Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[MadMac]

Another question. When your cultural advisor says informs you that a wonder is being built by a different civilization, does that mean they have started building it or does that mean that they are "in the process" or "part way through" completing the project?

 

[Takhisis]

It just means that a city of theirs has switched production to a wonder. The wonder screen (F8 I think) will show you where that is and you can try and investigate that city.

As a rule of thumb, try and remember who's building what so that you'll know, for example, what not to seek.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

It just means that a city of theirs has switched production to a wonder. The wonder screen (F8 I think) will show you where that is and you can try and investigate that city.

As a rule of thumb, try and remember who's building what so that you'll know, for example, what not to seek.

Not only that, but it depends on how long they're taking, too. A city investigation will tell you how many turns. Sometimes I have found an AI civ building something that will take 90 turns or some such, which is far, far more than it would take me, and it could be worth it (assuming it's worth it in the first place). Or ... the investigation will demonstrate it to take far less time, in which case I might not bother even if I want it, because I'd just end up wasting shields.

 

[Takhisis]

The thing is that a civ might switch to a wonder which it's already building because it was constructing more than one at the same time and somebody else beat them to the punch on one.
Just think that if an AI spends all the shields required to build a small 300-shield wonder that's 10 Pikemen fewer to defend it, or 10 Swordsmen fewer to counterattack when you invade.

 

[WeirdoJoker]

The thing is that a civ might switch to a wonder which it's already building because it was constructing more than one at the same time and somebody else beat them to the punch on one.

Fair point. Which brings a question to mind. If a Civ does that, and you successfully sabotage production in order to get a leg up, do the carryover shields get destroyed, or just the ones from after the switch? I had one time when I sabotaged, and lost the Wonder anyway (don't remember how the game ended, though), even though I didn't have that many turns left.

(On a slightly unrelated note, I hate when I miss a Wonder by only one or two turns ... it's really annoying.)

 

[Takhisis]

do the carryover shields get destroyed, or just the ones from after the switch?

I'm not sure what you're asking.
Whenever you're building something and you switch you get whichever one is lower from a) the cost of the building and b) what you've already accumulated.

 

[r16]

when somebody builds Sun Tzu / free barracks on some other continent , actually in the middle of that continent and actually the capital of the most powerful Al in the game , that's about 20 units ı would have pay upkeep for until ı make there in about 100 to 200 turns . lt doesn't expire in the scenario ı stick to , ı wouldn't build barracks on many of the 20 cities my continent , with just one city left to capture , but with 20 gpt ı could hire two Als to fight the number one Al and like it might have upto 10 000 gold for the remainder of the game , with which he might buy 2 or 3 techs from others . Wonders are good if you have no rush . F7 button gives you some happiness too , when it is your colour that dominates the screen .

 

[WeirdoJoker]

I'm not sure what you're asking.
Whenever you're building something and you switch you get whichever one is lower from a) the cost of the building and b) what you've already accumulated.

I'm asking about what happens when you sabotage production of a Wonder the AI is building.

 

[vmxa]

IIRC they lose that turn of production (shields).

 

[WeirdoJoker]

According to the manual, Sabotage destroys half the shields on the current project. But I remember doing that once and it did not help. (Many months ago, cannot remember which game.)

 

[Takhisis]

I haven't used sabotage in years. By the time espionage is available in the epic game I'm just full-out spending money on tech research to get to the oil and rubber before the AI does, lest I suddenly find a slew of tanks on my doorstep.

 

[justanick]

For every shield in the box you have to pay 10 gold. That makes sabotage very expensive. You could of course use the costs and calculate the shields from it.

https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/a-study-of-espionage-mission.97042/

 

[WeirdoJoker]

True, sabotage is very expensive, which is why I've only used it in one or two extreme circumstances (that I can no longer remember).

 

[vmxa]

Well it has been years, but I do not recall the box going down by half. I only use it for the Manhattan Project on Sid to try to prevent nukes for as long as I could.

 

[Civinator]

In my current CCM2 game the AI several times sabotaged only parts of the produced shields of a project I was producing (GW, airports, battleships) - not the complete project.

The text in the C3C civilopedia (all) here at least is 'missleading'. I cannot say if the destroyed shields were half the number of the produced shields.

 

[md4]

How is it that this can happen:

• I have an MA with CivA
• CivB (whom I am at war with) signs a MPP with CivA
• My war with CivB immediately causes CivA to declare war on me
• Crucially, I haven't actually attacked CivB in their territory after the MPP was announced

And is it possible to prevent it?

 

[tjs282]

How is it that this can happen:

• I have an MA with CivA
• CivB (whom I am at war with) signs a MPP with CivA
• My war with CivB immediately causes CivA to declare war on me
• Crucially, I haven't actually attacked CivB in their territory after the MPP was announced

I have seen this happen as well, most recently yesterday, in my current game.

Not 100% sure, but I get the impression that if you're already at war with CivB, and have units already in their territory over the interturn that Civs A + B sign the MPP, that's enough on its own to immediately trigger it.

And is it possible to prevent it?

I'm assuming here that the MA you had with CivA was not against CivB? Because the only way (I can think of) to prevent that MPP from being signed would have been to be proactive, and sign a 2nd MA with CivA, against CivB, to get them on your side before CivB gets them on theirs.

 

[vmxa]

I see that all the time and not just for me. The AI will be at war and the one they are fighting signs someone to MPP and then the new partner declares. It amazes me to see it, when one of the civs is really huge and the newest declarer is the smallest. Suicide pact, when the war is already going.

 

[tjs282]

I'm pretty sure MPPs are misvalued by the AI trading-algorithm, possibly even to the point of having the wrong sign: I've had pipsqueak-Civs come to 'offer' me an MPP, and ask me to pay them (mucho dinero) for the privilege.

 

[Takhisis]

You also get those ‘well did you just give me an excuse to invade my three-city next-door neighbour who's isolated in a peninsula and holds 2× Coal which I will deny you to keep you from rebuilding all those railways I've just bombed?’ moments.