Olbas said:
Takeing into account the idea of building cities next to each other I had about 10 cities on the first island and 2 on Ireland.
Now I noticed that I wasn't able to defend my cities from attack and had lost lots of ground in the tech department. What is the best way to invade?
Ten cities is a bit too much... Basically try to make sure each city can work about 7-15 tiles, as you won't have more than 10 citizens until rather late in the game...
Ireland can fit two good cities, if you place them right. I can't recall how I placed them when I last played England long ago.
About you invasion, first of all, one of the most valuable lessons, that still I have not completely learned, is to bring along sufficient defenders to hold the ground that you take. If you are in a hurry, you can use all-round infantry (spearman, trench infantry, etc) to both attack and then hold ground for a while, but attackers (swordsmen, knights) and defenders (archers, musketmen) always do a better job at their job and for a better price than the all-round infantry. Still, the all-round variety can buy you some time if you need to rush in and hold the ground while you pump out defenders. If you do not use all-rounders in your invasion, take along many defenders, both to defend your stack and to hold the cities you take.
About you defenses back home, you should take the time to gague the risk each city is at, and put 2-4 defenders in the higher risk cities, with one or none in those that are unlikely to get attacked or impossible to attack. Remember that as long as nothing can hit a city out of the blue in one turn, you will have time to react, so two neighboring low-risk cities can share defenders which you shift around when the need be.
Olbas said:
Another thing I was wondering was which government should I be using?
There is no best government in this mod. In the ancient and middle ages, use monarchies for prolonged war or even for major military defenses. Use Theo. Rep if you have little need for military units. Just make sure to keep a small amount of defense and attack units, to scare rivals off and to keep them at bay while you prepare for serious defense, in the case of an invasion.
Later in the game, if you have a large empire, Communism is the answer, period.
Generally take your time and look at the different aspects of prospective gov'ts and choose whichever one suits you best. Don't be afraid to save, change governments, and load if it turns out to be a bad choice.
Speaking of loads, Jeff, you should try out Civassist II, it's a completely spoiler-proof player aid that helps you find trade opportunities and do many other things. It does not require a special save, it simply monitors your autosaves.
It saves a lot of time, it cannot help you cheat, and it's very well-designed and comfortable.