Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[TheMulattoMaker]

I read about the research decay somewhere when I first got Civ4, before I was on CFC. I have never once noticed it happening, for all the times I've switched techs midway. But I've never actually written down "384 toward Machinery" or anything to see if I lost any beakers.

 

[bestbrian]

There is "hammer decay", but I don't believe there is any research decay.

 

[Seron]

I believe in the CIV IV BTS guide it says that if you start researching a technology and then stop researching it halfway and don't start researching it again for a while, your people will slowly start to "forget" it.

 

[Danelius90]

Complete newbie here. Never played Civ before but have recently played civ 5 then bought Civ 4 to try it out. The one thing I notice that you don't seem to be able to do in civ 4 which you can in civ 5 is when it asks you for a new tech or production the screen stays static and you can't check your cities to see what you may need to produce to help you or more importantly which tech you may need depending on what resources are around you.
Is there a way of doing this ?

There IS in fact a way to do this. Check the 'hide popups' box and the popups will only bother you at the end of your turn, and if you've already dealt with it, it is automatically dismissed
In the other case, you can always change a build/research as hammers/beakers etc are applied when you hit enter, so you can keep changing stuff around as you see fit

 

[nfw]

How do I create a shortcut to load a mod automatically?

 

[Sisiutil]

How do I create a shortcut to load a mod automatically?

Assuming that you're playing BtS, the easiest way to accomplish this is to copy an existing shortcut for BtS, access the properties of the shortcut, and in the "Target" text box, add the name of the mod at the end in the format below:

mod="[I]modname[/I]"

For example:

"C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Civ4BeyondSword.exe" mod="Better BUG AI"

The name of the mod will be (unless I'm very much mistaken) the name of the folder it's located in under C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\Mods.

 

[nfw]

thanks!

 

[Seron]

Having a notorious problem with my computer having broken shortcuts and shortcuts that screw up, am I correct in when I download a Civ IV mod and put it in the mods folder of Civilization IV Complete it will unzip the mod and it will show the mod in my game?

For Example: The Snowman Mod

I saved it and put it in the mods folder of Civilization IV Complete and then went to Windows Explorer and when I went to the mods folder it wasn't there. Is that usually what happens or did I do something wrong? I haven't been able to get on the game since I downloaded this mod so I haven't been able to check if it worked or not. Also, would the snowman improvement show up in the Civilopedia?

 

[s.bernbaum]

Unless you have your browser set to automatically unzip downloads, you have to unzip the mod first. Often the zipped package will contain installation instructions. If it only contains the mod then put the unzipped mod in the mods folder.

.......\Mods\"New mod folder with name of mod"\"contents of mod folder"

where "....." is the location of your game and "New mod folder with name of mod" is a folder with the required mod name, that folder should be what you get when you unzip the download.

Also, be sure that the mod you download is for the version of CIV that you play.

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

I know the AI typically won't trade monopoly techs, but I always thought it was if they were the only civ in the world with the tech (whether they'd met all the others or not). Does the monopoly tech thing apply if they're the only civ they know of with that tech? I'm on a continent with Lincoln and he won't trade anything. He's at Friendly -- er, um, make that Pleased- see whiny note below about screaming baby --, same religion, it's basically a two-civ hugfest. But he won't even trade, say, Archery, and I'm pretty sure the other civs out there have it. (It's 500 AD, not exactly cutting-edge tech here.)

Sorry if the question is convoluted or verbose. There's a baby screaming in my ear and I can't think...

 

[Sisiutil]

Does the monopoly tech thing apply if they're the only civ they know of with that tech?

Yes, that's how it works. Once Lincoln meets another civ with those techs he'd hoarding, he'll be willing to trade (depending, of course, on other factors like diplomacy, etc.).

There are a couple of ways to pry those techs out of him before he meets anyone:

• Get him to Friendly. Civs at this diplomacy level will usually trade monopoly techs to you.
• At the other end of the scale, go to war with him. Fight until he's willing to cough up some techs in exchange for peace. Rinse, lather, repeat.
• Build up espionage points against him (if he's the only civ you know, this won't be too hard). Build spies and steal techs from him. If it's early in the game, build the Great Wall to generate a Great Spy and use him for an infiltration mission, and/or bee-line to Code of Laws, spam courthouses (a good idea in pretty much any Civ IV game) and run spy specialists everywhere.

You can also bee-line to optics, build caravels, and go meet everyone else to trade with them, though you may find they're more advanced that you because they've been tech-trading happily for several turns. Their caravels may even find you first.

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

Okay, thanks. It actually makes sense reality-wise, if he thinks we're the only two civs in the world. It's just been so long since I had a semi-isolated start that I forgot.

 

[Abegweit]

Does the monopoly tech thing apply if they're the only civ they know of with that tech?

Yes. It does.

I'm on a continent with Lincoln and he won't trade anything. He's at Friendly, same religion, it's basically a two-civ hugfest. But he won't even trade, say, Archery.

But if he's Friendly, he'll trade anything so long as the trade is fair. Are you sure of this?

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

Oops- he was Pleased. My brain was, at the time, sonically overloaded by my impressively loud one-year-old.

 

[Heliac]

...when it asks you for a new tech or production the screen stays static and you can't check your cities...

IIRC, there is a setting in the options screen to make these popups happen at the END of your turn instead of at the start. I always have this checked.

Also, if it's a Production popup, you can "Examine City". From there you can use the left/right arrows to go to other city screens.

Furthermore, the Function-keys (F1, F2, F3, etc.) still work over the static popups. Get to know them, they are very handy.

 

[Seron]

Unless you have your browser set to automatically unzip downloads, you have to unzip the mod first. Often the zipped package will contain installation instructions. If it only contains the mod then put the unzipped mod in the mods folder.

.......\Mods\"New mod folder with name of mod"\"contents of mod folder"

where "....." is the location of your game and "New mod folder with name of mod" is a folder with the required mod name, that folder should be what you get when you unzip the download.

Also, be sure that the mod you download is for the version of CIV that you play.

Thanks for the help. I will try to download the snowman mod again since it didn't work the first time. Do CIV IV mods that add new buildings, techs, and improvements show up in the Civ IV Civilopedia?

Also, I know is probably a really noob question but what exactly is the RFC mod?

 

[migck]

I have a question about fighters and the Interception I and II promotions in BTS:

Both normal and jet fighters have a 100% interception chance, yet they are eligible for those two promotions. Is there any benefit for them to have 110% or 130% interception chance? Would that help them at intercepting stealth bombers more easily?

 

[kcd_swede]

Thanks for the help. I will try to download the snowman mod again since it didn't work the first time. Do CIV IV mods that add new buildings, techs, and improvements show up in the Civ IV Civilopedia?

Also, I know is probably a really noob question but what exactly is the RFC mod?

Not sure, but my guess is "Rise & Fall of Civilizations".

 

[Abegweit]

Not sure, but my guess is "Rise & Fall of Civilizations".

Close. It's spelled "Rhye's"

 

[frisbee]

Quick question about fog-busting:

I understand that barbs can't spawn within 2 tiles of a unit (i.e: a warrior will essentially create a 5x5 "no-spawn" zone.

Does the 2 tile rule apply to cultural borders? i.e.: Tiles 2 spaces or less of a border are spawn-free, including diagonals?

Thx-FF