Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Chicken Pizza]

Extra food for the capital, and the next settled town, is of vital importance etc etc... Irrigate everything that can give you more than two food.

For example, I've managed to get three towns guarded by a warrior each, one newly produced settler and two more halfway built, in turn 37.

Without the agricultural trait, but because of one irrigated grassland wheat by my capital, and partly because a cow by my second town which the worker is now irrigating.

Perhaps I've should've done that earlier, but all the AI running around makes me nervous so I prioritized roading to town two first.

Without food bonuses, your first settler will take 20 turns to come out and somewhere around turn 45, depening on how far you send the first settler, you'll have two towns and two settlers.

You'll have more military though.

* end of narcissistic rambling *

 

[Takhisis]

Last time i checked 30 and 40 still add up to 70.

You're right! I was thinking of the Hoplite/MedInf combo.

But still, 70 shields for twice as many HP and the ability to counterattack with a unit in full health is often a good choice.

 

[Chicken Pizza]

Is it possible to make a town with 2 surplus food, choose a tile with 2 food and some nice shields, when there's one or more >2 food tiles available?

I already have the governor prioritizing production and nothing else, and unfortunately can't reach the tile with another town to make it occupied.

My experience is that it only works when you have 3 (or more) surplus food, and then the town will even choose hills, so the result would be the same: two surplus?

I don't want 9 shields built on a worker...

 

[Takhisis]

I'm not sure what it is that you mean. Have you tried simply clicking on the tiles to reassign your workers? Or am I missing something?

 

[EMan]

I think he's trying to get The City Governor to pick the tile he wants!?

 

[Chicken Pizza]

I'm not sure what it is that you mean. Have you tried simply clicking on the tiles to reassign your workers? Or am I missing something?

Let's say that I have 3 shield built on a warrior, to make it less confusing. I'm producing 5 shields from the center and two mined bonus grassland.

The town is about to grow the next turn and I want it to pick another bonus grassland to finish the warrior exactly.

But there's an irrigated cow avaible, with only one shield, so my warrior ends up being 9 shields built, quite a waste (60%) now that I can produce 7 shields.

​

 

[EMan]

How about Mining the irrigated cow tile before the end of turn?

(I'm assuming you can't use Policemen to increase the shield production in the town?)

 

[Takhisis]

You might try experimenting with the city governor's preferences. But production and food are processed in one step, so you cannot wait for the food to be counted in the interturn, then have one pophead materialise and assign it *before* shields are allocated/extracted.

 

[justanick]

The "3 food first"-policy seems unavoidable. You need to operate within this confinement.

 

[Lanzelot]

But still, 70 shields for twice as many HP and the ability to counterattack with a unit in full health is often a good choice.

But there are cons to this approach as well:

• twice the unit upkeep cost
• the MedInfs don't have retreat capability, so they die more often than the Knights
• MedInf is basically a "dead end" (upgrade to Guerilla comes usually after the end of the game and is not particularly useful...), while the Knight very soon upgrades to the incredibly powerful Cavalry

I only use the MedInf+Pike combo, if I don't have horses. If I have horses, and counter-attacks by the AI are to be expected, I use a Knight+Pike combo to protect my precious Knights. Different speed is sometimes not a big problem, as the Pikes can approach the next target, while the Knights rest 1-2 turns for healing.

 

[Lanzelot]

But there's an irrigated cow avaible, with only one shield, so my warrior ends up being 9 shields built, quite a waste (60%) now that I can produce 7 shields.

Sometimes it is possible to avoid this problem, by switching the tile assignment around. What I mean by this: you need 10 food for growth (assuming a granary). So instead of first using the Cow and then the mined BG (3f + 3f + 2f +2f), your first use the BG and then the Cow: 2f + 2f + 3f + 3f. Now the Cow is used in the last turn, and the governor automatically chooses the BG on growth! That way you have the same amount of food, but one shield more!

 

[justanick]

MedInf is basically a "dead end" (upgrade to Guerilla comes usually after the end of the game and is not particularly useful...), while the Knight very soon upgrades to the incredibly powerful Cavalry

MedInfs give nice and round 10 shield on disbanding. When disbanding units on a larger scale is intended, then MedInfs can make an excellent choice.

After replaceable parts i rather miss a good unit for getting 10 shields from disbanding. The explorer for 5 shields is less handy, as few cities produce only 20 shields by that time.

 

[EMan]

...After replaceable parts i rather miss a good unit for getting 10 shields from disbanding. The explorer for 5 shields is less handy, as few cities produce only 20 shields by that time.

A big factor here is The Question: How do you want to Win the game?
1. If you want to win as quickly and easily as possible, then a Conquest win would seem to be the way to go........So, why would you disband any offensive military units?
2. If you want to win with the highest score (Histographic), my preferred way of playing, you probably don't need more than cavalry at any level........AND, Explorers can be easily built elsewhere and disbanded in one-turn worker or empty-production-box settler factories for fast & cheaper rush-production of workers or settlers.

Happy New Year Civvers from Phoenix, Arizona.

 

[CKS]

• MedInf is basically a "dead end" (upgrade to Guerilla comes usually after the end of the game ...

While I'm not fond of the MDI/pike combo, I found this amusing, as it is only true for military and 100k games. Space, 20k, and diplo games go far past replaceable parts. While the guerilla isn't a great unit, I often upgrade MDI to TOW infantry. For me, on higher levels, my empire is often small and lacking in resources when I'm going for diplo or 20k, so TOW infantry, artillery, and diplomacy keep me from being overrun.

 

[Takhisis]

But there are cons to this approach as well:

• twice the unit upkeep cost
• the MedInfs don't have retreat capability, so they die more often than the Knights
• MedInf is basically a "dead end" (upgrade to Guerilla comes usually after the end of the game and is not particularly useful...), while the Knight very soon upgrades to the incredibly powerful Cavalry

I only use the MedInf+Pike combo, if I don't have horses. If I have horses, and counter-attacks by the AI are to be expected, I use a Knight+Pike combo to protect my precious Knights. Different speed is sometimes not a big problem, as the Pikes can approach the next target, while the Knights rest 1-2 turns for healing.

Well, I often don't have horses so perhaps that's the random number god deciding for us.

I'll agree that Knights are better and Knights + Pikemen (or Knights + Hoplites/Swiss Pikemen/Musketeers, or Elephants… you get the idea) is the best combo, but one has to work with what one can get.

Also, I often tend to skip cavalry because stacks of doom fighting each other usually goes badly for me. If looking for any upgradable units at all I'd simply build more cannons to upgrade to more modern forms of artillery or develop the pikemen line into, eventually, (Mechanised) Infantry.

So, why would you disband any offensive military units?

There's a point at which Ancient Cavalry becomes just a garrison that will help only in Monarchy and related governments - in Republic and Democracy they won't even help with that and eat up support gold that could support tanks and aircraft for the same money.

 

[EMan]

Also, I often tend to skip cavalry because stacks of doom fighting each other usually goes badly for me. If looking for any upgradable units at all I'd simply build more cannons to upgrade to more modern forms of artillery or develop the pikemen line into, eventually, (Mechanised) Infantry.

There's a point at which Ancient Cavalry becomes just a garrison that will help only in Monarchy and related governments - in Republic and Democracy they won't even help with that and eat up support gold that could support tanks and aircraft for the same money.

I've never needed more than Cavalry (& subsequently Cavalry Armies) + Artillery. Do you need tanks/aircraft to win, or is that just for "Battle-fun"?

 

[WeirdoJoker]

Also, I often tend to skip cavalry because stacks of doom fighting each other usually goes badly for me.

I just wish cavalry was upgradeable to tanks. Then they'd really be worth it.

 

[Takhisis]

Cavalry should actually be *replaced* by tanks, i.e. it should have the upgrade box unticked, but that's my personal list of modding ideas.

I've never needed more than Cavalry (& subsequently Cavalry Armies) + Artillery. Do you need tanks/aircraft to win, or is that just for "Battle-fun"?

My games tend to run long (Conquest on Archipelago is a nightmare, so I have to win elsewise) and quite often it simply ends up as a war of attrition in which I plant a four-tile-deep layer of barricaded forests, pile up battleships and jet fighters everywhere, and tough it out againt the one AI that can build 20 Modern Armour a minute while I try to reach a cultural or space race victory.

 

[EMan]

Would someone please remind me, or give me a link pointing to, the bonuses the AI Civilizations enjoy at Sid Level. (I.e. The number and type of extra military units they receive at the start of the game and the discount they enjoy when producing units/buildings).........It's been years since I've played a Sid-level game!

 

[WeirdoJoker]

Would someone please remind me, or give me a link pointing to, the bonuses the AI Civilizations enjoy at Sid Level. (I.e. The number and type of extra military units they receive at the start of the game and the discount they enjoy when producing units/buildings).........It's been years since I've played a Sid-level game!

Is this what you're looking for?

Difficulty level (Civ3)