Useless Minutiae

[Pantastic]

In WL I build castles for the trade routes, in several or most cities if I'm protective or have stone, in all if I'm protective and have stone.

I've used cathedrals when I have one or two expectionally large cities that need a little bit more happiness.

I'll build any shrine if I get a great prophet and have the holy city, but I don't think I've ever worked specifically for a GP for the muslim shrine.

I've used Theocracy's non-spread of religion a lot, it's especially nice on a terra map to keep the new world from being covered with everyone else's state religion.

I use machine guns a pretty good bit, when I'm fighting in the infantry era I like to have one with each stack and they are excellent in a city if the AI decides to send incredible numbers of riflemen to take it.

I've used amphibious before as the vikings and on marines, but I don't usually take it as a promotion. I like having a few commando units for the kill that guy-back to stack when I'm attacking, but it's usually too far down the chain.

I use forts occasionally when there's a chokepoint for them, it's pretty rare though.

 

[blitzkrieg1980]

• Built a Castle
  In Warlords I have
• Built Chichen Itza
  I always try to get this in a cultural or diplo or spacerace vic
• Built a Cathedral in a non-cultural game
  Nope
• Built the Muslim shrine
  Nope
• Built a Bomb Shelter
  Only when I fear an AI surprise nuke attack
• Built a Hydro Plant
  I always try to build these as they provide power to my production cities without polluting my pop
• Built SDI
  Not since moving up to Noble
• Benefitted from Environmentalism's bonus happiness from Jungle
  This can be clutch if you don't have enough happiness resources and are warring in the late game. War weariness can be a killer
• Benefitted from Theocracy's lack of religious spread
  Hell yeah! I don't want another civ polluting my allies with another religion risking a switch from mine. I've actually gotten my allies to Adopt Theocracy when they aren't on it too keep the religion pure!
• Run Serfdom
  If I have expanded beyond my abilities, or have "aquired a bunch of cities quickly, I want that land improved and NOW!
• Built more than 3 Ironclads in a single game
  Only when my opponent has them and I'm trying to invade via sea.
• Actually used a Machine Gun in combat
  I upgrade my border city grenadier defenders (leftover from before rifling) because they are great against gunpowder units and don't recieve collateral damage!
• Taken an Amphibious promotion
  ALWAYS! Even if on pangea. There is no better way to wage war than have your units safe and sound in a transport or galleon while destroyers/frigates bombard down defenses and suicide trebuchets provide collateral damage. Send your troops in after that for a sure win. Just come with a few good defenders too.
• Given more than one unit in a single game the Commando promotion
  All my marines get Commando promo from my military city. Once unloaded from transports (see above) into the newly conquered city, the enemy roads are clutch for delivering swift and deadly blows.
• Built a Fort
  Ahhhh... nope. Only when my worker had nothing better to do. These need to be tweaked!
• Built a Workshop prior to Guilds (or more than about half a dozen without State Property)
  Nah. Why kill your food?
• Built an Offshore Platform (because you needed oil)
  Why not? Good for trade.

 

[malekithe]

[[*]Built a Bomb Shelter
Only when I fear an AI surprise nuke attack

That's about how frequently I build them too.

 

[mice]

I'm thinking about playing a game which must use all of these. It could be an interesting variant for an SG

 

[automator]

Built a Castle Once. It was one of my first games ever, and I'd taken an Indian city with swords. The indians wanted thier city back, so I was just building anything defensive.

Built Chichen Itza I like this wonder. A 25% defensive bonus immediately after the post-conquest rebellion is a nice help to a war effort.

Built a Cathedral I've never aimed for a cultural win, but all games have cultural battles

Built a Hydro Plant A couple times. When you got a lot of population in a production city, those unhealthiness points from dirty power sources can hurt.

Built SDI If the nuclear age comes in the early 1800s, I like doing this.

Built more than 3 Ironclads in a single game I had a constant attacker coming after me over a channel, and frigates weren't cutting it for coastal defense any more.

Actually used a Machine Gun in combat Great defender.

Taken an Amphibious promotion Once or twice.

Built a Workshop prior to Guilds (or more than about half a dozen without State Property) I love workshops.

 

[wioneo]

Does the amphibuous bonus count if I got it for free? and I can't beleive that you've never used Police State! Whenever I build/steal the pyramids early, I'm back and forth bewteen State Property and Universal Suffrage.

 

[malekithe]

Does the amphibuous bonus count if I got it for free?

Nope. I'll use anything that's free (well... almost anything).

 

[Winston Hughes]

*Given more than one unit in a single game the Commando promotion

On my very first game of Civ 4 I gave five horse units the commando promotion fairly early on, after some intensive war-making against my neighbours. I actually based part of my strategy on getting those units up to commando because I thought it would be really helpful. But, as it turned out, they proved to be of little use until...

Much later, having abandoned my earlier warlike ways and in pursuit of a diplomatic victory, I found myself a little way short of the votes needed to win. I had no way to grow my population any further, a fairly weak military, and no chance of convincing any extra civs to vote for me. Worse, my opponent (Tokugawa) had a rapidly growing population (although he was still miles behind me). I was left looking for a quick and easy way to cut down the population of one of the civs that were voting against me, and so to increase the relative value of my votes and those of my allies.

So, I shipped the old horse commandos across the sea to Peter's Russia (which was powerful, but universally unpopular; a perfect target) and used his roads to quickly nip from my allies' territory into his, pillaging his crucial farms and food/health resources in double quick time. I lost all but one of my horses, but their heriocs meant that his population quickly starved down from c.8million to less than a million.

Those earlier promotions, born of inexperience, ended up playing a major role in my maiden victory!

Nowadays I tend to focus on beefier promotions, but I still like to keep the odd horse commando on hand when possible, partly out of nostalgia, partly because you never know...

ps. I think that if you had the tech which ups your movement speed on roads (I forget which one it is) and your enemy didn't, then your commando units could move faster on your enemy's roads than his units could. Not a huge bonus, but amusing nonetheless.

 

[WuphonsReach]

Hmm, I build bomb shelters as soon as I see that the manhattan project has been completed. Same thing with SDI. Otherwise you run the risk of getting nuked back to the stone age as soon as you go to war with an AI civ that hasn't been to war in a while.

(But then I plan on marathon / huge... where the games run into the 2000-2200 A.D. era.)

 

[ace94d]

I love to build Castles. Especially for getting Early cities Cultral Borders. I like to build them for culture because they provide Defence, unless were all using Rifles. Then I build Theatres.

Chichen Itza is Underrated. Yes, It obsoletes at Rifling. But the Defence can save new cities and benefits Cultrally Impared Cities.

I build forts on Deserts that dont hold Oil. it's all you can build and my workers are often already done with everything. And it onlu applies to you.

I love Hydro Plants, but I dont build them Regularly. Not many Cities with Water.

SDI? If Diplomatic Victory is turned off I use it to prevent Nuclear Strikes on myself.

I've used Serfdom if my Cities are High-food. Helps with Floodplains too.

Muslim Shrine? if I get Muslim.

Cathedral? of course! Why not?

I love Workshops. I'm just fine with doing it before guilds, but I usually dont have the land to do so Before Guilds.