possible new information...

[Albert B]

First a preface... 1. I am sure with all the experience here that this may very well have been 'discovered' before, but you never know with civ. 2. I cannot come up with a single positive use of this possible 'cheat'. 3. There is no 3.

While playing around and becoming bored with large world maps (see post 'a question about large/giga maps') I found this odd trait... you can not disband your capitol (/only?) city. I started exploring a large continental map before founding a city. I had moved around quite a bit and then founded Washington. After I founded it, I realized that it was already about 1800 BC so I decided to build a settler, disband the city and become an eternally nomadic society. However, after rush-building my settler with money found in 'ore deposits', the settler popped up without the customary 'do you want to disband the city' message. Therefore, I starved the size 1 city to 0 surplus food and rush-built another settler. Again, the settler appeared with no population shrinkage and without disbanding the city. I was so amazed by this that I didn't think to try building a second city and then disbanding the capital or selling the palace and then disbanding etc. I only thought of these after going to bed and laying there thinking of the possibilities.

Now then, after much thought, I still can't come up with a way to use this as an advantage but I thought I'd throw it out there and see what comes of it...

Here you go!

Albert B

[Tizzy]

Strange - I've disbanded my capital before to relocate to a better OCC site.
Were you playing with any mods or anything?

[Albert B]

No mods. I do play MGE, if that makes a difference.

[East Street Trader]

Tizzy

If you were playing an OCC scenario game the rules may have been changed to allow you to disband.

On standard rules, if you have one, size one, city and it produces settlers it does not disband and you do not lose any food from the food box.

There are two situations where you can use this to get a fast start. One is when you get 100 gold (sometimes 50 is enough) from an early hut. You just switch to settlers and rush buy before getting to size two.

The second is more satisfying. If you get a river start, build on a rivered plains/grassland and work a forest square - preferably rivered.

Your city will accumulate food much more slowly than it will accumulate shields in the production box. Set production to settlers (warrior first if you are timid) and build those settlers in the usual way. The result is that the settlers are produced and your second city gets established earlier than it would otherwise have done. The loss of food production to help your capital grow is ameliorated by the fact that no wheatsheafs are lost when the settlers are completed as they are when the capital has already reached size two before the settlers are completed.

You're really cooking with gas if, while the slow growth capital is working on the first settlers, you acquire some gold. Now you wait until the first settlers are built and until the capital is about to get to size two (moving the settlers into position ready to found and switching to work a plains/grassland square so as to feed them in the meantime) then use the money to rush a second settlers. You still lose no food and don't disband. Next move the second set of settlers appears, the capital goes to size two and you promptly found your second (and shortly afterwards, your third) city.

If you have a silk special to work (or, ideally a rivered silk) then you will not only get off to a flying start territorially but your early research will rock too! Rivered pheasant is not too dusty either.

One (minor) problem. I have got an advanced tribe outcome from a hut while following this tactic. Now you are going to have to switch away from settlers and may give up a bunch of shields doing so (once you have a second city the capital reverts to disbanding if it builds settlers while size one). In this case the advanced tribe is unlikely to be as well located as the site you had in mind for your second city. But the advanced tribe has still given you a big early boost so this is not really a drawback.

Another small plus is that while you stay at size one and have no other city established, any unit will successfully defend the city against any number of barb attacks. Twice this led me to capture a barb chief with just a warrior in my capital.

[Tizzy]

quote: Originally posted by East Street Trader on 01-16-2001 10:08 AM Tizzy If you were playing an OCC scenario game the rules may have been changed to allow you to disband.

I wasn't.


[This message has been edited by Tizzy (edited January 16, 2001).]

[weird god]

quote: Originally posted by Albert B on 01-16-2001 08:04 AM I realized that it was already about 1800 BC so I decided to build a settler, disband the city and become an eternally nomadic society.

good to know that i´m not the only weird around here

------------------
god made weed.....you don´t really think he fails sometimes?

weed god, chief of EUROPA
visit EUROPA: www.multispieler.de

[Laertes]

I think it has already been noted that building a settler in a capital sized 1, and perhaps your only city, does not disband the city.

Fergus

[johnmcd]

You should have become a weird tribe of civil engineers or something and spent your lifetime building a trans artic road or something else more useful than collecting nuts.

[Julius Brenzaida]

quote: Originally posted by Fergus Horkan on 01-18-2001 11:20 AM I think it has already been noted that building a settler in a capital sized 1, and perhaps your only city, does not disband the city. Fergus

Yes, it's the answer. If you have ONLY ONE city, you cannot disband it. It's always been that way for me. Not that I try very often !