Idiot mistakes 101

[necrosmith]

Ugh, I hate it when I do that, especially since it takes my POS comp about 10 minutes to switch over to the desktop, and another 5 to switch back

Yeah, I hate those stupid windows keys. They do nothing ever but accidentally screw up my games. So, I decided to disable them permanently, and you can too:

http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=181348

 

[oynaz]

There is an easier way to disable those keys.

http://images.google.com/images?q=screwdriver&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

 

[ashes]

Setting the "avoid growth" option in a city on until I finish a happiness/health producing building... Then forgetting to uncheck it afterwards!

Can't count the number of cities that I've had sitting with "1 turn to growth" for countless wasted turns...

 

[Reignking]

Or...setting Pacifism to crank out great people, but forgetting that your religion hasn't spread as you had thought, because the other two that you discovered were actually the ones spreading...

BTW, I just play windowed mode so that I can switch between applications.

 

[andrew_yaweb]

1) Leaving your only source of Iron UNDER a city defended only by the original Warrior.

2a) Build your second settler and escort it with the capital's defender. But wait it get's better.
2b) Forget that the capital had a barracks queued up. 15 turns without a defender. hmmm. What do barbarians do with undefended cities?

Maybe I got it wrong, but you can start a new unit any time, even if your other improvement is half done and when the unit it done, the production of the previous improvement resumes without any loss of the progress on the improvement that you put on hold.

 

[ClamBoy]

Trying to get SMAC running on your laptop and not having much luck so I install, patch, uninstall...etc. In the flurry of uninstalling Sid Meier's Alpha Centari I missclick and uninstalled Sid Meier's Civilization IV. The play disk has been a permanent fixture in my laptop. Ask me if I can find the rest of my install disks.... GAHHH. No SMAC (can't get it to work). No CIV, at least until I find the install disk.

At least I can still play online poker.

 

[CharlieM]

Founding cities 10-15 squares apart, and not being big on building up your military.

After having your improvements pummeled by enemy troops repeatedly because you don't have the Military strength to defend your vast empire, figuring out that it might be better to found cities closer together.

Like the AI does! Doh!

 

[xonixs]

builded all the spaceship accept for 1 or 2 parts, deciding to build the space elevator. When finished i see that it double the speed of building the spaceship.

 

[paulfish]

playing on a tiny contintent map. I was on a continent with my two opponets . I was building wonders and other buildings not worring about military. With in five turn they both attack me and I start losing all my cities.

 

[SamE]

Here's my two cents:

1) Finally researching Optics and upgrading a Galley in your coastal city. Loading all of your good units in it to go attack the barbarians in Terra, then finding out that Alexander's culture totally envelops your port and he JUST cancelled Open Borders with you! I felt so dumb...

2) Acting like Civ3 and forgetting all about cottages. Then finding out that Washington just researched Liberalism and you're still going for Compass!

3) Setting a galley or something to "explore" and then forgetting about it until another one of your galleys runs into it.

4) Leaving all of your military units in other people's territory and then wondering where all your money's gone. That 'Away Cost' is pretty clever.

5) NOT switching civics because you're in a Golden Age...then finally realizing your mistake when one of your cities celebrates "We Love the Despot Day" .

6) Playing on Always War and No City Razing, then going to take over the AI like there's no tomorrow. In the end, there really isn't...because you're getting -4 gold on 0% research. Okay, this wasn't me, it was my brother, but still...

7) Saying, "Oooh, let's see what's in that area" only to find you can't go in there because that's Alexander's territory. That thin blue line is hard to see.

8) Saving a GP for a golden age and then forgetting about him until you get another...of the same type.

I've actually encountered all of these, except #6.

 

[MattJek]

Accidentally setting a small outpost town to build a palace... forgetting about it and having it completed in 100 turns

 

[Lord-Kias]

Hi, im a noob to this game so all I can say is thank you to all of you. youve prevented me from doing agreat many mistakes, no doubt I'll still make some obviously but you guys have most probably saved me alot of trouble, oh and sorry for bumping threads :/

 

[Haderach]

Lord-Kias:

Vets don't make these mistakes. Only new players! If you see a vet posting these mistakes, we uh...were experiementing. Ya, that's the ticket. It was a new version and we just had to see what happens to plan our strategies.

*whistle*

I'll go now and fix the terrible mess I made from my "experiments"!

Had

 

[SamE]

None of us are vets...yet.

 

[loveandpolitics]

Second worst mistake: Playing diety level to see "what's all the hype"!

 

[calyth]

Not defending my Oil.
Freaking Incans have a glut of Cavalry, and decided to transport them all the way around the sea to my place. I had Infantry, but he has fairly big stacks. He took one of my better cities (well it was kinda slow to get it started, but it was doing well) and razed it.
If I actually have the will to continue I swear I'll raze every single city he has.

 

[KingCruz]

Okay. so you send a settler to an undiscovered, unsettled, large continent.
You figure... okay theres nothing there, so you send him with a warrior even though you're in the Reniasance.
Only to discover there are at least 3 different barb cities
Then he brings a Longbow, insta-death!

So it takes another 10 turns to get another settler with better units out there...

P.S. I'm a noob to Civ4

 

[BirraImperial]

Going ahead everyone in the tech race, discovering Rocketry really early, and forgetting about building the Apollo Program, then getting a message saying " Asoka has built the Apollo Program!" 100 turns later.

 

[Merzbow]

Finish a massive war against another civ, move a huge SOD of about 25 units to certain square to heal, and fortify them. Also forget about them. Later on start another massive war against another civ, and 10 turns into a stalemate wonder why you have so many fewer units that you thought you did.

 

[TheVampire]

Using spies to Sabotage the AI's resources each turn, and then wondering where the hell all that gold you had went. ( I.E. not knowing that sabotage takes 200 gold each time. Way too much in my opinion. )