What do you build when you have nothing to build?

[atazur]

Hi all,
Great forum you have here!

I have a question which I would like to hear your opinion: What do you build when at a certain point you don't have any building available to build?
Do you go for additional workers or wealth?
Sometimes I build everything in a specific city, but I don't want just produce extra military units if I don't need them (same for workers). So what do you do?

 

[Rhymes]

Since i often go for cultural victory I build cultur . or military units, you never have enough.

 

[Sephlock]

If its lategame (and thus I have sufficient military units), I'll do either research or culture.

However, at any other point I'll make more military units.

My reasoning is; if you have been concentrating on building to the point that you've built everything that can be built in a given city, you have almost certainly neglected your military- at least, more so than your neighbors.

If you have a weaker military than that of your neighbors, they'll be eyeing your land and resources hungrily and it won't be long before they're banging down your door. At that point, all the Aqueducts and temples in the world won't save you.

 

[Grand Fromage]

ICBMs.

You can never have too many ICBMs.

 

[Eleventhtower]

Personally, if my city is fully maxed on upgrades I will build research if I am racing toward a critical technology.

If tech I need is more than 1 to 2 techs away, then I always resort to more millitary in production centric towns, or build money (to finance my war) in the commerce towns.

-ET

 

[Superhaze]

Amen... ICBM's all the way!

Personally I go for lots and lots of units, usually the quick units so deploying them around my great empire wont take forever..

 

[Vizzini]

Cash.

Universal Suffrage + Kremlin + Lotsa Gold = Ridiculous number of late era Wonders just waiting to be bought up like candy.

 

[atazur]

Usually I play Phi/Fin (Elizabeth) and I build only cottages (on non mines, non rivers, non resources tiles - Wounded Knight stratedy). So I find myself at the end of the game with tons of gold and nothing really to do with it. (you can't buy the projects)
So I wonder if research is better then wealth?

 

[Vizzini]

Usually I play Phi/Fin (Elizabeth) and I build only cottages (on non mines, non rivers, non resources tiles - Wounded Knight stratedy). So I find myself at the end of the game with tons of gold and nothing really to do with it. (you can't buy the projects)
So I wonder if research is better then wealth?

You can't buy the projects, but you can buy everything that lets you complete those projects and have them popping out of your cities like machine guns. Be careful of researching Fiber Optics too early, save that for last since it obsoletes the Kremlin (I think it's Fiber Optics - working from memory) In my last Space Race win (Prince) it would not have been possible were it not for some creative cash rushing at the end game and having the -50% off the Kremlin gave let me beat Cyrus by one part - and then only because I was able to punch it out in 9 turns and his city was going to take 26. (I had a spy planted there just in case but as it turned out it wasn't needed)

I cash rushed, among other things, The Space Elevator and I have no doubt what-so-ever that is what won the game. Cyrus beat me to the Apollo program by about 15ish turns and I went into panic mode because I knew I wasn't going to be able to get enough votes for a diplomatic victory.

 

[anton_z1]

Hi all,
Great forum you have here!

I have a question which I would like to hear your opinion: What do you build when at a certain point you don't have any building available to build?
Do you go for additional workers or wealth?
Sometimes I build everything in a specific city, but I don't want just produce extra military units if I don't need them (same for workers). So what do you do?

You click ALT and you click on Stealth Bombers. Do it in all your idle cities for several turns, then change Bombers to Modern Armorn. After 20 turns you are ready to start WW1 .

 

[Speciou5]

Really now, if your hammer production is outpacing your research of improvements it's time to turn those hammers into more territory (through military of course ). If you already have a dominant military and no target for war.. well maybe it's time to play on a higher difficulty.

But I would value wealth more, as I believe that would lead to more beakers.

 

[atazur]

You can't buy the projects, but you can buy everything that lets you complete those projects and have them popping out of your cities like machine guns.

Then maybe i'm missing something ... what do you mean by: you can buy everything that lets you complete those projects?

 

[Vizzini]

Then maybe i'm missing something ... what do you mean by: you can buy everything that lets you complete those projects?

Factories, Power Plants and the biggie: Laboratories.

Laboratory, -50% space ship production cost. (1000 hammer becomes 500 hammer)

A city with a Factory, Power, and a Lab will punch out ship parts in 1/4th the time of any other city... it would be as if you only needed 250 hammers to complete a 1000 hammer part. (The math doesn't actually work that way but that's the net effect of it all)

Now rush the Space Elevator - and that 1000 hammer space ship part in a city with Factory+Power+Lab becomes a 125 hammer part.

In my game I had Factories, but few power plants and no labs when the rush began. At the end I had 3 cities punching out parts, one of them had space ship part production equivelant to almost 150 hammers per turn.

Edit: Keep in mind this is only really feasible if you have the Kremlin. If you're going Space Race you really need to nail this wonder. Save a Great Engineer for it if you have one.

 

[Skippa]

Then maybe i'm missing something ... what do you mean by: you can buy everything that lets you complete those projects?

I think he means that you can rush the forge , factories , coal/hydro/nuclear plant, Kremlin & Space elevator etc. These city improvements will increase hammer production and then you can finish projects more quickly.

edit heh heh Viz beat me to it

 

[Minsc]

I would recomend that if you get to that point, increase the difficulty level.

 

[Vizzini]

I would recomend that if you get to that point, increase the difficulty level.

Not quite - I up the difficulty once I've won a game via every means - since each win scenario is so different. I've got Domination, Conquest, and Space Race on Prince done. Going for Diplomacy on my current game but I think it's about to get messy. Alexander got upset that my culture was eating him alive and declared early (it's about 500 BC)

Sad for him I chose this game to be a diplomat. When I got done with the first turn of war I convinced 3 other Civs to declare on him and the poor sod's only got 3 cities to start with. I don't even have to attack - if the other AI's take those cities my culture will for sure flip them.

 

[Vizzini]

Screenshot of the production power of a city with Ironworks, No unhappy workers (Globe Theater), Space Elevator, Factory+Power+Lab. I was incorrect in my earlier "150 hammers/turn" claim - it was only 114. Coulda swore it was more but 114 Hammers a turn I'll take

 

[PugFugly]

Vizzini- Build some railroads on those mines to increase your production.

 

[Vizzini]

Rails would only increase commerce, not production(?) and as you can see I wasn't hurting for cash (Financial Trait rules ) At this stage I had my workers automated building transportation - they just hadn't gotten to the capital I guess. Game ended when that engine was finished.

 

[Vardis]

railroads increase production for mines and lumbermills. I haven't checked workshops or watermills. It doesn't increase production for windmills.