Liberty Bells and the REF

[Akaoz]

How exactly do they interact?

Is it just a linear relationship? Eg. 200 Lb == 100 Units in the REF, and 400 LB == 200 Units in the REF.

Or does the REF expand every turn you produce LB at all?

It seems to me that because you need 50% Rebbel sentiment to start the WoI you may as well start producing LB's from turn one if the relationship is linear. It makes no difference if the REF builds up slowly from day one or real fast as you start pumping out LB's in the mid/late game to get up to 50%...

If it expands every turn you produce LB's then you need to produce as many LB's as possible on as few turns as possible and a late buildup is a lot better...

[snoopy369]

Basically, it goes like this (based on Dale's peering at the code - Dale correct me if I get part of this wrong, it was late):

You accumulate liberty bells at a certain rate. If that rate is greater than 1, it checks to see how many you accumulated, and compares that to the Threshold. Let's say that's 100. If you're over the threshold, you get a new REF unit. It then sets it back by the amount of the threshold, and you are on your way to your second unit when you cross the threshold again.

I think the reason Dale's strategy works is there is a limit to the number of REF you can get per turn - but I've not explored that in depth yet.

[Akaoz]

So the strategy right now is get a LOT of LB's fast, to exploit the rate at witch the REF grows?

[snoopy369]

That's Dale's strategy, for certain.

[Akaoz]

Mmm... *nod*

Well, after getting my behind handed to me three times in a WoI I had no way of winning, I think I'll be going for a huge cross/food strategy with innland cities focused on making lots and lots of gunns. No navy just guns and cannons.

Then use what money I have on Elders who can come out at the last moment to convert the masses.

Dull way to play though.

[snoopy369]

Navy can be ... very effective, mind you. Something to kill MoW's can pay for itself easily, by killing off a bunch of soldiers for one ship...

[Dale]

Okay there's two things, Snoop got most of it.

Increases in the army are gauged by:
1. Overall bells stored, once a limit is hit then the King adds to the REF.
2. Bell production rate, the more bells per turn you earn the more likely there will be an increase in REF.

So my strategy of holding off till late game works on one level, rate per turn. Because the rate per turn is only calculated once, every bell earned that turn above that rate is a freebie (since you can only be hit once). So by maximising your per turn rate (ie: three elders in a colony with newspaper/press and some FF's) you are avoiding spreading that out at a lower rate per turn for longer and being hit with this check more often.

In other words you can reduce the number of REF increases from say a large amount (100 times) to a small amount (20 times).

[Machismo]

Wow. That just seems like an awful way to do it. It should be that your relations with the king should relate to it.
The accumulated bells make good sense, but the accumulation rate per turn is pretty flawed. It sounds good on the surface but is easily gamed or easily glitched into leaving someone with massive armies to face.

[Wiglaf]

So they rip off most of Civ 4's assets to save time for making design decisions, and they don't even do those right.

[bigcat55404]

Quick question... if you hold off LB production until the end, does that mean you're having to pass up on a lot of FFs as well? When I tried that, I found I was lagging horribly behind the other colonials in political points.

[snoopy369]

It would mean you get fewer FFs, certainly.

[conmcb25]

But whats better a few more FF's with a huge REF or a few less FF's, and a smaller REF?

[snoopy369]

That's called game balance...

[GeoModder]

Jeezz, the game is out barely 3 days and already the acronyms are hitting the 'net.

[conmcb25]

Originally posted by snoopy369
That's called game balance...

Agreed, despite what the rolls from OT say