Civ IV Notes Part Deux
part deux
1 civ iv
1.1 On scalding tea
1.2 On trans-Atlantic alliances
1.3 On empires
2 deviation
2.1 On the German name for la Manche/the English Channel
2.2 On the lack of French swimmers
2.3 On nation names in Chinese, or, how heroes rescue princesses
3 footnotes
1.1 on scalding tea
Be sure to drink lots of (scalding) tea while playing the U.S.; it will give an odd, non-sensical sort of motivation. Something similar can be done for Britain + other drinks (coffee? iced tea?), though I was too lazy (read: had a preposterous lack of coffee) to do that.
1.2 on trans-atlantic alliances
If only the map were larger...if mainland England/France/etc were on the map, I would abandon my purposes altogether. Forget about independence--once I've succeeded in wooing France and Spain, we're invading the home islands together. The three of us can form a trans-Atlantic Triple Entente and wreak major havoc in London.
...How long does it take to sail across the pond in 1778 again?
I did play one game where I abandoned my purpose and invaded Spain. That did not go well, for I had to raise taxes yet again to support the addition of another city...and well, my citizens were not happy. This is historically accurate, though.
1.3 on empires
Expanding very quickly is expensive both in the monetary and military sense. Thus, do not invade British Canada, especially not in the beginning. You will feel like you're winning, only to find out that Britain will burn Boston with 373.15K tea * and replete your (personal) morale like crazy with the invasion.
Try to remember the War of 1812 and how it resulted in the British razing of D.C., but replace D.C. with a more pivotal city in the game like Boston or Philadelphia.
2.1 on the german name for la manche/the english channel
After that last note where I went on and on about 'la Manche' instead of the 'English Channel', I did some more reading...
German takes after French (Ärmelkanal or lit. Sleeve Channel). When my brother saw this, he misread it as Ämerikanal and asked me if the German word could be transliterated to 'American Channel' (hah!), and he proposed that the Germans, not wanting to be involved in yet another Anglo-French spat, had named it after a neutral nation half-way across the world.
The German name does fit nicely with current foreign policy though, as France and Germany are practically attached at the hip nowadays (Wikipedia says they're the 'twin engine'/'core countries' of the EU), and since the UK is Euroskeptical, it's like an added jab in the UK's face. But of course, there's no way the origin of this word is so recent...
2.2 on the lack of french swimmers
This list of first swims across the channel (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_successful_English_Channel_swimmers) has no French swimmers. Keep in mind:
2.3 on nation names in chinese, or, heroes rescuing princesses
Thus, I looked at some more nation names in Chinese, and...
Not all nation names are like that though:
** Yes, I know the difference between the two (though I shall hide behind the ignorant American shield for all other problems), but the naming for England/UK in Chinese is extremely confusing.
Firstly, some equations:
Basically: use 英国 whenever you're unsure. It's a salve, do apply liberally.
1 civ iv
1.1 On scalding tea
1.2 On trans-Atlantic alliances
1.3 On empires
2 deviation
2.1 On the German name for la Manche/the English Channel
2.2 On the lack of French swimmers
2.3 On nation names in Chinese, or, how heroes rescue princesses
3 footnotes
1.1 on scalding tea
Be sure to drink lots of (scalding) tea while playing the U.S.; it will give an odd, non-sensical sort of motivation. Something similar can be done for Britain + other drinks (coffee? iced tea?), though I was too lazy (read: had a preposterous lack of coffee) to do that.
1.2 on trans-atlantic alliances
If only the map were larger...if mainland England/France/etc were on the map, I would abandon my purposes altogether. Forget about independence--once I've succeeded in wooing France and Spain, we're invading the home islands together. The three of us can form a trans-Atlantic Triple Entente and wreak major havoc in London.
...How long does it take to sail across the pond in 1778 again?
I did play one game where I abandoned my purpose and invaded Spain. That did not go well, for I had to raise taxes yet again to support the addition of another city...and well, my citizens were not happy. This is historically accurate, though.
1.3 on empires
Expanding very quickly is expensive both in the monetary and military sense. Thus, do not invade British Canada, especially not in the beginning. You will feel like you're winning, only to find out that Britain will burn Boston with 373.15K tea * and replete your (personal) morale like crazy with the invasion.
Try to remember the War of 1812 and how it resulted in the British razing of D.C., but replace D.C. with a more pivotal city in the game like Boston or Philadelphia.
2.1 on the german name for la manche/the english channel
After that last note where I went on and on about 'la Manche' instead of the 'English Channel', I did some more reading...
German takes after French (Ärmelkanal or lit. Sleeve Channel). When my brother saw this, he misread it as Ämerikanal and asked me if the German word could be transliterated to 'American Channel' (hah!), and he proposed that the Germans, not wanting to be involved in yet another Anglo-French spat, had named it after a neutral nation half-way across the world.
The German name does fit nicely with current foreign policy though, as France and Germany are practically attached at the hip nowadays (Wikipedia says they're the 'twin engine'/'core countries' of the EU), and since the UK is Euroskeptical, it's like an added jab in the UK's face. But of course, there's no way the origin of this word is so recent...
2.2 on the lack of french swimmers
This list of first swims across the channel (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_successful_English_Channel_swimmers) has no French swimmers. Keep in mind:
- The Channel borders England and France.
- The Channel is a good 5000+km from the U.S.
- On that list, I spy 6 American swimmers, 6 English swimmers, 1 Italian, 1 Scottish, and 0 French. Oh, France...why!
2.3 on nation names in chinese, or, heroes rescuing princesses
Thus, I looked at some more nation names in Chinese, and...
- England/UK** (英国) 英 = hero
- Germany (德国) 德 = virtue
- Ireland (爱尔兰) 爱 = love
- U.S. (美国) 美 = beautiful
- Finland (芬兰) 芬 = fragrance
Not all nation names are like that though:
- Russia (俄国) 俄 = abruptly
- Portugal (葡萄牙) 葡萄 = grape, 牙 = teeth
- Austria (奥地利) 奥 = abstruse
** Yes, I know the difference between the two (though I shall hide behind the ignorant American shield for all other problems), but the naming for England/UK in Chinese is extremely confusing.
Firstly, some equations:
- United Kingdom (联合王国) = Great Britain (大不列颠) + Northern Ireland (北爱尔兰)
- Great Britain (大不列颠) = England (英格兰) + Wales (威爾斯) + Scotland (苏格兰)
Basically: use 英国 whenever you're unsure. It's a salve, do apply liberally.