Tyler Ferrari's Blog

Keeping food surplus

2007-04-15T22:10:00.000-07:00

I tried to always keep a food surplus in the game to stay ahead of the game. As long as you have more than enough food, then your civilization will survive times of trouble.

Marginal Costs/ Benefits

2007-04-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

I feel that it is important to look at things from a marginal cost/ benefit point of view in the game and in everyday life. I say a marginal cost/ benefit point of view in the sense that you should consider only whether the additional work or price that you have to pay is the most efficient way of drawing a benefit from that input. In the game, you are trying to build a dominant and successful civilization. The only thing that you can control is the present, so it is useless to dwell on past successes or failures. For example, if you make a bad decision in the game that hurts your civilization, you should stay positive and not hesitate it making your next decisions. Bad things will always happen, but you must keep a marginal cost/ benefit point of view or else you will be hurting yourself. I feel that you should use past experiences as learning experiences instead of just dwelling on the result. In other words, it is best to stay in the present and use your knowledge to your advantage instead allowing it to be your foe.

Comparative Advantage

2007-03-25T21:00:00.000-07:00

In any market, the individuals who have comparative advantage strive. In trade, a comparative advantage in producing a good that others need puts you in a great position. You can find someone who needs your good who can't produce it as efficiently as you can and get something in return that will be beneficial for you. America has done so well over the past few centuries because they have maintained a comparative advantage in innovation. As long as you stay innovative, you will find more efficient ways of doing things, which in turn will lead to you being successful. Businesses are constantly searching for anything that will give them a leg up on the competition, or a comparative advantage. For example, if McDonald's can find a more efficient way of making cheeseburgers than Burger King can, then they will likely be more successful than Burger King. In Civ, it is important to constantly upgrade technology and remain innovative to stay ahead of the rest of the market. If new technology enables you to grow crops more efficiently, then you will produce more food and be able to feed a larger population. If you can do things more efficiently than the rest of the market, then you will be successful.

Religion

2007-03-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

I am a religious person, but at the same time, I feel that leaders of many civilizations over time have altered their religions to better control their followers. In the days of feudalism, the economy was run by tradition. That is, if your father was a serf, then you were a serf. There was no central government with a code of laws keeping people in line. The only form of authority were lords, who governed their manors. There was, however, religion, which kept people in line. The church was very powerful, and Christianity was the main religion, which was based around morals. It is convenient that the religion of that time was based around morals, because it was a way for the authorities to "brainwash" their followers into conformity. Not to say that Christianity is wrong, because I am a Christian myself, but it did help those who were in charge.
Similarly, in the time of Moses, Moses convinced his people that God wanted him to deliver them from the evil Egyptians. He gained the support of his followers by telling them that it was right according to their religion. Eventually, people turned on him because they were skeptical of the truth of his words. God may actually have gone to Moses to and told him to deliver his people to freedom. It was again convenient for Moses to use religion as an argument, though. So, religion is perhaps the best way to ensure conformity from your followers. Even today, there would likely be far more crimes and hostile people were it not for religion.
In the game, I chose to advance my religion at every opportunity I had. I feel that this made my civilization more unified, just as religion does in real life. Without religion, there is no force that is above all else to provide a set of guidelines and a common set of beliefs for your people.

Staying Innovative in Civ IV

2007-02-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

As my civilization progresses, I begin to realize how important it is to stay innovative. In the game, you must constantly upgrade everything. After you begin to cultivate a new crop, it is important to continue to improve production techniques with new technology and culture. I feel that the easiest way to stay innovative is to be friendly with everyone you meet. I believe that everyone you meet can supply you with something. If you conquer another civilization you may gain land and manpower, but I truly believe that developing good relationships with other civilizations is more constructive. Every other culture is bound to have something to offer to you.
Real life is not unlike the game. Everyone I come in contact with I try to become as close as possible with, not only because most human beings mean well, but also because everyone something to offer to you. The world is about connections, and if you bully other cultures, all you are doing is beginning hostile relationships. If you are kind and respectful to everyone you meet, not only will you make good relationships, but you will aslo make a connection that could come in handy at any point in time. So, it's best to avoid conflicts at all times.

Taking it Slow in Cliv 4

2007-02-20T21:15:00.001-08:00

The most important thing in starting up a civilization is to take it slow and to not make decisions too quickly. It is important to make sure that your civilization is properly protected at all times. I learned this quickly. I made it through about two hours of the game without any problems and became a little cocky. Instead of strengthening the empire of several cities that I already had, I decided to go ahead and start another city. In this new city, I spent more energy on developing its culture, agriculture, and technology than on keeping it protected from invasion. My new city was quickly attacked and taken over by barbarians, and all was lost. So it’s vital to ensure that defense is always the number one issue, since all can be lost far more quickly than it took to be set up.
Similarly, it’s important to stay humble once you become a dominant civilization. That is, just because you have the power to invade others’ territories doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to actually do this. Abusing power can result in shaky relationships with other empires, which may be more powerful than you. Most of the time, it’s better to become friendly with others so that you may gain new culture and technology.
Another important idea to keep in mind is to never get too comfortable. After awhile, I had developed a rather strong empire with solid culture, technology, agriculture, and defense. However, I again became cocky and felt invincible. I basically just was doing whatever I pleased, such as conquering territories here and there just because I could. I felt that I did not need to work as hard and think through decisions because I had already established a successful empire. Before I knew it, I was being invaded by enemies, harmed by disease, and my empire was on the downfall. This can be related to real life situations. I like to compare this game to starting a business. Let’s say you work hard for five years on a restaurant business and you start a successful chain. Success in business comes from staying innovative to keep customers happy. Instead of continuing to work hard and develop new ideas, you begin to relax and enjoy the financial benefits that have come from your success. You buy a boat, a car, and a house, and you open a few new restaurants to keep profits flowing. But while your restaurants are beginning to plateau because you’re not spending as much time on new ideas, other competing chains are coming up with new ideas and drawing many of your customers. Before you know it, your chain could collapse completely and all you have made could be lost. So just like in a restaurant business, it is important to continuously work hard and stay on top of your tasks to keep a civilization running properly.

Civilization Defense

2007-02-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Starting a civilization is strikingly similar to starting a company or a business. Obviously in 4000BC, which is when the game begins, there are many differences in comparison to modern society, but the concepts are noticeably similar. The steps taken to create a civilization are almost the same steps necessary to start anything. First, you must find a place to settle, or open business. Then it is necessary to set up defenses. Once there is a city that is up and running and can maintain itself, it may be possible to spread your empire.One of the first orders of business in the game is to create a warrior to guard the civilization against attacks by wild animals or other empires. Although there is no threat of invasion or attack by lions or warriors in beginning a business, it is still necessary to utilize defense options. You must find a spot to open your business that is in a good area. Instead of building a warrior, a small business owner must first set up insurance to protect against financial harm. It is also a good idea to install a security system at the place of business to protect against theft. Even though it is protecting against a different set of threats, a business must take the necessary measures to ensure safety just like every ancient civilization did.It is vital to set up a defense system no matter what field you're in. No matter how much production your city or business has, it is unsafe without some degree of security. If there were no warriors in the game, then there would be nothing to stop a neighboring village from conquering your city, even if its production is excellent. Similarly, if you open a convenience store, you must set up an alarm system for when the store is closed and you must be sure to get insurance to protect against disaster. No matter how successful the convenience store or the civilization, it is completely unsafe without the proper defenses. So even though there are different measures that must be taken, the principle of security is the same no matter what millennium you’re in.