Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Lanzelot]

On Win 7, CivAssist II still works ok for me. Perhaps you have the wrong version of MS .NET Framework installed? There is also an updated version of CAII compiled with a recent .NET Framework for download, but strangely enough, that didn't work on my Win 7 boxes.

 

[tjs282]

I am running Win7 64 bit.

This is really weird then, because that's how Ainwood himself ran CAII at one point.

And I'm on Win8.1 (64-bit, I think) and it also runs fine, regardless of whether I start it before or after Civ3, and including auto-updates every time a new (auto)save is generated. (I also have CAII installed on an old WinXP laptop).

Maybe a checklist would help (based on my Win8.1 installation)?

Spoiler Or maybe not... :

Is Civ3Complete installed outside C:/Program Files/ ?

(It should be, to avoid the VirtualStorage of save-files etc.; on my machine, Civ3 is installed in D:/Games )​

Is Civ3Complete being run directly from the .../[Civ3]/conquests/conquests.exe file ?

(If you used an installer-wizard — or GOG Galaxy — to install the game and make a shortcut to it, the shortcut's filepath may not lead directly to the game executable; if so, you should amend the filepath accordingly, or make a new shortcut yourself by locating and then right-clicking on the conquests.exe file)​

Which version of CAII have you tried to install ?

(I have version 2.0.5038, which I think is the version which was originally dated July 2006 in the downloads-database, but was updated as recently as 2013; the newer version from October 2016 — 2.0.6147(?) — was designed to be run on Win10, but I don't know how well it works)​

Is CAII installed outside C:/Program Files/ ?

(On my machine, CAII is also installed in D:/Games)​

Have you got the correct version of .NET installed that your version of CAII needs ?

(With respect to the 'older' version of CAII, I saw references in the CAII thread to both v.1.1 and v.3.5, )
(Apparently multiple .NET versions can be installed simultaneously, so if you don't already have v.1.1 — or 3.5 — adding it shouldn't break anything; if I understood correctly, the newest version of CAII doesn't need a separate .NET installation)​

Is CAII (Properties) set to run as Admin ?

(Yes)​

Is CAII (Properties) set to run in WinXP SP3 compatibility mode?

(Yes)​

If not, you could also have a look at Puppeteer's YouTube video on installing CAII to Win7, linked from this post.

 

[Takhisis]

I'm on Win8.1

Sir, you do like to live adventurously.

 

[tjs282]

Sir, you do like to live adventurously.

When M$ eventually discontinues support, rather than 'upgrading' any further, I am strongly considering mounting an expedition into the hitherto (at least by me) uncharted wilds of a Linux-build.

I may, however, require a native guide -- to keep Civ3 running if nothing else...

 

[WeirdoJoker]

Ottomans/Standard/Monarch, going for the Spaceship. Building Newton's with 8 turns to go. Trouble is, the Americans only have 2 turns to go, and the Chinese 3 turns. (None of the other AI Civs are in this.) I did not plan ahead a pre-build (I'm still bad about that), but I have a Science Leader in Istanbul I had slated for ToE. Should I use it to take Newton's now & start pre-building ToE; or let go of Newton's?

Now that I think about it, I'm guessing better to take Newton's now & start prebuilding ToE and probably Hoover's.

On the subject of Hoover's ... hydro plant in every town. Does it have any effect in the absence of a factory?

 

[justanick]

On the subject of Hoover's ... hydro plant in every town. Does it have any effect in the absence of a factory?

No. This effectively doubles the value of a factory.

 

[Takhisis]

And, as you know, 2 × 0 is still 0.

 

[vmxa]

Power plant of any type does nothing in a town without a factory. Well I guess they still pollute (those that do), not test it though.

 

[Takhisis]

The only ones that pollute are the coal-based ones and you cannot build them unless you have a factory anyway.

Yet they do pollute during anarchy when they're not producing anything, but I'm not sure how Civ calculates those. They're not necessarily interlinked.

 

[tjs282]

Yet they do pollute during anarchy when they're not producing anything,

Do you frequently revolt (again) during the Industrial Age, though...?

but I'm not sure how Civ calculates those. They're not necessarily interlinked.

No, production and pollution are not linked directly.

The Pollution produced by any improvement is set by a specific value in the .biq; e.g. Airports, Research Labs and Commercial Docks also produce Pollution.

To calculate the total Pollution caused by buildings in any given city, all those individual "Pollute-ability" values are simply added up, as shown by the Pollution-icons on the lower left of the City screen

Spoiler Random gibberish (according to Takhisis) ;-) :

(e.g. +2 Pollution for a given improvement in the .biq = +2 icons on the City-screen) — which also includes +1 icon for every citizen above Pop12. Building a Recycling Center caps the total building-sourced Pollution to 1, and — as far as I can tell — building a Mass Transit similarly caps the population-Pollution to 1; leaving a maximum 2 pollution icons per Metropolis, if both those improvements have been built.

The more Pollution-icons per city, the greater the probability that a tile in that city's FatCross will suffer 'local' terrain-pollution (the orange blotches which need to be mopped up by Workers, before they degrade the underlying terrain).

I believe that the "Randomly-pollute-this-tile?"-routine is run once for each (polluting) city which can use the tile. So if more than 1 town can access a given tile, the routine is consequently run more than once per tile per interturn, and hence BFC-overlap tiles will be more likely to suffer a pollution-hit on any given interturn than tiles which can only be used by one city/metro. If so, and assuming you followed the usual pro-tip and built your initial, pre-Sanitation towns at distance 3-4 (CxxC to CxxxC), if you choose to start building Hospitals in the late game to turn Cities into Metropoli, Pollution is a(nother) good reason to start de-populating (and eventually removing) the 'temporary' intervening Pop10-12 cities (or at least, demolishing their Pollution-causing buildings).

And the more pollution-icons (and polluted tiles) in total across all the cities on the map, the greater the probability that Global Warming will cause random tile-degradation. Which is a good reason to kill off all those environmentally irresponsible AIs...

 

[Takhisis]

Do you frequently revolt (again) during the Industrial Age, though...?

I rarely do. The AI makes a beeline for Fascism, though.

(random gibberish) And the more pollution-icons (and polluted tiles) in total across all the cities on the map, the greater the probability that Global Warming will cause random tile-degradation. Which is a good reason to kill off all those environmentally irresponsible AIs...

Oh, definitely. I sometimes go for the eco-run where I won't build Shakespeare's Theatre even if I'm going for a cultural victory. The best run ever was that time many years ago, when Gandhi went berserk and started just razing cities trying to catch up with me with a domination victory. There certainly was less pollution after his rampage.

 

[tjs282]

Gandhi went berserk and started just razing cities trying to catch up with me with a domination victory.

Typical AI. If he wanted Domination, he should have kept them intact...

 

[WeirdoJoker]

Ottomans/Standard/Monarch, going for the Spaceship. Building Newton's with 8 turns to go. Trouble is, the Americans only have 2 turns to go, and the Chinese 3 turns. (None of the other AI Civs are in this.) I did not plan ahead a pre-build (I'm still bad about that), but I have a Science Leader in Istanbul I had slated for ToE. Should I use it to take Newton's now & start pre-building ToE; or let go of Newton's?

Now that I think about it, I'm guessing better to take Newton's now & start prebuilding ToE and probably Hoover's.

Ended up getting Newton's, ToE and Hoover's, and won the Space Race without too much drama, though there were fun moments.

One thing I was not used to, though. I had built up around 8,000 gold, but then in the Modern Age the cost of research was very high, such that in order to keep barely ahead and stay at 4 or 5 turns per tech, I ran up a huge deficit, and ended with only a few hundred. I was running SCI% constantly at 70-90% (LUX% was holding steady at 10%) & even with 3 or fewer turns left could rarely reduce it without adding turns. What would be the reason for such expensive tech?

 

[justanick]

What would be the reason for such expensive tech?

In the early middle age techs have base cost of 30, in the late middle age of 60, in the early industrial age of 120, in the early modern age of 240, the last tech of 360 and future techs have base costs of 400. So yeah, tech costs do increase a lot.

Furthermore, maintenance costs increase towards 30 gtp per metropolis(and it is even more expensive if you use mere cities to cover the same amount of tiles). Universities cost 2 gtp, factories cost 3 gtp and power plants cost 3 gtp, too. The Hooverdam creates quite some saving there.

In the long run you need to produce wealth, so the tech economics does matter sooner or later. To offset 30 gtp you need to produce 60 shields per turn and use them for wealth. Luckily, production is likely to exceed that amount, thus you can afford to spend 100% of your income for research.

During war you may not have the luxury to produce wealth. War is bad for business.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

In the early middle age techs have base cost of 30, in the late middle age of 60, in the early industrial age of 120, in the early modern age of 240, the last tech of 360 and future techs have base costs of 400. So yeah, tech costs do increase a lot.

Furthermore, maintenance costs increase towards 30 gtp per metropolis(and it is even more expensive if you use mere cities to cover the same amount of tiles). Universities cost 2 gtp, factories cost 3 gtp and power plants cost 3 gtp, too. The Hooverdam creates quite some saving there.

In the long run you need to produce wealth, so the tech economics does matter sooner or later. To offset 30 gtp you need to produce 60 shields per turn and use them for wealth. Luckily, production is likely to exceed that amount, thus you can afford to spend 100% of your income for research.

During war you may not have the luxury to produce wealth. War is bad for business.

I was just surprised that I was running the SCI% slider that high and still had trouble doing 4-turn techs (and sometimes could not get below 5 or 6). I mean, it all worked out in the end, as I outpaced China even while building a ship with materials purchased from them. (Ironically, if China had refused to sell me the resources, I would have lost. Had to pay in tech, but still always managed to stay even/slightly ahead.)

 

[EMan]

Can someone tell me the odds (i.e. Percentage chance) of getting a Military Great Leader when an offensive Elite unit wins a battle at Sid Level, Tiny Map?

Lately, in the HOF-eligible game I'm playing, I've had a ton of battles, but NO MGL!

(I'm also guessing that a ship cannot produce an MGL from battle!?)

 

[justanick]

Can someone tell me the odds (i.e. Percentage chance) of getting a Military Great Leader when an offensive Elite unit wins a battle[...]?

1/16 or 1/12 once you have heroic epic.

At defence it is halve of it.

 

[Lanzelot]

I think it does not depend on difficulty level.
And I have never seen a ship, a plane or a Hwacha generate an MGL, though Berzerks/Marines from ships can.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

And I have never seen a ship, a plane or a Hwacha generate an MGL, though Berzerks/Marines from ships can.

Can Marines generate an MGL even though they are not a UU?

 

[Lanzelot]

Sure, lot's of units that are not UUs can.