The Road to Recovery

[allunderheaven]

You have just tripled the size of your empire, it stretches from sea to sea, you a are proclaimed the greatest conquerer... now what... Some annoying little kingdom at the edge of the world is centuries ahead of you in tech and you are losing money at 10% science... uh... What should I do in this situation, what should I build first? What should I research? How can I get back on my feet? The annoying "We long to join our motherland" unhappiness is popping up in every conquered city.

 

[DigitalBoy]

Whip courthouses like it's like you job, and then hope that when your cities mature that it will make up for years of crippling maintenance. Try to get the Forbidden Palace quickly too.

Also, since your science slider is low, buildings that increase gold output (like markets and banks) will be especially useful.

 

[batavier]

Look at the financial advisor, if you're paying "unit supply" pull your troops back behind your borders. If you can finish off your opponent quickly that's likely better, but I suppose that's not the case here. If you pay too much for "unit cost" delete obsolete units. To get rid of "we yearn to join our motherland", finish off your opponent or build up culture in the cities.
To get out of a financial hole:
- switch your citizens to commerce tiles
- build cottages (research pottery)
- research currency and then build markets or build wealth instead of units
- if you have alphabet you can build research if you can't afford more units.
- using the whip is good, as long as you do not whip away citizens that work commerce tiles.
- research code of laws and build courthouses or switch to caste system
and run merchant specialists.

 

[Sjaramei]

Cottage up, courthouses and start preparing to invade the techer
(even a phony war will slow them down a bit)

 

[Morgrad]

The only thing to do is start packing in economy-improving buildings until you drag yourself out of the hole.

As a general rule, if I can triple my landmass and end with just barely breaking even at zero% science, it was worth it - 'cause 100 turns from now the AI won't have a chance of competing with me.

 

[allunderheaven]

What should I build first in the conquered cities? A theater? A bank? A courthouse?

 

[DigitalBoy]

What should I build first in the conquered cities? A theater? A bank? A courthouse?

Anything that will help the city get up and running faster. (That and courthouses.)

Usually, the first thing I build is something cheap that generates culture, so I can get the fat cross. If you're running Caste System, you can run an artist for a few turns instead. Then I usually build a granary to hasten city growth and then a courthouse to alleviate maintenance.

I usually whip a lot of these first three builds, but after that I like to let the city grow. After all that conquerored territory, you probably have a whole slew of luxuries and health resources, so your cities can probably get large without the help of buildings.

 

[Lord Chambers]

Always a (1)theatre* to push back on borders + fill in territory that some annoying vassal might try to settle. Then a (2)granary if it was destroyed during the attack, followed by a (3)courthouse. All of these must be whipped as soon as possible. To facilitate the whipping I generally emphasize farm building, even if only temporarily to get the city back up to a population that contributes to my winning conditions.

To answer the OP, what to research and what to do is dependent on your situation. If you haven't researched Code of Laws make that your top priority. After that, currency, and from there on out it's pretty difficult to expand so fast you can't tech your way out of it. Mind you, there's a difference between being in a hole where science stagnates, and being behind some other civ in tech.

Sometimes in early wars, if you chariot rush and REX with settlers, you find yourself almost at 0 science and without any buildings that can stimulate commerce. Dead in the water. By contrast, in later wars, you have technology like markets and libraries which makes remedying a slowdown on your science production only a matter of time. The only real danger there comes from other civs which may invade you using superior technology. But, as a bigger civilization with more hammers at your disposal, even outdated technology is a fair match in sufficient numbers.

So don't sweat the kingdom at the far end. Keep your eye on diplomacy so you aren't unexpectedly invaded; devote your workers to cottages; devote your hammers to markets, libraries, banks, and universities; and direct your research towards the next military technology so you can start invading as soon as you reach tech parity and your troops aren't in danger of striking.

*Not a library or temple, because if I don't have the drama tech yet, then I'm also not doing sweeping domination pushes through someone else's country, which is the modus operandi that necessitates a theatre before all else. If I'm limited to libraries and temples, it means I'm in my first, maybe second war, likely won't be immediately declaring on another opponent as soon as I finish the current enemy, thus have time to develop the captured cities rather than try to stop them from slowing down the empire. Wars with Trebuchets and Macemen onward are usually ones with domination in mind, and don't value the captured cities as much as the territory they can snag.

 

[gallego]

A specialist economy (GP farm, scientists, caste system) can float you during this period. You aren't going to have lots of mature cottages and commerce so upping the science slider won't help anyway. Having a GP farm with caste system is very helpful; in a high-food city you can have 6-7 scientists and settle the rest or bulb strategic techs to backfill (philosophy, education are huge). If you have a library and academy in the city, think of each scientist's total modified ~5 beakers (just a fast estimate) as the equivalent of a town at close to 100% science or two towns at 50% science. So 6 scientists is like having 12 towns, close to a full-blown commerce city, at 50% science. Before long your cottages will mature to supplement your scientist city. Just lay them down early and develop them.

 

[Refar]

A espioneage economy works well if the real economy is down the toilet due to too much conquest.

This is bacause the really strong espionage infrastructure comes late in the game - so it basicly does not matter, how badly behind your infrasturcture is in medieval Age. As long as get Constitution not too long after the AI does, you are fine.

Get yourself to CoL somehow, if not there yet. Build Courthouses, start running spy Specialists in them. Start building up espionage Points - a little against everyone, and lots agains the Civ you want to steal from... The closest civ that has a tech on you in the beginning, later, the tech leader.

You only really need Alphabet, CoL and Optics - if there is no one to steal nearbye. Usually you can steal Optics and some Backfill techs from a neigbour, then go after more advanced civs on the other Lands... As soon as those 3 needed techs are done, forgot your Science slider - drop it too 0. Run some Spy Slider if you can, just money if you need - you will do fine with just the Spy Specialists, if has to. If you happen to pop a Great Spy (if you cant make on now is ok, but try not to get too many other GP's - you can pop some GSpys after you have Jails), Build Scotland Yard(s).

Dont need to ever build those expensive Tech buildings - Library, Uni, Obs. Just direct your Hammeers towars increasing income (Markets) and military. Of course you also need a good load of spy's and 5 to 10 Caravels, if stealing overseas. A couple Missionaries are good too, as stelaing from a city that has your religion is cheaper. So spread first. Drop Spys in the city you choosesen (Small City, as close to you as possible, with your religion) and let them sleep there for 5 turns for maximum discount. Allways take care of resupplieng spys - they will get cought from time to time...

Beeline (Stealing not self teching) the Techs that lead to Constitution, save up some EP's to steal Constitution ASAP. You will see what the AI is Teching soon, so you can choose who to direct your EP's against. Once you have Constitution, Build Jails after that you basicly can steal what you want. By now you should have some matured cottages, to give you money and also be able to take the Espionage Slider up to give you a lot more EP's...

I recovered out of some really bad holes this way - like 15 techs behind, beeing early medieval, when the first AI's get Liberalism... - it works really nice with large empires, as every city can contribute via Buildings, regardles the slider. Lends itself more for Military games: Steling from the Tech leader, using the Techs to Bully the more Backward civs. But if you have nice production, you can go Space as well.

 

[allunderheaven]

What's an espoinage economy?

 

[Refar]

In a espionage economy you get your techs vis Espoinage - stealing them - instead of teching your self. So instead of trying to make lots of beakers in your cities, you make espionage points.

It's not that different, just instead of building libraries, universities and such you build Esp multipliers. There are very good esp. multipliers avaiable and some buildings just give you points in the first place - something you dont have with research.

Here are two walktrough / concept threads. You will get the idea there. Xanadux is building his Esp economy right away from the start, but it does work very well as 'backup plan' as well.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=252489
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=252224