The Greatest Great Wonder?

Spock · April 12, 2002, 23:33

Ok guys and gals....What is your favorite GW and why?

ancient times:Great library(see below)

medieval times:Leonardo's workshop(the extra money it saves can sometimes be a gamemaker)

Industrial age:Theory of evolution(did someone say...FREE TECHS)?

Modern age:Cure for Cancer(a happy Civilization is a productive one)

My favorite is the Great Library....it lets me keep pace in the tech race early on whilst I build my mighty force of little Spocklings to go do my bidding.

PerpetualNewbie · April 13, 2002, 00:18

Ancient -- Great Library, for as often as it happens (almost never). With tech whoring, it isn't too important. If I can beg, borrow, extort or steal Horseback Riding, Iron, Ceremonial Burial and Literature, that suits me fine until I can buy the whole shooting match once I see the civs have gone Middle Age. They feel sorry for you being so backward, (though culturally and militarily, you are the man) that you can buy every tech at once for a song.

Middle -- Sistine, hands down.

Industrial -- Hoover.

Modern -- UN.

ixnay · April 13, 2002, 02:26

My fave is the Hoover dam...nothing like lots of extra production...

Beren · April 13, 2002, 03:16

Ancient - Oracle
Medieval - Sun Tzu Art of War
Industrial - Darwin's Voyage
Modern - UN

Carbon Copy · April 13, 2002, 03:25

I think the overall vote went to the Sistine Chapel.

For money-saving wonders, I personally like Adam Smith's over Leonardo's. It's nice to build both, but Smith's can mean over a hundred extra gold per turn (assuming you build lots of banks and marketplaces), while people typically only take advantage of their Leonardo advantage at most three times per game. Then again, most people underestimate the importance of banks and markets, so for them Leo's is probably the better bet. Their loss, I'd say.

Flanker · April 13, 2002, 03:49

I would say Leonardo´s isn´t at all that important as it was in Civ II. In Civ III I usually don´t upgrade very many of my units, as I find it more cost-effective to disband the old ones and build new modern units. And when I disband the old units in my not so productive cities and let the new units be built in high productive cities, it is really a good equalizer.
Otherwise, my favorite wonders are of course Sistine and Hoover Dam, the latter is usually pretty easy to build since the AI usually go for the other branch in the tech tree. I also like the Pyramids, but it is almost impossible to build both that and the Great Library in the same game.
By the way - Cure for Cancer? Naah, don´t think so...

Harovan · April 13, 2002, 05:27

I almost never build ancient wonders. If I do, it's the Pyramids or the Colossus, with Pyramids as favorite. The Great Library is crap, because when I finally built it, I am usually so close to Education, that I have practically no benefit but culture from it. The research line goes so quick in 1.17f. I never waste a leader on it. Often I prebuild the Great Library, and switch then to Sun Tsu's or the Sistine.

In the Medieval age it's the Sistine Chapel, hands down. It's also my overall favorite.

In the Industrial my favorite is the Hoover Dam. It's also a close 2nd overall.

In the modern age I have no favorite wonders. I may build the UN but with no use, because I usually switch the diplomatic victory off. I may build the Manhattan Project but with no use, because I never use nukes first and have yet to see the AI to nuke first. The other wonders come too late, because I either launched the spaceship, or am busy to crush the rest of the gang and need no wonder anymore.

PeaSoup · April 13, 2002, 06:47

my picks:

ancient: pyramids, free granery and never expires
medieval: sistine, can't beat the happy faces, and again.. never expires
industrial: hoover, quick and easy way to add more production, and never expires
modern: not much to say here, if I can't build all the wonders in the modern age before the AI, then I'm probably not in a position to win the game..

my all time favorite I have to say is the hoover, followed by sistine..

SpencerH · April 13, 2002, 08:17

1. Hoover Dam-late game Production
2. Sistine Chapel-Keep the masses happy
3. Colossus-Money, lots of money

If I get them great. If I dont, its a little tougher to win.

Inverse Icarus · April 13, 2002, 17:48

i'm a big fan of the colossus in the ancient era, and the pyramids (though i never seem to get them).

middle ages? sun tzu's hands down.

ind. hoover

modern: umm....

Ethelred · April 13, 2002, 19:19

Ancient - Great Lighthouse if I am on an island otherwise nothing. On lower diffuculty levels like Regent I will go for the pyramids and anything else I can get.

Medieval - Sistine Chapel which I now consider a must have. Bachs if I can get it. Again on Regent or lower its a lot easier to get most of the wonders so I don't worry about which.

Industrial - Hoover and Theory of Evolution which is what gives me the tech for Hoover. Lots of nice Wonders there for larger maps but since I play on standard maps I don't need them much. Smiths just doesn't mean as much when you have 16 cities.

Modern - Seti and thats the only Wonder in the age anyway so why ask. Appolo is for no discerable reason a small wonder and then I win by Space Race in 12 to 16 turns.

I have heard rumors that there might be a couple of other Great Wonders in the Modern Age but I am on my way to Alpha Centauri by then and the news about them from the losers never gets to me.

The Modern Age needs an overhaul. A few more techs would be nice but just rearanging the ones that are there would be a major improvement and then the rumored Wonders might become real Wonders. Athough why anyone would try to get their cities grow by two population when the population is pegged is a Wonder to me.

simwiz2 · April 13, 2002, 23:54

Ancient - Colossus, very nice bonus and inexpensive, also you can ALWAYS beat the AI to it
Middle Ages - Definately Sun Tzu's, I even accumulate shields for it ahead of time to make sure i get it
Industrial - Hoover Dam, because of all that production
Modern - SETI, because there arent a whole lot of modern wonders like ethelred said

Deornwulf · April 15, 2002, 12:16

Great Wonders don't seem all that great to me anymore. It used to be a race to get the certain special ones in Civ2.........but since Civ3 is a new game all unto itself, there are certain ones I try to build if not all of them just for the satisfaction of depriving the AI from having them.

Ancient - Colossus and Great Lighthouse - Money and naval movement. (I keep forgetting to mod the naval units to move faster and I still want to be faster than the AI)

Middle Ages - Sun Tzu and Magellan - Free Barracks and More naval movement.

Industrial Age - Hoover Dam - More production is good...

Modern -

The game has a modern age??????

Egyptian · April 15, 2002, 15:26

My favorites by age:

Ancient: Great Library - once I get it, I put science spending at zero, make hoards of money and let the AI do my research.

Sun Tzu's Art of War - I am instantly building veteran knights in all my cities, and just in time for a good war!

Hoover Dam - An instant production boost that puts me way out in front.

UN - duh!

Pyrodrew · April 15, 2002, 19:58

Ancient: Great Library, for Civ2 thru Civ3 1.16, with 1.17 now probably Pyramids. ((Except in 1.0 the best was the GreatLighthouse - for allowing you to sail oceans))

Middle: Sistine Chapel by far & usually best wonder in the game.

Industrial: Hoover by far.

Modern: UN, but it usually doesn't matter... the game is soon over or is already over.

Jethro83 · April 16, 2002, 00:32

Ancient: Colossus (I'll use this city as a Super Science city)

Medieval: Sistine Chapel (MUST... HAVE.... DOUBLE CATHEDRALS!!!)

Industrial: Hoover Dam (the extra production without extra pollution is damn good)

Modern: SETI Program (OK, there aren't too many terribly powerful wonders left at this point, apart from this one).

Arrian · April 16, 2002, 10:00

If I'm playing peaceful builder style:

Ancient: Great Library
Medieval: Sistine
Industrial: Hoover
Modern: UN

If I'm playing warmongering builder, replace Great Library with Pyramids.

Overall, it's gotta be the Sistine. Though I think the argument can be made that the most important wonder in the game is "small" - the forbidden palace.

-Arrian

Saurus · April 16, 2002, 10:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Beren
Ancient - Oracle
Medieval - Sun Tzu Art of War
Industrial - Darwin's Voyage
Modern - UN

Oracle????

Spec · April 16, 2002, 10:43

Ancient - Oracle
Medieval - Sun Tzu Art of War
Industrial - Darwin's Voyage
Modern - Cure for Cancer

Spec.

mbelleroff · April 16, 2002, 14:39

Of course everyone is going to have their own opinions about this stuff, though it seems that there is a lot of agreement. I think the fact that there is so much agreement about the best wonders means that they are not so balanced. Oh well. Here are my two cents:

Assuming a standard or large map (all that I've played on) what really makes a difference is the difficulty level, basically due to the happiness factor.

So, on Regent or below:

Ancient: I don't agree with this whole Great Library thing, even pre-1.17f. I don't want to be the fourth one getting knights, or musketmen, I want to be the first. So to keep the science at the head of the pack, even with fewer cities, I like money-saving wonders: Pyramids save me a fair amount of cash as a despot or king, and have good effects for my cities, and free up production across my entire empire. Also good is the Colossus, which is built when I have that one city nestled between the coast, three rivers and a gold mine.
Middle Ages: Sun-Tzu's, for the same reasons as the Pyramids, or better yet Adam Smith's, which is probably my one staple. Also Magellan's, which actually increases in usefulness as the game goes on from there. If I have that Colossus city, I'll try to put Copernicus's in it.
Industrial: Love that Hoover Dam. Love it.
Modern: ...Haven't gotten there yet, sorry.

On Regent or above, Sistine's becomes dominant in the Middle Ages, and Cure for Cancer later on.

danimal · April 16, 2002, 14:49

As a red blooded american male, my three favorite great wonders are:

1. Heidi Klum
2. Stephanie Seymour
and yeah..the aussie... 3.Elle MacPherson

Jethro83 · April 16, 2002, 20:03

Quote:

Originally posted by Spectator
Ancient - Oracle
Medieval - Sun Tzu Art of War
Industrial - Darwin's Voyage
Modern - Cure for Cancer

Spec.

How does the Oracle prove to be any bit useful? By the time I have it, I've already discovered Theology.

Your opinion of course, but I don't quite understand how the Oracle can be a favourite.

As for the rest, I already see how they can be favourites.

Pyrodrew · April 16, 2002, 20:48

Quote:

Originally posted by mbelleroff
Ancient: I don't agree with this whole Great Library thing, even pre-1.17f. I don't want to be the fourth one getting knights, or musketmen, I want to be the first. So to keep the science at the head of the pack, even with fewer cities, I like money-saving wonders

To defend the pre-1.17 Great Library... you can be 1st to get Knights & Musketmen even with the Great Library, but you can never be 1st to get ALL the Ancient & Midevil techs. And if you want money set your research to 0 & let the Library teach you everything.

Nevertheless, it's too bad they keep weakening the GreatLibrary... soon it will be the "Was Great Library".

Pyramids are good, but I've never found granaries to be essential.