Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Jake Blues]

Do your citizens behave differently during war (anger, war weariness), based on:

a. if you declared war or had war declared on you, and

b. if you are fighting inside or outside your borders?

 

[Jake Blues]

double post

 

[stung]

Yes, it's worth it, your GP Farm is probably the most important part of city specialization. The simplest way to pick your location is just look for the spot with the most food- grasslands, maybe desert floodplains, and as many food resources as you can get (especially 6 tiles like grassland pigs and riverside corn/wheat). The whole idea of this city is to grow it as big as you can as fast as you can.

You'll want to have your National Epic in your GP Farm. If I have the production there, I usually put Globe Theatre there too so I don't have to waste time making happiness buildings. Farm as much as possible of the BFC, don't bother making any cottages there. If the BFC has a hill or two you can mine them to get the you need to build everything, then maybe later on put windmills there for more food.

As far as what to build there, focus on buildings that let you run Specialists (forge for Engineers, temples for Priests, library for Scientists, etc.) The Specialists are what really give you GPP, and if you have a nice variety of buildings by mid-game, you can direct your GPP instead of leaving it mostly to chance. For instance, if you need a Great Merchant, just cram your market and grocer full of Merchants, and you probably won't have to wait long. Also, make buildings that raise your happy/health cap in the city (this is where Globe comes in handy, you'll only have to worry about the health limit).

It's more complicated than that, but that's the basics. Welcome to CFC!

Thank you very much! I have more questions though.The way I see it,to reach full potential of GPF i need to have Caste System civic,am I right? Unlimited artist, scientist, merchant;. And what is the best way to use may GP's? install them in my Great person farm,in my Capital,start golden ages? Thanks in advance.

 

[UnforcedError]

I'd suggest you read through various articles in the War Academy section, as GP usage in general is actually very complex in terms of game mechanics. However, the short (and totally non-comprehensive) answer to your questions could be:

...The way I see it,to reach full potential of GPF i need to have Caste System civic,am I right? Unlimited artist, scientist, merchant;

Yes. That's the best way to generate a GP quickly. The downside is you can't use the whip.

And what is the best way to use may GP's? install them in my Great person farm,in my Capital,start golden ages? Thanks in advance.

Again, this is very situational. But as a general advice (excluding GGs altoghether):

1. Settling GPs in a city is usually suboptimal. There are so many better things they are capable of. The only exception being probably an SE with early Representation (Pyramids) and a super-research city or the very late game if you already burnt a few Golden Ages.

2. Golden Age: you can consider starting a GA if either you want to make multiple civic changes and are not SPI (the Golden Age saves you the anarchy), or if the / bonus of a GA would be substantial (usually mid to late game, when you already have a huge number of citizens). It's also worth noting that a GA doubles the production of GPpts, so creating them during a GA can immediately propel you into the next one if you time it right.

3. In addition to 1 and 2 all GPs except Great Spies can bulb you technologies. A comprehensive list of GP bulb preferences can be found here. The Great Scientist is undoubtedly the best at bulbing, not just because of the general usefulness of the techs it can bulb but also because it yields more to the tech than any other GP (mid to late game techs won't be bulbed completely). Also, if you look at the list you will see that Great Artists and Great Priests are very unlikely to give you useful bulbs at the time when it matters.

4. All GPs have a special ability. The Great Scientist can build an Academy, yielding +50% , a GE can build a world wonder for you (or any other building), A Great Priest can build a holy shrine if you have a holy city, Great Artists can culture bomb, Great Spies can infiltrate an AI or build the Scotland Yard, and Great Merchants can be sent on a trade mission for . All of these can be very useful, depending on the situation and your overall strategy.

5. And finally all GPs except for Spies and Priests can found certain corporations. Again, I think there're some pretty good articles in the War Academy about them, it would take a lot more paragraphs to discuss them.

So, let's take a Great Scientist as an example, as this is usually the earliest GP you can get by building a library and running two scientists. What would I use it for?

Usually either an Academy or a bulb. They are far too valuable to be burnt on Golden Ages unless it's already in the late game and a bulb wouldn't be a huge benefit anymore.

 

[UnforcedError]

Do your citizens behave differently during war (anger, war weariness), based on:

a. if you declared war or had war declared on you, and

b. if you are fighting inside or outside your borders?

I rarely hide behind my walls to defend during a war but the short answer is yes, as this article suggests. It's for Vanilla however, and the BtS version of WW is fortunately much less deadly.

 

[stung]

Thanks for answer UnforcedError.It really helped.

 

[Sisiutil]

If I have the production there, I usually put Globe Theatre there too so I don't have to waste time making happiness buildings.

The only caveat I would add to the otherwise excellent advice in this post is that the Globe adds Great Person Points (GPP) toward a Great Artist; so does the National Epic. Since you definitely want the NP in your GP Farm, adding the Globe increases the chances of generating a GA. Which is fine if you want GAs, but not so good if you don't. This same caution applies to any and all wonders you build in this city; yes they add GPP, but they may not be the type of GPP you're after.

And Murphy's Law of civ dictates that when you really, really, REALLY need a Great Person of a certain type, you will generate a different one--usually, given the renowned perversity of the RNG, the GP with the lowest chance of appearing.

One last thing: I also usually prefer to generate Great Scientists, so I try to build the Great Library in my GP Farm for the GS GPP from the wonder along with the two free scientists and their GPP.

 

[bestbrian]

Great Scientist's and Engineers are the most desirable (to me, anyway); I like to keep them separate from Prophet/Merchant/Artist spam. So, I tend to group the GS/GE wonders, and NE, in one city. Then again, I don't play optimally.

 

[Abegweit]

Thank you very much! I have more questions though.The way I see it,to reach full potential of GPF i need to have Caste System civic,am I right? Unlimited artist, scientist, merchant;. And what is the best way to use may GP's? install them in my Great person farm,in my Capital,start golden ages? Thanks in advance.

Early in the game, just hire two scientists somewhere. Usually you then use them to build an Academy in your capital. Hiring scientists in several cities is viable plan too, especially if you have the Pyramids. See SGOTM 14, especially the Plastic Ducks thread, for an example.

As for what to do next, bulbing is very powerful at the higher levels up (Immortal/Deity, sometimes Emperor) until Liberalism or a little beyond. After that it starts to lose value as the techs become too expensive. After that, found Corps or start GAs. GAs are, in general, a good use of GPs, especially if you have the MoM.

A GM trade mission is often a good idea. Send the Merchant to the first city in your capital's trade list or to the ToA city if it's not on the list.

Settling is very powerful when playing a WW/SSE (World Wonder/Super Science Economy). Basically the idea is to build every wonder you can get your hands on in your capital and settle all the GPs you get except that one scientist should go for an Academy. Otherwise settling is generally a bad idea. Possibly settle your first scientist in your future GPF or capital if the current one is a bad science producer.

 

[Pangaea]

Are there any good video tutorial series for the roughly early mid-game and forward? Preferably with comments that describe why this or that choice was taken.

I'm doing quite well in the beginning I think, but when most of the basics are done and I begin to get a few cities, it's harder to know what to do. What techs to go after, what units to aim for, civic choices, etc. The lot really

Have a small question too, about fog busting. Can barbs appear just outside of your borders, or is it fine to not worry with fogbusting if for example your borders are one tile off the coast?

 

[Abegweit]

One guy did a really good play-through of his first hundred turns explaining the reasoning behind all his moves very well - and it was solid play. I believe the level was Emperor but unfortunately I've forgotten his name.

As for fogbusting, barbs can appear in any tile which is

a) in the Fog of War
b) not within a 5x5 square centred on any unit - including another barb.

Since all the tiles around your culture are defogged, no barb can appear there. Thus the answer to your question is "no".

 

[Pangaea]

Thanks, maybe I can move some chariots to the front then, if barbs can't appear in the tiles just outside my cultural borders.

Have seen at least two video series of the first 100 turns, which I learnt much from (including fogbusting more generally). But where I need to improve the most I think is the, say, 100 turns after that. I always find it difficult to know what tech to beeline for, whether I should get a few techs with good benefits here or there, what units to beeline for, and so forth. The game gets a lot more complex once the most basic research is in and after settling a few cities, and that's where I struggle.

 

[Abegweit]

The standard answer to the tech situation is
1) whatever worker techs you need
2) economic techs (currency, CoL)
3) liberalism

Sidelines you might consider taking, depending on the map
1) Literature/Music for the GL and the free GA. Music is a pre-req for MilTrad after all.
2) Calendar for Plantations and the MoM
3) Priesthood for the Oracle.
4) Construction for cats.

Generally, leave the bottom line alone unless you are a) isolated or b) Chinese.

After liberalism, generally beeline some military unit in order to break out. The standard choices are Cuirs/Cavs, Rifles and Cannons.

 

[stung]

Is there any way to attack your vassal state? Because i can't declare war on them.

 

[Leathaface]

I watch youtube videos and makers put a reminder on the map, for example "C" for city, it points out where they want to settle.

How can I do this? I've BUG installed BTW.

(the game has an in-game reminder (alt + ctrl + R) but i'm certain that's different.)

 

[Samson]

Is there any way to attack your vassal state? Because i can't declare war on them.

No, not really. You can try continually asking for resources, they cannot refuse without declaring war, but it has never worked for me. The other thing you can do is make war with their neighbour, and not help them. If they drop to less than 50% of their original size they can declare independence.

 

[Lord Parkin]

I watch youtube videos and makers put a reminder on the map, for example "C" for city, it points out where they want to settle.

How can I do this? I've BUG installed BTW.

(the game has an in-game reminder (alt + ctrl + R) but i'm certain that's different.)

Alt + S. Works with and without the BUG mod.

After pressing Alt + S, click where you want the sign to go and type the name. If you click on an existing sign, you remove it. To exit "sign mode" without making a sign, just press Alt + S again.

 

[Jake Blues]

I'm 550 turns into a game and I'm getting crushed by some terrible mistakes I've made. The map is sweet and I had an awesome starting spot and a new colony in the New World. However, I've got the three largest armies about to eradicate me from the continent.

I want to retire from this game, but I'd like to go back and play this exact same roll again. Is there any way to do that?

 

[Samson]

I'm 550 turns into a game and I'm getting crushed by some terrible mistakes I've made. The map is sweet and I had an awesome starting spot and a new colony in the New World. However, I've got the three largest armies about to eradicate me from the continent.

I want to retire from this game, but I'd like to go back and play this exact same roll again. Is there any way to do that?

If you look in the save game folder, there is a folder called auto. That should have the initial save from year 4000BC. Just load this. Note that if you start a new game this will be deleted, and it MIGHT be deleted if you retire. So load it and re-save it if you really want to retire.

 

[Jake Blues]

Ok, thanks. The last of my army managed to limp into a galleon just before they took my last city there.

The fact that the AI manages to build such massive armies so quickly is amazing to me.