Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[UnforcedError]

@telgaldrakore: Your ally simply created a colony, who then automatically became his vassal. You can do that as well in your games (the colonize button is on the bottom right of the city screen). It's sometimes a reasonably good idea, if you want to save maintenance or want a vassal for happy reasons, or someone to vote for you etc. The leader and civ you get is random (but it will be someone who's not on the map yet).

 

[CocoIsKing28]

Hello, just started playing this game after having it sit in my CD case for a good many years. I have a question that I had absolutely no idea how to search for since the question isn't Google search friendly. I have been playing a game with what I thought was 6 other factions (The game is currently now at 1914 AD, so for 5914 game years it was ONLY 6 others) and the entire game map revealed except for a very small portion of ocean and the artics. I am just about to finish satalite research so i can see the entire map and all of a sudden I get a "Hi are you friend or foe?!? " communication from a civilization that never existed before. I do the usual "Yup Im a friend " response and 5 cities that were previously one of my allies change into a new color and this new civilization has taken over them and become a vassel of my allies.

Now I know this civilization never existed before because the cities they now own were my allies. The civilization never participated in the Apostol vote, and now that the civilization exists its in the Apostol vote at only 3 votes. Where the hell did it come from? Can you create a new leader and appoint them as a vassel over territories you no longer want to deal with? Can a civilization literally hide on a small island with only one town in a less then 4x4 fog of war block and literally never join the Apostol vote, never make a new town, never build a ship to explore, never attempt communication with anyone, never leave the island and never be seen until the 1900's?

In addition to what's said above, the colony must be on another continent, which just means an island that your capitol isn't on. Oh yeah, and you must have at least two cities on that continent in order to grant it to another leader.

 

[telgardrakore]

Aaah. I understand now. Ya there are so many damned buttons on the screen I guess i missed that one. Also it happened again -_-. Now there are two colonies on my damned new continent.

 

[telgardrakore]

Um, im not sure what screen or what button your talking about, I cant find it. Did you mean the city screen as in when you click on a city and choose what to build, because its not there.

Scratch that, its in the "Domestic Adviser" window at the bottom right. Thanks, that's a very obscure and odd place for that button...

 

[dalamb]

IIRC, at exactly 10/10 XPs, yes, the promotion will remain available. However, promotions unavailable to the upgraded unit remain unavailable. ... at promotion levels above 10 XPs (for example, 17/17), unless you assign the promotion before upgrading, you'll lose it, as an upgraded unit automatically goes back down to 10 XPs.

I recall the same rules as you, Sisiutil.

BTW a recent episode of Primeval: New World Order had a mesozoic-era snake appear through an anomaly and get mistaken for your namesake.

 

[Manco Capac]

@telgaldrakore: Your ally simply created a colony, who then automatically became his vassal. You can do that as well in your games (the colonize button is on the bottom right of the city screen). It's sometimes a reasonably good idea, if you want to save maintenance or want a vassal for happy reasons, or someone to vote for you etc. The leader and civ you get is random (but it will be someone who's not on the map yet).

Globally, it is wrong assumption that the resulting colony leader is random. Many leaders create random offsprings, but some are XML-coded to favor some civilizations first.

For instance, Romans generate Byzantine.

 

[UnforcedError]

Globally, it is wrong assumption that the resulting colony leader is random. Many leaders create random offsprings, but some are XML-coded to favor some civilizations first.

For instance, Romans generate Byzantine.

Great info, Tachy, thanks a lot (Shows how often I created a colony in the last six years )

 

[nerdfighter13]

I just won a cultural victory, but I only had two cities with legendary culture. I was also in a permanent alliance. When I checked the game log, it didn't say anything about their cities. Just glad it happened. There were only three turns left, and my last city wouldn't have made it. My question is do their cities also contribute towards a cultural victory?

 

[UnforcedError]

I just won a cultural victory, but I only had two cities with legendary culture. I was also in a permanent alliance. When I checked the game log, it didn't say anything about their cities. Just glad it happened. There were only three turns left, and my last city wouldn't have made it. My question is do their cities also contribute towards a cultural victory?

Yes, they do. Permanent alliance uses the same mechanisms as a team game.

 

[nerdfighter13]

Thanks.So if you wanted, could you use a great artist in one of their cities? Or would you have to gift it to them?

 

[UnforcedError]

Thanks.So if you wanted, could you use a great artist in one of their cities? Or would you have to gift it to them?

You'd have to gift it.

 

[God-Emperor]

Thanks.So if you wanted, could you use a great artist in one of their cities? Or would you have to gift it to them?

You'd have to gift it.

And then, being an idiot, it would probably use it in the wrong city. But it would still be worth attempting.

 

[UnforcedError]

And then, being an idiot, it would probably use it in the wrong city. But it would still be worth attempting.

Never trust an AI

 

[Manco Capac]

And then, being an idiot, it would probably use it in the wrong city. But it would still be worth attempting.

Not completely sure the AI is completely idiotic here because it is the only victory where a true strategy was coded: different stages of AI strategy to cultural victory. But I certainly won't gainsay you without taking a peek in the code given you are far stronger than me in terms of programming.

 

[AdamCrock]

Not completely sure the AI is completely idiotic here because it is the only victory where a true strategy was coded: different stages of AI strategy to cultural victory. But I certainly won't gainsay you without taking a peek in the code given you are far stronger than me in terms of programming.

I thought that the only hard-coded strategy for AI was the "space race" since he would never trade rocketry and seems to be inclined to get Apollo up and running asap and based on my observations I can say that AI cares little about diplo too Though my observations might be wrong since I am real diplo-crusher for the AI's

 

[Abegweit]

I thought that the only hard-coded strategy for AI was the "space race" since he would never trade rocketry and seems to be inclined to get Apollo up and running asap and based on my observations I can say that AI cares little about diplo too Though my observations might be wrong since I am real diplo-crusher for the AI's

Nope. Tachy is right. The only hard-coded victory is Culture. The AI will make an explicit decision to go for a Culture victory. It can fall into one of the others, especially Space, but it does not plan on it.

 

[Manco Capac]

I thought that the only hard-coded strategy for AI was the "space race" since he would never trade rocketry and seems to be inclined to get Apollo up and running asap and based on my observations I can say that AI cares little about diplo too Though my observations might be wrong since I am real diplo-crusher for the AI's

The only thing I know so far about "strategy" the AI has about space race is:

Spoiler :

void CvPlayerAI::AI_launch(VictoryTypes eVictory)
{
	if (GET_TEAM(getTeam()).isHuman())
	{
		return;
	}

	if (!GET_TEAM(getTeam()).canLaunch(eVictory))
	{
		return;
	}

	bool bLaunch = true;

	int iBestArrival = MAX_INT;
	TeamTypes eBestTeam = NO_TEAM;

	for (int iTeam = 0; iTeam < MAX_CIV_TEAMS; ++iTeam)
	{
		if (iTeam != getTeam())
		{
			CvTeam& kTeam = GET_TEAM((TeamTypes)iTeam);
			if (kTeam.isAlive())
			{
				int iCountdown = kTeam.getVictoryCountdown(eVictory);
				if (iCountdown > 0)
				{
					if (iCountdown < iBestArrival)
					{
						iBestArrival = iCountdown;
						eBestTeam = (TeamTypes)iTeam;
					}

					if (iCountdown < GET_TEAM(getTeam()).getVictoryDelay(eVictory) && kTeam.getLaunchSuccessRate(eVictory) == 100)
					{
						bLaunch = false;
						break;
					}
				}
			}
		}
	}

	if (bLaunch)
	{
		if (NO_TEAM == eBestTeam || iBestArrival > GET_TEAM(getTeam()).getVictoryDelay(eVictory))
		{
			if (GET_TEAM(getTeam()).getLaunchSuccessRate(eVictory) < 100)
			{
				bLaunch = false;
			}
		}
	}

	if (bLaunch)
	{
		launch(eVictory);
	}
}

Basically, if the AI has good VictoryDelay (smallest number is 10 turns for all spaceship parts built) and beats others to that value, then it launches its own spaceship. And the AI 100% avoids spaceships with less than 100% success rate, that is the 5 things you build as spaceship coating and I don't recall the SS part name.

You asked where I find info, it started with tracking down good articles, but now I get my info right from the SDK (C++ files).

 

[Manco Capac]

Out of curiosity, there are hardcoded things. What are softcoded things then. XML?

Second question: what's a discontent staff?

 

[AdamCrock]

Out of curiosity, there are hardcoded things. What are softcoded things then. XML?

Second question: what's a discontent staff?

To answear Your second question I believe that malcontent staff are employees watching the content of our posts and overall content of CFC site (If I understood Your question corectly )

As for the first question hard-coded as I understand it means hard to change without changing the whole game at it's basis or recompiling it (Think it's even forbidden by copyright) So soft coded stuff we can change at ease without impact on many other things (war success value for example ) and hard coded is difficult to change without changing a whole lot of other aspects of the game. So by hard-coded strategy I understant that changing it will result in erratic AI behaviour or something very unusual due to many factors involved.

 

[s.bernbaum]

My impression of the content staff, which was created earlier this year, is that they are the folks who look at the older stuff and decide what posts to archive and which ones to delete. So, they are not moderators. They are looking to decide what has value to members as opposed to simply being chaff in the long run. Perhaps one of them will see the question and answer more accurately.