Massive campaigns

[smallstepforman]

Unlike Civ1/2, Civ3 is tailored for massive military campaigns, with over 100 units participating in battles (naval, air, bombardment and ground). There are phases in the game where there are no city improvements available (until a new technology becomes available) and the only thing you may produce are military units (or wealth). 30 cities spend 10 turns cranking out nothing but military units, 100 attack units are the norm in quite a few stages of the game.

In my games I amass an incredible force which wipes an AI opponent off the map in less than 10 turns. The victorious armies are then available for a new campaign, and I dont even play a Militaristic civ. This is how Civ3 is intended to be played, yet in these forums I read how people have trouble taking 2 cities and resorting to trickery to hold them. I'd like to see the AI take any of my cities which are usually held with at least 6-8 units, plus massive re-enforcements are a turn away (railroads).

In retrospect, when planning a campaign, if you haven't got at least 100 (give or take) units, dont even bother. If you time the campaign right, you will not miss out on science and development since your cities core cannot build anything new anyway.

Another strategy - you dont need to have a positive cash flow. Civ3 will disband one of your attacking units per turn to cover your expenses. In my games it's common to have a -500 gold/turn balance during campaigns, and Civ3 disbands an attacking unit (usually artillery or infantry) to pay my debts. The funny thing is that I have 2 cities cranking out artillery (2 turns), which means I have a new artillery piece ready for disbanding every turn. My tax rate is set to 70 science/30 luxury (0% for gold collection).

Now if only corruption wasn't so bad, since I cannot manage more than 40 or so cities. The others are extremelly corropt and there's nothing I can do to fix it.

 

[Gruntboy]

I think you are right, relating to massive campaigns and huge production.

However, do you not find that corruption loss for taxes also impacts on your ability to produce a large military?

Regardless, with a few core cities you can crank out large number of troops.

However, I disagree on one point. I can achieve limited objectived with limited forces. A small naval invasion force can land on enemy home territory and achieve just enough to take an enemy city. Since defense is easy civ3 this small force can hold off a much larger counter offensive - tieing down a foreigh military many terrain squares away.

 

[RAL2000]

Move up to the top of the difficulty level. It is a very different game -- almost like two games for the price of one.

I'm playing an Emperor/huge game right now. I very carefully calculated out every move during the first hundred or so turns of the game, then ran into the French who were about equal to me in size and tech but had no horses. I thought I would defeat them by pouring out horsemen but they had metal and I did not and their swordsmen ripped me to shreds. I reloaded several times and tried various strategies but could not get a military victory out of that particular game. I ended up with a smaller empire than them, and guess what, I didn't have coal, rubber, or saltpetre either. Maybe bad luck, but other games I have played at this level you end up with resource problems every time.

Now you could assume I am totally incompetent, but I wonder if your 'hundred unit' experience isn't on one of the lower levels? I enjoy playing lower level games until about the 1500s when exactly what you mentioned sets in -- you are so much stronger than the other guys that it becomes a tedium of mop up and micromanagement.

 

[eyrei]

I have found it very difficult to outnumber the AI's armies on Monarch and higher. They simply outproduce you. Good strategy and tactics are necessary to win wars on these levels because you will almost never have the advantage in numbers.

 

[Dragon2]

I agree completely with this strategic approach for world conquest. At Monarch level I was able to land 80 units on another continent in one turn, backed up by 80 more a few turns later. I don't think that the AI is programmed to do this, although it can mount large attacks on land.

In my one and only Emperor game the only way that I could find to win was by taking over a smallish continent, building a defensive force, and going for a spaceship. I don't think that I could have managed the military buildup for this sort of campaign against my larger neighbors, but I gambled they would not get beyond heavy sea bombardment and an occasional transport on my shores.

 

[eyrei]

I had the AI land 4 galleons worth of cavalry on my continent the other day. 16 units that were relatively easily dispatched. However, if it had been 4 transports of tanks, I might have been in trouble.

 

[tetley]

In less than 10 turns? If you get a Right of Passage you can wipe him out in 1 turn. I'm inclined to agree, though, you tend to have nothing to produce but military post-industrialization. The patch helps with that some. What the game really needs is more Industrial/Modern Age wonders, IMHO.

 

[RAL2000]

I thought there were penalties to attacking under a Right of Passage? Like all the other countries think you have just become a desirable candidate for testing out any military units?

Of course if you happen to have a ROP and have a bunch of units and they are dumb enough to attack you, then you may have hit the jackpot. And if you are militarily superior what the others think of you doesn't make as much difference.


Course who am I to quibble with THE Head Tea Leaf -- LOL, love your handle, LOL