[Freeciv] Re: city smallpox syndrome (was: Re: Some questions)

["Mike Jing" <miky40@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Reinier Post <rp@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I don't understand this response at all.  The effectiveness of city
> smallpox isn't a matter of debate, it's a matter of fact.  Pointing out 
> this fact to newcomers isn't "staunch defense", it's an attempt to be 
> polite and helpful.  Under the assumption, of course, that most players 
> would like to be good at this game, and that to most of them, being good 
> means being able to beat opponents.  To me, spending effort trying to 
> invent and perfect game strategies loses most of its appeal when these 
> strategies are known to fail against the play-to-win players out there.
I never said the defenders of this strategy are the same as those who are 
trying to be helpful.  In fact, they usually keep their mouth shut because 
they have the most to gain by keeping others in the dark.
More impotantly, it seems there is no real disagreement between you and me, 
so this "debate" doesn't really exist.
> So the real challenge is to find ways of providing better balance
> between strategies and game features even in human-to-human games.
> Isn't this the problem we're trying to address?  It is certainly
> the purpose of my postings on this subject.
Now we are on the same track.

> By the way, even with the city smallpox strategy being spelled out in
> detail on the website, it still takes a good deal of skill and creativity 
> to excel at this game.  Cranking our cities as fast as you can is crucial 
> and this is what we'd like to change - but
it isn't all it takes.

Agreed.  Once everyone is in on the secret, you will have to be the master 
in order to win.
BTW, it is indeed possible to reach steam engine by 650BC.  I did it by 
500BC in my last game, despite the fact that I lost quite a few valuable 
turns due to a lost connnection and the ghost left behind which prevented me 
to log back in until it timed out.
Mike


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