MP vs SP

[Smash]

Figuring out ASAP what wonders you will actually have a shot at getting first is important and not always so easy.

I have given and received "key" techs to allys with the understanding that the wonder attached was mine or their's.Its better than an ally that withhold technology for fear of missing "their" wonder.If you must have certain wonders,just let me know and I will help you anyway I can to secure them.I can build something else that will useful to our alliance.

My early efforts will steer towards Monarchy,Feudalism and Astronomy.Not always though

[cavebear]

I have a tendency to play MP games where I am allied with someone as a true partnership effort. In that case, I view the success of my ally as my own success, and I doesn't matter so much to me whether I or my ally aend up in first place as long as one of us does.

This relates to the Wonders effort. If my ally has more cities than I do, then I am naturally going to steer the "whole civ" Wonders toward him/her. Conversely, I expect that the single city Wonders are going to as naturally be mine. The larger civ gets Mike's and Hoover's, the smaller gets ST and JSB's Cathedral, etc.

On my own, though, I really care for Leo's, Mike's, and Hoover's. It wonderful to see warriors become riflemen (eventually), settlers become engineers, and caravans become freight. Mike's advantage is known to all, of course. I like Hoover's for the production gain, and I usually need it about then to launch into some serious late city improvements.

In the early game, it just seems like it is more worthwhile to build granaries and city walls city by city rather than all at once with Pyramids or GW. I'm usually too interested in building settlers and libraries or marketplaces in the early stages.

It depends so much on the situation. I might have to concentrate on military Wonders in some games (Sun and Leo), and science ones in other games. There is no clear rule for building Wonders.

[Ming]

That's why you make a good ally Smash

I'll never forget an arena match that rah and I were in. You know, the first person you meet is you ally, unless he has met somebody else...

So Rah is the first to meet another player.
And the first thing this guy does is demand something (money or science, I forget)
Needless to say, rah was a "tad" pissed... and the rest of us laughed for hours

[DaveV]

Almost all of my MP experience has been in duels. In those games, you face a kind of balancing act, reacting to your opponent's moves while trying to maintain your own direction. Since you're the only possible target for your opponent, Sun Tzu is like a gun pointed at your head. And you want to avoid letting your opponent get the killer combos, like Sun Tzu + Great Wall. It can also be worth your while to deviate from your usual tech path to expire one of your opponent's wonders.

I agree that MP games are much less predictable than games against the AI. I can win the same way in every game against the AI; MP is much more interesting because you're playing competent opposition!

(Proofreading edit)
[This message has been edited by DaveV (edited June 08, 2000).]

[War4ever]

i agree with Ming, the only time i usually gift tech is either after i have built the wonder, or if i want to "keep it in the family" which is another great strategy. The thing that makes MP such a better game than SP is the variety. Everyone knows how to win, what path to take etc.... so strategy becomes all important as does knowing your position in the game. Therefore its nearly impossible to say your going to take a certain route. We all have our favorite paths but reality dictates that we walk those paths far less frequently than we would like

[Ming]

In MP, you almost never give a science to somebody if you are building the wonder.
Last time somebody gave me a science like that, I built the wonder on the next turn.
(He wasn't very happy with me)

I may give an ally one if I know somebody might beat me to building it. That way, there is a hope that the wonder will be "kept in the family"

I agree with War4ever... Unlike in SP, where I have a standard path I follow, the path I take in MP is totally dependent on what's happening in the game. There is far more variety.

[Tom DeMille]

Well, I don't play multiplayer, but I imagine one key difference is you don't gift all your science to your human opponents to get a worshipful status.

I'd be interested in knowing which techs people won't trade away (or won't trade away until they build the associated wonder).

[War4ever]

i think for me, certain wonders are key and like every game there is no exact science to figuring out which ones your going to get.

Early in my MP days i loved the gardens, but typicaly now i don't build them fast enough and am often beaten to it...... so i adapted a better strat.

The wall is something i never built in SP but will do so if i can't get Sun Tzus..... wall expires too early but it allows you to crank out cities like the gardens does.

great library is nice for larger MP games...
if you play MDL rules then oracle is as good as any of the happy wonders which are always nice to have or atleast one anyways

I have learned not to rely on those so much as making a huge effort for Adam Smiths which for me is as close to a must as possible.
Leos and SOL cannot be underestimated either especially if you need the upgrades to protect yourself or like an early fundy or commie govt
Of course late in the game i like Manhattan which i will always build if possible

As Ming stated, in SP you can build all or none and still win..... in MP you need to always rotate your playing style no matter how good you are as the usual wonders are not always so usual

[Ming]

How does your science path vary in MP games vs Standard Play. In standard play, you can pretty much do what you want because you can usually stay ahead of the AI. But in MP, the wonder's hunt is key, and you aren't going to get most of them like you do against AI.

How does it vary for you?