Help msade learn to play Civ3

[FrustratedPoet]

NOTE: This save file is for Civ3, not PTW.

OK, after much confusion I've finally managed to get a properly-sized save file from msade and we're ready to help him improve his Civ gameplay. I'm starting a new thread because the others are messed up and I didn't think people would check them for new posts.

This should be an interesting project to test how well people in this forum can help people get better at Civ.

Save file attached. Pic to follow in next post.

[FrustratedPoet]

Chieftain level.
Stock Civ3.

As you can see, the Roman Empire is in a bit of mess. There are about a million things one could say that could be improved, but it would be good if people posted a couple of simple and focused things that msade can try out to improve his play.

Question for msade: Why is the year 1150AD? Have you modded the game to start at a later date than 4000BC? If so, would you mind telling us why?

[FrustratedPoet]

Point 1: City Disorder. This is bad. Garrison Units in cities or use the luxury slider to keep citizens happy, when a city goes into disorder you lose all production there, which makes it impossible to succeed.

Point 2: Use of workers. You only have one worker and he is right next to the Egyptian border where he is vulnerable and can't do anything useful. I suggest you use Rome to produce some more workers. You'll need them for....

Point 3: Tile improvements. These are a major MAJOR thing you would benefit from improving on. If you had roaded that Incense tile you would have some more happy citizen to keep you out of anarchy. Some roaded terrain around Rome would not only help your units move faster, but would also bring in more money (a worked roaded tile produces +1 Gold).
Also, some mines would greatly increase your production in Rome and allow you to build more units and buildings faster.
Irrigation is useful, but you don't have any access to fresh water in this game, which is unlucky.

Point 4: Settlers. The Egyptian's have got far more cities than you already, and they shouldn't really be able to do that on Chieftain level. I realise you wanted to concentrate on your army, but it should be possible to get out a Settler or two before you attack. The Settler units themselves are expensive, but they pay for themselves many times over when they found a city.

Point 5: Concentration of forces. You've taken one Egyptian city, which is good, but your army is very spread out. It's hard to know if this was necessary or not, but generally speaking you should try and keep your army in one or two stacks, not spread out in different tiles.

[FrustratedPoet]

Now, that was rather critical so I'll just make one postive comment about your game. Well done on capturing Pi-Ramesses and denying Egypt a couple of Iron sources. That was the right move to make.

I'll keep quiet for the moment and let other people comment.

[vmxa1]

I would suggest looking at the this thread:

http://www.civfanatics.com/doc/civ3/cracker/civ3_starts/

[vmxa1]

At chief, you could afford to move up two tiles and have the city next to water. Otherwise move to the coastal tile.
Mines on a mountian as a first item, is painful. It takes too long, better to use workers on grassland to road/mine/irrigate.
I would even suggest reloading with that start for a new player, why struggle?

[vmxa1]

I see a goody hut and no one is heading that way? Rome starting two tile over would have Horses and Iron in its city limits and be ready to rock.

[Arrian]

Pi Ramses is also the Capitol of the Roman Empire. Why is that, exactly? Generally speaking, one wants ones capitol to be fairly central. There is a lot more to it than that, but let's leave that for a bit.

Pr Ramses is also starving (redout where the population number should be).

Frustrated Poet is quite right regarding tile improvements! You need workers, and you need your workers to, um, work! You want mines and roads on grasslands at first (irrigation later, maybe, depending on the situation), irrigation on plains. Mines on hills (leave for later, because it takes a while. Do grassland first).

You haven't done much exploration. Based upon your cultural borders (Rome is a influence 4 city, indicating 1000 culture points or more), this game has been going on for quite a while, even if you didn't start in 4000bc. Yet you can see very little of the world. Also, your military is outclassed - note the Egyptian swordsman fortified in Asyut.

BIG THINGS:

1) Terrain development. You need to know what your workers can do, and then make them do it.

2) Have a plan. If you're going to fight - prepare to fight and then fight like you mean it. This does not mean sending a couple of units in the general direction of the enemy.

-Arrian

[FrustratedPoet]

Pi Ramses is also the Capitol of the Roman Empire. Why is that, exactly? Generally speaking, one wants ones capitol to be fairly central. There is a lot more to it than that, but let's leave that for a bit.

Pr Ramses is also starving (redout where the population number should be).

Good catch Arrian. I hadn't even noticed that the capital had changed. How odd...

msade: Did you build the palace manually in Pi Ramsses or did you get a Great Leader during the war that you used to rush it?

[Arrian]

You wanna know how I noticed it? I was pondering the possibility that Pi Ramesses had culture flipped to Rome. I figured "hell, it's close enough to Rome, and he doesn't appear to have been building settlers for expansion." And I was looking at it long enough to notice the * marking it as the capitol.

-Arrian

[Verto]

I would build a road from Rome to what looks like incense, which will help bring your city from it's disorder.

[Gufnork]

Ok, I think basics are needed here. I've never played on chieftain so correct me if something needs to be done differently there. What you want to do first, is to expand your empire as quickly as possible. You need more territory. Since you can't build a settler until you have a population of 3 (two will be removed when settler is built) you might as well train some warriors to scout with. Once you've completed a warrior, send it out to explore the territory around you.

Keep an eye on your city. When it has a population of 2 and can produce a settler in about the same time as it takes it to grow, switch to producing a settler. Once it's built send it out to a good place and build a city there. Good terrain to build a city on:

Next to rivers (or fresh water).
Near luxuries or resources (to "claim" them).
Near bonus tiles (wheat, cow, game, whales, fish)
Near grasslands with shields.

Avoid deserts. Also avoid jungles early, they become productive but you need a lot of workers to make them so. Note that desert tiles by rivers aren't desert, but flood plains which is a very good tile.

Have the new cities train spearmen/archers/warriors until they can build a settler. Explore as long as you have territory to do so. It's free land. When you no longer can explore you can start considering an offensive army. Now you have many more cities producing troops which makes it much more efficient. You could also maintain peaceful relations and develop your empire building temples, marketplaces and libraries.