Walkthrough by Sullla

[Harovan]

Arrian sighting!

Hey old chap, how are you?

[sabrewolf]

all valid reasons, but still not convincing to me.
it has been said that rushing is difficult, and on higher levels probably not even possible.

there must (must there?) be a solution between religion-rushing, tech-whoring and war-maniac. some builder solution? or great-people-whoring? or culture-nut? these all seem possible but i assume they are suboptimal and less effective than that early religious centre.

cheers

[DeepO]

Originally posted by sabrewolf
these all seem possible but i assume they are suboptimal and less effective than that early religious centre.

Why do you assume that without having played the game? There are many choices, and maybe the religious route suits your playstyle best, but it certainly is not the only one. Others could disagree quite easily...

DeepO

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

Sullla himself has said that-though founding a religion is a good way to go-he has certainly been successful WITHOUT pursuing this strategy. What you need to remember, Sabrewolf, is that there are OTHER ways to become both culturally and economically successful BEYOND religion. For instance, having the holy city is +5 culture per turn which-though hi in the early game-probably doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the mid to late game. Similarly, the money earned from a Shrine is probably also great to have, but probably doesn't compare later on to the kinds of money you can earn through international trade. Of course, this is just rampant speculation, and perhaps someone like Solver or MarkG can confirm or deny it!

Yours,
Aussie_Lurker.

[asleepathewheel]

If you're not spiritual, then you either plan for an early war, beelining for bronze/iron or youpush for theocracy where you will catch up. alternatively you can shoot for priesthood, build the oracle and nab confusionism. Taht's pretty typical for me.

[Sirian]

Early religion is far from the only right answer.

[Guynemer]

Any idea when he's going to put up the next installment? I stayed up late reading that last night, can't wait to get my hands on the game... it finally says "shipped" on EBGames.com...

[Disk Killer]

Originally posted by Guynemer
Any idea when he's going to put up the next installment? I stayed up late reading that last night, can't wait to get my hands on the game... it finally says "shipped" on EBGames.com...

Tell me about it... was hoping to pick up the game after work and now have to wait til tomorrow night; my beloved Habs are playing the Senators too so it'll cut into my play-time...



I think he might update at midnight EST again.

[SSBLoveU]

Wow

This is great.
(I was hoping to see alien spaceships and laser beams in CIV IV, but again, I guess this is too far out for the tech tree)

[Disk Killer]

Score!

http://www.kalikokottage.com/civ3/sullla/civ4_walk_3.html

[Nacht]

Originally posted by sabrewolf
i'm sorry if i sound a little too critical here. but from what i see in sulla's walkthrough, early religion is an absolute must!
that +5 culture boost for those ultra-early religions (buddism, hinduism), the earning money very early on, the additional line of sight, the ease of creating a shrine which gives yet more money, and and and...

and if i read correctly, getting these religions seems virtually impossible if you don't start with mysticism, which nearly makes it impossible without the spiritual trait.

now sure, on a largish map divine right and code of laws will come soon enough not to already be under control of another religion. but on small to medium maps it seems to me that one of the 2-3 early faiths is a must.

please - to all who have played the game - convince me that you are not shafted if you miss out on them and that the head start can be caught up easily... especially if you are not spiritual.
please confirm that spiritualism isn't civ4's version of civ3's industrial and C3C's agricultural hyper-trait. pretty please

This sounds hopefull:

And lest you think that Spiritual/Philosophical is the best trait combo, you should see me play a game with a Financial civ where I go the cottage-spam route. Or take an Industrious civ for a spin and go nuts on wonders. Or take a Creative civ and dominate someone culturally. All of these leader traits can be played to an advantage - I'm just making the best use of what I have here with Saladin

And don't worry about being too critical

[sabrewolf]

DeepO:
i have not yet played the game, that's why i wrote "i assume" and not "i know"...

Aussie:
yes, those few hundred culture don't matter much in the future. but early culture and money is worth more than later on. in civ3, 100g in the ancient age could let you research 20-50 turns with deficit spending, while in later ages you might just shave off 1 turn of research.


but anyway, i do feel more easy now about it. maybe it's just sullla's example that made me think early religion is overpowered. and combined with my uselessness for rushing i was worried that there were no equivalent strategies.
but that last sentence, which Nacht quoted makes me happy. i always loved playing builder games with the english and truly appreciated the commercial trait bonuses. i guess if you can keep peace, the financial trait may be a great one too...

thanks for all your answers

[sabrewolf]

by the way, this should be moved into the "civ4 reviews" forum, right?

[The diplomat]

Having played several hours of civ4, I can say that it is possible to do just fine without being the first to found a religion. In my current game, I did not found any religion but I concentrated on other things like culture, city growth, military and I am just as competitive as any other player.

[Grumbold]

Good third episode, but I wish he would stop teasing. I want to read it all asap!