If you can grab territory, Should you? Or should you stop expanding at some point?

[Artifex]

Lets say you have a continent with 30 cities on a standard map that has 3 continents. After the map is discovered you see 2 civs on one continent and 3 civs on another continent..and you wiped out 2 civs on your home continent.

There is another continent you are fighting on with the 2 civs. You could take it over..and settle the entire continent with 20-30 cities. To make you total 60 give or take.

Is this bad strategy? I heard that corruption increases bigtime when you start having alot of cities?

Should you just clear the continent and not settle it? To keep your total around 30 cities?

If you found alot of new cities on a continent then all your good cities back on your home continent are gonna get smacked with massive corruption right?

Whats more important, alot of territiory at this expense..or not expanding so as not to cripple all your good cities back home?

Since a lot of territory = high score and denial to other civs I usually settle, but I have been wondering if its good to just have a bunch of useless 1 shield cities for the sole purpose of having a lot of territory.

Anyone know how badly expanding liek this hurts your good core cities back home?

[DRoseDARs]

Well, if you place your palace in the middle of all your cities on your home continent (not necessarily the center of the continent itself), go ahead and take the new continent, fill it with another 20-30 cities, place the Forbidden Palace in the middle of that set of cities, and switch to Democracy or Communism, the corruption level should be at a managable level. Also, Courthouses and Police Stations are a must if you go the route of many cities.

Personally, if I'm in a Warmonger mood or feeling like a corporate CEO, any land is good land for expansion if it denies the AIs any leeway or advantage. It irritates the Hell out of the AI players, but I usually manage to fend them off by the diplomacy of the bribe and the diplomacy of the sword.

[notyoueither]

What do you want to do?

Conquer the world? Sheit yah! Colonize it.

Build the space ship? You probably don't need it, except for the odd port to collect resources and luxuries.

Cultural victory? It might help if you build your FP in a good site on the original continent and rebuild your Palace there with a GL. Then those new cities can add temples and Libraries faster.

2050 points? Go for it! Tightly packed size 6 cities are the way to go.

BTW, Corruption increases should be managable with Court Houses and Police Stations.

[Artifex]

In this particular game I got a Great Leader early BC's and used it on the other end of my barbell shaped continent so I have two palaces on each end of my home continent.

(I couldn't resist I had done a jag rush and had just conquered the Iroqois and got a GL and rushed FP in a conquered Iroqois city.)

My home continent is in the middle of the 3 and is shaped like a snake so I got good distance between my 2 palaces on both ends...pretty sweet.

So if I conquer this other western continent (russia,france) and settle Ill have basically 30 useless cities on it. I mean territory = Score, and it also denies to the AI so they can't get any stronger.

I am dealing with Xerxes, Hammurabi and Shaka on the 3rd and last continent to my east so they can be a threat if they grow big.

I just wonder how hard a 30 city expansion on another continent will hit my good core cities back home corruption wise.

[Artifex]

"Conquer the world? Sheit yah! Colonize it."

I like to Conquer world when I play as Aztecs. I have almost wiped away 2 continents and 4 civs thus far. I get alot of GL's that way. I stay in Monarchy. It's just early middle ages too and I got mosty of the good wonders..Russia and France are in the stone age still (Great Library and contact with the eastern continent workes wonders for my tech).

I usually build my cities far apart to maximize thier growth potential and hopefully reduce corruption..but maybe it is enivitable when you conquer the world.

[notyoueither]

I just wonder how hard a 30 city expansion on another continent will hit my good core cities back home corruption wise.

Not too much, I think.

I pack 'em in (the cities) using 3 spacing. Lots of overlap. Not much corruption added to the important cities that I've noticed.

The new lands, now they are a different matter. Prepare to see plenty of 1 shield, 1 commerce cities. The first thing I do there is set them to a Court House. Then I wait until they hit size 6 (don't allow them to go beyond that) and set up WLKD. Pretty soon you have a size 6 city with a Court House and more than 1 shield. Now build Temples, etc... After you know that the city will be productive and kick back the gold to your coffers that the buildings cost to maintain. Otherwise, it's adding to your pop and territory score and stuck at 6 forever with several tax collectors.

[Coracle]

"Stop expanding"??

You want to be like the AI crazily expanding all over? It settles everywhere, even on terrain no one with a brain would. It settles on that lousy terrain even with no resources nearby. It settles far far from its own capital. It settles deep in enemy territory.

Many of the places it settles are a waste of a settler and military as they can never be productive for various reasons, and, if war breaks out, they really can't be defended. Stupid AI.

So, I'd say no. Do not keep expanding like the crazy AI.

[notyoueither]

Yes but...

When some oil disappears in Siberia and pops up back on that patch of Tundra...

Just how useless is it then?

[notyoueither]

And he's not talking about useless land. He's talking about prime real estate.

[Aeson]

Adding more cities won't change corruption in your already founded cities unless you are in Communism, or the new cities are closer to your Palace/FP than the old.

[Artifex]

On my new continent I am settling... I usually place cities to maximize land coverage with no overlap.

You are advising me to pack them all in on the new continent 2 spaces apart and keep them at size 6? So If I space them out with no overlap and let them grow to level 12 or even higher that's a bad idea?

That's how I did my home continent. I tried to stay away from ICS but is it the preferable way?

[SABRA]

With 20-24 cities on a 256 x 256 you should be good .
Add a couple bases around the world and that should do it .

More then 40 cities is to complicated to run things .

[Inverse Icarus]

in my recent game (large archipeligo) I actually found a new empty continent, enough land to support maybe 10-13 cities. I was about halfway across the map from my own continent, which was large. I killed off 2 AIs and had my own continent now, and i was placing the FP so it would have little to no corruption.

I plopped down 1 city on the new land, and then refused to spend any more time on it. the AI was exploring and was sure to find it soon. my litle city sprouted 2 more cities, and then the AI came like locusts and gobbled up all the remaining land.

I know later in the game i'll just conquer the island, I'm just letting them lease and develop it.

[alva]

Originally posted by UberKruX
in my recent game (large archipeligo) I actually found a new empty continent, enough land to support maybe 10-13 cities. I was about halfway across the map from my own continent, which was large. I killed off 2 AIs and had my own continent now, and i was placing the FP so it would have little to no corruption.

I plopped down 1 city on the new land, and then refused to spend any more time on it. the AI was exploring and was sure to find it soon. my litle city sprouted 2 more cities, and then the AI came like locusts and gobbled up all the remaining land.

I know later in the game i'll just conquer the island, I'm just letting them lease and develop it.

Why are we trying to kid ourself thinking this is a peacefull game , for civilised gamers

They sure picked the wrong title for this one

[C Chulainn]

Grab All Land!
Even if the cities you build there are totally backward and corrupt, it's still better than an AI civ getting them.