Improvments, unit craziness, and a touch of unpatience

[fephisto]

First I'd like to say every once and a while I go improvement crazy , basically I stop building units (dumb thing I know), and for some reason thinking that I MUST build marketplaces libraries universities banks wonders courthouses temples barracks and I end up building no units for me!
So for that I'd like to ask someone's advice for the advancements I <B>must</B> have, ie barracks.
Secondly me thinks the AI is cheating, or something, could someone explain how a veteran fortified longbowmen on a hill gets beaten by a conscript warrior?
Thank ye for your help.

 

[etj4Eagle]

Well quite a few of those improvement are important, the key is just when to build them. Marketplaces are very important once you have at least three luxeries and if get Adam Smith's then build a market and bank in everyone of your cities. The cultural improvements are also very important, not just if you are going for a cultural win, as the ratio of cultures is a factor in determining the sized of the required garrison to prevent flips.

Actually the only improvements that are case by case are: graneries, barracks, walls, harbor, and airports. You only really need barracks in cities that will be producing your troops or acting as recovery zones. Also on the higher skill levels, you may want to slow pop growth so that you don't get overwhelmed by unhappiness (except in your settler producing cities).

As for the battle, remember that the game uses a random number generator, so the unlikely does occur. There is no "cheating" or anything like that. The combat precentages do occur as they should, but with the current game design/balancing system the unlikely events will occur a certain percent of the time.

 

[fephisto]

Adams Smith Trading rulz!!!!! I find Civ 2 a lot more easy than civ 3 though. However I usually don't build granaries (thank you pryamids). WALL STREET RULZ, SAME WITH BATTLEFIELD MEDICINE. Oh wait I need extra money, MONEY GOOD GET MORE MARKETPLACES MORE BANKS, oooo I have so much money now I need science MORE SCIENCE LIBRARIES AND UNIIVERSITIES!

That's what usually happens with me, however I'll try to live by your rules....(rules rules rules)

I also came upon a unusual battle, basicaslly I just got longbowmen, however I need to get some saltpeter. so I go to war, luckily the other guy is low on sciences. So I thought I would have the upper hand, wrong, impi . So I'm in a trench warfare state back in medival times, we both (litterally) lost around 200 units total (literally), for about 2 cities that I'm going to lose soon anyways. There has been only 1 way I have been able to keep attacking which is by carefully planning fake attacks and making his army split up and move all every which way. ie I send 2 guys by a weak city, so 30 guys come to reinforce, leaving an edge that main offensive can use to get a hill. I got his army split up good, but I still have to fight for every terrain, I'll lose 10 guys and him also, just to get a plain with a road on it.

But that's off the subject thanks for your help.

 

[Zouave]

Originally posted by fephisto
. . .Secondly me thinks the AI is cheating, or something, could someone explain how a veteran fortified longbowmen on a hill gets beaten by a conscript warrior?
Thank ye for your help.

The AI cheats is many ways, and there have been and are many posts and threads up about it since the game came out. AI cheating is one of the top three or four problems with the game.

 

[Sullla]

Originally posted by etj4Eagle
Also on the higher skill levels, you may want to slow pop growth so that you don't get overwhelmed by unhappiness (except in your settler producing cities).

I saw this and had to respond to it. etj4Eagle, you NEVER want to slow your growth down deliberately on the higher levels. Growth = power in Civ3, so slowing yourself down is an extremely bad move. If you cannot cope with the unhappiness, raise the luxury tax instead of making entertainers or slowing growth. The increase commerce from working more tiles allows this to pay for itself. The other comments from etj4Eagle are excellent though.

City improvements? Well, if you're building military more often than you're building improvements (this was implied by the first post), something is wrong. All of your core, uncorrupted cities will need a granary, marketplace, bank, temple, cathedral, factory, coal/hydro plant, and hospital. A barracks is needed if you plan to build military out of that city. With all those buildings to create, I spend about 75% of the time constructing buildings and not units. Only build units if you plan to use them; having a lot of them sitting around does not deter the AI from attacking in my experience.

And the only "cheats" in the game are ones needed to allow an unthinking computer to compete with a human and to up the difficulty on higher levels. It's been shown over and over again that combat rolls are completely random with no cheating going on. The combat example given is a bad one; lowbows have 1 def, warriors 1 att. It's not really a surprise to lose in a 1-1 battle even if you have more hp. The information on difficulty levels is all in the editor to be checked out for the curious.

 

[smallstepforman]

My strategy is to BUILD BUILD BUILD. Once the initial land grab is over, I sit back and build my empire, while the AI are engaged in futile wars. Once there is nothing more to build (usually just after Factories are built), I start pumping advanced units and planning my campaigns. According to the Histograph, I come from behind but clobber even the biggest Civs because I can outproduce them with an excellent infrastructure. All wars are really an endurance test, the fittest candidate will win.

Saying that, I need to kiss butt for the first half of the game. Kicking butt is reserved for the second half. Others play differently. Word of warning for my future MP opponents - I will repell your initial attacks, but be prepared for a massive rebutal in the Industrial Age. You'll be hit HARD on multiple fronts.

 

[etj4Eagle]

Originally posted by Sullla


I saw this and had to respond to it. etj4Eagle, you NEVER want to slow your growth down deliberately on the higher levels. Growth = power in Civ3, so slowing yourself down is an extremely bad move. If you cannot cope with the unhappiness, raise the luxury tax instead of making entertainers or slowing growth. The increase commerce from working more tiles allows this to pay for itself. The other comments from etj4Eagle are excellent though.

Well that one was more of stuff that I have read, since I am not that good. I have just seen enough threads about the perils of having unhappy citizens added faster than you can deal with them on higher skill levels, that I thought I would throw it out. But you are obviously more skilled here than me.

 

[sumthinelse]

Originally posted by Sullla


you NEVER want to slow your growth down deliberately on the higher levels. Growth = power in Civ3, so slowing yourself down is an extremely bad move. If you cannot cope with the unhappiness, raise the luxury tax instead of making entertainers or slowing growth

Most of the time, I think you are right, but you have to be careful. Your strategy is sound. Slowing growth can be a fatal mistake.

But suppose that I am 2 turns away from motorized transportation and I have one city (and only one) that is on the verge of civil disorder. That city is going to get an entertainer or two temporarily. In the meantime, I will think of, and start working on, some better solution for that city.

Maybe I could have planned better for that city? Maybe, but when I have one city out of 50 that has a problem, if I bump the luxury tax by 30% I will be sacrificing the good of the whole empire for that of one city.

I am saying that you are right in principle, but I need to deviate from that principle in certain situations.