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I just had the most peculiar experience in on-line MP.
I was 1v1 with Swissy for the 3rd Apolyton Tournament. I picked Sumerian, he picked Celts. 2 AIs (random) came up Egypt and Greece.
We got a close start, ~14 tiles between start locations. We found each other quickly. However, I probed with the Enkidu's, while he camped out with warriors. I got the map advantage.
As luck would have it, after I found horses very near by my start, 3 iron turned up handy to me. I was on top of 2 of them, and the third near the Celts was easily occupied by Enkidus, which I promptly did. It seemed the game was in hand.
Woo is me began about then, or a little earlier. This is the first game I tried Agri, and I don't know if I really have a good feel for how to use it, especially with accelerated production turned on. My start position was a little less than great, even with the iron close at hand, but Agri came in handy for that desert.
Anyways, the peculiar thing is not the build ques, or the land. The peculiar thing is what I did when all seemed lost (and most likely was anyways).
After getting the first 4 cities set up, and seeing that the Celts likely had no iron, I decided that this game was not going to make the Middle Ages. Barracks, sword, sword, sword, horse, sword...
1st wave of 12 sword and a couple horse sent off to beat Celt butt raw. What's that Celtic Swordsman over there? Oh oh, he has iron I did not find.
1st wave breaks on walls of target city... very badly betrayed by the rng if I may point out. OK, withdraw survivors (about 6 units after killing maybe 4 or 5). Rest up and add more troops, many of them.
Back up to 12 swords and 8 horse... let's go again. This time we come tantilisingly close to taking the city. Many Celtic Swords lay dead after the fortified spears are overcome, but alas... I came up short and stupidly failed to send 3 reserve swords forward a turn earlier when they could have won the day for the good guys... *kicks self*
Right, withdraw... agian, with about 8 units this time. Rush up more new builds, but I notice that Mr. Celt is not all military. There are a few settlers coming out of his cities juding from the 2 drop of pop. Oh well, maybe the rng will favour us this time with 13 or 14 swords and 7 or 8 horse.
Nope. Disaster. Could not have gotten worse results. OK. Taunt the Celts. 'Now you came and get me!' What happens? Well, a Celt Sword Army shows up (with 14 hp). OK. It dusts a new city, I dust it with a combo of sword and horse. Remember kids, armies are not the Titanic. Oh wait, maybe by themselves they are...
I still haven't got to the peculiar part. It is coming soon, I promise. Anyways, back when I saw the Celts with what I thought was no iron, and me with lots, I decided that research was not necessary after Iron and HBR. All I wanted was more units. More units I got, but with losses I found myself with a healthy bank account. ~400 gold.
So now, after wave three, and the dead Celt army... very few more Celts show up. Some coastal raiders make a nuicance of themselves, but that's about it. So. Mr. Celt has been sitting back, building, while all this time I have been a right cursed war monger. I figure there is no way this is going to be saved by traditional micro-management even if the oppo would be patient for it. What is a war monger with his tail cut off to do?
Go barb.
I snickered, and set all the cities to military units away from useless things like harbours (which I had researched while waiting for the thunderbolt to strike). Let's see... 450 some odd gold... I should be able to build... about 30 swords, 20 horse, and 18 Enkidus. Now I am running a defecit, and things will not last forever. That's OK. I have a settler, and I am at war with the 2 AI. The AI are close enough that they can easily take cities. Great!
Set capital and all other far away cities to disband, leaving 1 city near the Egyptians to be the new capital and the sacrifice for imortality. All units scurry from all cities to join 'The Stack'. That stack is everything. All of it. Once the last city falls (to some Celtic raiders who happened along to speed us on our way) we no longer have gold, but we no longer pay unit upkeep.
The Stack begins to lurch towards the Celts. We've gone barb...
I was 1v1 with Swissy for the 3rd Apolyton Tournament. I picked Sumerian, he picked Celts. 2 AIs (random) came up Egypt and Greece.
We got a close start, ~14 tiles between start locations. We found each other quickly. However, I probed with the Enkidu's, while he camped out with warriors. I got the map advantage.
As luck would have it, after I found horses very near by my start, 3 iron turned up handy to me. I was on top of 2 of them, and the third near the Celts was easily occupied by Enkidus, which I promptly did. It seemed the game was in hand.
Woo is me began about then, or a little earlier. This is the first game I tried Agri, and I don't know if I really have a good feel for how to use it, especially with accelerated production turned on. My start position was a little less than great, even with the iron close at hand, but Agri came in handy for that desert.
Anyways, the peculiar thing is not the build ques, or the land. The peculiar thing is what I did when all seemed lost (and most likely was anyways).
After getting the first 4 cities set up, and seeing that the Celts likely had no iron, I decided that this game was not going to make the Middle Ages. Barracks, sword, sword, sword, horse, sword...
1st wave of 12 sword and a couple horse sent off to beat Celt butt raw. What's that Celtic Swordsman over there? Oh oh, he has iron I did not find.
1st wave breaks on walls of target city... very badly betrayed by the rng if I may point out. OK, withdraw survivors (about 6 units after killing maybe 4 or 5). Rest up and add more troops, many of them.
Back up to 12 swords and 8 horse... let's go again. This time we come tantilisingly close to taking the city. Many Celtic Swords lay dead after the fortified spears are overcome, but alas... I came up short and stupidly failed to send 3 reserve swords forward a turn earlier when they could have won the day for the good guys... *kicks self*
Right, withdraw... agian, with about 8 units this time. Rush up more new builds, but I notice that Mr. Celt is not all military. There are a few settlers coming out of his cities juding from the 2 drop of pop. Oh well, maybe the rng will favour us this time with 13 or 14 swords and 7 or 8 horse.
Nope. Disaster. Could not have gotten worse results. OK. Taunt the Celts. 'Now you came and get me!' What happens? Well, a Celt Sword Army shows up (with 14 hp). OK. It dusts a new city, I dust it with a combo of sword and horse. Remember kids, armies are not the Titanic. Oh wait, maybe by themselves they are...
I still haven't got to the peculiar part. It is coming soon, I promise. Anyways, back when I saw the Celts with what I thought was no iron, and me with lots, I decided that research was not necessary after Iron and HBR. All I wanted was more units. More units I got, but with losses I found myself with a healthy bank account. ~400 gold.
So now, after wave three, and the dead Celt army... very few more Celts show up. Some coastal raiders make a nuicance of themselves, but that's about it. So. Mr. Celt has been sitting back, building, while all this time I have been a right cursed war monger. I figure there is no way this is going to be saved by traditional micro-management even if the oppo would be patient for it. What is a war monger with his tail cut off to do?
Go barb.
I snickered, and set all the cities to military units away from useless things like harbours (which I had researched while waiting for the thunderbolt to strike). Let's see... 450 some odd gold... I should be able to build... about 30 swords, 20 horse, and 18 Enkidus. Now I am running a defecit, and things will not last forever. That's OK. I have a settler, and I am at war with the 2 AI. The AI are close enough that they can easily take cities. Great!
Set capital and all other far away cities to disband, leaving 1 city near the Egyptians to be the new capital and the sacrifice for imortality. All units scurry from all cities to join 'The Stack'. That stack is everything. All of it. Once the last city falls (to some Celtic raiders who happened along to speed us on our way) we no longer have gold, but we no longer pay unit upkeep.
The Stack begins to lurch towards the Celts. We've gone barb...
).
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