Most game changing concept/tip

[SuedecivIII]

I've gotta say the despotism penalty. I was always confused why tile yields didn't match up with th civilopedia. "Why does the civilopedia say cattle is +2 food, but it only seems to provide +1?"

Understanding the despotism penalty makes so many other aspects of the game make sense.

 

[zerksees]

1) When you think you have no options, you have options. For instance, trading your only iron for a big tech payoff. Lots of options in this game if you just take the time to think about them. It is a turn based game.

2) After middle ages, have an even balance of artillery, attacking unit, defending unit. Most of the time this is arty, cavalry and infantry, but it applies with all the newer techs as well.

 

[Jivilov]

Besides the allready mentioned tricks, one important discovery for me was that Fighters and Jet Fighters need two turns for air superiority (or Combat Air Patrol = CAP). If you have to rebase them, they need three turns to get operational!

Before that I was just waking up every aircraft at a base or carrier, send out the Airstrike and set the Interceptors back to CAP, without realizing that I thereby cancelled my running CAP operation.

Now I wake up only my bombers and leave the Fighters on CAP active.

Really. Kept doing the same thing myself, not only for Carrier air but land-based as well. Always wondered why so many Fighters were either lost or didn't attack Bombers on the same turn they were activated for Air Superiority. BTW here's an old thread which reinforces these observations (warspite2 starts talking about Fighters in Cities in Post #11--and Roland Johansen backs him up 6 posts later while adding that AS range is half of the given operational range):

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/problem-fighters-not-intercepting-from-carrier.104077/

 

[timerover51]

My Eureka moment was just a couple of days ago when I was playing the Play the World scenario of Test of Time, where you have a LOT of very tough naval vessels to deal with. I suddenly realized that instead of sending out galleys one at a time to take on the AI ships, I could send three or four, and suddenly, I was taking down the AI preset ships. The preset ships are all Elite, and I have boosted the combat values for Regular, Veteran, and Elite.

 

[ciquta]

the game-changer for me was understanding the convenience to sell tech to the AI

AI tends to be an ass when trading his goods, but if you put first a new tech on the table it values alot, often all his gold. Always put for first something on the table and only after that ask the AI what he's willing to pay.
Once you close a bargain hurry to the other AIs to sell the same rug before the previous come to them.

Having lot of gold you can keep the science slider above 60% and increase your science lead.


of course skip all the useless tech research, making your way to steam power as quick as possible

 

[vorlon_mi]

the game-changer for me was understanding the convenience to sell tech to the AI

AI tends to be an ass when trading his goods, but if you put first a new tech on the table it values alot, often all his gold. Always put for first something on the table and only after that ask the AI what he's willing to pay.
Once you close a bargain hurry to the other AIs to sell the same rug before the previous come to them.

Having lot of gold you can keep the science slider above 60% and increase your science lead.


of course skip all the useless tech research, making your way to steam power as quick as possible

Agree! When I first started playing, I refrained from selling things to the AI, since I thought it made them stronger. Wiser voices here taught me that making them poorer (getting their gold) makes me stronger, and also reduces my costs for researching other techs.

It's especially profitable to sell them a tech that enables a wonder right after I have built it. If/when you achieve the Philosophy slingshot, sell all the AI Philosophy on the next turn. Build Copes, then sell everyone Astronomy. Build Newtons, then sell everyone Theory of Gravity.

 

[Captain_Jack]

I had so much to learn and I am slowly getting up to speed on the Civ3 techniques and ploys that have worked best for others. I was making several very elementary mistakes and learned other things the hard way. Since I have some time I will put down what comes to mind, but I hope others chime in with better information:

> I was placing my cities too far apart. Now I follow the technique of ring city placement putting the first cities one turn away from the capital, usually O-x-x-0. If there is a resource or space that I want I used to put a city there immediately. Now I put a city three tiles away and place a second city there eventually.
> I thought the AI wouldn't attack me for no reason and expected rational behavior. Now I I know they will attack me for no reason, or if I am weak. I can't take it personally I build way more units than I used to, and more offensive units than I once did. I try to keep the offensive/defensive ratio at 1:1 but I don't know if that is best.
> I used to never attack an opposing civilization unless attacked first. Wrong. Now I attack my neighbors if they have something I need or if they are weak. This isn't real life, it's a war game, and though I prefer peaceful building it can't be the only technique employed. Their territory might have the Alumium or uranium that I need in the future. And I prefer to have my neighbors servile if possible. What is the point of surviving to the present era to lose the Space Race?
> I still build too many useless buildings. I have barracks everywhere but probably should place them judiciously. Temples, Libraries, Cathedrals are probably better, and Aquaducts I'm sure. Still I have much to learn about that.

It's the year 2020. I wonder how many people are actually playing Civ3 anymore.

 

[tjs282]

> I still build too many useless buildings. I have barracks everywhere but probably should place them judiciously.

For much of the early game, and unless e.g. you have an Ancient UU, Barracks aren't really worth building until you've unlocked decent (i.e. usually resource-requiring!) units, and/or are out of Despotism. And even then, you shouldn't build them everywhere, only in those towns where you intend to build military units on a near-continuous basis.

Courthouses, Temples, Libraries, Markets, Cathedrals are probably better, and Aquaducts I'm sure. Still I have much to learn about that.

FTFY!

 

[Puppeteer]

For much of the early game, and unless e.g. you have an Ancient UU, Barracks aren't really worth building until you've unlocked decent (i.e. usually resource-requiring!) units, and/or are out of Despotism.

Whaaa? What blasphemy is this? In my ideal case, all non-warriors would be built as veterans.

But my play style is almost always to pick a fight with a neighbor or two in the AA.

But even if wars aren't super-early, I tend to focus on horsemen that could upgrade to knights and spearmen that could upgrade to pikes. Archers and swords I only build when I don't have horseback riding and horses yet, but I do emphasize offense over defense beyond one spear per city.

And even then, you shouldn't build them everywhere, only in those towns where you intend to build military units on a near-continuous basis.

Absolutely. In my early builds I try to expand quickly with "paper" defenses of warriors, but try to switch the capital or nearby high-shield city to barracks and then full-time military producer from that point forward while the other towns make settlers and workers. Well, sometimes they fit in a building or two along the way, but by then there are multiple rax cities.

 

[ciquta]

you can be paceful

I've won at monarch without a single causality (funnily I've been attacked for the first time the turn before lauching spaceship) and emperor with just one battle (one small City just for the oil).

The trick is to always avoid geographical conflicts (stay in your space with smallest possibile borders with other civs and wall them with a row of units) and keep the minimal units required, focusing on developing your cities.
This works only if you can keep the science lead and make friends by selling the techs... polite friends can always attack you but they won't if you're more advanced.
The downside of this strategy is it only works if you have all the resources handy.. if you find yourself without alu it might be too late in the game to revert to military

 

[ciquta]

you can build some cities in thight space, but I always keep a have a core of fully-developed cities for the wonders (both for builing and take advantage.. think about Newton and Copernicus)

 

[justanick]

you can be paceful

I've won at monarch without a single causality (funnily I've been attacked for the first time the turn before lauching spaceship) and emperor with just one battle (one small City just for the oil).

Above emperor it will be much less likely to work like that.

 

[Nathiri]

It's the year 2020. I wonder how many people are actually playing Civ3 anymore.

There's actually a decent amount. Over at CivPlayers Civ3League steam group we actually just launched a ladder ranking system since we have a good amount of players regularly now (the old ranking system died in 2014). It's not just the old vets who have been playing for 10+ years, we've gotten a stream of new blood through the efforts of Suede on youtube who has been helping new players in understanding the game.

 

[Puppeteer]

There's actually a decent amount. Over at CivPlayers Civ3League steam group we actually just launched a ladder ranking system since we have a good amount of players regularly now (the old ranking system died in 2014). It's not just the old vets who have been playing for 10+ years, we've gotten a stream of new blood through the efforts of Suede on youtube who has been helping new players in understanding the game.

Thanks for the info! Aside from the YouTube influence, I'm curious: are most new/current users using Steam? Or GoG or something else?

I went to check out Suede's channel, and I realized he's using my popheads file! (has smileys for happy/sad citizens as seen in my avatar) Cool!

 

[Nathiri]

Thanks for the info! Aside from the YouTube influence, I'm curious: are most new/current users using Steam? Or GoG or something else?

I went to check out Suede's channel, and I realized he's using my popheads file! (has smileys for happy/sad citizens as seen in my avatar) Cool!

I think older civ3 players might lean towards GoG, but Steam is definitely the more popular platform. We also have people who used to play civ5 and went backwards. Civ3 regularly goes on sale for cheap and people pick it up and dont know how to play the game, so they turn to youtube or whatever searches they can find. Younger people tend to go to youtube first, since they probably watch commentaries and playthroughs of other games and are used to doing that.

 

[jarred!]

Everyone should be using your popheads, Puppeteer!

 

[vmxa]

I love them and have for a long time.

 

[Captain_Jack]

I'm curious: are most new/current users using Steam? Or GoG or something else?

I played Civ3 in 2007 when I had some more time on my hands than usual. In those days of course I bought the CD to play on the computer. Eventually I couldn't stop playing and needed to actually throw the discs out so that I could get back to more productive use of my time. Then a few months would go by and I would buy the discs again, play for a while, and have to throw them out to stop. I did that maybe five times until I finally kicked the habit.

Then sometime last year I somehow got connected with the CivFanatics website and especially the Game of the Month. That turned me on to the game all over again. Now I could play the same game as others and talk about it, compare my progress, and add some meaning to the individual game I was playing. But you can't just walk into BestBuy and purchase the discs anymore. Civ3 might be the same as it was in 2007, but the world is different. tjs282 and cks (?) were a huge help to me in overcoming the technical difficulties I had getting the game up and running and becoming able to actually play the game of the month, but I eventually got there.

What I needed to do to play the GOTM for Play the World was buy the discs on eBay. That was difficult as I was confused and bought the expansion pack without the base disc or vice-versa a few times, but I eventually got the right combination. Then I needed to add pediacon files and do a whole bunch of other things that were way above my skill level, but with the help of tjs282 and cks I eventually got Play the World up-and-running, was able to play the game, download it, and share it.

Civ3 Conquests was easier in some ways. I opened a subscription to Steam and then the game was available through their network. I still needed to download it, but I didn't have to add any extra files if I remember correctly.

Getting a computer to use for the game was another difficult issue. None of the computers I had would run the PTW discs because the software was obsolete and I didn't want Steam on an office computer. Fortunately I still had my desktop computer from 2007 laying idle in the office and that is the one I use for Play the World. For Civ3 Conquests, played through Steam, I use an old laptop also from around 2007. It has the software that is compatible with the game and I use it for nothing else. It is my Conquests Laptop.

 

[vmxa]

The civ disk use SecuRom security, which calls a routine in Windows. That support was dropped by Microsoft and broke civ disk installs.

 

[jarred!]

I've read that a few times, but I play on windows 10 with a disk install. No voodoo involved, it just worked.