Okay guys, end of discussion it's getting pointless.
I have a lot less free time now that my work has started again so i'll be on here less often but i'll continue to try and take stock of everything when i do.
There is a maxim that states we learn more from defeat then victory. One of the best things you can do in civ is play to loose. Yes loose. Start a game as a tech savy leader and build no military units and see how long you can last through political trickery and maybe the great wall. Go for a agressive leader and build insane amounts of troops and see how long you can rush the enemy before their tech advantages become to much. You learn a lot from playing these self destructive games.
The point i'm trying badly to highlight is that we can fall into patterns. Those who find it easier to win by war will be warlike and those who find it easier to win by tech will be flying to the moon or using lasers againt spearmen. It sometimes takes us awhile to realise we could attempt to do things differently, and then even longer to actually try because the other way is so easy to us. Ilduce the other guys are trying to point that out. They don't want to lock the english empire into one potential victory condition. Guys, Ilduce is pointing out that maybe thats so, but he enjoys playing things his way and he'd like to continue to do so as it DOES technically work. Ok? Can you agree to disagree?
As this is a multiperson game we should try to NOT lock ourselves into one victory condition. That means a healthy army (just in case). A sizeable tech lead. (more options) and some political allies (they have their uses even if we don't NEED them)
Ravus is right, both strategies work, I have used both, and won a game with both.
On Military City (Birmingham, thanks Arya)
Yes technically we could just pay to upgrade them but it's actually cheaper to build a new unit in a heroic epic city then it is to upgrade an old one. It would SAVE us money.
When you make 300+ gold/turn on 100% science, the money has to go somewhere. (This has happened to me on more then one occasion). Just because we have the epic in that city doesn't mean we just build military units in it. I would still like to see libraries, markets etc in that city. I would still rather only build units during wartime.
On Miscilanious points raised
Okay, One point that could be highlighted again is the wonder question. Wonders can be good for the economy. Do we try to build one?
No, we don't try to build one, WE TRY TO BUILD THEM ALL!!!
On getting a tech lead
As i pointed out previously Russia or Vikingland is just about to get liberalism... thats how far behind the tech race we are. Russia allready has philosophy and from the looks of it russia and the vikings have become happy trade partners while we have squandered with no tech allies. We need allies for trade so perhaps a phony war with shaka in the future. Just send some troops to the egyptian cities to make sure they survive. Then convert Egypt to Chritianity. Germany could also be nurtured.
OH




!!! I have almost never been this far behind in the tech race (my immortal conquest victories being the exception) I blame arya for the sabotages. I blame cull and arya for not doing anything productive during there rules, and I blame LH for not pointing this out sooner (and for playing the game and for being the guy who has intentionally given us disaster after disaster).
1.That is a way to play, but some wonders like the Hagia Sophia, Chiza Itza, and the like are not at are useful compared to their worth in far more simpler or BETTER things, such as 2-4 settlers, or 5 workers, or a couple military units, or something that helps more, like a library.
But the Haggai Sophia is the 3rd coolest looking wonder... I cant skip it.
I do normally skip Chicken Itza, or build it in my 3rd highest production city.
See that's a problem. You delay OR, temples, as well as courthouses, Caste System, and, assuming you want it, Chitza Itza.
OR and Caste is useless, I never convert to them anyway. I don't delay them, I just research different techs first.
Aside from Mining Inc/the weaker version of it, as well as Sid Sushi/the other version of it, the others are mostly case by case. Culture goes well with Creative Constructions, but is really bad in a military-oriented victory. And corporations versus State Property for me depends really. Sometime State Property is good, in space races(Caste System and State Property late-game workshops), and for uber large civs covering more than one land mass. Sometime corporations are better. Civ 4 is a game that depends per game.
But having 4 Corp HQs in my capital is fun. I never have Caste enabled, I wait for emancipation before changing from Tribalism. Also I never build Workshops, I prefer the +1 food +8 gold Towns give over them.
Which is why we shouldn't do your CHASE EVERY WONDER GRRR strategy.
But I enjoy erecting (joke from civanon) to the wonder videos
If you war for too long, or overextend, then yes. However, we are trying not too. War doesn't destroy your economy, you pushing for more war does.
The difference between your games and my games: If in the 1800s, on noble victory you haven't completed the tech tree and are getting less then 300+ gpt on 100% science. My family calls that a FAIL.
Every civ map is playable.
Not in my oppinion, I can't build all the wonders if I dont have an overrigged starting city.
WHY WOULD WE CONVERT TO PACIFISM? We don't need the extra GP points. We're not running a Specialist Econ, we don't have many wonders, or settled GPs, so whats the point? You are going by the assumption we will convert. Somebody's wrong again.
We already messed up this game, Pacifism is in my oppinion the most over rigged religion tech. We should convert. I thing MN and WIM will support me on this one.
No, because we know the map will look like that before playing and we accept it. But when you roll a Wheel map, or a Pangaea, or a Terra, do you have any idea how it looks like. No. Everybody else doesn't look at the WB when they go into a random rolled map. In scenarios, everyone already knows it, or the info is free out there. You using the WBed in random maps, and then comparing it to scenarios its like telling a guy telling a fat man to stop eating chips the same time the first man is crunching down on chocolate.
I have seen my mum, tell my sister to loose wait while eating chocolate

. I also saw a fat kid say he was going on a diet while buying 4 chocolate bars.


As I have said before, I play to create a certain looking empire, if that doesn't happen I will quit. I generally will forget most of how the map looks after a few turns. My WB is saving me time. I find out wether it is worth playing or not. Can we drop the WB comment, as I don't find it to relevent to the discussion. Everything I do is about saving time, I find the most efficient way to do it so I have more free time.
But then you quit right after the game. You don't experience the rebuilding of conquered lands, and becoming strong out of it. You just say, 90% research after war, quit. DOES NOT APPLY TO US.
My point was I know how to win the war. I have won 5+ conquest victories, I think I know how to win a war and rebuild afterwards.
No way in hell is that going to happen. I am playing to:
1. have fun
2. become president
3. Make the people of England happy
4. Make the english economy strong
So instead of making your capital, with Bureaucracy bonus, as well as the palace bonus better by libraries, you just skip them for quite USELESS wonders.
I don't necessarily have Bureaucracy. but yes I SKIP LIBRARIES TO BUILD USELESS WONDERS BECAUSE THE WONDERS LOOK COOL. I also skip:
Barracks, Stables, Walls, granaries, markets and grocers and if applicable, harbors.
WE DON'T HAVE PACIFISM, AND WE WON'T ADOPT IT. Addressed above.
Pacifism is more useful the theocracy. But at this stage I would rather adopt free religion to catch up with the Russians.
When our military is so low, that we have some trouble against a civ ganged up against Russia and Vikingdom, then I think its alright to mass military units to win the war, and not lose the game.
Weve won the war, we dont need more units.
Addressed above. Also, you mentioned that you move your capital to make it "more playable", as well as WBed in religions you rightfully lost.
Not rightfully, I was 2 turns ahead of Shaka and then his scientist had a major breakthrough rapidly advancing to current research. It was the computer telling me you have found this religion 3 times in a row, its somebody else's turn. Also I waited one turn to settle my capital, had I settled instantly the religion would have been mine.
You know, I easily acheive getting as many wonders as you probably do through sheer military strength. Not every wonder is worth building.
True, but the wonders aren't in your capital.
Why would you have a war at Pacifism?
Pacifism is my favorite religious tech, when someone suddenly declares war on me I don't have the time to suffer 2 turns of anarchy just so a large army doesn't cripple my econ
No it's not. In scenarios, you're supposed to know that there's oil in the Middle East or something like that. Going into WB anyway in a scenario is equally weird in all regardless. There's a reason why WB is considered cheating. You see all the resources around you and plan accordingly which, while on a Giant Earth Map, you should already know off-hand where they are, is unfair in a randomly generator map.
I (normally) only look at the resources in my capital city.
Not really. We need Catapults like crops need water. Cats have high morality rates simply because of the nature of the game (suicidal siege weapons). Since you have to send them suicidally into a stack to do damage, we'll lose a lot of them during a war.
I agree, during on offensive war its pretty much the only thing I build. But now that we have enough cats, I would rather focus on econ.
Oh God, we are far behind. We don't need a tech lead but we do need to keep up. What are we going to do if we're 50 turns away from Rifles when the Russians or Vikings have them?
LH gives us another great person for free (he has done it 10ish times already)
Actually, it's 1000 AD, and Catapults are brand new, so I can't say that we're doing awfully well.
This reinforces my notion that we should take the German cities, sign peace, and throw down cottages wherever we can. We also need to be making smart tech trades. Ideally with whoever is not already top dog. We also can't let ourselves lag behind militarily, because if someone attacks us, it will not be with units an age behind us! We'll need to keep a large force of Catapults handy because those are the only things that can save us from stacks of equal or advanced units.
Oh. Yeah, we'd better pick up the pace.
We NEED to start putting down cottages. Lots of cottages. Our previous REXing didn't help our economy either, and neither did this war. The next term will be a mainly "finish the war and begin the rebuilding process" term, probably.
i say we elect one of the two financial geniuses I know when it comes to c4 (me and my brother, who doesn't want to create a civfanatics account)
Hey there! I've been lurking this forum for a while now, and I believe that I have sufficient knowledge as to how this game works. So is it alright if I jump in?
Welcome, are you considering joining the PCE, the social conservatives need you.