Small civs remain potent?

[sela1s1son]

Well if small civs remain potent then the questions becoms

Can being a small, but well defended, civilization provide advantages? Either in civics, victory paths, or other ways?

The first, and primary, problem I see is with techs. Although this might not be so much as the case as it would have been in Civ 3. However if you play it right and have usefull resources and trade them out for techs... smae thing with later wonders such as Hollywood/Broadway/Rock n Roll you could trade them out. Which raises another question... let's say I trade "We didn't light the fire" and "Jailhouse Rock" with the Inca, can the Inca turn around and also trade those with Russia or someone?

If we assume small civs can keep up tech wise, which they seem to also be indicating, how would a small civ work? Sounds like you'd be even more specialized.

Let's have a generalized discussion of how this can be done.

Let's take Switzerland for an example. Bern is the capital, and (I don't know about real world) but let's say it's made into an Industrial Center. Zurich becomes the economic powerhouse city, and Geneva a culutral center. Let's also say Montreux has the Taoist shrine, Basel is a science center with good production, and Lausanne is Science center with a fair culutral aspect. So we have a six city civilization. Let's say it's the middle ages, the have India to the Northwest, and Rome to the Northeast. They're otherwise surrounded by sea. They have enough iron and horses to trade, and a surplus of wine and wheat. Assume you have a perfect reputation, and your cities are defended well.

What do you do? How would you build the infrastructure (roads, cottages, etc)? All victory modes are enabled, but try to keep the civ about the same size for as long as possible so we can discuss the advantages/tactics of small civs.

Again, I established a starting point by giving you a situation. You have been handed the reigns of the mighty Swiss! What's your plan?

 

[Corlindale]

The most important aspect of doing well with a small civilization would probably be research. You have to get a good economy without many cities, which mean that the emphasis on gold-producing improvements should be high.
This would probably mean building lots of cottages, which would be upgraded over time, and choose civic choices that increase their bonuses.

It would probably also be important to take advantage of Great People. I think Great Scientists would be especially important, because putting an academy in all cities would probably do a lot for your research.
To offset the fact that you cannot have many GP-making cities, you could play Philosophical leaders and choose Pacifism for your civic.

Of course, the new maintenance system will likely help to even the playing field between large and small civs, so perhaps doing well with a small civ won't be that much harder than doing well with a large civ. The most limiting factor would probably be that you wouldn't have as much access to different strategic and luxury resources with a small territory.

 

[KrikkitTwo]

Well I think the way small civs stary ahead in tech is by
1. The maintenance cost
2. An increase in Technology Cost for larger civs (hear that somewhere..not sure)

The way they stay ahead in culture is
1. The maintenance cost
2. The fact that culture is primarily on a per city basis

And I think the way the "Wonder Luxuries" work is like normal luxuries, 1 is enough for an empire, 2 doesn't help (and then they give you some large number ... or possibly an unlimited number of luxuries to trade away)

So the only way to get "Wonder Luxuries" is
1. From the civ with the Wonder
2. From a civ that the "Wonder" civ has been stupid enough to trade 2 of them to.


For a Win, I think small civs are best concentrating on a Cultural Win (you just need 3 or more cities) or maybe a technology win. Cultural Win has the advantage that it Increases your city Defenses while you are working at it. (meaning they need more artillery to hit your cities.. which means their armies will be larger) You might be able to do well by teching, building Wonders then trading those techs for peace. Shrines could be VERY usefull too (gold that depends on Other's size not yours).

I think that is the reall decision for a small civ, Research v. production (as well as food=specialists=GP v. Trade=technology=Wonders=GP)

 

[Rubruk]

This is similar how I played CIVI.

If you have lets say tanks, a large number of rifleman and cavallery is tot a big problem.

So building a small civ with all sorts of resources winning the tech race and a space victory is a nice idea. I think I try it (if I ever have time to play).

 

[Sirian]

However if you play it right and have usefull resources and trade them out for techs...

Hyopthetical question: What if you can't do that in Civ4? ... Then what?

 

[Englander]

I think religion could be a key factor if you have a small nation. As I understand it, if you establish a religion and convert the other civs to your religion, you get an income from their temples (if also the same religion). If you convert enough enemy cities, you could have a enough income to offset having only a few cities, and also your upkeep will be much lower.