Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[AbYsMaL_HuNtEr]

So then how can I figure out the best city placement for certain city types like cultural, production, science?

 

[AbYsMaL_HuNtEr]

Or what tiles should I be looking for and avoiding besides ice and desert when planning a city?

 

[Sisiutil]

So then how can I figure out the best city placement for certain city types like cultural, production, science?

This is a much bigger question than can be answered in a "quick answers" thread. Check some of the articles in the Empire Management section in the War Academy.

 

[Ataxerxes]

Or what tiles should I be looking for and avoiding besides ice and desert when planning a city?

Have at least one food bonus resource in the city's BFC. Otherwise the city will grow far too slowly. Food is king. Plains are not as good as grasslands. Despite the health issues, flood plains are very good. Riverside cities are very good, both for health, extra commerce and more city improvements.

A city with a lot of extra food will make a very good GP farm.
Early on, a city with extra food and a lot of hills will make a very good unit pump or production city. Always have at least one unit pump.
A lot of grasslands will be a very good cottage/research city.
After the early game, if you are in State Property, almost any city can be a production city, especially river cities.

You don't need more than one or, at most, two GP farms. # of unit pumps is variable, depending upon diplo and who are your neighbors. Gandhi and Mansa as neighbors don't need as many unit pumps as Shaka and Monty. Probably at least half your cities will be research cities.

If you have a good shrine city, that can become your Wall Street city later.

 

[Ghengas Moz]

Speaking of shrine cities.....
Is there any way to determine which of my cities will be the one to found a religion when I complete the research on the tech that unlocks a certain religion? Or is it random?

 

[Sisiutil]

Speaking of shrine cities.....
Is there any way to determine which of my cities will be the one to found a religion when I complete the research on the tech that unlocks a certain religion? Or is it random?

There is a certain amount of randomness involved, however the code has a preference for a city with no other religions present and a strong bias against making your capital a holy city (it pretty much has to be your only city when you found the religion for that to happen).

 

[Ghengas Moz]

There is a certain amount of randomness involved, however the code has a preference for a city with no other religions present and a strong bias against making your capital a holy city (it pretty much has to be your only city when you found the religion for that to happen).

Ok, that kinda makes sense when you put it that way. I guess there would have to be a little bit of pre planning to optimize a city for commerce building if you are going to be founding religions. No?

 

[Sisiutil]

Ok, that kinda makes sense when you put it that way. I guess there would have to be a little bit of pre planning to optimize a city for commerce building if you are going to be founding religions. No?

Check this web site for an example of what you're talking about. A holy city for six (!) religions:

Kylearan's Civilization IV Page - Nonviolent Gandhi

 

[Ghengas Moz]

Check this web site for an example of what you're talking about. A holy city for six (!) religions:

Kylearan's Civilization IV Page - Nonviolent Gandhi

thanks

 

[Skallagrimson]

Check this web site for an example of what you're talking about. A holy city for six (!) religions:

Kylearan's Civilization IV Page - Nonviolent Gandhi

I would've been way too tempted to spam all of 'em and shrine 'em all up for glorious CHACHING, and then find out too late that that ruined the diplo love fest. D'OH.

 

[Jouzou]

Not directly. However, their relative power to other Civs does count and if a lot of the others are vassals, the last indie thinks it isn't doing so bad. The most important attribute is which AI it is. Some will capitulate almost immediately. On Earth1000, Peter won't cap when he's down to one city and one military unit. Mansa usually doesn't wait for a war to vassalize.

Good to know. I started wondering this because my last AI (Hammurabi on Prince difficulty) was being very stubborn in my opinion. I wasn't sure if this really was the case or if it was "all in my head" (too anxious to end the game to think unbiased). Thanks a lot for clearing things up!

 

[fbcpraise]

So guys, is BTS the game to play these days? Several of you mentioned that you haven't played vanilla in years. Tell me which rendition of Civ IV you play and why. Thanks!

 

[Verarde]

I play BtS mainly because that was the final expansion, which means you get all the civs, all the units, all the techs, espionage, everything! It really is the way to go, at least in my book.

 

[bestbrian]

So guys, is BTS the game to play these days? Several of you mentioned that you haven't played vanilla in years. Tell me which rendition of Civ IV you play and why. Thanks!

It's the final, refined, version of the game, as intended by the developers.

 

[fbcpraise]

Okay, but I notice the vanilla "War Academy" has tons of articles, lots of strategy advice. There's really very little on the site to help you learn BtS... why is that? What do you do to get better at it?

 

[Lemon Merchant]

It's the final, refined, version of the game, as intended by the developers.

And then improved further by modders.

 

[Verarde]

 

[Sisiutil]

Okay, but I notice the vanilla "War Academy" has tons of articles, lots of strategy advice. There's really very little on the site to help you learn BtS... why is that? What do you do to get better at it?

The War Academy doesn't just contain articles about vanilla Civ IV. I have a few articles in there and I revised them all to account for the changes in both Warlords and BtS. Almost every other article author did the same.

 

[fbcpraise]

Yes, Sisiutil, I printed off your Beginner's Guide. Very helpful, and you're right, you do make allowances for the differences. But most of the walk-through strategy guides don't, it seems to me.

By the way, your guide to eliminating a competing civ with axemen in the early turns of the game really did the trick for me once. The borders of Genghis' capital city literally touched mine and it was kill or be killed!

 

[Sisiutil]

Yes, Sisiutil, I printed off your Beginner's Guide. Very helpful, and you're right, you do make allowances for the differences. But most of the walk-through strategy guides don't, it seems to me.

By the way, your guide to eliminating a competing civ with axemen in the early turns of the game really did the trick for me once. The borders of Genghis' capital city literally touched mine and it was kill or be killed!

You might want to have a look on YouTube for TheMeInTeam's Civ IV videos, which are mostly BtS based, I believe. He plays quickly, but expertly, and has a slightly different strategic approach.