Science vs Gold City

[chadxo]

Can someone please guide me here. I'm working on city specialization and tend to run a lot of the game under bureaucracy. I realize the capital should be focusing on gold, but a lot of people say an academy should go here. Here's my question:

What separates a Gold City from a Science city, is it just the specialists that are run? Do I put a market & bank in a science city and do I put Library/University/Lab in a gold city?

In a specialist heavy economy, do I have more than one gold city?

Thank you very much!!

 

[Ichabod]

IMO, you shouldn't focus the specialization of your cities making difference between gold and science cities. Gold and Science cities are both commerce cities, so they're basicly the same thing (remember, commerce isn't the same thing as gold in Civ 4; commerce is something you can transform into gold or science depending on your slider). If you're going to run your science slider high, gold buildings aren't going to be effective, since the base gold in wich they'll add their bonus isn't going to be high (e.g. if you're running 80% science, only 20% of your commerce will become gold).

But, if you can spare the hammers, there's no problem in building the gold buildings (specially markets and grocers, since they give good bonuses to happiness and health, if you have the resources needed).

You mention that the capital under bureaucracy should be focusing on gold. Remember that the bonus from bureaucracy isn't on the gold produced by the capital, it's on the commerce. So, if you're teching by using a high science slider, capital should focus on science buildings first, IMO. Other important thing to notice is that you need 6 libraries and 6 universities (on standard size maps) to be able to build Oxford Univesity (100% more science in one city, very nice if you can get it fast), wich is one of the best National Wonders in the game. So, it's better to build libraries and unis first.

The only thing I'd call a "gold city" is if you happen to have a city with a good religion shrine or with a good corporationh HQ (merchant specialists also give straight up gold, not commerce, so a city running a lot of merchants could be a good "gold city" too). This buildings produce straight gold, not commerce, so they'll benefit from gold improvements even if you happen to run a 100% science slider. Normally a city like this would be the one where you put your Wall Street. If you don't have one of these, I'll probably put wall street in the city wich produces the most commerce that isn't going to build a better National Wonder.

 

[AtriumComplex]

For my capital I usually focus on science buildings over commerce buildings because I usually go for the great library/national epic/oxford and the great library has an expiration.

However, all the commerce and science buildings are worth building in every city with a large amount of cottage-able tiles/food resources. Libraries lead to universities which have to be built in several cities for oxford. Markets increase happiness, grocers increase health and banks are required for wall street.

 

[DigitalBoy]

Since the science/gold slider is the same for all your cities, science and gold cities are really indistinguishable to the extent that they come from commerce. The distinction typically arises from specialists and shrines.

For the most part, I wouldn't worry about having separate science and gold cities, except for one or two where you may run specialists, settle great people, and/or build shrines.

 

[MadmanAtW]

Basically, all your commerce cities are one or the other depending on the position of the science slider. Usually I'll shoot for a 70+ science slider, and one "gold city" in which I will build Wall Street and run merchants. This is a shrine city if I have any shrines, and is the corp HQ if I found any corps. If I am shrineless and state propertying, I'll skip the hammer investment in Wall Street entirely.

(Having one city running a lot of merchants can help with founding desired corps, as well.)

 

[Mutineer]

People tend to use bureaucracy as a scientist city by few reasons:

There are 2 main reasons:
First, there are early and more sci %+ then gold %+, due to Academy. There is no academy equivalent.
Second, There are more ways to obtain gold in order to run deficit research, financing your empire by outside means, Such as:
Selling tech for gold, selling resources for gold per turn, capturing cities, pillage, GM missions, even stealing gold using spies.

On other hand city specific resources of gold are shrines and Corporation headquarters are not specific to capital.