STRICTLY ABOUT THE BEGINNING (and other things)

[FutbolPlaya44]

I have a few questions i havent seen answeared on other forums about the beginning of the games and technologys...

Well #1. In the beginning of the game how fast do u expand. like do u build a setler then wut do u build after that?
2. What percentage do u keep your science reasearch at?
and 3. do u have anyquestions liek these?? put them here.

oh and sry i didnt put this on the short tips forum but these rnt realy tips.

 

[SJ Frank]

#1) How fast you expand is strictly a matter of how much food bonus you have at your capital.

With no food bonus, your capital can grow one population in 10 turns. Since it takes two populations to produce one settler, you rate of expansion is 1 city per 20 turns. If you have a +1 food bonus, your capital can now grow once in 7 turn, for the expansion pace of 1 city per 14 turns. With +2 food bonus, you capital can grow in 5 and build settler in 10, etc., etc.

Since a granary doubles the rate of population growth, it also doubes the rate of your expansion. So if you're in a situation where you have room for more than 4-5 cities, it is almost always worth it to build a granary before the first settler.

The fastest expansion rate you will see in a randomly generated map is 4 turns per settler. That requires +3 food bonus at the capital , for a total of +5 food per turn, plus an early granary.

#2) 100%. Early techs are mush more useful than early cash. After getting those vital early techs, then you can set your research rate according to the difficulty and situation.

 

[FutbolPlaya44]

thx

 

[lbores]

Originally posted by SJ Frank
#1) How fast you expand is strictly a matter of how much food bonus you have at your capital.

...

Since a granary doubles the rate of population growth, it also doubes the rate of your expansion. So if you're in a situation where you have room for more than 4-5 cities, it is almost always worth it to build a granary before the first settler.

Given the facts re: Granary - would you build one in your early city/cities even if you're going for the Great Pyramid? Seems to me a good idea.

Can you sell the actual granaries after the GP is built?

 

[Ronald]

I want to explore in the beginning to get contacts with other civs, to be able to trade and find out where to place my second city. So I tend to build scouts or warriors, then the first settler and afterwards a granary.
Most of the times science between 20 and 100% does not make a difference, it is still 40 turns to get it (pottery and ceremonial burning is quicker, but they are cheap to trade) so I keep science at a minimum for the first 80 or more turns.

 

[col]

I think the decision about whether to build a granary or not depends on the situation around you.

If there is no immediate pressure from other civs - on a large map for example - then build one as quickly as possible. It will initially slow your expansion but you will get that back and more once you start churning out settlers.

On the other hand, if you run into other civs immediately you may lose that good site nearby while your granary is building. In that case it may pay to go for settlers imediately and wait until you have a another city capable of building settlers before building your granary.

As in so many cases the answer is, it depends.

 

[JuicyCivNewbie]

It depends what strategy I'm using. But early on I tend to research the wheel at maximum science rate. While doing that I build warriors(or scouts)/settlers in my cities in order to explore the surrounding area. When I get wheel, I hook up some horses to my trade network and start building chariots. The key is to try and fit chariots into the build queue so you don't waste any time building a settler after you've built the chariot. So for example, a city at size 1 builds a chariot, and at the same time grows to size 2, in 10 turns. When it grows to size 2, it takes it 10 turns to build a settler and grow to size 3.

Hold off from getting horseback riding, and set science to 0% or 10% to research techs at 40 turns. When you have enough chariots get horseback riding or chivalry (preferred), and attack your nearest opponent. You should easily overwhelm them.

 

[edawstwin]

Originally posted by SJ Frank
#2) 100%. Early techs are mush more useful than early cash. After getting those vital early techs, then you can set your research rate according to the difficulty and situation.

I disagree, mostly. If you are playing on an Archipelago Map, this may be a good strategy. But as long as you are exploring with warrirors and/or scouts (which you should do until you meet everyone on your continent), having money to trade to other civs for tech is more useful. I always get more tech early using this method than trading tech for tech. And the first couple of techs you research take close to 30-40 turns no matter what your science rate.

 

[Scyphax]

It depends on what civ you are.
If I am expansionist I usually but 3 scouts first. Then either a barracks, temple or settler. The scouts will get you techs faster that you can research or buy them.
If I am the Aztecs I usually go barracks, Jag warrior, settler, more jag warriors and a temple for each city.
Except if I am playing the Aztecs I am usually lightly defended at the beginning. Several units will explore and one will remain behind to defend.
I build roads between my cities and have one unit stationed in such a place that it can quickly reach several cities.
Only one city will have a barracks and that will produce all my units.
Initially I concentrate on exploration (even if I am not expansionist) producing settlers, terrain improvements, linking up cities and resources, and temples.
I like to expand my cultural influence not just to increase the choice of tiles available to a city but also to give increased warning of hostile units.
Generally in the early phase I am earning more cash from distroying barbarian settlements than I could from my city squares. I find cash not particularly useful during despotism so I usually have my science rate set high.
Usually my reseach prioritories (in no paricular order) are bronze working, temple, the wheel, iron working as I like spearmen for defence, like to build lots of temples, and like to secure Horses and Iron early in the game.

 

[Sgt.Hellfish]

I generally expand aas fast as poss. I build 2 wariors and a settler, then a granary. then alter between buildings and workers and settlers

 

[André Alfenaar]

I build granaries usually very late in the game. Usually after Hospitals! If you want to expand rapidly and you have some excess shields you had better build Temples instead of Granaries. This way you can leave more open space between your cities. I am even hoping that some gaps are filled in by another civ in order to culturally absorb these cities later on.

CivIII is not about using every possible square, but is about conquering as much territory with as few cities possible.

 

[col]

Originally posted by André Alfenaar
I build granaries usually very late in the game. Usually after Hospitals! If you want to expand rapidly and you have some excess shields you had better build Temples instead of Granaries.

I find it hard to agree with that. Granaries double your growth rate - but there is an initial cost. Temples will push out your bordes but will do little to develop your expansion capacity.

Expansion is driven by how fast you can build settlers ultimately.

I always have at least one settler city which cranks out settlers for the whole of the game and often two or three and lots in corrupt areas. Granaries here are an absolute, no exceptions must.

Once all the available land is settled, you can use the settlers to add to other productive cities, to clear jungle by settling and abandoning cities in one turn or ... ask Cracker (very nicely) for other examples of what settlers can do.

Settlers can be useful in the endgame too - see Moonsingers artillery attack threads,

 

[André Alfenaar]

It depends on Map Size, too. I only play standard Map (not larger)so the time you will be 'craking out Settlers' is comparatively short. So one has little time to earn back the initial cost of a granary.

Maybe, on larger maps granaries are more profitable.

 

[col]

I still crank 'em out sandard, small and tiny maps.

I build settlers the whole game long.
They are so useful - they can clear jungles, build rails and irrigate in one turn!

I also vulture in some ICS games. Build cities in all the cracks when other civs are at war. When a city changes hands, its boundaries will shrink leaving you able to insert a city. Fill all the cracks. Expand their borders and an easy dom victory.

Settlers are just too useful ever not to have a few around.
They are good for moving pop from corrupted areas to productive reas. Whenever I build a hospital/ aquaduct I can increase the city pop to max the next turn if I have settlers around. Your corrupt cities arent much use for anything else.

The settler is the most powerful unit in the game! Build em. Lots of em.

 

[Tassadar]

Originally posted by Sgt.Hellfish
I generally expand aas fast as poss. I build 2 wariors and a settler, then a granary. then alter between buildings and workers and settlers

This is exactly what i do most of the time, i like to have a second city before i built the granery in my capitol, because this second city will crank out spearman while my capital crank out settler and worker. And my worker will always irrigate cow or wheat ( unless i have 3 cow tile on grassland, then i will mine them).

 

[André Alfenaar]

I am happy to read that I am not the only one that irrigates cattle and wheat! (And: if you do so, you probably don't need a Granary.)

Next game I will try to build a Granary earlier; I am curious whether this will indeed speed up expansion.

 

[Tassadar]

Sure it is good to irrigate cow and wheat, by doing this i can assigh citizen on forest ( with road) later on and gain productivity, I am sure it is a lots better to irrigate bonus food tile than to mine it ( who could think about mining a wheat crop ) because the city grow fast and growth = power and productivity. Even if i have cow or wheat in my capital i will built a granery ( especialy if i am on a river ) there is so much settler and worker to built in the starting of the game.

Later on once my set up is done, i will plan to capture pyramid if it is on my continent ( most of the time) and built forbiden palace in this former a.i. city. With about 20 city in medieval age i rule the world ( regent level).

 

[zagnut]

You would do well to read a very thoughtful article by Cracker that is posted in the War Academy entitled Opening Plays. The War Academy is on the left sidebar on the main page.

What it taught me is that you can't always follow a formula to start the game, especially on the higher levels. How you start is dependent upon many variables.