Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[PwnzerDragoon]

Sometimes when I create my first city, it doesn't grow. It stays at 1 population forever, and shows food consumption as 0/22, regardless of how much food it's actually harvesting. This happens more at higher difficulties. Am I missing something, or is this a bug?

Edit: After looking at it again, it appears to be converting my excess food into production. It didn't do that the first few games I played. What is causing this and how do I make it stop?

 

[scienide09]

Are you trying to build a worker, settler, or workboat right away?

Those three units all require food + hammers to build, so if your city is only size 1, and you start building one of those, then all your excess food goes into building the unit. Hence, no city growth.

 

[a4phantom]

Are you trying to build a worker, settler, or workboat right away?

Those three units all require food + hammers to build, so if your city is only size 1, and you start building one of those, then all your excess food goes into building the unit. Hence, no city growth.

Yes for worker and settler, I don't think workboats consume food unless that's new to BtS.

 

[PwnzerDragoon]

Now that I think about it, this problem started happening right about the time I decided to start with a worker first. Thanks, problem solved.

 

[Lord Parkin]

Regarding the Spaceship Victory in Beyond the Sword, how has that changed with respect to the game mechanics? From reading around, it appears that you now "win" by spaceship victory when your spaceship gets to Alpha Centauri, not when it is launched. Moreover, the more parts you build, the faster the spaceship will travel, and the more likely it will be to arrive in one piece.

So, my questions are:
1. In terms of game turns, how long does the spaceship take to "travel" once it has been launched?
2. What is the probability of failure for the spaceship reaching Alpha Centauri, for each missing component? (Probably a bit of a tricky question unless someone has done some research.)
3. Is there a 100% chance of arriving if you build all of the components before launching?
4. Perhaps the most pressing and interesting question - if you "fail" to get to Alpha Centauri, what happens? Do you have to rebuild your spaceship from the start? How does that work - when are you notified of the failure? Is it even actually possible to "fail" to get there?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lord Parkin]

1. In terms of game turns, how long does the spaceship take to "travel" once it has been launched?
2. What is the probability of failure for the spaceship reaching Alpha Centauri, for each missing component? (Probably a bit of a tricky question unless someone has done some research.)
3. Is there a 100% chance of arriving if you build all of the components before launching?
4. Perhaps the most pressing and interesting question - if you "fail" to get to Alpha Centauri, what happens? Do you have to rebuild your spaceship from the start? How does that work - when are you notified of the failure? Is it even actually possible to "fail" to get there?

I've found a few answers to my own questions by browsing the forums, but still not all of them.

What I've found:

- Probability of success = Number of Casings * 0.2
(So having all casings will ensure success... seems a shame that success isn't dependent on any other parts though, since very often casings are the earliest things built and thus everyone always has all of them.)

- Number of turns to travel for complete space ship = 10 turns (normal); 15 turns (epic); 30 turns (marathon); 7 turns* (quick*).
(*Only a guess, not trialled.)

- Number of turns to travel for complete space ship minus one engine = 12 turns (normal); 18 turns (epic); 36 turns (marathon); 9 turns* (quick*).
(Seems odd that the second engine does so little to speed up the arrival - only a 2 turn difference on normal speed, meaning that it probably isn't worth building the second engine if you've completed everything else and it would take more than 1 more turn.)
(*Only a guess, not trialled.)

- Spies can sabotage already built spaceship parts from any city in an empire (regardless of how insignificant), making spaceship sabotage seem to be relatively easy.

- Destroying a capital while the spaceship is in flight will destroy the spaceship (seemingly odd, but I guess it balances the game).

- If it is possible, the rebuilding of a spaceship cannot take place until after the original spaceship has been destroyed.

Things I still don't know or am guessing at:

- Presumably the number of thrusters affects the speed of the spaceship, though I don't know exactly how.

- I still don't know if the "rebuilding" of a failed spaceship actually even possible, or exactly how it works. (Can the entire thing be rebuilt from scratch if it fails, or is it a one-shot deal and if you fail you have to go for another victory condition?)

I would appreciate any insight into the above two remaining questions.

 

[Roland Johansen]

I've found a few answers to my own questions by browsing the forums, but still not all of them.

What I've found:

I would appreciate any insight into the above two remaining questions.

I have limited time and I don't have the answers, so I'll be short:

It's interesting to not build the engines last because they're expensive. If you have 2 good production cities, then it's interesting to get 2 engines. A smart player will make sure that at the very end of the game, his empire has several good production cities to finish the spaceship parts quickly. You'll want to launch the spaceship shortly after finishing the last necessary technology.
I wouldn't know why someone wouldn't build all spaceship casings. They're not that expensive and you don't want to fail the mission. They're also likely to be finished long before other parts are finished.
I think you'll have to rebuild the spaceship from scratch when the first one doesn't make it. I haven't tested it.
Destroying spaceship parts can be done from every city in your empire, but it is very expensive to destroy spaceship parts. So just make sure that you have defence against spies in every city and the elements that make spying more expensive for your opponents.
I don't know how thrusters effect the spaceship speed.

 

[Lord Parkin]

I have limited time and I don't have the answers, so I'll be short:

It's interesting to not build the engines last because they're expensive. If you have 2 good production cities, then it's interesting to get 2 engines. A smart player will make sure that at the very end of the game, his empire has several good production cities to finish the spaceship parts quickly. You'll want to launch the spaceship shortly after finishing the last necessary technology.
I wouldn't know why someone wouldn't build all spaceship casings. They're not that expensive and you don't want to fail the mission. They're also likely to be finished long before other parts are finished.
I think you'll have to rebuild the spaceship from scratch when the first one doesn't make it. I haven't tested it.
Destroying spaceship parts can be done from every city in your empire, but it is very expensive to destroy spaceship parts. So just make sure that you have defence against spies in every city and the elements that make spying more expensive for your opponents.
I don't know how thrusters effect the spaceship speed.

Yes, a beeline to Fusion is the sensible way to go about a spaceship victory, and thus for the reasonably skilled player, the second engine can usually be built in good time.

I like some things about how the space race has been changed, but there's a few things that I think could be improved. Most obvious is the probability of failure - I think it would be interesting if more parts affected this. At the very least the Casings could be shifted to later in the technology tree, so that they cannot be built so quickly and easily.

I'm also interested by the idea of having (mostly) completely separate technologies for the space race. As it is at the moment, many of the important spaceship technologies coincide with many of the important military technologies (Robotics and Composites are two prominent examples which come to mind). I think it would be more interesting to split up the technologies, and to have to have a choice between researching spaceship technologies (to get your space ship built more quickly), and modern military technologies (to gain the edge in wars with Modern Armour, Mech Infantry, Missile Cruisers, etc). I like how Stealth is distinctly a military technology and in a separate path from the space race technologies in this regard.

But the game is, of course, still fun to play as it is.

 

[a4phantom]

- Destroying a capital while the spaceship is in flight will destroy the spaceship (seemingly odd, but I guess it balances the game).

That's a legacy from Civ1. My inelegant explanation is that interstellar communication is so difficult it requires elaborate communication equipment that is to expensive to build redundant systems, and that communication can't be restored over that distance once lost (so you can't just build it in your new capital city). Obviously that theory has more holes than fabric, but then again we don't know how the Incas or Romans would structure their space program.

Oh, and RJ, apropos of our earlier discussion, I checked Amazon and Master of Orion II costs $4 more than MOO3!

 

[Roland Johansen]

Yes, a beeline to Fusion is the sensible way to go about a spaceship victory, and thus for the reasonably skilled player, the second engine can usually be built in good time.

I like some things about how the space race has been changed, but there's a few things that I think could be improved. Most obvious is the probability of failure - I think it would be interesting if more parts affected this. At the very least the Casings could be shifted to later in the technology tree, so that they cannot be built so quickly and easily.

I'm also interested by the idea of having (mostly) completely separate technologies for the space race. As it is at the moment, many of the important spaceship technologies coincide with many of the important military technologies (Robotics and Composites are two prominent examples which come to mind). I think it would be more interesting to split up the technologies, and to have to have a choice between researching spaceship technologies (to get your space ship built more quickly), and modern military technologies (to gain the edge in wars with Modern Armour, Mech Infantry, Missile Cruisers, etc). I like how Stealth is distinctly a military technology and in a separate path from the space race technologies in this regard.

But the game is, of course, still fun to play as it is.

I agree that the tech race part of the space race and the building part of the space race could surely be made more interesting. It seems that some elements were added but they didn't really enhance the strategic elements of the space race. In my opinion the sabotaging elements that were added to the space race (while building it and while in flight) were by far the most strategic additions to the space race. They changed the space race from a pure race into a more competitive engagement where you can use dirty tricks. A race where you are allowed to punch and trip your competitors.

By the way. I had a game a while ago where I have used the Apostolic Palace to stop a few wars where one of my competitors was killing a weaker competitor. The strong one was getting too strong and this was a nice way to stop that. Then later, when I was conquering the remnants of the weak civilisation, I used the Apostolic Palace to force the strong civilisation to give 2 cities back to the weak civilisation which I then subsequently conquered. That was some pretty dirty diplomacy.

So, you sometimes can use the Apostolic Palace for interesting diplomatic results. It is very dependant on the game, but sometimes you get a lot more out of the wonder than just the already good production bonusses.

Oh, and RJ, apropos of our earlier discussion, I checked Amazon and Master of Orion II costs $4 more than MOO3!

It's a real pitty that MOO3 destroyed that series. These figures more than show that.

 

[Stevepac]

So I'm playing my first game(not counting the tutorial) and I've researched all the techs, only thing I can do now is future tech, but I dont think I have satelites. Can you just see the map, or can you see everyone moving and stuff also?

Can you load a nuke onto a submarine?

 

[Sisiutil]

So I'm playing my first game(not counting the tutorial) and I've researched all the techs, only thing I can do now is future tech, but I dont think I have satelites. Can you just see the map, or can you see everyone moving and stuff also?

Can you load a nuke onto a submarine?

The Satellites tech reveals the entire map on the turn when you finish researching it. After that, you have to keep updating the map as you normally would. Which, I agree, is kind of silly.

No, you can't load a nuke onto a sub because there's no need to do so. ICBMs are Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles--hence, they can fly anywhere on the map (however, none of your own units, including Spies, can be within the blast radius). You can load guided missiles onto Missile Cruisers, though. AFAIK, the new tactical nukes can't be loaded onto any ships--but then again, I haven't used them yet.

 

[Stevepac]

im not playing warlords or bts, those ballastics you mentions arent in reg. civ4 right?

 

[a4phantom]

They changed the space race from a pure race into a more competitive engagement where you can use dirty tricks. A race where you are allowed to punch and trip your competitors.

Are you telling me there is another kind of race? Who was your track coach, Santa Claus?

It's a real pitty that MOO3 destroyed that series. These figures more than show that.

Galactic Civilizations II is supposed to be the true heir to Moo II, but I haven't played it yet.

 

[Rockefella]

I've got a pretty noobish question.

How do I load a unit onto a Caravel, specifically a settler? I've tried moving him onto it and various other methods. I got so frustrated I started clicking on him furiously ala Warcraft. Help!

 

[Mesousa]

Normally you'd indeed just move him onto the ship, but caravels can't carry settlers (only the Portuguese caravel UU can). You'll need to wait until astronomy and galleons to carry settlers across the ocean. If it's merely for a trip across coastal tiles, use a galley.

 

[Rockefella]

Normally you'd indeed just move him onto the ship, but caravels can't carry settlers (only the Portuguese caravel UU can). You'll need to wait until astronomy and galleons to carry settlers across the ocean. If it's merely for a trip across coastal tiles, use a galley.

Ah thanks a lot!

 

[a4phantom]

Ah thanks a lot!

You're welcome! (He answered before I could, so I'm answering for him.)

 

[Wenla]

Galactic Civilizations II is supposed to be the true heir to Moo II, but I haven't played it yet.

IMHO, no, it's not.

Wenla

 

[a4phantom]

IMHO, no, it's not.

Wenla

Please elaborate. I've never played it or seen it played, although I was thinking of downloading it.