Best strategy to build and expand early

Oerdin · August 16, 2003, 03:38

After a long hiatus I've started to get back into Civ3 and I have found myself getting beaten to a pulp in several MP games. Would anyone like to give me a few hints upon the finer points of early expansion and survival? What are a few of the tips and tricks which the old pros are using?

zorbop · August 16, 2003, 12:29

in MP games i use aztecs and attack early with the jaguar warrior. on larger maps, i would expand a bit before doing this though. maybe use egypt or iroquois instead. either way, i've always found the secret to mp games is early war.

badams52 · August 16, 2003, 13:26

sounds suspiciously like the same strategy most people use for SP games.

Odin · August 16, 2003, 15:02

watch out for the rush, and REX, REX, REX. Use ICS if you are a warmonger and space out your cities if you are a peacenick like me.

Oerdin · August 16, 2003, 15:40

What exactly is REX?

Gufnork · August 16, 2003, 17:46

Rapid EXpansion. Build settlers as soon as your pop allows you to.

Oerdin · August 17, 2003, 03:02

Ahh, ok. I normally do that.

Next question. Which civ is best for a standard or small map in multiplayer?

Spiffor · August 17, 2003, 05:20

I don't do MP, but I am a big fan of REXing.
If you have cattle or wheat in the surroundings of your capitol, irrigate it. Even under despotism, it'll give +1 food, and it'll give you a great boost in early settler-production.
I always send my settlers unprotected, unless there is a good reason to protect them.

If you want to have an early war, a militaristic Civ is a good option, as it'll allow you to build barracks at a half price. Veteran units sure make a difference in early wars. Besides, city walls are nearly free (10 shields, no upkeep), and they'll drastically help you n ot to lose your cities in early attacks. They'll also help to keep your conquered cities from counterattack.

Militaristic / expansionist if good if you want to see your surroundings quickly and conquer them efficiently. However, Aztecs are much better than that, since their UU basically gives them the expansionist trait (2 moves for 10 shields), and the religious trait will help you later in the game.

WRangler Rhymer · August 17, 2003, 06:50

I have not play Civ 3 for a little bit of time but I am starting to play it again. When I play I find myself rexing as well alot. I just had one question for the people who are getting pro at the game now. Is it really better to Rex or just make yourself into a small state focusing on infastructure, and military build up. I ask this because a buddy of mine does the later while I Rapidly expand, and he seems to have more success at times then I do.

WRangler Rhymer · August 17, 2003, 06:52

One more thing. The main nation I have much success with Rexing is the Ottomans.

vmxa1 · August 17, 2003, 13:27

Quote:

Originally posted by WRangler Rhymer
I have not play Civ 3 for a little bit of time but I am starting to play it again. When I play I find myself rexing as well alot. I just had one question for the people who are getting pro at the game now. Is it really better to Rex or just make yourself into a small state focusing on infastructure, and military build up. I ask this because a buddy of mine does the later while I Rapidly expand, and he seems to have more success at times then I do.

IMO if the map is std or larger, you should expand as far as you can. This is because you need luxs and resources. The more land you have the more likely it is that you will get them.
OCC play is something else altogether and can be done.
Anyway, with lots of cities you can generate more troops and research. These will propel you to victory.
Given decent land, you should fare better with 20 cities than your friend with 5.

gunkulator · August 18, 2003, 17:43

For best early REXing, either a religious or scientific civ is what you really want. Cheap culture is the name of the game. Settler's can only claim 9 tiles of land. Cultural expansion boosts it to 21 and fills in the gaps to keep pesky AI settlers from filling in the gaps.

gunkulator · August 18, 2003, 17:44

dp

asleepathewheel · August 19, 2003, 18:10

Quote:

Originally posted by gunkulator
For best early REXing, either a religious or scientific civ is what you really want. Cheap culture is the name of the game. Settler's can only claim 9 tiles of land. Cultural expansion boosts it to 21 and fills in the gaps to keep pesky AI settlers from filling in the gaps.

I prefer to ralph out now, rather than through culture. every two or three squares, plant a city. plant cities faster. defend better. You won't have citizens to work those extra tiles for millenia, why waste the space? Abandon the cities if you want later on. Throw in the added science and the military allotment of despotism and you're in great shape.

Mad Bomber · August 19, 2003, 21:30

Quote:

Originally posted by asleepathewheel

I prefer to ralph out now, rather than through culture. every two or three squares, plant a city. plant cities faster. defend better. You won't have citizens to work those extra tiles for millenia, why waste the space? Abandon the cities if you want later on. Throw in the added science and the military allotment of despotism and you're in great shape.

The problem with Ralphing is that you have to Micromanage these hick cities in order to prevent interferance with your legitimate cities.

asleepathewheel · August 19, 2003, 22:34

Quote:

Originally posted by Mad Bomber

The problem with Ralphing is that you have to Micromanage these hick cities in order to prevent interferance with your legitimate cities.

true there is some more microing involved, but I haven't found it to be too bad. And I'm one that absolutely hates micro stuff. hate it.

Odin · August 19, 2003, 23:50

I hate packing my cities. I use OCP (Optimum City Placement).

The Mad Monk · August 20, 2003, 00:04

I used to space them on a staggered 3x3 matrix, but that was a holdover from Civ2 and SMAC. now I generally do a 4x4 matrix, allowing some positioning to grab resources.

Spiffor · August 20, 2003, 05:07

Ralphing is good if you play highly competitive PBEM games: It gives a boost and allows you to better use your little good territory if you start on a crappy starting pos.
The micromanagement problem isn't so bad if you play PBEM, because you have the time to deal with all this.

However, if you play quicker games, use Ralphing only if you have a very crappy starting pos, or if your neighbours are right next to you and eager to found cities in the holes of your empire.

gunkulator · August 20, 2003, 15:59

I've found that any small gap between cities gives those annoying AI settlers a place to plop down. Sure, if cities are always 3 tiles apart, no problem, but if you ever space more than 3, you need culture.

Odin · August 20, 2003, 16:23

I only Ralph on small maps or when I am stuck on a small continent.

On BIG maps I don't have to worry about sneaky AI settlers for A while so I grab good spots and Then spread from those growth centers. For example, If I see a gold and wheat near floodplane 8 tiles away I wil put a city there. I concentrate on culture, roadbuilding, mining and growth early on since Barbarians are easy to take care of. I usually have a spearman in each city and a few fast units to take care of invading tribes and to get rid of thier camps. By about 500 BCE I start building a wall of defensive cities with a 3 tile spacing at my estimated borders. I then also improve my defence By adding 2 more spearman/pikemen per city and a catapult; I also build a mobile defense force in by boarder town to help my swordsmen/medieval infantry to eliminate invading army. I am also building the Pyramids and Great Library as early as posible in my high-shield (+10 shields) cities, one usually being my capital or 2nd city.

Basically the best idea is to specialize your cities.

Odin · August 20, 2003, 16:32

On big Maps I use Carthage:
-Lower corrution
-Fast improvements = Earlier REX
-Numidian Inf. defends against unexpected archer rush

Panag · August 24, 2003, 11:46

Quote:

Originally posted by gunkulator
For best early REXing, either a religious or scientific civ is what you really want. Cheap culture is the name of the game. Settler's can only claim 9 tiles of land. Cultural expansion boosts it to 21 and fills in the gaps to keep pesky AI settlers from filling in the gaps.

hi ,

sometime a they can claim more , for example when you are building a new city near a city that has more culture , .......

have a nice day