Very new player seeking answers please :)

[Validator]

Keep in mind that you can only make an Engineer specialist if you have a building that allows for one, like a Forge, Factory or Industrial Park. If you don't have any buildings that allow you to have a specialist, then you won't be able to. Other than just the regular Citizen specialist. If you want Scientists you need Libraries or Observatories, Merchants need Markets or Grocers, an Artist requires a Theatre or Broadcast Tower. Priests need Temples.

Scientists, merchants and artists can be also be run by using the Caste System civic regardless of what buildings a city has.

 

[Willem]

Scientists, merchants and artists can be also be run by using the Caste System civic regardless of what buildings a city has.

Right, I forgot about that. However that doesn't include Engineers which is what the OP was hoping for.

 

[Lance of Llanwy]

A Science city is one that specializes in producing beakers for your research. They are very much the same as economy cities really since in both you want to be producing alot of commerce. These means a river and/or economic resources and a bunch of cottages. But instead of focusing on Merchant specialists, you'd be using Scientist ones instead and building things like a Library and University instead of a Market and a Bank.

Alternatively, your science city could be a high-food site that focuses on running Scientists. The Cottage Economy and the Specialist Economy are the principle ways to generate incomes, though they often fair best mixed together to some degree. Civ4 is a marvelously deep game....

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Alternatively, your science city could be a high-food site that focuses on running Scientists. The Cottage Economy and the Specialist Economy are the principle ways to generate incomes, though they often fair best mixed together to some degree. Civ4 is a marvelously deep game....

Still, I'd reason that you want to keep one type of production (beakers or gold) to ONLY SE or CE. If you're relying on science specialists in your science cities for science, running the slider for science makes less sense, especially if you don't have science buildings in your commerce cities which are making gold or even leveraging the culture slider. However, just like you've said, the game IS deep. You can probably cottage for gold in your capital and run B. there with market/bank/grocer/stock exchange (eventually), and then put very little into science because you have high food cities running specialists for science and using them to bulb.

I hate all that though, because I'm lazy.