Use the infinite queue!

[Out4Blood]

for reference

[Out4Blood]

Toughest and I never pause

[Skanky Burns]

What difficulty level do you play at?
I never find myself at the population limit, unless it is right at the end of a large campaing where I had built the Terra Cotta wonder. I normally attack with a tiny force, hold it with the same and just keep healing those who near death. Then again, I am a sucker for micromanaging things. Slow speed + frequent pauses.

Oh, and I play at tough difficulty..

[Alinestra Covelia]

I have also started using the infinite queue feature. In most of my combat engagements, just before I send my troops over the border, I'll have two siege factories, 3 stables, and 3 barracks, each one building one type of unit to infinite queue and assigned to a group. If I've left a good amount of time to build up my reserves of materiel prior to this, I find it usually provides me with a force that replenishes fast enough to hold a city until assimilation.

The only problem with this is that you have to get all your buildings up and running before you set anything to queue, especially if you're near your population limit, otherwise it can take a very long time for certain units to come out. I once had a whole army and navy infrastructure set to infinite (I was launching an attack against the Japanese capital in Conquer the World) and then I realized I didn't have a General or Spy. After constructing the castle, it took a very long time for me to deactivate all the other buildings AND kill off a few scholars to free up enough population points to build those two units.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Oh, thanks Jaybe! Might get confusing if that unit is assigned to more than one group. "Unassigning" is a nuisance, and suddenly I move the wrong units (formerly entrenched units marching laterally across the enemy front...)

[Jaybe]

... the rally point is cleared if the specific unit is destroyed...

The consensus now is that the rally point is with the group, and is safe as long as any unit of the group survives.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by hoeleng
found it useful to set my rally point on the military structure to one of my existing units. For example my auto plant building tanks indefinately will have its rally point set to one of my existing tanks. that way, the newly built units will join your control group immediately.

It's a bit safer to set the rally point to the commander of group, especially against the AI (which doesn't seem to use snipers on generals). I believe the rally point is cleared if the specific unit is destroyed...and I don't know what happens if the specific unit is garrisoned for repair or defense.

[Out4Blood]

Rally points combined with the infinite queue make a human as effective as an AI at making units. But you know the AI's motto: "Never send a human to do a machine's job."

[hoeleng]

found it useful to set my rally point on the military structure to one of my existing units. For example my auto plant building tanks indefinately will have its rally point set to one of my existing tanks. that way, the newly built units will join your control group immediately.

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by la0tsu
I don't like the fact that it stops when you run out of a resource, and I hate trying to save up for research with IQ on. Maybe they could fix the former by leaving IQ on, but not starting a unit until the resources are available. That would really kick butt. As for the latter problem, I don't know a solution.

Agreed: IQ should pause until the resources are available, or at least it should be an option (perhaps called "Infinite Queue: I Really Mean It").

For the latter, how about an "IQ Pause" toggle, perhaps on the Library screen? Combine the two and IQ would be great!

[ "IQ Pause" -- an occurence about 3 a.m. after playing RoN too long. ]

[la0tsu]

Duplicate post.

[la0tsu]

I must confess I was really excited about IQ in theory. However, in practice, I find it to not be particularly useful in most situations. I don't like the fact that it stops when you run out of a resource, and I hate trying to save up for research with IQ on. Maybe they could fix the former by leaving IQ on, but not starting a unit until the resources are available. That would really kick butt. As for the latter problem, I don't know a solution.

That being said, I should point out the one situation where I absolutely swear by IQ: When I have hit my Population limit. Then, you pretty much always have the resources for any new units or research. More importantly, it keeps your army at full strength at all times.

[Hermann the Lombard]

I was trying the IQ last night in my Bantu v Greeks&Turks CtW battle, and I wasn't finding it useful because it turns itself completely off whenever a resource runs low, instead of waiting until the resource is available, then queueing a new unit. Any way to change this behavior? [I know, I know, any way *other* than having a better economy with sufficient resources! I'm at the commerce cap in all resources and in desperate need of every unit I can produce! Commerce 6, I think.]

-- HtL

[solo]

I have noticed that an IQ will turn itself off if you run too low on one of the resources needed to build the next item in the que.

It appears that research can be conducted while an IQ is in operation, too.

[Brodie]

thanks blood, really useful