I'm going to keep rambling off questions here

[defrancoj]

I'm going to keep rambling off questions here, I hope you don't mind. I have of course already extensively consulted the GL and major threads but like i said for the amount of time I have been playing and the amount of reading I have done....

anyway.. where do factories fit in?

Basically, I'm at the point where once the modern era comes around I can grow my cities, set up the cash flow and just run the computer right over. But i always feel like I'm getting bogged down in the middle, and sometimes even the early game... not starting to trade until the AD years...

I want to dominate the game from the first turn. That's the goal. (Of course, ICS generally would accomplish that, but... nevermind)

[Ecthy]

Trade should be one of your first techs after monarchy (besides Monotheism). Build caravans in those minor cities (heartland as SG calls them) after they built some settlers, and you should be fine.

I'm afaid I don't get the factories question

[Scouse Gits]

My answer would be - very slowly.

Generally factories simply introduce pollution problems without truly gaining much of value - they become important once spaceships come in sight and can be valuable if a high tech fleet is required or a large scale mechanised war is in progress - but generally they are more trouble than they are worth.

As a rule of thumb, I don't build factories until I have got Hoover and a pollution reducer in the city and it already is producing >10 shields - there are of course exceptions to every rule

Cheers, Stu

[rjmatsleepers]

IMO a factory can be useful if it will take production above the next multiple of 10 - thus reducing the cost of rushing the van. But as Stu has said, pollution is the drawback. I often have a couple of engineers doing nothing but clear up pollution once they have built the railroad system.

RJM at Sleeper's

[Straybow]

Hoover

It isn't just Recycling and Solar that come too late to be of much help. Factories themselves come so late in the game that they are barely a factor. The Rabid Rodents love to conquer with Crusaders and Ironclads—"crooks and clads"—and never get that far up the tech tree.

For the late builder game I add factories to larger cities to boost unit support and maybe bump up to the next row of shields for construction. If you have Hoover building a factory doubles your production with very low pollution, which will almost always put you up over 20.

Of course, IRL factories using water power preceded steam power by about a century. I sometimes play with Factories, Mass Transit, Power Plant, and Manufacturing Plant moved earlier.

[rjmatsleepers]

Well, us peacable types who go about our business building a spaceship, we usually reach factories.

RJM at Sleeper's