We were looking forward to Civilization 4. In absentia, the game was awarded with all imaginable and inconceivable awards: "Best global strategy of 2005", "Innovation in the genre", "Breakthrough in the industry" - these are the phrases Western publications characterized the game in their previews. Russian press initially
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We were looking forward to Civilization 4. In absentia, the game was awarded with all imaginable and inconceivable awards: "Best global strategy of 2005", "Innovation in the genre", "Breakthrough in the industry" - these are the phrases Western publications characterized the game in their previews. The Russian press was initially stricter about the project: my colleagues, like me, wondered what in the new part would remain from the previous one, and what would change. Immediately I want to upset someone, but to please someone: the revolution did not happen. Civilization 4 is practically Civilization 3. We will build on this.
PERSONAL CASE Civilization 4
Developer: Firaxis Games
Publisher: 2K Games
Official site of the game
System requirements:P IV-1.2, 256 Mb RAM, 3D-video card (64 Mb)
Graphic beauty
The main difference between the new part and the previous one is the graphics. I confess I doubted that the developers would be able to qualitatively translate the isometric picture into full 3D. Usually, global strategies only lose from the transition to the third dimension. By and large, they (the strategies) don't need it. Because the picture is in the same Civilization 3 would be three-dimensional, nothing would change. Because for global strategies the graphics (just don't throw stones at me!) Are not so important.
But Firaxis decided differently. Since change the appearance Civilization 4, then dramatically. And it turned out, you know, great! I have not seen a more perfect picture in strategies yet. And you won't be full of graphics alone! There must also be depth in the game, let alone call Civilization 4 the language will not turn out to be a superficial project.
Starting with this part (no one doubts that the fifth game will ever come out?), The map has become scalable. Therefore, from now on, we can admire our continent both from a bird's eye view and practically from the ground. And you can consider absolutely everything: every building in our city; animals inhabiting the surrounding forests; workers stubbornly digging a new trench through which water will come to the city. All this is so well implemented that it will take your breath away!
The animation has also become much more realistic. War elephants, people, equipment - everything looks five points! The movements obey all the laws of physics, and, forgive me, of course, for the weakness, but when I saw the tank tracks turn, a tear of emotion almost rolled down my cheek. The leap from third to fourth is more like revolution than evolution. It's even hard to imagine that the developers will prepare for the sequel ...
Cities radically change their appearance from one era to another. And if earlier it was not so noticeable, now the external appearance of the capital is simply striking. It became really beautiful.
At the dawn of humanity
But enough about the beauties, let's smoothly but confidently move on to the gameplay, because it was for it that we all fell head over heels in love with both the first and the second and, of course, the third part of the game. Say that Firaxis brought into Civilization 4 some global changes are difficult. There have been many small innovations, mainly related to micromanagement. But describing them is a stupid and thankless task. You can't remember everything anyway! Let's turn our attention to the most important changes.
The main innovation Civilization 4 has become an improved combat system. Remember how it was before? We order a unit, send it into battle, over time it turns into a veteran, and then on an increasing basis. The system, as many reviewers have noted, is a bit primitive. Things are different now. Get ready, breathe in more air (no, this is not a Zadornov concert, what nonsense!) And read the following phrase: in terms of battle Civilization 4 has become almost a real RPG. Yes, you heard right. The most that neither is RPG: with experience, skills, characteristics. Now the process of producing units looks a little different: they ordered a warrior, built, sent them into battle, earned experience points, distributed them according to their characteristics, learned a new skill, sent them back into battle, and so on, until the latter's death, of course. I think the general scheme is already clear. Moreover, it is extremely important to correctly select different skills for different types of warriors. For example, it is much better to teach the most ordinary warrior to defend his hometown than to give him the chances of a successful attack - all the same, after all, no one will involve primitive fighters in a war with neighbors. Generally, Civilization 4 makes, like the previous parts of the game, constantly think, evaluate the chances of success and, like in chess, keep several alternatives.
The second most important innovation I would call the emergence of religion. This was really expected. At first, second and even third glance, the religion of your people does not play a practical role. So, one pampering. However, you need to understand that if you, for example, profess Christianity, countries with the same religion will most likely willingly support you in the fight against Buddhists or Muslims. And vice versa. Sometimes, in order to attack a rival civilization and not incur the fire of the "allies", you have to come up with a reason for war. And arguments of the form: "we were the first here" or "you yourself are gray, we are red, so you will get it!" do not work. But organizing a crusade or, say, declaring a jihad is the most correct option. Nobody will blame you for this. Even, perhaps, they will support in undertakings and provide all possible military assistance.
The emergence of talented people became a very interesting novelty. If your civilization is on the rise and the birth rate is high enough - get ready for the arrival of Mozart, Newton and other famous personalities. What do they bring to the game besides nice little things like increasing the level of culture? Thanks to their presence, you have the chance to build something great in the city. What we used to call naturally simple: the wonder of the world. From now on, the construction of such objects is fraught with some difficulties, one of which is the presence of a genius. Is civilization developing badly? Well, then it's not destiny for you to surprise your people with another Copernicus observatory ...
IN Civilization 4 diplomacy has moved to a new level of development. From now on, it has become much more difficult to negotiate with virtual opponents. In addition to the well-known "general hostility of some civilizations to others," the religious aspect has been added, and at times it becomes not just a stone - a rock of stumbling! Several times I had to change religion just to enter into a military alliance with opponents. Otherwise, I would not have been able to destroy my closest competitors. Naturally, constant changes of religion do not lead to good: try to restore order in the cities, and the number of people dissatisfied with the life of the townspeople increases dramatically. You have to choose between two evils. And, alas, it is far from always clear which is better: conclude a military alliance or keep peace and tranquility on the streets of the capital.
The list of other innovations in the game can be, as I already wrote, infinitely long. But does it make sense? It's better to see once ...
Symphony of a miracle
And about music separately. You know, I'm not a connoisseur of game music. I don’t love her with all my heart, I don’t digest, so to speak. But when the familiar melodies by Mozart and Bach rushed from the speakers of my computer - shock, emotion, joy. You can describe my feelings as long as you like. If earlier I just turned off game music and played my favorite classical tracks - now I don't need to do that either. Everything is ready, everything is on a silver platter - taste it, please! Indeed, in Firaxis geniuses work!
I apologize for not pointing out any minuses of the game in the review. You see, they just don't exist. It just so happened, it just happened ...
Also read on reviews of the following games:
Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire
F.E.A.R
Black and White 2
Quake 4
Age of empires 3
Dungeon siege 2
Myst 5: End of Ages
SWAT 4
Bloodrayne 2
Do not forget to comment on what you read on our forum! Your opinion, dear readers, is very important to us!
All hayushki, and today in my review I ask myself a question: is it worth spending time and energy on?
After all, there are not so many good strategies, and you need to be able to appreciate each, especially to me, as a person who mainly plays first-person shooters.
Civilization 4 walkthrough: how simple and brilliant an idea
The year is 2225. The US is crushed and wiped out by Russia. Only 300 years ago, but everything is fresh in the memory. Italy followed the USA into the abyss of oblivion. And the end of the 22nd century and the beginning of the 23rd century was characterized by the fall of Egypt, Germany and England, again at the hands of the Russian machine.Having defeated its main competitors, Russia switched to secondary ones. Macedonia, Arabia - they were all destroyed, only a little faster.
And now the middle of the 23rd century - Russia is the only surviving country in the vastness of the Pangea continent. The flight to Alpha Centauri is completed, and the entire planet is one police state.
"Where did Pangea and the police state come from?" -you ask. Of course, the idea of \u200b\u200bthe world domination of the Russian Federation is very good, but this is just a possible plot of the Civilization 4 game.
Gameplay, graphics and concept of Civiliztaion 4
Just think, but the game released in 2005 captivated me for more than a month! All this time I was trying to go through the "Conquest" mode on the mainland, Pangea, common to all countries. For a whole month I developed my state in order to seize all the lands and destroy all civilizations.Well, that's something, but there is no need to complain about the graphics in the game. Anything that can be animated is animated; workers scurry back and forth, warriors march to the nearest fort, oil sways, planes fly, and the fleet moves across the sea.
You start in 4000 BC and finish either in 2050 (if you need to win on points), or with complete conquest (destroy all nations), ending when you want. But even at the end of the game, you can continue the development of the country.
It can be won both by diplomacy and by war. It depends on your character.
Particularly paid attention to religion - you can master Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and other religions. There are 7 of them in total.
You can train missionaries and send them to other countries and cities to introduce them to your religion. Perhaps this is how some cities will join your state.
As a rule, the stronghold of the country are cities, which, in turn, are made up of townspeople. The more cities, the larger the population. Personally, I have reached the 200 million mark.
It is necessary to maintain the health and mood of the townspeople. Food is produced for them on farms and plantations, as well as in granaries. The mood depends mainly on your actions: war, acceptance of a certain religion and state. building.
The inhabitants of the country can make a revolution. For me, it lasted 1 turn and was characterized by an increase in the number of moves for construction and development. Then everything returns to normal.
The game has a bunch of game scenarios - you can take part in the war between the North and the South (by the way, who won? Tell me, because it's too lazy to google), you can take part in a war in the desert, on one single continent, on island states, etc.
For each country there are certain leaders, basically 2 for each: for Russia, these are Peter the First and Catherine the Second. Germany has only Bismarck. Where is Hitler?
Outcome
It would seem that I, a person far from strategy, should hardly like the game. But I enjoyed it on a par with AAA shooters.But in general terms, the game is really fun. I do not like games where you need to think, because every day my brain is at the limit, but it was the fourth Civilization that I fell in love with for its simplicity and genius.
Warlords is the first official expansion of the legendary Civilization IV (Civ4), in which many rules and parameters have changed, new leaders have been added, great generals have appeared, and each nation has received a unique building. All of these innovations were covered in detail in the October 2006 issue of the magazine, and this article will tell you how to prepare for war and how to fight it. It's not for nothing that the addition was called "Warlords" ("Generals")?
Details of the battle "behind the scenes"
Every time your squad attacks an enemy (or vice versa), the game simulates a battle between these squads. You can successfully fight without knowing all the details of the combat model, but it is very useful to understand the basic principles: this will allow you to avoid gross mistakes and help to train your troops correctly.
In Civ4, each squad has only one combat parameter - force... Equally important are the squad's abilities, which it gains as experience grows: they often modify strength in a given situation. The landscape is also of great importance, as it changes the strength of the defending squad. Finally, the health of the squad is also important. Unharmed units have 100 hit points regardless of type. Combat in Civ4 is carried out in rounds, in each of which the program determines who "won" that round and what damage he inflicted. The squads fight until one of them dies.
The real strength of the squads
Before the battle starts, the game calculates real power both squads. For the attacking squad, all abilities that do not depend on the enemy and the landscape are taken into account (for example, Combat). For the defender, all abilities are taken into account, as well as the abilities of the attacking squad, depending on the enemy and the landscape (with a minus).
For example, if a knight with strength 10, Combat I and Cover attacks a crossbowman with strength 6 standing in the forest, then the real strength of the knight is 11 (10 + 10% per battle); The cover depends on the enemy (+ 25% against archers). Since the crossbowman is defending in the forest, he gets + 50%, but the Knight's Hide gives him a -25% penalty. Thus, its real strength is 6 + 50% - 25% \u003d 6 + 25% \u003d 7.5.
If the sum of all modifiers of the defending unit is negative, its real strength is calculated as (base strength) / (1-sum of modifiers). If in the described example the crossbowman was not in the forest, his real strength would not be 6-25% \u003d 4.5, but 6 / (1 + 0.25) \u003d 4.8. This formula provides some chances even for troops defending against a vastly superior enemy.
On a note:fortifying a unit increases its defense by 5% per turn, up to a maximum of 25%.
The real strength of a unit is proportional to its health. In the example above, both units had 100% health, but this is not always the case in the real game. If the knight from the previous example has only half of his hit points, his real strength will be 11 * 50% \u003d 5.5. This means that it is not worth throwing wounded units into battle unless absolutely necessary - but the wounded enemy troops, on the contrary, it is advisable to finish off quickly so that they do not have time to recover.
The result of the battle is determined by the ratio between the actual strength of the attacking and defending units. Denoting this ratio as R, we obtain formulas for determining the probability of victory in each round of the battle: the attacker wins with the probability R / (R + 1), and the defender - with the probability 1 / (R + 1)... Only the squad that won the round deals damage: if it is an attacker, it deals (60R + 20) / (3 + R) damage, and if the defender - (60 + 20R) / (3R + 1) damage (rounding down). In any case, at least 6 and no more than 60 damage is inflicted, and the battle continues until one of the units runs out of hits.
It is important:when attacking a group of troops, the computer will select one squad from this group, which will fight the attacker, and this will be exactly the squad whose real strength against the attacker will be maximum. In this case, all parameters and modifiers are taken into account: for example, when the first knight attacks, the program can put a crossbowman against him, and against the second - a swordsman, since the strength of the crossbowman will decrease as a result of the wounds received.
First strikes
If the fighting squads have first strikes, then the program determines who has the most of them, and calculates the real number of first strikes, equal to the difference between their number (for example, if one squad has two first strikes, and the other has one, will just one first hit for the first squad). First strikes mean that only that unit can do damage in the first few rounds of combat if it wins the round. If the first hit round is lost, the damage is canceled. Possible First Hit is a first hit with a 50% chance; something like "half the first blow".
On a note:the first strikes have the greatest impact on the result of the battle if the real strength of the fighting units is approximately the same. However, if your squad wins the fight, they usually get less wounds with the first hits.
Artillery shelling
Collateral damage is designed to deal with groups of units: if a catapult or cannon attacks a group, it inflicts damage not only on the unit that is fighting it, but also on several other units on the same square. The shelling occurs before a normal battle, and in this battle the defending unit receives normal damage - the formulas are only used to calculate the damage of units that have not fought.
Artillery shelling cannot completely destroy units and even reduce the number of their hits below a certain limit, depending on the type of the shooting unit: catapults and bombers leave at least 50 hits, cannons and tanks - at least 40, modern artillery - at least 30. with fewer hits cannot be targeted by shelling. In addition, for each type of artillery, the number of "additional attacks" is limited: from 5 for catapults and bombers to 7 for modern artillery, but no more than the number of potential shelling targets. The target of each "additional attack" is chosen at random, and the same unit can be attacked several times.
For the calculation of collateral damage, the same formulas are used as in a normal battle, but the strength of the units is calculated differently. The victim of the shelling does not receive any advantages to strength, and the shooting squad can only receive advantages from the Barrage ability - at the first level + 20%, at the second + 30%, and at the third level + 50% (the percentage is calculated from the power of the gun ). The base shelling power for catapults, cannons, artillery and bombers is equal to the strength of the unit, for cho-kon-nu - half the strength of the unit, and for tanks - zero, and this value is added to the plus of Barrage Fire. Collateral damage is half normal damage - (30R + 10) / (3 + R), and he cannot decrease his hit count beyond the above limit.
Combat experience
The units that survived the battle receive combat experience, the amount of which depends on the relationship between the real forces of the enemies. The attacking squad receives 4 / R experience, and the defender - 2R (in both cases, fractional parts are discarded). The minimum amount of experience per battle is 1, even if the unit is much stronger than the enemy.
When the unit's experience reaches the threshold, it “moves to the next level” and gains a new ability. The thresholds are 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, and so on. The more abilities a squad has, the higher its chances of winning and gaining new experience, so barracks, stables and dry docks always pay off if you intend to subsequently build troops in this city. The cost of each of these buildings is not higher than the cost of one unit, and the loss of troops without training will be much higher.
It is important:the game has other incentives to grow "guards": many valuable abilities are available only at high levels of experience, and some national wonders require at least one squad of the required level. The loss of experienced troops should be avoided at all costs - and where it is impossible to do without losses (for example, during the storming of cities), less valuable detachments should be used as "cannon fodder".
Retreat
Retreat allows the attacking unit to escape destruction if successful. Whenever such a unit loses a round of combat and should be fatally damaged, it instead escapes with a retreat probability and retains the hit points it had before the last round. At first glance, this advantage may not seem very important, but in fact it dramatically increases the survival rate of the squad, which even gains combat experience. The retreating unit gets 1 experience point, and the defender does not receive any experience!
On a note:the retreat probability is especially valuable if your squad is weaker than the enemy, but you don't need to win this battle - for example, when your catapult attacks an enemy city, it is enough for it to inflict as much collateral damage as possible and not die on its own.
Treatment
Each wounded unit at the beginning of its turn regains several hit points, if on the last turn it did not move, did not attack, or renew its equipment. Units with the Marsh ability are healed anyway. The speed of healing depends on the location of the squad: from 5 hits per turn in enemy territory to 20 in the city - not necessarily in your own! In a besieged city, troops recover only 15 hit points per turn, as in any place in their own or ally's territory. On neutral or alien (not allied) territory, 10 hit points are healed. Upon gaining a new level, the squad restores half of the missing hits!
Unit abilities can speed up healing. A unit with Battle IV recovers 10 more hit points in neutral territory, with a Battle V - in enemy territory. Any unit with Medicine I heals all units in the same cell for 10 hit points, and with Medicine II - on neighboring cells (it doesn't matter if the medic himself moved or not). A unit with a great general can receive Medicine III to heal 25 hit points per turn instead of 10. In addition, a hospital in a city heals all troops for 10 hit points if the city is not under siege.
Attention: ships with Medicine treat the transported troops! This allows you to significantly speed up the conquest of key cities early in the game: while you transport the siege troops in galleys to the next city, they will be completely healed. Transport ships don't have so many useful abilities - they won't become serious fighters anyway.
War theory
War always has a purpose. The aggressor wants to seize part of the territory in order to become even stronger, or to gain access to important resources, or simply to plunder the territory of the opponent, throwing him far back in the race of civilizations, and at the same time replenish the treasury and increase the combat experience of his troops. If you are the aggressor, before declaring war, you need to clearly understand what you want to achieve and prepare accordingly. And for this it will be necessary not only to build the necessary troops in the required quantity, but also to control them correctly.
Since the main cradle of civilization - cities - and it is they who capture the nearby territory, they are most often the target of attack. After capturing a city, you can annex it to your empire or raze it to the ground (if it is unrealistic to hold the city or its annexation will lead to financial collapse, it is better to destroy it), but in any case, you first need to capture it, and this is very difficult to do.
Siege of cities
Typically, each city has a garrison specifically designed to defend it. For example, an ordinary archer, available almost at the very beginning of the game, when defending a city has + 50%, another + 25% for fortification, as well as advantages for defending the city (+ 20% for the first level and another + 25% for the second, if there is ) and for the culture of the city (usually from + 20% to + 60%, and sometimes more).
Although the "passport" strength of an archer is only 3, his real strength when defending a city is usually at least 7-8.
To capture cities, you need siege weapons, ships or aircraft that can destroy fortifications (bombard) and inflict collateral damage to several defenders at once. Shell the city until the garrison loses a plus from its culture, then attack with cannons (or other detachments that inflict collateral damage) and only after weakening the garrison, introduce shock troops into battle. If everything goes according to plan, the losses are small - most often the guns that attack the city first die.
The enemy can attack your siege army, so it is very important to place it in the most defended place. Best of all - in the forest, which provides + 50% in defense. If there are no forests near the enemy city, place your army on a hill that gives + 25% in defense (preferably on a hill with a mine, while you will also slow down production in the city). Do not put your army across the river under any circumstances - when attacking across the river, troops receive a serious penalty if there is no Amphibian ability!
To capture a city in one assault, the siege army must have no less shock troops than in its garrison, as well as 3-4 bombardment squads. Theoretically, it is possible to storm the city and several moves, but this is unprofitable, since its garrison heals faster, the enemy can transfer troops there from other cities, and in general, one should strive for a quick end to the war. Western players dubbed the siege armies "stack of doom" because it is almost impossible to defend a city from a properly planned attack.
Robbery and sabotage
To break is not to build. Any improvement of the territory requires a worker several moves, a village needs as much as 40 moves to become a city, and one action is enough to destroy all this: a cavalryman can move and loot a building in one turn. At the same time, you get a solid income: 10 coins for a mine, house, vineyard or oil rig, 5 for most other buildings, except for towns and villages: for a plundered town you can get as much as 25 coins!
A typical group of marauders consists of two squads: a mobile robber, capable of moving in one move and plundering something, and a defender who takes the blows - for example, a chariot and an archer or a Mongol keshik and a crossbowman. The defender is needed because almost all cavalry units do not receive advantages to defense from the terrain, so they are very vulnerable, despite their decent strength. Unlike capturing cities, you can loot from the very beginning of the game, before the appearance of catapults.
On a note:the best marauder is a helicopter. In one move, he manages to fly to the right place, plunder it, and then fly back!
However, usually robbery -
only an auxiliary type of military action. Why plunder the territory you are about to conquer? Even a remote territory that you are not going to capture is not always profitable to rob, since robberies most often end in the destruction of robbers, and the loss of good troops rarely pays off with the stolen money. The enemy can use his own roads, but you cannot, and he can quickly build or deploy troops that are optimal against robbers.
It is best to consider robbery as one of the sabotage operations designed to support (rather than replace) the main warfare, especially against the computer. If you succeed in destroying the only road along which the enemy was deploying reinforcements, it could cost the death of several troops. If you're lucky enough to capture a worker, that's fine too, they are almost always needed.
Any enemy resources can be block, that is, put his units on these cells, after which he will not be able to use them. Without health resources, enemy cities can starve and get sick; without happiness resources, disgruntled ones may appear in them, but the most important thing is to block mines and resources that speed up the production of troops. It is especially important to block strategic resources that allow the enemy to build modern troops: oil, iron, horses, uranium.
It is important:before attacking, study the enemy territory and decide what resources you will block and how much forces you need for this. Blocking any resource can disrupt enemy trade, which will attract other civilizations to your side!
For blocking, unlike robbery, one well-defended unit is enough, since its speed does not matter. Obviously, blocking hits the enemy's resistance much more strongly than looting, and your blocking units can both hold mining structures if there is hope to capture this territory, and destroy them if that hope is gone.
Protection of cities and territories
The most important thing in organizing a defense is transport capabilities. You do not know who will attack you, when or where, so the success of the defense depends entirely on your ability to quickly move troops into the threatened area. Since roads do not provide any economic benefits in Civ4, inexperienced players are limited to pooling cities and resources with each other. As a result, troops often travel too much distance and are late to the enemy's invasion site.
It is important:the road network should provide the fastest possible transfer of troops from any of your cities to any border of your territory! If you only have one path between cities, it is easy to cut, and then your reinforcements won't get there in time. Roads are built quickly enough, do not neglect them.
Equally important are the capabilities of your fleet. Galleys sail slowly and only along the coast, and carry only two squads, but already galleons allow you to move troops faster than on the road, although not as fast as on the rail. If your coast is well guarded, you can block the supply of enemy reinforcements.
To defend a territory from marauders, "anti-squads" are best suited - for example, spearmen against cavalry or clubmen against infantry. Build at least one such unit against the most popular types of troops for every 3-4 cities. Until you have railways, it is advisable to have mounted "rapid reaction forces" capable of quickly reaching the marauders and saving what you can.
The most important strategic resources should be defended, like cities - that is, always keep defense troops there, or at least keep the corresponding defensive units ready in the nearest cities. Of course, a large enemy army will be able to cope with the defender of the resource, but at the same time it will lose time and a lot of hits. Losing a resource is still better than losing a city.
What if a "death group" is sent against you? Try to buy as much time as possible and do as much damage as possible. Even if you do not know how to defend your city, you can manage to collect a large enough army to defeat the aggressors after its fall. Catapults (but not trebuchets) and artillery, causing collateral damage, are especially helpful in protecting cities. If the enemy dares to storm the city with wounded troops, he will suffer heavy losses, and your soldiers will gain combat experience. If not, you win several turns while the enemies are healed.
On a note:if your treasury is not empty, you can urgently update the equipment of the city's defenders (for example, give archers long bows), or buy out the production of troops in other cities. Keeping the treasury empty is not only unpleasant but also dangerous!
Although a siege army usually has several defenders, the bulk of it specializes in capturing cities, not defending, so a sufficiently large patrol army can create big problems for the besiegers. If your "liberators" have advantages against the bulk of enemies (for example, club bearers against an army of swordsmen, spearmen and catapults), the computer can put siege weapons against them. Kill them - and the threat of the capture of the city will disappear.
It is important:be sure to cut down the forests and jungles near your cities! In Civilization IV, these are natural fortresses, whose defenders receive + 50% strength in battle (or even + 75% if the forest grows on a hill). The forest near the city is an ideal position for a besieging army, and it is very difficult to dislodge it from there. But the forest located in the cultivated area of \u200b\u200bthe city, but not adjacent to it, can be left - this is a good position for the protection and treatment of troops. Health again increases ...
Blitzkrieg
Whatever war you wage, over time, your population will start to get tired of it and show discontent. It doesn't even depend on your military successes! Throughout history, people were proud of the victories of their country, staged triumphant processions and “threw their caps into the air,” but Sid Meier was determined to show that war is bad. And although the game has ways to reduce dissatisfaction with the war (for example, a prison - who would have thought that it was needed for this?), It is best not to wage "hundred-year wars", but to end them as quickly as possible.
A long war is unprofitable either politically or economically. War disrupts your trade, depriving you of additional income and resources, it forces you to build troops instead of developing cities and makes your territory a "tasty morsel" for all civilizations that feel their strength and want to profit at someone else's expense.
For all these reasons, when planning a war, you should strive for a blitzkrieg: quickly capture what you wanted to capture and make peace. Or, if they attacked you, quickly repulse the enemy and make peace. Whoever you fight against, time is always working against you. Therefore, gaining time is of great importance, and even if you have to sacrifice something else for it, such a sacrifice may well pay off.
Victory soldiers
The number of combat units in your army is limited by both production capacity and finances, since troops need to be paid. Each squad you build is not a completed civilian building, but maybe a Wonder of the World. Therefore, you will not be able to "crush the mass" in this game, you will have to carefully plan how many and what troops you need, in which cities to build them and, most importantly, how to develop them as you gain experience.
Types of ground forces
Practice has shown that the troops should be specialized in the combat missions they perform, and for each "specialty" it is necessary, if possible, to follow the optimal program for selecting abilities. There are four main "specialties" for the ground forces:
- Stormtroopers... These are troops designed to storm enemy cities - siege weapons and the most powerful horse or hand-to-hand fighters you have. First of all, of course, they study all three levels of Assault on the city, after which they receive + 75% and another + 10% against the shooters, who usually account for most of the city's garrisons. After that, siege weapons should study the Barrage of Fire ability, and the rest of the assault - Press or Cover, if it is still far from the invention of gunpowder, as well as Flank Traversal or regular Combat.
- Garrisons... They protect your cities from capture. Everything is simple here: some types of units are specially designed for this, for example, archers. The main ability for these units is, of course, the City Garrison. After obtaining all three levels, you can study the Combat or one of the "anti-abilities" (Shock, Build, Pinch). Preparation also works well, which at high levels reduces collateral damage.
- Defenders... Units designed to protect your armies from enemies. The defender must take the blow to save more important units - if necessary, at the cost of his own life. There are no "universal defenders", you have to find out what the enemy can put up against you, or build a defender against each of the popular types of troops - for example, pikemen against cavalry and clubmen against melee fighters. In this case, the "correct" defender will be put up against any attacker, who must win without much damage. An ideal defender is a machine gunner: he cannot attack, but has great strength and a great advantage against shooters, and enemies against him almost never get advantages, since he belongs to siege weapons, not shooters! Each type of defender is beneficial to specialize: let spearmen study the System, and the club bearers - Shock. At least one of the units in the army must know Medicine, and a defender is usually chosen for this. If there are many hills on the planet, the defenders should become Guerrillas, if not, you can study the usual Combat. Guerrillas are useful in blocking off enemy resources and guarding their own anyway, since many important resources only appear in the hills.
- Patrol... These units protect your territory (not just cities) from invasion. The type of units depends on who you are going to fight with. Among the patrol troops, it is very desirable to have fast detachments that will have time to get to the threatened area in time. Siege weapons are also useful - they can cause very serious collateral damage. Patrol guns, unlike assault guns, do not need an assault on the city, but they really need a Firewall.
On a note:if you have a choice between a catapult and a trebuchet, build a trebuchet for assault units and catapults for patrol units. Trebuchet costs one and a half times more and requires a higher technology (Engineering), but it is much more effective when bombing and attacking cities. These siege engines are even better than cannons, and are on par with modern artillery! Trebuchet can save you time, which is very important.
Troop renewal
Most units can be upgraded if you can build better "similar" troops. For each type of unit in the game, it is indicated to which units it can be upgraded. Improvements are almost always logical: for example, archers can get long bows or crossbows, and subsequently guns, but there are exceptions - the cavalry can be upgraded to helicopters, and the caravel can be upgraded to a submarine (moreover, a frigate, which a caravel can also turn into, already can't become a submarine!)
You have to pay money for the update - the amount depends on the difference between the old and new units. A squad can only be renewed on its own territory, and at the same time it cannot do anything else on this turn. Since the upgrade provides you with experienced and modern troops, you must plan ahead and save enough money. Otherwise, you will have to spend a lot of time building and training new troops.
It is important:after upgrading an experienced squad, its experience is reduced to 10, but all received abilities remain! Thus, the loss of experience facilitates obtaining new abilities.
The abilities that the squad receives for free (along with the type) are much more valuable than the additional mods of the squad, since they persist even when upgraded. For example, an Inca Quechua has a Combat I and + 100% against archers compared to a regular warrior. It would seem that the second advantage is much more important than the first, but in fact the opposite is true: with a base strength of 2, even + 100% will not make the Quechua a decent assault squad, and when you upgrade, this advantage will disappear. But Combat I will help warriors get the first experience, and then they can be armed with spears, axes or maces without losing their ability.
If the new unit type grants any abilities (for example, March for motorized infantry), these abilities will be added during the update. Very often, upgrading is the only way to get powerful combinations of abilities at the end of the game. For example, a machine gun is a great garrison unit, but it cannot get City Defense as it is considered a siege weapon. However, you can upgrade an Archer from City Defense III to a Heavy!
Abilities - useful and not so
Since troops usually gain new levels in the midst of hostilities, inexperienced players often do not pay enough attention to the correct choice of the abilities received. Meanwhile, the choice of abilities must be treated highly carefully, as they are the ones who determine who will win. Many abilities that at first glance seem very powerful are actually of little use, and vice versa. We will now talk about such abilities.
All abilities that work against a certain type of troops completely lose their value when certain technologies appear - for example, the Shelter after the invention of gunpowder becomes useless, since archers are replaced by arrows. And even before that, such abilities are useful only for defenders, and for patrolmen only against a computer that likes to send single squads. When your squad attacks a group, it will fight whoever has the most power against it. That is, if the cavalry is the most popular at a given time and your troops have a System against it, it is most likely that there will not be a cavalry detachment to defend against their blow, and you will not receive any advantage. If you intend to learn several abilities of this kind in order to get + 25% against most enemies, then it would not be better to study two levels of Combat instead, in order to get + 20% against of all?
Stormtroopers should study Shelter early in the game, since most of the garrisons are archers. Once the gunpowder spawns, they should study The Pinch. However, the appearance of the machine gun confuses all the cards, as it belongs to the siege weapons! It is better to specialize defenders and patrolmen against various types of enemy troops.
The Huntsman ability is very useful for scouts at the very beginning of the game - it allows them to defeat predatory animals, and sometimes barbarians. Over time, the forests on the planet are cut down and the gamekeepers lose their importance. But the importance of partisans, on the contrary, only increases over time, since it is in the hills that valuable resources are usually mined.
The Amphibian ability is very rarely useful: if the enemy has railways (if you land an assault army on land, he can instantly attack it with all his troops), but you have an overwhelming advantage at sea and in the air. Blitz is useful if your squad has a good chance of winning without damage - throwing a damaged squad into battle a second time is dangerous. Acceleration of movement (Morale, Mobility) is useful for patrol units, but not for assault units, since you will not have many such units, and sending mobile troops without cover is very risky (even tanks!). The Commando feature is useful only for saboteurs: with it you can quickly reach your goals.
The patrol is especially useful for patrol ships - in order to notice enemy transports trying to break through to your shores in time, and in the assault army it is useful to have one sentinel (although the Spy will be much better). Flanking and Tactics are always very useful, as they greatly increase the chances of troop survival.
But Leadership, which is very attractive at first glance, is actually unprofitable. The fact is that the higher the level of the squad, the more experience is required to acquire new abilities and the more difficult it is to recoup Leadership. In a real game, it almost never pays off.
Generals and other instruments of war
The more battles your troops fight, the faster you will get great generals. Each of them can build a military academy (military products in the city + 25%), become an instructor (all new units built in this city will receive +2 experience) or join the troops - in this case, the group will receive 20 experience for all, and one the squad will be able to learn special abilities.
I would venture to assert that the first great general should almost always be attached to the troops - more precisely, to one unit, so as not to dissipate experience. The fact is that for the construction of the Heroic Epic, a unit of level 5 (17 experience) is required, and for West Point - even level 6 (26 experience). This experience is not easy and can take a long time to gain, but these Wonders should surely be built as quickly as possible.
On a note:no more than 2 National Wonders can be built in each city. For war production, it is best to build a Heroic Epic and West Point. Watch what you build, otherwise you won't be able to build more important buildings in this city!
Additionally, advancing one squad allows you to get to abilities that are usually unavailable or disadvantageous at the start of the game. For example, you can immediately get all three levels of Medicine in order to heal troops much faster. Or Tactics and two City Assaults to get an "immortal catapult".
It is important:a squad with a great general is updated for free, and no experience loss occurs!
The next generals can already be entrusted with the formation of "arsenals" in cities with a fairly high level of production. The advantages of the generals are not so great, but nevertheless they are worth using: choose a city that will become an arsenal, and make the next two generals the instructor and rector of the academy in that city.
Fleet and aviation
Throughout the game, the fleet serves primarily as a transport function, although battleships and destroyers can bombard cities, reducing the amount of artillery required. Even ancient galleys carry 2 units at a speed of 2 cells per turn, while armies move twice as slowly across enemy territory - but the need to sail near the coast often destroys this advantage. To transport a shock army, you need at least 2-3 galleys and, of course, triremes to protect them. Caravels cannot transport troops at all, and only with the appearance of galleons, conquest raids become a reality.
On a note:ships receive + 10% to defense near the coast. This makes a huge difference early in the game when the ships of all nations are the same. The striker of the trireme has less chances than the defender.
Aviation, of course, appears towards the end of the game, but it completely changes the usual methods of warfare. Bombers can partially replace artillery, destroying city defenses and inflicting collateral damage on their defenders - but artillery does it better. Fighters can do the same, albeit less efficiently, and intercept enemy aircraft. Your planes force the enemy to build fighters instead of ground troops (if SAM Infantry is not yet available), and technologically backward enemies are generally defenseless against them.
Aviation does not depend at all on the landscape, but it needs bases: the range of the bomber is 8 cells from the city, the fighter is 6. If you have started a distant military campaign, the aviation may not reach there. Only the helicopters do not need the base, they act like regular units, but this means that the enemies can attack them. Fighters can be transported on an aircraft carrier (up to 3), and helicopters - on regular vehicles (up to 4).
On a note:helicopters cannot attack directly from transport - you will have to spend a turn to unload them on land, and also bring a defender for them. But in the game there are no abilities against helicopters, and they can go through 4 cells per turn, regardless of the landscape. If your bombers do not reach the theater of operations, transport with helicopters will be much more profitable than an aircraft carrier with fighters.
War diplomacy
Civilization IV is one of the very few games in which computer players "remember" the history of their relationships with other civilizations, including yours. As a result, their behavior is extremely realistic: long-term trade ties strengthen cooperation, and the war will not fade from memory for a long time. The game shows all the details of the relationship of computer civilizations to yours, and for a successful game they must be researched.
Diplomacy is directly related to war. Remember Clausewitz: "War is the continuation of politics by other means"? This is exactly the case in Civ4. In theory, you do not have to declare war to capture the desired city: you can demand it "peacefully" at the negotiating table. Likewise, instead of plundering enemy territory, you can demand tribute. But if you decide to fight, you first have to defeat the future enemy in the field of diplomacy.
If you declare war, all nations that have at least a treaty on open borders with your enemy will brand you as an aggressor, and the item “You declared war on our friend” (-3) will appear in their relations. To compensate for this modifier, you must, for example, maintain a long-term trade relationship (+2) and agree to a technology exchange offered by the AI \u200b\u200bplayer (+1).
It is important:for an aggressive leader, religion has more value than for the peaceable because it provides a huge diplomatic advantage. Nations with the same religion have a ratio of +3, and on the other - minus 3. Take over the holy city of a religion and spread it with the help of missionaries.
The better a computer nation treats you, the more successes your diplomats can achieve in this nation. With a good attitude, you can convince a partner to refuse to trade with another nation or even declare war on it. If the attitude is very good, you can conclude a defensive pact in which any aggressor will deal with two enemies at once, or even a complete alliance.
And with a bad attitude, you will not even be able to trade resources, regardless of the profitability of the proposed contract! And of course, it will be much easier for other nations to "set" on you the one that doesn't like you very much.
Improving relations with other nations is very important, and in many cases it is worth agreeing even to not very profitable deals for the sake of it. If a stronger neighbor asks you for a less important technology as a tribute, in return you get an attitude modifier (+1), which can deter that neighbor from attacking, as well as allow you to start a trade and further improve relations. Often, you yourself will offer gifts - they have been an integral part of diplomacy at all times.
If another civilization itself declares war on you, no one will consider you an aggressor, but this usually happens at the most inopportune moment, and not when you are completely ready for war. The computer estimates the relative strength of civilizations, so that a weak neighbor will not attack you, even if you regularly insult him and demand tribute. But if you have few modern troops, it can attack, regardless of your technological advantage and ability to mobilize. Provoking a war is not only a risky, but also an unprofitable tactic, since it is too expensive to fight on your own territory. However, if you do get attacked, nothing will prevent you from prolonging the war until you achieve your goals, except for the ever-growing discontent with the war.
The best target for a war of conquest is a nation that is already at war with someone else. In this case, you are guaranteed at least one ally, and the enemy has to fight on two fronts. If you can't profit from other people's wars, it is best to attack the nation with which no one is friends. Could anyone think of a better demonstration of the harm of political isolation?
It is important:“Driving the enemy into a corner” trying to capture all his cities is very dangerous if your civilization is not the strongest. He can become a vassal of another civilization, which will automatically declare war on you.
About national pride ... of every nation
Which civilization and which leader should you play next? Some of them are oriented towards peaceful development or even cultural victory. If you want to achieve victory by "fire and sword", it is better to choose the leader who will provide a certain military, technological or economic advantage.
Several leader traits directly improve your troops. Aggressive leaders (aggressive) give their melee and archers "free" Combat I, and also build barracks and drydocks twice as fast. Soldiers of leaders with the Charismatic property need 25% less experience to gain new levels; in addition, their cities have +1 happiness and +1 more for monuments and broadcast towers. Protectives give their archers and marksmen Prep I and City Defense I
If you want to fight from the very beginning of the game, in fact, you have only one choice - the Persians. Their Immortals gain + 50% against archers who usually defend enemy cities. Since the Immortals are cavalry, that is, they gain experience from both barracks and stables, they can even get two levels of Assault on a city during construction, which will allow them to capture cities without catapults and trebuchets. In addition, unlike ordinary cavalry, the Immortals receive advantages in defense, that is, in the forest they will be able to independently fend off enemy patrol troops. Finally, the Persian leader, Cyrus, is a charismatic imperialist, which is great for an early war. The only problem is that you may not get the horses, without which you cannot build the Immortals.
After the appearance of catapults, many leaders are capable of conquest. Especially good are the Roman Praetorians (inexpensive and strong melee fighters), Mongolian Keshiki (first strike and increased experience from their unique building, "hera") and Japanese samurai (2 first strikes!). The Numidian cavalry of the Carthaginians and the Quechua of the Incas give free useful abilities that will remain when the troops are updated; and the leaders of both nations are financiers and they will not have problems with money for renewal. The Malian dart thrower does not bring any abilities, but he is an order of magnitude stronger than a normal archer, so in the early war you should not have problems with defenders.
Vikings specialize in naval attacks and especially in the settlement of islands. Free Navigation I means 1.5 times faster galley and triremes speed (from 2 to 3), and this has a huge impact. Berserkers can attack directly from the galleys, although this makes little sense as long as your ships cannot bombard cities, since you will still have to land siege weapons ashore. With the advent of frigates and galleons, you can already do without siege weapons and without defenders, which is a huge advantage. The Celts gain about the same advantage in mountainous worlds: the ability of the Guerrillas significantly strengthens their troops.
With the advent of knights, almost any civilization can fight, especially against those who do not have knights yet. These are strong, fast troops, against which the enemies will have to build special defenders. Here it is necessary to highlight the Arabs, who, instead of knights, build archers on camels that do not require either horses or iron: you can plan your development so that you start a war immediately after the appearance of the Guilds. In addition, archers have a 25% retreat chance, which helps to save experienced troops! The Spanish conquistadors are also very good: they have advantages in defense from the terrain, as well as an advantage against melee; unfortunately their only leader, Isabella, is rather weak. If the Spaniards get a defensive leader to build their castles at half the price, they can prove themselves.
As in real life, in "Civilization" guns do not immediately supplant old troops. As long as the enemies have no gunpowder, the Turkish janissaries have an advantage against all types of troops, except perhaps siege weapons, and this must be used in time - after the renewal of the enemy armies, the janissaries will only have an advantage only against the cavalry. French musketeers make it possible to create mobile armies that move twice as fast as conventional ones, and partially replace the guns with frigates.
If special troops appear even later, then your civilization will most likely have to fight without them - perhaps even more than once. English redcoats, Russian Cossacks, German Panzers, and American Navy SEALs are excellent troops, but by the time they arrive, the world is largely divided among civilizations. If at the start you were unlucky and you were among the outsiders, no "miracle weapon" will help to turn the tide of the game. At best, you will get involved in a long war and, even if you win, you will not be able to win the game.
Special Forces are nowhere near as important as they might seem. You should not tie the entire strategy of the game to the special troops of your nation: you can successfully fight with ordinary soldiers. It is all the more foolish to refuse to update special troops when they are already clearly outdated - an ordinary shooter is much stronger than any archer or melee. Nevertheless, if you have an advantage - you need to use it, because in war all means are good. Good luck on the battlefields!
I'll try to list here some game concepts that you might not find in Civilopedia.
1. The attitude of the computer to war.
Have you ever wondered how a computer adversary perceives your power, and with what goals he starts a war? But this is not a random factor: AI (english Artificial intelligence, Artificial intelligence) perceives the situation in the world much broader than it might seem at first glance. Perhaps everyone had thoughts like the following: " A computer character starts a war based on one factor. This is the superiority of one's own forces over the forces of a potential enemy"However, in practice, situations arise when an already exhausted rival tries in vain to move the front towards the enemy capital, and loses the last remnants of the army on this, or otherwise - having a huge army offers a peace treaty on less serious requirements than it could be in reality Why do they arise?
It turns out that a computer can unleash and wage war for several reasons:
First reason - this resourcesor conveniently located cities... I honestly had no chance of stopping the Chinese armada when they crossed the border (despite their good political relations), but they themselves offered peace only by destroying my border village and stopping in the hills! On reflection, I came to the conclusion that the point of the action was to obtain a Copper Mine near this village. And since I had two of them (and there was practically no defense) - I agreed with pleasure.
The second reason - fragmentationand weakness of neighbors... The computer does not know the word "meanness", so it constantly commits it ( however, we are familiar with it, but not in relation to the car, so - 1: 1) for personal gain. If you have just finished a victorious war with one neighbor, but you still need a couple of dozen moves to restore the composition of the regular army, the computer may not hesitate to use this. He can also deal with another computer, just which at the moment you have begun to butcher, in order to have time to seize a piece of territory for yourself. The effect of a wolf pack - the weak are destroyed. Therefore, never let your neighbors think that you are weak. Always prepare for war with additional thinking: "Will I be able to repel the attack of two more powers after the start of the war?"
Third reason - this huge hatred, past betrayal from your side or even just insurmountable differences between your countries. The computer wages an all-out war either to the complete destruction of the power - or, at least, to the incredible destruction of one (and often both) of the parties. Always check the state of the armies of countries that may threaten you - before an all-out war, all sovereign resources will go to the needs of the upcoming war. Consider the number of enemy armies at different times and plan your defense against them and able to defend against a surprise attack.
Always when attacking an enemy, first think a few minutes what could have caused the attack? What actions did you and your opponent take before the first military encounter? Does he really consider himself stronger than you, or does he just want his own, free oil? And, perhaps, it would be wiser to give up part of "our own" without a fight and destruction, so that in twenty or thirty moves to return much more. Or, on the contrary, to stand to death in the first fortified point, knowing that the enemy will stop at nothing.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.2. Finance: money and science.
The more a city brings in money, the more it can give to "pure" profit or science. It would seem that there can be nothing extravagant here, since the Science \u003d Money connection is direct and indestructible. However, there are some exceptions. For example, profits from the Wonders of the World will not be used as an additional payment for scientific research Temple of Religion and Al-Malwiyah or from specialist bankers in the cities. These incomes are converted exclusively into money, and in order to increase research through them, it will be necessary to change the percentage of "scientific capital". Only money collected from the squares of the city (and from scientific specialists, scientists in the city), and in the amount that you put in as a percentage of profit, go to science. Remembering the importance of technology - usually 70-100%, therefore, income is multiplied by 0.7-1.0, this is pure science. The rest (0.0-0.3 in this example) is net profit.
Do not think that building a bank and a market will add bonuses to your initial capital. They add the bonus exclusively to their percentage. That is, like the example above, it would be 0.3 + 25% \u003d 0.375.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.
=====================================
3. Espionage.
It's a strange thing, but after several years of playing Civilization IV I actually never noticed spy... Ideally, only another spy sees a spy - but just as I did not explore the territory, as I did not deploy my spies, I still never saw the enemy. Only devastating consequences from them ... which could have been avoided from the very beginning! Placing your defensive unit on a cell with a processing resource can significantly reduce the likelihood of successful sabotage by an alien spy. Moreover, I realized this only by comparing the chances of a successful sabotage by my own spy on foreign territory - and on cells with enemy units, the chances are greatly reduced.
And do not try to block access to the spy as we did in the first part - the units calmly pass through each other, so such a shield will look more like a colander.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.
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4. Relations between powers.
Relations between the two powers are affected only by their foreign policy towards each other, and, at most, towards each other's allies. If Elizabeth asks you to break off a trade agreement with your enemy, who is your friend, and receives a refusal - take it for granted -1 to diplomatic relations. Having built a profitable system of trade relations with many countries at the same time, you run the risk of being completely without friends already by the Renaissance. Try instead of refusing to everyone and creating a trading network with all countries at the same time to calculate which of the countries owns the resources you need, to whom you can sell yours, and who is less dangerous in military affairs at different periods of time. Then it will be possible to form a "circle of friends" from which to gradually "knock out" individual countries for further uselessness and for gratitude from the rest. This will reduce the number of countries distrustful of you in return for receiving loyal friends.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.
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5. Health of the townspeople.
When choosing a place to build a new city, look around carefully. Try to choose a place where the city will be least exposed to disease - one of the main conditions for population growth. Create a city by the river: This will give you extra health points from river squares. Upgrade the surrounding lands - resources such as Crabs, Deer and the like, after upgrading the cage (either by workers or by an industrial boat), will begin to bring additional health points. Also, if a city with these resources is connected by trade with another city, the second one also receives an additional bonus from the first. When the city is covered with the pipes of factories - plant around the forest, this will add health to the inhabitants. In the early stages, the Aqueduct helps a lot. Check your form of government, some of them add health points.
The health level in the city information window is shown on top of the residents' happiness level. This alone may already indicate the severity of this parameter. The larger the city, the more bonuses there should be, then, to cure diseases caused by overpopulation. Remember, city \u200b\u200bwith negative healthloses food... This means that it greatly slows down population growth, if it does not lead to hunger at all.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.
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6. Levels of difficulty of the game.
Each new time you pass your chosen power from a colonist to an empire of the future, you improve your skills. So that they are not brought to automatism (and therefore - lost interest), the game offers several levels of difficulty. In addition to the various AI actions, there are other differences in the game. For example, at the easiest level, you have a huge advantage in battles with wild animals or barbarians. However, as the level of difficulty increases, you become weaker, and Barbarians appear earlier and much more often. Also, the level of difficulty affects Technologies, the cost of maintaining cities and happy / healthy people in them. In addition, at high difficulty levels, the AI \u200b\u200bgets several squads for free. For example, obvious differences appear at the start of the game: computer powers can get from one to three (!) Starting Settlers.
Some game concepts.
Some game concepts.
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In fact, there are dozens of similar concepts. I will try to describe them all one day.
Perhaps the most difficult and deceiving period in Civilization IV is the beginning of the game, the ancient era. On the one hand, the player is given complete freedom: he himself chooses where and when to build cities, how to cultivate his territory, what to build and what technologies to research. On the other hand, it is very difficult to determine the optimal development strategy, and computer prompts are often not only not helpful, but even misleading!
The slightest mistake made early in the game can lead to serious losses for most of the game, and enemies will not hesitate to take advantage of this. Civilization has never been easy fun: it takes patience and a sincere desire to learn all the intricacies of the game in order to win. In this article, you will learn what to look for at the beginning of the game, what development strategies exist and what "levers" are available to you. We will look at the ancient and classical eras, as well as several key technologies of the Middle Ages.
The goals we choose
Those who don't know where they are going will probably go the wrong way.
Lawrence Peter
In "Civilization IV" you always have to pursue several goals at once, but if you needed to name one "most important", especially in the ancient era, you must process as many cells as possible (apart from those that should not be processed) and improve these cells so that get as many resources as possible... In the later stages of the game, it may be more profitable to make the townspeople specialists, but at the beginning of the game this is usually disadvantageous, if not impossible.
Ever since the first "Civilization", processed cells can bring three resources: food (E), production (P) and commerce (K). Products have the fastest and most obvious effect: they provide troops, buildings and wonders of the world. The effect of commerce does not affect so quickly, but it is no less important: your people will not live long without money and technological development. Finally, food in "Civilization IV" is needed not only to feed the townspeople and the growth of cities, but also for the construction of colonists and workers (the surplus food is used not for the growth of the city, but also as products). So at the start of the game there are no extra resources: the bigger, the better! The success of your civilization in the ancient era can be easily estimated with one number - the amount of resources you receive per turn (resource balance is very important, but it is not difficult to maintain it if you process a lot of cells).
It is important: specialists give no more than three resources (scientists and merchants), and from most cells you can get the same, if not more. If you fail to be the first to build pyramids and establish an elective government, in which each specialist gives +3 sciences, they should be remembered only when there are no good cells left for processing.
To effectively cultivate the land, your workers must build farms (requires farming), cottages, mines (requires mining) and roads (requires a wheel). Other technologies may be required to exploit rare resources. Some technologies (archery and horseback riding) are required to build troops. At the beginning of the game, almost everything technologies!
Very important found a religion, which requires the first to research one of the relevant technologies. After that, one of your cities will become sacred city new religion, and you will receive information about all cities in which there is at least a small proportion of fellow believers. With the help of the great prophet, a shrine can be built in the holy city that will produce culture and income. Over time, your religion will spread (this process can be accelerated with the help of missionaries) and its benefits will increase.
Finally, one of the key goals is build the most important wonders of the world... The most valuable wonders are the pyramids [construction] (the ability to establish any form of government), the Parthenon [polytheism] (accelerates the appearance of great people), the Great Lighthouse [construction] (+2 trade routes in all cities), Stonehenge [mysticism] (free obelisk in every city) and hanging gardens [math] (+1 health and +1 citizen in all cities). Please note that most of these wonders are located on the same mysticism-building technology chain.
Geology and economics
We cannot wait for favors from nature: it is our task to take them from her.
I.V. Michurin
Each city can cultivate land within the "big cross" - a 5x5 square, except for the corner ones, if these squares are under your cultural influence. Thus, each city can handle up to 21 cells, including the city itself. At the beginning of the game, you are unlikely to have cities with a population of 20 or more, which means that you can only handle the very best tiles. Nevertheless, it is better to build so that the working zones of the cities do not overlap if you plan to bring the game to the end.
Each cell, when processed, gives a certain amount of resources, depending on the base landscape, its features and your buildings. There can be several features of the landscape in the same cell: for example, there can be a forest and a hill at the same time in a cell. In this case, the parameters of all features are summed up. So, a wooded hill on a plain will produce 3P (1E 1P + 1P - 1E + 1P).
| Basic landscape products | ||
| Basic terrain | Products | Notes |
| Mountain (Peak) | 0 | Impassable |
| Snow | 0 | |
| Desert | 0 | Useless except for oases. |
| Tundra | 1E | |
| Sea | 1E 1K | There are no products in the ocean |
| Coast | 1E 2K | Inland seas give 2E 2K and clear water |
| Meadow (Grassland) | 2E | Provides the growth of a new city |
| Plains | 1E 1P | Additional source of products |
| Features of the landscape | ||
| Features of the landscape | Products | Notes |
| Ice | 0 | Impenetrable |
| Jungle | -1E | Always in the meadows. City health -0.25. Travel is twice as expensive. Defense + 50% |
| Hills | -1E + 1P | Travel is twice as expensive. Defense + 25% |
| Forest | + 1P | Doesn't grow in desert and snow. City health +0.5. Travel is twice as expensive. Defense + 50% |
| Floodplain | + 3E | Always in the desert. City health -0.4 |
| Oasis | + 3E + 2K | Always in the desert. A source of clean water (city health +2). Travel is twice as expensive. You can't build anything. |
| River | + 1K | A source of clean water (city health +2). Defense + 25%. Does not give + 1K in the forest, jungle and snow. Replaces the road when trading. |
You must provide each city with enough food to feed all its inhabitants, and if you want the city to grow, there must be enough food in abundance. It takes two units of food (2E) per turn to feed one villager. If you want to process cells that provide little food, or make some of the inhabitants specialists, then other cells must compensate for the lack of food.
In this case, it is almost impossible to do without farms - only they can give 4-5E per turn without special food resources. And to process many of them, you also need to build a farm.The most profitable building is a house, which over time turns into a larger settlement if its cage is cultivated. If you build it on fertile land that gives at least 2E per turn, then the citizen will be able to feed himself and at the same time provide you with solid commerce (2E 2K after 10 turns). When it grows to the town, you will receive 2E 4K from this cell - that is, as many as 6 resources per turn! The city's production is usually provided by mines and, to a lesser extent, forests.
Since almost all buildings increase the production of this or that resource by a few percent, in "Civilization IV" profitable to specialize cities. One city can serve as an "incubator", produce huge amounts of food and only build workers and colonists; the other is a “laboratory” with a full set of scientific buildings and specialist scientists; the third is a "bank" making money for your treasury; the fourth is the "arsenal", and so on. Of course, the specialization of a city is determined by the cells that surround it, so you will have to think about it when choosing a location for the city.
| Worker buildings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
* + B Road cuts the cost of movement by half (with engineering three times), but only on its own territory. Roads and rivers bring resources to cities and provide trade with other nations. Fort gives protection + 25%. Cannot be combined with scaffolding or other buildings. It is built very rarely, since a regular forest gives + 50% protection. Farm - the main source of food. Only built on flat terrain near rivers or other farms. Provides access to some food "health resources" (rice, corn, and so on). Cottage - the main source of commerce. When processing, a cottage turns into a village in 10 moves, then in 20 moves - into a village, and after another 40 moves - into a town. With each transformation, the amount of commerce increases. Mine - practically the only serious source of products for a long time. Allows you to extract rare ores (copper, iron, gold, silver). It is built only on hills and rare ore deposits. Workshop - a means of increasing production for the future. Guild tech and chemistry add + 1P each.
* Construction time in the tundra and desert + 25%, on the snow + 50% (rounding up) + B Deforestation (3 turns) or destruction of the jungle (4 turns), if any. Ivory - allows you to build war elephants. Horses are necessary for the construction of all cavalry, except for the Arab camel archers. A rock doubles the speed of building many wonders of the world - Stonehenge, pyramids, hanging gardens. Marble also doubles the speed of the construction of many wonders of the world - the Parthenon, the oracle, the Hermitage. |
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In previous versions of Civilization, beginner players often built cities in the wrong places, they didn't have enough food and they couldn't grow. Therefore, now the program prompts in which cells it is most profitable to build a city so that it receives as much food as possible. In most cases, you can follow this hint, but do not let the computer think for you: sometimes you do not need the rapid growth of the city, but the capture of an important resource or an obstacle to the enemy's penetration.
On a note: the cell of the city itself almost always produces 2E 1P 1K, even in completely lifeless places like desert or snow. Only on a hilly plain does the city receive an additional + 1P. Therefore, oddly enough, it is better to build a city on A "bad" cage than beside with her.
One of the most important secrets of Civilization IV is how you calculate your income and expenses. The exact formulas are unknown, but the game's designers tried to make crazy expansion unprofitable without proper territory development, and they succeeded. As a result, civilizations lagging behind in spreading on the map gain an advantage over militarists and expansionists. You pay:
- for the support of the troops: the first few units work for free, everyone else has to pay;
- for supporting cities (depending on their number);
- for the distance from the capital to each city;
- for each city building (the farther from the capital, the more - however, the courts reduce losses);
- for supporting the laws you have established (in proportion to the total population);
- finally, for inflation (it grows slowly throughout the game).
The main source of income is commerce, which is divided between gold and science. Because you need to research new technologies as quickly as possible, you want to devote as much as possible to science. Thus, high costs force you to slow down the pace of research and fall behind in the technology race.
It is important: If you try to build many colonists in order to quickly build cities and capture as much territory as possible, you will almost certainly lose: the cost of supporting these cities will be significant, and it will only grow with each turn.
Trade can also generate significant income, although the exact formula is also unknown. Each city has several trade routes that automatically lead to the most distant and richest cities, which can be reached from that city by road, river or sea. If you have an open border agreement with another civilization, then your cities can trade with their cities for mutual benefit. Researching optics (and building caravels) can multiply trade incomes through new trade routes to overseas countries.
In Civilization IV, not all buildings are worth building: often the effect of the building will not pay off the cost of its support. For example, a market that is supposed to bring you money can actually take it away! The explanation is simple: the market brings + 25% of gold - in an industrial city, producing only 10K, and with the usual distribution of only 10-20% of this amount to the treasury, your income will not increase. But you will have to pay to support the market, and the farther the city is from your capital, the more. Professionals recommend building in each city:
- barn (Granary) - speeds up the growth of the city, reduces the likelihood of hunger, and also increases health if there is corn, rice or wheat;
- library (Library) - gives culture, speeds up research and allows you to make two townspeople scientists;
- aqueduct (Aqueduct) - gives +2 health;
- smithy (Forge) - increases production at the expense of health, allows you to make one citizen an engineer;
- lighthouse (Lighthouse) - Only in coastal cities. Gives + 1E on all sea tiles.
Whether it is worth building other buildings and in what order depends on the specialization of the city and the situation. For example, in conquered cities, the first thing to do is to build a theater in order to increase culture and get the opportunity to work the land. In industrial cities, factories and barracks are built, in scientific cities - universities and laboratories, in trade cities - markets and banks, while not forgetting to make some of the townspeople merchants.
Forests: to cut or not to cut?
I'll go, go, take a walk
I will break the white birch ...
folk song
The forest is a very useful feature of the landscape: it increases the production and health of the city. Nevertheless, the first thing the cruel leaders of civilizations do is cut down forests, because for this the nearest city receives a significant amount of production (the base value is 30P; the further from the city, the less). Deforestation takes only three moves, and even if you take into account the time it takes for a worker to reach it, it still remains the most profitable way to accelerate development. A worker costs 60P, that is, cutting down two forest cells allows you to get another worker!
So, you need to immediately cut down all the forests around your cities? It is not that simple. At the beginning of the game, your civilization, most likely, still does not know how to process bronze (Bronze Working), and without this, you cannot cut down forests. If you first rush to research the "mining - processing bronze" technology chain, you risk missing out on other technologies, especially those leading to important wonders of the world (on the other hand, deforestation can compensate for the lag in the construction of a miracle). Quite often you will have to research farming to build farms and keep cities growing (do you remember that when building colonists and workers, food equals production?).
It is important: when calculating the amount of products for deforestation, everything advantages of buildings, leader, board and so on. Deforestation near the city with the factory will give much more than 30P.
If in the working area of \u200b\u200bthe city there are enough hills on which to build mines, then the industrial value of the forests does not interest you: the mine gives much more production. But if they are not there, it is not worth cutting down all the forests around the city: without them, the city's production will become so low that it will not be able to build even the most necessary buildings on time. A couple of forest cells near each city should be left at least for the health of the townspeople.
Pretty much anything your workers can build will result in deforestation in this cage. For example, if you are building a farm, the worker will first cut down the forest and only then start building. You will receive products for this forest only after the completion of construction, so it is much more profitable to first give an order to cut it down, and only then to build a farm.
If there are a lot of forests, then first of all, the ones located on the hills and rivers should be cut down - in the first case, the construction of a mine will give more production, and in the second, the forest does not allow you to get additional commerce from the river, and in general the land near the river is highly valued, since you can build there lovely farms.
It is interesting: you can cut forests outside of your cities' work area and even outside your cultural boundaries! However, in this case, you will lose a significant part of the production due to the long distance to the city.
Do not forget about the strategic importance of forests. Firstly, all your armies in the forest receive + 50% defense, which almost always discourages enemies from attacking them. Secondly, the speed of movement of the enemy in the forest is halved, and you can build roads to quickly transfer troops. If there are a lot of forests, you can train some of your troops as rangers, which will provide them with a significant advantage in strength and speed even without roads. Otherwise, it is worth turning some wooded hill that blocks the enemy's path into a fortress: put troops there and cut down all the forests around. As a result, attacking enemies will not dare to attack the defenders of the hill (having + 75% defense) and will simply bypass the hill from which they can be attacked.
Keep in mind that although forests and jungles cannot be planted in Civilization IV, they sometimes multiply by themselves: a new forest appears next to the forest cage, but only where you have not built anything. This means that it is best to deal with the jungle once and for all, but a couple of forests, on the contrary, should be left. Say what you like, but in the distant future you will be able to build sawmills that give very good products. And the Green Party will be just happy!
Two thousand years of war?
War is the continuation of politics by other means.
Karl von Clausewitz
A war is economically profitable only if it is a blitzkrieg - you are far superior to the enemy, you can quickly achieve your goals and make peace on your own terms. This rarely happens in Civilization IV, especially early on in the game. You will have to spend considerable time building troops; your troops will almost always move 1 square per turn, and you will have to wait for them to heal their wounds; disgruntled people, tired of the war, will appear in your cities; finally, declaring war leads to closed borders and drastically reduces trade. Before starting a war, you must clearly understand what you want to achieve, how you are going to do it and what the enemy is capable of. Without this, the war could indeed drag on for millennia, so that even a victory in it would be Pyrrhic.
The parameters of the troops and their abilities were given in the January issue of LCI (2006), so we will not repeat ourselves. At the beginning of the game, only archers, hand-to-hand fighters and cavalry are available to you; of siege weapons there are only catapults [constructions], and of ships - galleys and caravels. The cavalry moves quickly, does not receive advantages in defense and requires horses (strategic resource). The best melee players require copper or iron (strategic resources), move slowly, but usually have a significant advantage against any kind of troops or when storming cities. Archers are not very strong, but they are cheap and have a few first hits.
It is important: troops should always build in a city with barracks, otherwise you will get useless cannon fodder on which enemies will train. Before mass-producing troops, it is best to establish a vassal theocracy so that they gain even more experience. Experienced troops are more likely to win and gain new experience.
You will not be able to fight with only one type of troops: the enemy will quickly understand this and organize effective resistance. It is worth sending cavalrymen into the attack without the support of infantry - and the enemy spearmen / pikemen will easily kill them. Why? Yes, because they have + 100% against cavalry, and your cavalry does not receive any advantages to defense, and as a result, the spearman will have strength 8, and your horse archer - only 6. While the enemy does not have guns, it is most profitable to place several units of different types on the same square: when attacking such a group, the squad that can offer the best resistance will fight on your side. A group of pikemen, crossbowmen, and clubbearers can effectively defend against almost any attack.
The need to use several types of troops leads to the fact that your invading army will move 1 square per turn, even if its main force is cavalry. You cannot use roads located on enemy territory, but the enemy can, and this allows him to quickly gather troops into a fist anywhere. Therefore, one of the most effective military tactics is the landing of troops on the coast from galleys (Galley). Each galley can transport two units at a speed of 2 squares per turn (having mastered navigation even faster), so a fleet of 3-4 galleys allows you to unexpectedly capture a coastal city or even several cities.
It is important: wounded troops fight worse than whole - their strength decreases in proportion to the wounds received. Therefore, you will have to wait for them to heal. The medicine and march abilities are really worth taking, for at least one fighter in the strike group.
Since the defenders of cities have many advantages, it is quite difficult to storm them, you should have a significant advantage, and your army will suffer heavy losses if it does not have catapults. The siege cannon transforms the assault on a city from a bloody meat grinder into an organized event with almost guaranteed results. That is why the signal for the beginning of military preparations is usually the appearance of catapults.
Without catapults, it is worth plundering the enemy's territory, throwing it back in development, and even earning some money on it. In general, the economic aspect of war should not be forgotten: if you are greedy and take over a useless city instead of destroying it, this can lead to a sharp increase in costs and delay your technological development. Capture only those cities that can pay off, and be prepared to move the capital to the center of your empire after a successful war to reduce costs.
Of course, you will not always declare war - other civilizations can also attack you, and from time to time barbarians appear. We need to prepare to defend our territory - and it’s the territory, not just the cities! If you try to sit outside the city walls, the enemies will plunder your lands. Therefore, you need to place the most valuable buildings (villages) away from the border, build roads to it so that your troops can quickly intercept the aggressors, and place spearmen or pikemen that easily destroy cavalrymen in the most suitable places for defense (for example, a single wooded hill). Why exactly them? Yes, because you will have time to intercept the aggressors on foot without the "border guards", but the cavalry can cause considerable damage.
Your best bet, of course, is to try to be friends with your neighbors until you are ready to fight them. To do this, you need to open the borders and trade with them, change technologies and in every possible way pretend to be a "wonderful neighbor". If you have not founded a single religion, you can accept the religion of a strong neighbor, and if you did, spread it with the help of missionaries. Don't let religious divisions escalate to unnecessary war. Let the computer civilizations fight with each other, not with you - maybe they will slow each other down so that you can easily defeat them when you are ready for it.
On the role of personality in history
No matter how great an individual is, it cannot determine the course of history. The people are the true creator of history, the creator of all spiritual and material values.
Abstract for the "five"
The February 2006 issue of LCI describes the features of the leaders of civilizations and the strategy of playing for them. However, getting to know two opinions is always better than one, especially if they differ significantly. In my opinion, the most powerful leader would be a financial industrialist (a huge economic advantage backed by the wonders of the world), but fortunately there is no such leader in the game.
| Features of leaders and their application | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Aggressive... Great for the early war. With the barracks, your melee will immediately receive cover or shock, that is, pluses against archers or enemy melee. Instead, you can take medicine or storm the city - you get a good army without risk! Vassalage and Theocracy give your troops even more experience, allowing you to get two levels at once (for example, battle II and formation against cavalry). Cheap barracks allow you to build troops faster. Soulful... If you are preparing for war and building troops, then it is more profitable to establish a police state, nationalism / vassal system and theocracy, and in peacetime you need a completely different form of government. Without this feature, you will lose an entire turn with each such change. Throughout the game, spirituality will save you at least 7-8 moves and will pay off quite well, but early on, when most governments are not available, it does very little. Try to build pyramids to gain access to all kinds of government, as well as found as many religions as possible to build temples / shrines and switch state religion by getting information about foreign cities. Organizer... Best Expansion Feature! The cost of a way of government depends on your population, meaning an organizer can support a lot more population than others. Lighthouses are practically necessary in coastal cities, courts - in cities far from the capital. In total, you get a huge advantage, especially on oceanic planets, where almost all cities need both a lighthouse and a court. Industrialist... A very nice feature, but not as fabulous as it might seem at first glance. Yes, you will overtake other civilizations when building wonders of the world, and a forge is needed in almost every city, but the game simply does not have enough wonders for your cities to build them all the time! An industrialist will save you a lot of production, but only in the city that is building a miracle. The rest of the cities will receive nothing but a cheap forge. Compare this to the regular income of the organizers or financiers. Try to find stone and marble as quickly as possible. These resources will further accelerate the construction of many wonders of the world. And don't forget that a city with many wonders is a tasty morsel for all aggressive civilizations of the world! Creator... Your cities quickly "capture" territory, and their working area very quickly spreads to the entire "big cross", which allows you to process the best cells and access important resources without delay. You can open borders with a neighboring nation without fear of their colonists building a city in the middle of your territory. And after the capture of a foreign city, its borders will expand very quickly. This feature works best with an organizer. Global war becomes much more profitable: you can pay for the addition of new cities, they get to work faster and begin to pay off. Philosopher... This trait doesn't give you double the great people, as each next one is worth a lot more than the last. However, there will be about 50% more of them. Most often, great people are made great specialists, but sometimes it is more profitable to get a key technology (for example, related to religion) or to be the first to build an important wonder of the world. The Parthenon increases the "production rate" of the greats by another 50%, the national epic - by 100% in one city, and the pyramids allow you to establish an elected government. Financier... One of the most powerful features that works almost from the very beginning of the game and doesn't really require anything from you. Build cottages to get additional commerce from them. If you can build pyramids, you can establish universal voting rights, and your towns will also give + 1P. In addition, all naval squares give 2K, and if you build a beacon, you will receive 2E 3K from each of them. Colossus gives + 1K more in all sea cells ... in general, you will have so much commerce that you will beat rivals in the technological race, "like standing". Expansionist... Not the most valuable feature. Your cities can grow to a large size, but happiness usually limits their growth faster than health. With hereditary power, your soldiers make the townspeople happier, and you can actually get +3 people in each town. In slavery, you can donate "extra" people to speed up production. If such methods are not to your taste, and good cells in the working area of \u200b\u200bthe city are over, some of the townspeople can be made specialists. |
It is important:parameters of leaders are given according to localized and published in Russia basic versions of Civilization IV. In the Warlords add-on, everything is slightly different - and we will write about this in detail after the release of the game in Russian.
J. Washington has a huge commercial advantage that very quickly becomes scientific. He is especially good in the oceanic world with many islands. Explore the sail as quickly as possible and build beacons. It is worth building a Great Lighthouse, and if there is copper, and a colossus, even though it quickly becomes obsolete. Maintain peaceful relations with your neighbors and trade with them until your technological superiority becomes overwhelming. This usually occurs during the times of cavalry, frigates and galleons. However, with such advantages as Washington has, one can not fight at all, but strive for a diplomatic victory.
F. D. Roosevelt also not too adapted for a quick war, but its advantages are valid in almost any world. This is one of the best leaderboards in the entire game. As him, you can pursue almost any peaceful strategy. It is very beneficial to target specialists as the wonders of the world speed up their appearance and increase their effectiveness. Try to build pyramids and the Parthenon.
Queen Victoria inferior to Washington in large empires, but superior in early development due to cheap barns and ore mining. As a rule, a war should not be started before the appearance of red coats.
Queen Elizabeth much better than Victoria, but still in the competition of financiers George Washington wins. It is also better not to start a war before the appearance of the red uniforms.
Saladinlike all spiritualized leaders, he should try to found as many religions as possible and build many temples, for which the great prophets should be sacrificed. Far from the best combination of abilities, but the Arabs know mysticism from the very beginning, which gives some head start in the race for religions. The Camel Shooter is the only knight that does not require iron, so quality troops are practically guaranteed for Saladin.
Montezuma is one of the weakest leaders. Spirituality does not mix well with aggressiveness - you should probably take over their holy cities instead of chasing religions. However, the jaguar does not provide any particular benefits, unless it requires iron. You can try playing it in the humid world of the jungle.
Alexander- not the best leader. Aggressiveness is very poorly combined with philosophy, and the phalanxes are more defensive troops than attacking ones. You can wage an early war if you're lucky with resources, but it's best to wait until vassalage and theology to get very skilled troops. After the war, you may have level 4 troops, which will allow you to build a heroic epic. In general, Alexander gravitates towards the "one city" strategy - a police state, bureaucracy and heroic epic make it possible to churn out knights very quickly ...
Hatshepsut - probably what Montezuma was supposed to be: a spiritualized ruler oriented towards the early war. At the very beginning of the game, War Chariots are practically invincible, as they have a strength of 5 and are immune to the first blow. Even if the enemy has archers, "advanced" chariots are not inferior to them, and the technology of archery still needs to be studied, while the Egyptians know the wheel from the very beginning of the game. If you are lucky in the early war, you capture enemy cities, and the "creator" ability quickly brings them into operation.
Mahatma Gandhi - a very good peace-loving leader if you manage to be the first to build the pyramids. Far from being the best industrialist, since it is not so often necessary to change the form of government without war (except for "cheating" when building troops), but fast workers represent a serious advantage.
Ashoka - The candidate for those who are bored with the constant benefits and want to get the most out of their government settings. Build or conquer a huge empire (which Ashoka can manage as an organizer) and have fun switching laws for your pleasure! He has no special advantages, apart from the flexibility of the way of government.
Huayna Capac - another lover of war at the very early stage of the game, although he is ready to fight almost always. Quechuas become obsolete very quickly due to their small strength, but they can still capture a city or two, especially if the enemy is protecting them with archers alone. Not the best of the aggressive leaders, but still better than Alexander.
Have queen Isabella useless abilities, but the Spanish national troops are quite decent: the conquistador is the only cavalryman who gets advantages to protection from the landscape and the city, and besides that, he also has + 50% against melee fighters. If you were lucky at the initial stage of the game and you got to the knights first (or simply deprived the enemy of the necessary strategic resources) - the conquistador becomes the “king of the fields”, even the pikemen have no chance against him. Not a bad leader for beginners and low difficulty levels.
Mao Jie Dong prefers peaceful expansion. It's great for "cultural" takeover of cities, with a great artist sacrificing 4,000 culture in a nearby city. The Chinese crossbowman (cho-ko-nu) is better than usual, but his side damage cannot be increased, and by the time he appears, the neighbors will already have horse archers with immunity to the first blow.
Qin Shi-Huangdi much like Roosevelt - both are industrialists, only one gets more commerce, and the other pays less taxes. A Chinese is more profitable in a small civilization, and an American in a large one. Both do not like to fight and try to postpone the war until their technological advantage becomes decisive. Novice players are better off playing as Qin Shi-Huandi, since cho-ko-nu makes defending the empire much easier. And the Chinese have better starting technologies.
Mansa Musa is a flexible leader for seasoned players who appreciate the ability to quickly change leadership and go from defense to attack. The Malian dart thrower is much stronger than a regular archer, allowing you to defend both your own cities and the invading armies that are advancing on others. Like all financiers, he is good on the archipelagos, but he also has good chances on the continent: a starting set of technologies allows you to build mines, chariots, dart throwers at the very beginning of the game and attack an unprepared neighbor.
Genghis Khan inferior in efficiency to many other aggressive leaders, especially Khubilai. Expansionist is perhaps the most useless feature for a warrior.
Kublai - one of the best military leaders. Creativity allows him to quickly include the conquered cities into the empire, and in peacetime - to master the territory faster and not be distracted by the construction of obelisks. If you want to capture an enemy city, and not just plunder its territory, the Mongolian keshik will not help you too much - you still have to send slow defenders with it. But the Mongols really know how to rob the best.
| Nations and their leaders | |||
| Nation | Leaders and features | Starting technologies | Special troops and benefits |
| America | J. Washington (financier and organizer), F. D. Roosevelt (industrialist and organizer) | fishing and farming | fur seal (paratrooper) 1-2 first strikes and march |
| England | Queen Victoria (expansionist and financier), Queen Elizabeth (philosopher and financier) | fishing and ore mining | red tunic (shooter) strength +2 and + 25% against shooters. |
| Arabs | Saladin (spiritualized philosopher) | wheel and mysticism | camel shooter (knight) horses and iron are not needed, retreat 25% |
| Aztecs | Montezuma (soulful and aggressive) | hunting and mysticism | jaguar (swordsman) no iron needed, strength -1, + 25% protection in the jungle |
| Greeks | Alexander (aggressive philosopher) | hunting and fishing | phalanx (spearman) strength +1, + 25% defense in hills |
| Egyptians | Hatshepsut (spiritualized creator) | agriculture and wheel | war chariot (chariot) strength +1, immunity to first hit. |
| Hindus | Mahatma Gandhi (spiritualized industrialist), Ashoka (Spiritual Organizer) | mysticism and ore mining | fast worker (worker) movement speed +1 |
| The Incas | Wayna Kapak (aggressive financier) | agriculture and mysticism | quechua (warrior) + 25% in city defense, + 100% against shooters |
| Spaniards | Queen Isabella (Spiritual Expansionist) | fishing and mysticism | conquistador (knight) there are pluses to protection, + 50% against melee |
| Chinese | Mao Zedong (philosopher and organizer), Qin Shi-Huangdi (industrialist and financier) | agriculture and ore mining | cho-ko-nu (crossbowman) +1 first hit, collateral damage. |
| Mali | Mansa Musa (Spiritual Financier) | wheel and ore mining | dart thrower (archer) strength +1, + chance for the first hit |
| Mongols | Genghis Khan (aggressive expansionist), Khubilai (aggressive creator) | hunting and wheel | keshik (horse archer) ignores terrain movement penalties. |
| Germans | Frederick (creator and philosopher), Bismarck (industrialist and expansionist) | hunting and mining | panzer (tank) + 50% against tanks. |
| Persians | Cyrus (creator and expansionist) | agriculture and hunting | immortal (chariot) + 50% against archers |
| Romans | Julius Caesar (organizer and expansionist) | fishing and ore mining | praetorian (swordsman) strength +2, no plus when storming cities |
| Russians | Ekaterina (creator and financier), Peter (philosopher and expansionist) | hunting and mining | cossack (cavalry) strength +3, + 50% against cavalry |
| French people | Louis XIV (creator and industrialist), Napoleon (aggressive industrialist) | agriculture and wheel | musketeer (arquebusier) speed +1 |
| Japanese | Tokugawa (aggressive organizer) | fishing and wheel | samurai (club bearer) requires iron (not copper) 2 first strikes |
Frederick - the largest expert on cultural pressure on neighbors: after all, great people also generate culture. At the beginning of the game, he receives almost no advantages, except for the rapid development of the territory and the ability to do without obelisks. Try to found as many religions as possible and spread them to reduce the likelihood of war. After the tanks appear, you can recoup everything ... if you live.
Bismarck - a fairly effective industrialist, since +3 health in all cities will help compensate for the damage of forges and factories. Build pyramids, establish hereditary power, and the defenders of your cities will bring them happiness. When there are enough defenders, focus on research. Use all the scientists you can appoint and build all science-enhancing wonders of the world. Your target is tanks.
Cyrus is one of the weakest leaders. His only hope is the "immortals", who at an early stage of the game (before the spearmen appear) can deal with warriors and archers. However, for this, the Persians still need to study the wheel and ore mining, as well as get to the horses. Lovers of trampling the world with chariots usually prefer the Egyptians.
Julius Caesar - a military specialist, ideally suited for training powerful and experienced troops. You can afford the support of a vassal system and theology so that the Praetorians under construction gain as much experience as possible. Give part of the troops a battle and shelter, the other part - the storming of the city, and then they will earn experience for themselves. Success depends on the availability of iron, without which the Praetorians cannot be built.
Ekaterina is a very effective leader. She is in many ways similar to the Germans - she also waits for the appearance of national troops (Cossacks), after which she enters the war. However, Cossacks are available much earlier than tanks, and the "financier" ability greatly speeds up research and makes it easier to "digest" captured cities. And creativity is not superfluous for the invader. In the world of archipelagos, Catherine is much stronger than on average: her advantages matter more than the advantages of her enemies, and it is also easier to avoid premature wars.
Peter - much worse than Catherine: you will have to wait for the Cossacks without having any serious advantages. We must focus on specialists and try to avoid war.
Louis XIV - not the best industrialist, since the main effect of creativity (obelisks are not needed) is replaced by the construction of Stonehenge. The French have no special prerequisites for quick conquests, so the quick inclusion of the captured cities is also not required.
Napoleon, of course, loves war, but prefers not to fight from the very beginning of the game, since at this time it has no advantages other than aggressiveness. Build wonders of the world, discover at least one religion and spread it. The French musketeers appear with the invention of gunpowder, but their only advantage is twice the speed of movement. This means that by themselves they will not become a "weapon of victory", but they will perfectly protect the knights and later cavalrymen, keeping up with them.
Tokugawa - perhaps the most effective aggressor, in many ways similar to Julius Caesar. Unlike the Mongol keshiks, his samurai get "free" battle I and usually far outnumber the enemy fighters. Moreover, his organizational skills allow him to maintain vassalage and theology, so that the troops immediately receive 3-4 abilities! The lack of iron is even worse for the Tokugawa than for Caesar.
Do you have a plan?
Our goals are clear, tasks are defined. Get to work, comrades!
N.S. Khrushchev
A game in which there is only one “correct” development strategy would inevitably be boring: what's the interest in doing the same thing in every game? And the result of the battle between the adherents of this "correct" strategy would depend only on the luck of the initial position. Fortunately, there is nothing of the kind in Civilization IV, and the optimal development strategy depends on many parameters.
- Features of your nation and leader... Each nation has several technologies with which it starts the game, as well as special troops that are somewhat superior to their standard counterparts. You simply will not be able to play for the peace-loving Indians as well as for the warlike Mongols. If national troops are available in the ancient era, their advantages can make an early war profitable.
Two featuresyour leader - very powerful effects that can radically change the usual ideas about the profitability of a particular strategy: for example, for aggressive leader early war can be beneficial, and organizer can found (or conquer) many cities and maintain them.
- Planet parameters... The development of civilization in the world of the ocean and rare islands cannot be the same as in the vast continents: in the first case, you need to build lighthouses and research navigation technologies, in the second - to seize valuable resources and protect your cities from barbarians and enemies. The jungle world is much easier to live in than the desert world - at least you can get rid of them.
- Initial location... You shouldn't spend a lot of time choosing the best place for the first city: the game almost never puts you in a hopeless situation, and you will always get some resources. However, in each game the set of resources will be different, especially rare ones, for the extraction of which different technologies will be required.
If you have read the entire article carefully, then, undoubtedly, you have already decided which leaders you like and in what world your newborn civilization will live. Moreover, you probably already have an approximate development plan, and you are ready to adjust this plan according to the situation. Now the future of your people depends only on you. Good luck!