Sharing some comments after my first playthrough
Background:
I started playing Caesar 3 after getting bored of Caesar 2 last month (finished normal mode including the eight northern provinces. Then for fun I started a career beginning on Hibernia (Ireland) and I tried to govern provinces without adjoining those conquered by Pompous Maximus)
I finished playing of the career missions a couple of days ago after a month or so of playing
I played the missions in the following order:
1) (Name unknown) (First mission)
2) Brundisium
3) Tarentum (Wanted to experience military action alredy)
4) Syracusae
5) Miletus (Afraid of the elephants)
6) Lugdunum (Elephants, the desert, a neglected existing city with natives and Mars going nuts right off the bat? No thanks)
7) Tingis (Rising prosperity requirements seemed like a hassle to deal with)
8) Lutetia
9) Damascus
10) Sarmizegetusa
11) Lindum
(Time to finish the other missions I passed over before)
12) Capua
13) Tarraco
14) Mediolanum (Meh, the elephants weren't too bad. I got promoted during a big invasion so good luck to the city? I chose to continue just to find out if the city would survive. Spoiler alert: It did.)
15) Carthago
16) Tarsus
17) Valentia
18) Caesarea
19) Londinium
20) Massilia
Some Comments:
1) Caesar 3 is very different from Caesar 2
Caesar 3 seems to have more tactical elements while Caesar 2 was more strategy-oriented (the other comments will expound on this). Caesar 2 eventually felt repetitive, though it did feel satisfying to look at the empire map and see all the provinces conquered and the time it took to do so
2) Find a block design that can be your "comfort food"
Have a go-to block design that you're comfortable with especially on annoying missions.
I started out with the 9x9 block (http://caesar3.heavengames.com/strategy/housing/block11.shtml) but since I was used to Caesar 2 at the time, I thought just copy-pasting the same block over and over would be sufficient (plot twist: no). I could't figure out how to get industries going without resorting to just sticking Small Tents every so often. My dissatisfaction with the 9x9 reached its peak on Lugdunum thanks to the challenging terrain. After trying a couple of other blocks including the 7x7, Grumpus' "S" block (I don't know what to call it), I think I just used three 9x9s and some organic designs to finish Lugdunum. (I also watched GamerZakh's initial playthrough of Lugdunum (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xetB36BqUkA), City-Fix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCpQg6Vhruk) and 10 Tips Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEv24eJ9rqE) which helped me understand (food) distribution a little bit better), I managed to finish the mission, but not after swearing off the 9x9 as much as possible.
I came up with my own straight-line block design which can start out with 16 1x1 housing units and can go up to Grand Insulae, or, with some tweaking, 6 Luxury Palaces. The road length was determined based on the distance traveled by the game's walkers, with special consideration for the school children. I ended up deploying this all the way until my final mission (Massilia)
Since a straight-line design would get kind of monotonous, I looked for other designs and I came acros the Flexi-Block (http://caesar3.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/caeforumscgi/display.cgi?action=ct&f=2,6118,,all) which became my go-to block design until the very last mission of my first playthrough (Massilia). I would say that this is my comfort block. From my Mission 7 (Tingis) to 20 (Massilia), the Flexi-Block would always be the first block i would implement thanks to its "feeder" road which allowed me to set up industry and other undesirable buildings that needed labor. On Massilia, I managed 14 Luxury Palaces by implementing the Flexi-Block and my Straight-Line Block.
Though my initial dislike of the 9x9 was likely due to my lack of understanding of the game's mechanics at the time, now I'm more or less ambivalent about it and wouldn't mind having to use it (though I still avoid deploying it as much as possible.)
To-Do: Try out other block designs after understanding more of the game mechanics. GamerZakh's newest Caesar 3 playthrough, where he does not repeat block designs, might be a good place to start. Also, figure out how to not rely on just tents for labor in resource-rich areas. I managed to get oil and wine exports going in Valentia thanks to a block of small casas even if the area was on top of the cliffs. Also, I'll try to not rely on gatehouses for a change
3) Each mission has a lesson to be learned
Sometimes the lessons can be presented in an in-your-face manner through in-game explanations (like the need for Water, Engineers, and Prefects on the first mission) while others aren't spoon-fed, such as ballistae saving the day (Mediolanum). While you can breeze through the initial levels without much understanding of the game mechanics, you'll be in for a nice surprise in the middle levels (which was Lugdunum for me. I think I was stuck for a week or so)
To-Do: Try to find out the explicit and implicit lessons that are in each mission
4) Export, Feed, Tax, Export, Defend, Export, Decadence
General mission flow (for me): Maximize the first export good, feed the people, tax the people, maximize the second export good, build up decent defenses, maximize the third export good, then start luring the patricians to the city
Exports bring in money which can be used to build up the rest of the city's infrastructure, eventually bringing in patricians whose taxes could eventually eclipse trade receipts in terms of amount and consistency.
Like Xerxes in 300, I am generous. The people shall only be taxed once the city can provide food for them
5) Learn how to play the gods and the people shall idolize you as a god
Once you figure out how to increase the chances of a blessing, the game will be much easier. I build a temple for every god and then focus on Mars first with a festival (for the killer spirit blessing, to help with the first invasion), then, I usually delete one temple for the particular god whose blessing I think I will need (looking at you Neptune), then rebuild once the god is in a negative mood, coupled with a large festival. For Neptune, I try to time the festival so it happens near the end of the year, that way, the blessing comes early at the start of the next year. This strategy got me through the early to mid-game of Massilia, before the patrician houing started appearing
Good thing the gods don't mind "yoyo-ing", unlike the people in the game
Sorry, market lady and priest
6) Full granaries before the first feeding, surplus in granaries before upgrading
I think I noticed this in GamerZakh's playthroughs whenever he would talk about the "first feeding". Granaries should only be emptied most of the time during the first feeding, if that trend continues, then there are food production and/or distribution problems that will eventually rear their ugly heads in the form of development inequality within blocks (which can look really ugly and annoying)
7) Count the beans before producing (and exporting)
The discussion on Grumus' site on "counting beans" was another leap of understanding for me. Gone were the days of guessing as to how many raw material producers or processors were needed, especially for exporting things. That way, inefficient production can be minimized and labor can go to other services.
To-Do: Figure out how many finished-good producers will be needed for each housing block. (Based on previous computations, it seems to be at least 1 per housing block, though this figure was very much rounded up to the nearest integer)
8) Cut hair last to avoid employment problems after the first patrician housing appears
Evolving housing to patrician used to be such a pain for me. My old rule of thumb was to compute how many workers I would need for patrician services, then start upgrading things as the houses evolve. By that I mean having just the roads, engineers, prefects, and fountains in a patrician area. Once I drop down the markets, I would gradually add the needed services as the houses evolved. I chanced upon one of Brugle's excellent posts, which if I recall correctly was advice to the effect that housing in a patrician block should be evolved to medium insulae first, then all services needed for villas should be provided, except for a barber. Once supplies are stabilized, a barber can finally be provided and housing should evolve nicely without too much employment problems since only a minimal number of people will be kicked out once the grand insulae evolves.
9) Small casas are great
Again, this was inspired by one of Brugle's posts. During the earlier missions in my playthrough, my housing goal for the majority was usually at least Large Insulae (considering the prosperity cap), but this seemed to be quite the challenge for a beginner like me. On my final mission (Massilia), I ended up aiming for Small Casas at the minimum, and Luxury Palaces as the maximum. I think I ended up with 5 or so Flexi-Blocks at at least Small Casa level, together with 14 ish Luxury Palaces
To-Do: Next playthroughs will aim for small casas at the minimum while trying to evolve at least 1 block to the maximum level of housing possible on the map (without relying on Mercury blessings for food)
Final Thoughts
Caesar 3 is challenging and fun, the variety of ways to get things done is really interesting and adds to the replay value
My first playthrough started out pretty easy until the sixth mission (Lugdunum), where the learning curve suddenly hit me harder than a ballista bolt. Peaceful missions seemed harder after the military missions. Housing blocks should be near food supplies, otherwise, "Getting" granaries will be relied upon (good luck though)
Finishing Lindum was great but Caesar's commentary at the end felt underwhelming as opposed to Massilia. Similarly, finishing Massilia felt like much more significant achievement
I hate how some of the blue-wearing barbarians move so fast and just slice through square-formation Legionnaires to charge right at javelin troops. The diamond-formation Carthaginians, I would understand, but really, barbarians? Come on, Mars
I wonder what's needed for the citizens to be really happy with the city as opposed to just satisfied or ok (like when the cart-pushers says something like living in the city is worth it)
It would have been nice if there were "beyond the historical extent of the roman empire" or "decline of western roman empire" missions after Lindum or Massilia, for a bit of what-if
I still can't figure out how city development should go and how goals should be met. Big population-missions still seem to be a challenge. Hopefully next time the "Peace" requirement will be the last one to be met
No matter how high the wages are or how much above Rome you pay, the prefects will say that they aren't paid enough to fight zebras, or that the zebras are otherwise too strong for them. Mars help them! But hey, while fighting zebras, at least the Prefect says that the city will be safe as long as they are still alive.
Thanks
Heaven Games Site and Forums, GamerZakh, Afterburner (Flexi-Block), Brugle, Grumpus, and everyone else from Citizen to Deity, and even the Market Lady who called me a heathen that one time I forgot to put down a temple to Neptune again
Looking forward to my next playthrough, hopefully, I'll learn even more of the game's mechanics. Maybe I'll use the 9x9 more often or try out custom maps? We'll see
I started playing Caesar 3 after getting bored of Caesar 2 last month (finished normal mode including the eight northern provinces. Then for fun I started a career beginning on Hibernia (Ireland) and I tried to govern provinces without adjoining those conquered by Pompous Maximus)
I finished playing of the career missions a couple of days ago after a month or so of playing
1) (Name unknown) (First mission)
2) Brundisium
3) Tarentum (Wanted to experience military action alredy)
4) Syracusae
5) Miletus (Afraid of the elephants)
6) Lugdunum (Elephants, the desert, a neglected existing city with natives and Mars going nuts right off the bat? No thanks)
7) Tingis (Rising prosperity requirements seemed like a hassle to deal with)
8) Lutetia
9) Damascus
10) Sarmizegetusa
11) Lindum
(Time to finish the other missions I passed over before)
12) Capua
13) Tarraco
14) Mediolanum (Meh, the elephants weren't too bad. I got promoted during a big invasion so good luck to the city? I chose to continue just to find out if the city would survive. Spoiler alert: It did.)
15) Carthago
16) Tarsus
17) Valentia
18) Caesarea
19) Londinium
20) Massilia
Caesar 3 seems to have more tactical elements while Caesar 2 was more strategy-oriented (the other comments will expound on this). Caesar 2 eventually felt repetitive, though it did feel satisfying to look at the empire map and see all the provinces conquered and the time it took to do so
Have a go-to block design that you're comfortable with especially on annoying missions.
I started out with the 9x9 block (
I came up with my own straight-line block design which can start out with 16 1x1 housing units and can go up to Grand Insulae, or, with some tweaking, 6 Luxury Palaces. The road length was determined based on the distance traveled by the game's walkers, with special consideration for the school children. I ended up deploying this all the way until my final mission (Massilia)
Since a straight-line design would get kind of monotonous, I looked for other designs and I came acros the Flexi-Block (
Though my initial dislike of the 9x9 was likely due to my lack of understanding of the game's mechanics at the time, now I'm more or less ambivalent about it and wouldn't mind having to use it (though I still avoid deploying it as much as possible.)
Sometimes the lessons can be presented in an in-your-face manner through in-game explanations (like the need for Water, Engineers, and Prefects on the first mission) while others aren't spoon-fed, such as ballistae saving the day (Mediolanum). While you can breeze through the initial levels without much understanding of the game mechanics, you'll be in for a nice surprise in the middle levels (which was Lugdunum for me. I think I was stuck for a week or so)
General mission flow (for me): Maximize the first export good, feed the people, tax the people, maximize the second export good, build up decent defenses, maximize the third export good, then start luring the patricians to the city
Exports bring in money which can be used to build up the rest of the city's infrastructure, eventually bringing in patricians whose taxes could eventually eclipse trade receipts in terms of amount and consistency.
Like Xerxes in 300, I am generous. The people shall only be taxed once the city can provide food for them
Once you figure out how to increase the chances of a blessing, the game will be much easier. I build a temple for every god and then focus on Mars first with a festival (for the killer spirit blessing, to help with the first invasion), then, I usually delete one temple for the particular god whose blessing I think I will need (looking at you Neptune), then rebuild once the god is in a negative mood, coupled with a large festival. For Neptune, I try to time the festival so it happens near the end of the year, that way, the blessing comes early at the start of the next year. This strategy got me through the early to mid-game of Massilia, before the patrician houing started appearing
Good thing the gods don't mind "yoyo-ing", unlike the people in the game
Sorry, market lady and priest
I think I noticed this in GamerZakh's playthroughs whenever he would talk about the "first feeding". Granaries should only be emptied most of the time during the first feeding, if that trend continues, then there are food production and/or distribution problems that will eventually rear their ugly heads in the form of development inequality within blocks (which can look really ugly and annoying)
The discussion on Grumus' site on "counting beans" was another leap of understanding for me. Gone were the days of guessing as to how many raw material producers or processors were needed, especially for exporting things. That way, inefficient production can be minimized and labor can go to other services.
Evolving housing to patrician used to be such a pain for me. My old rule of thumb was to compute how many workers I would need for patrician services, then start upgrading things as the houses evolve. By that I mean having just the roads, engineers, prefects, and fountains in a patrician area. Once I drop down the markets, I would gradually add the needed services as the houses evolved. I chanced upon one of Brugle's excellent posts, which if I recall correctly was advice to the effect that housing in a patrician block should be evolved to medium insulae first, then all services needed for villas should be provided, except for a barber. Once supplies are stabilized, a barber can finally be provided and housing should evolve nicely without too much employment problems since only a minimal number of people will be kicked out once the grand insulae evolves.
Again, this was inspired by one of Brugle's posts. During the earlier missions in my playthrough, my housing goal for the majority was usually at least Large Insulae (considering the prosperity cap), but this seemed to be quite the challenge for a beginner like me. On my final mission (Massilia), I ended up aiming for Small Casas at the minimum, and Luxury Palaces as the maximum. I think I ended up with 5 or so Flexi-Blocks at at least Small Casa level, together with 14 ish Luxury Palaces
Caesar 3 is challenging and fun, the variety of ways to get things done is really interesting and adds to the replay value
My first playthrough started out pretty easy until the sixth mission (Lugdunum), where the learning curve suddenly hit me harder than a ballista bolt. Peaceful missions seemed harder after the military missions. Housing blocks should be near food supplies, otherwise, "Getting" granaries will be relied upon (good luck though)
Finishing Lindum was great but Caesar's commentary at the end felt underwhelming as opposed to Massilia. Similarly, finishing Massilia felt like much more significant achievement
I hate how some of the blue-wearing barbarians move so fast and just slice through square-formation Legionnaires to charge right at javelin troops. The diamond-formation Carthaginians, I would understand, but really, barbarians? Come on, Mars
I wonder what's needed for the citizens to be really happy with the city as opposed to just satisfied or ok (like when the cart-pushers says something like living in the city is worth it)
It would have been nice if there were "beyond the historical extent of the roman empire" or "decline of western roman empire" missions after Lindum or Massilia, for a bit of what-if
I still can't figure out how city development should go and how goals should be met. Big population-missions still seem to be a challenge. Hopefully next time the "Peace" requirement will be the last one to be met
No matter how high the wages are or how much above Rome you pay, the prefects will say that they aren't paid enough to fight zebras, or that the zebras are otherwise too strong for them. Mars help them! But hey, while fighting zebras, at least the Prefect says that the city will be safe as long as they are still alive.
Thanks
Heaven Games Site and Forums, GamerZakh, Afterburner (Flexi-Block), Brugle, Grumpus, and everyone else from Citizen to Deity, and even the Market Lady who called me a heathen that one time I forgot to put down a temple to Neptune again
Looking forward to my next playthrough, hopefully, I'll learn even more of the game's mechanics. Maybe I'll use the 9x9 more often or try out custom maps? We'll see
[This message has been edited by sibacchus (edited 09-24-2018 @ 02:02 PM).]