Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[jmas]

Do any of you have some mental guidelines that you use to figure out when to get Alphabet on Noble difficulty and higher?

I find it frustrating that I can't see what techs others have until I get it (except that you can figure out how many civs have a tech by the indirect method of calculating the # of beakers "applied" to a tech when you set to research it, according to the "Technology Research Explained" thread). Are there some simple rules of thumb that you use? Such as (hypothetically): on Noble it's just not worth it until you want spies because the AIs will tech slowly, on Prince get it (generally) after CoL, on Monarch get it (generally) after Currency, ...? I know "the map" and the specific situation are always very important but I don't want to delve into the details of my current game right now. Do you have any general guidelines you can offer?

 

[Lord Parkin]

Of course, from the outset, I have to point out that it's hard to give an answer to a question that broad. But as a general rule... personally, the time that I'll go for Alphabet (if I go for it at all) is an inverse function of how many AI's I have met, and doesn't really have much to do with difficulty level. If I've only met one or two AI's, it usually isn't worth teching Alphabet for a long time. If I've met 4-5 AI's, I'll consider getting Alphabet fairly early. If I've met 8+ AI's (fairly frequent for me, as I like to play huge maps with max players), Alphabet becomes a huge priority and I try to get it ASAP.

Difficulty does affect things somewhat, in that on the higher levels sometimes you'll be beaten to Alphabet by most or all of the AI's. I find though that even on Immortal difficulty, I can usually beat at least a few AI's to Alphabet, which is enough to make it worthwhile.

 

[henrebotha]

jmas: I'm far from the best player on these boards, but I can confidently beat Noble and am having some success on Prince (and nearly got a solid foothold on a Monarch game once ). I usually get Alphabet once I've got my Worker techs and military techs. But as Lord Parkin says, it depends on how many AIs you've met. Furthermore, I've grown quite reliant on early warfare, and then being able to build Research is quite a useful thing (almost more so than tech trading).

 

[jmas]

Thank you Parkin and Henrebotha, that was helpful. In my current game (with 4 AIs) on Noble, I went for Alpha sooner rather than later since it's an optional prerequisite for Currency. Turns out the techs the AIs have that I don't (Polytheism, Archery, Meditation) are much lower beaker-cost than what I have (e.g., Math and Alphabet). So next time I might wait a little longer. But I may use it to build some research, and hopefully an AI will get e.g. Monarchy or Calendar soon.

 

[henrebotha]

Thank you Parkin and Henrebotha, that was helpful. In my current game (with 4 AIs) on Noble, I went for Alpha sooner rather than later since it's an optional prerequisite for Currency. Turns out the techs the AIs have that I don't (Polytheism, Archery, Meditation) are much lower beaker-cost than what I have (e.g., Math and Alphabet). So next time I might wait a little longer. But I may use it to build some research, and hopefully an AI will get e.g. Monarchy or Calendar soon.

Remember, an AI will not trade away a tech that it thinks it has a monopoly on. So in your situation, you would need to wait for two AIs (who have met each other) to get the tech you want.

 

[Lord Parkin]

Thank you Parkin and Henrebotha, that was helpful. In my current game (with 4 AIs) on Noble, I went for Alpha sooner rather than later since it's an optional prerequisite for Currency. Turns out the techs the AIs have that I don't (Polytheism, Archery, Meditation) are much lower beaker-cost than what I have (e.g., Math and Alphabet). So next time I might wait a little longer. But I may use it to build some research, and hopefully an AI will get e.g. Monarchy or Calendar soon.

Don't forget you can trade for more than one tech at once. Getting Polytheism/Archery/Meditation all in one for either Alphabet or Mathematics isn't too bad.

 

[LordValuna]

Don't forget you can trade for more than one tech at once. Getting Polytheism/Archery/Meditation all in one for either Alphabet or Mathematics isn't too bad.

also dont forget to get the AI to throw in some gold for good measure!

 

[nbcman]

also dont forget to get the AI to throw in some gold for good measure!

Only if either you or the AI that you are trading with has Currency. From what the original poster's question stated, he did not have currency since he was teching alpha on the way to currency.

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Hey all. I have a question about custom music. When I use the custom music function, the volume goes up and down as I zoom in and out of the Lemon Republic, and disappears completely (replaced by default music) when I get in really close.

Is there any way to fix this with a setting or XML adjustment? This is driving me a little loonier than I usually am.

Thanks

 

[bestbrian]

Hey all. I have a question about custom music. When I use the custom music function, the volume goes up and down as I zoom in and out of the Lemon Republic, and disappears completely (replaced by default music) when I get in really close.

Is there any way to fix this with a setting or XML adjustment? This is driving me a little loonier than I usually am.

Thanks

Sounds like it could be a Vitamin H issue.

Actually, isn't this the way the sound works even without Custom Music?

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Sounds like it could be a Vitamin H issue.

Actually, isn't this the way the sound works even without Custom Music?

No, no, no. Vitamin H keeps the sound from appearing as pictures.

It seems that the regular music doesn't change volume (IIRC), only the custom music. But heck, I can't get the custom music to play half of the time anyway, so maybe something is not set right.

But I need my Metallica!

Help!

 

[LordValuna]

why dont you play your music in Windows media player(or other such program) that's what I do
My computer isnt that great and it handles the load

 

[Silv Something]

New Question:
Do AIs get the trait bonuses (like "No anarchy" form spiritual) too, and do the traits effect their personality (like does aggresive make them more likely to ) ?
-Silv

 

[King Kalmah]

I'm not that new,but i am new to vista.On my Xp machine i could civ4 blue marble and it works fine.

However on Vista it says no installion and it says it wants me to find it and i cannot find it for the life of me

a little help??

 

[Roland Johansen]

New Question:
Do AIs get the trait bonuses (like "No anarchy" form spiritual) too, and do the traits effect their personality (like does aggresive make them more likely to ) ?
-Silv

The designers gave the various leaders personalities and those personalities often match their traits. So a leader that has the aggressive trait also often is a leader that builds more units and will declare war more often.

 

[henrebotha]

New Question:
Do AIs get the trait bonuses (like "No anarchy" form spiritual) too, and do the traits effect their personality (like does aggresive make them more likely to ) ?
-Silv

The AI players most definitely get the trait bonuses. The game would be a lot more boring otherwise.

 

[Silv Something]

I guess you're right.

Does anyone have a response to King Kalmah's question? I play on a Mac, so I can't help.

(Sorry 'bout the smilies, I just love to see lots of 'em in sync.)

 

[bestbrian]

I'm not that new,but i am new to vista.On my Xp machine i could civ4 blue marble and it works fine.

However on Vista it says no installion and it says it wants me to find it and i cannot find it for the life of me

a little help??

I seem to recall that over in Tech Support there is a specialized Vista thread. Perhaps you should check there?

 

[jmas]

No, no, no. Vitamin H keeps the sound from appearing as pictures.

Off topic: Not to pick nits, but if one includes "colors" under the heading of "pictures"...some people have a form of synesthesia in which they perceive colors upon hearing sounds or music. No psychosis necessary!

[/Fellow healthcare worker digression]

 

[Lemon Merchant]

Does anyone have a response to King Kalmah's question? I play on a Mac, so I can't help.

I do!

Your install directory for Vista is here:

AppData is a hidden folder, and you'll have to un-hide it in order to find it.

Good luck.