Skanderbeg
Chieftain
Please note that I have won CIV IV only up to noble level, but I think the most of the things in my thread are also valid for higher levels.
Please excuse any atrocities against Shakespears language I might have commited
. English is not my mothers language.
The situation: The game is entering the modern era, and You (human player) are not so far behind that You have already lost. One civilisation (it's nice if it's Yours but not the end of the world if not
) discovers rocketry. The Space Race has begun.
Now You have to ask You if You have paths open win under other victory conditions before an AI wins by space race. If not, You have to take part in the race.
Now the BIG Question:
Which civilisation wins the Space Race?
Answer: The FIRST civilisation who builds the LAST part!!!
This is the most important fact in the Space Race. It is not important to build the cheap parts as soon as possible, put Your focus on the later and expensive parts.
First step: The Apollo Programme.
1) Getting Rocketry
Rocketry is the tech which is prerequisite for building the Apollo programme.
When the Space race has started, You should ONLY research techs which are needed for space ship parts or are in the beeline to such techs, and rocketry is the first of those.
2): Building the Apolle Programm. Every turn counts, so start at once, and start in the city with the highest production.
3): Secure Your Aluminium resources. Alu halves the cost of the Apollo programme and some space ship parts, so it is of high importance to get it.
If You don't have it, You'll loose the race with high probability. In this case to have to get to war to get it, if You can't trade. Don't forget to protect Your Aluminium resources with some of Your best defenders.
Second Step: The cheap parts.
1) Building the parts. Remember: You have NOT to be the first who builds the cheap parts. Don't panic if the AI's are powering out the cheap parts like nothing. There's no need to build the cheap parts in Your best cities.
So build the cheap parts in Craptown or in Junk City. It doesn't matter if it takes 30 turns to build them, if they are only built before (or in the same turn as) the LAST of the expensive parts.
2) Know Your enemies. Build Scotland Yard in this phase of the game and use Your spies to find out which parts Your AI competitors are building and HOW MUCH TURNS THEY NEED, and which techs they are researching with which speed.
3) Prepare Your cities for the final. The four cities with the highest production should build the four most expensive parts. Prepare them by building stuff like factories, power plants, laboratories and other things which boost hammer production. Use them only for production of space ship parts if You have not enough other cities to do this.
4) Protect Yourself against sneak attacks.
Every city not involved in building space ship parts or preparing for it should be pumping out military units.
Third step: The Final: Building the expensive parts.
The final phase of the game begins when You discover the first of the techs which allow You to build one of the four last parts.
You build this four parts in the four cities with the highest production.
Start the first part in the citie with the lowerst hammer output of these four,
the second in the third best city, the third part in the second best city and the final part in Your production powerhouse. This makes You sure to finish as soon as possible.
It is only necessary to build the space elevator if:
a) it is finished BEFORE the last shace ship part.
Building the space elevator in your best city could mean that You have to build the last space ship part in another city, and so it could take MORE turns even with the space elevator
b) if an AI getting the space elevator would let it win
Now try to shorten the needed turns even more by some micromanagement:
Use the city screen to focus Your city production on hammers, even if You go in the red in food (but avoid starving population).
Use any Great Persons You get as super specialists in the city building the last part(You can't use Great Engeneers to rush space ship parts
).
Are there some forests left in the range of Your cities? Well, why not use some nice and shiny wooden parts for Your space ship! It's chopping time again! Replace the forest (even when they have lumbermills!) with workshops, watermills, windmills, mines or whatever matches the terrain and gives maximal hammer output. You'll probably loose one hammer per turn, but You'll get 30 hammers for the chop, so You are on the winning side if there are less the 30 turns left to build the space ship.
After researching the tech needed for the last space ship part, there is no need to research anymore.
So You could use all the commerce to get Your military in fashion for the case someone tries to attack You.
Or look if You can spit in Your opponents soup by using 100% culture to steal their resource tiles .
I would be glad if my tips could give You a little advice
Please excuse any atrocities against Shakespears language I might have commited
. English is not my mothers language.The situation: The game is entering the modern era, and You (human player) are not so far behind that You have already lost. One civilisation (it's nice if it's Yours but not the end of the world if not
) discovers rocketry. The Space Race has begun. Now You have to ask You if You have paths open win under other victory conditions before an AI wins by space race. If not, You have to take part in the race.
Now the BIG Question:
Which civilisation wins the Space Race?
Answer: The FIRST civilisation who builds the LAST part!!!
This is the most important fact in the Space Race. It is not important to build the cheap parts as soon as possible, put Your focus on the later and expensive parts.
First step: The Apollo Programme.
1) Getting Rocketry
Rocketry is the tech which is prerequisite for building the Apollo programme.
When the Space race has started, You should ONLY research techs which are needed for space ship parts or are in the beeline to such techs, and rocketry is the first of those.
2): Building the Apolle Programm. Every turn counts, so start at once, and start in the city with the highest production.
3): Secure Your Aluminium resources. Alu halves the cost of the Apollo programme and some space ship parts, so it is of high importance to get it.
If You don't have it, You'll loose the race with high probability. In this case to have to get to war to get it, if You can't trade. Don't forget to protect Your Aluminium resources with some of Your best defenders.
Second Step: The cheap parts.
1) Building the parts. Remember: You have NOT to be the first who builds the cheap parts. Don't panic if the AI's are powering out the cheap parts like nothing. There's no need to build the cheap parts in Your best cities.
So build the cheap parts in Craptown or in Junk City. It doesn't matter if it takes 30 turns to build them, if they are only built before (or in the same turn as) the LAST of the expensive parts.
2) Know Your enemies. Build Scotland Yard in this phase of the game and use Your spies to find out which parts Your AI competitors are building and HOW MUCH TURNS THEY NEED, and which techs they are researching with which speed.
3) Prepare Your cities for the final. The four cities with the highest production should build the four most expensive parts. Prepare them by building stuff like factories, power plants, laboratories and other things which boost hammer production. Use them only for production of space ship parts if You have not enough other cities to do this.
4) Protect Yourself against sneak attacks.
Every city not involved in building space ship parts or preparing for it should be pumping out military units.
Third step: The Final: Building the expensive parts.
The final phase of the game begins when You discover the first of the techs which allow You to build one of the four last parts.
You build this four parts in the four cities with the highest production.
Start the first part in the citie with the lowerst hammer output of these four,
the second in the third best city, the third part in the second best city and the final part in Your production powerhouse. This makes You sure to finish as soon as possible.
It is only necessary to build the space elevator if:
a) it is finished BEFORE the last shace ship part.
Building the space elevator in your best city could mean that You have to build the last space ship part in another city, and so it could take MORE turns even with the space elevator
b) if an AI getting the space elevator would let it win
Now try to shorten the needed turns even more by some micromanagement:
Use the city screen to focus Your city production on hammers, even if You go in the red in food (but avoid starving population).
Use any Great Persons You get as super specialists in the city building the last part(You can't use Great Engeneers to rush space ship parts
).Are there some forests left in the range of Your cities? Well, why not use some nice and shiny wooden parts for Your space ship! It's chopping time again! Replace the forest (even when they have lumbermills!) with workshops, watermills, windmills, mines or whatever matches the terrain and gives maximal hammer output. You'll probably loose one hammer per turn, but You'll get 30 hammers for the chop, so You are on the winning side if there are less the 30 turns left to build the space ship.
After researching the tech needed for the last space ship part, there is no need to research anymore.
So You could use all the commerce to get Your military in fashion for the case someone tries to attack You.
Or look if You can spit in Your opponents soup by using 100% culture to steal their resource tiles
.I would be glad if my tips could give You a little advice
