Some General Advice required...

[a0161613]

Hey guys...

quick questions that i need answering

(can't look at any attachments due to restrictions on the 'net computers at work)

Stack of Doom....how big should they be? I normally get about 6 to 8 units together but I saw a screenshot from the recent ALC that must have had at least 30 units in it. I'd love to read Sisiutil's SoD guide but can't.

Is that recommended?

And City placement / management......i like to have pretty minimal overlap, a good mixture of inland and coastal cities and don't like settling on desert or jungle or tundra, it's a strange instinct i have and i try to avoid it like the plague.

Am i right to do this or is it a case of building the right buildings to get around these issues?

And finally, something i can't figure out? Is there any possible way of "choosing" which city is the holy city when a religion is founded? Is it the last city that you clicked onto or is it pot luck? Cos i seem to see it appear in my second or third city, or my newest city just as much as my capital.

Cheers guys, im sure you can help and i will of course come back to you if there are any other questions that i have!

 

[spoooq]

Stack of Doom....how big should they be? I normally get about 6 to 8 units together but I saw a screenshot from the recent ALC that must have had at least 30 units in it. I'd love to read Sisiutil's SoD guide but can't.

You need enough to get the job done, no more, no less. So it depends on the city defences, troop types and counters, availability of resources and your income and hammers. Of course, having 30 units in one stack can be fun, too. Just remember, your opponent may be building up his defences while you build your SoD.

And City placement / management......i like to have pretty minimal overlap, a good mixture of inland and coastal cities and don't like settling on desert or jungle or tundra, it's a strange instinct i have and i try to avoid it like the plague.

I have trouble making myself overlap my cities as well, but it can actually be very powerful. One trick to settling in desert or tundra territory is to make sure you settle on a worthless square, thereby getting rid of it. Jungle is not useless! It turns into nice grassland squares after Iron Working.

Am i right to do this or is it a case of building the right buildings to get around these issues?

All the buildings in the world won't fix a crappy city, unfortunately. Having said that, water tiles give food and commerce, which is better than desert and tundra, so building right on the sea to enable lighthouses could be the answer in really bad areas.

And finally, something i can't figure out? Is there any possible way of "choosing" which city is the holy city when a religion is founded? Is it the last city that you clicked onto or is it pot luck? Cos i seem to see it appear in my second or third city, or my newest city just as much as my capital.

Not exactly sure what the algorithm is, but it may be cities with less religion, followed by cities with less culture? At any rate, if I have two cities when I found my first religion, it never goes to the capital. There's no way of choosing the city manually.

 

[VoiceOfUnreason]

And finally, something i can't figure out? Is there any possible way of "choosing" which city is the holy city when a religion is founded?

You can load the dice, but you cannot choose.

 

[a0161613]

Cheers guys...her's another one, i dont have a major case of Wonder Addiction, the problem i have is in the early to midgame eras when i seem to build all the buildings going, when i try to specialise my cities i cannot distinguish between essential buildings (to build specialists etc) and "other" buildings i require for the good of the empire.

Any idea on this one?

 

[Cam_H]

A real, real, real generalisation ...

Granaries, courthouses, harbors, aqueducts and forges are valuable regardless.

From there, split 'generally' into commerce (cottages, libraries, markets, etc) vs. unit pumps (mines and farms, barracks). You may opt for a Great Person Farm (National Epic + farms + buildings for desired .. eg, forge for Great Engineers).

In the later game, workshops, windmills, watermills, and lumber yards become increasingly productive, so you may need to re-assess some formerly good commerce sites as opposed to their productivity potential - depending upon your objectives.

[Edit] Also bear in mind that some National Wonders require a certain number of buildings to be constructed ... e.g. Banks for Wall Street ... so in some instances it may be expeditious to build 'an e.g. Bank' in a non-commerce oriented city. [/Edit]

 

[cabert]

about specialization, cam gave you general good advice.

2 more things :
- you don't specialize for specialization, you specialize city for a goal. Short term or long term. Why do I say that? because it's no use keeping a high commerce city when you have to rush space parts.
And it's no use building a market in a commerc city if you're going to run 100%science later.
Keep your goals in sight.

- some "always" good buildings may be skipped in some extreme specialized cities. Like a granary in a stagnating unit producing city. Why? because you won't whip and you won't grow a lot. So the cost of the granary will never be repaid. Same for forge. If you're really low on hammers, and are working mature cottages, you won't build (or whip) a forge. You'll whip the library, then 200 years later a market. Then 300 years later a university. The forge wouldn't be repaid, so you don't build it (until 600 years later, when you run Universal Suffrage).

 

[Elandal]

If you're really low on hammers, and are working mature cottages, you won't build (or whip) a forge. You'll whip the library, then 200 years later a market. Then 300 years later a university. The forge wouldn't be repaid, so you don't build it (until 600 years later, when you run Universal Suffrage).

Forge doubles the happiness from happymetals. With just one happymetal you can work one more cottage, so I'm guessing you'd find a way to get that forge in there - although probably before you have all mature cottages..

I'm used to farming some tiles in my future cottage cheese so that I can whip (although preferably chop) the infra and also take the growth spurts when happiness increases. Not sure if that's a good idea, but if you have enough grass for good cottage cheese, you can probably live with a few farms in the set until a bit later when the city has grown some - it can have enough cots to work outside growth spurts anyway until quite late.

 

[cabert]

Forge doubles the happiness from happymetals. With just one happymetal you can work one more cottage, so I'm guessing you'd find a way to get that forge in there - although probably before you have all mature cottages..

I'm used to farming some tiles in my future cottage cheese so that I can whip (although preferably chop) the infra and also take the growth spurts when happiness increases. Not sure if that's a good idea, but if you have enough grass for good cottage cheese, you can probably live with a few farms in the set until a bit later when the city has grown some - it can have enough cots to work outside growth spurts anyway until quite late.

although you're right (growing then cottaging having a better output) i still don't do it.
My bad.

 

[a0161613]

yet another questions quys... a really stupid one cos it is bugging me....
ona raging barbs game i have loads of units at lv 4....i figured building west point would be easy but i can't.

As far as i can see my units aren't going above 10/17 exp so are staying at lv 4. Do i need to war to get these extra ex p's?

 

[cabert]

yes!
Barb xp are capped at 10
Animal XP are capped at 5

 

[a0161613]

AAAAH!

So its useless sending a lv 4 samurai to face any more barbs as they will just stay at that lvl and wont benefit from any more exp even they were my first warrior?
i may as well send the n00b guys straight off the production line!

im just eexperimentin to find the civ best suited to a one-continent per team, custom game with raging barbs

my japs did great against 6 others, tho i did feel a little lonely early game.

im now on a 10 opponent custom continents map as the Inca's. i only have Isabella as a neighbour at the mo.

i was hoping for a quecha rush but shes a bit far away and the barb war keeps dragging me back...