I need help

[Retro21]

I'm unfamiliar with previous Civ games, and while I've read the manual, I'm still struggling.

I usually start as the aztecs for their instant healing if they win, a good skill when you start off the game, but are there better all round nations? I had a look at the poll and it seems pretty mixed.

Any general tips would be useful, for example in the game I'm playing atm I'm in the 1860s and I archers are my best unit, while my ally has tanks! Seriously, what am I doing wrong!

Does it make a lot of difference where you settle your cities, e.g. beside the sea/forest/desert? Do these surrounding squares influence your gold and science production?

Also, at the beginning, is it best to keep it balanced or choose to focus on something?

And finally, sometimes my techs seem to upgrade instantly, despite it saying it will take x turns, is this because I'm so far behind that they feel they have to upgrade me?

Sorry, I'm totally perplexed by some points, any help is much appreciated!

[Skardiff]

Ok firstly where you place your city matters alot, the resources that your city has access to will help you win the game, even define what type of victory you should go for.... and try not to build your city right next to a hill, that will only help your opponents take it....

each square influences your gold and science production, play around with the workers (in the city screen)and it will show you the impact...
you need to use your workers carefully, select what you want them to do, almost turn by turn....

what defines what you're workers do is dependent on what resources you have, and what type of victory you are after, or what you need to do in a hurry...

[frank_littleff]

lol, i really want to help but it's trying to get my head around offering 8 years of experience in a quick mail. Hopefully lots of people will offer small bits of advice and you can learn from them and playing.

My main bit of advice for this game is play the Indians (Ghandi). The reason being is that from the beginning you will get the benefits of resource bonuses from things such as cattle or wheet or rubber etc without having to have researched the relevant tech.

Now, things i do that help give me a boost at the begining of a game:

To start i ignore research and get 3 warriors made asap. the first 2 i send out exploring the third i defend my capital. The exploring ones are important for finding friendsly villages which give bonuses, barbarians which give bonuses and better still money and namable areas (such as forests or plains) which give money too. Reaching 100 gold, then 250 and 500 give you bonuses. For example 100 gold gives you a settler without reducing your capital by 2 citizens.

After the 3 warriors i make a galleon, put the defending warrior on it and build another or one of the 2 exploring, then send the galleon around coastlines to find more friendly villages and barbarians... and occasionally the odd special artifact (these are shown to you when you beat barbarians.

By this piont your first city should easily have 3 or 4 citizens so you'll be researching science as well.

As far as managing citites goes, it really depends on the resources each city has. I try and find a good spot with lots of woods immediately around it so that city is good at producing. Others may be good for money or science. But different resources in a cities location will usually govern the best use for the city. Also if a city is good for science make sure you build a library there, and if it's good for gold build a market. I think researching techs is essential as wihtout them you'll always be in the dark ages.

I also find a minimum of 3 cities quite early on and 5 of your own by midway is important, and if you can grab others through battle then all the better for it.

Also, don't ignore culture as getting special people can offer huge boosts to a city (a reasonable science city will get a 50% boost from the right special person).

The best thing to do is perhaps play on your own and experiment. In the end you'll start learning what the best techs are for your tactics and you'll get a better understanding of the mechanics of the game.

Hope this helps. I know it's not a lot of info, but it's a start and i'm sure others will offer a bit more

and have fun, it is a great great game

[Retro21]

yeah, I'm really enjoying it, much better than I could have expected for a game that doesn't offer mouse or keyboard compatability!

Thanks both, good info (esp. frank, cheers), I am getting a way to understanding it a bit better now, especially after a few games. Think I jumped into the multiplayer a bit ahead of myself, and paid for it haha.

Anymore hints or tips would be useful, though part of me wonders what else can be added after the above!

Thanks again guys.

[frank_littleff]

you're welcome, have fun

[kenjara]

I use india at the moment for that resource bonus but Romans are also a pretty good nation to get to grip with game using. The romans start with republic meaning you only need one population to build a settler (this will help you grow your cities quicker). Romans also get 1/2 price roads and wonders. Building the roads will help you move your forces between cities quicker in the even of an attack and being able to build wonders twice as fast can get you way ahead of the other nations if you build the right ones. When you start the game ideally you want to sent out a few warriors to look for the bonus camps and barbarians. These will either give you gold, units, caravans or technologies. Obtaining these can give you a nice early boost in the game. As said before getting gold from the barbarians and caravans can help give you a fast settler for free. Build a galley early and dont be afraid to send settlers to remote islands on away from your mainland. If there are good resources on the islands the cities should be able to fare well enough on their own.

[Retro21]

the most comparable game I played before this would be AoE, in which it was a good idea to go out and land grab then block off with walls your area, so I think because of that in this one I've been hammering the "creating new town, getting settlers, creating another new town" etc. etc.

How many towns etc. do you guys have roughly in games, shirley the more = more science and gold production = better status in game?

Also, when you have the choice of either using the town primarily for gold or science, is there much point in building buildings that help the opposite option?

e.g. in Delhi I'm concentrating on science, so there is no point building a bank? Or have I misunderstood and each city concentrates on both, you just have to swap (triangle) to see what it produces?

Again, thanks for help.