Release v2.0
Last Updated: April 24, 1996 15:44 GMT
Written by: Edward Kenworthy (ekenworthy@cix.compulink.co.uk)
DISCLAIMER
The purpose of this FAQ is to aid the public regarding strategies
and tactics to use in the game Civilization II, by Micrprose. In no
way should this promote your killing yourself, killing others, or killing
in any other fashion.
Edward Kenworthy claims NO responsibility regarding any illegal
activity concerning this FAQ, or indirectly related to this FAQ.
TRADEMARK INFORMATION
Civilization 2 is a trademark, and is so acknowledged. Any
trademarks not mentioned here are still acknowledged.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
This article is Copyright 1996 by Edward Kenworthy. All rights
reserved. You are granted the following rights:
I. To make copies of this work in original form, so long as
(a) the copies are exact and complete;
(b) the copies include the copyright notice and these paragraphs
in their entirety;
(c) the copies give obvious credit to the author, Edward Kenworthy;
(d) the copies are in electronic form.
II. To distribute this work, or copies made under the provisions
above, so long as
(a) this is the original work and not a derivative form;
(b) you do not charge a fee for copying or for distribution;
(c) you ensure that the distributed form includes the copyright
notice, this paragraph, the disclaimer of warranty in
their entirety and credit to the author;
(d) the distributed form is not in an electronic magazine or
within computer software (prior explicit permission may be
obtained from Edward Kenworthy);
(e) the distributed form is the NEWEST version of the article to
the best of the knowledge of the distributor;
(f) the distributed form is electronic.
You may not distribute this work by any non-electronic media,
including but not limited to books, newsletters, magazines, manuals,
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If you would like additional rights beyond those granted above,
write to the author at "ekenworthy@cix.compulink.co.uk" on the Internet.
CONTENTS:
[1] Introduction
[1-1] Foreword
[1-2] About the unofficial Civilization II Strategy FAQ
[1-3] Getting the unofficial Civilization II Strategy FAQ
[1-4] Adding to the FAQ
[1-5] Acknowledgments
[1-6] Accurate Information
[1-7] The format of this FAQ
-Section One- GAME ELEMENTS
[2] The Tools Of The Trade
[2-1] Infantry
[2-2] Mounted
[2-3] Vehicles
[2-4] Big Guns
[2-5] Naval Units
[2-6] Aircraft
[2-7] Trade Units
[2-8] Buildings
[2-9] Terrain Improvements
[2-10] Governments
[2-11] Wonders of The World
[3] Important information not in the manual
[3-1] [blank]
-Section Two- STRATEGIES
[5] The Early Game
[6] The Mid Game
[7] The Late Game
[8] Player tips
[9] War Stories
-Section Four- MISCELLANEOUS
[10] Internet resources
[10-1] Third party programs
[10-2] World Wide Web sites
[10-4] Other FAQs and texts
[11] Bugs, updates, future games
[11-1] The wishlist
[11-2] Questions regarding Civ2 present and future
[11-3] Update patches
[11-4] Errors in the Civ2 manual
[12] Conclusion
[13] Revision History
I was rather disappointed at the lack of any sort of strategy guide
or faq for Civ2 - so rather whine about it I decided to write my own.
And here it is. What are my credentials ? Well I've been playing Civ
since 4000BC (or does it just seem that way) and Civ2 ever since it was
published (about five minutes ago). I've never scored over 200%
(basically because I declined to use the various "cheats" in Civ (goody
two shoes!) but did regularly score over 100% on Emperor. I seem to be
managing similar scores in Civ 2.
If you have any new tips, comments or questions please email them to
ekenworthy@cix.compulink.co.uk. Good ones will be included in the next
version of this document - with a credit of course.
[1-2]: About the unofficial Civilization 2 Strategy FAQ
===============================================
Welcome to v2.0 of the Unofficial Civilization 2 Strategy FAQ.
Version 2.0 is a major re-write and re-structuring of the original
strategy
guide.
'Unofficial' means that this FAQ is not supported by Microprose.
Civilization II is the name of the game. FAQs are (F)requently (A)sked
(Q)uestions.
Revision classification works something like the following. If a new
version of the FAQ has only a small amount of information changed or
added, the version number is increased by 0.1, and is called a 'minor
revision.' If a new version of the FAQ has a substantial amount of new
information changed or added, the version number is increased by 0.5, and
is called a 'standard revision.' If a new version of the FAQ has a huge
amount of added or changed information, major parts of the FAQ are
rearranged, or major parts of the FAQ are rewritten, the version number
is increased by 1.0, and it is called a
'major revision.'
You may be wondering why chapter numbers are enclosed in either []'s
or
**'s. The definition of these is as follows:
[]: Chapters enclosed in square brackets mean that the information
contained in the chapter has not been updated since the
previous FAQ.
**: Chapters enclosed in asterisks mean that the information
contained in the chapter is new or has been updated for the
current version of the FAQ you are reading.
[1-2-1]: Is the FAQ related to the Official Guide to Civilisation II?
============================================================
No, the Unofficial Civilization II Strategy FAQ is not related in
any way with the Official Guide to Civilization 2 other than in topic.
Nor is the Unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ meant to be competition to
the Official Guide.
[1-3]: Getting the unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ
=================================================
[1-3-2]: via Usenet
----------------------
The unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ is posted on the first of every
month (or earlier if a new version is released) on the following Usenet
groups.
(1) comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic
The 'Subject:' line of the post will be 'Unofficial Civ2 Strategy
FAQ v??.??' where '??.??' is the version number of the FAQ.
[1-3-3]: via Internet FTP
----------------------------
New releases of the Unofficial Civ II Strategy FAQ can be found at
the following Internet FTP sites:
[well actually nowhere yet. But if someone would care to carry it and let
me know I'll note it here.]
The file name of the upload will be 'civ2s??.faq' where '??' is the
version number of the FAQ. This filename is for FTP sites only. BBS
filenames are outlined in [1-3-5]
[1-3-4]: via WWW
-------------------
New releases of the Unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ will be found on
the following World-wide Web sites:
[None yet, but I'm working on it]
HTML versions of the Unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ can be found on
the following World-wide Web sites:
[None yet, but I'm working on it]
[1-3-5]: via BBS
-------------------
New releases of the Unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ will be uploaded to
other BBSes as the opportunity arises. They will be under the file name
'civ2sfaq??' where '??' is the version number of the FAQ.
ATTENTION: ALL BBSes, CompuServe, America On-line, and all other
information services. PLEASE conform to the naming standard of the
Unofficial Civ2 Strategy FAQ when placing this file on your system. The
file name should be 'civ2s??.zip' where the '??' is the version number of
the FAQ or 'civ2sfaq??.txt' if the FAQ is a text file instead of PKZIPped.
[1-4]: Adding to the FAQ
===========================
Where you see the words [blank] or [incomplete] in this FAQ is a
section that needs filling in. I depend heavily on contributions from
people like yourself to make this FAQ whole. Please, don't make me beg.
Help me fill in the blanks.
If you have something to add to the FAQ, please send E-mail to
'ekenworthy@cix.compulink.co.uk' (no quotes), with the subject 'Civ2
Strategy Guide' explaining what your addition is. It will be reviewed,
and if accepted, added to the next FAQ version. In the E-mail, please
supply your name and E-mail address.
Please note that all submissions to the FAQ become property of the
author (Edward Kenworthy) and that they may or may not be acknowledged.
By submitting to the FAQ, you grant permission for use of your submission
in any future publications of the FAQ in any media. The author reserves
the right to omit information from a submission or delete the submission
entirely.
[1-5]: Acknowledgments
==========================
Microprose Studios for making this great game.
My wife. (Hi Angela!)
And big thanks to everyone else who sent something my way, or posted
answers to questions in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.strategic. You are all
listed next to your contributions in this FAQ!
Forgive me if I miss anyone. If for some reason I HAVE missed you,
PLEASE send me E-mail so I can give credit where credit is due.
[1-6]: Accurate Information
==============================
An attempt has been made to make the information in this FAQ as
accurate as possible.
Harder still is verifying the correctness of every hint and tip. I
do try hard to make sure there are no bogus entries in this FAQ, but,
undoubtedly, one or two will probably slip by. Please let me know
immediately if there is any information in this FAQ that you know is
incorrect.
Also, because the game was recently released, future updates and
add-ons may render parts of this FAQ obsolete.
[1-7]: The format of this FAQ
================================
I have been copying the format and style of the granddaddy of all
FAQ keepers, Hank Leukart (ap641@cleveland.freenet.edu) of the 'Official'
DOOM FAQ.
==============================
-SECTION ONE- GENERAL OVERVIEW
==============================
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[2]: The Tools Of The Trade
-------------------------------------------
This chapter contains information on the various units, buildings,
wonders etc available for use in Civ2.
[2-1]: Foot Troops
==================
[2-1-1]: Settlers
--------------------
Settlers are replaced by Engineers with the discovery of
Explosives.
[incomplete]
[2-1-2]: Engineers
----------------------
Engineers work at twice the speed of settlers - so for
example
a road across a plain is completed in 1 turn rather than
two.
They also move at a speed of 2 and can actually radically
change terrain - for example mountains to hills and
desert to
plains !
[incomplete]
[2-1-3]: Warrior
---------------------
These are the worst combat unit in the game. Only build
them if
you re desperate and have no better technology.
Warriors are never upgraded by Leonardo's Workshop. They
also never become obsolete !
[2-1-4]: Phalanx
---------------------
Phalanxes are upgraded to Pikemen.
[incomplete]
[2-1-5]: Legion
---------------------
Legions are upgraded to Musketeers.
[incomplete]
[2-1-6]: Explorer
---------------------
Explorers are never upgraded by Leonardo's Workshop. They
also never become obsolete !
[incomplete]
[2-1-7]: Pikemen
---------------------
Pikemen have their defensive strength doubled if they're
attacked by mounted troops. Legions still walk all over
them
however. (Perhaps this should have been modified so that
they
receive the same bonus against to non-gun powder infantry.
Remember the Swiss ?)
Phalanxes are upgraded to this unit. Pikemen are upgraded
to
Musketeers.
[2-1-8]: Musketeer
---------------------
Both Pikemen and Legions are upgraded to this unit.
[incomplete]
[2-1-9]: Rifleman
---------------------
On a cost/strength ratio these are probably the best
defensive
unit.
These are the final troop type that infantry are
automatically
upgraded to by Leonardo's Workshop.
[2-1-10]: Alpine Ski Troops
---------------------
The major ability of Alpine Ski Troops is that they can
travel
three squares regardless of the terrain type. They do
still
take advantage of Railroads, but Roads have no effect.
These troops are never upgraded by Leonardo's Workshop -
nor is any other infantry type upgraded to it.
[2-1-11]: Marines
---------------------
The major ability of Marines is that they can directly
attack
a city from a transport ship (what Civ2 calls an
Amphibious
assault).
These troops are never upgraded by Leonardo's Workshop -
nor is any other infantry type upgraded to it.
[2-1-12]: Paratroopers
---------------------
The computer makes extensive use of these. If you leave a
city
undefended (or all the defenders are killed) you can be
sure there'll
be one of these around ready to drop in for a cup of tea
and a bite
to eat.
These troops are never upgraded by Leonardo's Workshop -
nor is any other infantry type upgraded to it.
[2-2]: Mounted
===================
[2-2-1]: Horsemen
---------------------
[blank]
[2-2-2]: Chariots
---------------------
Chariots were significantly down graded from Civ. If you
want
to go an early crusade - choose Elephants.
[2-2-3]: Elephants
---------------------
[blank]
[2-2-4]: Knights
---------------------
[blank]
[2-2-5]: Crusaders
---------------------
[blank]
[2-2-6]: Dragoons
---------------------
[blank]
[2-2-7]: Cavalry
---------------------
The best of the mounted troops.
[incomplete]
[2-3]: Vehicles
===================
[blank]
[2-4]: Big Guns
===================
[blank]
[2-5]: Naval Units
===================
[blank]
[2-6]: Aircraft
===================
[2-6-1]: Fighter
---------------------
Fighters are only really useful for a couple of jobs:
taking out bombers that are hanging around and for
attacking that spy or diplomat that's just out of reach.
Forget trying to escort bomber groups - it just don't
work.
[2-6-2]: Bomber
---------------------
Useful for taking out marauding stacks of enemy units.
[incomplete]
[2-6-3]: Stealth Fighter
---------------------
Calling this unit a Stealth fighter is a bit of a
misnomer. A
better name would have been Jet Fighter.
There is a rules.txt and unit.gif file that adds Jet
Fighters
Bombers between Fighter/Bomber and their Stealth versions.
[2-6-4]: Stealth Bomber
---------------------
Useful for taking out marauding stacks of enemy units.
See comments about Stealth Fighter.
[incomplete]
[2-6-5]: Cruise Missile
---------------------
An expensive unit to use - it dies regardless of whether
it
wins. As with all air units it causes unrest in a
Republican or
Democratic city. (Remember Greenham common ?)
Useful for a quick surgical strike against a stack of
naval
units. But not if there's an AEGIS Cruiser present (and
you're
player a version after 1.07).
[incomplete]
[2-6-6]: Nuclear Missile
---------------------
Expensive and as with all aircraft causes unrest. Besides
who
wants a nuclear arsenal planted in their driveway ?
Here's a tip:
"I have noticed that if you build an airbase 2 hexes from
your
city and station nukes there, the Ai does not seem to be
able
to detect them. Wala! Missile silos."
[jeferi@inlink.com (JefEri)]
[incomplete]
[2-7]: Trade Units
===================
[2-7-1]: General Comments
---------------------
[blank]
[2-7-2]: Caravan
---------------------
[blank]
[2-7-3]: Freight
---------------------
[blank]
[2-8]: Buildings
===================
[2-8-1]: Palace
---------------------
Important for corruption calculation. The further a city
from
the one with your Palace in - the greater the corruption
(except at Democracy of course).
Without a capital EVERY city is treated as being the
maximum
range away !!
[2-8-1]: Temple
---------------------
Reduces the number of unhappy citizens by 2. Increased
effect
with Mysitcism and double effect if you control the
Oracle.
[2-8-1]: Granary
---------------------
Allows you to create a food stockpile. This is important
for
two reasons a) it gives you a buffer zone in case of
famine and
b) it halves the amount of stored food you need to build
up to
create a new citizen.
The Pyramid gives a granary in each of your cities.
Perhaps
something to with the story of Joseph and his Coat of
Many
Colours ?
[2-8-1]: Barracks
---------------------
Barracks have two effects. Firstly all new land units
(except settlers, engineers, explorers, diplomats and
spies)
are built as veteran units.
Second, and the thing that makes Sun Tzu's Academy less
valuable IMHO (because you have to build the barracks
anyway to
get this benefit) is that each turn all land units in a
city
with a barracks are healed back to full strength.
[2-8-1]: City Walls
---------------------
City Walls have two effects. Firstly the defensive
strenght of
any unit attacked in the city is doubled. Bombers,
Stealth
Bombers, Howitzers and naval units ignore this effect.
City Walls also prevent the loss of population should one
of
your units inside the city be destroyed.
[2-9]: Terrain Improvements
===================
[2-9-1]: Irrigation
---------------------
[blank]
[2-9-2]: Roads
---------------------
[blank]
[2-9-3]: Mines
---------------------
[blank]
[2-9-4]: Railroads
---------------------
[2-9-5]: Farmland
---------------------
[2-10]: Governments
===================
by [ctown@en.com (William R. Brickles III)]
[2-10-1]: Republic
---------------------
This is the most versatile and usually the one I stick
with.
Can punish weak civilizations while still keeping up in
science.
[2-10-2]: Democracy
---------------------
This is purely a mind-your-own-business government. The
best
economically, but I'd rather go to war in Anarchy.
[2-10-3]: Fundamentalism
---------------------
Sure science is low but you can put Luxury at 0% and
Science at max (I think 70%) and still grow a huge bank
account. War is the focus here. I still remember the
time I
sent 20 tanks to crush the Chinese and backed them up
with 20
more in very few turns... Or how about that Celtic town
I
attacked with 4 nuclear warheads just for kicks?
[2-10-4]: Communism
---------------------
Not good for much actually, but better than primitive
governments.
[2-10-5]: Monarchy
---------------------
I usually skip right to Republic.
[2-10-6]: Despotism
---------------------
Better than Anarchy !
[2-10-1]: Anarchy
---------------------
It's better to hear your advisors argue than listen to
the
terrible Elvis impersonator.
[2-11]: Wonders of The World
===========================
[2-11-1]: Must Haves
---------------------
Pyramids, Great Library, Leonardo's Workshop,
Michaelangelo's
Chapel, Women's Suffrage, Hoover Dam, Great Wall.
[2-11-2]: Nice To Haves
---------------------
King Richard's Crusade, Oracle, Copernicus's Observatory,
Magellan's Voyage, SETI project, Eiffel Tower, Statue of
Liberty, Cure for Cancer, United Nations.
[2-11-3]: Not Really Bothered
---------------------
Hanging Gardens, Lighthouse, Shakespeare's
Theatre, Marco Polo's Expedition, Apollo Project,
Manhattan
Project, Sun Tzu's Academy.
[2-11-4]: Exceptions
---------------------
This may alter slightly depending on the environment. For
example if you have lots of small continents in your
world the
Magellan's Voyage and Lighthouse become more important.
[2-11-5]: Wonder Denial
---------------------
Of course by having a Wonder yourself you deny anyone
else from
having its benefits. This is particularly important for
certain
Wonders, like United Nations. It's incredibly frustrating
to
have to stop fighting because the other side has this
Wonder !
(Or to struggle to research a technology only to have your
enemy acquire it from his Great Library!)
[2-11-6]: Obsolete Wonders
---------------------
Be careful about the technology you choose in order to
avoid
accidentally making one of your critical Wonders obsolete
too
early. Metallurgy for Great Wall and Mobile Warfare for
Leonardo's Workshop are the critical ones.
[2-11-7]: Specific Wonders
---------------------
[2-11-7-1]: The Great Wall
---------------------
If you have the Great Wall - remember to prepare
for
it's obsolescence. There's nothing quite so
unpleasant
as being attacked by another civilisation only to
have
all your cities lose their walls because some SOB
discovers metallurgy !
[2-11-7-2]: Leonardo s Workshop
---------------------
A note on Leonardo's workshop. It does not
immediately
upgrade all your troops - that only happens when
you
gain a technology. So when you build Leonardo's
workshop
all your units get upgraded. And when you gain a
new
technology Civ2 checks to see if your units
should be
upgraded. But if you gain control of other units
(except
by building them) - for example through bribery -
these
are not upgraded until the next time you gain a
technology advance. Another effect of being
upgraded by
Leonardo's Workshop is that any veteran units
lose their
veteran status - even if they're in the city with
a
barracks.
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[5]: The Early Game
-------------------------------------------
[5-1]: Expand Rapidly
===========================
Build lots of cities quickly. Forget about building an army or
garrisons and build settlers. On Emperor level this is easy because you
don't get any discontent until your third citizen and by building lots
of settlers you ensure you don't have cities that big. On Deity level
it's harder because the second citizen is discontented. The plan here is
to still build lots of settlers quickly - but take the occasional break
to build a garrison or temple to keep the citizens quiet.
The sole exception to this is if you find yourself on the same
continent as another player. In which case the priority is to kill them
as quickly possible. Do *not* build up first - they will be too !!
[5-2]: Build Roads
===========================
Always build at least one road or irrigation with each settler
before building a city. Roads are important early for the trade boost
you get. Otherwise you'll run out of money !
Once you have 5-6 cities established begin to build roads
connecting them - both too increase the speed of response of your armies
and to improve trade.
[5-3]: Establish Your Borders
===========================
Seal off your continent as quickly as possible ! Along with
destroying any other civilisations you find on your continent you should
fortify units on its land borders as soon as possible to prevent others
moving in and thereby giving yourself exclusive access to the continent.
If you're playing in the real world then Africa is one of the
easiest continents to achieve this in - simply fortify a unit (and build
fortification when possible) at the Suez canal to prevent access to the
whole of Africa. (The Americas comes a close second - because you have an
ocean to separate you. The disadvantge is a lack of opportunities to
trade technology with other civilisations.)
[5-4]: Change To Monarchy
===========================
The most important early advance to get is Monarchy. Despotism is
just
too inefficient for you to get far with it. Although it is OK for the
early turns because of the reduced maintenance you pay for units.
"Get into Monarchy ASAP. Then once you have monarchy start
irrigating the hell out of your land. At this point, pump up the
population with a We love the ___ celebration. Boost the luxary rate to
get all of your cities into We_Love, and let this go for a few years till
they hit the aquaduct wall at size 8. Then reset the tax/science rate,
build aquaducts and temples, etc, and then have another celebration and
boost your cities to size 12. Once you research sewers, you can have
another sale.
"Of course, to have such large cities, its necessary to have
Mike's chappel (sp?) and other people pacifying Wows."
[jthibeau@wellfleet.com (John Thibeault)]
[5-5]: Republic Costs
===========================
Be careful about switching to Republic too soon. If you have lots
of settlers around (as I suggest) then you'll quickly starve them
because of doubling of food support.
"I am playing on the King Level, and I recently switched from
Monarchy to Republic. I had a bunch of cities, ranging up to size 14
(captured from the Babylonians), and I immediately had problems with
famines. I did not have many cathedrals (the evil Yanks had built
Michelangelo's Chapel), and popularity was a problem. I then switched to
Communism, and I am awash in food. During my brief stint as a
Republican, I lost several engineers to the famine. As a Commisar, I am
building new engineers and am growing my population. Long live Marx
(Groucho, that is)!"
[zcbag@cnfd.pgh.wec.com (B. Alan Guthrie)]
With the exception of one or two critical technologies I always
trade everything I can. This is because unless you have a commanding lead
over all other civilisations the others will trade amongst themselves and
you'll lose out. Don't trade a techology that allows construction of
Wonder you want to build. Unless it's for a technology that allows
construction of a more important Wonder that you won't acquire for a
while.
[5-7]: Wonders of The World
===========================
Wonders To Build. The ones to go for are: Pyramids, Great Library
and Great Wall. Some people also adivse Hanging Gardens and Colossus -
but I wouldn't bother - there' better stuff.
An Alternative Point of View from jthibeau@wellfleet.com (John
Thibeault)
"Initial WoWs to get are the Colossus, as this is a great boost
for trade, cash and research. Then go for the Great Wall, then the
Great Library, as a defensive measure to keep this thing out of the
hands of the Ai civs. My latest game on Emperor level (7 civs) I have
my capital building the Wow's, and 3 cities feeding it with caravans, and
I have managed to just squeak by in building these Wow's (plus the
pyramids) before the Ai civs have. It is important to get the Trade tech
pretty early, so you can use caravans to beat the Ai at making WoW's. The
Ai cheats by 'buying' Wows a little at a time each turn, and they seem to
be able to generate more cash than the human player can. The Great
Library will not help you if you are in the lead, but I feel that it is
vital to keep this thing out of the hands of the AI civs.
"Another strategy concerning the Great library is to destroy it!
Find the city that the AI has built it in, and keep attacking the city
(without capturing it) till the city is reduced to pop 1, and then
destroyed. No more library! =)
"One great way to wage war while in a republic or democracy is to
have both King Richards crusade and Shakespear in the same city. This
city can then support quite a large army in the field. My last game
(King,7) I had both of these in a sixe 19 city, and had an army of 36
Dragoons in the field, just waiting for the Ai civs to break those
treaties!! hehe"
"Has anyone researched for the "Great Library" right away, then
put your efforts and taxes into producing big cities, all the while your
getting tech from the library???" [schollr@esc.ccsd15.k12.il.us (Ryan
Scholl)]
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[6]: The Mid Game
-------------------------------------------
[incomplete]
[6-1]: Get Outta Here
===========================
Regularly insist that anyone you have a peace treaty with
withdraws their troops (if they're imposing).
[6-2]: Trust You Again ?!?
===========================
If a civilisation regularly breaks treaties never, never, ever,
sign another one with them. They *will* break it again. (And there's a
bug, at least in 1.06, that means you take the blame if someone violates
a treaty with you !! Nice one MP.)
[6-3]: Wonders of The World
===========================
Wonders to aim for are: Michaelangelo's Chapel and Hoover Dam.
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[7]: The Late Game
-------------------------------------------
[7-1]: Wonders of The World
===========================
You really should be a Democracy in the late game - otherwise
you're going to fall badly behind in production and technology.
Fundamentalism appears to be a sound alternative but fanatics are not
good units and technology is the only way to break the stalemates that
can develop in the late game - and Fundamentalist governments lose 50%
of their research (especially if it contradicts the Bible or Koran etc
Darwin's Voyage ? Lose two technology advances ;)).
Alternate points of view:
"Once you switch into a Fundamentalist gov't, stick with it to the end.
Granted, you loose alot of sci. but you make it back with the cities you
capture. The only reason you should change back to democracy is if you
have no idea where any of the other civs are."
[jake@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu (Jacob Daniel Walter)]
"One common approach, which works too well IMO, is to use
Fundamentalism to destroy all but one competing civilization, and to
reduce that last one to a single city. Then you can gently restore your
cities (using all the cash you get from tithes, disbanding units, and
selling your expensive coastal defenses and city walls to offset the cost
of raising the luxury rate and buying colliseums) to prepare them to the
switch back to democracy." [rdclark@aol.com (RDClark)]
"I agree that Fundamentalism is too powerful. I've had several games on
Emperor and Deity level that I won simply by building lots of cities
early, getting to Fundamentalism quickly, then out-producing all the
other civs and drowning them in cavalry, cannons and fanatics,
accompanied by huge gangs of settlers to make roads and, later, railroads
so that a cannon can be purchased outright in one turn, then in the next
railroaded right up to an enemy city to attack."
[rdclark@aol.com (RDClark)]
[7-2]: Defending Your Cities
===========================
Defending your cities. It makes sense to have a mix of units in
your front line cities. I.e. two good defensive units plus one or two
good attackers to take out those slow moving heavy hitters as they
trundle up to your city walls. A barracks (for the healing capability)
and of course city walls are a must.
[7-3]: Espionage
===========================
The only way that you're going to realistically win the
game by conquest is by using diplomats and spies to incite revolts in
opponents cities. Obviously this won't work against Democracies - but
that's not a problem because the computer seems to prefer Fundamentalism
anyway.
[7-4]: Spaceward Ho!
===========================
Alternatively, concentrate on defending your territory whilst
knocking you closest competitors and aim to win by building the
spaceship.
[7-5]: Oops - silly me !
===========================
Unless you really, really have to have a city and can't bribe it
(costs too much or it's a Democracy) do *not* send a spy in to plant a
Nuclear device ! It can be quite embarassing for the whole world to
declare war on you. Unless of course your a Fundamentalist regime and
everyone expects the worst from you anyway :) (Didn't stop the Yanks
bombing Libyan civilian centres though did it ? Perhaps there should be
an extra qualifier to this: As long as no oil is involved no-one will
care. ;))
[7-6] "The Vikings Launch..." AAAHHHH !
===========================
If another civilisation builds and launches their spaceship
before your ready - don't despair. Build the maximum structure, minimum
life support etc and maximum engines and fuel. As long as you pile
enough resources in and weren't already too far behind, your spaceship
will fly faster, catch up, overtake and you'll win.
(I've only been beaten to the launch twice. Both times by the
Vikings. The first time I won anyway because of a bug in 1.0 which meant
as long as you had launched a spaceship you won regardless of who
actually got to Alpha Centauri first. The second time I won by using the
above tactic.)
[7-7] Wonders of the World
===========================
You really should be aiming to gain the following Wonders: SETI
project and Cure for Cancer.
Don't worry if someone else beats you to Apollo Project or
Manhattan project because you get all the benefits anyway ! The only
problem is if you're not ready to take advantage of these - you can be
sure the other civilisations will be !
[7-8] M.A.D.
===========================
How to wage nuclear war. One short answer: don't. Enemy civs do
sometimes clean up pollution - but don't count on it. If you've managed
to build SDI in all vulnerable cities and need to then go ahead and try a
limited surgical strike.
[7-9] Guerilla s In the Mist
===========================
Dealing With Partisans. Guerilla Warfare really bogs the game
down. If your opponents have this then you can probably forget about a
quick military victory. Conversley if you have it then you're unlikely to
be knocked out before you finish building your spaceship.
"I think I have found a strategy that helps limit those pesky
Partisans. Partisans only appear on empty land squares within a cities
zone of control. If you fill up all available land squares then take the
city you do not get any partisans. If you can't fill all of the squares
you can at least determine were the partisan will go. That way you can
kill him quicker. I like using bombers or fighters to fill up the
squares. With fighter I send them to the square they will occupy then
press 'W' to have them wait. Take the city then move the unit. The
computer player has placed a lot of rail around his cities. With Rail
you can send a land unit to occupy a square then Press 'W' then take the
city. You can use all of the units you have Waited with to take the next
city."
[nowakowsky@arc.ab.ca (Blair Nowakowsky)]
[7-10] Broken AEGIS
===========================
The earlier versions of Civ2 had a bug in it that meant the AEGIS cruiser
did *not* intercept attacking missiles and aircraft. This was fixed in
1.07.
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[8]: Player Tips
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[blank]
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CHAPTER[9]: War Stories
-------------------------------------------
My best score so far is 83% on Emperor level - without cheating. I'm
currently playing a Divinty level game and doing quite nicely ! And
this is all on a version of Civ2 that still has the auto-production bug !
My favourite starting position used to be America - but your just too
isolated. So now my favourite is Zulus, default starting position and
the real world map. Just the right balance between isolation and access.
-------------------------------------------
CHAPTER[13]: Revision History
-------------------------------------------
Version 1.0 Initial Strategy Guide
Version 1.1 Added Usenet culled comments
Version 2.0 Changed the format of the guide and extended it somewhat.
