It was a long time ago for me... but if I recall correctly, the problem may lie with not having the latest updated version of directx installed on your computer.
Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions
- Thread starter Civrules
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It was a long time ago for me... but if I recall correctly, the problem may lie with not having the latest updated version of directx installed on your computer.
JujuLautre
Deity
given that you get 30 hammers at normal speed, I'd say you get 15 hammers on quick speed 
There's a penalty if the construction hasn't started yet, but I couldn't tell you how much, sorry...
There's a penalty if the construction hasn't started yet, but I couldn't tell you how much, sorry...
Roland Johansen
Deity
At quick speed, you get 20 hammers for each population point that is being whipped. You only get 2/3-th of the hammers when you choose to whip a construction project (building, unit) with no hammers at all put into the construction and that amounts to 13 hammers for each population point (the value is rounded down like with most things in civ4).
Note that all the hammers from whipping are base hammers and thus subject to all production bonuses in that city. So if you're constructing a castle in the city while you have access to stone, have a forge and are using the organized religion civic, then you get 20 * (1 + 1 + 0.25 +0.25) = 50 hammers for each whipped population point.
Note also that national and world wonders have a penalty when they are constructed using pop- or gold-rushing. These penalties depend on the world or national wonder under construction and vary from 150% of normal cost to 400% of normal cost. Projects (like the space race parts) cannot be pop- or gold-rushed.
(By the way, in general, most things on quick speed use a modifier of 0.67 compared to normal speed. In this case 0.67 * 30 and then rounded down.)
JujuLautre
Deity
Woops sorry; I'm almost never playing on quick speed, but I was sure the factor was 2*... my mistake
Roland Johansen
Deity
You're answering lots of questions here, so there's bound to be one where you go wrong. It happens to us all.
Rancid Sushi
Last year's catch
I've been reflecting on my games since moving up to Monarch and it occurs to me that there is a strong correlation with how fast/easy I win with how much/well I micromanage cities and workers. Case in point: my first Monarch game yielded my best score ever mainly because I microed nearly every detail of my economy. I wasn't expecting Monarch to be so 'easy,' but then the mentality I had going in to my first Monarch game was 'this is going to be difficult.'
Now to the point: I did everything right the first time, but I've forgotten how to duplicate it. I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way to micromanage, so I need advice on what I should generally be doing, how I should micro according to certain situations/strategies/phases of the game. I probably wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't been away from CIV for so long. I guess I just got frustrated because I had difficulty reproducing my first success. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize I still have a lot to learn. I'm open to everything people have to say about having complete control of domestic affairs (minus BTS random events, which I don't have yet. Still playing on Warlords
).
Now to the point: I did everything right the first time, but I've forgotten how to duplicate it. I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way to micromanage, so I need advice on what I should generally be doing, how I should micro according to certain situations/strategies/phases of the game. I probably wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't been away from CIV for so long. I guess I just got frustrated because I had difficulty reproducing my first success. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize I still have a lot to learn. I'm open to everything people have to say about having complete control of domestic affairs (minus BTS random events, which I don't have yet. Still playing on Warlords
).
All cities.
Roland Johansen
Deity
I would like to remark that every game of civilization is very different. 2 games on monarch difficulty level can present very different challenges and you might win one game easily with an enormous score and lose the other while you're using a similar strategy. This randomness in the game is part of its charm and results in its enormous replayability. However, it also makes the game score a bit meaningless as the challenge and difficulty differs a lot between games.
Now to the point: I did everything right the first time, but I've forgotten how to duplicate it. I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way to micromanage, so I need advice on what I should generally be doing, how I should micro according to certain situations/strategies/phases of the game. I probably wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't been away from CIV for so long. I guess I just got frustrated because I had difficulty reproducing my first success. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize I still have a lot to learn. I'm open to everything people have to say about having complete control of domestic affairs (minus BTS random events, which I don't have yet. Still playing on Warlords
Micromanagement can be of some importance, but usually it's the broader strategy that makes or breaks a game. It's a bit hard to answer your question as you're more or less asking: How does one play civilization 4. Seeing the amount of lengthy articles in the War Academy and the amount of discussion in the strategy forum, this is a question which is not easy to answer in a few paragraphs.
One of the better ways to get meaningful comments for your own game is by posting a savegame of your game and asking for comments. It might lead to some criticism so be ready for that. But likely, there are some meaningful remarks and lots of constructive criticism. A good point to show some savegames is 1000BC and 500AD. This way people can see how you handle the early exploration and expansion and how you consolidate your empire. Since that is the most important part of the game, it's good to get some comments on that part of the game. It's good to mention the settings of the game and it might be useful to mention your goals so that it's clear what you're trying to achieve.
It's best to start a new thread about this so that you might generate lots of comments from lots of different players. The strategy and tips forum is probably the best forum to ask for comments. You might also get some comments from players who are newer to the game than yourself, so you'll have to value each and every comment yourself. But most likely, there will also be some very experienced players who give advice and such advice can be invaluable to improve your game.
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
Now to the point: I did everything right the first time, but I've forgotten how to duplicate it. I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way to micromanage, so I need advice on what I should generally be doing, how I should micro according to certain situations/strategies/phases of the game. I probably wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't been away from CIV for so long. I guess I just got frustrated because I had difficulty reproducing my first success. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize I still have a lot to learn. I'm open to everything people have to say about having complete control of domestic affairs (minus BTS random events, which I don't have yet. Still playing on Warlords
I agree with RJ's response, as I think he goes to the underlying issue. However, you asked how to micromanage, so let me attempt to address that, with the disclaimer that I don't think it's the key to victory.
In an ALC game I tend to perform extreme micromanagement because I'm aware that all my moves are being watched. Okay, maybe everyone can't see every little thing I do, but I've been called out on micromanagement decisions based upon the evidence they leave (never let it be said that Civ fanatics aren't sticklers for detail). So what I do by way of micromangement is the following, and I should emphasize that I do it every single turn:
- Check the graphs and demographics, paying special attention to power, but also to production and, to a lesser extent, GNP.
- Check the espionage screen and adjust EP allocations as needed. By sometime in the mid-game, I like to know what everyone's researching, if possible.
- Check the diplomatic advisor, paying close attention to:
- Attitude: an AI that has slipped from "Friendly" or "Pleased" may be a DoW risk; an AI that has risen to one of those levels, on the other hand, may be a good candidate to ask for a gift of gold or a tech.
- Resources: Does anyone have a resource available that I need/want, and/or do they have gold per turn available to buy (or pay more for) a resource I have? Sometimes I'll even cancel all my deals with several civs in order to acquire more resources and get better returns. Note: I try to do this before reviewing my cities, as temporarily losing access to happy/health resources may make tile/specialist assignments shift around.
- Techs: Is there a good tech trade available? And/or is someone flush with cash and therefore a good target to buy a tech from me, or my world map, or if they're Pleased/Friendly, donate it as a gift? On the other hand, if they're Cautious or worse, are they weaker than me and therefore likely to cough up tribute?
- Check each and every city, paying close attention to the following:
- Growth
- Health
- Happiness
- Tiles being worked
- Specialists and GP generation
- Build
- If I'm running slavery, I'll check to see when the best time would be to whip (by checking if there are any remaining unhappy turns left from the previous whip, how many hammers are in the build so far and how many will be needed in how many turns before I reach the point for optimum overflow, etc.) I may reassign tiles worked to ensure maximum hammer overflow.
- I do a quick visual check of my borders to see if any barbarian or foreign units (or stacks) are hanging about.
Phew! And people wonder why the ALC games take so long to finish.
In my off-line games, I don't check this stuff nearly as often. But then I don't usually do as well in my off-line games. Coincidence? 
AbuHab
Warlord
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2004
- Messages
- 201
I founded the mining corporation (can't remember exactly what it's called), and I've expanded it to a bunch of my own cities.
Each city to which I've expanded the corporation costs the new city 4 gold per turn, but gives some nice benefits (12 hammers per turn in the new city, plus 4 gold per turn in the corporation's founding city).
I understand I can also expand my corporation to foreign cities. But why would I ever want to do that?
Wouldn't that mean that the foreign city gets 12 hammers per turn? Why would I want to give them that benefit?
Even assuming my corporation's founding city (i.e., my city) gets 4 gold per turn for expanding the corporation into a foreign city, the foreign city seems to get the better part of the deal by far (the 12 hammers they'd get are much more valuable than the 4 gold I'd get). Or am I misunderstanding something?
Each city to which I've expanded the corporation costs the new city 4 gold per turn, but gives some nice benefits (12 hammers per turn in the new city, plus 4 gold per turn in the corporation's founding city).
I understand I can also expand my corporation to foreign cities. But why would I ever want to do that?
Wouldn't that mean that the foreign city gets 12 hammers per turn? Why would I want to give them that benefit?
Even assuming my corporation's founding city (i.e., my city) gets 4 gold per turn for expanding the corporation into a foreign city, the foreign city seems to get the better part of the deal by far (the 12 hammers they'd get are much more valuable than the 4 gold I'd get). Or am I misunderstanding something?
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
You're right, Mining Inc. is the sort of corporation you almost never want to spread to the AI. Why gift that sort of a production boost to them?
Other corporations are another matter. Sid's Sushi is my other favourite corporation, and it's quite good for spreading around. Its two results are increased food and culture for the city. Spreading it around can earn you a lot of gold (especially if you found the corporation in your Wall Street city, which really is imperative for all corporations) while making the AI poorer. Spreading it to the right cities can also cause increased tension between the AIs by exacerbating "our mutual borders cause tensions" diplomatic demerits. (Obviously, you don't want to spread it to foreign cities that are having culture wars with your own!)
Roland Johansen
Deity
Now to the point: I did everything right the first time, but I've forgotten how to duplicate it. I'm sure there's a right and a wrong way to micromanage, so I need advice on what I should generally be doing, how I should micro according to certain situations/strategies/phases of the game. I probably wouldn't be typing this if I hadn't been away from CIV for so long. I guess I just got frustrated because I had difficulty reproducing my first success. Now that I've had time to reflect, I realize I still have a lot to learn. I'm open to everything people have to say about having complete control of domestic affairs (minus BTS random events, which I don't have yet. Still playing on Warlords
Wow. And I thought I micromanaged a lot. But there are a lot of things in that list that I barely do. I do check the graphs a little, but not nearly every turn. And I do watch my cities regularly, but not nearly every turn.
I do check the diplomatic advisor for trades every turn and I think that one is very important.
But I do use a mod (for BTS) which helps a lot with micromanagement. It for instance can tell you when your cities are going to grow or when they have grown. It can tell you that your city will become unhappy or has become unhappy. It can tell you that you can pop-rush your city. It can tell you that a foreign nation is willing to sign an open borders treaty.
If you enter a city to order a new construction and you see that you would like to poprush it next turn or maybe in 3 turns, then you don't have to remember that. You can set a reminder with text and variable duration and the game will warn you after the set number of turns.
This mod is extremely helpful in reducing the load of micromanagement. You can play as if you were checking some stuff every turn and you will never forget anything because you can set reminders for yourself. I have only told you some parts of this mod. It's called the BTS Unaltered Gameplay Mod (or shortly BUG Mod) and when you get BTS, then this mod is a must-get for any player who likes to use some micromanagement in his/her games.
Oh, by the way. Most of my own micromanagement is related to the perfect management of cities. Growing them exactly when a happiness building is finished. Finishing terrain improvements just before they are going to be used. Pop-rushing a building at just the right moment. Those things all become a lot easier with the BUG-Mod as they hardly require any micromanagement.
I also do some micromanagement with relation to re-allocating the espionage points to the various leaders (BTS- feature) and I try to not lose worker - turns by moving them around without actually doing any work. When a worker can move 6 tiles over roads, you could also move the worker 5 tiles, then order the start of a construction on that tile and immediately stop that construction again. The worker will have performed a single turn of construction on that tile and that won't be forgotten.
That doesn't sound like much, but especially at the start of the game, it's not so wise to lose worker turns. It's not a smart move to move 3 workers to a hill to build a mine there. All three will lose their movement points getting there. It's better to build a road there with one of the workers, losing only a single worker turn getting to that tile and then moving the other 2 workers along the road without losing worker turns.
I also use the draw-on-the-map feature available when you zoom out in the strategic overlay section. That and placing signs on the map allows you to plan your city placement. This is not really a micromanagement issue though. It's more an issue of detailed planning and thinking ahead.
Note that the 4 gold that you get in the Corporation Headquarters is still multiplied by the various multipliers in that city. So if the Headquarters has a market, grocer, bank and Wall Street, then you actually get 12 gold for every city with that corporation. 12 gold already sounds a lot better.
The resource gain (the 12 hammers that you mention) is completely dependent on the number of corporation resources that you have. In this case, you have a lot of them. But it's pretty likely that some of your opponents don't have a lot of resources for that corporation and thus the corporation is a lot less profitable for them. Some of them might only get 1 or 2 hammers from the corporation and you still get 12 gold in your headquarters.
Also note that the cost for corporations is actually higher than you might think. These costs are increased by your inflation and thus the cost for you and your opponents to have a corporation in one of their cities is not very low. This makes corporations far less interesting when you don't control the headquarters. The net-gain for your the opponents to whom you spread your corporations is not very high.
However, you might get some of the resources that make your corporations profitable by trading with other civilisations. These civilisations will not be so willing to trade away these resources once you spread the corporation to their cities. They will want to keep these resources to make the corporation more profitable. So you might not want to expand the corporation to the cities of civilisations with whom you're trading for valuable corporation-resources.
So when you're considering spreading a corporation to foreign civilisations, then it's wise to check who has which resources and in what numbers. You could again call that a type of micromanagement, but I would call it 'getting the right information in order to make an informed decision'.
AbuHab
Warlord
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2004
- Messages
- 201
I have built the Broadway wonder, which is supposed to give me five Hit Musicals. Several turns have gone by since then, and I'm not seeing anything noteworthy.
What exactly are Hit Musicals? What are their game effects? Do I have to create them somehow, or do they just appear?
What exactly are Hit Musicals? What are their game effects? Do I have to create them somehow, or do they just appear?
Sisiutil
All Leader Challenger
They are similar to resources such as Dye or Incense. One of them gives you +1
citizen in all of your cities, +2 with a broadcast tower (+3 with a mall if you're playing as America). The extra musicals can be traded to other civilizations for resources or gold per turn. So if you wish to "see" them, they show up under the list of happy resources in each city screen, and in the list of resources you have to trade in the foreign advisor/resources screen. They're also visible when you're negotiating a trade deal with a foreign leader. Broadway also increases the culture output of the city where it's built by 50%.
They are a luxury resource. They will be providing +1
in your cities and you can trade away the surplus ones to other civs for more resources or money. You might also be getting more than 1 if you have a building which benefits from hit musicals (I can't remember if there are any).
Rancid Sushi
Last year's catch
Thanks guys. I think you're right about the decision-making aspect of the game. It seems that having an intimate knowledge of each civ's strengths and limitations is what separates the men from the boys (or the Emperors from the Chieftains, for that matter). Knowing that will inform better decision-making on my part. I'll have to review some of those ALCs and Immortal challenges for some more ideas. Thanks again for correcting my perspective.
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