Cool way to manage your cities!

[screwtype]

Probably quite a few know about this but since I just discovered it after weeks of playing, I thought I'd share it in case someone else has missed it.

I've always had problems managing cities, trying to figure out which ones are building or not building stuff, what the tax rates are, what the happiness is etc.

Now, it's true that you can open any of your cities' management scrolls and cycle through all your cities with the forward and back buttons at the top of the scroll, but I've never found this method all that useful. For one thing the buttons are really small and hard to hit, and sometimes don't seem to work. More importantly, you are lacking an overview of all your cities so often you have to cycle through them all to figure out where the cash is best spent, and by the time you get back to the start, you've forgotten which cities need what.

Well I've finally figured out a much better way. I've found you can use the city overview scroll (which appears on the left of the screen) and the individual city scroll (on the right) at the same time.

So here's the procedure. First, RIGHT click on the "Town" tab in the Control Panel at the bottom of the screen. This brings up the city overview scroll.

This scroll has many useful features, for one thing it has symbols to let you know which cities are currently constructing buildings and/or units, so you can quickly see which cities are idle. Secondly, by clicking on the column names at the top you can change the way the cities are ordered in the scroll. For example, click once on the word Population and the cities will be listed from highest to lowest population. Click a second time and they will list in the opposite order, from lowest pop. to highest. You can also do this with the happiness button. To cut a long story short, it's a good scroll to use to get an overview of all your cities and what they are up to.

Now here's the part I stumbled on tonight. When you click on any of the city icons on this overview scroll, you will be taken on the map to that city. No big deal. But now you can open that city's management scroll in the usual way (I use the big round building construction button on the top right of the Control Panel).

Now you have the city overview scroll open on the left of the screen and the individual city management scroll on the right of the screen.

But here's the good part. With both scrolls open, if you now click on any city icon in the overview scroll on the left, the city management scroll for that particular city will appear on the right.

You can click on each city icon in the overview scroll in sequence, from top to bottom, or just select the cities you want, and when the city management scroll opens up for that city you can make all the necessary adjustments.

You don't have to hit the tick box in the bottom right of the management scroll to close it when you've finished making your changes. It remembers your changes anyhow. Just go onto the next city in the overview scroll, and when you've done all the cities you want to do, hit the tick box for the management scroll and then the overview scroll, and ALL your changes are kept.

It probably sounds complicated but it really isn't. This method enables you to get a quick overview of all your cities and make all the necessary adjustments with a minimum of fuss. I just wish I'd discovered it earlier, it would have saved me SO much time screwing around trying to figure out which city was doing what and what things I should attend to next. If you haven't tried this method, I recommend you give it a try, I think you too will find it makes the task of city management soooo much easier

[Ldvs]

I just wish I'd discovered it earlier, it would have saved me SO much time screwing around trying to figure out which city was doing what and what things I should attend to next.

So do I, thanks for the information. At least, there's one person for who your discovery willl be useful

[Gregoshi]

I never considered using both scrolls together like that. You've just saved me some time. Thank you very much screwtype.

[The Stranger]

thanx but no thanx, already knew that but atleast you are saving other peoples time. you're a nice guy Screwtype

[Craterus]

Well, it's helped me, cheers dude..
It'll probably take me a while to get used to it plus I don't mind micro-managing but I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

[Rodion Romanovich]

I tend to go through the settlements region by region (for example I let Gaul be one region, Italian peninsula another etc.), with the buildings/training scroll on the right half of the screen and the map on the other. That way I can see if forces need to be diverted for rebel hunting or battles at the same time I look at buildings etc. But before going through my settlements like that I usually fight all major battles - for example if I'm going to capture a wonder city the same turn I shouldn't adjust taxes until after I've captured the city and so on. Often I have to switch between fighting and managing as the fighting can result in retraining/reinforcements being needed and a victory in a major battle could mean the path is clear for reinforcements trained last turn to move closer to the main army etc. I wouldn't want to manage any settlement without seeing the map of the closest area around it at the same time.

[Craterus]

That way I can see if forces need to be diverted for rebel hunting

Hehe, rebel hunting , I've never thought about it like that. Rebel Scum!!

I tend to manage in groups of regions, i.e. Asia Minor, Nile Delta, North Africa, South Balkans, North Balkans, Italy, Spain etc. so I'm like you LegioXXXUlpiaVictrix . Survey the region for any rebels, hunt them down, kill them, return home with their heads on pikes and their bodies ready for roasting...

[drone]

I found this out by doing the reverse. I brought up a city's build window, then clicked on the city tab to bring up the city list. From there you just need to click on a city in the city list to switch cities. I was both ecstatic (finally a decent way to manage) and pissed (would have been nice if it was documented clearly, lots of time wasted) at the same time. For somebody like me who micromanages, this easily gives an extra 3-4 turns (midgame) a session, important if you want to minimize the effect of AI "reassessment"...

This combination is pure gold, it saves tons of time per turn and makes it very difficult to overlook a city. It would be nice if there was a little more info in the city list window, but they probably didn't want to make it look too crowded. I'm hoping one of these days games will accomodate dual screens for stuff just like this, my second monitor looks so lonely and dejected when I fire up games.

I usually do a quick scan for rebels and incoming enemy stacks first, and queue up any counters nearby if necessary. Then I fight the battles for the turn and move the stacks/agents/ships around. City maintenance is done last.

[screwtype]

I found this out by doing the reverse. I brought up a city's build window, then clicked on the city tab to bring up the city list. From there you just need to click on a city in the city list to switch cities. I was both ecstatic (finally a decent way to manage) and pissed (would have been nice if it was documented clearly, lots of time wasted) at the same time.

Yeah, it does make you feel like a bit of a clown when you discover it. "Heck, how did I miss that!"

But yes, the city overview screen does make life a lot easier once you discover its little nuances. I've also just discovered that if you right click on one of the city panels on the overview scroll, the city management window comes up a lot quicker, because if you do that the map doesn't bother to update. So it's not only a convenient way to cycle through your cities, but a faster and more reliable way too.

I usually do a quick scan for rebels and incoming enemy stacks first, and queue up any counters nearby if necessary. Then I fight the battles for the turn and move the stacks/agents/ships around. City maintenance is done last.

Yeah, city maintenance is last for me too. I generally fight battles, move units and agents around, and micromanage my "front line" cities carefully, and when I've done all that I bring up the city overview window and make sure that something is getting built everywhere and then finally check that I'm maxing out on tax income everywhere. Actually I haven't quite worked out the best way of using this newly discovered technique yet, but I'm sure I will. Anyhow, sounds as though we both have a fairly similar management style

[Nelson]

With few exceptions I manage the empire first and wage war last.

The info boxes that tumble down the left side of the screen will not return after a load so if RL intervenes by demanding a save before I open them I’ll miss them. I start at the bottom and examine each box until I’ve opened them all.

Next I use the strategic units because what they do will immediately effect what the armies do. I usually want to deal, spy and murder before the armies act.

Then I scan for rebels and finally move the main forces, resolving all sea and land combat. Unless there is some unit recovery to do the turn is over.

[screwtype]

Oh, I'm sure everyone checks out their info boxes first. They're like little gift boxes aren't they - you can't wait to open them to see what you got

But I'm not sure what they have to do with city management. Not much it seems to me.

The reason I don't move my strategic units first is because I like to see the outcome of battles before doing anything else. But obviously if I am organizing a battle I will utilize an available spy or assassin beforehand. I see that as part of the battle resolution process.

I can't see the point in managing the empire first and fighting the battles last because after the battles are fought you generally have an opportunity to rebuild units, so I figure you might as well leave the spending phase until you see what needs to be rebuilt.

[marcusbrutus]

I can't see the point in managing the empire first and fighting the battles last because after the battles are fought you generally have an opportunity to rebuild units, so I figure you might as well leave the spending phase until you see what needs to be rebuilt.

I thinks that's the best way to do it, the empire is just there to support my war effort - TOTAL WAR!

[drone]

I do look at the info boxes, but I usually don't perform any immediate action on them unless a spy/diplo in a city died and needs replacing.

I do the city maintenance after the fighting mainly because I don't want to have to redo the build plans if the battles don't go well. I do both troop and building orders at the same time, so reinforcements and retraining from losses can be done once, after the battles. I have to optimize my playing time, since the missus doesn't approve...

[Ahmose]

A lot thanks from my heart . I wish if there is anybody want to share any Information like that on the Org SO do it and start a topic .. don't say " ha , everyone knows that " .
Honastly , I said what this stuped topic . But after reading I say Screwtype .

[Kraxis]

Well there are always those 'I-know-it-all's. You can get rid of them, and you will always see them when something is mentioned.

This is in fact a good spot, good going Screwtype. I just use the popup screen for what has been built and click the little scroll to enter the city. I thought that was a good technique.

[screwtype]

Thankyou Ahmose! I'm happy to have been of some assistance.