Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Cyc]

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.

These Allies would mostly contribute with war weariness to the Incas, then. 15 tribes worth of WW to a Republic, which it sounds like the Incas might be, would be crippling.

The MoW is pretty cool. I've also found that the English land units (Swords, etc) are REALLY tough. Like it's a civ trait.

 

[MysteryX]

Overall, it is more efficient to wait for your towns to grow to a decent size before pumping out the settlers.

However, if your enemy AIs overrun your borders while you are waiting for your first couple of towns to grow in size, you are in big trouble.

For me (on large maps, 8 civilizations), I want to get at least the first four settlements built ASAP. Then I start considering letting them grow before pumping out more settlers.

As long as I have four productive cities (and I'm not too resource-starved), I feel like I have enough to pull out an eventual win even if my opponents beat me on the expansion phase.

Usually though, after I get those first four settlements established and give them a chance to grow, the next round of pumping out settlers can grab a lot of remaining unclaimed land in a very short window of time.

 

[walletta]

These Allies would mostly contribute with war weariness to the Incas, then. 15 tribes worth of WW to a Republic, which it sounds like the Incas might be, would be crippling.

The MoW is pretty cool. I've also found that the English land units (Swords, etc) are REALLY tough. Like it's a civ trait.

Like the well known fact that the black pawns in chess head to the queening square faster than the white ones in the endgame.

 

[Lanzelot]

These Allies would mostly contribute with war weariness to the Incas, then. 15 tribes worth of WW to a Republic, which it sounds like the Incas might be, would be crippling.

That might work on pangea, but we all know: the AI is lousy at naval invasions, so there won't be any significant fighting. And if there ain't any fighting, there won't be any WW...

 

[walletta]

That might work on pangea, but we all know: the AI is lousy at naval invasions, so there won't be any significant fighting. And if there ain't any fighting, there won't be any WW...

Does WW require actual fighting or is merely being at war sufficient? Also, when at war, do the AI Civs divert production into military hardware even when it's not really required (e.g. to fend off attacks that don't materialise)? That would be a good reason to get them all hot and bothered.

 

[Lanzelot]

Does WW require actual fighting or is merely being at war sufficient?

You can be at war forever, without ever getting war weariness. The details can be looked up in the War Academy, but basically your war weariness points increase, if

• you lose a town (16 points for town, 17 for city/metropolis, iirc?!)
• you lose a unit (2 points for combat units, 1 for non-combat units)
• your units end their turn inside enemy territory. (The use of fast-moving Cavs or combat settlers can eliminate this factor pretty well.)
• The AI pillages one of your tiles.
• The AI attacks your units (even if your unit wins!)

If you look out for these factors, you can pretty much minimize them so that you'll never accumulate enough points until the enemy is eliminated...

PS: experience shows that when at war an AI gets seriously crippled in terms of research and infrastructure development. Not sure why. Could be that they really use all their gold and shields for units?!

 

[walletta]

You can be at war forever, without ever getting war weariness. The details can be looked up in the War Academy, but basically your war weariness points increase, if

• you loose a town (16 points for town, 17 for city/metropolis, iirc?!)
• you loose a unit (2 points for combat units, 1 for non-combat units)
• your units end their turn inside enemy territory. (The use of fast-moving Cavs or combat settlers can eliminate this factor pretty well.)
• The AI pillages one of your tiles.
• The AI attacks your units (even if your unit wins!)

If you look out for these factors, you can pretty much minimize them so that you'll never accumulate enough points until the enemy is eliminated...

Thanks. I did not know any of that!

 

[Takhisis]

Like the well known fact that the black pawns in chess head to the queening square faster than the white ones in the endgame.

Well the blacks are better runners.

You can be at war forever, without ever getting war weariness. The details can be looked up in the War Academy, but basically your war weariness points increase, if

• you lose a town (16 points for town, 17 for city/metropolis, iirc?!)
• you lose a unit (2 points for combat units, 1 for non-combat units)
• your units end their turn inside enemy territory. (The use of fast-moving Cavs or combat settlers can eliminate this factor pretty well.)
• The AI pillages one of your tiles.
• The AI attacks your units (even if your unit wins!)

If you look out for these factors, you can pretty much minimize them so that you'll never accumulate enough points until the enemy is eliminated...

PS: experience shows that when at war an AI gets seriously crippled in terms of research and infrastructure development. Not sure why. Could be that they really use all their gold and shields for units?!

Yes but it's very hard to conduct an offensive war (which, against more powerful enemies, is the only way to bring them to heel, as they won't back down otherwise and you'll keep losing units in defense, while taking a couple cities of theirs can bring the war to a speedy end) without losing any units, without having any units end their turns inside enemy territory, and without being exposed to attacks.

 

[maurcus]

what is Rof(rate of fire)?

 

[EMan]

Like the well known fact that the black pawns in chess head to the queening square faster than the white ones in the endgame.

Well the blacks are better runners.

I know you guys are just having fun with this but, for the record, it is total rubbish to suggest that black pawns queen faster than white ones in chess.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Rate of fire is how many points of damage a bombard unit can do in an attack. For example catapults can take 1 health off a defender while artillary could knock 1 or 2 health off (2 separatly calculated attacks of the art's bombard attack of 12 against the defender's defense with modifiers, I believe) and a bomber could deal 3 damage.
Additionally, some bombard units can deal lethal bombardment, most will only bring the defender to redline at best.

 

[MysteryX]

Does WW require actual fighting or is merely being at war sufficient? Also, when at war, do the AI Civs divert production into military hardware even when it's not really required (e.g. to fend off attacks that don't materialise)? That would be a good reason to get them all hot and bothered.

Don't forget that AI civs suffer war weariness too. It's possible to get AI civs involved in long successions wars that see their cities frequently in revolt and even suffer some devastating government overthrows.

 

[walletta]

Don't forget that AI civs suffer war weariness too. It's possible to get AI civs involved in long successions wars that see their cities frequently in revolt and even suffer some devastating government overthrows.

What's a succession war? And how do set the AI players against each other?

 

[Takhisis]

I assume he means a secession war, although cities can't secede in Civ 3.

 

[walletta]

OK - on posting a .sav can I ask once more how to find the file? I was helpfully told which folder it would be in but I can't find folders in Windows. So, starting from the desk top, how do I navigate to the games folder.

I played on a few moves from the position I described, making peace with Maya and Inca and then going to war with the Dutch. I bombarded the crap out of them with my fleet of M'oWs, against which they have no defence (they only have a few galleys) but once I landed it was the same hornets' nest. There are thousands of the little beggars, backward as they are, and I got wiped out (6 musketeers, 2-3 medieval infantry, 4 cavalry) in one turn. I have found a spot I could land and defend but it's away from the wine, which is what I want.

Now I may re-run from the same start point but this time with a charm offensive intending to just trade spice for wine, and involve myself in a war somewhere else aimed at picking up a resource or a luxury and a foothold somewhere. Everyone is declaring war against everyone else so it should be feasible.

 

[Cyc]

OK - on posting a .sav can I ask once more how to find the file? I was helpfully told which folder it would be in but I can't find folders in Windows. So, starting from the desk top, how do I navigate to the games folder.

Right click on your Start Button. Click explore, this brings up your Explorer. Click on Program Files of C:\. Click on Firaxis Games. Find you way to Civ3 Conquests. Click on Conquests. Click on Saves.

I played on a few moves from the position I described, making peace with Maya and Inca and then going to war with the Dutch. I bombarded the crap out of them with my fleet of M'oWs, against which they have no defence (they only have a few galleys) but once I landed it was the same hornets' nest. There are thousands of the little beggars, backward as they are, and I got wiped out (6 musketeers, 2-3 medieval infantry, 4 cavalry) in one turn. I have found a spot I could land and defend but it's away from the wine, which is what I want.

That's standard playing archipelgo maps. So much fun.

Now I may re-run from the same start point but this time with a charm offensive intending to just trade spice for wine, and involve myself in a war somewhere else aimed at picking up a resource or a luxury and a foothold somewhere. Everyone is declaring war against everyone else so it should be feasible.

Good luck. Not sure how a war somewhere else will be a better situation.

 

[walletta]

Right click on your Start Button. Click explore, this brings up your Explorer. Click on Program Files of C:\. Click on Firaxis Games. Find you way to Civ3 Conquests. Click on Conquests. Click on Saves.


That's standard playing archipelgo maps. So much fun.


Good luck. Not sure how a war somewhere else will be a better situation.

Thanks for the advice. I have found a spot I think I can take (from the weak and isolated Hittites) and defend and I get incense out of it. You may turn out to be right. Now very pally with the Dutch.

 

[MysteryX]

What's a succession war? And how do set the AI players against each other?

I meant succession as in one after another.

The easiest way is, when you are at war with an AI, bribe other AIs to join you.

Pay attention to AIs that start making mutual protection pacts. Drawing them into one war could make a war to last a lifetime. If A and B have a protection pact, and go to war with C and D with a protection pact- when A or B make peace with C or D individually, they can get immediately drawn back to war by being called on to honor the still-existing mutual protection pact. Those can get into some nasty cycles of war.

When not at war, you can use trade embargoes to get AIs mad at each other. (The worse their attitudes get toward each other, the more likely they are to declare war with each other.) Of course, a trade embargo will make the embargoed AI mad at you as well, so you want isolate one at a time.

 

[Os10578]

Let me pop in a question here if I can:

New game, huge map, 16 Civs, I take Lincoln. Unpatched game of Vanilla. I start on a continent with Aztecs to the far east, Iroquois yapping at my feet below me, England settled below them. I manage to surround the Iroquois, who have nowhere to expand. They have 4 cities total and are behind ~40pts in score. Fine. Aztecs are far to the east, and doing fairly well. Not a threat yet. England however, has two cities and is not expanding. They have a huge amount of land they should have taken by now. They're still getting techs faster than I am, have a decent amount of gold, but are seemingly stuck. I create an embassy with them and find they have no units defending their cities.

Here I was, excited at besting the Iroquois and managing to smother them into submission, and now all the challenge is gone. What gives?

 

[walletta]

Let's see whether this works (God I hate Windows):