Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Cicerosaurus]

As Sisiutil said so well above.

One thing I would stress- you mention how important is it to save gold. (My emphasis)

Having gold is one thing- hoarding it is another. You need to make it work for you in the manners outlined above.

 

[dalamb]

As for what to do with idle workers...

You can use idle workers to pre-chop trees anytime -- stop within 1 turn of completing. If you never need the production, it doesn't hurt.

Similarly, sometimes you need one kind of improvement in the early game, and another later. For example, a floodplain city might want a farm or two to speed early growth, while later you might want to convert them to cottages; you might want to convert a mine to a windmill. You can have a worker built the new improvement to within a turn of completing, then stop; it can then finish quickly later.

 

[arkguy]

I’m trying to build a mod for Civ IV Beyond the Sword so I can try some of the interesting things I’ve seen on this web site but can’t get anything into my mod file. While I can create Assets, Civilizations and leader head file into the mod folder they aren’t going into the mod file it’s self. The mod file is still empty and I'm not able to get anything I need into it. I must be missing something. In the “How to create a Mod Video” I’ve been trying to follow when it goes to how to build a leader it has files for .ini & .ini.bak files already installed in it but mine doesn’t have. How do you create them? Know of anybody that can help me get it build or show me how to incorporate new ideas, units, resources, building, wonder, improvements, maps and things into the game? Plenty of interesting ideas I’d like to try on here but can’t get them into the game in anyway to try them. I've tried down loading a few of them and no luck there either.

 

[CleoSombra]

Should I stop the war I have going on? I'm about halfway though it, maybe less, but some of my cities are starting to baw. Like I have +8 angry faces in one of my cities, which is about a third of the total population.

Should I stop, wait a few turns, and then attack again?

 

[Silu]

Should I stop the war I have going on? I'm about halfway though it, maybe less, but some of my cities are starting to baw. Like I have +8 angry faces in one of my cities, which is about a third of the total population.

Should I stop, wait a few turns, and then attack again?

Stopping for a few turns doesn't bring the war weariness down much at all; almost all of those red faces are there once again when you redeclare. Just grit your teeth, go through with the war, and bring the economy back after it when you know you don't have to build units for a while.

 

[BrantleyL1]

So I am very new to the civ4 and I am trying to understand the importance of gold. How important is it to save gold and what can you do with it?

Another thing gold is useful for is upgrading units and even later - completing city improvements/units.

For example, let's say you've built a number of musketmen and now you can build infantry. You can spend gold to upgrade the muskets to infantry. It's expensive, but they are only inactive for a turn. Similarly, you can upgrade riflemen - for less gold.

Later, with the right civic, you can spend gold to complete most projects in a city.

 

[revolution2718]

Played Civ3 and playing on noble now.

First off, what exactly does religion do for me? I've seen somewhere that it supposedly increases my income from shrines, but does that just apply to my cities or cities all over the world with that religion? Im sure this has been asked, but 700 pages is a lot

 

[Samson]

Played Civ3 and playing on noble now.

First off, what exactly does religion do for me? I've seen somewhere that it supposedly increases my income from shrines, but does that just apply to my cities or cities all over the world with that religion? Im sure this has been asked, but 700 pages is a lot

If you own a holy city and it has a shrine (built with a great prophet) you get 1 gpt for each city with that religeion anywhere in the world.

Other bonuses:

You get culture, for every religeon if No state religion, or for your state religion.
You get happiness, if it is your state religion or you have free religion.
You can build religious building, which have various bonuses but mostly happiness.
You can get the bonuses from the religion civics.
You get better relations with civs of the same state religion, but worse with civs of other religions.

Oh, and welcome to CFC

 

[CleoSombra]

Thanks, Silu.


So my next question is about trading. Every now and then, another civ will want to trade something (or me give them something), usually techs. What techs should I hang on too and what techs are less threatening for other civs to have?

Also, if I already earned a tech, does giving it to someone else make me lose the knowledge or no?


Edit: In reponse to an answer in an above question, I know how you can promote units with leftover gold/commerce, but how do you finish builds with gold while you have the universal civic? Aka, what buttons do you push?

 

[Sisiutil]

Thanks, Silu.


So my next question is about trading. Every now and then, another civ will want to trade something (or me give them something), usually techs. What techs should I hang on too and what techs are less threatening for other civs to have?

Also, if I already earned a tech, does giving it to someone else make me lose the knowledge or no?


Edit: In reponse to an answer in an above question, I know how you can promote units with leftover gold/commerce, but how do you finish builds with gold while you have the universal civic? Aka, what buttons do you push?

1. Hoo boy. As with many things in Civ... it depends. If the tech enables a wonder you want to build, don't trade it. If the tech enables a new, more advanced military unit and you anticipate going to war, don't trade it. If the tech is a pre-requisite to a "prize" tech (one that grants a free great person, founds a religion, or grants a tech), don't trade it. On the other hand, if you have no intention of building that wonder, trade it. If you already have other advanced units that are the counter to the one enabled by the new military tech, trade it... but not to your enemy, nor to a friend of your enemy. If you're not interested in that "prize", trade it. And if the tech is pretty much useless (cough cough Divine Right cough cough), trade it like crazy.
2. Trading away a tech does not deprive you of the knowledge nor its benefits. You give knowledge and acquire more in turn.
3. Remember you have to be running the universal suffrage civic, not just have knowledge of it. This will enable a button at lower right, just below the "DRAFT" button, that enables rush-buying.

 

[arkguy]

I followed the how to make a Mod video and all the folder seems to make but when I tried the shortcut I found out that none of the leaders I added where in it. It doesn’t seem to be connected to the folder for the mode. I tried to redo the short cut in case I missed something and to tells me the .exe file can’t be found. The short cut to my mod I created seems to have replaced the file which seemed to be the .exe when I try to browse the files to create a shot cut. Anybody have any ideas on how to fix it? Is there another way to use the ideas found on this web site without having to create a mod?

 

[henrebotha]

Modding questions belong in Creation & Customization. You'll get better help there as not everyone who reads this thread is a modder.

 

[dot_eater]

How do you "specialize" a city? I've read a few articles that say you should specialize your cities... I think I have a rough idea (that may be wrong) for a military city: have a barracks and keep the production level high so you can pump out military units fast. Is that the right idea? I'm not sure what to do beyond that. If a city is to specialize in military, does that mean I should avoid making buildings that enhance culture or wealth? Does that mean I should have only one city that produces troops? What/how can you specialize cities for other things?

 

[CleoSombra]

1. Hoo boy. As with many things in Civ... it depends. If the tech enables a wonder you want to build, don't trade it. If the tech enables a new, more advanced military unit and you anticipate going to war, don't trade it. If the tech is a pre-requisite to a "prize" tech (one that grants a free great person, founds a religion, or grants a tech), don't trade it. On the other hand, if you have no intention of building that wonder, trade it. If you already have other advanced units that are the counter to the one enabled by the new military tech, trade it... but not to your enemy, nor to a friend of your enemy. If you're not interested in that "prize", trade it. And if the tech is pretty much useless (cough cough Divine Right cough cough), trade it like crazy.
2. Trading away a tech does not deprive you of the knowledge nor its benefits. You give knowledge and acquire more in turn.
3. Remember you have to be running the universal suffrage civic, not just have knowledge of it. This will enable a button at lower right, just below the "DRAFT" button, that enables rush-buying.

So basically it comes out to "DON'T TRADE ANYTHING! (but the divine right!)

:3

Okay, I have a question about the 'fat cross' and the game. Does the fat cross mean that you can earn commerce, production, food, or resources in those squares? If your cultural border expands beyond it, do you reap any of the profits of any tiles, or no? Do you have to "work" a tile in order to get anything from it?

 

[Ataxerxes]

So basically it comes out to "DON'T TRADE ANYTHING! (but the divine right!)

:3

Okay, I have a question about the 'fat cross' and the game. Does the fat cross mean that you can earn commerce, production, food, or resources in those squares? If your cultural border expands beyond it, do you reap any of the profits of any tiles, or no? Do you have to "work" a tile in order to get anything from it?

I think you're exaggerating Sisiutil's response. You hopefully aren't trying to build every wonder. Most of the time you will trade techs. It's only key techs like Education (going to Lib), Steel (Cannons), Rifling, etc. If you're close to finishing the wonder, you can trade the tech - they can't catch you. Also, once you found the religion, you can trade the religion tech. One good thing to do after you research a tech you're willing to trade is to ON YOUR TURN trade it to everybody who has something. Sometimes if you tech, say, Code of Laws, you can trade it for 6 different techs from 6 different people. Remember, the AI will trade the techs you traded them on their turn, so why shouldn't you get the benefits?

The fat cross is the tiles you can work to get commerce food and production. You have to work the tile to get these. You get the resource bonus (health, happiness, strategic) if you have it hooked up and the appropriate improvement on the tile, whether or not you're working it. Tiles in your cultural control outside the BFC you can't work for commerce, etc. However, if a resource is on a tile in your cultural control and you've improved the tile and hooked it up, you get that resource for happiness, health, strategic purposes. Also, if you have more than one of that resource, you can trade it for other resources or gold per turn. You can sometimes get 9 or so GPT for a resource.

 

[MathNerd]

How does resource connecting work?

In this one game, I had iron on a one tile island, and I got some workers over there to mine it. It was separated from my coastal city by one tile of coast. However, after numerous turns, I was still not possible for me builds Swordsmen in the coastal city. Could someone explain the resource connecting to me? Thanks in advance.

 

[bestbrian]

How does resource connecting work?

In this one game, I had iron on a one tile island, and I got some workers over there to mine it. It was separated from my coastal city by one tile of coast. However, after numerous turns, I was still not possible for me builds Swordsmen in the coastal city. Could someone explain the resource connecting to me? Thanks in advance.

In this case, the Iron would still need a road, and you would need to have Sailing (?) to allow coastal trade.

 

[Ataxerxes]

In this case, the Iron would still need a road, and you would need to have Sailing (?) to allow coastal trade.

Are you sure about that? I know he needs sailing, but I don't think he'll get the resource unless he puts a fortress on that square. I don't think a road is necessary since it's a one-tile island.

One of the peculiar uses of fortresses.

 

[Sisiutil]

How do you "specialize" a city? I've read a few articles that say you should specialize your cities... I think I have a rough idea (that may be wrong) for a military city: have a barracks and keep the production level high so you can pump out military units fast. Is that the right idea? I'm not sure what to do beyond that. If a city is to specialize in military, does that mean I should avoid making buildings that enhance culture or wealth? Does that mean I should have only one city that produces troops? What/how can you specialize cities for other things?

I'll try to answer as briefly as I can, but I would encourage you to check out the articles in the War Academy on city specialization, as it is a more complex topic than can be adequately dealt with in a thread devoted to "quick answers".

You are on the right track. City specialization helps you with two important sets of decisions for a city: (a) what do I build there, and (b) how should I improve the tiles surrounding it? Keep in mind as well that you might still build things in a specialized city that don't (directly) contribute to its specialty--but specialization helps you prioritize the builds. In a city devoted to commerce, for example, you might still build a barracks, but a market would be a higher priority.

Also remember that certain wonders, especially national wonders, contribute to a city's specialization. For example, you would want to build the Heroic Epic in your primary military city. With that 100% boost to military unit production, yes, you would want to devote the HE city to almost exclusively building units; you would limit non-military builds to the essentials (granary, courthouse), production boosters (forge, factory), and the bare minimum happy/health enhancers (market, grocer, etc.) that are needed to keep the city content and growing.

Other specializations in a nutshell:

• GP Farm: Tile improvements - farms; wonders - National Epic, National Park (if you managed to preserve some forests), Great Library; builds - whatever will multiply the contributions of the specialists (usually scientists, so library, university, observatory).
• Commerce: Tile improvements - cottages; wonders - Wall Street; builds - commerce multipliers (market, grocer, bank), but also research multipliers (library, university, observatory) because the slider usually splits each city's commerce output between wealth and research.
• Production: Tile improvements - mines, watermills, workshops... and enough farms to ensure your citizens can work those low-food, high production tiles; wonders - Ironworks; builds - production multipliers (forge, factory, industrial park). You may also have to build several health improvements (grocer, aqueduct, harbour, public transit, etc.) to offset the extra unhealthiness.
• Military: Same as the production city, but with a higher priority on barracks, stable, drydock, airport.

 

[CleoSombra]

I'll try to answer as briefly as I can, but I would encourage you to check out the articles in the War Academy on city specialization, as it is a more complex topic than can be adequately dealt with in a thread devoted to "quick answers".

. . . .

[/LIST]

Quick quick question - what does GP in GP farm stand for?

What do you mean multiple? Do you mean stuff that adds research/culture/whatever at a percentage?

Why would you have a city specifically for production? I thought growth and speed of building units depended on how much production and food an individual city created.