Civilization Thread!

[gunnar hendershow]

Also, the day I win by a culture victory is the day hell freezes over

Culture is useful for ANY victory. More culture means more social policies, which means more whatever you want. If you want to win by military, go down Honor (or just Liberty because Liberty is super-good).

Also, you should have more than three cities as Rome. Rome wants a lot of cities because they get cheap buildings as long as the building is in Rome. It pays off to go wide with Rome.

I need to stress this for people. See whether your civ is expansionist or not and build your entire strategy around that. I'm raking in buttloads of gold, culture, and science because I grew super fast as Rome. Now I have enough gold to buy settlers and workers whenever it's time to take a new resource. Rome has its faults, but my size is so great that unless the other civs all decide to ally against me I'm going to win the game easy. I have every city-state in my pocket.

What I'm saying is that if you can expand for cheap do it and don't look back.

Also, I had the same problem with Krakatoa. Too far out for anyone to work it.

[deli]

Something that only just occurred to me after seeing deli's screenshot for the third time...

How have you gone 184 turns without revealing the fog of war just 2 squares south of your capital, Rome?

I haven't gone 184 turns. Me and my friends started in the Renaissance era. That's why my culture isn't high and my fog of war is covered and so on.

Also, i had to focus all my efforts on war because within a couple of turns of the game starting. My two other friends were already pumping out units to attack my cities.

Also my friends are fucking cunts and I hate them

Also I SUCK at this game don't I

[Mick]

While we're on it...

I've found four cities with Korea is plenty to really get the ball rolling. With Rome, as Sousa said, you need to expand early on.

Generally, what I do with every city is: Warrior --> Worker --> Settler --> Shrine; thus far my early games have been somewhat peaceful. I make my research policies set on getting to Education and then Economics, and then it's a beeline for Railroad and Electronics for the development. Religion wise, I want something akin to the Catholic Church; something that encourages both growth and money. The settlers end once expansion ends, which is up to you.

[TKz]

You know what doesn't help when you're trying to do a mostly peaceful culture victory? When Attila the Hun lives less than 5 tiles away from you. Such a dick. I imagine this is how our conversations have been going.

Attila: HEY, HEY, IS IT COOL IF WE COME INTO YOUR BORDERS?

Me: Why?

Attila: OH YOU KNOW, JUST TO CHILL AND STUFF. WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF ROOM FOR OUR SIEGE EQUIPMENT

Me: ...I'm not sure I believe you...

Attila: LOL JK WAR

Oh and the other side of me? Ghandi. The closer I get to nukes, the more worried I become. >_>

How do you do the whole thing where City States become your best friends and defend you and stuff? So far they mostly just complain that I'm not giving them stuff.

[Sousa]

See, I've taken to building a Monument first if there's nothing for a worker to do (otherwise it's Worker first every time). Getting some early culture going can lead to getting Liberty fairly early, which leads to free Settlers and Workers. I don't know if this is optimal (it always seems like scouting is a little slow with that approach), but a Monument isn't expensive and gives time to research needed Worker techs. Or Sailing.

[Berober]

I'd be hard pressed to remember a game I don't go Monument first, I just prefer to have the early culture boost for policies, especially opening up Honor, mostly because I play so peaceful.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah I build a Monument first unless I absolutely need a Worker.

[Mick]

How do you do the whole thing where City States become your best friends and defend you and stuff? So far they mostly just complain that I'm not giving them stuff.

Give them stuff. To really make it effective, you need to really develop your economy, get the money rolling in, and then you can just start buying them out. I just finished a culture game as Venice, 28 City states, 12 Civs, Huge map; I have:

Two Cities (Venice and Kabul, because I really need coal )

38,108 Gold (+722 a turn)

+1009 Culture a turn

+546 Tourism

+143 Faith (I don't think it's much )

A shitload of strategic resources

A big fucking army that's nearly all gifted

The price you pay to the city states is well worth it, considering it increases your votes to the World Congress/UN and they give you free shit like crazy. All this was after I won a culture victory though; I reached a point where all Venice did was wonders or wealth, and on my social policies I've completed Tradition, Piety, Patronage, Aesthetics, Commerce, Rationalism, and 10/14 on Order (Wonderful culture policies there, like +34% tourism with nations that have less happiness than you. This represented everyone not named Venice).

[Sousa]

Mick didn't know this, so I thought I'd share with the group; then again, I'm counting on you all being smarter than Mick, which is a sure thing sometimes.

If you're going for Culture, click on the Culture button on the upper-right. Move your art around among the various museums. You get theming bonuses for putting similar art in the same facility; hover over the site to see how you get the bonuses. You can get +4 in bog standard Museums for two similar pieces (era and civilization--either Yours or Someone Else's), and the Hermitage, Louvre, and assorted other places have similar theming bonuses. Easy way to ramp up some vital Tourism.

[Benji]

I really don't understand the point of puppeting states over annexing. Is there some kind of benefit I'm not seeing?

[Liam]

Getting antsy - really want to get back into playing this, but Steam are taking ages to help me get access to my other account (which has the game on it).

Should be sorted soon, hopefully.....though they've taken their time recently to deal with things.

[stokeriño]

I really don't understand the point of puppeting states over annexing. Is there some kind of benefit I'm not seeing?

People hate you less, maybe?

As if anyone ever cares about such things.

[Benji]

I could see more point in it if there were the chance to basically create a whole other nation as your "second" like their was in Civ 4, but as it stands I just don't get it. Maybe it's something to do with not having to have built everything in each city in order to get certain national wonders?

[Sousa]

You get fewer angry faces when you puppet, and you can annex later. It could be the difference between going into revolt and not, so it might give you time to get some Circuses or Colosseums up to get you more smiley faces.

[Benji]

Can you annex as Venice, or do they remain puppets?

[SRN]

Civ 5; a game entirely about smiley faces.

And I still have no idea what I am doing when I play it.

[Sousa]

Can you annex as Venice, or do they remain puppets?

They remain puppets, but you can buy in their cities with gold. Venice is an AI in my current game and is not being nearly dickish enough.

[TKz]

Civ 5; a game entirely about smiley faces.

And I still have no idea what I am doing when I play it.

Maybe it's because I'm still trying to learn Crusader Kings 2, but Civ 5 is way easy to pick up.

[apsham]

CK2 has a million statistics and systems and once you learn them, they all follow to the letter.

Civ5 is just full of random happenings for the most part.

[SRN]

I just build and research things! And I don't know why!