can't research my own techs

[Theseus]

In the F1 screen, at the top right, there are two sliders.

The top one is for research, and the bottom one is the luxury rate. Play around with them, and look at the "Net Gain" box which is toward the left.

Any application of your empire-wide productivity to either science or luxury REDUCES the amount of gold you gain per turn (there are some exceptions to that, such as We Love the King Day ("WLTKD")).

Again, play around with the sliders... it's a critical technique to know how to balance income, science, and happiness.

[Uppercut]

Thx

[Krusty]

Another newb question

What do you guys mean when you talk about "pre-building" Hoover Dam and Theory of Evolution?

[alva]

Sounds like you're having a blast. I love the nail-biting games, especially when they're nail-biters into the late game.

thqt's why I wanne see a save

@krusty: example: start building factory , once you discover the "theory of...." tech----> switch to the wonder.
That way you get a lead and won't take to long to finish it.

[vmxa1]

A more likely pre-build is a palace. By the time you have factories you do not need pre-builds and do want the factories. In civ2 you could have more than one city making a given wonder so iy was a cinch to switch one to the next wonder that came along, now you can not do that.

[alva]

@vmxa1: notice the word 'example'
the reason I didn't mention the palace as a prebuild option, is that wonders are often constructed in capitals.
So I didn't want to make things anymore confusing than they are.
(You can't build a palace in your capitol , since there is one there allready )

[Bella Hella]

Originally posted by vmxa1
How do you keep the citizens happy? No lux slider, you don't mention anything but one scientist? Even with markets and many lux items, some must be getting testy? What level is this? BTW glad you are having fun.

well, i'm only on regent level (the "normal" one where you're basically on par with the AI) since this is my first time with a huge map and all civilizations. i didn't want to overwhelm myself the first time.

happiness - good question. well, regent level makes this easier. i also have all buildings built, meaning temples, cathedrals, marketplaces and coloseums. as a small empire, everything is pretty close together, with no random cities halfway across the world (i'm not sure if this makes any difference). i also have all luxuries except furs and gems through trading (so my people are cold and don't have nice jewelry. big whoop). all my cities are in their original locations, meaning culture is high in all (again, i'm not sure if this makes a difference with happiness). and finally, at the time of my money making mania, my cities weren't size 12 yet and i had fewer people to worry about. as they increase in size, i'll likely have more unhappiness, but right now a lot of them are in WLTK mode.

another little update on this game, which is turning out to be highly interesting:

when we last saw our heroine, she was on her way to discovering electricity. ok. at this point, i've done a "bottom" research path - electricity, scientific method, atomic theory and electronics. i got atomic theory and electronics from theory of evolution. after i discovered scientific method, i switched production of "palace" to ToE (duh). then i sold electricity and made a nice profit. i've traded for refining, sanitation, the corporation and replacable parts. i upgraded every defensive guy into an infantryman, and have hospitals in all large cities (i went ahead and built them in a couple that weren't at size 12 yet so i wouldn't have to worry about it later and could build more useful things.

i'm preparing for my war with the zulu by having all cities build infantrymen. my spy in zimbabwe tells me that they have a ton of cavalry spread throughout their empire, which are going to give me a hard time. some of these are close to my borders. at least they don't have trains! i suck at fighting wars, but i have a few objectives/problems/whatevers:

- the zulu are right next to me, and are the natural expansion direction for my empire. the only cities i want are the ones on the main continent with me. he's got a couple lame-o "AI"-style towns in the middle of this desert clusterf---, which contains an english town, a french town, a persian town, etc. he can keep those. i have no use for them.
- i do NOT want to use artillery on his cities. i want to keep the improvements, since they will someday be mine and i don't want to have to rebuild everything!!!
- his capitol is only about 5 tiles away from my western border. i was thinking about going straight for it just to be a beeyotch.
- he has an MPP with rome. i'm scared. he doesn't have an MPP with anyone else, but he DOES have RoPs with everyone else.
- basically the only reason i want to get in a war with them is for territory. i can't keep up if i stay this small, when france just keeps getting huger and huger. since they already have some nice big cities, i want to damage them as little as possible.
- i don't want to kill the people. it's not their fault they have to live under the misguided rule of shaka. i'm sure they're nice people. i'd rather integrate them into my society (take over large city with built-in population, make them happy, reap the benefits).

finally, i think i've made a mistake in my research. when i realized the AIs were going for the middle research path, i decided to study radio. this isn't going to get me anywhere financially since i have no interest in selling them electronics. not sure what to do now.

i'm a couple turns away from hoover!!! i got universal sufferage!!!

i post here at work, but i'll post a save when i get home.

[alva]

Get an Mpp with rome yourself, Then let the Zulu's attack you first within your borders.
That will make the Romans declare war on the zulu's and not on you

Bella, I (and I don't think i'm alone) would really love to see your game

[alva]

The only thing (at the moment, this will change in PTW) radio is good for, is selling it.

Btw: once you ahead far enough, stop or at least slow down your tech trading. You need an edge in warfare, let them do some hardwork themselves. Sign some emborgo deals, I.E. slow down trade wordwide, incite some global wars.

[Theseus]

Obviously, once you build Hoover, you can sell them Electronics followed by Radio.

I noticed you wrote that you are building all Infantry... planning on a Tank Rush?

[jshelr]

Neat story. Couple of things: First, this game illustrates the AI's vulnerability due to the AI researching Nationalism. If you skip it, you can build a lead toward ToE and ToE expands that lead substantially.

Second, if you are buying tech there is no reason to be in a rush to stay even with the AI. Let them get a few techs ahead since most techs don't really "count" until you are ready to use it for some purpose. What's the hurry for printing press? The price drops very very substantially for older techs and you can buy a group much more cheaply if you wait. That could perhaps have fixed the gold per turn outflow earlier in the game.

Finally, a question: If you have a palace prebuild for ToE, then get ToE and use it to go directly to electronics, how could you have had a substantial prebuild for Hoover going? Heading straight for ToE means passing up industrialization. So, what can you use for the prebuild??

[vmxa1]

I have been persuaded to join the bypass Nationalism movement lately.
As to a prebuild for Hoover, I do not think you will need one. If I get the ToE, my capitol can crank up Hoover very fast. All I have to worry about is the AI getting a leader, but at this point that is not huge factor as the AI is often only fighting with me at this time. Plus the ToE has put me in the lead for techs and I will be first to get the wonder started. I will have bought or trade for all bypassed junk techs like Espionage.

[Bella Hella]

my apologies for screwing up my own story!!! i did NOT have a palace prebuild for the hoover dam. i got ToE and went to atomic theory and electronics. as soon as i got electronics, i rushed the factory in my highest production city and the next turn, began work on the hoover dam, which is getting done quickly because of the factory. i'm sorry for the confusion! i'm so used to prebuilding using the palace that i confused myself.

on a side note, i forgot to establish embassies in the other civ's capitols when i got writing, WAY back in the day. i realized this and had a ton of money, so i established the embassies very recently. this worked out REALLY well, because i was able to confirm that the AI wasn't bothering to build factories at a critical time!!!

a viable prebuild, IMO, is the police station, as long as you're not suffering from corruption and don't actually need it. i do this all the time.

jshelr - right on about skipping nationalism. for ME it's a good idea because i can often just trade for it from the AI, who always makes it a priority. then again, i like to build instead of warmonger.

theseus - i'm hesitant to sell them electronics right now because then everybody will be able to build tanks. i'll have to see what happens. re: tank rush - that's a good idea, because then i'll be able to destroy the zulu very easily. BUT i was hoping to take over their land before tanks. they have tundra and oil, which i want. i would love to control some of the world's oil. BTW, in my territory, i have 2 rubber and 3 iron, plus 2 silk. anyway, if i kill them before tanks, and i have all the necessary resources to MAKE tanks a few years later... i could be a very dangerous civ. plus i'm sure some of the other civs will want to take over that land for the oil. the zulu army is big but since they're backwards, they should be easy to run over. i want to be the one doing the running over before some other civ (ummm, the french) get around to it.

this has been one of the most educational games i've ever played, and i'd be happy to post a save when i get home (just don't make fun of my terraforming).

[Bella Hella]

save as of 1705 AD

i hope i do this right!!

it's 1705 AD. earning 1014 gold per turn. science at 100%. radio in 3 turns, hoover dam in 9. tons of infantry being built. regent level.

hope you enjoy, and comments are appreciated! thanks!

[alva]

ok, gonna pick your game from here. Just to see what happens

PS: If you don't hear anything from me, it's because I lost badly