New player needing advice

[vmxa1]

Here:

[Krak]

well you could just build your third city where the goody hut is and I could build mine where you put the second one, just to keep things consistant.

[vmxa1]

I figured I would do what I would normally do so you could know what that is and evaluate it.

I am not going to try to play this to the wall or anything like that, just make standard builder plays and see how that looks.

At 1625BC (stopping for the night). I have decided to go ahead and start two wonders as the AI is way behind on tech, even though I traded them many techs.

I have contact with 6 civs via ground and two boats out now.

[vmxa1]

Working on writing:

[vmxa1]

With Phily and NY I have cut off access behind them and made the ivory my next target. I could crank out more settlers here and bury the game, but I figured it would be fun to have wonders for a change.

I will wait for Boston to do the pumping, its granary is going up, even though I took away the NG tile and gave it to DC.

[vmxa1]

I deliberately made wonders that slowed down my expansion and would lead to a despotic GA (with few cities). This is not a way I would suggest in most games, but this on is a free roll.

So I am now getting under way in the 7xxBC time frame.

At 110BC I have 8 cities and a settler at a site. I have built
Pyramids
Colossus
Great LIghthouse
Oracle
SoZ
Mausoleum

with the Great Wall well underway. The AI has none. I see they have started Temple of Artemis, but I will no build it anyway.

They also have started the GL, I am not sure if I will try to beat them or not. When I get the Wall done, I will drop embassies on those civs and see where they stand.

A few cities of mine have libs now and markets are starting.

[Krak]

In my game I am doing really well right now. I have beat the sumerians into a lifeless pulp, leaving them only 3 cities so that I might help them rebuild and have them be my pet guard dog later on.

I have only built the SoZ and pyramids so far, IMO the other wonders are worthless to me right now and I am planning on grabbing the knights templar as well. its 640AD and I almost have chivalry researched.

I only have one major problem though, I'm in a -42 gold defecit . 18 of this is from my army. I have already slowed down research to build up gold but the AI is catching up in tech and I only have 400 gold.

I was thinking of switching from republic to monarchy, for the increased army support because the celts are becoming a force to recon with. They are almost equal with me on population and world % controlled but they also have a larger military. what do you think?

On a side note, the celts built the temple of artemis but none of my cities have temples? is there a bug with the temple or is there something that I don't know about it? they built it in their capital which is still on the same continent.

[vmxa1]

I think the thing that gets most players in trouble is the way they develop the empire. You should not run a defict, unless you have a stash to dip into to stay solvent.

IOW I run a decfict for a few turns now and then, but have cash on hand, except in the first 50 turns. In this game I even had money then as the huts were giving me 25 or 50 gold from time to time.

18 extra for units does not seem bad, I was running about -30. I never had a war, as even the AI could see that would be a failure for them.

I was selling the Byz techs, when they had the GL and would have gotten them free the next turn, so mean.

Anyway I would stay out of Monarchy. Two reasons, 1- loss of turns during switch, 2- you do not want to have to maintain a large MP force.

One of the issue you can run into in this type of a layout is needing units in the front line. This is easy for a representive form of government, they do not need MP's. It is not so easy for Monarchies.

[vmxa1]

Originally posted by Krak

On a side note, the celts built the temple of artemis but none of my cities have temples? is there a bug with the temple or is there something that I don't know about it? they built it in their capital which is still on the same continent.

I am not sure I followed this one. Are you saying you capture the ToA and do not get temples in your cities? If so, do you have Education?

One reason I do not build this is it expires too fast. You really should have temples in most cities by 600AD, even at Warlord.

Here is a 640ad :

[Krak]

I am not sure I followed this one. Are you saying you capture the ToA and do not get temples in your cities? If so, do you have Education?

So you have to control it to get the temples? I thought that it was every city on the continent, not just yours. I don't have education yet...

[Solomwi]

No, like every other wonder, it only applies to the cities of the civ that builds it. You may have been confused by seeing posts here where players refer to making sure a continental neighbor builds such a wonder (Pyramids, ToA, Sun Tzu, etc.). The reason for that is they have an eye on conquering it, and want to get the benefits.

[Krak]

Originally posted by Solomwi
No, like every other wonder, it only applies to the cities of the civ that builds it. You may have been confused by seeing posts here where players refer to making sure a continental neighbor builds such a wonder (Pyramids, ToA, Sun Tzu, etc.). The reason for that is they have an eye on conquering it, and want to get the benefits.

In the civilopedia it says that it places a temple in EVERY city on the same continent, thats what threw me off.

[Solomwi]

I guess they figured you'd never be worried about whether or not it worked for enemy cities, too.

Though, come to think of it, that would be the only thing that could entice me to build ToA, since I know I could recover from the temple disappearance much better than the AI.

[vmxa1]

Yup, you have to control it and it not be obsolete.

What does your 640AD look like, did you start over?

Post a save from some point after 10AD to 640AD, anywhere in there. I want to see how you progressed.

I looked at the 10AD saves and they were not all that far apart.

I think both had 9 cities.

GNP 91/86 Mfg 56/44 Income 4/3 Prod 146/138

Sci 55/48 Ent 11/15 Corrupt 13/14 Maint 11/11 Net +3/-4

Reserve 152/90

Not a big difference, until you see the roads in place and the wonders built yielding free AC.

This is where the foundation is laid down.
Later the Templars giving free units as well. This frees up a lot of production. Unfortunetly no one want a war until they were more or less obsolete.

[Krak]

I haven't started over but here is a save from 50AD.