Some Starter Questions

[aportinga]

Hello all

I just have a few general questions which are quite possibly so remedial that I was unable to find them in the NewBie & FAQ pages.

1. By playing at different levels will I have access to greater tools/resources. For example: Can I eventually work up to an F-15 in the Chieftan level (Beginer Level)?

2. If I place my cities within the boarders of resorces such as wheat, gold, fish etc.... do I still need to build roads to such resources in order to obtain them?

3. Is it better to immediately build a city on the first turn rather then searching for an ideal location which may include resources such as above as well as land features condusive to protect or build a solid city?

4. When starting in "Chieftan" - or at any level for that matter, should I follow the default production of each city early on? I tend to try and pump out Workers and Settlers ASAP. Then come Archers etc for protection.

5. What are the ramifications of never producing a particular rank/weapon such as a Spearman, Cannon. In other words I have been forgoing Spearman in turn for Archers - only buliding a handful of Spearman at that. I know that this precludes the evolution of the PikeMan but are there any long term ramifications to this?

Thanks all - looking forward to chatting more often with you

 

[zenga]

1. Yes.

2. Yes. (see edit)

3. Depends on your start position and how far away a better site is. Don't waste too many turns moving your first settler, probably no more than two. Use your worker (and scout if expansionist) to explore on the first turn. If in doubt it is best to just settle where you are.

Good thread for useful links


Welcome to CFC!


edit: completely wrong here, see Renata's post below. Bonus resources don't require roads to gain benefits. Somehow read this question as relating to strategic and luxury resources! Just emphasises a point from the thread linked above - read with a critical eye!

 

[Renata]

Originally posted by aportinga
Hello all

Hello.

I have a few general questions which are quite possibly so remedial that I was unable to find them in the NewBie & FAQ pages.

Just for future reference, the newbie thread isn't meant to be a reference thread per se. You don't have to look through the whole thing to see if your question is listed there. Just tack yours on the end, and someone will come along and answer, even if it's been asked five times in the last 2 days. That's what it's for.

1. By playing at different levels will I have access to greater tools/resources. For example: Can I eventually work up to an F-15 in the Chieftan level (Beginer Level)?

All of these things are the same at every level. The only thing is, many new players on chieftain have a difficult time reaching the modern age at all due to inefficiencies in research and the AIs handicaps, which make trading for techs very slow. But it is *possible* to get to the end of the tech tree and have all of the resources and units available, even on chieftain.

2. If I place my cities within the boarders of resorces such as wheat, gold, fish etc.... do I still need to build roads to such resources in order to obtain them?

The previous responder is wrong on this one. Bonus resources such as those you named do not need roads to them to be used (you will get one extra commerce from working that tile if it has a road on it). In addition, luxury and strategic resources (such as iron, dyes, etc) often give bonuses to food, commerce or shields; those bonuses will be available without a road. What you need the road for is to use the lux resource or strategic resource in your cities; for example, you need a road to the wine in order to get the extra happiness, and you need a road to the iron in order to buid swordsmen.

3. Is it better to immediately build a city on the first turn rather then searching for an ideal location which may include resources such as above as well as land features condusive to protect or build a solid city?

Depends. Most people will move their city if they are one turn away from fresh water (river or lake), since a city founded on fresh water does not need to build an aqueduct to grow above size 6. Many will move if their city would otherwise be exactly one tile away from an (ocean) coast, since the city would then wind up with one or more coast squares that couldn't be improved to 2 food with a harbor. Many will move if there's a bonus food square (wheat, cows, etc) that they can thereby bring within their initial or expanded city radius. That's about it, though.

4. When starting in "Chieftan" - or at any level for that matter, should I follow the default production of each city early on? I tend to try and pump out Workers and Settlers ASAP. Then come Archers etc for protection.

No, definitely not. The default production list is almost never optimal. Getting workers and settlers should be the highest priority, but sometimes delaying for a granary or two can help this production in the long run, as well as helping you in other ways (bigger city = more citizens = more money/research). It might be worth it to check out a few of the war academy articles that have to do with starts, and/or check out a few of the succession games in the Stories and Tales/Succession Games forum, or go to the Game of the Month forum and look for the threads about the QSC (quick start challenge).

5. What are the ramifications of never producing a particular rank/weapon such as a Spearman, Cannon. In other words I have been forgoing Spearman in turn for Archers - only buliding a handful of Spearman at that. I know that this precludes the evolution of the PikeMan but are there any long term ramifications to this?

I'm not sure what you mean by ramifications. It doesn't mean that any unit types will be unbuildable in the future, for instance. One thing to keep in mind is upgrade ability: if you're using regular Civ 3 (not PTW), archers are upgradable only to longbows, which are difficult to fight with due to their slow movement and lack of defense, and which are obsolete after the middle ages. Spears are upgradable all the way to mechanized infantry, which means once you build one, it's good for the whole game. Warriors, the other early option, are upgradable only to swordsmen, which gives them an even shorter life than archers (although swordsmen are the best-attacking ancient age unit, so are still very useful). I wouldn't neglect spearmen entirely; archers' defense is too weak. (Although on chieftain you may be able to get away with it, it's not good practice in general.) Again, the places I listed above are good places to look to see what experienced players build.

Good luck.

Renata

 

[Bamspeedy]

1. Regardless of difficulty level, you still have an opportunity to build the same wonders/units, etc. On chieftain it costs the human less to research himself, but on higher levels the AI can help speed up the tech speed if the human is trading with the AI. You'll have a better chance of completing wonders on the lower levels. The human is helped/handicapped in research depending on what level you play. The AI is helped/handicapped in growth and production depending on the level.

2. Wheat, gold are bonus resources, that just improves a tile's value. You don't need roads to 'use' them, but it is a good idea to road the tile anyways to get the commerce bonus. Strategic and Luxury resources you do need roads.

3. Depends. If you can see you are only 1 tile away from a coast or a river, it may be worth it to move. Sometimes it may be beneficial to move a worker onto a nearby mountain to check if there is a better location for your settler. Moving your settler MORE than 1-2 turns is not recommended in 99% of games. If you look in the Game of the Month (GOTM) forums and look at the GOTM17+QSC17 discussions, there is some talk about the ramifications of what to do with the settler.

4. Default production? You mean what the computer suggests you build next? If that is the case, no, don't build what the computer suggests. It sounds like you are doing the better choice of settlers/workers early on for quick expansion.

5. No. I never build catapults, either. I rarely build spearman also. Although I go for horses as quickly as possible. Archers go obsolete too fast for me, horseman also has a much better upgrade chain.

 

[Pal {UI}]

This is a second time today that I have hit "reply" and a response from Bamspeedy has appeared just before I started typing!

 

[aportinga]

Thanks a ton! Looks like I am on the right track.

I am stuck at work with little to do today so I have been cruising the site and it's really great - a valuable source indeed.... as are the members.

Thanks a ton!