Where am I going wrong??

[cipollini]

Hi,

I've just started playing CIV IV, but have plenty of experience with the earlier versions. Each time I have started a game, the opening stages go really well, I am ahead on tech, and build my choice of Wonders.

However, in each game so far, by 1000 AD or slightly after, the AI civs have caught right up and forged ahead in tech.

Also, I'm finding it really tough to make any money. My research percentage is often down to 40% by 1000 AD just to break even. I have plenty of roads built and courthouses.

FYI - I tend to play continents and huge worlds with 7-9 other civs.

Any help gratefully appreciated...

 

[Bast]

Which leader are you playing as? Are you cottaging?

 

[cipollini]

I set leader to Random. In my current game I am Caesar.

I build some cottages - not sure how many is good yet.

 

[bardolph]

Regarding cottages: "as many as you can possibly afford" is good. Otherwise, you will need to assign Scientist specialists to get your research going.

Another option is to pillage and conquer your neighbors to the stone age. Raze any cities that you don't desperately need. The money you get from conquest can help fuel your research.

 

[AnaNg]

Another option is to pillage and conquer your neighbors to the stone age. Raze any cities that you don't desperately need. The money you get from conquest can help fuel your research.

One small twist on this that can really help with research/acquiring techs:

Don't be afraid to take/raze every city but one small tundra burg and then "sue for peace". Meaning go to the civ and say "Give me all your techs and I'll let you live for 10 more turns. This does 2 things:

You get a bunch of techs (and I mean a bunch, start by asking for ALL their techs and then remove the ones you want the least one at a time, you'll be surprised at what you can get. Often, in early wars, I get them all And if I've got currency I ask for all their money too.)

The second thing is does is allows you to heal your troops and move them into position (and maybe some time to whip some more or whip some courthouses) to take that last city when the 10 turns are up. If you leave them one, small, crappy city chances are they're not going to get a settler and an escort out within those 10 turns, but just watch for it and tail them with a couple of units if it happens. Even if they get one out you can usually kill them off before they create a city.

 

[GuitarHero]

Sell off any resources you don't need.

 

[Quueg]

One unique aspect of Civ is that interaction with other Civs is critical if you are to keep up. In most strategy games, I instinctively regard all neighbors as foes. The notion of opening my borders to a neighbor was a completely foreign concept. In this game, though, you have to find trading partners, both for technology and commerce, or you're dead.

 

[weltenbrand]

Not like in Civ3, roads dont give you commerce or money. Courthouse is ok. Research currency and build markets. Build cottages and work them

Do not overexpand.

 

[GuitarHero]

Link up your cities with roads, for trade, and build cottages on top of them. If on ice, make a watermill if you can.

 

[weregamer]

I set leader to Random. In my current game I am Caesar.

I build some cottages - not sure how many is good yet.

That's your problem. In earlier games roads generated commerce. In Civ4 they do not. You must build cottages early and let them grow. Lack of cottages alone is enough to stifle your economy by 1000 AD even on Settler.

On difficulties up to about "Noble" (which is the level at which you are on exactly a fair basis with the AIs, BTW) you can do well with an all-cities-are-generalists approach like you would in earlier games - finding sites with some grasss and some hills, or lots of plains, so they get both production and food bonuses. But because you have to build cottages for commerce, or enormous food production for a specialist-heavy city, you really want to specialize more. A couple of cities with lots of production and only enough food to reach size 20 after Biology, and the rest mostly cottages. For more details look at the strategy guide section (I think it's called the War Academy) here - lots of info and advice there.