Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

Hey, just got Civ4 Complete and a couple of questions.

1. What version do you guys play? It has Civ4, Warlords and Beyond The Sword on my desktop; I went with BTS but which one is more popular online?

2. What difficulty is good to play with? I don't like playing on easy, even when learning things since I don't mind losing (in fact it's fun to get slaughtered and try again behehe); but the higher difficulties effect A.I. behavior and bonuses right? Just curious what most of you guys sit on, maybe the higher difficulties make the A.I. ******ed\obnoxious so figured worth asking.

I played on Settler difficulty first, but that is optional. I then played Chieftain. I got my ass kicked for a good bit but I eventually won a game on that level. Won some more on Chieftain then moved up to Warlord.

I lost a fair few many games on Warlord. At this level I pretty much learned the entire tech tree of by heart, learning what links which tech to which and where the tree would bring my empire. I then moved up to Noble, when I was very experienced.

I wouldn't consider Noble the medium difficulty. Sure, it officially is, but Diety should be "Hard" level, but not many people can win often on Diety level. Plus IMO if you were to categorize Noble, Prince, etc to difficulty levels (as in Easy, Medium, Hard.) I would say to only categorize them when you know the tech tree of by heart and know what implications getting some techs first have. When you know exactly how the game works.

If this is your first time playing i'd recommend starting off on Settler/Chieftain to get to know the game. Then Chieftain to win the game first time. Noble/Prince is only medium difficulty when you know exactly what to do in the game, know the tech tree off by heart, and what implications there are with military/diplomacy, great persons/wonders, etc. You will get your ass handed to you on Noble level, it is definitely not a level to learn the way the game plays.
 
Thanks LM :goodjob:
 
2. What difficulty is good to play with? I don't like playing on easy, even when learning things since I don't mind losing (in fact it's fun to get slaughtered and try again behehe)
I started at Settler for a few games and went up to Warlord fairly soon. It took me a long time to be comfortable at Noble, but the Nobles' Club helped. I think there was a survey a year or two ago that found that, at the time, a lot of people stay at Monarch -- but a lot of the most experienced players seem to consistently play at Deity or perhaps Immortal (especially if trying some especially difficult map).
 
Cheers for the confirmation bernbaum.

There is indeed a star for Versailes too, but it looks to be the same colour as for Forbidden Palace. Have to run the game on lowest settings so maybe that affects things, but wouldn't think so.

I forgot about Versailles, when I posted. It also has a silver star. Essentially, the gold star is the "national" capital and the silver stars are the "provincial" capitals, which decrease maintenance for nearby cities.

One more for later on in this game, regarding Oromos. They come with Drill 1&2, so it's my understanding that any upgraded Oromos will become Drill 2 Rifles, then hold those promos all the way up through Infantry and beyond. Is it a good Ethiopia strategy to get to Gunpowder pretty quickly and then build a massive gaggle of Oromos, just so I'll have an awesome army down the road? (I should have plenty of gold for upgrading, this continent is all cottage land and commerce resources.)

When I play Ethiopia, I get Gunpowder fairly early and run civs that add 5 XP to new units so I can end up producing Drill 4 oromos. I avoid rifling until I have as many oromos as I want and them promote the whole lot first to rifles and then to infantry. Very little stands up to those infantry, especially once they also accumulate combat promotions!
 
Just a short question.. What is hammers cost for Settler and Worker on normal speed? Is it different ratio from marathon 300:120?
 
Will vassals trade as normal? Ie, if I give/trade monopoly or otherwise important techs to a vassal, can I risk that (s)he trades it to civs I'd rather like destroyed through war?
 
Will vassals trade as normal? Ie, if I give/trade monopoly or otherwise important techs to a vassal, can I risk that (s)he trades it to civs I'd rather like destroyed through war?

Absolutely, they will broker the hell out of it. And furthermore, beware of taking vassals when you have a permanent alliance. My ally gifted the peace vassals my entire tech lead.
 
Ouch. Really wish there was an option to cancel vassal treaties. Gifting away a tech lead is casus belli ;)
 
You could turn it off, yes, but it's part of the game and like all the rules (including vassal mechanics) you can try to turn them in your favor. The important part is just knowing the rules!
 
Does the spread culture espionage mission (BTS) spread culture to surrounding squares as well or just the city itself? So if there is an important strategic resource just over the border, can you speed up the cultural tug of war by spreading culture via spies?
 
How do I remove the stupid and ******ed messages about "City wants to join the BLEH empire"?

Err, that city was established by ME, far from their cultural borders. I have other cities between me and you, and nobody else have ever settled the land there, nor do anybody else have cultural pressure there.

How do I remove that "helpful" BS, and what else will it remove?
 
What are the conditions for being able to trade a city away? I'm trying to give one away to act as a buffer state but whilst my other cities are showing (albeit sometimes in red because the other civ doesn't want them) I've got one city that's not showing up to trade away at all.
 
Those messages like "City X wants to join so-and-so" are either disabled by checking off the tips under options, or something involving Python, and IIRC it is the latter.
 
What are the conditions for being able to trade a city away? I'm trying to give one away to act as a buffer state but whilst my other cities are showing (albeit sometimes in red because the other civ doesn't want them) I've got one city that's not showing up to trade away at all.

I've been having a look and I've noticed that no new city is coming up since I first gave away a previous city for a similar reason. It looks a bit like a bug in which once you've given one city away no new cities are added to your list to give away.
Is this a known bug, something new or am I missing something?
 
Does the spread culture espionage mission (BTS) spread culture to surrounding squares as well or just the city itself? So if there is an important strategic resource just over the border, can you speed up the cultural tug of war by spreading culture via spies?
That mission acts like a GA culture bomb: it delivers a certain ammount of culture to the city and then your culture pops out in that city like the regular border expansions ( just in a city that is not yours ). So , in resume: yes, you can use it to smooth out your borders ...
 
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