Wonders Help

[Kolyana]

Okay, the game I just completed was the most enjoyable ever ... but it was also exceddingly frustrating.

I managed to grab the Pyramids ... and that was it. I could not beat any of the other civs after that.

The entire mid game was taken up with me building an advanced wonder whilse everyone else built an older one, all building the same. Except one of them would get there first and then they'd all switch to my wonder ... and beat me to it.

At the end I started building a palace just to stock pile resources for The Hoover Dam. The city in question was producing 44 shields a turn and I started surrounding it with workers making mines everywhere that there wasn't one ... oncluding mountains and lord knows what else. I really went all out to get this one first.

And then the French beat me by one turn.

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

That's when I quit.

Now, does anyone have any useful tips regarding wonders and production?

What's worth it? What's not? Any given hints on researches that must come first? Any rush techniques worth developing?

I can't go through another game like that again ... I don't mind coming in third, but missing every wonder by a handful of turns is killing me.

[MaSsConFUsi0n]

if you have spies, use them to sabotage the cities that are making the wonders.... that will help you. the only problem is that you need lots of gold to accomplish this.

MaSsConFUsi0n

[Kolyana]

But isn't sabotage *really* bad for your world rep?

[MarshalN]

I personally think wonders in Civ III are toned down to the point that most of them are worthless now (given the cost). I loved Michelangelo's Chapel in Civ II (sigh).

Anyway, it seems the best way is to anticipate and make sure you're ahead in the tech tree if you want wonders. Early on in the ancient era, there's just no way for you to get anything more than one or two wonders because you can't be far ahead. Later on, you have better chances of doing that. In my current game I've built 4 wonders now, and entering industrial age (regent difficulty). Not fighting wars makes it easier since I have more resources to devote to wonders.

I was sorely disappointed when I can no longer monopolize all the wonders like I could in Civ2, but alas, this isn't the same game

[solo]

Kolyana,

How much of the palace were you able to build before switching to Hoover's? I've found that if I time it so there is only 1 turn left or so to build the palace just at the time Electronics is discoevered, then I'm able to complete Hoover's first with that head start, even on higher levels. Even more effective is using a small wonder like battlefield medicine for pre-building the bigger wonders, since battlefield medicine can store even more pre-built shields.

It is a good thing that wonders are toned down, too. Many of them were so powerful in CivII, they were considered indispensible, but this is no longer the case.

[Osprey]

I find it interesting that the only way the designers allowed you to rush build wonders was you had to go to war and get a great leader. This forces a peaceful nation set on research and wonder building to consider going to war-one of the many balances and choices they intuitively thoght of. In the game I have going right now I'm playing the Iroquois (lately I've been letting the computer random assign me a nation to keep my bias out of the picture). I'm trying a peaceful approach to the game and I've resigned to the fact that I will probably not get to build a single great wonder at all. The Germans however have been after me to go to war against the English with them. I have an opportunity to gain a couple cities out of the deal as well as perhaps a great leader. Dang! Decisions, decisions..........
The Osprey

[Kolyana]

Solo, I had the Palace within two turns of completition when I switched, but I had to switch because at that point the others nations started their own production towards the Wonder I wanted.

The problem seems to be the ability to switch Wonder production with no penalty. What you get is half a dozen races building wonder A. One race wins, so 5 now switch to B ... all with a head start.

In this scenario everyone started building 'A', so I ignored it and went for 'B'. Well, bugger me, 'A' got built by the French, everyone switched to my wonder and my advantage was gone ... one fo them got it.

Switching from one wonder to another should cost half production or something ... like the old civs used to be. Makes sense.