There are two different ways that percentages are calculated:
a) If you take over the world, your score is determined SOLELY by the date in which you finish. Wonders, pollution, population etc. have no effect on the score. I believe the exact formula is something like: you get 1000 points for taking over the world by year 2000 and you get an extra 2 points for each turn (not year) in advance of the year 2000 if you finish the game early. Take this score and divide by 10 to get your percentage. This means that the maximum reasonable score you could get (taking over the whole world around 2000BC) is somewhere around 180%. There is also some sort of reduction modifier if you start with less than seven initial civilizations.
Note that if you play on a lower level your final percentage is also multiplied by 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, or 0.8 depending on whether you play chieftain, level, prince level, etc.
b) If you launch into space (I don't know why anyone would bother playing the game and pursue this course 8-) you can get those 300% scores that people brag about. You'd just have to kill off all but one enemy city and keep peace while you filled the world with people. What a boring game 8-)
Finally remember if you can't be touched, try and develop as many future techs as possible since they add 5 to your score at the end.
LightBulbs = PreviousAdvances * DifficultyModifier * TimeModifier
DifficultyModifier =
6, Chief
8, Warlord
10, Prince
12, King
14, Emperor
TimeModifier = 1 if Year <= 0AD, or, 2 if Year > 0AD
In addition, the first advance always requires at least 10 lightbulbs
regardless of difficulty level.
b) Do not keep improvements that are not necessary. If your population is very happy, sell colosseums and temples. Colosseums alone cost 4 coins a turn. If there is no military threat, sell off barracks and city walls.
c) If you are relocating the palace you should sell off the old one. Otherwise the original one will disappear on completion. Remember that without a palace, corruption will rise.
d) Just before you complete your research of gunpowder and combustion, remember to sell your barracks. Any existing ones will become redundant straight after, so you may as well make a few gold coins.
e) Switching to Nuclear power (after Fusion makes it safe) from hydro or Power Plants, will save 2 gold coins per turn. Also remember to sell off any power sources on the same continent as your Hoover Dam.
f) The purchase cost of Wonders is 4 coins per shield, so if you wish to purchase one quickly, it definately pays to buy something small to start off the shields.
b) Never stack units! Unlike standard wargames, stacked units do not combine their defence points. If one unit is destroyed, all units are destroyed.
There is one exception to this rule: when the units are stacked within a fortress (built by a settler). These units will be destroyed one at a time, so they last a lot longer than normal, especially if you build the fortress on a mountain!
c) Don't forget to upgrade your defending pieces. There is nothing worse than find one of your cities defended by militia surrounded by enemy armor!
d) Remember that veteran units are 50% stronger on attack/defence. Because of this, it obviously makes more sense to use veteran troops whenever possible. There are two ways to create these troops. First, have an untrained unit survive a battle (in which case it has a 50% chance of being awarded with veteran status). The second is to build one in a city that has a barracks. This is the safer option.
e) Use an overall strategy of fortifying high defence pieces and using high attack pieces as sentries. Remember: in a coastal city, if you build a boat, any sentried pieces will climb aboard as it sails away. This will often leave the city undefended!
f) City walls are useful for many things. Not only do they multiply defence values by 3, they also protect the population of the city (there is no population decrease after enemy attacks).
g) You can use a bomber to protect a vulnerable city by parking it in the air outside the city. It appears that when moving it's pieces the computer moves them in a set order (probably the order in which they were built). This often means that it moves half of its ground units (which can't get past your bomber) before finally bringing out a fighter to kill the bomber (if it ever does actually attack the bomber). This can give you time to fortify the city.
h) When you are at advanced technology levels and attacking cities, have two bombers that alternate turns in sitting above your attacking force. The enemy can only attack you with fighters because there is an air unit in the square and attack 4 vs defence 13 for a fortified, veteran mech. inf is a good bet, besides fighters are very expensive.
i) In a sea warfare game, consider using nukes on enemy battleships and carriers at sea because there is no pollution. In addition, computer civilizations usually send out other units with such a major unit and a nuke can usually destroy 2 extra enemy units. With the Magellan's Expedition, an old sail or submarine has enough movement to be efficiently used as bait to draw the enemy group closer together so more can be destroyed at once.
j) Most units can't move from the zone of control of an enemy piece into another square in an opposing zone of control, unless you already have a piece in the target square. Planes, diplomats and caravans are exceptions to this, but they DO count as a piece in that square. This allows you to walk around enemy armies: send the diplomat forward one square, move the real troops into the square, advance the diplomat again ...
k) Finally, remember that it is quite easy to save the game before a major battle---if you lose, reload !
a) Structures (temples etc.) are cheaper than units that move (i.e., military, settlers...) If you want to buy a quick rifleman to defend a town it's much cheaper to select a temple, buy it and then change back to a rifleman. The added cost for military units is based on the following formula (from "Rome on 640k a Day"):
cost = (ms * 2) + (ms * ms/20)
where ms is "missing shields"
Note: Remember, as stated in the manual; improvements cost two coins
per missing shield (OR FOUR if no shields are currently in the
Production box) Usually, just wait a turn to get a couple of shields,
then buy. If absolutely necessary, buy the cheapest unit/improvement
available to get some production, then switch to your final goal and
buy it.
b) You can use caravans to build things other than wonders. When you take over an enemy city you usually need a cathedral or walls or something of the sort so I throw a few caravans in the transport with my armors. When I take over the city I switch what it's building over to a wonder, contribute the caravans to the wonder and switch it back to the cathedral. You can use this on your own cities as well. If you have a fabulous production town and want to kick start the other cities, build caravans and throw them into the other cities wonders and switch them to whatever you want. I build a lot of factories this way. Building caravans is like putting money in the bank.
c) Once you have railroads take a settler into a transport onto one of the fish squares that is being used and activate the settler. Press "r" on the settler for making a road (on water!!) and then "r" again for a railroad. You now have a railroad on the fish which gives you the increased production and trade that railroads normally give. Unfortunately you can't walk pieces onto the square as if it were a bridge. This trick works for normal sea squares, increasing trade production.
d) I've noticed that if you attack a city with 4 defenders, this doesn't seem to enter after the first three have been defeated. (Does the computer take some sort of morale into account? I've not seen it documented anywhere, but once they lose two or three units, the rest seem to loose disproportionately, even if they're all the same type of unit, and they have barracks [i.e., all are vets]).
e) To get size 40+ cities, play in the Americas: there are two sites which have maximum grasslands production!
f) Build the UN. Then build diplomats and artillery. Change government to Communist. Roll your artillery up to an enemy city. Make peace with your diplomat. (Because of the UN, they have to agree.) Next turn, take the city, roll your artillery up to the next city, and make peace again. This works for a while, but I always find that when I am too much more powerful than the other civilizations, they always break their treaties. This tactic works with the Great wall and catapults as well.
g) When you're a Repubublic or Democracy and you meet a new civilization that you wish to destroy, don't talk to their emissaries. If you do, your council will force a treaty.
a) Build a city on an isthmus. Enter ships from one side, leave from the other. Instant canal. Similarly a chain of cities for longer canals. Also good for access to inland seas.
b) Build a walled city on a mountain as the gateway from an inland sea to the ocean (veteran. riflemen defense = 5*1.5*3*3 > 63). It provides a bay that is impervious to enemy ships and several city sites that are "coastal" - i.e., able to build ships - while not being subject to sea attacks until the gateway city falls.
c) Land a settler and build a city between an enemy city that is not coastal and the ocean to create a canal to allow a battleship to pound the enemy city directly. If your canal city is walled the effective defense with a veteran battleship is 12*1.5*3 = 54! Good odds in any attack except against bombers.
Another thing to consider early on is whether or not to trade technologies with a particular enemy. I always develop the wheel first and then pursue purely "brainy" advances (writing, literacy etc.). If I meet up with Mongols, Zulus or Russians I don't trade with them unless I have a couple of chariots built and am ready to kill them in the next few turns anyways. At the other end I will quite willingly trade with the Babylonians, Egyptians, Americans, and to a lesser extent Romans and Chinese because they will take developmental technologies like Alphabet, Writing, C-Burial, Code-of-Laws before the wheel. ---Roger Kemp
The algorithm used for putting special resources on the map is such
that wherever you see a special square, there is likely to be
another one a long-Knight's jump to the northeast -- that's 3
squares North and one square East -- and to the southwest.
Fairly often, there are two strings of special squares, a
long-Knight's move apart, giving:
. . . S . . .
. . . . . . S
. . . . . . .
. . S . . . .
. . . . . S .
. . . C . . .
. S . . . . .
. . . . S . .
. . . . . . .
S . . . . . .
. . . S . . .
If you build a city at C, it can use four special squares at S!
[some deleted]
According to this analysis, when you see a forest square with game,
or a plains square with horses, or a swamp with gems, or oil or gold
or fishies, and the next square in the pattern (a long-Knight's jump
away) is a grassland square with no resources,
Mine That Square!
More than half the time, when the trees grow, you see a little
orange beastie on the square.
In order to get a feel for the pattern, look at a screenful of ocean
and see where the little fishes are. You will see that the pattern
is imperfect, and that is why mining the grassland square doesn't
always work.
So far, I have only made this trick work with grassland squares.
I would *love* to be able to make gold mines appear this way; or
even coal.
---Ralph Betza
a) How does the computer decide combat results?
The computer "pulls a piece of paper out of a hat" in the sense that there are as many bits of paper marked with "Attacker wins" in the hat as the attackers strength. Also there are as many pieces of paper marked with "Defender Wins" in the hat as the defenders strength. So in theory a trireme can defeat a battleship, but the odds are 12-1 against.
b) How do I work out my attackers strength?
Attacking strength = Attacking force * 1.5(veteran)* road MP's/3, where Attacking force = 1 for militia, 4 for a knight etc. The strength of attacking Barbarians is reduced on the lower levels.
c) How do I work out my defensive strength?
Defensive strength = Defensive force * 1.5(veteran)* terrain bonus * one of the following, 1.5 (fortified), 2 (fortress sq), 3 (city walls). city wall bonus is disregarded by bombers and artillery, battleships behind city walls do receive *3 bonus.
i.e., So, a veteran battleship, in a city behind walls = 12 * 1.5 * 3 = 54
Remember: a veteran is caused by a unit that has survived one battle, or a unit that was built in a city containing a barracks.
d) What are the terrain bonuses?
Forrest/Game 50% Mountains/Gold 200% Hills/Coal 100% River 50% Jungle/Gems 50% Swamp/Oil 50%i.e., So, a veteran rifleman on a mountain, in a fortress = 5 * 1.5 * 2 * 2 = 30 - enough to see off most invaders
e) Any other defensive hints?
Put a settler on a ship, move it to an inlet you want defended, tell the settler to build a fortress. Each time the ship wants to move press space. Hey Presto a fortress at sea just right for a battleship! Bob O'Bobs stab at a _real_ algorithm:
A few new terms:
V : if unit is Veteran, V=1.5; else V=1.0
M : if unit has at least one full movement point, M=1.0;
else if unit has 0.2 (2/3), M=2/3; else M=1/3
T : terrain defense bonus, (in %/100+1)
50% bonus, T=1.5
100% bonus, T=2.0
200% bonus, T=3.0
F1: if defender is fortified, F1=1.5; else F1=1.0
F2: if defender is in Fortress, F2=2.0; else F2=1.0
F3: if defender is behind City Walls
and defender is not an Air unit
and attacker is not Bomber
and attacker is not Artillery
then F3=3.0; else F3=1.0
AS = AF * V * M
DS = DF * V * T * max(F1, F2, F3)
---Bob O'Bob
As you have no doubt noted, dead rivals have a way of rising from the ashes. There are a few important things you should know about these resurrections. Before 0 AD the "twin cousin" of a vanquished civilization will appear anywhere not in immediate proximity to an existing city. After 0 AD these civilizations will only reappear on unsettled continents, and after 1750 no new civilizations will appear at all. New Civilizations are not "born stupid". Each technology that the human player possess will have a 50% chance of becoming a starting technology for the reemerging civilization. They will still be behind in the tech race, but not as badly as if they had to reinvent The Wheel. ---'Rome on 640k a day'
Each city has a "tolerance" for 20 Smokestack Points per turn. Each point
generated beyond that become a smokestack on the city display, representing
a 1% chance per turn that a square around the city will become polluted.
Smokestack Points = Industrial Pollution + Pop. Pollution
Industrial Pollution = # of shields generated by city.
Divide by 2 if city has hydro or nuclear Plant; OR
Divide by 3 if city has a Recycling Center.
Population Pollution = City Size * Pollution Modifier.
Pollution Modifiers = 0.25 with Industrialization;
0.50 with Automobile;
0.75 with Mass Production;
1.00 with Plastics;
0.00 with Mass Transit.
Note: Mass Transit eliminates Population Pollution.
Additional Trade = (Trade Source + Trade Dest + 4) / 8
Additional Trade = the number of trade arrows added to a city's current
arrow production as the result of a trade route.
Trade Source = # of Arrows in the Source city.
Trade Dest = # of Arrows in Destination city
Additional Trade is halved if both cities are from the same civilization.
14) How is the trade bonus calculated?
Bonus = (Distance +10) * (TSource + TDest) / 24 *.5 if both are on same continent. *.5 if both are same civilization (player) *.66 if you have railroads *.66 if you have flight (these can *all* be applied, too, if all are true, leaving less than 11%)
Note: these are the number of polluted squares visible to the player. Thus, out of sight, out of formula.
Sun Icon Colour # of Visible Polluted Squares
-------------------------------------------------
Dark Red 0-1
Light Red 2-3
Yellow 4-5
White 6+
Corruption = (Total Trade * Distance * 3) / (10 * Govt)
Corruption is halved if a Courthouse or Palace is present.
Distance = City's distance from capital city. Under
Communism distance is always equal to 10 squares. With no palace,
distance is always equal to 32.
Govt = Government modifier; Despotism = 8; Anarchy = 12; Monarchy = 16;
Communism = 20; Republic = 24; Democracy = 0.