Multiplayer Strategy Guide

[berXpert]

Originally posted by Gavrushka
Saddam a size 8 city on Grassland / coast will pump out 316 science, when MAXED for science- the cost of maintenance about 40?? 40 gold at 60% for theo means 24 science lost..... for a 316 gain - It works.... 5 cities like that and you turn science off..... Berxpert cries at this point........ ...... leaving your money to rush buy things.....

And you are forgoten to quit from those 40 gold the crime rate that will drane some coins too, so 24 is in the better case when you have Chichen Itza.

*snif * snif * I always think that having 2500 science by the year 0 aC was nice not 1580 (5 x 316) as Gav said. I used to have electricity in that year like a goal to me but I learn by Blackice first and next by Gav that what I get is only a big disbalance, it doesn't mater if you have the tech to build battleships or submarines if you build one in 15 turns

Both use to send thousands or millions of SOL, they were just primitives with 20 or 30 advaces behind but with a lot of power to take my cities and with that my tech

So it's more important have a high production, let the cities grow and make some dedicated to tech.

I hope some day I can find the way to keep those tech (that I'm missing the touch to get it) and have a great defense for the SOL.

Catete tell me last week something realy important: "here wins who kick first"

[blackice]

I hope some day I can find the way to keep those tech

You need to dedicate at least two cities to pure science. If you can make them your major trade cities I have noticed a science bonus

[St Jon]

The most obvious, but easiest to forget, rule is to never forget that people learn. Never ever play the same trick twice as you will be floored, I know to my cost, and realise the horrible cost of victory.

PBEM is a particularly public form of gaming and not only do your immediate opponents learn your playing style but those who dip in and out of threads do as well.

[Nimrod]

Im glad to see people interested in this project. Im sure it will help all of us in the long run playing PBEM. We could discuss units strategies for offense and defense or the particulars of micro-managing and specializing a city, but I would like to take it one step at a time. What about the first 20 turns? How many cities should you have? What techs? What government should you be? What other goals should you have reached by this time?

When not playing with any quick start mods, I always go for religion->theocracy then work toward engineering for the aquaducts. For my cities I will build warriors fallowed by settlers for the first queue. Then I will produce nothing but settlers till the settler wil be produced before the city grows to size 2, in which case I switch to granary. I will build phalanx in my cities by the time I have the tech, usually my 3rd or 4th tech. I try to build the labrynth first as the free trade gives you lots of gold early in the game and by the time Age of Reasoning comes around you should have built plenty of caravans to cover for the wonders loss. I also agree with the fact that you should only build marketplaces and banks in high gold cities. City walls should only be build if you are playing the AI or another player who is to have a reputation of using lots of slavers/clerics. Keeping a minimum maintance cost in your cities at the beginning will hepl you advances and rush buy more later.

I just started using specialist and specializing cities so I cant comment to much on them now. So this is all I have to say. Does anyone have anything they would like to add? Anyone disagree with my method?

[Flandrien]

Originally posted by Nimrod
Im sure it will help all of us in the long run playing PBEM.

Question of course is, how long will CTP PBEM still run ?

[Gavrushka]

Nimord, Religion and Theo are the first two to go for..... on land map I always build a warrior, followed by a Settler, (make sure the Settler ain't ready before the city grows to size 2) adjust public works to compensate (public works reduces production speed without reducing speed the city grows at) Build settlers on trade goods if you can, and if there is a second good in the vicinity work that too.... After youur first warriors and settlers are out, it depends on map size and strategy - if you are under little risk of attack (very low risk even in reg map) I build a phalanx and a settler again in all original cities, and a phalanx phalanx settler in new cities, after that I make sure there is one phalanx in each city, build granaries in all cities, and follow tech route according to map type... Land Map I go Bronze, writing geometry, trade and engineering - the order depends on whether I am ready for caravans to build in a city..... Engineering is a good advance for two reasons- firstly it allows Aquaducts, but it also allows you to start producing Colliseums, which have a long production run- so you can store production in them until you can build something more meaningful like a wonder or a mill.... It would be great if Blackice gave some strategy tips on Micromanagement...... He is exceptional at that!

[Flandrien]

Originally posted by Gavrushka
start producing Colliseums

I NEVER use coliseums.
Compared to theaters, they are rediculously expensive (both production & maintenance).
Besides, they don't double the effectiveness of entertainers, like theaters do.

[Gavrushka]

MAESTRO!!!!! Read it again - I never build colliseums, I START building them, then switch production to something else when I have the advance...

[Nimrod]

Colliseums do make good production stores. Yet I also build some eventually. Only in cities that need the happiness and I dont want to take a vaulable worker or specialist. By this time I can usually produce one in about 3 turns.

What about wonders at this point in the game? The best ones to have, in my opinion, are labrynth, stonehenge, and raymaya or hagia sofia.

Slaver/clerics, to use or not to use? Its recommended to use a slaver in a city and/or unit stacks. Slaves can enslave attacker, if barbarians get to close you can attack them with a military unit or two and a slaver to add one more pop to your civ, or maybe just catch a lone settler out on the field. Clerics, in my opinion, are only good to empty your opponents of 1000 gold when they reform a city.

Please, other people post to help with this guide. I am trying to get a well rounded, general strategy to use in the beginning of the game. You can always take more advanced strategies to compensate for land and other factors.

[Nimrod]

Another thing, what should you be doing after aquaducts till you have mills? factories? I feel this is the beginning and the most important part of the game.

[blackice]

Caravans and infrastructure...

[MOBIUS]

Well I pretty much agree with Gavrushka's 1st post...

I concentrate on 'specialising' each of my cities - basically if it has crap production it gets turned into a science city! People seem to diss Galileo's Telescope, but to me that's one of the most powerful wonders there is! All you need is to max out your most populous 'science city' and buy it by disbanding your obsolete units in that city and presto 1000+ science guaranteed from one city (I even managed to get it up to 2000+ sci once when myself and the other leading player had a pact to hold off getting Robotics till the very last moment!)...

As for the importance of science, well it's only any good if you can defend it - as Lung has found out to his cost a couple of times...

The important thing when you're advance deficient is to take cities - it doesn't matter which cities or for how long, just as long as you can loot the advances! If you plan it right, you've destroyed that other player's meticulously built advantage that he's probably amassed at the cost of something else...

Other things - obvious though it is, never attack where you're expected to and if you can help it, never attack well defended cities head on until the modern phase... My favourite unit? Cavalry! It has such a huge movement that you can usually attack from a position outside your opponent's LOS (complete surprise!) and get behind his defenses to take out his soft underbelly like a cancer within. Once there - don't bother defending the city, simply move further in taking more weakly defended cities. Each time you take one, if you know you can't hold it - simply sell his biggest production improvements, like a factory or oil refinery etc... Also remember to take out transport networks - Cavalry may not be the best of defenders, but if the opponents muskies and cannon cannot reach them with their pathetic movement, it's academic...

Oh and another thing, always vary your strategies - if I'm playing you, I *may* use these tactics, then again I'll probably do something else completely different...

Lastly City Walls in the most part are for wussies - they're unnecessary and you're not actually going to be foolish enough to be attacked first are you!!? If you're worried about Slavers and Clerics - have some yourself to intercept your opponent's and enslave them!

I this game!

[Gavrushka]

Cavalry are one of the most debated units in the game.... you either love em or hate them....yes they are great for a suprise attack..... they are the only unit that can attack by suprise from outside a cities bounds apart from Samurai and Knights..... Problem with them is they are not gonna defend the city - so yeh they are good for a loot attack....but VERY expensive to build... I have one Strategy on a land map which works.... I used it successfully on several occassions - Multiple roads from your cities to the enemy - with multiple nine stacks of 4 cannons 5 muskets trundling forward as the road is built.... I am talking moving maybe a minimum of 14 or 15 nine stacks along the road, with them positioned all the way along so your enemy cannot use the road against you.... Useful only if your cities are tightly grouped and you can turn two nine stacks a turn.... this rumbling attack is far from suprise, but it is almost impossible to stop, as you lose a nine stack another two takes its place, and every city you capture will never be lost as the road just keeps on going to the next city and the next......

I cannot advise on wonders as I have almost always played without them although I think Stonehenge is by FAR the most powerful wonder- everything is improved, as each city has more food it can use more specialists (science cities) you can work more mountains, Prod cities, and you grow cities MASSIVELY quicker.... if you had a city with food of 100, with 80 eaten, - surplus 20 then with stonehenge your surplus is at 45.... Labyrinth is a blessing and a curse, just when you are going to war and want to build military you have to build caravans.... But its benefits far outway its drawbacks....

I think what I will do over the Christmas Holiday is Permanently place A strategy page on the website www.civleague.com - so please anyone who wants email their strategy to lordgav@civleague.com - Nimrod, thanks for starting this Topic, we are all learning I am sure!

[faded glory]

Arg!

Early wonders are all False Glory!!!!! Ramayana, Sphinx, Labrinyth are a huge waste of production. They fail when you need them most!(renissance!) Stonehenge is the exception.



Well......you all know how I feel about temples and colilsuems


The Musket vs Fascist rule!

The strategy I can offer you if your playing a Fascist and all you have is musketeers is pretty simple. Use cannons! Lots of them... Where down Fascist Spearheads......Put 3 cannon in front 8...the Fascist spearhead must attack the 3......then the 8 will get him!

Also have cavalry ready to raid a few small cities to steal advances


Once you have marines or Machine Gunners you are pretty even with the Fascists!

[Nimrod]

On land maps I love calvary. You can move them quickly to hot spots, they can take out a stack of 6-7 cannons with 2-3 muskets, they are the tanks of their era, without the range or defense

When going to the sea, I will use destroyers over battleships any day. They are cheaper, can see subs, move faster, have more movemnet, and they can bombard just as well as a battleship.

Here is another hot debate:
What government to use in the modern era?

Personally I like to stick with theo till corborate republic or until theo cannot support my number of cities. In which case I switch to commi or fasism.

What wonders, other than London Exchange and Edison's Lab, do people go for in the modern era? Does anyone fell there are more important wonders than those 2?