Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Wardog]

Double post.

 

[scratchthepitch]

Great Wonders. The Apollo Program's a Small Wonder, and the individual SS parts aren't wonders at all.

It's been a long while since I played that far into a game. I was thinking it was a regular wonder that worked like the Manhattan wonder.

Maybe to destroy the spaceship the player needs to conquer the civilization capital and not the city where the Apollo Program is?

If I remember right, the spaceship is built in the capital and destroying or capturing a civ's capital will destroy their spaceship. But I'm very, very old and have a faulty memory.

 

[Cyc]

The situation right now, after I conquered enemy cities with Apollo Program, is:
- Babylonians: 0(0)/10.
- Ottomans: 5(3)/10.
- Celts: 9(0)/10.

Babylon city had the Apollo Program and was their capital when I conquered it. Ottomans and Celts cities that I conquered and that had the Apollo Program were not their current capital.

Maybe to destroy the spaceship the player needs to conquer the civilization capital and not the city where the Apollo Program is?

Well, yeah. CKS said on the page before this~

I think the spaceship pieces are stored in the capital, so if you take the capital they have to start the spaceship all over.

I figured you had already discarded this as a possibility. Plus you had said both nations (after Babylon) were at 9 of 10 parts on the last page also. The capital is the default key to the situation.

 

[Takhisis]

But there's always a capital. Perhaps they just remain at wherever they were built?

 

[Cyc]

But there's always a capital. Perhaps they just remain at wherever they were built?

I'm not sure what you're talking about, Takhisis. Yes, there's always a capital, and the capital is where the Parts are stored.

 

[vorlon_mi]

But there's always a capital. Perhaps they just remain at wherever they were built?

If I read the person's quote carefully, one of the AI had built Apollo in its capital. As Cyc points out (and I remember reading in a strategy guide), the key is to sack the capital to destroy the parts. It was just a coincidence that capturing the city which built the Apollo program *also* happened to be the capital, where the launch pad is located.

I'll try to find a link to the strategy guide where I saw it.

 

[Cyc]

Straight out of the manual ~

"A spaceship is in many ways a one-shot deal. Each civilization,
including yours, can build only one at a time. You can
construct a second spaceship only if your current one is
destroyed—that is, if your capital city is captured while your
ship is under construction (the conquerors destroy it on the
launch pad).
The competition ends when either you or one of your opponents
launches a spaceship to Alpha Centauri with colonists.
The civilization that wins the race to launch wins the game.
Constructing a Spaceship
Your interstellar colonization project is such a large undertaking
that it cannot be built whole-cloth the way improvements
are built. The spaceship is, instead, constructed of 10
parts, or components. You must achieve specific civilization
advances to make components available for construction.
The delivery of parts to your assembly and launch facility is
handled automatically, however, as each part is completed."

 

[Lanzelot]

As an interesting aside, though: Apollo is required to build the ship. If you have built 9 parts and then someone destroys your Apollo program, you will not be able to build the 10th part, unless you build a new Apollo, right?
Will you be able to finish your 10th part, if one of your cities has started it, before your Apollo program got destroyed?

 

[teacher_mark]

I found the secret! Just play on Warlord!

 

[Cyc]

 

[walletta]

Here's a funny one. I (the Brits) am in a prolonged war against the Netherlands. They have been landing forces on an island I control but when I look for them the next turn - they have disappeared! What's going on?

 

[Takhisis]

The AI cheats. They might have either teleported the units, or else the units die because of lack of support.

 

[walletta]

The AI cheats. They might have either teleported the units, or else the units die because of lack of support.

Oh! We're still in the Middle Ages. Weird.

 

[walletta]

I would like some strategy advice please.

I am playing England on a huge, archipelago map at Emperor level. I stand about 4th with one Civ far out in front (Inca), three or four around me and the rest a long way behind. I have fallen three or four techs behind the leader and my rivals but we are miles in front of the stragglers. It's about 1750 and I am half way through my GA. For now, the Man 'O War is queen of the seas. I control the Spice trade and have Saltpetre, Iron (2) and horses. I have 7% of the world area against Inca's 19. I have so far not managed to build a single GW.

The nearest rival I could conceivably conquer is the Netherlands, which is a short hop away from my main island (I already edged out the Netherlands in a scrap for island two and evicted her from island three). The Netherlands has all the wine and is not taking a constructive attitude to trading it. So, I would like to get my hands on it. Thing is, Inca and Maya (another great power) are at war with me and, while my fleet can hold them at bay the war precludes the sort of substantial and prolonged exercise that neutering The Netherlands would require.

The position seems rich in possibilities, but may already be hopelessly lost for all I know. I am interested in strategic ideas, if not to win the game, at least to close the gap and still be around at the end. Should I go all diplomatic and commercial? A cultural win looks out of the question but I am not presently at risk of losing anything due to cultural effects. Or do I take the caveman approach of gambling everything on my temporary naval advantage and grabbing the wine. Note, I have no other nearby useful victims.

 

[Lanzelot]

or else the units die because of lack of support.

That's it. The AI is running a deficit budget (negative income) and consequently a few units are auto-disbanded each interturn... Probably because of the prolonged war their war weariness is so high, that they have to run their lux tax at 80-90%... leaving no income for research and unit support...

 

[Lanzelot]

I would like some strategy advice please.

Depends on how strong the Netherlands are and on whether you can perhaps get peace from the Incas and Mayans at a reasonable price.
Can you post a .sav?

 

[walletta]

That's it. The AI is running a deficit budget (negative income) and consequently a few units are auto-disbanded each interturn... Probably because of the prolonged war their war weariness is so high, that they have to run their lux tax at 80-90%... leaving no income for research and unit support...

Wow, thanks. Thats interesting. Never seen it before. It was a pathetic attack TBH. I sunk all the Dutch ships and their forces disbanded as soon as they landed (to my relief as one turn I forgot to move my workers out of harm's way - am I the only one that's ever happened to?)

 

[walletta]

Depends on how strong the Netherlands are and on whether you can perhaps get peace from the Incas and Mayans at a reasonable price.
Can you post a .sav?

Sheesh. Now you're asking. I'll try and figure out how to do that. Can't be difficult but I'm a Mac user playing in Windows and am not good at finding stuff in that OS.

When I landed a decent-sized army before it was like a hornets' nest (of archers but tons of them) so I got out again quick without too much damage, but now I have M'oW I can pick on a city, isolate it, bombard it to rubble and hopefully walk in, then abandon it and plant my own settler to resist any culture reversal (my usual method). But I need a lot of turns.

I think once I sink/steal some more ships for/from them the Incas and Mayas will realise it's time to wait for the industrial age and accept peace on reasonable terms.

 

[Cyc]

Yeah, without posting a save, it's difficult to give any advice. Personally, I can't stand playing archipelago maps, but it sounds like you've gotten yourself in a jam.

Not sure how many tribes are playing in the game, but you might want to get them to a polite attitude and recruit them as allies. Keep asking the Mayans for peace every turn. Eventually, they will say yes (maybe for a price/maybe they will pay). Then make them polite towards you. If you can turn the Mayans into allies against the Incas, then bringing in the other tribes (including the Netherlands) against the Incas will be easier. You use your coalition to attack the strongest force. This is not a common strategy. Most people like to feed off the weak. But the easiest way for me to win is to attack the strongest foe, even if I'm in the lead I'll go against the 2nd place team (or the obvious rising star of the moment).

But like I've said, archipelago maps are not for me.

 

[walletta]

Yeah, without posting a save, it's difficult to give any advice. Personally, I can't stand playing archipelago maps, but it sounds like you've gotten yourself in a jam.

Not sure how many tribes are playing in the game, but you might want to get them to a polite attitude and recruit them as allies. Keep asking the Mayans for peace every turn. Eventually, they will say yes (maybe for a price/maybe they will pay). Then make them polite towards you. If you can turn the Mayans into allies against the Incas, then bringing in the other tribes (including the Netherlands) against the Incas will be easier. You use your coalition to attack the strongest force. This is not a common strategy. Most people like to feed off the weak. But the easiest way for me to win is to attack the strongest foe, even if I'm in the lead I'll go against the 2nd place team (or the obvious rising star of the moment).

But like I've said, archipelago maps are not for me.

There are 15 of the original 16 left. China got rubbed out. I will try to post the .sav as I can see the difficulty. The reason I want to consult is to tease out different ways of playing. I tend to go the military route too much and it gets boring. I agree it's a good idea to try to create a massive alliance against the strongest power (preferably letting everyone else do the fighting) but the problem with archipelago maps is a lot of the civs are just dead in the water, having started on a small island and stayed isolated and backward. I am unfortunately not adjacent to any of them or I would pick 'em off.

I normally dislike lots of fiddly naval activity but then I discovered the Man 'o War and I really like it.