What the heck is this SLINGSHOT thing ???

[phooey73]

I couldn't tell in context what it was exactly, so I went to every available thread that had it in the title and I STILL CANT TELL.

Everyone is tossing the term around as if its something we all grew up with, but the best I can tell here is that it involves being the first to get to certain technologies and building certain wonders.

Could someone please give a short explanation of what Slingshot is ?

[JackRudd]

The general principle of the Slingshot is:

Do something that gets you a free technology. (Usually, in the context of these threads, building the Oracle wonder, although there is also the "being the first to Liberalism" slingshot.)

Then pick a really expensive-to-research free technology. There are a number of popular choices here:

Civil Service - the traditional slingshot. This is usually followed by an immediate switch to Bureaucracy.

Metal Casting - the Farseer slingshot. Usually followed by a rush to build forges everywhere.

Theology - the Christianity slingshot. Usually followed by spamming said religion everywhere. Can also be combined with a switch to Theocracy if you want to go hacking.

[smacfan]

Well, Vel (Velocyrix) can probably say it better (he is a published author, after all) but I'll take a shot at it.

The Code of Laws "Slingshot" refers to researching a particular line of techs so that you are the first to get to the Code of Laws tech (without having researched Masonry, or gotten it from a hut), almost immediately followed by completing the Oracle Wonder, which grants a free tech and a research boost. You take Civil Service as your free tech. Meantime, you have built a Library to get the ability to run two Scientists specialists in that city, thus accumulating Great Person points towards a Great Scientist. After getting Civil Service, you immediately switch to the Beauracracy civic (which gives another research boost), and hopefully very soon thereafter you get a Great Scientist and use him to build an Academy (which gives another Research boost).

The goal is to dramatically ramp up your Research capability very early in the game (hence, "slingshot") so that you can blow by your opponents on the tech tree on your path to winning.

Done right, your research rate by about 1200BC or so should be about 70 beakers, which is massive for that stage of the game.

You sacrifice having a military of any real capability early in the game (you usually don't even get Archery) and you don't usually get to have more than two cities until you're done with the slingshot, but if you can pull it off, it puts you in an awesome position.

I hope that covers it. Vel, if I mis-stated anything, please correct me.

HTH

smacfan

[trumbo]

It's called a SLINGSHOT because the Oracle construction allows a free tech that would often take 40-80 turns to research on normal speed, thus you "sling" yourself past all those turns to an advanced tech.

The Civil Service slightshot enables you to, early in the game, acopt a civic that gives you a 50 percent production and science boost well before anyone else can accomplish this.

[Grandpa Troll]

so not an exploit or cheat but merely an acceptable technique?

[Urban Ranger]

Not an exploit as far as I can tell.

[Grandpa Troll]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Not an exploit as far as I can tell.

Ok, wanted to hear it from a Mod, Thanks

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Grandpa Troll
Ok, wanted to hear it from a Mod, Thanks

Wrong forum

[MoonWolf]

I guess someone would call this an exploit... as always! But you sacrifice a lot by neglating everything else.

[johnmcd]

I've had the AI do it to me, so it's deffo not an exploit.

[Leifmk]

Originally posted by smacfan

The Code of Laws "Slingshot" refers to researching a particular line of techs so that you are the first to get to the Code of Laws tech (without having researched Masonry, or gotten it from a hut),

You're mixing up a couple of variations here.

The classic Civil Service slingshot works by researching Code of Laws and then building the Oracle so you can take Civil Service as your free tech. High risk (can you complete researching CoL before someone else builds the Oracle?), very high reward (Bureaucracy at an insanely early point in the game). No point in avoiding Masonry here.

The abbreviated Code of Laws slingshot is safer at higher levels -- in this variation you build the Oracle much sooner and take CoL as your free tech. Then, if you have avoided Masonry, you can burn your first Great Prophet to get Civil Service (or most of the beakers for it, anyway). If you do know Masonry, then the Monotheism etc. branch of the "religious" techs is unlocked, so your Prophet can only get you something from there instead (as those techs are cheaper). Much lower risk, still pretty good reward.

[smacfan]

Oops! You're absolutely right, I did mix those two up.

Mea culpa!

smacfan

[Shaka II]

Originally posted by Leifmk

The abbreviated Code of Laws slingshot is safer at higher levels -- in this variation you build the Oracle much sooner and take CoL as your free tech. Then, if you have avoided Masonry, you can burn your first Great Prophet to get Civil Service (or most of the beakers for it, anyway). If you do know Masonry, then the Monotheism etc. branch of the "religious" techs is unlocked, so your Prophet can only get you something from there instead (as those techs are cheaper). Much lower risk, still pretty good reward.

I never really executed the real slingshot, since it seemed too risky at emperor, but the CoL slingshot seems like a practical strat. I suppose there's not much point in researching masonry anyway since Oracle is only 150 hammers, but bronze working to chop it in seems like a necessity.

Would a typical path be (assuming that you're starting with Mysticism) Polytheism to found Hinduism -> Mining, Bronze Working (for chop and possibly defense) -> Priesthood and chopping in the Oracle?

Or if you don't start with Mysticism, but have Mining, go to BW, then Mysticism, Meditation, Priesthood, and chopping in the Oracle?

[Shaka II]

I tried this last night as Mao. Bronze working -> wheel -> pottery (for cottages), writing (chop in libraries, assign scientist to capital), mysticism, medition, priesthood, chop in Oracle to get Col. I built a temple in Oracle city to assign a priest. My first great scientist I built academy, and my great prophet I used to build the shrine. I made the mistake of trading for masonry, so my GP wanted to discover monotheism . it seems to be working out quite well as I prepare my conquest phase.

I converted Alexander to Confucianism. First I had Judiasm to keep him from attacking, then he switched to Confucianism by himself, so I had to switch back before he attacked. Such is life living next to Alexander. Meanwhile Caesar attacked because I refused his request for CS, so I paid Frederich to attack him. He did an about face when he reached my civ to attend to bigger problems. Also, the size of my axemen army that came to greet him was a bit intimidating. Alexander will attack anyone I want him to, for a tech that is , but he won't trade me philosophy yet.

Here's a trick that I used, maybe it has been mentioned already somewhere. So, you're waiting to get a wonder tech so you can chop in a wonder, in this case Oracle, and you have maybe several workers with not much to do, waiting for cultural broders to expand, etc., you prechop forests, five altogether. Hopefully, you have a city with 5 forests around it. On marathon, it takes 8 turns for a worker to chop a forest, so plan ahead, depending on how many workers you have. You don't want to miss out on a wonder by one turn. Prechop each forest down to where it says you have 2 turns left (really there is only one turn left when it says that). Have your workers working in the area, and 1 turn before you discover priesthood, put the workers back on their forests. When you discover priesthood, begin the last chop, and the next turn (if you have 5 workers) you have the Oracle. if you have 3 workers, build roads on the forest, so that you can move and chop in one turn. In that case, it takes 2 turns to chop in the wonder. I use this for the Pyramids and other wonders, though the Pyramids are costly, requiring 8 forests, if you have stone. So I only build them if I have stone, or a great engineer.