Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Ben E Gas]

Here is a dumb question.: Do I have to build roads in all of the squares in the fat cross of my city to benefit from the farms and cottages I built there? I'd rather not have to build so many roads, but I will build them if I am going to lose out on the food from the farms and whatnot.

Do roads cost maintenance?

In the very beginning of the game should I be building like 4 defending units in my cities? That is what I've been doing so that I don't get killed off early. Or should I be building more than that or less?

 

[ajw2255]

You diont need roads to use your farms/improvements unless they have a specific resource associated with them. e.g rice. In which case you can use the farm but not get the benefit of the resource.

No maintenance costs for roads, they are simpkly to help with speed of movement of units.

Question from me: In the Hall of fame section, they mention using 17 opponents on a huge map. However the most i can get in the custom game menu is 12 civs.

How do you get the extra? Is it a mod or something?

 

[Ben E Gas]

I used 17 before on a modded earth map. I think the Total Realism MOD also has a Modded earth map with even more civs. A lot of fun.

 

[ajw2255]

Ok, will have to see what mods are allowed with HOF.

ITs got me real interest in Civ again after not playing a while.

ta

 

[smartus]

In MultiPlayer, can I capitulate to another player and continue as his vassal?

 

[Roland Johansen]

Question from me: In the Hall of fame section, they mention using 17 opponents on a huge map. However the most i can get in the custom game menu is 12 civs.

How do you get the extra? Is it a mod or something?

In the main menu, go to single player -> custom game and then start adding civilisations. If you scroll down the list of civilisations in the upper part of the screen, then you'll see that the bottom one is closed. Open it and you'll have added a civilisation. You can repeat this process until you have 18 civilisations. That's the maximum number in unmodded civ4.


Welcome to civfanatics!

 

[ajw2255]

Ohhhhh ok,

ta for the help

 

[ajw2255]

Also, is there a list of which units each leader starts with.

Is it just anyone with a starting tech of hunting starts with a scout, and everyone else a warrior?

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Also, is there a list of which units each leader starts with.

Is it just anyone with a starting tech of hunting starts with a scout, and everyone else a warrior?

Below Monarch lvl, exactly as you stated.

 

[50caliber]

why can i not give my vassals cities? even as terms of capitulation, we are not allowed to trade, its only a one way deal. if i have 15 cities and my vassal has two, i should be able to give him some cities, or at least give him back his own, and then he can help me with science (making sure he doesnt reach the 50% threshold on size and pop of course). does anyone know where i can make this change in the files, vassals are almost worthless through capitulation, the way things are now....

 

[Rancid Sushi]

Do any of you warmongers ever build the Spiral Minaret? It seems like a great way to fund large armies and pay for distant cities, but the problem I have is that Divine Right is like a distant island in the tech tree. I almost never research it because I don't like the religious tech path (I'd rather capture holy cities) and the tech itself is expensive. At least Theology is easy to pop, but Divine Right would cost me a prophet and several turns.

 

[Roland Johansen]

why can i not give my vassals cities? even as terms of capitulation, we are not allowed to trade, its only a one way deal. if i have 15 cities and my vassal has two, i should be able to give him some cities, or at least give him back his own, and then he can help me with science (making sure he doesnt reach the 50% threshold on size and pop of course). does anyone know where i can make this change in the files, vassals are almost worthless through capitulation, the way things are now....

I also don't like the vassal system. Firaxis created it in this way so that a master can't let a vassal become independent easily. Otherwise, you could give the vassal a few cities until he is just below the 50% mark and then give away one of your cities to someone else so that he goes over the 50% mark and then he becomes independent and you can declare war again. Not that this is that 'easy', but now it is virtually impossible to let a vassal become independent.

They didn't want to allow the vassal system to become an easy method to destroy a civilisation in two wars. I think they overdid it a bit as it is now not that interesting to get a vassal.

I don't know how to change it. You could ask for help in the Creation and Customization forum where all the modders reside.

Do any of you warmongers ever build the Spiral Minaret? It seems like a great way to fund large armies and pay for distant cities, but the problem I have is that Divine Right is like a distant island in the tech tree. I almost never research it because I don't like the religious tech path (I'd rather capture holy cities) and the tech itself is expensive. At least Theology is easy to pop, but Divine Right would cost me a prophet and several turns.

I will sometimes build the Spiral Minaret. Divine Right is more interesting if you are the first to research it as you would get the holy city of Islam which would allow you to get some additional holy city income if you have the production power to spread it through missionaries and can get a great prophet for the shrine.
The Spiral Minaret is more interesting in combination with the University of Sankore as both give bonuses to religious buildings. You can build temples that give +1 happy, +2 science and +2 gold and monasteries that give +10% science, +2 science and +2 gold. It also gives the gold and science bonus to cathedrals and the holy shrine of the religion.
If you have build a substantial amount of temples or monasteries in the past and want to continue to do that then the Spiral Minaret and the University of Sankore are interesting as they improve these buildings. If you wouldn't have build those buildings without one of these wonders, then they didn't suddenly become extremely interesting once you have one of these wonders. It just makes them slightly more interesting. If you have both wonders, then it would make temples and monasteries interesting even if you weren't planning to build them before.

 

[Samson]

Do any of you warmongers ever build the Spiral Minaret? It seems like a great way to fund large armies and pay for distant cities, but the problem I have is that Divine Right is like a distant island in the tech tree. I almost never research it because I don't like the religious tech path (I'd rather capture holy cities) and the tech itself is expensive. At least Theology is easy to pop, but Divine Right would cost me a prophet and several turns.

I never build that, as liberalism comes soon after and free religion is a great civic. As that means no state religion you get no beakers. I guess if I was running a specalist ecconomy and was going to use pacifism I would consider it, but I very rarly do that.

 

[Sisiutil]

Do any of you warmongers ever build the Spiral Minaret? It seems like a great way to fund large armies and pay for distant cities, but the problem I have is that Divine Right is like a distant island in the tech tree. I almost never research it because I don't like the religious tech path (I'd rather capture holy cities) and the tech itself is expensive. At least Theology is easy to pop, but Divine Right would cost me a prophet and several turns.

I sometimes like to build both the Spiral Minaret and the University of Sankore if I'm playing as a Spiritual leader--especially as Rammeses, who's Industrious as well. The reason is that temples are cheap for Spiritual leaders, and those two wonders make them mini-powerhouses. (Remember that this makes Computers a much less attractive tech since it obsoletes both wonders.)

You're right, though, Divine Right is a diversion and a dead end, so not an attractive tech to research. The AI likes it, though, so often several civs will research it around the same time. They'll usually make it unavailable if they start building one of its wonders, but sometimes there's a window of opportunity to obtain it in between the discovery and when they commence the build, or so it seems to me. Even if you start the SM a few turns late, I've found the AI to be somewhat inept at wonder-building unless it has a big head start and/or a GE.

 

[50caliber]

I also don't like the vassal system. Firaxis created it in this way so that a master can't let a vassal become independent easily. Otherwise, you could give the vassal a few cities until he is just below the 50% mark and then give away one of your cities to someone else so that he goes over the 50% mark and then he becomes independent and you can declare war again. Not that this is that 'easy', but now it is virtually impossible to let a vassal become independent.

They didn't want to allow the vassal system to become an easy method to destroy a civilisation in two wars. I think they overdid it a bit as it is now not that interesting to get a vassal.

I don't know how to change it. You could ask for help in the Creation and Customization forum where all the modders reside.



I will sometimes build the Spiral Minaret. Divine Right is more interesting if you are the first to research it as you would get the holy city of Islam which would allow you to get some additional holy city income if you have the production power to spread it through missionaries and can get a great prophet for the shrine.
The Spiral Minaret is more interesting in combination with the University of Sankore as both give bonuses to religious buildings. You can build temples that give +1 happy, +2 science and +2 gold and monasteries that give +10% science, +2 science and +2 gold. It also gives the gold and science bonus to cathedrals and the holy shrine of the religion.
If you have build a substantial amount of temples or monasteries in the past and want to continue to do that then the Spiral Minaret and the University of Sankore are interesting as they improve these buildings. If you wouldn't have build those buildings without one of these wonders, then they didn't suddenly become extremely interesting once you have one of these wonders. It just makes them slightly more interesting. If you have both wonders, then it would make temples and monasteries interesting even if you weren't planning to build them before.

Where exactly in the C&C forum do I ask? I usually go to the modcomponent request thread, but i dont know if ive ever even gotten a single response over there...and i didnt see a thread for general questions in the main C&C forum...

 

[jarter]

I'm having difficulties in starting up the online multiplayer games. I have an account at gamespy but it won't do anything when I try and log in. I can't even start a new account, it does nothing.

Any suggestions?

 

[ggganz]

Total Culture in that city.

Then why are there two of them?

 

[Roland Johansen]

Where exactly in the C&C forum do I ask? I usually go to the modcomponent request thread, but i dont know if ive ever even gotten a single response over there...and i didnt see a thread for general questions in the main C&C forum...

I would definitely ask it in the main C&C forum and not in one of the subforums. The subforums all have different goals. The mod component thread is for posting new mod components and simple modifications as is explained on the main C&C forum. Just start a new thread in the main C&C forum with a clear title, something like:

"Help needed: I want to change the vassal system."

And then describe what you want to change. Maybe you'll get some different suggestions about what you can change to improve the vassal system or maybe you'll be referred to mods that changed the vassal system. Maybe a helpful guy or girl comes by and tells you what files need to be changed. It could very well be that a modcomponent exists that does exactly what you want. You can't demand help, but maybe someone will help you. It will generally also take a few hours at least before you'll get some decent answers.

Before you start modding, you should think very clearly about what you want. Do you want to be able to strengthen your vassal with cities or do you want to be able to end the vassal pact and conquer him/her or something else?

Then why are there two of them?

The one following the culture rate in the city is the total culture of the city, the one following the great person points per turn in the city is the total great person points in the city.

Don't you get information about the column when you hold the mouse over the top of a column? I'm playing a mod now, where that is true. I can't remember if it was true for the original game.

 

[Rancid Sushi]

I need some help on bee-lining Gunpowder. The bee-line options are briefly mentioned in aelf's UU guide but I need a little more depth. Soon I will be making the jump from Prince to Monarch and I've come to believe that Mehmed is a good leader for that (I refuse to play Rome because the game is practically over once iron is hooked up). I think a Gunpowder bee-line for Jannisaries would be a good challenge with a big pay-off if done correctly. So, what is the correct way? Which path to Gunpowder is the best and/or the fastest? I'm basically having trouble deciding between the 'northern' scientist path and the 'southern' merchant path.

 

[cabert]

I need some help on bee-lining Gunpowder. The bee-line options are briefly mentioned in aelf's UU guide but I need a little more depth. Soon I will be making the jump from Prince to Monarch and I've come to believe that Mehmed is a good leader for that (I refuse to play Rome because the game is practically over once iron is hooked up). I think a Gunpowder bee-line for Jannisaries would be a good challenge with a big pay-off if done correctly. So, what is the correct way? Which path to Gunpowder is the best and/or the fastest? I'm basically having trouble deciding between the 'northern' scientist path and the 'southern' merchant path.

as usual in cIV, there isn't one best way.
My preference is still the north path.
I have a special way to do it :
oracle theology, while running scientists (yes you can, just whip a library before the oracle is done). Running 2 scientists isn't going to kill you in a super high food city even at size 3.
research paper (theology opens it)
lightbulb education (twice if needed, you need to trade for maths before this, meaning you may need to trade for alphabet too )
research gunpowder.
If you get your hands on philosophy (next lightbulb for instance) at some point, you can even go for liberalism.
can you get a shorter path? I don't think so :
here are the techs researched :
myst>poly>priesthood>writing>masonry>monotheism>theology (oracle)>paper>maths( trade for, trade for alpha if needed) >education (lightbulbed)>gunpowder

note that if you avoid fishing and mining and meditation, you can lightbulb gunpowder too.
A totally peaceful CE with just one GS farm could do this nicely, just add pottery to this tech path.
If you want mining and BW, you need either to avoid pottery to not lightbulb MC or to get a whole lot of techs on the way (MC, machinery, engineering (or avoid construction), printed press).

My guess is it's easier to just lightbulb education (twice if you have those GS) and research gunpowder than to avoid all those vital techs.