Post short tips here!

[Gnarlyhotep]

My simple tip:

When staging for attack, place your units in mountians/hills or forest until the attack. That way they are more protected from a pre-emptive strike.

And if you can build the iron works, do it! Immediatley if not sooner. I built the thing in Zimbabwe (which I had captured a mere 100 years earlier) and I ended up being able to build the UN in 12 turns and the Manhattan Project in 9!

 

[shirleyrocks]

Originally posted by Zannhart
>>A interesting fact: If a city is size 2, you can kill people down to size 1 and still build the worker. Same for city is size 3, kill a pop point, and build the settler.<<

I tried that and it didn't work. I had a size three city and it would take 7 turns to complete a settler, I hurried it and lost a population point and the settler should have been finished the next turn.

Well, next turn, it still wasn't complete, it still said 1 turn and I had to wait the 5 or so turns for the population to grow again until I could finish the settler.

Unless I misunderstood your tip.

Zannhart

I think this depends on the difficulty level. In Chieftain and Warlord, you can ALWAYS build a settler in a city, no matter what it's size, so long as that city is growing. So I would assume this holds true for rush production of settlers as well.

 

[betheballdanny]

If you're like me, and hate it when enemies plop a city somewhere near your borders, try this.

The easiest way to get rid of pesky neighbors is to get them to join your civ. Rush improvements that improve culture. Building a temple and library quickly next to a small enemy city may cause that enemy city to join your civ. That city and the larger borders are worth much more than any money or a couple of population points you lose in the rush job.

This is also how you can avoid being "culturized" if you're that pesky neighbor.

 

[Mike C]

Originally posted by shirleyrocks


I think this depends on the difficulty level. In Chieftain and Warlord, you can ALWAYS build a settler in a city, no matter what it's size, so long as that city is growing. So I would assume this holds true for rush production of settlers as well.

That is not true. I can attest to that from personal experience.

 

[Ruffin]

Lost uranium last game on the same turn I got the tech that enabled me to see it. Talk about pointless...

 

[jhigham]

Make sure to build offensive units. Civs won't attack your strong city, they'll just walk right by you. You need the movement and offensive power to take them out before they pillage you.

Building in hills is the same as building in plains (1 food, 1 shield), and gives you a defensive bonus, so don't hold back (I think in CivII it was less food?)

Building a city on a forest (or jungle?) will clear it. Don't waste time by having your worker clear it first.

Prioritize production and rodes with your workers early. You want the roads for movement, but mostly for resources.

Build early cities in grasslands, and keep them at level 1 producing settlers for quite some time (4-5 cities -- stop once you need them to produce wonders).

Use despotism to rush improvements. You don't really want big cities in the early game, so killing your citizens is fine, especially to get the important buildings out there.

Clearing forests and disbanding won't help build wonders, so don't do it.

 

[LKendter]

Remember how corruption works -
So concentrate most of your improvement (beyond roads) around your capital and nearby cities.

 

[Woof]

Disband obsolete military units in cities, then you get some shields back for the reclaimed unit's raw materials.

Disband all units in a city where you need extra shields quickly for the next adavnce.

 

[knowltok]

When disbanding units, gather them together. In many cases you won't get enough shields to make the improvement come any sooner. Two shields for a warrior. In many cases this makes no difference.

Play to your civilization's strengths. If you've got milatarism, use it. You don't even have to expand, you can conquer and sell back. Also strongly consider using your unique unit for a war or three when you have it. Many of the unique units can be decisive in combat, so even if you are peaceful consider war. You are missing a prime opportunity if you never attack with those immortals or even those hoplites (use them as a screen for your offensive units).

 

[CF_Civ]

If you are playing a scientific or a religious civ, the library ore the temple can be rushed with the cost of one population unit under
Despostim/Communism.

So ... do the following: If a city takes 20 turns to grow to size 2,
and takes less than 20 turns to build a military unit - build one
first. If you rush the temple/library, it doesn't matter how many
shields you have accumulated past the first one. That way, you
can build a cities defense force _and_ its first cultural building in
just 22 turns.

 

[senseilee]

Here's a tip that I'm surprised no one mentioned:

You're at war with someone, and they bring troops over to your area. Contact them and see if they will talk to you. If they do, ask for all their technologies and a lump sum of gold. In return, offer them a Per Turn gold amount. To the computer, a per turn amt is multiplied out to see how much it is really "worth". You can sometimes offer like, 20-30 gold per turn and get good stuff back.

Immediately after they agree, attack them. you've just acquired their technologies and gold, for nothing. Going to war with them cancels out the Per Turn gold agreement.

sensei

 

[Malys Faisent]

Immediately after they agree, attack them. you've just acquired their technologies and gold, for nothing. Going to war with them cancels out the Per Turn gold agreement.

As mentioned elsewhere, this kills your rep with the AI...not advisable on a larger map where domination is difficult if not near impossible or if you want to have a UN victory. Also not advisable if you like getting decent trades. It won't just be the civilization that you backstabbed that will dislike you for the rest of eternity, it will be all the other civs as well...they will automatically know you backstabbed someone else and will treat you accordingly.

However this works great on a smallish map where you are just trying to crush everyone anyway.

 

[Moeniir]

Originally posted by senseilee
You can sometimes offer like, 20-30 gold per turn and get good stuff back.

I haven't explored this too much, but the other nite I was negotiating for something, and the advisor said I was 'close to a deal'. I then added 1 gp per turn, and he said 'They will never go for that!'. First time I had seen adding something to the pot make the offer worse. Then I realized that I had just entered anarchy, and I wasn't making any gold per turn.

I assume then the AI won't agree to take gold per turn from you if you don't have the per-turn-income to support the offer. Anyone else tried this?

 

[Spray]

If I find a really important resource (iron, saltpeter) in an area that might be in contention sooner or later I build the city directly on top of the resource - NOT next to it. Access to the resource is the most important thing, I am willing to give up some production. Since iron is mostly found on hills it also adds to the defense of the city.

 

[Wondian]

Originally posted by Pragmatic
When you find a strategic resource that can run out (everything but horses...)

Also rubber does not ever run out. Other strategic resources run out according to a disappearance probability ratio and totally RANDOM. Not depending on whether you use it or not. You can check it at the editor, Rules, Natural Resources tab (Read help for disappearance probability).

 

[Moeniir]

Ever get in the middle of a negotiation and then want to check something? Need to check with an advisor? Want to see what another civ is asking for the same tech? Can't remember the name of the city you want to demand?

If you are in the deal-building screen (lists of everything you have to trade), you can press enter to leave the negotiation - no goodbyes, you just leave. When you re-enter diplomacy with the same civ (during the same turn), you are brought right back to the deal screen... with the same deal-in-progress still on the table. This also works if another civ approaches you on their turn... hit enter. Play resumes, and during your turn, you can go back to them and pick up where you left off (perhaps after checking with some other civs or an advisor).

 

[VoodooAce]

Here's a good tip, if it does work. I'll try it when i get home from work.

Per the dude in this post, you can right click a stack of units and, while holding the shift button, choose more than one unit at a time!!!!

Did not know this. Wish I had.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=110990&t=3543#post110990

 

[TrailblazingScot]

I'll start off with 3 short points:

Note: settlers may only build a size 1 city...but if you get them to JOIN a city you add two population units...this is useful for expanding areas of your empire that lack a food bonus.

PLUS cities on a river as it were DON't NEED aqueducts...

Colonies ALWAYS need a road connection to a city to function...that city needs a connection land/sea with the capital...thus you can't say have a colony on Baffin Island and expect furs to get to London....GRRR!

 

[Not Todd]

Yeah, more than once I've had to send a settler, worker, and a couple of defensive units to some little out-of-the-way island for a colony. You have to hurry build a harbor or, later on, airport.

Had to do this in my last game when I didn't have any uranium and there was only once source that wasn't deep in enemy territory.

 

[Calypso]

Here's a couple of lessons learned from my first full game. Kind of obvious, but better than having to learn the hard way. Common sense often isn't.

1. If you go to war, decide what your objectives are before you attack. A short war to secure/deny one set of resources shouldn't end up spreading you too thin.

2. Be careful who you MPP with. Make sure it's someone who's going to be able to help you out if need be.

3. Keep your ego in check. Trade tech early and often. Only hold back the vital techs once into the Middle Ages.

4. It's often better to raze a larger city (8+) rather than capture it. But only if you've got a settler behind to fill the void.

5. Build workers to grow newly captured cities. Capture workers to improve your lands.

6. Use the terrain. Park defensive units on a mountain. With bombardment support. And an offensive unit for counter attacks.

7. Build lots and lots of bombers.

8. Upgrade your units if you need to, but kill off all those swordsmen that don't mean anything in the late industrial age.

9. Build up your military, then go to war. Not vice-versa.

10. Suppress every Civ 2 instinct you have. New game, new strategies, new rules. Learn it, live it, love it.

11. Forbidden Palace is your friend. So is moving your Palace if necessary.

That's it for now,

Calypso (sometimes known as Captain Obvious)