The complete lack of strategy guides in the UK has been compensated by a box file of print-outs from these threads.

To anyone new - trawl through the archives - I promise you some good reading.

Although I don't have the MP version of the game - you can learn from following the postings there. A current one deals with the Powergraph.

As for the thing within the game that has improved my play, it was probably realizing that caravans and freight can be used to help build wonders. Stockpiling enough of them to build a wonder in one turn when it becomes available seems like cheating when you're playing the AI.

BTW, MWHC, (hope that's not too many acronyms), how do you transform a city center in to a hill? I'm assuming you do it after the city is built. Do you just put your settler/engineer on the city and transform away? And why not just build on a hill in the first place? Do you lose production bonuses by doing that that you would otherwise have when building on a grassland/river spot?

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Frodo lives!

Military success came to me when I realized the 'ZOC bug'. Of course, I don't know if this is a bug, but the AI doesn't seem to utilize the passing through enemy lines via a land convoy or spy or caravan or air unit or partisan. For instance, I love going to the heart of the enemy (bypassing all city/unit ZOC) and taking it's capital that contains the UN. Then forceing peace

Another cornerstone of military affairs concerns the defensive war. Putting strong defensive units in the strategically placed mountain fortresses and holding off the hordes while the country builds libraries and banks and wonders. This was a big realization for me early on in Civ.

In the late years of a game, I was startled when I realized I could surround the cities and prevent the appearance of pesky partisans! I loved this realization. And the other late year mop up tactic was taking capital cities until a poor non-government occurred. Then send in the bribers and inciters.

But military strategies aside, I think the single most important element in going from emperor to deity was alliances and learning to trade for science (always did it through conquest and theft before with an occasional trade.)

Then there was the combination of factors that allowed me to win diety on a large map. The utilization of certain wonders with certain strategies. I suppose I have always been doing this. Still, manipulating the tax/science/luxuries to grow a civ properly is the cornerstone of the game--bar none, may I be so bold.

But on a humble note, I must say, It never occurred to me to have a super science city until the concept of OCC was explained (Guess the idea originated at this site or by someone at this site.) I'll have to use the super science city in a multicity game. And Trade is another element in the game I didn't explore until some folks prevailed upon me.

I wonder what the mark of a good game is? Probably when the game surprises it's maker.

quote:

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Originally posted by SmartFart on 12-24-1999 11:40 AM
Advanced tribe about 3800 bc...definitelly.

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Cynic!

so food-resource-trade balance

Once after my 2nd game on 1st edition some Aztec modern units payed me a visit in China and my brave phalanxes were bombed from strange flying machines!! One highly honered unit even won!
I dug deeper into the strategy area in my brain and wished I had this forum to have speeded up my learning process. Many strategies on here that have names we learned a form of by trial and error back then.

and trade routing early in the game.

and loosing the tendancy to overprotect early cities and not expand early.

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The journey itself is the thing~Odysseus

As much as i thought i knew civ, when i started reading the forums months before i registered, my conquests became that much easier.

It's actually in the manual, but I'd read it and it hadn't registered. It is the simple fact that when you disband a unit in a city, half of the value of that unit is placed in your production box.

That seemingly tiny and insignificant detail has completely transformed my game. I now use it to my advantage in every single game I play.

Strategic disbanding, when units become obsolete, now enables me to build and protect those highly valuable costal cities that farm the oceans and generate buckets of trade arrows but very few shields.

Before I learned this, I disbanded units wherever they were (inside or outside any city). Now, when I disband, I disband with a purpose.

I personally never use the bomber stack or caravan food trick or any of the other tricks which most of us consider cheats in multi player.

And, Love puts all of those settler/engineer improved squares into play. Refrigeration is related, too; it allows you to build more engineers, or grow bigger and get taxmen and scientists. You can build settlers in one turn in your big cities, move them to small cities, and insta-grow those.

When I first started playing this game I played on Large maps for score and the game took forever and ever. Then I started playing small maps after the Nov98 tournament game map that geofelt provided. It was a half small map and I suddenly thought, hey, I can play games a lot quicker this way and try new things and get better!

I played a SP game for laughs the other day. It was way way too easy. I didn't even micro manage my cities. If you can hold your own against human civs, the ai will never challange you again.

graag

I try and put some order into the way I operate. For instance, remember to move your engineers first in a turn. How may times have you been that fraction short of movement to complete a vital manoeuvre? If the road was a railway you could have done it!

Before any military action takes place, I move spies to gather intelligence about enemy cities. Think before you fight.

Likewise, I tend to "wait" all my transports to the end of the turn, so I can place all necessary freights and troops on board.

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And learning that you don't have to build every single improvement... saved me a LOT of gold

Plus learning how to play ICS, i haven't been stopped on King with it yet... next test... Emporer

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SandMonkey

"Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a qtip"
-Homer Simpson