Lateralis,
The late Golden Ages definitely do come in handy, especially if you're drowning in war or want to get a lead in tech and mass units, in your case, tanks. It can be a huge help in the development in your civ.
Good job!!!
so my most recent game i'm playing as the eqyptians on regent (this looks to be my first regent win but I'm not there yet.) So usually, I play as persia and trigger my golden age pretty early. however this game, I didn't bother building any war chariots maily because I was surrounded by a lot of jungle and mountains making a wheeled unit kinda worthless. anyhow, I was playing mostly as warmonger and managed to destroy germany, rome and france and was coming up on early industrial ages when I started building JS bach's. at this point I must be like two or three techs behind I'm guessing when boom, right after steam and halfway through industrialization, I get a reigious golden age and OH MY JUMPIN JESUS!!!!
I used it to put factories in every one of my bigger cities, AND put libraries AND universities almost everywhere (which i had neve bothered to biuld scince I was too busy building cheap temples/cathedrals with my religious bonus), plus research medicine, sanitation (thus building hospitols everywhere they were needed) scientific method (thereby beating everyone to ToE) hence getting two extra techs which helped build me towards tanks while researching at 4 turns/tech to electronics and beating everyone to hoover dam, which (once I hit motorized transport post golden age) allowed me to build a HUGE amount of tanks to teach those annoying greeks a lesson. once I'm done with them, it's over to the other continent (where india stands alone after destroying japan) to wreek havoc on the leader in score who is now firmly 4 or 5 techs behind me.
the later game golden age is the single coolest thing in the history of the world. hands down. sorry if everyone already knows this, it was my first GA after ancient times and I got a little carried away. ok that's all
lateralis
"As far as I'm concerned, humans have yet to come up with a belief worth believing." --George Carlin
Lateralis,
The late Golden Ages definitely do come in handy, especially if you're drowning in war or want to get a lead in tech and mass units, in your case, tanks. It can be a huge help in the development in your civ.
Good job!!!
I always get my Golden ages in the anchient era not because of a UU victory but because of building wonders.
I should change this.
I drink to one other, and may that other be he, to drink to another, and may that other be me!
as I'm playing emperor, for me an ancient age GA is far more important, i can use it to bring my forces up to a sufficient standard to conquer/deal serious damage to a few rivals thus gaining important territory & sometimes techs in any peace settlements.
this sets me up to be a very solid position by the middle ages and by the start/(or very latest)middle of the industrial age I expect to be leading the tech race anyway. at which we can say cavalry & tank charges are very much the order of the day in my aim to subjugate the remaining few civs who resist my enlightened leadership.
I like my GA's right after republic, since when I switch to it I often do not have enough infrastructure to suport it well, and I use the GA as a time to build tons of city improvements, so that when it's over I have a viable economy, and I can focus now on any war I need to get in to.
I have not measured it, but you can make a case for either. Late is going to give you more, but earlier can spell the difference in winning or losing.
I'm with vxma1, I can make a case for either.
In general though, I'll take a GA either after the first change to Monarchy or Republic, or upon researching Motor Trans.
Big enough to get a real boost, and timed for maximum effect.
The greatest delight for man is to inflict defeat on his enemies, to drive them before him, to see those dear to them with their faces bathed in tears, to bestride their horses, to crush in his arms their daughters and wives.
Duas uncias in puncta mortalis est.
I like the late ancient/early medieval period for my golden age. As long as it's not despotic, it's all good.
A funny thing happened last night, though. I was play as the Aztecs and warmongering as usual, without using my jags. I used archers to hit the English and then horse/swords on Russia. I built the Colossus (religious) and captured the Great Wall (militaristic) from Russia. Captured wonders should not trigger a GA. And the GW didn't... at least not right away. 10 turns after capturing the GW, I finished the Great Library (scientific) in Tenochticlan. BOOM, Golden Age! I think CivIII runs a check of Wonders in your possession upon completion of a wonder... and if you have a civ trait match, GA for you. Not that I'm really complaining. The GA was pretty well-timed, I was a Monarchy, and I soon picked a fight with a Mounted Warrior capable Iroquois (if they had built VETERANS they may have done more damage, but waddya gonna do, eh?). All is now proceeding according to plan (knight horde unleashed).
-Arrian
grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.
The golden age has greater effect when it occurs late in the game because you have more cities.
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Arrian: I didn't know you could get a GA by capturing a wonder, cool...
Try my Lord of the Rings MAP out: Lands of Middle Earth v2 NEWS: Now It's a flat map, optimized for Conquests
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No, he didn't trigger the Golden Age by capturing any GW; he got it by finishing the Great Library.Originally posted by Hagbart
Arrian: I didn't know you could get a GA by capturing a wonder, cool...
But he wouldn't have had a Golden Age triggered then if he hadn't captured the Great Wall. Finshing any wonder seems to cause the program to check through all the wonders you currently own to see if there is a combination that triggers your GA. So capturing the Wall had no effect (as per design) until the Library caused the check to be made, whereupon the Wall counts towards as GA as though he had built it himself. I.e. it is a minor bug, AFAICS.Originally posted by Moonsinger
No, he didn't trigger the Golden Age by capturing any GW; he got it by finishing the Great Library.
I see. I understand the situation perfectly now. Sorry, it was too early and I wasn't quite awake yet.Originally posted by vulture
But he wouldn't have had a Golden Age triggered then if he hadn't captured the Great Wall. Finshing any wonder seems to cause the program to check through all the wonders you currently own to see if there is a combination that triggers your GA. So capturing the Wall had no effect (as per design) until the Library caused the check to be made, whereupon the Wall counts towards as GA as though he had built it himself. I.e. it is a minor bug, AFAICS.I agree it must be minor bug then.
True, it's going to have a greater monetary/production effect, because of all your cities and worked tiles, but earlier in the game, I think it has a more decisive game effect. I need that late ancient/early medieval GA to determine whether or not I will be number one, or playing catch up the rest of the game. Of course, too early is worse, which is why I don't play aggressively with Aztecs in the early part of the game (stupid golden age with only two cities!!!)Originally posted by Hagbart
The golden age has greater effect when it occurs late in the game because you have more cities.
along these discussion lines, one of the main reasons I was so surprised by how useful it was was this: I was NOT in first place at this point. I was a few techs behind india and japan and greece. i was behind india in score by at least 200 and only leading the rest by maybe 20 or 30 points. this late GA built my momentum so much that I am now (after playing another few hours) about 7 techs ahead of india who is now the only one left after destroying greece who was no small empire. I managed to catch up and surpass india in score and I've been building an army with mech inf, and waiting to upgrade to MA before taking them out. I have a surplus of 6500 gold and am getting techs in 5 turns. I'm actually thinking of going different ways from my most recent save, doing space race and then going back and conquering just becasue I can. As i mentinioned in my first post, I've never won on regent before and i'm savoring every second of it!!
all hail the late golden age!!
lateralis
"As far as I'm concerned, humans have yet to come up with a belief worth believing." --George Carlin
Way to go, lateralis!
As for triggering a GA via captured wonders, here is how I think it works:
Let's take the Aztec example (mil/rel). If I build the colossus (rel) and capture the great wall (mil), nothing happens. If I capture the gw and THEN build the colossus, I get a Golden Age.
Further, if I have mil/rel wonders in my possession and build any other wonder, I get a GA.
Seems like a bug alright, and I'm not so sure it's "minor" because I am pretty picky about my golden ages. As lateralis has discovered, one's golden age can make (or break) a game.
-Arrian
grog want tank...Grog Want Tank... GROG WANT TANK!
The trick isn't to break some eggs to make an omelette, it's convincing the eggs to break themselves in order to aspire to omelettehood.
May I ask one quick question? How many Golden Age are we allowed to have per game? My guess is no more than 1 but I need confirmation. Thanks!
yus there can only be one
Speaking of Golden Ages ... Is there a way to increase the number of turns it will last?
I think I recall seeing something of that nature in the editor.
I once triggered a Golden Age in the late industrial to early modern age. Very amazing. Techs coming in every 4 turns, everyone happy... and I mean everyone! not a single unhappy citizen! And still raking in the dough!
Very cool... but I was already winning, so it didn't matter in terms of strategy for me.
- Skeeve
My Reach always exceeds my Grasp...
I seem to recall that the unpatched game, there were reports of a second GA. After the first patch no reports.
Yes you can increase it in the general settings section, but remember, the AI gets golden ages just as you do.Originally posted by Skeeve
Speaking of Golden Ages ... Is there a way to increase the number of turns it will last?
I think I recall seeing something of that nature in the editor.
I once triggered a Golden Age in the late industrial to early modern age. Very amazing. Techs coming in every 4 turns, everyone happy... and I mean everyone! not a single unhappy citizen! And still raking in the dough!
Very cool... but I was already winning, so it didn't matter in terms of strategy for me.
- Skeeve
I find golden ages to be useful after switching to monarchy or republic, during the middle ages, or after Motorized transportation. Any earlier, and there aren't enough cities to gain full benefit (as well as being in a corrupt, primitive government). Any later, and the game is pretty much decided anyway.
My best GAs were as Rome (Used my legions in battle after switching to Monarchy. Beat the AI to Leo's Workshop and Sistine Chapel on the same turn), Chinese (Used riders. Used the GA to crank out more and more riders until I was last man standing) and the Germans (the panzers turned me from a civ in the mediocrity to the most powerful civ in the game).
I once got an F-15 Golden age, but it wasn't any use to me, since I was already the superpower and at least 2 techs ahead of the opposition (Who were all communist and at war with each other. I was democracy, at peace with all but one civ).
But even then, knowing how to use the golden age to full effect is the most important thing.
Golden Ages in the ancient era isn't too bad (IF you are not in despotism). If you are in despot, you lose alot of the golden age's potential, because the tile penalty erases it. You won't see any benefit of shields on your mined bonus grassland, and commerce for roads by a river. Because they produce 2, golden age brings this to 3, but the tile penalty drops it back to 2.
So I always try to avoid my golden age until after I am at least in Monarchy or Republic.
I'm going to guess that an early Golden Age is generally better than a late one. Why?
Well, the bonus you get in the early game allows you to build things that increase your production, which allows you to build more things that increase it even more, etc. By the time you reach the modern era, you'll probably already be past the point that a late Golden Age would have taken you to. The late GA only seems so impressive because the increase comes suddenly, all at once.
To illustrate the importance of the early game, consider how the game would procede if you started out with two settlers and two workers instead of only one of each. In theory, you would expand out at twice the normal rate, and produce twice as much commerce, units, cities, etc. In practice, corruption/waste and space limits would probably cause your total productivity to less than double in the long run, but I think you can see how effective a small early bonus can be. Generally, if something increases your productivity by a fixed percentage, the earlier it is, the better, because what you have is multiplied as the game progresses. This is what we call "the miracle of compound interest".
Very early GAs are bad for two reasons:
1. Despotism often severely limits the bonuses to the point where they are near nonexistent.
2. If you are focusing on building settlers, the GA will likely not be very helpful in this, as the limiting factor is usually population growth, not production. Perhaps one could offset this to a degree by using the extra production to build granaries.
The importance of the early game is why the Expansionist trait is better than some people might realize. It does basically get "used up" as the world becomes populated, and will probably become useless by the middle Middle Ages. But the edge it gives you in the beginning will pay dividends for the rest of the game. (The usefullness of Expansionist also depends on map size, land mass, and number of civs.)
"God is dead." - Nietzsche
"Nietzsche is dead." - God
I'd say that the early GA is more subtle than the later one, but each can be equally useful if you've A) planned for it and B) know how to exploit it.
If you can hold off a GA until after industrialization (particularly as the Germans...) and and you've got big cities with factories all over the place, oh boy, is it something to behold. Your production is almost incomprehensible; even your little toad cities are running like champs, and your big hitters are churning out tanks each and every turn. If you've been planning for such a GA, you can overrun the world practically overnight.
Of course, if you'd had an earlier GA, you might have already overrun the world 1000 years earlier. But, IMHO, the earlier GA is tougher to time and exploit because your margin for error is a lot smaller. It's easy to not bungle a late GA because you can pretty much build anything you want several times over, but you've got to focus that little boost of an early GA to get the maximum potential from it. Usually, that means cranking out the troops and rolling over your neighbors as quickly as possible, but it might also mean building as many cultural buildings (or granaries, or courthouses, or whatever) as fast as you can. But the chances of being able to do both in an early GA are a lot smaller than for a later GA, so careful planning and execution are much more key.
Personally, I prefer the later GA because it's more spectacular to behold and it makes it really fun to whomp the other civs. I've also had great success on other occasions with early GAs, but the later ones are much more fun.
I tend to trigger GA's by accident how are threy brought about, its a UU winning a battle or building certain wonders.
I nromally play the greeks so my hopilites usually trigger the GA and its at a time when its alomost useless.
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In one of my recent games I had a late GA with railroads, factories, Hoover AND mobilization on Marla Singers Earth map. Too bad I missed to make a screenshot of the capital production, but I guess you can imagine the looks of it.
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I once had a GA fairly early on. I was playing Germany on a huge map and got stuck alone on a large island. I completed a GW to trigger it (oops).
The problem was that I hadn't met any other civs and I didn't have any city improvements left to build. Didn't have map making and had already explored the entire island. Talk about a wasted GA.
Hrm I'm playing as the Americans this game and haven't had a GA yet. I'm curious to see how my GA will affect me once I actually use the F-15 to trigger it. It shouldn't be too long, since I'm setting my sights toward the Indians to the N.
True a late is a powerhouse, but you can win or lose with an early one. You do not need a late one, it is just icing on the cake. If I am making tanks the game is over, the GA just makes it fun. At the higher levels the early GA can turn the tide.
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