Rise and Rule for Civ3:Conquests

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

Good, post; I agree with everything.

The key in RaR is that when happiness becomes a problem, you need to set your Luxury slider at least on 10%. Coming from vanilla Civ3, I had rarely used my Lux slider at all; in RaR, it is very useful. As another recent post pointed out, certain improvements (Bazaar, Marketplace, etc.) increase the Luxury output in a city by 50%; it works exactly like a Library does for Science, or a Forge does for shields.

The Library analogy is the correct one.

Example: A city makes 20 raw uncorrupted commerce.
10% Science = 2 beakers.
10% Lux = 2 happy faces.

Now, everyone would build a Library, to end with 3 beakers at 10 Science. And the Bazaar etc works exactly like that - 3HF @10% Lux.

I don't build the wonder, and I even try to avoid capturing it. In a OCC game, the Slave Trade is great for the Colossus effect.
I do build Slave Markets frequently - but I need to be able to seel them once it gets too ugly.
Note the "Increase unhappiness effect" of wonders does work cumulative - with several of those, you can end with up to 50% "Some improvements in the city are annoying" in larger cities...

 

[namliaM]

Could 'we' not have a link to RaR 1.03 ?? I downloaded 1.02 recently and have been playing it for a month or so....

Now I find 1.03 is out?! Ack... Have to have it ASAP

Great mod really.... Tho i do find (somehow) playing RaR vs AIs is much easier than playing reg Civ....

 

[Turner]

1.03 is a worker-bug fix, maybe one or two other small things. It would probably be best to upgrade....

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

1.03 doesn only adress the workers, nothing else.

Tho i do find (somehow) playing RaR vs AIs is much easier than playing reg Civ....

Actually, the AI doesn't perform considerably worse in RAR. It has some flaws as usual, but OTOH it has other strength now (like using armies).
The big difference, though, is that from the moment a game is won the AI (or the human ) is intended to be a pushover.
Nothing I dislike more about unmodded than having to play on for 50+ turns to actually finish; once the human is the largest civ, a game is won. And RAR intentionally allows to fiish off a game really fast here.

Now, if you play on a level were you already have won right from the start ...the whole game is a pushover.

In general, the easier levels feel even easier; Monarch/Emperor about normal. DG/Deity/Sid are harder in the beginning for sure. If people say the opposite sometimes, that's because they reroll until they get a very good start - while would use a decent one for unmodded.

 

[TexanbyBirth]

I noticed whne I installed RaR1.03 that it adds two new scenerios in the Civ- content menu. does this mean that ongoing (previous) games using 1.02, or games started by selecting RaR 1.02 or RaR 1.02-extented are uneffected by the corrections in 1.03?

 

[bonscott]

I stepped away from Civ for a couple months and just started up a new RaR game a couple weeks ago. Went for something different for me and played Japan, huge, 70% continents, 12 civs total, Monarch. There were 5 civs on my continent including me.

First off, holy cow do I love the Japan UU.

I just finally figured out why I have been so far behind in tech and even now in the middle industrial I'm still 5 techs behind. I'm getting caught up to within 3 techs or so every 20 turns when I retrade Iron to the French but that won't last too long I don't think. But I fall behind again in the following 20 turns. On Monarch I always am able to catch up just past the Dark Ages.
What's different this time?
I have no rivers or fresh water lakes! This has caused two things that have really cumulated over the thousands of years: 1) Tons and tons of lost commerce bonus and 2) Just now am able to irrigate my core after getting electricity (because I had an unbroken chain of hills and mountains between me and my neighbors). And now no District Courthouses. I've taken over one civ which finally got me a few rivers but that doesn't help my core.

I've never in all my years playing civ have noticed how important having rivers in your core can be. So I am now in a position I am rarely in: Heading to the end of the industrial era and behind in tech. I'm certainly going to keep playing though cause I gotta see how I can pull this out. Despite being behind in tech I am a production powerhouse and the largest civ with the most cities. I am running 3rd in score. So it's going to be domination I think. The top 2 just declared on me, one of them on my continent (Egypt). I just got my buddies Germany and Polynesia to join me against Egypt so it's a warmongering I will go!

One other unique thing about this current game is that it's the first time I've ever seen Polynesia be a world power (they are just behind me). They have really stood up to Egypt and Germany over time. Weird how they usually suck. And this is what is so great about Civ and even better in RaR. Every game is different.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

I noticed whne I installed RaR1.03 that it adds two new scenerios in the Civ- content menu. does this mean that ongoing (previous) games using 1.02, or games started by selecting RaR 1.02 or RaR 1.02-extented are uneffected by the corrections in 1.03?

Started games are never affected by upgrades (except for some graphical issues, that is). Even if we'd called it 1.02 again .

@bonscott:

I had an unbroken chain of hills and mountains

You are aware you can irrigate Hills? Just asking...

I keep preaching that RaR isn't that easy, unless you restart until you see one of the very few visible food boni, a river and 3 floodplains. And play with a 'blind' Civ like Japan, Korea or China...
EXP is about the strongest traits if you live with the first start.

AI performance: Actually, I like it how the AI Civs do in RAR. Unlike in unmodded, it's pretty rare to have one Civ leading from start and staying there; and if they do, it's usually the Iros and Celts.
But in most games, one of the EXP or AGR Civs rule in the beginning, while the SCI ones take over later; especially China and Korea.

 

[TexanbyBirth]

Thanks Doc One thing about the AI makes me wonder. If 66.6 % of the world area constitutes a domination victory why doesn't the AI civs band together (alliance) to stop a civ from getting there? Seems that the priority would be to prevent one civ from dominating, but if you butter up an AI civ with Techs, gold, etc. seems that they continue to support you. Any clues?

 

[kingsadvisor]

hello everyone, i have a question: What is partial rushing? I have read that it is a good strategy to use if using the Absolute Monarchy gov, which i am. I assume it is cash rushing a "smaller improvement" then switching over to a "bigger" improvement - for example cash rush a temple then switch to marketplace. You can get the marketplace in half the time without having to "pay full price" for the improvement. Is this incorrect?

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

@TexanbyBirth:
That is the design of the Civ3 AI. Fully intentionally, and I love it, really. A HUGE improvement over Civ1 + 2 where the AI did exactly what you mention: Gang up against the strongest Civ (which usually was the human, since the AIs sucked at expansion).
That had two big problems:
First and foremost, it felt absolutely "gamey"; not like real civilizations would act. In Civ3, they try to become strong each for their own instead.
Second, my usual strat in the earlier versions was to utilize exactly that: Stay small, settle all islands, prepare troops and a huge pile of cash; you will be completely ignored. Switch to a no corruption gov, unleash the Howitzers, and take over the world. Yawn.

@kingsadvisor: No, you are correct. The problem with this tactic in unmodded is the lack of enough choices, especially in the core cities with all useful buildings in place.
In RaR however, you have every increment from 20 to 120sp, and lots of choices above.

 

[bonscott]

@bonscott:
You are aware you can irrigate Hills? Just asking...

Are you serious? How long have I been playing RaR and I did not know that. Holy crap....

 

[JonathanValjean]

Hello everyone. RaR is the first modded game that I have ever played, and I have to say that it is outstanding! I am having a bit of trouble at the moment in a game I am playing. The year is 750BC, and am can't seem to get past this bug that makes my game crash every time.

It reads:

LOAD ERROR, FILE NOT FOUND, Art\Units\Musketeer\MusketeerFortify.flc

The game will now exit.

I have installed the 22MB "extras" patch, but it continues to crash. This may not be a problem with the expansion at all, but with my base software. I have looked for and located the actual file "MusketeerFortify.flc," and found it in this folder: F:\Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Art\units\Musketeer. Does any of this seem suspect? (My game is installed on my F: drive, by the way, so that is no problem.) Thanks in advance.

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

That was already reported once; please check if there are <spaces> either in the file name, or the respective ini file.
For unknown reasons, some installations contain incorrect spaces in some file names (the most frequent one being Helicopter Run.wav/HelicopterRun.wav ).

 

[JonathanValjean]

That was already reported once; please check if there are <spaces> either in the file name, or the respective ini file.
For unknown reasons, some installations contain incorrect spaces in some file names (the most frequent one being Helicopter Run.wav/HelicopterRun.wav ).

I certainly will check the .ini file. Thanks very much.

 

[Emerentius]

hello everybody,
been a visitor on this forum for some years now, playing civ since the original version (was hooked on it for years hoping civ 4 will be great ) and i must say love this mod version.
i play a lot of different mods and i am currently waiting for the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire mod version 1.0 to come out.
because i liked the 1.03beta of rar very much and wanted to play it with my girlfriend tried to upgrade it with the extra civilopedia pictures etc. found somewhere in this forum and messed up.
my question is should i install 1.02 again or is the 1.04 coming soon?
thanks

 

[Jeppson]

I also like to know when 1.04 is coming. What will the changes be?

 

[kingsadvisor]

Hey everybody, I started a Demigod game as the Koreans and I got worked. I was at three cities when the AI had close to 12! I want to ask -

1. When should I build the Palace Gardens and the Training Ground (the early small wonder that spawns the Imperial Guard)?

2. Should I be researching techs or buying them? If I should be buying them, when do I switch over to rx?

3. I build alot of temples and shrines on Monarchy and Emperor - is this wrong in Demigod?

4. Does anybody build the early spearmen (def 2)? Or will the warriors do?

5. Are the granaries necessary in All core cities or just the ones where settlers and workers are made?

6. When should I be pop-rushing? I get the "too many people" message.

7. How much does it cost to upgrade a cannon to Hwacha?

Thats it for now. Ill be playing this weekend so Ill have an update on Mon/Tue

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

Hey everybody, I started a Demigod game as the Koreans and I got worked. I was at three cities when the AI had close to 12! I want to ask -

1. When should I build the Palace Gardens and the Training Ground (the early small wonder that spawns the Imperial Guard)?

2. Should I be researching techs or buying them? If I should be buying them, when do I switch over to rx?

3. I build alot of temples and shrines on Monarchy and Emperor - is this wrong in Demigod?

4. Does anybody build the early spearmen (def 2)? Or will the warriors do?

5. Are the granaries necessary in All core cities or just the ones where settlers and workers are made?

6. When should I be pop-rushing? I get the "too many people" message.

7. How much does it cost to upgrade a cannon to Hwacha?

Thats it for now. Ill be playing this weekend so Ill have an update on Mon/Tue

1) I rarely build the military small wonders; only if I desperately need the unit. Bad investment IMHO if you have resources. The Gardens - ASAP. As soon as I get them in a reasonable time, like 6 turns.
2) Most effectively, research what the AI doesn't and trade for techs. Anything else isn't really effective. Korea is a good choice here, like any SCI Civ - Math is the tech to research first here.
3) It is wrong. The odd Shrine, ok. But 70sp Temples? Only with a REL Civ ever. Unless I try for Chichen Itza.
4) Mostly. Warriors are even more paper-cutouts than in unmodded. They stand not the slightest chance against Barbarians. And, TGs cost no upkeep.
5) Depends. During early expansion, Capital and Settler towns only. Later, everywhere. They cost only 40sp, and food is hard to come by...
6) Don't understand. Do you mean you cannot rush because it'll cost too much? Rush in steps (for a 60sp itm in a size 4 city: Rush Monument - switch to Granary, rush, switch to the item, rush).
7) Should be nothing. Both are 80sp IIRC (if not, it's like in unmodded - sp cost *3).

Korea for sure is one of the slowest starting Civs, btw.

 

[Jeppson]

Is there a way to make the ai more aggressive?

 

[Zorn]

Keep in mind that Temples are needed for several improvements (e.g monastery).
70 shilelds are expensive, but it is still cheaper to builld a temple and a monastery than a university. So I would place a temple in more developed cities.
Upgrading a cannon to Hwacha shouldn`t be possible at all. As koreans, you can`t build cannons, and since they have a defensive value, you cannot capture them either.