Alas, cursed locked techs

[Ben Kenobi]

Since I expect some discussion.

If you can't have your first choice, please make a second. Which would be your second favourite technology?

[Ben Kenobi]

Someone has trouble following instructions.

Don't pick the same tech twice!

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Leadership, as noted in the other poll.

[snipe]*MY* replacement poll last time around was less confusing[/snipe]

[MrWhereItsAt]

Explosives was my first, then Leadership. Steam Engine will be useful, but there are many more things for our Engineers (when we get them) to do first, and I would prefer to have the units built in the time it takes us to get to RR, as the Engineers will not take as long to build the transport systems. Remember, the sooner we get RRs the sooner the AI can use them too!

[atawa]

Originally posted by MrWhereItsAt Remember, the sooner we get RRs the sooner the AI can use them too!

Thats one of the reasons I voted for Steam.

seriously, even with roads it will take us ages to get units out to the battlefront, besides the fact we need to send them to different directions.

With RR we can just have 1 army and move it anywhere we please on the same turn

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by atawa


Thats one of the reasons I voted for Steam.

seriously, even with roads it will take us ages to get units out to the battlefront, besides the fact we need to send them to different directions.

With RR we can just have 1 army and move it anywhere we please on the same turn

Tracks won't pop up overnight, though. It takes a Settler what, 3 or 4 turns to RR a tile? - and that assumes there's already a road there. Engineers could get the road complex down faster, as well as putting in rails faster, too, once we have that tech.

Realistically, we'll have conquered the AIs before rails become a means of instant transport around the world.

[Ben Kenobi]

MY* replacement poll last time around was less confusing

Well, then you should have run for my position last time.


How hard can it be to remember Favourite, and the second favourite?

[CannonFodder]

It takes one Settler 4 turns, and an Engineer 2 turns. Two Engineers can complete a tile of RR in one 1 turn.

If I am trying to construct both a road and rail system at the same time, that is why I send groups of 3 engineers to do the job.

I do not believe we will have conquered the AI as quickly as you think, but Rails will probably not be feasible around the entire world unless we really make an effort to do that.

[Ben Kenobi]

unless we really make an effort to do that.

Much quicker to make the effort for our world conquest, rather than assembling military forces piecemeal.

If we start churning out engineer hordes (say 1-2 per city), how long will it take to build rails connecting all of our cities to our enemies?

Even the rough terrain cannot stymie that kind of effort.

[cavebear]

I expect RR will be critical for our success, and that we will need a network of them to all civs.

[Sparrowhawk]

As I posted here , I think we should go for Leadership if we cannot research Explosives, and allow the Americans to research Steam Engine, (and hopefully Railroad) for us.

Ultimately, I hope we can research Explosives next, and see where the Americans are at before choosing between Steam Engine and Leadership after that.

/me Foreign Minister

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by CannonFodder
It takes one Settler 4 turns, and an Engineer 2 turns. Two Engineers can complete a tile of RR in one 1 turn.

If I am trying to construct both a road and rail system at the same time, that is why I send groups of 3 engineers to do the job.

I do not believe we will have conquered the AI as quickly as you think, but Rails will probably not be feasible around the entire world unless we really make an effort to do that.

Still, it makes sense to have the Engineers first to put down the roads. Engineers actually put down roads 3 times faster than Settlers - because (assuming plains/grass/desert/tundra) the Settler uses its full move to get onto the unroaded tile, and 2 more turns to actually lay the road. An Engineer, of course, can do this in one turn. So, we could put all the base roads in with Engineers, while waiting for RR, and then quickly cover those with rails once we learn RR.

I would be willing to bet that we don't lay any appreciable amount of RR without Engineers.

[atawa]

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
we could put all the base roads in with Engineers, while waiting for RR, and then quickly cover those with rails once we learn RR.

This plan sounds good to me, let the engineers build roads and irigation and after RR send all engineers towards the highway. With 10-20 engineers we can upgrade that road fairly quickly. (5-10 tiles a turn )

[Ben Kenobi]

If we start churning out engineer hordes (say 1-2 per city),

/me dreams of 40 engineers. Oh the places you'll go!