Sunday 28 December 2003

Pic of the day: The Colossus of ... Medina?? This screenshot from Civ3 shows not just the Colossus, but also gives a hint as to the sad state of the city: Surrounded by sea, mountains, hills and jungle, with only a rather small area cleared by workers.

Golden ages in Civ3

I have had great fun playing Civ3 Play the World in hotseat mode. I control six different civilizations, and the computer runs two more. Of course the game also takes about six times as long time, so it takes hours to get to the iron age. But that's OK, I was really into the "dawn of civilization" mindset anyway. (And I have always liked ancient history better, for some reason. Perhaps because time bring a clarity as the dust settles and the victors are no longer around to write the history.)

Anyway, playing six different civilizations at once made me aware of a few details. For instance, five of them started right by a river. This is good, because in Civ3 you can only irrigate with freshwater, at least until the coming of electricity. Irrigation is essential if you have plains, which won't feed a worker without irrigation. Besides, building a city right next to a river means you can grow to size 12 without an aqueduct. Aqueducts don't become available until construction. (In all fairness, I rarely allow cities to become larger than six anyway before I make a worker or settler, until all the borders are established. But sometimes you just have to build a wonder of the world.)

The sixth civilization was, fittingly enough, the Arabs. I don't really think that was intentional ... it would be such a drawback to always get dumped in the badlands, people would hesitate to play that tribe. But this time the Arab settler was so far from a river, I might not have found one in a thousand years. I did not know how far away it was, so I just started the first city right there, in a patch of forest between the jungle, the mountains and the dry plains.

The second city was in an equally bad place, but at least it was by the sea. I assigned one worker to clear the jungle, and started to build the Colossus. Workers are painfully slow early on, because of their poor technology and the corrupt government. (Another change from Civ2, where you still had only two speeds: Settler and Engineer.) The city was only size 3 when it finally built the Colossus. And then, suddenly, the Arabs entered a golden age.

***

Golden ages is another new invention of Civ3. The realism can be disputed, but there is something in it. Every dog has its day, as the saying goes, and civilizations also tend to have their high noon before they start to fade. Sumer had dominion over the lands of Mesopotamia in the early Bronze Age. Then Babylonia had its golden age, and then Assyria, only to be replaced by Persia. Ancient Greece made great progress in philosophy and trade, but waned and was eclipsed by Rome. Rome had its golden age under the first Emperors. Today perhaps the USA has its golden age, but who knows tomorrow?

In Civ3, a golden age lasts for 20 turns. There can only be one per civilization, but two or more civilizations can have their golden age at the same time. You can trigger a golden age by building a Wonder of the World (or two) appropriate for your civilization, or by winning a battle using a military unit specific for your civilization. During the golden age, each tile in your city radius produces an extra shield and an extra gold if it is being used at all. This is particularly nifty if you have big cities, as they suddenly produce a lot more. But getting a golden age early can also bust you out of a weak position. That's what happened here.

Despite the pathetic terrain around the two cities, they were suddenly powerhouses of production, and I could churn out units to explore the continent. A string of small cities connected the original homeland with the rivers further away. The poor Arabs are still kinda weak, but they are no longer hopelessly left behind in the dust...

For the power gamer, timing your golden age is sure to be a subject of study and much concern. But for me, it just happened. The Arabs are defined for Civ3 purposes as "religious" and "expansionist", and the Colossus fulfills both of these criteria. Thus, it set off a golden age all on its own. (I suppose in the second expansion pack that it will be redefined from expansionist to the new category of "seafaring", so it would hardly have helped a desert tribe then ... but I only have PtW yet.)

The concept of golden ages is another example of the realism, or attempt at realism, built into this latest incarnation of the Civilization line. When I was much younger than today, I dreamed of a computer simulation that could simulate the current world and be used to project possible futures. I realize that this will likely never happen. But playing Civ3 can at least help us think in new ways about the world we live in. That's something, I guess. And to me it seems that not only the USA, but the whole western world (and then some) is living in a golden age right here and now. Perhaps we should invest it wisely, rather than expect it to last forever ...