[Freeciv] Re: Tech Tree Ends Too Soon

[Thomas Strub <ue80@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Oct 06, 2003 at 08:51:16PM -0500, Matthew D. Fuller wrote:
> On Mon, Oct 06, 2003 at 04:52:51PM +0200 I heard the voice of
> Horn G?bor, and lo! it spake thus:
> > Hi!
> > 
> > Is it with default ruleset? It's hard for me to imagine that game, it
> > might be a very huge map, or special rules, or players really close in
> > skill. Most multiplayer games i saw got decided usually at
> > steam/electricity, and it's not rare already at magnetism (especially
> > duels). In the 200+ games i playted/watched i think i saw 1 when the 2
> > remained players did nuclear war. 
> 
> I play very unusual games    8-}
> 
> A typical game is something like 2 players + 2 AI's, on a 200x100 world.
> And we (the players; haven't managed to make the AI listen ;) agree to
> not fight each other until at least <some time, often 500AD or so>.  

There was a patch some time ago that war doesn't start until a given
tech is researched. Think together borders where you can throw out enemy
units and an AI which is capable of that feature you get what you want.

> And
> it's not uncommon that I'm done the tech tree before then; nothing like
> having nukes before the fall of the Roman empire!  It's pretty common for
> me to have well over 100, often over 150, cities, sized between 7 and 25,
> depending on food supplies.  So, for all those arguing about a few big
> cities vs. a lot of small cities, my answer is "A lot of big cities".

In such games it's important to sweep out as fast as possible to get
cities all over the world. And to claim as much land as possible.
 
> We do this because, well, darnit, it's just no FUN to me to be fighting
> with frigates and horsemen.  The wars generally involve fleets with a
> hundred battleships, 40 or 50 carriers full of cruise missiles and
> stealth bombers, land invasions of 150 armors, 50 mech infs, 100 or so
> howitzers...  Rarely nukes, except in isolated instances, because the
> damage to the environment is so wicked.

How do you manage that much units? 

> One of my goals is to not just win, but to win with an empire that's
> actually sustainable.  If I'm fighting to keep cities up to size 5
> against starvation and being laid out too close together, and getting
> global warming every other turn, that's not "sustainable".  With good
> transportation around my empire, plenty of workers around keeping
> pollution down, terrain all transformed just to my liking, etc, then it's
> sustainable.
 
That is a nice goal, and i think that games without early war are much
fun. 
Explore the world, make a nice nation, and later attack or defend. But
not rush every game.
 
Thomas
-- 
Thomas Strub  ***  eMail ue80@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
jb: people are stupid, they don't want to learn.