Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[scloopy]

Agreed, I only use it within my own territory where my knowledge of what's about is perfect. Anything else is an unneccessary gamble.

I agree, I learned the hard way not to use goto as I ended up surrounded in the beginning of the next turn and ultimately lost a bunch of units. It is not smart to use goto when you are blind to what is around you, especially if moving a stack.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

There's something that has been bothering me for a long time. In the Preferences dialog, what does "Cancel orders for friendly (or enemy) unit" do? From what I can see, it does nothing at all.

In addition to what Korrero said, there is the command "sentry" which can be given by hitting either Y or Z (on my German keyboard it is Z, so maybe it is Y for you). That command works similar for "fortify" with the exception that your unit will wake up if an enemy/friendly unit (depending on just that preference setting) moves to an adjacent tile.

 

[Turner]

@ Abegweit - I think that when the option is checked your units on goto orders will stop if they sight an enemy unit. It should stop your units from trying to march straight past the enemy and getting hit the next turn. The option for cancelling orders when you sight a friendly unit does the same, but will stop your units when they sight a friendly unit.

This will also stop your workers from doing whatever they're doing. They'll stop and await new orders. That is particularly annoying, because about 80% of the time I can take out the enemy units and have my workers continue what they're doing uninteruppted.

 

[gmaharriet]

This will also stop your workers from doing whatever they're doing. They'll stop and await new orders. That is particularly annoying, because about 80% of the time I can take out the enemy units and have my workers continue what they're doing uninteruppted.

I find this surprising. I have my preferences checked stop for enemy only, and I take my workers into battle to road/rail, usually along with my arty, and I don't think they've ever stopped for new orders. Could this be because they are not on "go to", but manually moved? Hmmm, have I just answered my own question?

 

[Turner]

Actually, it's been a while since I played Civ3 (Started a game last week, played an hour or so, haven't touched it since) but as I recall it's for go-to or build orders. And as workers are (generally) the only unit to build something, I haven't seen it with other units. :shrug:

I'll see if I can't get through a game and test this sometime.

 

[unpotable]

playing Civ III Conquest for about a month. Thoroughly addicting! Im at the point where Cities are making money but I am unable to establish trade with anyone and I cannot figure out how to make diplomatic agreements. Also, after I was offered the chance to make an embassy how do I go back and establish one? Finally, if I havent made embassies, developed trade, ect should I restart my campaign and do so early? Im playing China, it's in the 1300's, Ive got like 1300 gold, and have many troops. AI's are ganging up on me. I manage to fend them off but cannot seem to muster the forces needed to take them out.

Sorry in advance if these have been clearly answered in previous posts! I am short on time to D I G.

 

[Abegweit]

playing Civ III Conquest for about a month. Thoroughly addicting! Im at the point where Cities are making money but I am unable to establish trade with anyone and I cannot figure out how to make diplomatic agreements. Also, after I was offered the chance to make an embassy how do I go back and establish one? Finally, if I havent made embassies, developed trade, ect should I restart my campaign and do so early? Im playing China, it's in the 1300's, Ive got like 1300 gold, and have many troops. AI's are ganging up on me. I manage to fend them off but cannot seem to muster the forces needed to take them out.

Sorry in advance if these have been clearly answered in previous posts! I am short on time to D I G.

To trade you have to have a connection with the partner from capital to capital. You can do this either by road, through harbours or airports or any combination of them. If using harbours, one of the partners must be able travel on the type of water in question. For example, astronomy lets you trade across seas. Sea trade routes can be broken if they cross enemy waters or an enemy ship. Barb galleys can be particularly annoying for this. As such it is dangerous to make trade routes which only go along the coast.

To establish an embassy, double-click on the star beside your capital's name. I know this is obscure and, IMO, it's a terrible user interface. Anyway...

Edit: Oh. And welcome to CFC.

 

[Tone]

To establish an embassy, double-click on the star beside your capital's name. I know this is obscure and, IMO, it's a terrible user interface.

...or click on the small E symbol in the bottom right.

Sorry in advance if these have been clearly answered in previous posts! I am short on time to D I G.

The whole point of this thread is to ask rather than search so no problem.

With regards to your game, you may find that civs may be willing to talk peace after a while but if you are outnumbered, PT can be quite expensive. Now that you have embassies, you may be able to set up a few alliances of your own. Just be prepared to see them through if you take this route though as otherwise you may wreck your reputation if you accept a PT from a foe that you have allied against.

 

[scloopy]

playing Civ III Conquest for about a month. Thoroughly addicting! Im at the point where Cities are making money but I am unable to establish trade with anyone and I cannot figure out how to make diplomatic agreements. Also, after I was offered the chance to make an embassy how do I go back and establish one? Finally, if I havent made embassies, developed trade, ect should I restart my campaign and do so early? Im playing China, it's in the 1300's, Ive got like 1300 gold, and have many troops. AI's are ganging up on me. I manage to fend them off but cannot seem to muster the forces needed to take them out.

Sorry in advance if these have been clearly answered in previous posts! I am short on time to D I G.

Welcome to a really great game.

I don't know what level you are playing on, but the AI's have a tendancy to gang up on you if you are scoring well. Make your defenses strong and let them beat their own brains out while you build your offfense.

 

[TimBentley]

I cannot figure out how to make diplomatic agreements.

You need an embassy for diplomatic agreements. One of Ctrl-E, Ctrl-Shift-E, or Shift-E would be a third option (I just use the E in the corner).

 

[Abegweit]

Geez. All these choices - and every one them is obscure. I only stumbled on one of them. In the future, I will use the E in the corner. What's wrong with making it F8 anyway? People would find that.

 

[Tone]

Yes, and especially annoying as establishing embassies is such a key feature of the game.

I guess that, like me, you cut your teeth on vanilla, Abegweit. The little E isn't on that version and your solution was the only one I knew in those days. However bad the interface is for conquests, vanilla was just so much worse.

 

[Abegweit]

Yeah. I'm set in my ways. The 'V' and 'D' are useful too and I will certainly start using them as well. See, it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks.

 

[unpotable]

Hey. Thanks for the advice. I'm taking a bash and go approach while I feel out the nuances. I have run the game up to the 1600's under different senarios. THough I feel like I am missing something important as the AI's seem to have trade agrrements and mutual defence pacts.

I am going to try to establish as many embassies as I can and see what avenues for trade I can develop.

Just to clarify something regarding trade via sea routes, do I put a boat of mine near a port of the AI's? AND is there a way to contact other coutries using the dialogue box thingy and my advisors?

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Just to clarify something regarding trade via sea routes, do I put a boat of mine near a port of the AI's?

Trade via sea routes happens automatically. Once you are able to trade via sea or ocean tiles it is automatically connected.

 

[Bartleby]

You can contact the AI by double-clicking or right-clicking on one of their units, if you can see one.
You don't need to even have a boat to be able to trade via water; what you do need is a harbour (and the AI to have a harbour). If this is the case, and you or the AI have any surplus resources, you can trade them. Note that you can trade your only source of any resource, if you so wish, but the AI will never do it. Before the discovery of Astronomy, trading through harbours can be risky, because the trades are easily cut off.

edit: must type faster.

 

[gmaharriet]

Just to clarify something regarding trade via sea routes, do I put a boat of mine near a port of the AI's? AND is there a way to contact other coutries using the dialogue box thingy and my advisors?

You don't actually need to have a boat near their ports to be able to trade. Once you can see another civ and after both you and they have a harbor, you can trade over coastal tiles, and over sea/ocean tiles with the necessary techs.

You can contact other countries using the dialogue box any time after you've met them...even without an embassy. Embassies allow you to make certain agreements with other civs, depending on your tech level.

Edit: X-post with Bartleby.
2nd edit: I see SuperBeaver types faster than either of us.

 

[Tone]

I feel like I am missing something important as the AI's seem to have trade agrrements and mutual defence pacts.

If you are playing at the higher levels, the AI get better deals by trading with each other than they do by trading with you.

I wouldn't be in any hurry to sign up for MPPs. It improves the AIs attitude towards you but you can get dragged into wars that you may well have preferred to keep clear of and they are a great tool for ruining your trading reputation. (I'm not too keen on RoPs as well but others here have a different view.)

I establish embassies for the attitude bonus and the chance to establish alliances that are beneficial to me.

Contacting other civs? I prefer to use F4; particularly if I'm doing a circuit such as selling a tech to everyone. You must have already met to use this though.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

AND is there a way to contact other coutries using the dialogue box thingy and my advisors?

You can double-click foreign/enemy units.

 

[bloh]

Probably been asked, sorry if so.

However, how do I do Sea trades? There is a water between me and China, and I most of it and China owns a bit of it close to them. I have a embassy in China, and a spy also. How do I get Sea trade to work? Whenever I try to trade my advisor say you need to have a trade route or something. What's wrong and how should I do it?

Thanks.