Things you have learned from Civ

[Florian]

Mischief,

Actually, an alphabet is a collection of phonetic symbols. Systems of writing that are based on pictograms (e.g. ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and classical Chinese characters) do not use an alphabet.

 

[Defiant47]

56. The best way to murder someone is to make them angry. Then they will starve themselves to death.
57. Deadly diseases such as cancer and AIDS don't kill any people, they just destroy a bit of food, and might stunt the growth of your cities.

RE: Alphabet

I don't know, it always seemed that the concept of writing requires some sort of organized system. You can't just randomly scribble things or put some pictures and call it writing. I equated that system to one of an Alphabet, and found it a bit off that you could have Writing without having any (non-pictorial) system with which to convey information.

 

[Florian]

Some things I've learned from Civ4:

1) Before it can conceive a belief in One God, a civilization must first go through a phase in which it recognizes many gods.

2) Communist-style central economic planning somehow reduces administrative costs across your empire.

3) If you already have one Hindu temple in a 99% Hindu city, building a second one won't make anyone happy. However, if you make a Jewish temple instead, that will increase happiness even if only 1% of the populace believes in Judaism.

4) Nations will sometimes fight over religion, but citizens of different religions will always get along just fine. Even before the introduction of Free Religion, four or five religions can co-exist in the same city without any friction or civic destabilization.

5) To this very day, a ship under a Spanish flag will move a little bit faster than an identical ship in the service of any other country, because Ferdinand Magellan was working for Spain when he circumnavigated the globe.

6) It might take your fastest unit 100 years to get from your cow pasture to your capital city, but the beef will still be edible when it gets there.

7) Specific livestock animals and food crops can survive only in certain strictly circumscribed locales. They just won't reproduce / grow anywhere else.

8) Foreign films (i.e. movies made by a film company that is not based in Hollywood) do not have the power to make people happy.

9) New York was founded centuries before York was.

10) The great civilizations of the world are ruled by immortal demigods who have an uncanny understanding of the future. "The enemy city is garrisoned with axemen," their generals say, "Should we research iron-working?" "No," they reply, sagely. "Learn how to write. Your great, great grandchildren will need catapults."

 

[Florian]

Defiant,

Writing does require a system, but the system doesn't have to be alphabetic. Instead of 20-30 characters that represent vocal sounds, you could use a library of several hundred (or several thousand) characters that each stand for an object or concept.

 

[snipafist]

But hieroglyphics have to have an alphabet of their own, every written way of communication does. The cIV tech Alphabet does not specify which alphabet they mean though, so i suppose you could say that the Alphabet tech refers to a later one than that used in the Writing-tech.

Hieroglyphics aren't alphabetic, they're pictorial. An alphabet is a system of writing that conveys sounds, rather than ideas, through symbols. The phoenicians came up with the system the Romans and Greeks came to use, which is what most countries use today. That's quite different from the hieroglyphics of the Egyptians or the Chinese, for instance.

 

[Elros]

But hieroglyphics have to have an alphabet of their own, every written way of communication does. The cIV tech Alphabet does not specify which alphabet they mean though, so i suppose you could say that the Alphabet tech refers to a later one than that used in the Writing-tech.

Isn't an alphabet a collection of symbols used to spell out a word (hence the word alphabet, a derivation of alpha and beta) as opposed to pictograms? I believe hieroglyphics combined the two but primarily used pictograms, only using an alphabet to spell out names and the like. You could probably scrape by without an alphabet then.

EDIT: Didn't see the replies on the second page. Sorry for repeating what you guys above said

 

[Zello]

Here's one to mess you up with...


58. All religions were discovered by scientists through research

 

[Elros]

Oh the irony. They also invented slavery and police states. And fishing.

They do get around.

 

[Azander]

1. Lincoln was the first american leader to adopt slavery.
2. There is no supermarkets in America, only Malls
3. Berserkers are fierce warriors because of their ability to cross rivers
4. Wheat only grows on around 3% of the Earths surface
5. War elephants never stood a chance against spearmen
6. France is a vassal of England
7. Ragnar wore a horned helmet
8. Notre Dame was built by the buddhist nation of the Incas
9. Stonehenge somehow raise an obelisk in every Egyptian cities
10. Gandhi's favourite civic is not Pacifism

Great thread

 

[Elros]

"6. France is a vassal of England"

I object

I already knew that

 

[Defiant47]

Try to keep the numbering consistent.

79. The most productive city has no hills or mountains.
80. Gold makes people happy, but more gold doesn't make people any happier.
81. In the early days before Agriculture and Pastures, people used to eat grass.
82. Jungles do not provide any sort of research benefits. At all. Ever.

 

[Elros]

83. The wood from jungle trees collapses into a pile of rot the instant it's cut down, hence no production bonus
84. The smell of jungles is an acquired taste. Leave society in one for a few thousand years and they'll become hippies who love it.
85. Nuclear power is a deathtrap and fossil fuels never run out. The sun is too weak to provide energy.
86. Even after the advent of refrigeration, food cannot be moved more than 20 miles from it's source.
87. Fresh water can't even be moved that far.
88. Men with axes will work alongside men with uzis and will never complain or get jealous.
89. Prayer builds things faster than labour.
90. Divine intervention makes you better in combat.
91. Only the religious can be pacifists.
92. It costs money to not have a state religion.

 

[snipafist]

93. Conquering armies are renowned for their tendency to build theaters in their wake.
94. Founding a tiny colony on an unknown planet far away convinces even the most crazed warmonger to bow down to your supremacy on Earth, even if you are a civ the size of Luxembourg.
95. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism are the most popular religions in the world.

 

[henrycccc]

95. people who play civ 4 are losers who spent too much time on the forum
96. baba yetu is the gayest theme song ever made

Moderator Action: Trolling - warned.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[AThousandYoung]

But hieroglyphics have to have an alphabet of their own, every written way of communication does. The cIV tech Alphabet does not specify which alphabet they mean though, so i suppose you could say that the Alphabet tech refers to a later one than that used in the Writing-tech.

That's not true. An alphabet codes sounds into letters. Other forms of writing, like heiroglyphics or Chinese characters code ideas, not sounds, into written symbols.

EDIT - I see that heiroglyphics do have a phonetic component from your link.

America secured vast amounts of oil and cash by selling Gone With The Wind to Third World Countries?

Not oil. We have oil in Texas and Alaska, remember? All the oil we will EVER need, even if we conquer the entire planet. But as for cash...

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%60Pokemon+The+First+Movie'+Triumphs+Overseas-a061546278

6. France is a vassal of England

"George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc."

87. Fresh water can't even be moved that far.

Irrigation?


Moderator Action: Posts merged. Please note that there is a "multi-quote" button - select all the posts that you want to comment on, then hit "quote" on the final one.

 

[Defiant47]

Irrigation?

He meant the +2 health bonus from fresh water.

 

[AThousandYoung]

The city needs to be right on the river to dump it's sewage in it I would imagine.

 

[Elros]

I shall rephrase it then

87. Faecal matter can't even be moved that far.

 

[Izipo]

95. If the UN decides you have to use Universal Suffrage, you have to do it, now ! Even if you don't know how and even if you are at war with the whole world and nobody would talk to you.

Great thread by the way

Come on people, don't get too serious.

 

[AThousandYoung]

From the Earth map -

96) Alexander wasn't so great.