Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Theodorick]

I'm curious, is it possible to run a scenario and let the AI play ALL characters as you watch?

 

[myabravo]

I've just begun Civ4 and I cannot see the terrain on the screen. I understand the gameplay, and my scout's movement across the landscape should reveal the map, but I wander in darkness.... is this right?

 

[T_Raccoon]

In my current game i was playing as Arabia and i took a look at the info screen (f9) which gives useful info like land area, population, commerce, goods produced, but i have no idea what the last three meant. It was something like approval rate, lifetime expectancy, and imports/exports. Im guessing approval rate and life exptectancy are happiness and health respectively. I think imports/exports are trade routes when you have open borders but why is it in the form of a fraction?

This is the third time i have posted this question and i seem to be getting ignored. If no one knows the answer then thats cool just ignore it i just want to make sure you guys didn't overlook my question thats all

 

[rupertlittlebea]

I've just begun Civ4 and I cannot see the terrain on the screen. I understand the gameplay, and my scout's movement across the landscape should reveal the map, but I wander in darkness.... is this right?

sounds familiar, older video card and you need to apply the patch.
(general civ 4 forum in the stickies)

 

[a4phantom]

How does a city with 12 pop suddenly only have one. I was farming like crazy and built a settler trying to solve the problem.

I seem to be having trouble understanding how it can happen so fast without warning.

I've seen this asked a lot, though it hasn't happened to me yet. Can you load the auto-save of the turn before it happened, or a turn during the fall if it was gradual, and look at the city?

 

[lost_civantares]

I'm curious, is it possible to run a scenario and let the AI play ALL characters as you watch?

Sorry, but no, you must play! (nothing wrong with that, right? )

Is it possible to have the computer play until it needs input from you?

There is a cheat where you can tell the AI to play for a certian amount of turns, but how well that works, is something that I don't know, I've never tested it.

Edit: Warning! I just tried it, and all it seemed to do is to give me a lion in the antartic and then leave me with that. Save before trying!

 

[Simeonb]

Hi all,

Can you tell me how to turn off the Wonder movies - they're crashing my game!

Thanks in advance

 

[oagersnap]

Hi all,

Can you tell me how to turn off the Wonder movies - they're crashing my game!

Thanks in advance

Open the civ4.ini file and change "nowondermovies = 0" to = 1.

Is it possible to have the computer play until it needs input from you?

In civ3 at least, there was an options setting called "always wait at end of turn". If that is in civ4 too, you can turn it off, and then the game will automatically start a new turn and you don't hav to hit enter.

 

[Daryn]

a) how do you use the 'profile' thingy in options ? I tried to create a profile, it told me it was saved but I cannot find it anywhere. Is it different from the .ini ? Is it possible for instance to force tile grid and resource outline on each reload ?

b) I am confused as to the meaning of gold/commerce. In Civ3, you would produce 'exchange' or 'commerce' wich would then be ventilated into research and treasury. Does this distinction still exist in Civ4 ? If yes, is there a mod that would use distinct icons for each ?

c) where is the unit upgrade tree documented ? Can't find it in the manual or the pedia...

d) what are those 'trade groups' you can display when zooming out ?

e) are there any reference pointers for various formulae, esp. city maintenance, civic upkeep, military expenses ?

 

[moonmonster]

Uh, sorry if this has been asked. 46 pages of thread is a lot to wade through!

I feel pretty dumb for having to ask this, but I've been through the manual and the strategy guide and I can't find the answer:

What do the percent signs above a city name mean? They're usually 20% or 40%, and look like they are next to an hourglass.

 

[MrCynical]

That's actually a picture of a castle tower and indicates the city defense value. This is the percentage bonus given to defenders in the city, and is increases by culture and improvements like walls and castles. The bonus can be reduced by bombardment.

 

[Simeonb]

Uh, sorry if this has been asked. 46 pages of thread is a lot to wade through!

I feel pretty dumb for having to ask this, but I've been through the manual and the strategy guide and I can't find the answer:

What do the percent signs above a city name mean? They're usually 20% or 40%, and look like they are next to an hourglass.

That's the defence bonus units get when attacked in the city

 

[oagersnap]

b) I am confused as to the meaning of gold/commerce. In Civ3, you would produce 'exchange' or 'commerce' wich would then be ventilated into research and treasury. Does this distinction still exist in Civ4 ? If yes, is there a mod that would use distinct icons for each ?

It's still the same as in civ3, and the latest patch (1.52) has distinct icons.

 

[davper]

Quote:
Originally Posted by davper
Is it possible to have the computer play until it needs input from you?

In civ3 at least, there was an options setting called "always wait at end of turn". If that is in civ4 too, you can turn it off, and then the game will automatically start a new turn and you don't hav to hit enter.

Yeah I have that on. That just ends your turn after you manually move any unit. If you don't need to move a unit, it still waits at end of turn.

 

[lost_civantares]

a) how do you use the 'profile' thingy in options ?

Click on the "default profile" and the second profile should show up in the dropdown menu for you.

c) where is the unit upgrade tree documented ? Can't find it in the manual or the pedia...

I haven't seen one either, I guess the tech tree is the best that there is right now.

 

[_alphaBeta_]

That's actually a picture of a castle tower and indicates the city defense value. This is the percentage bonus given to defenders in the city, and is increases by culture and improvements like walls and castles. The bonus can be reduced by bombardment.

If your defences are reduced by bombardment, do they regenerate over time?

 

[lost_civantares]

If your defences are reduced by bombardment, do they regenerate over time?

Yes they do, but it takes awhile.

 

[Frostyboy]

when you start the game the minimap doesn't tell you where in the world you are, just relative distances. but when you get stonhenge or the tech, you see theminimap as it really is, so if you see you're in the southern part of the minimap, you know it's much more productive to explore to the north than further south.

Aha - Thanks Ybbor

 

[scloopy]

I've seen this asked a lot, though it hasn't happened to me yet. Can you load the auto-save of the turn before it happened, or a turn during the fall if it was gradual, and look at the city?

I don't have the save just before and after Washington went from 12 to 1 as I am one of the idiots who forget to save. I have it at 720AD when it was populated and the 1320 when it had only one. I guess I will have to watch for another city to do this and remember to save after every turn. Would it do any good to load these 2 to try to find the why and wherefore?

 

[Daryn]

Click on the "default profile" and the second profile should show up in the dropdown menu for you.

yes, I can see that. But what then ? I must be dense but what can you actually do with a profile ? Where is it stored ? What options can you configure ?