definitely think it's a very attractive strategy. +100% efficiency over building wealth directly (+150% for industrious) makes fail gold very attractive. A caste/SP workshop is effectively 10 gold per turn (with bonus resource + industrious) when building fail gold, making it better then a financial town.

...will work in a real game, and by that i mean vs an actual person.

Only multiplayer games are real games? Most people on this forum are rarely (if ever) involved in multiplayer games.

 

[Cort Haus]

There is a lot of snobbery from certain MP players against SP players unfortunately.

 

[2metraninja]

There is a lot of snobbery from certain MP players against SP players unfortunately.

I dont see many MP players around anyway, but I think the best way to turn up their nose is to play and defeat them. Maybe then they will stop being such a snobs.

 

[cseanny]

Cottages are situational. With early pyramids, farms/specialists are more potent.

Even w/out the Mids farms/specialist are very strong because of the huge increase in production which helps grab more land a lot quicker. Spiritual works wonders.

On isolated/semi-isolated starts cottages are vital though

I tend to disagree On an isolated start I prefer to get Pyramids whenever possible because the ability to tech faster w/out trade. This comes in very handy when you're isolated start doesn't allow for more than 6-7 cities. Its very easy to have 10 settles GP by 1000 AD and be close to 800 with very few cities, something that's just not possible with cottages. Imo cottages aren't more attractive than Representation specialist till some time after 1200-1300 AD.

 

[Murky]

You need cottages in most games, at least one one city should be a commerce city. You really only need workshops where there isn't enough hills for production. If a site lacks hills, you should consider making it either a GP farm or a commerce city instead of a production city. I have had games where a city or two had a few workshops to help with production.

 

[cseanny]

You need cottages in most games, at least one one city should be a commerce city. You really only need workshops where there isn't enough hills for production. If a site lacks hills, you should consider making it either a GP farm or a commerce city instead of a production city. I have had games where a city or two had a few workshops to help with production.

We just play differently (most of the time!). I value early and mid game food/production much much more than the relative yield that a cottage will provide at the same time frame. The goal is to turn that production advantage into an earlier land advantage, etc, etc. Once Chemistry/SP rolls around it's almost nothing but workshops. Matter of fact, I don't think I've built a single cottage in my past 9 or 10 games on Immortal.