Vel's Strategy Thread, Volume III

[Arrian]

I've never run a full-on specialist economy.

Every so often, I find a city site that is perfect to use as a GP farm (to me, this means lots of bonus food but otherwise meh tiles, like a city with a wheat and a corn and a bunch of grass, no river... not exactly set up to be a production monster or a commerce monster... but it's got food!). That's about it. I tend not to play PHI civs, and when I do I think I play them pretty badly.

-Arrian

[Footie Mad]

I always play random civ and try to change the strategy around to exploit the given bonuses as best as possible. But given the philisophical trait of course it becomes more reasonable to have the library in the commerce city because you don't lose as many turns of growth.

Another interesting thing is beelining for literature with a philosophical civ, then rushing the national epic in a GP city. This becomes almost to good to pass up on if there is a marble resource nearby. Imagine having academies in all of your major cities early on, when also the added culture gives a good border maintainer/expander.

[couerdelion]

Originally posted by Footie Mad
I always play random civ and try to change the strategy around to exploit the given bonuses as best as possible. But given the philisophical trait of course it becomes more reasonable to have the library in the commerce city because you don't lose as many turns of growth.

Another interesting thing is beelining for literature with a philosophical civ, then rushing the national epic in a GP city. This becomes almost to good to pass up on if there is a marble resource nearby. Imagine having academies in all of your major cities early on, when also the added culture gives a good border maintainer/expander.

I’d not put academies in all cities – rarely even more than two. The cultural bonus is just a bonus and it’s far easier to maintain cultural borders simply by capturing any cities on the other side or by acquiring more standard cultural bonuses from religion, library etc.

Settling GSs in an existing academy city will net you an automatic 10.5 beakers anyway (assuming you have a library) so the academy will only pay off more in another city if base commerce is 21. With monasteries, observatories, universities, the difference is even more weighted in favour of settling GS and the additional production is a nice bonus – particularly in a bureaucratic capital.

[Arrian]

I typically make 1 academy... maybe two at most, yeah. I figure that unless the city is gonna put out ~100 beakers/turn before the Academy, there are better uses for the GS (lightbulb a tech, maybe settle in a my capital).

-Arrian

[Generaldoktor]

Originally posted by Cort Haus
...Ultimately though, the numbers say "you need Representation" to really make the SE pay. This means that only IND or civs starting by stone need really apply, leaving the cottage economy the more mainstream solution. The Great Wall --> GE in Warlords opens another option for the Pyramids now, though.

I finished Pyramids recently in a Noble game, with Industrious, (Qin,) and no stone. But it was on the infamous Highlands map with "Raging" Barbarians and I think everybody else was too sidetracked building axemen to bother with Wonders. "Great Wall" by the way gives an enormous advantage in such a game, aside from the extra potential to get a GE. Everybody else is inudated with barbarians in the early game; you the successful builder, are not. So far, AI seem to attach no special importance to building the d-mn thing, unlike some other Wonders. Their loss.

Coeurdelion told me on another thread of his policy of limiting academies. Arrian's comment that there's plenty of other things to do with GS makes sense to me too. However, I am wondering if there is some massive science effect to building a lot of them. Anybody who does, please speak up.

[Thrak]

So far, AI seem to attach no special importance to building the d-mn thing, unlike some other Wonders. Their loss.

Not in my experience at monarch; the Great Wall is often the first wonder the AI go for (over Oracle/Stonehenge).

[Generaldoktor]

I need to play more, but it might be a quirk added at higher levels to make them more difficult. Somebody let me know please if they are ever able to finish it, at those levels.

[Velociryx]

Question for everybody reading (and yes, I'm doing a bit of research for the upcoming, unofficial Civ 4 Strat Guide)

So is it fair to say that the following IN GENERAL TERMS describes the basic "flow" of a game of Civ, from start to finish?

Game Phases
Keep in mind that I am speaking in the broadest possible terms here. Generally speaking, a game of Civ will go through several "phases" or stages as play progresses from turn one. The duration of these phases may vary wildly, but will all come to pass in a fairly predictable order. Understanding this sequence of events will help you understand the flow of the game as a whole, and make it easier for you to come to grips with the various dynamics that are driving the game, and eventually, with the metagame forces at work beneath the surface.

Phase I - The Window
This begins at 4000 BC, and runs some unknown number of turns into the future. It is the period of time in the very early game when the biggest concern you have is the local wildlife (lions, panthers, wolves, bears), and your primary goal is to get out there, gobble up huts, meet your neighbors, and learn the lay of the land. Of course, while you are doing all of this, you're also laying the foundation for the whole rest of your game. If you do well before the window closes, you'll likely to well for the entire game. If you stumble here, or act indecisively, you'll likely spend at least the next two ages just trying to catch up. This is by far the most important part of the game. If the Ancient Era is more important, in game terms, than all the other eras combined (and in my opinion, it certainly is), then this window is the most important part of the ancient age...easily more important than all the turns that make up the rest of the age, combined. This is the era when those crucial first few techs are discovered, when early religions are founded, and when whatever strategy you have decided to pursue begins taking shape.

Phase II - The Peaceful Land Grab
The window closes as soon as the first barbarians begin to appear. That's it. Party's over. You are now in at least some danger (and perhaps quite a lot of danger, if you selected "Raging Barbarians" or somesuch). If you haven't used the Window to get yourself set up and prepared, then this next phase will likely leave you feeling flustered and vulnerable. There's no set time limit on how long this phase can last, but it begins with the appearance of the first barbarians and ends (for you) when there's no place left for you to expand unless it's at someone else's expense (ie., no more expansion without declaring war on someone). This is the phase during which Rushes occur...everybody is scrambling about for "their share" of the continental pie, and defenses are usually minimal. A rush at this stage in the game can absolutely devastate a neighboring civ. Even if it doesn't kill him outright (which it usually does), the Civ will be totally marginalized in all future eras of play, and can be polished off at your (or anyone else's) leisure.

Phase III - Regional Consolidation
Once humanity has spread out like a cancer across the continent, it's only a matter of time before violence erupts (if it hasn't already...see Phase II and the note about Rushing). The particulars and reasons for the wars may vary, but they will come...they always do. If you have done well for yourself during the early phases of the game, then you'll be well-positioned to build on those gains now, and it is a winner-take-all proposition. This stage doesn't end until a clear regional power emerges from the pack of Civs sharing your "portion" of the continent (if you find yourself sharing a smallish landmass with one or more civs, this phase might get skipped entirely). As the human player, your mission is to see that you wind up winning the top spot in your region. Fail here, and you either die outright, or are relegated to a fringe position that will be increasingly hard to recover from, and may well lead to a slow decline, and eventual death.

Phase IV - Continental Domination
Once the regional dominance issue has been settled, the top dogs from each region on the continent will invariably have a go at each other. In some (rare) cases, those surviving Civs who have been relegated to lesser positions on the continent may regain their former strength, and even become top regional players themselves, but in practice, this is unlikely. Once a Civ is down, they generally stay down, especially with the increased liklihood of dog-piling that we see in Warlords. This phase begins for you the moment that you, or some other Civ in your region becomes clearly dominant, and ends only when there's a clear leader on the whole of the continent. Make sure that it's you!

Phase V - The End Game
Often, the exploration of the rest of the planet is occuring while regional and continental dominance dramas are playing out, and so, by the time we reach the End-Game, a great deal more is known about the world. If you're playing "continents" or some derivitive of them, then you've no doubt by now found "the other" continent(s), and discerned who the dominant Civs are there (or, if you're playing Terra maps, then you've no doubt discovered the New World, and may have already taken steps to begin taming it). In any case, the biggest surviving Civs, wherever they might be...these are your rivals from now until the game's end. These are the guys to beat. Whatever victory condition you are pursuing, whatever goals you set for yourself, the largest surviving Civs will be your primary opposition, and they may well try to form coalitions against you. Even if you are the strongest, if enough smaller Civs decide to hit you all at once, you could be in for some trouble. Or, if your position is not as secure as that, then you may find yourself in a tooth-and-nail race to the finish line with one or more robust rivals, fully capable of matching you militarily and in research. By and large, it is your performance throughout the other phases of the game that will determine how easy, or how difficult this portion of the game is, and of all the game segments that have come before, the one that has the MOST bearing, pound-for-pound, on this part of the game is...the Window. Whatever success or trbulations you face in this part of the game can, in all liklihood, be traced back to what you did, or did not do before the Window closed. This will not always be true...sometimes, you can have a brush with disaster in some later era that will echo quite loudly, but more often than not, it'll all go back to the Window. That fragile, wonderful first "leg" of the game....

-=Vel=-

[Addled Platypus]

question on title: Phase IV - Continental Domination

is there a way to write in general, to cover most map types ?

or a need to break it down ?

[Velociryx]

Hmmm...I guess we could call it "Pan-Regional Domination" or somesuch, which would cover just about every map type...yep.

-=Vel=-

[couerdelion]

I’d say it follows the basic flow very well and even in those game where there are big diversions – mainly the slingshots where you might forego some of the hut rushing or delay a bit on the the land-grab – it will still rapidly revert to the main thread you’re suggesting here.

Of course, the writing is as succinct as ever, Vel. I don’t know if you want to mention it here but do you want to highlight that the objective of each phase is to set yourself up for the next phase. As an example, suggest that part of phase one is mapping out the best city locations for phase two. Phase two then will involve getting the basic infrastructure in place to build your first army ready for three etc etc.

[Velociryx]

Thanks man! And yep...I need to more clearly delineate passage from one game segment to another--both goals and bounding boxes--and also to mention things like the Slingshot, which may take you temporarily out of the "main flow" of the game, only to drop you back into it when you're done....

-=Vel=-

[Swiss Pauli]

That really sums up the phases well.

The only thing I'd change is the title of Part V to something a bit more evocative: 'The Road to Victory', or somesuch. The End Game makes it seem like the last dozen turns.

[Velociryx]

Working Outline for the Civ 4 Strat Guide

Civ 4

Introductary remarks

Notes

Terms you'll need to know (both my own creations and general Civ terms)

Broad overview of the types of games you can play.

Generalized breakdown of a typical game (the stages)

Deciding on a Strategy
-->factors to consider

That Crucial First Turn
-->analyzing the terrain you can see and planning your exploration

Setting Research Priorities
--> setting a "curriculum" for your civ

The City Build Queue
--> Keeping the queue bustling

From City-State to Empire
--> notes on turning your individual cities into a cohesive Empire

Combat Mechanics
--> How to run a campaign (in general terms). Attack. Defend. Tips, tricks, etc.

Basic Trait Analysis
(a look at the traits, as they stand individually)

Executing the Various Styles of Play
--> this will be where we put the specific methodologies (like the rush we're working on now)

Strategic Implication of Civ Selection

The Civs
--> in-depth trait analysis
--> how the civs modify the basic strategies and styles of play


If there's something I'm missing, or something you'd like to see added, now is the time.

-=Vel=-

[Swiss Pauli]

Originally posted by Velociryx
Deciding on a Strategy
-->factors to consider

Basic Trait Analysis
(a look at the traits, as they stand individually)

Strategic Implication of Civ Selection

I think these three topics belong together because they're interlinked and, for me, they are 'pre-game' player decisions, so they should be at the beginning of the guide.

I think it's a great move to put the detailed analysis of Civs at the end.

PS: When can I pre-order...

EDIT: I think a section on Trade and Diplomacy would be good and maybe an short annex on settings not covered by the guide (e.g. other maps, no Tech Trading etc.).