Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Roland Johansen]

Thanks Juju,

So, I guess there is no gauge to know how often, or for how long giving tribute will lift me up a notch.

I have never been able to bribe a civ into warring another civ, no matter how much they like me, and/or hated another civ. I must be doing something wrong. Even when I tribute like for like and have open borders with them for the entire game. I guess I now need to dismantle both my religion and civics, and make them the other civs to do this?

There should be a way to know "giving tribute effectiveness". What you write above makes me think it's a guessing game. If I waste enough resources on the other civ, maybe they will like me more...there is no way of knowing...

Thanks again for your response.

JohnYoga

The attitude bonus that you get for gifting stuff to them or giving them a technology worth 3000 research points for 1000 gold points is called "we like your fair trading". It actually has nothing to do with fair trading. They just like trades like a 3000 research point technology for 1000 gold pieces and think you're a very fair guy in making such trades. This bonus can grow up to a +4, so it cannot negate all the negative bonuses that you might acquire by not giving into any demands/requests, having different religions, breaking an open borders treaty because of a third party demand, declaring wars and other negatives that you might acquire. But the bonus is still quite significant.

A few fairly easy ways to get this bonus are
1) You're trading away one of your midgame 2000 research point technologies. You know that the AI's are likely to trade this technology further, so you guess that you might as well get a diplomacy bonus and some gold for it. So you sell the expensive technology to a few civilizations with whom you want to become friends and get a few hundred gold points in return. A very fair trade according to these civilizations. This can already give you a +4 bonus with one such technology.
2) You trade away an excess trade good away for free or trade iron for a luxury resource (iron is worth a lot more). If you do this for a while, then the 'fair trade' bonus will start to increase.

Note that this bonus will slowly randomly decrease if you don't perform 'fair trades' for a while. Note also that if you give 'fair trades' to two civilizations who really hate eachother (worst enemies), then they will not like that and thus you will get another negative bonus along with the positive 'fair trade' modifier. It's always a good idea to notice the various relations between civilizations when you try to become friends with several of them. When you play on a world with many civilizations with several different state religions, then it's hard to become friends with them all.

Note that the other diplomacy relation bonuses mentioned by JujuLautre can also be acquired. The religion bonus for instance can be realized by converting to their religion or by making them convert to yours (by spreading your religion to their lands). Since the religion bonus is very important for many civilizations, this can be a very effective diplomacy tool.

Many diplomacy bonuses and penalties start small and grow over time if you don't change the situation.

 

[SexyDude76]

In BtS:

1. What does Preserve Forest do in a tile? Is it planting a forest like in Civ3?

2. Can a ship bombard a city and blockade in the same turn? A blockade "blocks" only the ship tile or a zone? Which size is the zone then?

3. If my unit, with no more movement points, wins a combat against an enemy unit stationed at a city, but my unit can't occupy the city because there are other units inside, will it be destroyed?

 

[Sisiutil]

In BtS:

1. What does Preserve Forest do in a tile? Is it planting a forest like in Civ3?

2. Can a ship bombard a city and blockade in the same turn? A blockade "blocks" only the ship tile or a zone? Which size is the zone then?

3. If my unit, with no more movement points, wins a combat against an enemy unit stationed at a city, but my unit can't occupy the city because there are other units inside, will it be destroyed?

1. A forest preserve is just one way of improving either a forest or jungle tile. It does not plant a forest, no. It really only makes sense to make forest preserves in the BFC of whichever city has the National Park--otherwise, you're better off with either lumbermills or chopping.
2. Yes, you can do both in the same turn. A blockade affects a zone--you can see it if you select the ship that's blockading. If the zone completely cuts off a city from the sea, you'll collect some gold for blockading that city's trade routes. I'm not sure about the size of the zone, it seems to vary based upon the coastline. Rather that trying to calculate it, it's easier just to click on the blockading ship and see.
3. No. The unit wins the battle but cannot move from its tile until your next turn. The unit could be killed by the AI on the next turn, however, so it's best to ensure it's protected by another unit.

 

[Goweigus]

Anyone know how to easily shut off/remove mods from this new mod comp?
V.D.R.N. V.01

i really only want to play with V.D. and maybe N. at the moment

 

[JujuLautre]

You should ask to this mod's makers, they should know better than us here

 

[6K Man]

2 fast ones:

1. Mousing over the Golden Age icon while a Great Person is selected will reveal the message that this "will consume 2". If I have more than 2 Great People (all of different types), which other one will be consumed?

2. I realize that Great General points are awarded on a 1:1 basis with experience (if a unit wins a battle and gains 3 XP, 3 points are added to my Great General points bar). If a unit is being attacked during the AI's turn and (for example) wins 3 battles before finally being destroyed, are the points from the won battles added to my Great General points total, or are they all forfeited when the unit is destroyed later in the same turn?

 

[Dawg6]

Diplomacy question? I've read the book and understand the basics about diplomacy but I am unable to make it work. I have been playing the game for awhile and the options for going to war or make peace are still red out. This is all leaders from annoyed to pleased. Is there something that I'm not doing to enable this option?

 

[Lord Parkin]

2 fast ones:

1. Mousing over the Golden Age icon while a Great Person is selected will reveal the message that this "will consume 2". If I have more than 2 Great People (all of different types), which other one will be consumed?

2. I realize that Great General points are awarded on a 1:1 basis with experience (if a unit wins a battle and gains 3 XP, 3 points are added to my Great General points bar). If a unit is being attacked during the AI's turn and (for example) wins 3 battles before finally being destroyed, are the points from the won battles added to my Great General points total, or are they all forfeited when the unit is destroyed later in the same turn?

1. I believe it's random, although apparently you may be able to choose which 2 are used by putting them on the same tile and selecting them together when pressing the golden age button.

2. Yes, a 1:1 basis except for Imperialistic civs which get a 2:1 basis. I believe the experience from a unit in a situation such as you mention would be kept for great general points and would not be forfeited.

Diplomacy question? I've read the book and understand the basics about diplomacy but I am unable to make it work. I have been playing the game for awhile and the options for going to war or make peace are still red out. This is all leaders from annoyed to pleased. Is there something that I'm not doing to enable this option?

Do you mean, the options to make AI leaders go to war or make peace with one another are redded out? In this case, you may need to get better relations with the leader in question to get the options available. In some cases though, no matter what you do you can't get an AI to declare war or make peace on another AI. If you hold the mouse over the red text, you'll see the reason why they won't declare war or make peace, and if it isn't because "we don't like you enough", then you can't make them declare war or make peace.

If you're talking about your own peace and war relations with AI, you should be able to declare war on an AI easily at any time by Alt-Clicking on their name, or selecting the relevant option when talking to them at any time. Making peace may require a few turns for them to 'calm down' and stop refusing to talk to you. If you selected the 'always peace' or 'always war' options at the setup screen when you started the game, then you can't make war or peace respectively in the course of a game.

 

[Dawg6]

1. I believe it's random, although apparently you may be able to choose which 2 are used by putting them on the same tile and selecting them together when pressing the golden age button.

2. Yes, a 1:1 basis except for Imperialistic civs which get a 2:1 basis. I believe the experience from a unit in a situation such as you mention would be kept for great general points and would not be forfeited.

Do you mean, the options to make AI leaders go to war or make peace with one another are redded out? In this case, you may need to get better relations with the leader in question to get the options available. In some cases though, no matter what you do you can't get an AI to declare war or make peace on another AI. If you hold the mouse over the red text, you'll see the reason why they won't declare war or make peace, and if it isn't because "we don't like you enough", then you can't make them declare war or make peace.

If you're talking about your own peace and war relations with AI, you should be able to declare war on an AI easily at any time by Alt-Clicking on their name, or selecting the relevant option when talking to them at any time. Making peace may require a few turns for them to 'calm down' and stop refusing to talk to you. If you selected the 'always peace' or 'always war' options at the setup screen when you started the game, then you can't make war or peace respectively in the course of a game.

I was talking about the AI's. I can declare war and make peace with them but am unable to get them to enter defense pacts or declare war. Even if they are pleased the red out part says "We just don't like you enough". I was thought that I was doing something wrong. Thanks for your reply and help.

 

[ori]

1. I believe it's random, although apparently you may be able to choose which 2 are used by putting them on the same tile and selecting them together when pressing the golden age button.

its not random - oldest goes first, i.e. if you do not group all of them together it will kill the oldest, then the next etc... There was a bug at some point that did not even allow any grouping - so it would always kill the oldest, but I *think* that has been solved by now...

 

[bamf226]

I was just curious if I install graphic mods to Civ 4, will I be able to enjoy multiplayer (specifically, PBEM and Pit Boss)

 

[Roland Johansen]

I was just curious if I install graphic mods to Civ 4, will I be able to enjoy multiplayer (specifically, PBEM and Pit Boss)

If you mod the game, then your companions in a multiplayer game need to use the same modifications in order to enjoy a multiplayer game. Otherwise you risk out of sync errors.

 

[seitan2102]

Hi there, i could need some help over here. If someone knows how-to, i would be very grateful.

There is a future in one BTS mods, i think it's "Broken Star" where you can purchase upgrades for any unit you build. I want to take this future and add it to "Next War" mod of BTS.

Thanks in advance.

 

[SexyDude76]

The limit of missionaries is for each city that can create missionaries or for the whole civ?

 

[seitan2102]

I' m guessing for the whole civ. I would like any civ to be able to do that in any city, AI controlled or player controlled.

Both mods exist by default, so it should be in anyone's copy of BTS. It seems bery complex to me. As i can see, you can also buy/sell troops from another state.

 

[Roland Johansen]

Hi there, i could need some help over here. If someone knows how-to, i would be very grateful.

There is a future in one BTS mods, i think it's "Broken Star" where you can purchase upgrades for any unit you build. I want to take this future and add it to "Next War" mod of BTS.

Thanks in advance.

I don't know how to change that. It might be easy as the code is already in a mod, but it still has to be integrated into the right section of the original game.

You should ask such a question on the Creation and Customization subforum. All the modmakers reside there.

Note that although it sounds like a very nice and fun feature, it is probably something that is used better by a human player than by the AI. So expect the game to become a bit easier.

By the way, I had to reread your post because I misunderstood it the first time. You mixed up two English words, namely

future: Something that will happen in time to come
feature: A prominent or distinctive aspect, quality, or characteristic

(Definitions from http://www.answers.com)

The limit of missionaries is for each city that can create missionaries or for the whole civ?

No unit is linked to a single city, so the limit is empire-wide. This means that it takes a while to spread a religion around the world.

 

[walknice]

how do i "work" my cottages. it says the city must work to have the cottages grow. how do i do this?

 

[Lord Parkin]

how do i "work" my cottages. it says the city must work to have the cottages grow. how do i do this?

Double-click on the city in question. You'll notice that several tiles are highlighted by white circles - these are the tiles being 'worked'. Click on the cottage tile that you wish to work, and a citizen will start to 'work' that tile, creating a white circle around it.

 

[Mknn]

Do Customs Houses have any impact on pangea maps? It's all one continent, so I would suspect they are useless ...

 

[madmenno]

I only get to select appostelic pallace election, wich i win each time (3th in a row) But i won't get any resolutions... I would have broken my high score if i could have choosen the diplomatic victory the first time i won the ellections. I just installed the latest patch to use the HoF mod.

Whats wrong? Can i only win diplomatic with the UN?

Thnx in advance!