Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[RedAndWhiteArmy]

there are so many forums and sub forums that i cant find what i wnt so sorry for this but can someone tell me how i can download and view the attachments posted that are .civbeyondthesword or any attachments really on this site. cheers.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

The posted saves, attached pictures, etc? I think you just click on the link in their post.

 

[RedAndWhiteArmy]

The posted saves, attached pictures, etc? I think you just click on the link in their post.

yh the posted save, ive saved it but there isnt a program that recognises it so it cant be opened?! 'unknown file type'

what programs are used to save/open these files?

thanks again

*actualy am i being simple, do i need to be on my home pc with CIV4 opened??

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Just save it, and then open them when you run Civ.

 

[DrakenKin]

yh the posted save, ive saved it but there isnt a program that recognises it so it cant be opened?! 'unknown file type'

what programs are used to save/open these files?

thanks again

*actualy am i being simple, do i need to be on my home pc with CIV4 opened??

These are CIV4 savegames. Best way is to save them somewhere, on your desktop but better would be in the savegame folder... then you start the game, go into "load" and browse to the directory where you copied the save and open it.

Again you have to open them from inside the game, you can't just double click them like other files.

 

[TCoZ]

Regarding wonders/religions - If two people both finish building the wonder/researching the required tech at the same time, who gets it?

 

[Baldyr]

Regarding wonders/religions - If two people both finish building the wonder/researching the required tech at the same time, who gets it?

Since Civ is a turn based game, everyone takes turns building and researching. So it would be the one who finishes it first - on his or her turn. The turns aren't simultaneous, so someone will always be first and someone will be second. Example:

Civ 1 is due to build The Oracle on turn 50, and so is Civ 2. Since Civ 1 takes its turn before Civ 2 (hence the numbering), Civ 1 will end up building it while Civ 2 get the consolation price of .

 

[Dusk]

What is the penalty for attacking across a river and what is the penalty for attacking from sea? (without amphibeous promotion)
I could not find the specific damage decrease in the ingame Civopedia, i checked Game Concepts - Combat. It does mention a penalty, but not the exact amount.
A search of this thread gave me 25% for river and 50% for sea assault, but the poster seemed to recall it from memory. Can I find the info in the game?

 

[Baldyr]

What is the penalty for attacking across a river and what is the penalty for attacking from sea? (without amphibeous promotion)
I could not find the specific damage decrease in the ingame Civopedia, i checked Game Concepts - Combat. It does mention a penalty, but not the exact amount.
A search of this thread gave me 25% for river and 50% for sea assault, but the poster seemed to recall it from memory. Can I find the info in the game?

Those figures would be correct, as I spotted them in the code myself. (Look in GlobalDefines.xml - you can also change them if you like.)

 

[Dusk]

--snip-- Civ 1 is due to build The Oracle on turn 50, and so is Civ 2. Since Civ 1 takes its turn before Civ 2 (hence the numbering), Civ 1 will end up building it while Civ 2 get the consolation price of .

So the next logical question is: Is the player in a single player game always Civ 1? Does it vary? Can you check how the civs in a game is numbered?

Those figures would be correct, as I spotted them in the code myself. (Look in GlobalDefines.xml - you can also change them if you like.)

Thank you.

 

[DukeofDokken]

I'm always unsure of this, but is it not reccomended to inprove all tiles in an area. I notice that the workers highlight an already inproved tile, I'm guessing that I should build something else that would benefit the city instead of building something new on the rest of the land.

 

[IAM]

So the next logical question is: Is the player in a single player game always Civ 1? Does it vary? Can you check how the civs in a game is numbered?

No. You can use the custom game menu and place the human player in any order you want.

 

[Lord Parkin]

Regarding wonders/religions - If two people both finish building the wonder/researching the required tech at the same time, who gets it?

The above answer from Baldyr is correct, except in the case of simultaneous turn multiplayer games. In that case, the player with the most hammer/beaker overflow gets the tech. If two people are equal on hammer/beaker overflow, it's either random or decided by who's first in the turn order. I haven't checked this yet.

So the next logical question is: Is the player in a single player game always Civ 1? Does it vary? Can you check how the civs in a game is numbered?

The player in a single player game is always Civ 1, unless you do something strange or are on a scenario or something. You can't check how the civs in a game are numbered after you start, as far as I recall - you have to look at which civs you put into what slots at the start of the game. (I think you can only check this if you start games using the "Custom Game" menu rather than the "Play Now!" option.)

 

[Lord Parkin]

I'm always unsure of this, but is it not reccomended to inprove all tiles in an area. I notice that the workers highlight an already inproved tile, I'm guessing that I should build something else that would benefit the city instead of building something new on the rest of the land.

The Worker AI (which produces those highlights) can be a bit botched. You're almost certainly better off to ignore it and just build whatever improvement you think you need most on any given tile.

 

[IAM]

I'm always unsure of this, but is it not reccomended to inprove all tiles in an area. I notice that the workers highlight an already inproved tile, I'm guessing that I should build something else that would benefit the city instead of building something new on the rest of the land.

Your city should, as much as possible, be working improved tiles. The computer may make suggestions for a tile improvement or two but generally, as you gain experience, you can ignore those suggestions. As a rule of thumb each city should specialize improvements. A production city should have improvements that increase the hammer output for that city etc.

 

[Baldyr]

I'm always unsure of this, but is it not reccomended to inprove all tiles in an area. I notice that the workers highlight an already inproved tile, I'm guessing that I should build something else that would benefit the city instead of building something new on the rest of the land.

This sounds like a very fundamental issue... Always use the City Screen to see what tiles a city is actually working. (Look for the white circles.) If its working unimproved tiles then you need to build some. Note that you could, and should, be rearranging what tiles your citizens are working, as they might be working unimproved tiles instead of improved tiles. Or there might be another tile that is even better (probably another improved one)!

You can either use the city governor (right of the city production options) to rearrange your workforce (citizens, not Worker units) - or you could learn to do it manually. The latter is the more advanced technique and once you master this you could take IAM's advice and try to learn how to specialize your cities for maximum yields and overall benefit.

But first you should try and grasp what tiles are being worked, why and what they give you. What improvements a city needs isn't the same thing as what the game suggest you do with your Workers!

 

[Dusk]

After browsing the Civopedia abit I came across across some curious wording in the Wall and Castle entry. "+50% Defense (Except versus Gunpowder-based units)". So my question is this:
What are gunpowder-based units?
Are they simply all the units in the Gunpowder category from Musketman to Mech. Inf.? Does this mean that siege weapons will continually face a 50% defense from a Wall if they don't bombard first? Even from Cannon up to Mobile Artillery and eventually Air units and Helicopter Units?

My guess would be that Musketman (Gunpowder), Cannon (Siege) and Cuirassier (Mounted) would be the first units of each these three unit categories who can ignore walls and castles. If this is true, then all in the Melee category, Archery category, Catapult, Trebuchet and Knight are the only units affected by walls and castles.
If this is true, then it would actually pay off to build walls and castles in border cities before they're obsolete, even against an ally, you never know if he'll stand between you and winning in the late game.

The threads I found while searching didn't quite give me a clear answer, but here is the best one for reference: Obsolescence and City Defense. The other threads about walls and castles did not go into their classification or obsoletion.

 

[Silu]

After browsing the Civopedia abit I came across across some curious wording in the Wall and Castle entry. "+50% Defense (Except versus Gunpowder-based units)". So my question is this:
What are gunpowder-based units?
Are they simply all the units in the Gunpowder category from Musketman to Mech. Inf.? Does this mean that siege weapons will continually face a 50% defense from a Wall if they don't bombard first? Even from Cannon up to Mobile Artillery and eventually Air units and Helicopter Units?

My guess would be that Musketman (Gunpowder), Cannon (Siege) and Cuirassier (Mounted) would be the first units of each these three unit categories who can ignore walls and castles. If this is true, then all in the Melee category, Archery category, Catapult, Trebuchet and Knight are the only units affected by walls and castles.
If this is true, then it would actually pay off to build walls and castles in border cities before they're obsolete, even against an ally, you never know if he'll stand between you and winning in the late game.

The threads I found while searching didn't quite give me a clear answer, but here is the best one for reference: Obsolescence and City Defense. The other threads about walls and castles did not go into their classification or obsoletion.

Yes, your guess about which units are "gunpowder based" is correct - Musket->, Cannon-> and Cuirassier->. You forgot Horse Archers and Chariots from the inclusion list but I don't think many would confuse those as "gunpowder-based"

If you read the linked thread you know that castles do affect later siege weapons and bombardment even though they are technically "obsolete". They won't face the 100% from Castle if attacking, but it affects the bombardment speed (unless the city is also 100% from culture, i.e. Legendary).

 

[KLV]

Hello all!

I play BtS with the latest patch.

I will launch my spaceship shortly, I have a huge head start, but my oponents have equal techs and military strength. It will leave from my capital and take about 30 turns to get to AC. So if one of the other two humans take it, I lose the spaceship, and probably the game. Some of you will say "then don't lose Cuzco!". Well I'm pretty sure the other two humans will be able to take it if they cooperate, they're much much better than AIs, but of course I'll give defense a shot. However, I need a plan B.
I thought I could start building a palace at the heart of my continent and stop it one turn from completion. Then launch and fake defend my capital. When they have wasted all their nukes (we all have the anti-missile shield, and they wont vote for the UN nuclear ban) and armies and are finally about to take Cuzco, I finish building the palace, far from there. This will change my capital, but not the place from where the spaceship was launched...

So, did anyone ever try this? Can you change your capital and save your spaceship? Will they have to pack back their injured troups and head for my new capital? or is Cuzco linked to this spaceship, no matter if it remains the capital or not?

Unfortunately, I cant test it with solo games before we continue the game...

Thx all

KLV

 

[Lord Parkin]

I'm pretty certain that you can keep moving your capital around indefinitely to dodge anyone trying to destroy your spaceship. I'd simply pre-build the Palace to within 1 turn in as many cities as you can, then switch every time your opponents get near to a location on the opposite side of your empire. A bit cheesy, but it should work.

By the way, you don't need to ask the same question twice in two different threads.