Monarchy or Republic?

[Ming]

Originally posted by Duke of Marlbrough
But I always encourage people to see what CFC has. TF has put a lot of information on the main site.

Thanks...

And yeah... TF has put a lot of useful stuff up here. I've been know to post links to them from Apolyton... (Don't let MarkG know... j/k )

 

[Ming]

But, just to prove I'm just not some common threadjacker... it really depends on whether you are playing SP or MP.

In SP, unless I'm playing some challange where time actually matters, I very seldom go into Republic. It's just not really needed. Even at Deity, I can stay in monarchy until around 1 AD, and then switch to democracy and then do WLYD's to jump start the population. In a SP game, I will probably have pyramids, and my population will be growing anyway. As I've stated elsewhere, against the AI, you can be lazy... because most strategies will get you into a victory position.

In MP, it's a different story. While some people will race right to Republic, I'll head for monarchy first. Expand like crazy, try to get HG or Michs... and then look to jump into Republic around 1000 BC. Use WLYD's to max out pop, and then start looking at what strategy is still available to me considering where the other players are.

Many people race to Republic at Deity in MP. They expand to 8 cities only... (the limit before happiness problems make WLYD's more difficult), pump their 8 cities to max... and then start expanding again.

 

[ArmOrAttAk]

Usually monarchy is my choice but in some circumstances...
If I only have a handful of cities close to my capitol, otherwise the corruption just isn't worth it.
If another civ is in republic and advancing faster than me( very rare)
If another civ is researching my next wonder goal, republic will cut my research 4-8 turns and pretty much ruin my production :/

 

[starlifter]

Most of what needs to be said has, beginning with duke's reply. Assuming SP Deity, I'll just add that early on, it really pays to have in your mind what you'll be planning, and then prepare for Republic if that's where you're heading. The most dominant factors are terrain type and enemy pressure.

1. Terrain type. If you're on an isolated island with decent terrain (e.g., lots of rivers, grass, plains... not dense mtns, ranges of hills, etc.), then you're primed for early Republic... you'll likely be needing the science anyway. On a continent, if you can choke out or block AI expansion, republic is an option.

2. If you get Maytagged (you get in long battles, over and over and over, and get knocked around and around), stick with Monarchy, build units, expand with those one-food settlers, and try for a direct democracy later on.
Either way, the decision of early republic or continued monarchy (ER or CM) should reflect your need of units and terrain in the early game. The option of direct Republic is one that I personally don't use (I always get Monarchy ASAP).

 

[starlifter]

by Ming:

On this site, do you guys have the download that allows you to play Civ II MP without the disk in the drive. My disc drive is starting to act up, and I don't want it to get in the way of me playing Civ II Any help would be appreciated.

You want a No-CD patch, which I've explained somewhat in :

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6297

Thunderfall's No-CD patch is a known good one, but if you're not a techie and that one does not work (e.g, you have different version of Civ), begin at www.gamecopyworld.com. I either crack or obtain No-CD cracks for all programs, which frees up the CD ROM for other uses, deactivation, or outright removal (like in laptops).

 

[sethos]

In higher levels there will be too much rioting in republic - no production, no expansion, cheap cities to bribe

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

Monarchy until Democracy is the best path. I don't like the rioting or weakness of govt. in republic. Basically, repub = crappy demo and monarchy = crappy communism.

So, monarchy until communism or democracy!

 

[Ren]

I get better happiness in Anarchy than in Republic

(btw this has probably already been said but I didn't read through all the posts yet)

So I go Despotism - Monarchy - Democracy then Communism if I plan war (usually pretty late in the game), I make sure I always get The Statue Of Liberty for this very reason.

 

[starlifter]

A working early Republic depends heavily on the starting position and terrain and combat situation. It is defintely not a form of gov't that will work well in all situations at all times!

Probably the key for most ER's are two wonders: the Hanging Gardens and Michelangelo's Chapel. If you have both these, even at Deity, and have decent terrain with relative peace (or limited, localized war), then the ER will likely work.

The hard thing to choke down for anyone doing an ER are the first 10 or so turns, until the cities pump up and gold and trade starts flowing. You are going to need gold to compensate for the lower net shield output. But as the cities grow, they will become so large relative to the Monarchy Doppelganger that they will greatly increase your empire's net shield output.

And consider this.... even if you only pump up one city (your SSC... HG, Col, CO, IN)... the amount of trade that this size 18 or 19 monster churns out (and that it forces all your other cities to have) in early game will crush your AI enemies. And it is truly a beast among midgets if you add the most fearsome wonder to it.... the mighty King Richard's Crusade.

For more info, read this:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=765

Don't let the main subject of the thread (pollution) scare you off... scroll down the the bonus discussion about the KRC. Proper use of the KRC = earlier victory. Quite a misunderstood wonder by many.

 

[Old n Slow]

I agree -- I like KRC a lot. I always place it in the SSC, & prioritize it before Copes & ST. Since my search/trade/build new cities (and keep them!) game is still at an intermediate level, the KRC is a nice crutch.

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

Just to add a note in: Getting the statue of liberty is essential if you plan on waging a war using democracy. After building the contentness improvements in your cities you still may run into war "weariness" but that won't matter because you always keep democracy even when there is a revolt.

 

[unknown_spirit]

Monarchy is better than the Republic, no questions asked. It is pathetic in every sense of the word. If you've just researched Republic, stick with Monarchy until you get to Commie. Change to that, get Democ and have done with it. Of course, if you're a warmonger, flip to Fundy and have a Jihad!

 

[Enforcer Talen]

I do monarchy first. lets me work on wars and expansion, not keeping the peasants warm and fuzzy.

 

[AnarchyBoy]

I'm usually working on a couple of wonders by the time I discover either Monarchy aor Republic. Ever tried building WOWs under a Republican regime? It takes 300 turns! I stick with monarchy for at least 15-20 turns so my wonders are finished, then sacrifice the shields to get a few more beakers.

 

[sethos]

Monarchy is good for expansion, Republic and Democracy are good for research and trade. Fundy is good for ca$h - I had games where I made 2600 gold per turn without any taxes (50% science, 50%lux). The secret is: celebrating fundamentalism.
A celebratring Fundy (or Commie) city generates the same amount of trade arrows than a city under a representative government.

 

[Dark Ascendant]

Power Communism all the way for me in the endgame stage.

 

[Enforcer Talen]

how would that work?

 

[Dark Ascendant]

Mass celebrations in most or all of your cities in Communism, think of it, an almost corruptionless Republic with free unit support, vet spies and double marshial law.

 

[funxus]

But you can't grow a size 3 city to size 20 in 17 turns
It's a bit hard having communism all the way, since you don't get communism until you've discovered democracy. So what do you do in between?

 

[Dark Ascendant]

I seriously don't want to have to put up with size 3 cities growing every turn. I just can't feed the people and grow the infrastructure in 17 turns. And also, before Commie, I stick to Monarchy and switch after getting the Statue of Liberty.