Looking for a solid build order

[Mr. White]

Alright Civ fanatics, I come to you humbly and seeking help. I've recently taken up the game (have Civ 4, Warlords and BtS) and have been playing for a few months, but am utterly addicted.

The problem? I really don't think I'm very good!

What I'm asking is this - toss me your best tips to become successful - whether it be through truly understanding the game better or just being able to work the system.

I'm eager to figure out how this game really ticks.

Thanks in advance!

 

[manningscolts18]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=155

try this thread

 

[sneaky]

manningscolts18 sadly is right.

But, if you can tell us what you have been doing do far and what isn't going well, we can suggest how to change it for the better.

 

[Mr. White]

Manningscolts, thanks.

I think my main problem is this - I can't ever seem to stick to one strategy. i.e., I have problems seeing one fully out. I'll see pictures on this forum of people being incredible advanced in the 19th Century (i.e. Fission) and it blows my mind - I've always been at least 50-60 years away.

Another issue I have - if I go with one strategy, for argument's sake let's say I go with a GP Farm, and it fails or I need to adapt quickly to stay afloat I am not equipped to do so.

I'm sorry if I'm being vague, but I'm not as polished on my Civ 4 lingo nor on its strategies as some and am trying to communicate my problems as best as I can.

 

[Spearthrower]

Mr White.... my suggestion is to focus a bit more and then ask for help.

Choose a favourite civ and leader that you really enjoy playing and set out to master them.

Next choose a style - do you like to build? fight? grab lots of land? have a small empire?

Do you like to focus on culture? technology? etc etc.

Tell us those and you will get tailored strategies - it's nearly impossible to give someone completely general advice that will win them the game - the devil's in the details!

 

[Mr. White]

Thanks Spear!

I usually like to tech and get a firm hold in research before declaring war. I have no preference what style I should go about teching, though. Should I do religion? What is the more important - the more beneficial?

Just a word - I very much like to play either with Augustus Caesar or Roosevelt. Roosevelt mostly because I enjoy very much having wonders.

 

[largedarryl]

Well Mr. White, I am assuming that since you are relatively new to civ4, you are playing at a low difficulty level. This means that the AI doesn't really research all that well, so what is going to happen is you are not going to be getting fission in the 1800's, that will happen as you move up difficulty levels as you get better.

There are many different ways to play the game, and I would also suggest going through some of these articles for some guidance. http://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strategy/

BTW, I wanted to be Mr. Black, but a bunch of other people also wanted that name, so I got stuck with Mr. Pink

 

[mrwhite89]

Hey! You stole my name!

 

[jedimogg]

the first way to increase your skill is to learn how to specialize cities. most cities should have a focus: income, research, production etc.

also, do be afraid to experiment.

read the article available on this site. some are more basic and are very helpful. the more you play, the more you will learn how all the parts of the game work so you can then use them to your advantage.

also, be patient. part of what makes Civ great is that you are always learning and always improving.

 

[Mr. White]

Thanks guys! Great community over here.

Question - what do you look for when specializing cities? I've been trying to learn that method as best as possible, but I'm not exactly sure what I should be looking for nor what clues should lead me to specialize a city a certain way.

 

[jedimogg]

cities with hills or metal/stone/marble lend themselves to production, cities with food resources can become specialist cities since there will be enough food to support them, cities near rivers can be financial centers since the tiles produce extra money....etc.

also as you increase in difficulty you won't be able to build all the building in every city. so productions cities shouldn't waste production on libraries and so on.