Civ4 hidden secrets (not cheats... secrets)

[DeepO]

Originally posted by padillah
Is this the wrong forum for this, then?

That's not what I meant. It only seems a bit too eager to ask for this one topped, there are tons of (useful) threads like this one here.

See what is topped: a map reference guide which is not available in the civilopedia or manual, written by Sirian, who also created the map scripts. You definately do not want to let that thread drown between the dozens of new threads each day, hence the topping.

DeepO

[padillah]

See, that's what I was trying to do with this, list stuff that's not found in the manual. Like the Submarines under the Ice tiles and getting an extra movement point from circumnavigating the globe.

Should I be more strict about what I add to the list?

I'm just new and trying to contribute. If one of you guys that actually KNOWS what they are doing wants to start a thread of stuff not in the manual I'd really apreciate it. I know there are things that are just discovered during game play and they can really help the game dynamics if we, the human players, know them. (Like other civs can build within three tiles of your cities. I think it might depend on closed borders, I can't tell yet.)

Tom P.

[Martinus]

[*] If you are at war with some civ together with another civ, you can ask your "ally" to coordinate attacks against a specific city by choosing an option "Let's talk about something else" and then choosing joint attack.
[*] In the diplomatic advisor screen, you can left click on a portrait of another ruler to see what is his attitude towards other rulers. If you then mouse over other ruler's portraits, you will have a complete break-down of why they like or dislike him - which can be useful if you want to manipulate them into, either, signing a peace or going for war.
[*] When trading techs, the AI will normally not agree to trade any tech which allows it to build a wonder, until such wonder is built.
[*] When trading resources, a number in brackets on your side of the screen shows a total number of resources you own, including the one you are using. This means that if you have only (1) resource and you trade it away, you won't be able to use it. On the other hand, the number of the AI side always means extra resources.

[Pachabel]

[*] When trading resources, a number in brackets on your side of the screen shows a total number of resources you own, including the one you are using. This means that if you have only (1) resource and you trade it away, you won't be able to use it. On the other hand, the number of the AI side always means extra resources.

Wow. I had no idea. That seems odd.

[padillah]

Not really. Say I have horses but I'm done with chariots cause I've got the one up from that (I think it's tanks).

If you come along and ask for horses I'll gladly trade you, even though it would leave me without the resource... cause I don't care, I'm not using it anyway. Might as well get something out of it.

Tom P.

[Martinus]

I think he meant it's odd that the displayed number on each side means something different.

[Pachabel]

I think he meant it's odd that the displayed number on each side means something different.

Yes, which is misleading, particularly since it's different than the last two iterations of the game.

[Martinus]

To be honest, I haven't tested it - just read it on the forums. This may be wrong.

[DeepO]

Sorry to keep on threadjacking, but you asked so I might as well answer here

Originally posted by padillah
See, that's what I was trying to do with this, list stuff that's not found in the manual. Like the Submarines under the Ice tiles and getting an extra movement point from circumnavigating the globe.

Should I be more strict about what I add to the list?

First and foremost, you have to use your own judgement. I know I struggled with that when I first started posting (and that was after half a year of lurking), but this is a free forum. I certainly am not going to tell you what (not) to do, part of the fun is finding out. I most certainly do not have the 'right' answer either, I'm just a member here like you are.

But if you want some advice: don't try to make everything into a must-read thread. While I agree the idea of the thread is useful to new players, this thread won't get topped unless Soren or someone similar comes along and writes down a reference list of things not known to anyone (including us betatesters). The importance of threads is more measured by how long the discussion in them keeps on going, and so how many people keep on viewing your thread and how long they remain in the few first pages. If you want to make a useful thread, keep on posting related things in one thread (even if it was not created by you), and help others...

One way of doing that, is by keep on adding new information when you find out. If it is important, you might want to link to the source too: people who collect and quote information are generally better viewed than people who tell everything like they found out themselves.

I'm just new and trying to contribute. If one of you guys that actually KNOWS what they are doing wants to start a thread of stuff not in the manual I'd really apreciate it. I know there are things that are just discovered during game play and they can really help the game dynamics if we, the human players, know them.

Ah, but you're mentioning it yourself: part of the fun is finding out yourself. Of course I knew about the subs going under the ice, and I even might have some ideas on how to use that. I was not going to tell that little gem before someone found out... And yes, the ice crossing subs is different from telling where to look for your best science city, but that doesn't really matter: both are on topic here.

And to why this has not been done before: well, there are a couple of reasons. First because there are some 'start here' threads which contain some of this information (e.g. the stars were mentioned in several reviews) so the information is already out there. I tend to correct posts, or try to post new things that come from an experience of a couple of months of playing, I don't collect them. There is simply not enough time to do everything, so I focus on what I like doing most.

Further, I would not be the best person to ask this from: I haven't even fully read the manual yet , and when I started playing the manual was about 4 pages long. I don't know what's in the manual, and what's not. I also don't know what people might have overlooked from reading the manual and playing for a week, I never was in the same situation.

DeepO

[DeepO]

Originally posted by Pachabel
I think he meant it's odd that the displayed number on each side means something different.

Yes, which is misleading, particularly since it's different than the last two iterations of the game.

There is indeed a difference with Civ3. On your side, it's the same: if you give your only resource away, this means you won't have it anymore. You can do this with obsolete resources, but also to balance things out: if you've got plenty of happy but no food resources, you might want to trade your only cow for incense.

On the AI side, resources will only be available if the AI has an abundance of them: they will never give up their only resource, they can't.

This looks confusing, but it is not: Your part displays your current situation, the other part of the diplo screen will show you what is available for trade. If an AI says it has 100 gold, this does not mean he has 100 gold in his treasury. This means he has 100 gold available for trade. He can very well have another 1000 gold put aside for future upgrades, which you can never take from him by trade. So instead of showing his treasury of 1100 gold, only the tradeable 100 gold are shown.

This is a good thing if you think about it: you will never get frustrated because you can't get that last 1000 gold. You also can't 'steal' the AI's upgrade money like you were able to in Civ3. And, you can't use the diplo screen to spy on an AIs gold situation: if that says 100, you are not safe from an invasion with his best units the moment a new tech is discovered.

DeepO

[Theseus]

"- Be the first to sail around the world and get an extra movement point for your ships."

What defines "around the world"?

[Theseus]

Regarding the discussion of the value of threads like this:

YES! This forum should certainly include tips for newer players, ranging from stuff like this thread, through the basics of city and terrain mangament, through basic strategies, etc.

It's just a bit early to determine which should be topped.

[duodecimal]

Originally posted by Theseus
What defines "around the world"?

We'll probably know for sure with the release of the SDK, but I imagine the game checks to see if there's at least one Y position in every X position that's revealed.

So if you go across the map and scan down every column of the grid, and you can see that there's at least one tile where revealed = true for all of them... then that triggers the event.

[Bhruic]

It's also worth noting that it's just exploration. It doesn't matter how you explored it. I was stuck on an island and hadn't built any boats yet. An AI boat showed up and I traded world maps. That got me a full "around the world" exploration, and gave me the extra movement, despite the fact I hadn't left the island.

Bh

[DeepO]

Don't quote me, but I thought you needed a revealed path around the map for a ship. Going over land is no good: you need to be able to see one coast and be able to cross it.

I thought I saw an example where one of the continents touched the ice both on top and at the bottom: nobody sailed the world there.

Easiest way of getting it is beeline for the tech, and sail 2 ships in opposite directions. When they meet on the other side of the map, you circumnavigated the globe. And hopefully you were not last

DeepO