Some questions.

[WackenOpenAir]

Just played 4 hours or so now. I need some info. Of course, i don't expect complicated formulas yet with this new game.

-What influences the upkeep cost? I take it is like corruption in civ3 and depends on both distance and city count ? If so, how do they roughly compare, wich of these has the biggest influence.
It now seems like we don't want to build as many cities as possible anymore. Is it gonna hurt a lot in upkeep if you settle a bit father away at a nice spot instead of the mediocre spot nearby? Making you end up with a wide spaced empire.

-There is some civic that reduces upkeep cost by 50%, this sounds like extremely powerfull to me. Is this true or am i seeing things wrong ?

-I saw the AI had mines pretty quickly, do they begin the game with a worker ? Or only at certain difficulty levels ?

 

[IglooDame]

Just played 4 hours or so now. I need some info. Of course, i don't expect complicated formulas yet with this new game.

-What influences the upkeep cost? I take it is like corruption in civ3 and depends on both distance and city count ? If so, how do they roughly compare, wich of these has the biggest influence.
It now seems like we don't want to build as many cities as possible anymore. Is it gonna hurt a lot in upkeep if you settle a bit father away at a nice spot instead of the mediocre spot nearby? Making you end up with a wide spaced empire.

-There is some civic that reduces upkeep cost by 50%, this sounds like extremely powerfull to me. Is this true or am i seeing things wrong ?

-I saw the AI had mines pretty quickly, do they begin the game with a worker ? Or only at certain difficulty levels ?

As far as the second question, I think the "Organized" national trait does that.

 

[Skutai]

"I saw the AI had mines pretty quickly, do they begin the game with a worker ? Or only at certain difficulty levels?"


It's hard to say, but I know for certain that in one game, on Monarch, the English started with two Archers and a Worker.

 

[petey]

Just played 4 hours or so now. I need some info. Of course, i don't expect complicated formulas yet with this new game.

-What influences the upkeep cost? I take it is like corruption in civ3 and depends on both distance and city count ? If so, how do they roughly compare, wich of these has the biggest influence.
It now seems like we don't want to build as many cities as possible anymore. Is it gonna hurt a lot in upkeep if you settle a bit father away at a nice spot instead of the mediocre spot nearby? Making you end up with a wide spaced empire.

Both distance and the number of cities influences it. I had one game where I accidentally put my second city in the wrong tile, which was too close to my capital and it had no effect on my income. Then I reloaded and put it in the correct spot, which was one tile further away, and now my income was -1 gold. So it costs more to have them further away, but if the location is better, it's still preferable to put the city there.

-There is some civic that reduces upkeep cost by 50%, this sounds like extremely powerfull to me. Is this true or am i seeing things wrong ?

The Organized trait reduces the upkeep cost of civics, which add expense ontop of the cities themselves, and not the cost of the cities themselves, although it can make a difference with larger cities, but Financial is generally better for this. Courthouses and the State Property civic reduce the distance penalty of cities and make them more affordable.

-I saw the AI had mines pretty quickly, do they begin the game with a worker ? Or only at certain difficulty levels ?

At higher levels, they start with a worker and at the highest, they get an extra settler.