Culture Bomb Bomb?

[Hermann the Lombard]

I'm a bit puzzled. Has cultural absorption been *reduced* by the patch? I see all these messages in Vel's threads about The Culture Bomb and how Babylon can confidentally expect to start absorbing neighboring cities. Well, I have the strongest culture on the planet, India has been in awe for two thousand years, and I absorbed only one small border city, and that over 1000 years ago. I have had one Indian city completely surrounded (my borders lap all four sides of his little 3x3 outpost) for almost 1000 years, and it's still his. All the neighboring cities have temple, library, and cathedral, at minimum, and they've had 'em for 1000 years. One has my first two wonders (Sistine and Sun Tzu).

Now that I've asked the question, I'll bet the city defects next turn, but "what gives?"

[mengo76]

i know.... i was playing a bab game, focusing on culture.... got two little towns to convert to me.... then i read the "culture flipping exposed" thread, adjusted my strategy accordingly to maximize the chances of more absorption, but got no further conversions !!!

blame murphy....

[Worthingtons]

Well, I'm not entirely sure on this but here's my experience.

The Happyness of the Citiies Citizens seems to play a large part in the flip, So, When I've been looking for a flip, I've tried to take away things making them happy (luxuries!), or used espionage to destroy Temples.......

I've had several sucessful culture flips this way, but MOST of my cities where this has happened, there has been foriegn nationals present. Not all though....

It also seems important how close the respective capitals are too...

[KithrupFugitive]

This may be a silly question, but have you looked at the Culture Flipping thread started by Dan Magaha of FIRAXIS?

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=39825

The first post presents a list of factors that go into determining whether a city will flip based on culture. Sounds like you are in good shape in terms of the # of squares within the 21 city sqare radius inside your cultural border, but I'm curious how the other factors listed weigh in your favor.

[Jaybe]

Yes, culture flipping has been reduced by the patch (v.1.17f). In the patch Read Me.txt it implies that the likelihood of it happening is GREATER, but it was later stated by a Firaxian that it was just 'a poor choice of words.'

In the patch, they made it so that you don't lose cities so easily to AI culture flipping. But you also do not GAIN cities so easily from the AI via culture flipping.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Yeah, I'm aware of the culture-flipping thread (or is that the "flipping culture" thread ); I haven't done a detailed analysis of the factors. I'm not sure I want *too* much of a peek behind the curtain; some mystery is good.

It occurs to me that I could isolate that city from luxuries by cutting roads in *my* territory, since I have it completely surrounded. That should do the trick.

[Worthingtons]

Hmm, Culture Flipping is a feature I quite liked, it's a shame it's been reduced, Oh well..

[Purple]

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard
It occurs to me that I could isolate that city from luxuries by cutting roads in *my* territory, since I have it completely surrounded. That should do the trick.

Unless the city in question is linked by harbor or airport to the motherland.