Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

On Monarch level (guess I'm not a newbie, sorry!), I can't figure out why some cities have 4 extra unhealthy faces. It says "from bonuses" beside it, but not every city suffers from this unhealthiness. I have espionage off, so it's not from someone poisoning the water supply.
 
(a) they can damage or even kill siege units through flanking attacks,

hmm. so, is there a way I can select which unit I attack when I assault an enemy stack? (not with catapults obviously, but with other units) because it seemed like the AI would change who was going to defend based on who I was attacking with...

heh, I saved my game b4 this big war.. been playing Dragon Age =p
 
hmm. so, is there a way I can select which unit I attack when I assault an enemy stack? (not with catapults obviously, but with other units) because it seemed like the AI would change who was going to defend based on who I was attacking with...

heh, I saved my game b4 this big war.. been playing Dragon Age =p
No. The computer automatically selects the best defender. This works both ways: it's also in effect when the AI attacks you.
 
AfterShafter and a few others said that Xbows are so great as offencive units? I just don't get that at all, sure they are cheap, but 6:strength: with no offencive advantages really defines it as a city defender and not a city taker. How could this unit possibly be any good on the offencive?
 
ic, thanks.

and the quesions keep rolling: how long does a trade deal last?

I did look through the FAQ it says 10 turns, but I it just seems to me my deal for horses was lasting a lot longer, giving me time to build several knights and horse archers.

also, the FAQ is from 2006, and probably not BTS..

one thing I've found browsing the forums here, and reading guides and hints... so much of the real bulk of strategy articles written is from several years ago, and before BTS.

I'm sure there's lots of good BTS advice as well, but maybe it's buried in these other threads? =\


EDIT: actually I found the answer for this one.. F4, then 'Active'
 
AfterShafter and a few others said that Xbows are so great as offencive units? I just don't get that at all, sure they are cheap, but 6:strength: with no offencive advantages really defines it as a city defender and not a city taker. How could this unit possibly be any good on the offencive?
Several players use Xbows offensively, usually relying on drill promotions. I myself agree it's a better defender, but as with everything in Civ, your mileage may vary. ;)
ic, thanks.

and the quesions keep rolling: how long does a trade deal last?

I did look through the FAQ it says 10 turns, but I it just seems to me my deal for horses was lasting a lot longer, giving me time to build several knights and horse archers.

also, the FAQ is from 2006, and probably not BTS..

one thing I've found browsing the forums here, and reading guides and hints... so much of the real bulk of strategy articles written is from several years ago, and before BTS.

I'm sure there's lots of good BTS advice as well, but maybe it's buried in these other threads? =\


EDIT: actually I found the answer here.. =\ F4, then 'Active'
Trade deals last 10 turns before either part can cancel them; if neither party cancels the deal, then yes, it can last a very long time, even the whole game.

Many of the authors of the strategy articles, myself included, have updated our works to reflect changes in the different expansion packs and patches. However, it may take some time before things like the War Academy get updated with the latest copy. The folks who run the site are volunteers, so give 'em a break. ;)

As for my own articles, the links to the latest versions are in my sig, below. :D
 
oh, I didn't mean to harp at all.. there's a wealth of great information, and everyone's been very helpful =)

I had a question. I switched to Vassalage a while ago, but never saw my +11 Free Units?
 
the +11 free units is 11 units you don't have to pay maintainence for :p
 
On Monarch level (guess I'm not a newbie, sorry!), I can't figure out why some cities have 4 extra unhealthy faces. It says "from bonuses" beside it, but not every city suffers from this unhealthiness. I have espionage off, so it's not from someone poisoning the water supply.

Factories cause +2 unhealthiness if you have access to Coal and Oil, respectively. These aren't given by the Factory directly as a building (Recycling Center has no effect for example) so it's listed as "from Bonuses".

Sometimes it's worth it to skip hooking up your Oil if you don't plan on a Tank rampage if you can't afford the extra unhealthiness - this has no effect on the Factory production bonus.
 
So I'm still learning how to play the game - I bought Civ4 Complete, and there's no manual.

Could someone direct me to a good resource for specifically how to use air units (not concepts, actual controls and what they will do). I've had some trouble figuring out how these units operate.

Thanks in advance!
 
AfterShafter and a few others said that Xbows are so great as offencive units? I just don't get that at all, sure they are cheap, but 6:strength: with no offencive advantages really defines it as a city defender and not a city taker. How could this unit possibly be any good on the offencive?

Their +50% bonus vs melee works offensively and defensively. They're great against macemen. However, the unit isn't so great against anything else (except the classical age units). So I prefer to use them as stack defenders against macemen and to offensively kill a macemen stack (a stack comprised of 8 macemen and 2 longbowmen still qualifies as a macemen stack for these purposes). I usually don't build many crossbowmen, just a few for threatened border cities and my main stack(s).
 
AfterShafter and a few others said that Xbows are so great as offencive units? I just don't get that at all, sure they are cheap, but 6:strength: with no offencive advantages really defines it as a city defender and not a city taker. How could this unit possibly be any good on the offencive?

Generally, they are crap as offensive units. They're not cheap at all (Swordsman: 40, Xbow: 60, Maceman: 70) and very very very seldom will there only be melee defenders.

Some people sometimes slingshot early Machinery by Oracling MC, chopping a Forge and grinding a GE to bulb Machinery very early as either Native America or China. IMO that's the only way Xbows can be the basis for an offensive and even that's very gimmicky and still not very hammer effective.
 
Several players use Xbows offensively, usually relying on drill promotions. I myself agree it's a better defender, but as with everything in Civ, your mileage may vary. ;)

Thanks. I'll certainly do my homework on this!
 
I just click the left mouse button and it jumps to the next one. So 4 or 5 clicks and you'll be through them in a couple seconds.

Actually there is an option in the graphics setting that let's you turn off all of the movies altogether. ;)
 
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