Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[civfanchambers]

I haven't looked at them for a while, but I know I've used them in the past and don't remember any problems. There's probably a few that aren't perfectly accurate, or were written before 3.19, but they're mostly helpful. (A lot of them were lifted from CFC )

Thanks.

 

[Testhero]

Is there anyway of getting one mod to always run, even when playing other mods? I tried to use mod folders (making a folder titled "@whatever_mod" in the games folder and adjusting the desktop shortcuts target) but this method was blocked. Is there another way?

Yes there is another way not using any mods myself I can only direct you to the mods forum where if I remember correctly how to do it is stickied at the top of the forum.

There is also a way to combine mods detailed there

 

[sliq]

I have tried repeatedly to log into old account and tried to make new account with ign idk if I needed to or not please help me

 

[greenbelt]

I have made a few catapults in a city with a barracks. Which promotion should I choose?

The choices for promotions are ...
1. Combat I = +10% strength.
2. City Raider I = +20% city attack.
3. Drill I = extra first strike chance.
4. Barrage I = +20% collateral damage.

I want to use these and several Axemen to attack Asoka of India. I am Hateshepsut of Egypt. The year is 100BC; Settler Level; normal game with Inland Sea map. Here is a picture.

 

[Samson]

I have made a few catapults in a city with a barracks. Which promotion should I choose?

The choices for promotions are ...
1. Combat I = +10% strength.
2. City Raider I = +20% city attack.
3. Drill I = extra first strike chance.
4. Barrage I = +20% collateral damage.

I want to use these and several Axemen to attack Asoka of India. I am Hateshepsut of Egypt. The year is 100BC; Settler Level; normal game with Inland Sea map. Here is a picture.

If I am using them against cities City Raider is a no brainer IMO. If you are using them against stacks in the field I think it is a toss up between Combat (if you can get it) or drill if you think the catapult will survive and Barrage if you know it will die and want to cause the maximum damage to the stack.

 

[Testhero]

If I am using them against cities City Raider is a no brainer IMO. If you are using them against stacks in the field I think it is a toss up between Combat (if you can get it) or drill if you think the catapult will survive and Barrage if you know it will die and want to cause the maximum damage to the stack.

Rather like sampson
I tend to divide (and rename) my catapults into Assyrian's with barrage to cause collateral damage while making suicidal attacks and Mangonels with City raider I then accuracy to take down walls and castles quicker. Once I have built up enough Mangonels to take down a city's walls in one turn any more skip accuracy and just take CR upgrades.

If you don't know exactly how you will employ your catapult when you build it you can leave it unpromoted untill you need it then take the promotion needed just before you use it.

Apart from this advice combat in CivIV is quite complex under the hood and some promotions work differently than it looks like they do (or should). There are great guides on how it all works in the tutorials section reading them can give you a small but significant advantage over the AI.

Asoka's city is well sited for defense on the hill +25% and across a river for another +25% remember to first move across the river to avoid the extra +25% probably into the forest to improve your axemen's defense in case of a counterattack. Asoka probably has archers in the city which gain an additional bonus for defending on a hill so you will likely be facing a stiff fight.

 

[Tristan_C]

The choices for promotions are ...
1. Combat I = +10% strength.
2. City Raider I = +20% city attack.
3. Drill I = extra first strike chance.
4. Barrage I = +20% collateral damage.

Combat promo on catapults is for open field. Using siege against an incoming enemy army is often called "siege initiative." More useful on a high difficulty.

CR promotion line increases the odds of a cat surviving when it attacks the city. It's generally the best choice.

I might be mistaken but Drill sucks on catapults, almost strictly inferior to combat.

Barrage doesn't improve survival rate so it's usually sub-optimal to CR.

If you a lot of 5 EXP catapults, some should take accuracy.

 

[Testhero]

Combat promo on catapults is for open field. Using siege against an incoming enemy army is often called "siege initiative." More useful on a high difficulty.

CR promotion line increases the odds of a cat surviving when it attacks the city. It's generally the best choice.

I might be mistaken but Drill sucks on catapults, almost strictly inferior to combat.
If you a lot of 5 EXP catapults, some should take accuracy.

Barrage doesn't improve survival rate so it's usually sub-optimal to CR.

Yeah that is why Samson and I only recommended barrage for the first couple of attackers the ones with suckie odds that are going to die anyway.

 

[greenbelt]

Thanks. I have started many games trying out the different leaders. I am still practicing with city placement & improvements.

I have noticed that in my vanilla version of Civ4 that my City center is always a 2-1-1 yield. No matter if it starts out as a floodplain, or plains/hills or whatever. I never get any extra yield.

I also wondered about the negative effects of floodplains. Seems that only the floodplain tiles that touch the city center result in a -0.4 health effect.

I should put a question here ... is this how your games work as per floodplains and city centers? I guess some of my confusion may be due to rounding up or rounding down. The game is not consistent. (4 floodplains in BFC -> 4 * 0.4 = 1.6. gives me -1 sick)

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Thanks. I have started many games trying out the different leaders. I am still practicing with city placement & improvements.

I have noticed that in my vanilla version of Civ4 that my City center is always a 2-1-1 yield. No matter if it starts out as a floodplain, or plains/hills or whatever. I never get any extra yield.

I also wondered about the negative effects of floodplains. Seems that only the floodplain tiles that touch the city center result in a -0.4 health effect.

I should put a question here ... is this how your games work as per floodplains and city centers? I guess some of my confusion may be due to rounding up or rounding down. The game is not consistent. (4 floodplains in BFC -> 4 * 0.4 = 1.6. gives me -1 sick)

I'm not sure about the exact differences between BtS and Vanilla in that regard, but as far as I know your city center always provides at least 2-1-1 yield, but can under some circumstances provide a bit more, e.g. a second hammer if you settled on a plains hill.

All floodplain that are in a city's BFC give 0.4 sickness to it, rounded down. Rule of thumb, pretty much everything that can be rounded is rounded down in this game. If you only have two floodplains you have zero sickness, with three and four you get one, and so on.

I really recommend you get the Beyond the Sword expansion btw, it improves the game noticeably in almost every aspect.

 

[Lennier]

If you settle on a floodplain, it goes away (i.e., the tile becomes a desert tile.)

 

[Testhero]

I'm not sure about the exact differences between BtS and Vanilla in that regard, but as far as I know your city center always provides at least 2-1-1 yield, but can under some circumstances provide a bit more, e.g. a second hammer if you settled on a plains hill..

I play vanilla (version1.16) and Plains Hills definitely give an extra hammer to your city
Other resources also give the normal increase.
The Complete Guide to City Placement (v.2) is the go to reference

Check if there is anything in your custom assets folder if I remember correctly one of the scenarios that come with vanilla modifies the tile yields or perhaps you have another mod in there that does.

All floodplain that are in a city's BFC give 0.4 sickness to it, rounded down. Rule of thumb, pretty much everything that can be rounded is rounded down in this game. If you only have two floodplains you have zero sickness, with three and four you get one, and so on..

Imp. Knoedel is 100% here there is no change in flood plains between vanilla and BtS

I really recommend you get the Beyond the Sword expansion btw, it improves the game noticeably in almost every aspect.

It also vastly increases the complexity, adds a cheezy victory condition that almost no one likes and modifys/breaks a couple parts of the game too so while it is among the few expansions ever written that are better than the original don't fell pressured to switch.

The big thing that is making me think of hunting up a BtS disk is the windows update
that disables the copy protection on vanilla and warlords disks preventing Civ from loading

 

[greenbelt]

The Libraries in all my cities now give me +4 culture. I can't figure out where the extra +2 culture is coming from?

My Workers can now build Workshops. What kind of terrain is best for Workshops? I really hate that they take away 1 Food. Where possible I think a Windmill or Watermill is better, right?

 

[elitetroops]

The Libraries in all my cities now give me +4 culture. I can't figure out where the extra +2 culture is coming from?

My Workers can now build Workshops. What kind of terrain is best for Workshops? I really hate that they take away 1 Food. Where possible I think a Windmill or Watermill is better, right?

Cultural output of all buildings double 1000 years after the building is built.

Workshops aren't worth building until you get some more bonuses for them from guilds, chemistry, caste system or state property. With all of those they are awesome, turning regular grassland tiles into 24 tiles, allowing massive production everywhere.

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Workshops are worse than useless in the early game, only build them after Guilds at the earliest, and even then you would need Caste System to really gain any benefit from them. They are awesome once you have State Property though.

 

[greenbelt]

Thanks elitetroops & Imperator Knoedel!! Not building any workshops. Spamming with cottages since all my 4 cities are on rivers.

My borders are expanding nicely because I am Catherine of Russia (creative & financial). Then I also made Libraries a priority to speed up research (added bonus of culture).

OK question:

I know I should mine the gold that is near my capital Moscow even though it is outside Moscow's BFC.

I already have mined Copper in St. Petersburg's BFC. There is another Copper now within Russia's borders (not inside any BFC). Should I mine this Copper?

 

[elitetroops]

Ok, seems you are playing vanilla, so first of all you should get BTS.

The gold should be mined an connected so you get the happiness bonus, but most likely you should also settle a city that can work the gold. With 4 cities already, it's quite likely you had been better off settling one of them to work the gold. Screenshots would help to give better advice.

Connecting the 2nd copper is good if you can trade it. Ideally trade it to an AI that has iron but no copper, then they don't really benefit from the trade at all.

 

[greenbelt]

I am playing a game with Gandhi (Settler, Continents, regular settings). I just got a message that there has been an Indian revolt in Sparta. Here is the picture. Should I send a bunch of Axemen to conquer Sparta?

 

[civfanchambers]

I am playing a game with Gandhi (Settler, Continents, regular settings). I just got a message that there has been an Indian revolt in Sparta. Here is the picture. Should I send a bunch of Axemen to conquer Sparta?

The Greek city of Sparta is under cultural pressure from your civ. Do nothing and eventually Sparta will leave Greece and ask to join your nation. You will have two options. Except the offer and you get a free city without violence. Reject the offer and Sparta will be self razed, and disappear.

 

[Markus Ramikin]

Here's a silly one I'd appreciate an answer to:

In an unrestricted leaders game, is there a way to see which leader is matched to which civilisation? Is there any screen in the game that shows both leader and nation next to each other? Either with vanilla UI or BUG?

If I go into F4, I see leader names (i.e. Montezuma) but not which civ they lead. If I go into, say, F9, I see civ names but not leaders. Now I know I have war with Genghis Khan, which I only got into because my religion-based ally asked me to and I'd rather keep my immediate neighbour happy so I can expand in the other direction. Now I've explored a bit in the other direction and found a scrap of Inca land. Am I at war with the Inca? How the hell do I tell?