Question regarding cities

mli · August 22, 2002, 20:28

Under the cities there is a large number that sometimes goes up and when it does those cities produce things faster. What does the number represent and what can I do to ensure that it stays up?

Theseus · August 22, 2002, 20:56

Do you mean production, i.e., the number of shields?

My guesss is that you are experiencing "We Love the King Day." The citizens of those cities are very happy with you, and express their appreciation by dramatically curtailing corruption and waste... thus giving you higher production (shields) and taxes (gold).

Happiness is driven by a number of factors, including garrison (keeping military units in the city), happiness buildings (temples, colosseums, cathedrals), luxuries (including the multiplier effect of marketplaces), and certain GWs. There are a number of other factors as well, including war status, foreign citizens, etc.

Big subject...

Read the threads. The BEST advice I can give you is get every luxury you can lay your hands on, whether through territory / colonies and roads, or through trade.

mli · August 22, 2002, 21:34

There's this big number under the cities. What is that number?

Theseus · August 22, 2002, 23:16

Population.

Catt · August 22, 2002, 23:22

I think that you may be referring to the number of citizens in the city (or "pop" for 'population'). Each citizen works one tile in the city radius, so more citzens equals more tiles worked - more tiles worked equals more natural resources harvested, i.e., more shields, food, and gold. Population grows when excess food reaches a certain point. Population declines when there is a food shortage.

If in fact you are referring to pop levels, you should spend some time playing the "turorial mode" of the game -- a good grounding in the concepts of city production and tile improvements is necessary to improve at the game. Also spend some time reading the game manual, the game civilopedia and the posts here in the strategy and general forums. Get comfortable with the basics and do your best to process all of the information that the game throws at you. It can be a steep learning curve if you've never played a "civ style" game before.

After spending some time playing the tutorial and reading through the manual -- when you feel comfoprtable with the concepts of the game -- I would suggest starting with the "Early Game" thread, which is available by clicking HERE.

Catt