Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[vmxa]

One other consideration on the defender is if the ship is empty. If you have 3 reg ships and one is empty and the others have units, the empty will defend.
We use this tactic often as an extra piece of insurance. send an empty or two. if you cannot defend as well as you need.

I am not sure about ships, but defending units have another check and that is if they are equal on defense selection, then it will not use the one that has the best attack. This is smart as you would rather loose the 3 attack unit and not lost the 4 attack on defense.

 

[MyungHee]

You're partly right and partly wrong. AFAIK, the engine needs to calculate trade routes and that calculation is the primary suspect for the IBT delays. So in that respect it is the game. However, the processor and/or RAM will determine how long that calculation takes. For example, in an SG I am currently playing, the IBT takes about 20 seconds on my PC, but 20 minutes for some of my teammates.

Wow that's a huge difference. So the question is, what processor and what RAM do you have?

And what's your opinion on buying from the mom and pop store (that I have no experience with myself and I can't find anyone who's bought from them but I like their customer skills and they are 5 minutes from my house) or the equally local but more established store (their website says they build PCs for MIT, etc) that probably can't give me the personalized service of the mom and pop...?

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Trade question.
I haven't broken a gold per turn deal, I've never cancelled a resource export but no one is willing to make a GPT deal with me (it's always, they would never consider that deal). Attitudes vary.

I read the piece in the Milatary Academy on GPT reputation, but I haven't comitted any offences that I'm aware of. can anyone help and/or direct me to a good review of attitude/reputation? Thanks

 

[Aabraxan]

A few questions: Are they unwilling to pay you gpt, or unwilling to accept gpt? IIUC, if your rep is busted, they'll still pay you gpt, but won't accept it. Have you been trading resources or luxes overseas or through someone else's territory? You can take a rep hit even for some things that aren't your fault, like having a barbarian galley end its turn on your trade route.

 

[vmxa]

Attitude is not related to rep. You do not have to do anything directly. If you had a trade with someone and the route was cut, say a road or a barb galley sitting on the only tile that allow sea trade, the route is cut.

You often see a trade route going through a another civ and then that civ goes to war and you lost your route and the AI thinks you broke the deal.

It is wise to not trade over water, unless you cannot be blocked by a single ship.

 

[TheOverseer714]

You might have had a unit in their territory and declared war, or a barbarian galley broke a trade route, or a war broke out that blocked a trade route. Even if it isn't your fault, the AI's get their panties in a knot and won't trade gpt from then on.

edit: X-post with Aabraxan and vmxa

 

[splunge the 2nd]

No one pays me GPT. I experimented here and there with offerring 21 gold for 1 GPT and get turned down. Is it possible they just don't have the money?

 

[Aabraxan]

Yes, it's also possible that they simply don't have any money to give you. Also, try offering more gold for the 1 gpt. Sometimes it just takes more gold to get them to bite.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Try giving one a gift, say 40 gold, and then asking for 1 gpt. If they have the money and won't pay gpt, your trading rep is broken. The AI's often will be running at a break-even of 0 gpt and none in the bank due to unit support and building upkeep, so has no money for deals.

 

[HellboundHeathcliff]

You have it backwards. Your rep is broken if they won't accept gpt from you. You can still get them to pay you gpt for lump sum items.

 

[Padma]

Wow that's a huge difference. So the question is, what processor and what RAM do you have?

And what's your opinion on buying from the mom and pop store (that I have no experience with myself and I can't find anyone who's bought from them but I like their customer skills and they are 5 minutes from my house) or the equally local but more established store (their website says they build PCs for MIT, etc) that probably can't give me the personalized service of the mom and pop...?

See the thread I made for you here.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I saw recently someone wanted to not have the Intro movie play when starting civ 3. Is it NoIntro=0 in the .ini?

 

[vmxa]

No one pays me GPT. I experimented here and there with offerring 21 gold for 1 GPT and get turned down. Is it possible they just don't have the money?

That is no real deal as they would pay you 20 gold. I would make it lend me whatever they have up to say 5 gold and pay them 1 gpt. Now that is deal that will only be turned down if your rep is shot.

 

[vmxa]

PlayIntro=0
Can be 0 or 1. If 0, the intro movie is not displayed.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Thanks all.
What determines a diplomatic victory (ie why do people vote for you in the UN): reputation, attitude or something else? All my games so far I won by conquest and now I'm trying a combination strategy of "expand through conquest then build and make nice" looking towards a culture/UN/spaceship victory.

 

[Bartleby]

Attitude is the most important thing for UN. If they are not at least polite towards you, they won't vote for you. If you expand through conquest, you can't afford to raze a lot.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Attitude is the most important thing for UN. If they are not at least polite towards you, they won't vote for you. If you expand through conquest, you can't afford to raze a lot.

It's a pain attacking small cities: I'm guessing they're pop rushing defenders and so the pop falls to 1 and I get stuck razing a city I planned to keep. I assume I get an attitude hit for razing a size 1 city even though I had no choice (except to leave it alone of course)

 

[vmxa]

UN vote is so late in the game that you have to expect some attitude issue. I would expect that you can get the vote, if the other civ has a war with the the rest of them.

By that time in the game you should have eliminated some civs. Space is just a matter of not winning sooner and not losing a UN vote, quite easy to accomplish.

 

[Alcoron]

Again question on the trading. Why indeed are the AIs so reluctant to give me gpt provided that I have never been at war, they are all polite, I have made them gifts (a lot), my culture is at least ten time their and my reputation is perfect (it is a multiplayer game on hotseat, does this have an effect?)

For instance the Romans have 22 gold and they refuse to import iron for 1gpt.

 

[Aabraxan]

Welcome to CFC, Alcoron!

I don't know whether it's different in multiplayer hotseat, but I would suspect that the AI acts the same as in single player.

It may simply be that they have no spare gold to offer on a per turn basis. Even if they have 22 gold, they may be running at +0 gold per turn.

Whether or not you've ever been at war with them is a question of attitude, not reputation. Even if they're furious with you, they'll still trade. However, if your reputation is damaged, they will still give you gold per turn, but will not accept it from you.