Questions (Corruption, Army, etc)

[IrishFight23]

This is my first post on this forum and I have just recently returned to Civilization 3 which, admittedly, I did not give the proper amount of attention first time around. Okay so here are my dilemmas:

I have read that there is a limited number of cities a civilization can have before Corruption just takes over with Democracy, Courthouse, and distance doing nothing to assist, is this true? I'm assuming it is but I've just started a game and captured an entire continent and I have absolutely no idea how to pull these cities out of absolute worthlessness.

Is there any way to change the units in an Army? If so, I haven't been able to figure it out

Basically, my situation is that I have a whole bunch of land and cities that are completely worthless due to just... rampant corruption and waste. Their cultural borders never grow, they are just totally worthless.

The game is amazing and fun... I'm just not very good at it. Any tips for a beginner n00b like myself would be much appreciated. Is there some guide that someone has posted on this board that someone can direct me to? Thank you and hopefully someone can help me out

 

[Beamup]

This is my first post on this forum and I have just recently returned to Civilization 3 which, admittedly, I did not give the proper amount of attention first time around. Okay so here are my dilemmas:

Welcome!

I have read that there is a limited number of cities a civilization can have before Corruption just takes over with Democracy, Courthouse, and distance doing nothing to assist, is this true? I'm assuming it is but I've just started a game and captured an entire continent and I have absolutely no idea how to pull these cities out of absolute worthlessness.

Sort of. But not really. The number of cities you have does have a very large effect on corruption, especially at the fringes of your empire. But it's not quite that simple. The full explanation can be found here, though it's rather technical.

The short version is this: corruption depends on both distance from the capital (or Forbidden Palace) AND on how many cities there are closer to the capital than the one you're considering. The latter source can easily end up dominating corruption (though not always), and it increases more rapidly once that number of closer cities passes a certain threshold.

It IS possible for corruption to get so bad that a Courthouse (for example) won't do any good. Basically, this happens when corruption would normally affect well over 100% of the shields/gold the city produces. The Courthouse still reduces that number... but if it's still over 100% (or, more precisely, 95%) there will be no actual difference.

Oh, and one common misconception - unless you are in Communism, it is IMPOSSIBLE for cities far away from your capital to affect the corruption level of cities closer to it. For some reason, a lot of people become convinced that it happens... that founding a city out in the boonies increased corruption in their core cities. This is an illusion.

Note that the presence of a Forbidden Palace makes things a good bit more complex. What I've written above is generally assuming there is no FP for simplicity.

Is there any way to change the units in an Army? If so, I haven't been able to figure it out

No. Some older versions of Civ3 had bugs allowing it, but (AFAIK) they are all gone now.

Basically, my situation is that I have a whole bunch of land and cities that are completely worthless due to just... rampant corruption and waste. Their cultural borders never grow, they are just totally worthless.

Such cities can still be useful - use them for specialists (unaffected by corruption), for example. Also, rushing certain critical buildings (e.g. a Library/Temple for a bit of culture) can be quite useful.

The game is amazing and fun... I'm just not very good at it. Any tips for a beginner n00b like myself would be much appreciated. Is there some guide that someone has posted on this board that someone can direct me to? Thank you and hopefully someone can help me out

You want the War Academy.

 

[IrishFight23]

Also... 2 more questions real fast:

1. Catapults, Cannon, etc: How do you use them effectively? They seem, to me (a n00b) like nothing more then extra defense. I can't figure out how to even use them on offense.

2. Is Agricultural a trait that is introduced in an expansion?

 

[Beamup]

1. Catapults, Cannon, etc: How do you use them effectively? They seem, to me (a n00b) like nothing more then extra defense. I can't figure out how to even use them on offense.

They are used via the Bombard command. Hit 'B', or there's a button down at the bottom. They are best used to drop enemy units to 1 HP (they cannot kill units) before your other units attack and kill them. Cuts your casualties by a LARGE amount.

2. Is Agricultural a trait that is introduced in an expansion?

Yes - the second expansion, Conquests.

 

[Willem]

Also... 2 more questions real fast:

1. Catapults, Cannon, etc: How do you use them effectively? They seem, to me (a n00b) like nothing more then extra defense. I can't figure out how to even use them on offense.

To be effective, you need alot of bombard units. I usually have a stack of ten guarded by an army to pound enemy cities and troops. With that many, they really soften up your enemy so your regular forces have an easier time of it, especially if your attacking a city on a hill.