Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

You get one free beaker per turn that materializes out of nowhere. This happens for everyone, probably to avoid having the research bar show "infinity turns left" when you go to a 0% slider early on.

You also get a 20% bonus for every prerequisite you own - which mostly corresponds to techs that have an arrow going into them. Thus for almost all techs, except the ones at the very start of the tech tree and a few like Astronomy and Flight, you will automatically have at least a 20% bonus while researching them. Some like Writing you can potentially get a 60% bonus for (if you have Animal Husbandry, Pottery, and Priesthood before researching it).

Hope that helps. :)
 
You get one free beaker per turn that materializes out of nowhere. This happens for everyone, probably to avoid having the research bar show "infinity turns left" when you go to a 0% slider early on.

You also get a 20% bonus for every prerequisite you own - which mostly corresponds to techs that have an arrow going into them. Thus for almost all techs, except the ones at the very start of the tech tree and a few like Astronomy and Flight, you will automatically have at least a 20% bonus while researching them. Some like Writing you can potentially get a 60% bonus for (if you have Animal Husbandry, Pottery, and Priesthood before researching it).

Hope that helps. :)

Yeah I do remember researching Writing because it was specifically mentioned as a prerequisite to Theology..So 35 + 7 + 1=53..PERFECT..THANKS A LOT FR THE INFO !!!!!
 
Yeah I do remember researching Writing because it was specifically mentioned as a prerequisite to Theology..So 35 + 7 + 1=53..PERFECT..THANKS A LOT FR THE INFO !!!!!
Actually I believe it isn't Writing that gives you the 20% bonus in the case of Theology, it's Monotheism. Same effect though.

Basically, it's techs with an arrow between them that count for the 20% bonus. Techs that don't have an arrow but are "required" do not count for the 20% bonus.

Glad I could help solve your mystery. It's not a very well documented effect (at least inside the game), so it's no wonder you were getting confused. :)
 
Good Morning
I need Help Guys!? I am new to these civilization games but I heard great things. I have a few questions:
1. Should I start at civ1? Or is civ 4 or 5 ok to start with?
2. I purchase civ 4 and 5 already.. But what order did the expansion games come out in, for civ 4?
3. What’s the best way to learn how to play? The tutorial is very very slow going.

Thanks so much for ur help.
Wayne
 
Good Morning
I need Help Guys!? I am new to these civilization games but I heard great things. I have a few questions:
1. Should I start at civ1? Or is civ 4 or 5 ok to start with?
All of the games in the series stand alone as good games in their own right. Unless you're particularly keen on nostalgia though, you're better off starting with one of the later editions. Generally speaking the Civ games became more intricate, more beautiful and more interesting from Civ1 to Civ4. The most recent edition of Civ5 created quite a different style of game, diverging from the earlier installments - though still appreciated and enjoyed by many. Most fans agree that Civ4 is the pinnacle of complexity for the series, while Civ5 goes on a different tangent by streamlining many aspects of the game. There is somewhat of a debate amongst fans as to which is superior out of Civ4 and Civ5, but in the end it comes down to personal preference.

The short answer: I would personally recommend starting with Civ4. :)

2. I purchase civ 4 and 5 already.. But what order did the expansion games come out in, for civ 4?
Warlords came out first, followed by Beyond the Sword. Note that you do not need to buy or install Warlords separately; all of the Warlords content is included in the Beyond the Sword expansion (aside from a few small scenarios unrelated to the main game).

I would highly recommend playing Civ4 with the Beyond the Sword expansion installed to get the full experience of the game. Don't forget to install the 3.19 patch for Beyond the Sword if you're playing it too.

3. What’s the best way to learn how to play? The tutorial is very very slow going
The best way is honestly just to jump into a regular game by yourself (on Settler difficulty) and work things out as you go along. If there's something you can't understand, or you're stuck trying to figure out where you're going wrong, just come back to the forum and ask questions - the folks here are always willing to help. There's a huge database of knowledge on the site, with a bunch of beginner's guides as well... but the fastest way to fun is just to start playing and work the details out later when they're perplexing you.

One other highly recommended option is to start your own thread where you post screenshots and/or savegames in moments where you're confused or frustrated. When people are able to look directly at how you're playing, they can often not only demystify those mysteries and relieve your frustrations, but also give excellent advice on how to improve your game. We're here to help. :)
 
Ditto to everything Lord Parkin just said. I'll also elaborate a little on you last question abut learning the game.

The best way to learn anything is by doing it. So just play. See what works (and what doesn't). When you start winning every time, move up a difficulty level and refine your technique until you win there, too.

The Civ IV War Academy on this site has many, many useful articles. Many of us learned a lot from Sisiutil's guide, but all of those articles are there because they have something useful to say.

Browse the Strategy and Tactics forum and look threads other people post about their games. You can also look for games that people record and post on YouTube. There used to be a thread for people to post in when they had a new video up, but I can't find it right now. Even so, a few searches here or on YouTube itself should get you started.

Good luck, and have fun! :thumbsup:
 
Wow guys... thanks so much for the input. It definitley clears things up for me.:rolleyes::rolleyes: My head was spinning...I am so excited to get started, Thank you so much!

Waniac
 
Actually I believe it isn't Writing that gives you the 20% bonus in the case of Theology, it's Monotheism. Same effect though.

Basically, it's techs with an arrow between them that count for the 20% bonus. Techs that don't have an arrow but are "required" do not count for the 20% bonus.

Glad I could help solve your mystery. It's not a very well documented effect (at least inside the game), so it's no wonder you were getting confused. :)

Oh OK got it...thanks again..Wonder why they did not put it in the Civilopedia though. I think the fact that city stops producing food while training worker or settler is also not there in the Civilopedia.

I am also new to this game and I have started playing Civ 4(Just the 2nd game though) even though I have BTS installed but reading the above posts I am wondering whether I should directly start playing BTS.
 
The rice resource in my capital shows +2 health but my other 2 cities show +1 health for the rice. I have only 1 rice resource in my borders which I hv built farm and connected by road.All 3 of my cities are connected by city network. The rice tile is adjacent to my capital and whether I am working the tile or not (ie. putting it in white circle), the rice still stands at +2 health at my capital. Isnt it supposed to be +1 health ?? In fact I do remember seeing the rice being at +1 health at capital some turns back...dunno when exactly it became +2
Game : Civ 4(1.61)
 
The rice resource in my capital shows +2 health but my other 2 cities show +1 health for the rice. I have only 1 rice resource in my borders which I hv built farm and connected by road.All 3 of my cities are connected by city network. The rice tile is adjacent to my capital and whether I am working the tile or not (ie. putting it in white circle), the rice still stands at +2 health at my capital. Isnt it supposed to be +1 health ?? In fact I do remember seeing the rice being at +1 health at capital some turns back...dunno when exactly it became +2
Game : Civ 4(1.61)

Granaries give you +1 health with rice. Chances are, you don't have granaries in your other cities, but do in your capital.
 
Oh OK got it...thanks again..Wonder why they did not put it in the Civilopedia though. I think the fact that city stops producing food while training worker or settler is also not there in the Civilopedia.

I am also new to this game and I have started playing Civ 4(Just the 2nd game though) even though I have BTS installed but reading the above posts I am wondering whether I should directly start playing BTS.

There are a bunch of things that aren't in the manual or the Civpedia. This is one of them. TMIT probably has a list of them somewhere.
 
I am also new to this game and I have started playing Civ 4(Just the 2nd game though) even though I have BTS installed but reading the above posts I am wondering whether I should directly start playing BTS.

I recommend playing BTS rather than vanilla. There's some bugs and glitches in vanilla that are fixed in BTS. Also you want to download Patch 3.19 (do NOT do it from the game, it doesn't work). When you're comfortable with BTS, then you might want to look at some of the mods.
 
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