poll beginners biggest mistakes
- Thread starter paulfish
- Start date
Tomoyo
Fate
Gotta go with the workers, then.
WackenOpenAir
Deity
Tomoyo said:
I don't choose workers.
Too few workers are not a noob mistake, it is a mistake that all but very few players make
Tomoyo
Fate
Fine. Wonders, then.
DS_Legionary
King
I'd say besides too few workers it'd be too many wonders.
Besides workers, I think it's actually being stuck on one civ for too long. I often see questions like, "What's the best civ?" "What civ should I play as?". You get used to only 1 2-trait combo, and don't know how to play the others once you do move up a level.
Automating everything should've been an option too.
Automating everything should've been an option too.
Although I am usually one to preach the value of workers, WackenOpenAir is correct that a lack of them is a mistake made by seasoned players as well as beginners.
I therefore voted for "all of the above". I know from personal experience that I had to improve in all those areas before I could advance up the difficulty levels.
I therefore voted for "all of the above". I know from personal experience that I had to improve in all those areas before I could advance up the difficulty levels.
Science Rules
Prince
I think being fixated on one Civ is a problem. It creates some bad habits, for example playing as the greeks a lot as a newbie can cause a false expectation that one or two spear units can adequetly defend a city properly. It is not until several devasting Ancient Age Losses that one can recognize that there's something special about hoplites that spearmen don't (like extra defense).
RegentMan
Deity
Whenever my friend and I play hotseat, I'm shocked that he feels ten workers are okay for ten cities. In my current single player game as the Arabs, I counted the number of workers I had just before my Japanese war: 26 workers for nine cities. I could road and mine anything I wanted whenever I needed to. All my tiles were improved before the Japanese war, so they went over and made movement easier as they improved my newly conquered land. Same thing during the First and Second Korean Wars.
sadu
Warlord
I voted workers, but I think better trades is a more underrated problem.
When I started playing, I hated giving tech to the AI. As you play harder levels, you have to make the trades just to keep up (and once you get behind with nothing to trade, it's almost impossible to get back into the race).
When I started playing, I hated giving tech to the AI. As you play harder levels, you have to make the trades just to keep up (and once you get behind with nothing to trade, it's almost impossible to get back into the race).
Totibbs
Warlord
Guess Im still a newbie 
I build every building in each city.
But I discovered Ive a lot of city's. With French im now at "new orleans" and Ive conquerd the whole greeks
Another of my problem is the trading.
Am I getting cheaped off when you offer a thing like a world map and do the button "what may I get for the world map"?
And when the game is over, I won... (I play very easy) Im always remebered as "pathatic" or something like that. How can I be remebered as "elite" or whats the best?
I build every building in each city.
But I discovered Ive a lot of city's. With French im now at "new orleans" and Ive conquerd the whole greeks
Another of my problem is the trading.
Am I getting cheaped off when you offer a thing like a world map and do the button "what may I get for the world map"?
And when the game is over, I won... (I play very easy
) Im always remebered as "pathatic" or something like that. How can I be remebered as "elite" or whats the best?sadu
Warlord
Totibbs
Trading is very much subjective - what is fair value depends on lots of factors (ie tech is worth more if only one civ has it). The AI will usually offer just below market value if you use "what may I get for world map". You can normally add 10 or 15% onto the price he offers. (eg if he offers 200g, try for 220g or 230g - it's unlikely he would pay 500g for it).
No, You shouldn't build every building, but here are some basic guidelines to work with.
Walls (You can build these in every city if you want to (no upkeep cost), but don't bother in fast growing cities by a river)
Barracks (Build in your unit production cities, or on an enemy front. Don't build barracks in your economic cities)
Temple (build if you need happiness / culture)
Library (build if you need culture, Or if city produces 2+ science)
Marketplace (build if city produces 2+ gold OR if you have 3+ lux and need happiness)
Aqueduct (only build if pop is 5 or 6 and city has plenty of extra food)
Harbour (Build for trade routes, veteran boats, or if city needs extra food from water squares)
Colusseum (Best to wait for cathedrals if you can - only build if you already have cathedral)
Cathedral (build in large cities that need happiness / culture)
University (Build if city produces 6+ science OR for culture)
Coastal Fortress (build if you have nothing else to build - they are almost useless, but cost nothing to maintain)
Bank (build if city produces 6+ gold)
Factory (people will have different advice on this - I won't build a factory unless it can be built in less than 20 turns)
Power Plant (Most cities that can use a factory can use a power plant)
These are minimums, or break-even points. I won't usually bother with a university unless the city is producing 20 science, not 6. But the above numbers should prevent you from going backwards by building an improvement.
By the time you reach the modern age, you may well have every building in every city. But in the Ancient era, you can't afford to build stuff that is going to add cost with no benefit. Try to figure out if you need a particular building, and if you don't then consider building more units instead. If you already have too many units, consider "liberating" your nearest neighbour.
Edit: oops, forgot about the courthouse in my list. I myself are often stuck wondering if I should build this or not, there is a lot to it and it also depends on government (ie a city that needs a courthouse in despotism may not need one in republic). Here's a beginners rule of thumb to get started with:
Courthouse (build if city has 7+ wasted gold/science but is otherwise productive.)
Trading is very much subjective - what is fair value depends on lots of factors (ie tech is worth more if only one civ has it). The AI will usually offer just below market value if you use "what may I get for world map". You can normally add 10 or 15% onto the price he offers. (eg if he offers 200g, try for 220g or 230g - it's unlikely he would pay 500g for it).
No, You shouldn't build every building, but here are some basic guidelines to work with.
Walls (You can build these in every city if you want to (no upkeep cost), but don't bother in fast growing cities by a river)
Barracks (Build in your unit production cities, or on an enemy front. Don't build barracks in your economic cities)
Temple (build if you need happiness / culture)
Library (build if you need culture, Or if city produces 2+ science)
Marketplace (build if city produces 2+ gold OR if you have 3+ lux and need happiness)
Aqueduct (only build if pop is 5 or 6 and city has plenty of extra food)
Harbour (Build for trade routes, veteran boats, or if city needs extra food from water squares)
Colusseum (Best to wait for cathedrals if you can - only build if you already have cathedral)
Cathedral (build in large cities that need happiness / culture)
University (Build if city produces 6+ science OR for culture)
Coastal Fortress (build if you have nothing else to build - they are almost useless, but cost nothing to maintain)
Bank (build if city produces 6+ gold)
Factory (people will have different advice on this - I won't build a factory unless it can be built in less than 20 turns)
Power Plant (Most cities that can use a factory can use a power plant)
These are minimums, or break-even points. I won't usually bother with a university unless the city is producing 20 science, not 6. But the above numbers should prevent you from going backwards by building an improvement.
By the time you reach the modern age, you may well have every building in every city. But in the Ancient era, you can't afford to build stuff that is going to add cost with no benefit. Try to figure out if you need a particular building, and if you don't then consider building more units instead. If you already have too many units, consider "liberating" your nearest neighbour.
Edit: oops, forgot about the courthouse in my list. I myself are often stuck wondering if I should build this or not, there is a lot to it and it also depends on government (ie a city that needs a courthouse in despotism may not need one in republic). Here's a beginners rule of thumb to get started with:
Courthouse (build if city has 7+ wasted gold/science but is otherwise productive.)
You need to win at a higher difficulty level to get the best rating. At emperor I always get the top rank.Totibbs said:And when the game is over, I won... (I play very easy
One other thing that I did when I was an ignorant, silly noob* was to put a city producing wealth because there was nothing I particularly wanted to build in that city for a couple of turns, and then forget about it. 30 or 40 turns later, I'd discover the city putting out a some gp but without a factory.
*Not like now, when I'm an ignorant, silly veteran.
*Not like now, when I'm an ignorant, silly veteran.
