MP strat vs. SP strat

[rah]

In MP you have to be more careful when one of your neighbors Declares war on you. They may have a deal with another neighbor who is waiting for all your forces to be drawn to one border.

[kbarrett]

Originally posted by rah
Another difference. The Flash actually sometimes accomplishes something in MP.

Yep. Near the end or HOTW9, I watched Conq scream "Abort abort abort!" in all caps on public chat after I flashed a 20 tank stack at him ... he was getting a bit froggy, probably suckered by promises of support .....

On the next session, Trev figured out he was worrying way too much about me ... so he commenced WWIII, and started nuking both Conq and Toni's empire ...

I did teach Toni's substitute exactly why you do not wander outside of SDI covered cultural boundaries during a nukewar ... he lost one entire SOD he thought he was going to march into Rah to one of my nukes.

[kbarrett]

Expend those troops.

Unless a unit has 10 or more experience points, you should not be wasting a lot of effort upgrading them.

If you convert research into cash to mass upgrade, you fall behind.

If they are low experience, replace them, and use the obsolete crap to harass a neighbor, or even disband them.

[kbarrett]

Rush your neighbor if you can.

If you have a good early UU, make seven of them, and steal a capital. Break the capital first, before he can play scorched earth and convert his entire population into archers.

Having three or more pop4 cities before 2500 BC is an almost insurmountable advantage ... and even better if that captured capital has a religion or a Wonder in it.

[kbarrett]

Specialize your cities.

Make one production city and one money/research city ASAP. A coastal research city turned into a Great Scientist farm will put you ahead ... but you have to match it with a production city turning out nothing but combat units or barracks. Build nothing else there unless forced by unhappiness or unhealth.

The usual advice of 2 production to 3 finance science can get you killed ... do one to one.

[kbarrett]

Don't play Wonder Whore.

If you need to do the Oracle -> CoL to get a religion, fine ... but don't get yourself killed doing the D.D. thing ... cities guarded by one unit while your Cap builds the Pyramids. Either expend a Great Engineer, or let someone else be weak.

If you must build wonders ... get Casting ASAP. Build a forge, and force an engineer specialist. Maybe have another specialist off and on to build up GPP. Use the resulting engineers to rush them.

Besides ... nothing is quite as fun as using an Engineer to complete it in one turn just before some other poor goof finishes his one thousand year effort.

[snoopy369]

I strongly disagree with the last post. There are MP strategies that involve building wonders - but not just any random wonder, but particular ones, for the GP value. If you are industrial, have a stone/marble start, you will be building wonders I guarantee you Don't do it randomly, and make sure you have defenses, but it is one very good strategy in the right setup to build wonders. Especially when combined with a GPP city ...

I rarely if ever use my engineers to rush wonders, anyhow. Unless it's an important one, or one that gets me more engineers (Pyramids), that engineer's going into a 3h/3b specialist.

[rah]

Yeah, if you've got a food rich capital that can support a lot of specialists, the pyramids is worth going out on a limb for. Other than that, I agree considerably.

[Ming]

Originally posted by snoopy369
and make sure you have defenses

That's the key. Some people make the wonders such a high priority, that they forget to build the defense to keep em.

Nothing better in an MP game that seeing a neighbor build a key wonder, and you see he's guarding his cities with a couple of archers

[Gibsie]

Personally I only bother settling great people if they're either a Maerchant (Loves my food) or if I'm Representative i.e. have the Pyramids already. But that's in SP and MP.

I just don't get it when I see one or two players managing to have it all despite unexciting starts... well-defended cities, lots of workers, a good few wonders, fast research... all while I'm struggling to churn out my third settler!

[N35t0r]

Watch the Power graph constantly. If your neighbour starts going up, you better do something about it. If you're peaking over him, consider dropping in to say hi.

[kbarrett]

Originally posted by snoopy369
I strongly disagree with the last post. There are MP strategies that involve building wonders - but not just any random wonder, but particular ones, for the GP value.

Let's hear some of those strategies.

We all know already ( I hope ) about the Oracle slingshots ...

Hopefully most are aware about Greatwall -> specialist improvement -> assign specialist -> get Great Engineer -> rush Pyramids for more Great Engineers.

How about some others?

[snoopy369]

How about Parthenon -> GPP city. Includes Library typically, and depending on the start can include Artemis; helps to have engineer wonders but not required. Of course national epic

[kbarrett]

Parthenon helps all cities ... but I would think stacking it with great artist wonders and then liberally applying Art Bombs could generate a good deal of hatred from your neighbors ...

I think it is more important if you are already Philosophical ...

( I might be amused if someone could pull out a cultural victory in MP ... a lot of jaws would hit the floor ... )

[rah]

In one of our games quite unlikely since the probably won't last long enough to get it. But yes, seeing one of our game officialy end would be quite a shock. Dom poised to eliminate another player and all of a sudden he gets the you lose video.