Quick Answers / 'Newbie' Questions

[Aabraxan]

Lisa_EMan_Ex,
Whatever civ you choose, play to their strengths. If you're playing C3C, & I assume that you are, the Maya are agricultural and industrious. They'll breed like rabbits and their workers are fast. As Spoonwood noted, you should push out lots of settlers and workers in the early game. Use those workers to improve the best tiles. Remember that food is king in the early game. Lay down lots of roads. For more information on developing a strong early game, head to the War Academy for Cracker's Opening Plays.

The suggestions about playing a scientific civ, and against scientific opponents are good ones, as well. One of the tricks that you may run across is "Big Picture Trading," which may allow you to get second-tier techs as freebies if you play a scientific civ. It goes something like this:
1) Play as a scientific civ, with lots of scientific opponents
2) When you get the popup that says that you've entered a new age, click the button (in the popup) that lets you see the Big Picture.
3) Do not select a tech. Immediately click on the foreign advisor's head on the left side of the screen.
4) That takes you to the F4 (foreign advisor) screen. Go talk to the other scientific civs. Trade with them, give them techs if you have to, but get them to the next age. They'll change clothes in the F4 screen & new (next age) techs will appear in their trade menu.
5) Continue bartering & bargaining until you've gotten all of the 1st tier techs from the next age. (It might help to look at them and make a list a turn or two before you actually do all of this.)
6) Once you've gotten all of the 1st tier techs, get out of diplo & out of the science screen. The game will then select your freebie tech. You cannot draw a freebie that you already have. Therefore, you'll have to draw a 2nd-tier tech.

This won't work if you play as the Maya, but if you have a strong early game, it may prove useful to trade a lot and perhaps give scientific AI civs techs. Then perhaps you can trade them out of their freebies. You won't get a freebie (because you're not scientific), but if you can trade for something, that's one less tech that you have to research on your own.

On Chieftain techs barely cost a penny. I don't see how time to research all the techs would become a problem even for a newbie, given that she tried to crank up the science slider as much as possible.

With regard to Lisa's query, I'll first say I've played this game a while, so what I might consider "obvious" probably won't come as obvious for you. Having said that as quick beginner's advice I'll say...

1. Look around the forum, there's plenty of good info.
2. Train plenty of settlers and workers.
3. Build plenty of roads.
4. Build plenty of libraries, universities, and research labs.
5. Raise the science slider as high as possible as much as possible.
6. Check the civilopedia often, especially for resources you need to launch the ship.

7. As soon as your economy can handle it, get into a Repblic form of government.

Good advice, Spoonwood. I know that I've seen threads where new players had trouble finishing all the techs before the end of the game. As I said, though, I just don't play that many SS games.

If she's working with EMan, she ought to be in good shape.

To add what Spoonwood said, remember that the minimum amount of time taken to research a tech is 4 turns so don't try to get them even faster.

And just to expand a bit on this: When you get to the last turn or two of researching a technology, go see your domestic advisor (F1), and play with the science slider. If you can turn down research without losing a turn, it'll save you some gold. It may not seem like much in the early game, but getting into that habit will pay off later in the game.

 

[EMan]

I showed Lisa to not worry about gold (except for trading purposes) and crank up the science 100%.........................Since you can go Negative-Gold-Per-Turn-In-Chieftain-No-Penalty. (She also learnt the Philosophy-Republic-Slingshot.)

She's really becoming a Civ Fanatic and loves to get the Tips from the Guys & Gals here.........Thanks everyone.

 

[Padma]

I just loaded Civ III Complete. I have played Civ before, but could battle other countries and even lose a city or two, but this version ends the game if I lose 1 city. Also, if I defeat a foreign city the entire race is wiped out. What gives? Can I set it to last longer???

You have the "Elimination" option turned on. Make sure it is turned off (UN-checked) when you start a new game.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

I see lots of situations where I would rather capture Sun's on the other continent. This is because getting a barracks in towns there as I capture or build them is great for defense and healing.

On the mainland, I probably already hand built barracks in places making troops.

That's fair.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

When I take an enemy city and there's resisters, the AI says to station something like "strong milatary units" to overcome resitance. Does it make a difference what unit I place in a city to overcome resitance? Does their health matter? Does fortifying matter?
I know you can't rush a city in resistance and the resisting citizens don't work-are there other effects of resistance? Does it affect flip risk or unit healing? Does resistance persist after I destroy the AI civ? Correct me if I'm wrong, you lose the "stop the agression against our motherland" unhappiness bit not resitance.
Thanks, and if there's a prior article/discussion on this, I'll take the link!

 

[Turner]

When I take an enemy city and there's resisters, the AI says to station something like "strong milatary units" to overcome resitance. Does it make a difference what unit I place in a city to overcome resitance? Does their health matter? Does fortifying matter?

No. No. No.

I know you can't rush a city in resistance and the resisting citizens don't work-are there other effects of resistance? Does it affect flip risk or unit healing? Does resistance persist after I destroy the AI civ? Correct me if I'm wrong, you lose the "stop the agression against our motherland" unhappiness bit not resitance.
Thanks, and if there's a prior article/discussion on this, I'll take the link!

Yes, there are other effects. Resisting populace doesn't require food. They don't work tiles. The flip risk is doubled while the city is in resistance. Healing, I believe, is not affected. And the resistance does continue after you destroy that Civ, but only for that turn. So if the AI has two remaining cities and you take both of them, one will be resisting until the next turn, while the last one will not be resisiting.

 

[Pacioli]

Do you ever create/use a defensive army? In the past, I’ve created armies consisting of only infantry or mech infantry (never with lower defensive units) and used them to fortified key positions. Offensive armies are obviously more useful, but is there a place for a defensive army in your book?

Assuming your civ has not reached the maximum number of armies allowed, what would you do with an obsolete army, i.e. army of swordsmen in the industrial age?

 

[CKS]

And the resistance does continue after you destroy that Civ, but only for that turn. So if the AI has two remaining cities and you take both of them, one will be resisting until the next turn, while the last one will not be resisiting.

Resistance will continue after a civ is destroyed until you pacify the resistors. It does not go away immediately. However, each unit stationed in the city has a 100% change of pacifying one resistor each turn, so you can make the problem go away immediately. If you don't have units there, though, the resistance can go on forever.

 

[CKS]

Do you ever create/use a defensive army? In the past, I’ve created armies consisting of only infantry or mech infantry (never with lower defensive units) and used them to fortified key positions. Offensive armies are obviously more useful, but is there a place for a defensive army in your book?

Assuming your civ has not reached the maximum number of armies allowed, what would you do with an obsolete army, i.e. army of swordsmen in the industrial age?

I make armies out of mech infantry all the time, but I don't use them defensively. I don't like to make tank armies, because you lose attacks (3 tanks = 6 attacks per turn, 1 tank army with 3 tanks = 3 attacks per turn), but 3 mech infantry get 3 attacks per turn whether they are an army or not.

If I had to invade a developed AI overseas (before they have flight), I'd like an infantry army to cover the landing. (After flight they'll just bomb it to bits, but before then they rarely have enough artillery to hurt.)

If my obsolete army was so obsolete that it won't even work for pillaging duty, and if I'm running into unit support issues, I'll disband it in a city for the shields (100 shields per army, regardless of what units are in it). If unit support is not an issue, I'll probably keep it around for taking care of other obsolete units in wartime.

 

[Optional]

I think it is strange that there are still resisters when the civ they belonged to is already gone, but yes, that's the way it is.
Resistance can become a serious problem on the really high levels. No, you cannot make the problem go away immediately there anymore. It can be so bad that even dozens of units can't quell them anymore, and you would be forced to raze, since starving the town is impossible with non-eating resisters.
Don't get up to those levels, it's a pain!!!

 

[Aabraxan]

Do you ever create/use a defensive army? In the past, I’ve created armies consisting of only infantry or mech infantry (never with lower defensive units) and used them to fortified key positions. Offensive armies are obviously more useful, but is there a place for a defensive army in your book?

Assuming your civ has not reached the maximum number of armies allowed, what would you do with an obsolete army, i.e. army of swordsmen in the industrial age?

Yes, I do. I usually make armies of attackers, but defensive armies have their place. I regularly make infantry armies to cover stacks of artillery. I've even made a spear army to cover a stack of catapults & archers when I had no horses or iron.

 

[Turner]

Do you ever create/use a defensive army? In the past, I’ve created armies consisting of only infantry or mech infantry (never with lower defensive units) and used them to fortified key positions. Offensive armies are obviously more useful, but is there a place for a defensive army in your book?

Assuming your civ has not reached the maximum number of armies allowed, what would you do with an obsolete army, i.e. army of swordsmen in the industrial age?

I've created defensive armies in the past, but only when I had more empty armies than I know what to do with.

Armies, in general, are avoided by the AI. So usually an offensive army is just as good as a defensive ones.

As for the resistance, I've never left a resisting city empty before....

 

[The Professor]

Originally Posted by Pacioli
Do you ever create/use a defensive army? In the past, I’ve created armies consisting of only infantry or mech infantry (never with lower defensive units) and used them to fortified key positions. Offensive armies are obviously more useful, but is there a place for a defensive army in your book?

Assuming your civ has not reached the maximum number of armies allowed, what would you do with an obsolete army, i.e. army of swordsmen in the industrial age?

I have used a defensive army in a town with barracks that is under heavy attack. While the AI won't attack armies in the open, it will attack them in a town, regardless of its chances, so you can whittle down an enemy's stack of doom this way. And the army in a town with a barracks will heal completely at the start of your turn, so you can repeat the process as long as you don't move the army.

As for obsolete armies, one good use for them is quelling resistance. But sometimes I disband them for shields.

 

[splunge the 2nd]

Professor-do 3 unit armies count as 1 unit, 3 units or 4 units for quelling resistance?

 

[EMan]

...While the AI won't attack armies in the open...

It's not a 100% sure thing that Armies will not be attacked in the open.

So, for example, if you build a Horseman Army in the early game (not such a bad idea), try to keep it out of range of the AI......I guess they still look at the defensive values of the Army units(?)........I know from bitter experience that they have attacked my Armies.

 

[vmxa]

The are at least two condition where a full health and powerful army , for the time, could be attacked. 1) in a town 2) on an airfield.

I have had in personal games and SG's has MI armies attacked in both situations. It is uncommon for an infantry or MI army to get attacked in town, but they some times are attacked. Most common is when it is the only town you have on their land and it was captured.

Full health armies armies will not be attacked in the open, if they are all cavs or better. It is rare for even a knight army to be attacked, but I have not exposed them to tanks that often.

The one condition that nay army could be attacked in the field, not on an airfield, is the patrol. If you have that enabled, they do stumble into cav armies and attacked them.

Armies below 3 defense will be safe, if the attackers are weak as well. Armies made of archers will be attack at will. even early in the game.

 

[Spoonwood]

I believe I've only trained a defensive army in a 20k game when I knew less about the game. I believe chances for promotion and I know for an MGL comes as greater when attacking than defending. So, it makes more sense to attack than to defend in almost all cases. Even a 17 hitpoint cavalry army might promote to 18. And getting attacked increases war weariness. I suppose if I really worried about the AIs counterattacking me much I would probably try pillaging as much of their territory surrounding a border town as needed (and horses/oil!) and/or surrounding a border town with 8 armies (I did this in a recent game actually) before training say a musketman army. Over the course of the whole game, I'd expect a cavalry or knight army would almost always have the better payoff.

 

[Aabraxan]

I haven't looked at the chances of promotion on attacking vs. the chances on defending, but you're probably right. However, units inside of an army cannot generate MGLs, regardless of whether they're attacking or defending.

 

[vmxa]

I think there are two points of interest to me in defensive armies. First is that if I feel I need the army to hold the place. The second is when the army is going to discourage an attack. IOW in scenario 1, I expect to get hit by large numbers. I need all I can get to hold on.

Second scenario is that I know I can stick that infantry army in the town and it will not be attacked. If I stick in 4 infantry, it will be attacked and I could lose one or more units.

In some games I will have 4 or more defensive armies and maybe a few dozen or more other armies in a beach head town and have to cross my fingers that I do not lose an army. The AI will put up that 2 hit point infantry army on defense and leave that rifle (some times infantry) sit there far too often. I have sit there sweating as my best defensive army is put up while red again and again.

Pillage is to be avoid for me, except to prevent nukes as often I am on a massive map and the pain of the game checking trade routes is too much for my tastes. Not to mention, those are soon to be my tiles. I will pillage a few tiles around a beach head, if I am real concerned about attacks.

 

[vmxa]

I believe I've only trained a defensive army in a 20k game when I knew less about the game. I believe chances for promotion and I know for an MGL comes as greater when attacking than defending.

The odds of an MGL are same regardless of attacking or defending. It is just that we do a lot more attacking than defending and our defenders are less likely to be elites.

I have had countless leaders on defense. It is quite easy to have a town with a stack of infantry getting attacked by cavs and going elite and making a leader. The thing is that you can only get one leader per turn as it will prevent any further leaders.

On offense you just stop and use the leader and then can get another. I made 2 runs where I had 3 elites in succession make a leader in one set (made 31 leaders that set alone). I think I made 10 leaders in 1 turn in that 10 turn set.