Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Sisiutil]

I'm working on my first Noble victory and am really struggling once I get past the Renaissance. I play on continents as either Elizabeth, the Dutch, or Byzantium.

Usually my build order is found an early religion, alphabet to currency, then get literature so I can do the Parthenon->Great Library->Epic thing in a city.

After that's accomplished, I go straight for Optics, then to Liberalism. Throughout this entire time I'm in the lead, then I just start nose diving. Is it because I'm skipping things like construction and engineering or what?

I would strongly suggest that you post a saved game from the era when your "nose dive" starts (and perhaps some screenshots too) in a new thread in the Strategy forum. People around here are very good at analyzing a game and offering suggestions.

And welcome to CFC!

 

[Bloodstone]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/forumdisplay.php?f=245

Many thanks Psyringe!

 

[Cicerosaurus]

Flood plains- do you build cottages or farms?

(I know this may depend on what traits you have).

 

[Psyringe]

Flood plains- do you build cottages or farms?

Neither is wrong imho. Personally, I usually cottage them, since they give good food already, so the tile is sure to be useful and the cottage will grow. But I've also chosen farms instead when the city was low on food (very possible in desert areas) or when I needed an irrigation chain.

 

[LateGameWarMong]

anyone ever put watermills on them if you intend to make the city a production city?
Any reason to/not to?

Especially if you are running communism, it seems like it might make sense (+1 food, right?)

 

[karadoc]

The Civilopedia says that security bureau give "+50 defense against espionage" and "helps thwart rival spies".

I've heard that the "helps thwart rival spies" effect is identical to the effect of having one of your own spies standing in the city, and that those two effects do not stack. But what is the +50% defense? In the xml files, there is no special field for "helps thwart rival spies". That text seems intrinsically tied to the +50% defense. So I'm wondering if the +50% defense is in fact just referring to the increased chance of catching spies or if it is a separate effect.

 

[Sisiutil]

Flood plains- do you build cottages or farms?

(I know this may depend on what traits you have).

Neither is wrong imho. Personally, I usually cottage them, since they give good food already, so the tile is sure to be useful and the cottage will grow. But I've also chosen farms instead when the city was low on food (very possible in desert areas) or when I needed an irrigation chain.

anyone ever put watermills on them if you intend to make the city a production city?
Any reason to/not to?

Especially if you are running communism, it seems like it might make sense (+1 food, right?)

Flood plains are wonderfully flexible. The default 3 means that a citizen can work the tile as-is and still contribute to the growth of the city--the only non-resource tile (aside from an oasis) for which that's true. You can improve them in any of the ways listed above--I always choose the improvement that matches the specialization I've chosen for the city. Thus a commerce city gets cottages on its flood plains, a specialist city gets farms, and a production city gets a watermill if it can spare the food, otherwise it gets a farm as well.

There is a price, however, in the +0.4 . While I chop like a fiend everywhere else, I usually try to leave at least one pair of forests in the fat cross of a flood plains city, if they're available, to help offset the unhealthiness. Especially if it's a production city so I can put lumbermills there.

 

[CajNatalie]

So wait a second, if the Security Bureau's ability to thwart spies does not stack with a Spy's ability to thwart spies... what's the point of an SB, if you have a Spy on guard anyway? o.o

 

[Psyringe]

So wait a second, if the Security Bureau's ability to thwart spies does not stack with a Spy's ability to thwart spies... what's the point of an SB, if you have a Spy on guard anyway? o.o

The SB still generates espionage points, so the question would rather be "What's the point to keep a spy in a city after building an SB?"

 

[Lithuanian!]

Blast.
I'm playing on noble. I was firs in score until I start war with my neighbour, I manage to take two cities and fall in third score position. I need to set most of my cities to build army units if I want to take more cities. I'm about to reach industrious era, most of other civilizations already did (even my enemy). My enemy is Portugal and he is still in the middle in score. What am I suppose to do, continue war and keep failing in score or stop war?

 

[Psyringe]

What am I suppose to do, continue war and keep failing in score or stop war?

Every war puts a burden on your economy. Therefore, wars are ideally quick and decisive. If you have an advantage, press on. If the war drags you down, end it. From your description the latter seems to be the case.

 

[Ataxerxes]

anyone ever put watermills on them if you intend to make the city a production city?
Any reason to/not to?

Especially if you are running communism, it seems like it might make sense (+1 food, right?)

With the right Civics, such as State Property, Watermills are a very powerful improvement in a production city. In the early game, they aren't much use. You might have some farms converted to watermills later in the game. Workshops are another powerful late game improvement in a production city that suck in the early game. The negative food in the early game hurts.

 

[papakapp]

I have a cool map I would like to replay. I have a save from 3000 BC (or w/e) is it possible to take that save and convert it from standard BTS to a BTS game with the next war mod? If so, how?

 

[Sisiutil]

Every war puts a burden on your economy. Therefore, wars are ideally quick and decisive. If you have an advantage, press on. If the war drags you down, end it. From your description the latter seems to be the case.

Hang on a sec. Why did you (sorry, not you Psyringe, the OP) go to war in the first place? What objectives did you have? Have you met them or not?

The idea is that you go to war not for its own sake, but to achieve something--capture some crucial resources, wipe out a formidable enemy, capture some desirable cities (with a shrine, or a wonder, etc.). Even if your score plunges temporarily--along with your research slider--if you planned and prepared for the war properly, you should bounce back once your objectives have been met. If you have not met your war objectives, ending the war early runs the risk of a loss of hammers and research for no discernible gain.

 

[Cicerosaurus]

The only way to push back the borders is by increasing your own culture.
Food itself won't help at all, but you can use it to get more culture by running Artists or whatever. Sid's Sushi gives culture alongside the food anyway so it would most likely be a good move.

Just been thinking about this and I'm not certain that the answer is entirely correct in the context of my query ( could have been the way I framed the question).

If I pump Sid's Sushi in and give the city more food, that will generate population and allow it to work more squares. More squares worked will in turn generate more commerce and as culture is a percentage of commerce the culture has to rise.

Please point out the fallacy here (be gentle).

 

[Psyringe]

Please point out the fallacy here (be gentle).

No fallacy there, you're both saying the same thing. Having more food in the city doesn't raise culture directly, but creates a situation in which more citizens can be used to produce culture, so an indirect effect is there. Sid's Sushi has a direct (bonus culture) and an indirect (more food) effect on culture, so it's a good choice in your situation.

Alternatively, you can settle have a great artist creaze a work of art in the city. This will give it a huge one-time boost in culture. I recently had a situation where I needed a resource to upgrade my military, and the only such resource on the continent was near an AI city bordering my empire. So I declared war, captured the city, and created a grteat artwork in the city, which gave me control over the resource. I then upgraded my army and immediately pressed on, since the AI now didn't have said resource anymore and couldn't train useful defenders anymore.

 

[Ansive]

I was wondering

If I had 10 galleys (5 of which would contain units), would the empty galleys defend first or the stronger ones (regardless of cargo)?

I wish there was some control over this... (like setting the general unit to only defend if it is the last unit left)

 

[Ghpstage]

I was wondering

If I had 10 galleys (5 of which would contain units), would the empty galleys defend first or the stronger ones (regardless of cargo)?

I wish there was some control over this... (like setting the general unit to only defend if it is the last unit left)

The empty ones do defend before the carrying ones yes. Carrying units reduces the liklihood of defending by quite a lot, at least to the point that Caravels will defend before full Galleons.

 

[Lithuanian!]

Hang on a sec. Why did you (sorry, not you Psyringe, the OP) go to war in the first place? What objectives did you have? Have you met them or not?

The idea is that you go to war not for its own sake, but to achieve something--capture some crucial resources, wipe out a formidable enemy, capture some desirable cities (with a shrine, or a wonder, etc.). Even if your score plunges temporarily--along with your research slider--if you planned and prepared for the war properly, you should bounce back once your objectives have been met. If you have not met your war objectives, ending the war early runs the risk of a loss of hammers and research for no discernible gain.

Well. My empire was second in size, and all lands are colonized already, so I wanted to spread my empire. I also wanted to have some fun by removing other nation. And I want to complete conquer that other nation, because if I sign peace, his cities in my empire will suffer his cultured output.

ONE NEW QUESTION: I have laptop, Insert and Print screen button is same one button, when I push it it does insert function, so I can't take screen shot

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

Function key is your friend.