Player Weaknesses

May 10, 2001, 01:43

What do you feel your weaknesses are in a game? For me my biggest weakness is that I don't always build wonders fast enough and it can sometimes leave a window of opportunity open in a really close game.

May 10, 2001, 01:47

Let's build up a database on player weaknesses....

It may be the only way to win in Civ3MP LOL

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*deity of THE DEITIANS*
aka: half-assed dieticians
icq# 8388924

OzzyKP · May 10, 2001, 02:16

While this may be a crafty way to get secrets out of everyone, i don't really care anymore so i'll share.

My weakness is that i really suck on the battlefield. I am apt to squander a large force of troops. I rush ahead and try to take and kill all that i can. Then i end up loosing it all next turn. I don't defend enough and leave troops undefended on open ground.

Also i have a nasty habit of making dumb mistakes. Accidentally moving my pikeman off of a mountain at a critical moment and such. *sigh*

There, my guts are slattered on your shoes. Next.

Rasputin · May 10, 2001, 02:57

my weakness is that wouldnt have a clue what I am doing

drake · May 10, 2001, 09:35

My weakness is that I don't have the tech tree memorized and I often "get lost" wandering down useless paths............But it always seems to work itself out in due time.

I also tend to be too conservative at times and don't take risks......which are of course necessary to be a successful player.

The Capo · May 10, 2001, 09:47

My problem is that I get too caught up in the moment and either over or under-estimate my capabilities.

I always tend to forget minor aspects that I should have taken into consideration as far as strategy goes (Case in point HOTW I failed to realize that my units could be bribed, which cost me a huge army against Mongolia and very possibly some territory in Mongolia as well).

Other than that I generally think I know what I'm doing, the problem is the minor mistakes I make really screw me over sometimes.

War4ever · May 10, 2001, 18:41

sometimes i get too drunk and really make a mess of things....

I forget the oedo rev turn if i don't do it right away.....

I too have wandered down the wrong tech path by mistake

i consider myself a fast player and thus don't always think moves out for fear of being called slow and thus having people not want to play me

Berzerker · May 10, 2001, 19:27

Yup, forgetting to rebel in the right year is frustrating, but my primary weakness is building a science city and using trade to benefit my science.

May 10, 2001, 21:10

Sean has weaknesses as a player?

My major weakness is I played SP for too long. The strats are not the same.

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Founder, Dear Leader and Great Helmsman of PROT -the People's Republic Off Topic www.delphi.com/prot1/

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Hydey · May 11, 2001, 02:47

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by Alexander's Horse on 05-10-2001 09:10 PM</font>
My major weakness is I played SP for too long. The strats are not the same.

<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

My major weakness is that I listen to AH,finbar and Deity too much.

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Time share holidays are cool

Hydey will be away again soon

Carolus Rex · May 11, 2001, 04:01

Mine are exactly those described in OzzyKP's and drake's posts above!

Crappy warmonger (no aggressiveness + pretty ignorant about battle odds) + carelessness with techs = sigh!

Carolus

Species8472 · May 11, 2001, 04:55

i have a lot of weaknesses, from small to big ones, from detailed to strategical. Even when i know these weaknesses, they are hard to compromise. mostly having to do with the fact that they are created by conflicting interests. an example:

It is very important to get as much land in the game as possible. You should try to block of your opponent with horses fortified on mountains. There comes a point in the game, where your opponent starts bribing your units. It is important that you have enough units doubled on the mountains before this happens. My weakness is, that i can not yet optimize this keypoint in the game.

The conflict is:

1. You want to move many units in enemy territory to claim land
2. Therefor the units are not fortified. so where exactly is enough land?
3. If you have decided where you are going to block, when will you start doubling them? will you double units and leave other spots unblocked, or do you block all locations with the risk they get bribed?
4. To optimize these 3 points prove to be one of the biggest success factors of the game. All the game is about is population = land. Strategicking may say otherwise with his advanced tactics, but I have yet to see them work.

May 11, 2001, 19:04

I agree with you land is the most important aspect of this game. The idea is very simple, cut off your opponent long enough to gain an edge. However, the reason I don't get many bribe games, unless I'm in a game where I'm having to fight back due to a bad start, is that I've cut off the main resources early on. The horsemen are not just to go out and get huts, anyone can do that. They're to go out and find your opponent fast enough to cut off their expansion early on. On average I build 4-6 horsemen very early on, and that's ALL I build early on. By the time I have the entire map explored I still have about 4 horsemen left usually which I then use to harass the enemy. As far as choke points, they're nice to have, but that also implies that you're setting for an amount of land. When I play I never stop fighting for the land, usually, unless I'm in a situation where I have to close up and start building. Just because you get a choke point, that doesn't stop a briber. It only takes 1 trieme. The real way to stop a briber is to never let them grow. In order to bribe you have to be a republic, that means sacrificed speed early on. Unless they get a really good start, they can't make up for it, it's why markus needs time to build up on 2x2x. The choke points definitely help, but they're not the key. The key is their cities. First of all keep them off the coast. To do that all you have to do is harass them. Explorers and horsemen are cheap and fast. If they have to defend every city they build before they build it, you've put them back a long long ways. Next, take explorers and double them up, then go fortify on wine, gold, gems, etc. Anything with a defense value that is high in GNP. Next, destroy the roads. Take horsemen, and just go pillage everything. No roads=no trade. The key to all this though is to know which cities to put on using horsemen and which to continue building settlers so as not to sacrifice any expansion, your greatest ally. If you settle for the choke points you're going to lose. Even with a small bit of land bribers all still effective. Use the choke points as defense, but don't rely on them. Of course the real trick is to not lose any units and make your first horsemen go the entire game.

cavebear · May 11, 2001, 20:52

1. I have a real talent for not being able to find my opponents early.
2. Every land direction I explore is a dead end.
3. I can't seem to build many cities fast no matter what I do.
4. I lose 75% of all situations that are "50-50"!
5. In any MP game, I will be the first Civ found.
6. Whatever strategy I choose in an MP game, it will be the one my opponents are praying for.
7. Murphy has a grudge against me.

Matthew · May 11, 2001, 21:19

Actually Murphy has a grudge against everyone. He was actually a physicist, you know. Murphy's law is just another name for the second law of thermodynamics. It's sort of like this. See, at any given instant there is a huge number of possible things that can happen in the universe. Most of these things are bad. And while there are many ways good things can spontaneously go bad, there just aren't many ways for bad things to spontaneously fix themselves. Ever sweep up a broken glass, and found that it has reassembled? In short, since the vast majority of possible outcomes in any given situation are bad, well, the odds are bound to catch up with you.

On to my glorious weaknesses.

1. I hate ICS and ICS like playing styles. I'm not that bad at it, but I just hate playing that way. And this of course means I won't ever get real good at that style, which is probably the best. I will rarely build more than 30 cities, and will often settle for much less. I make up for this a bit by sticking with Deity.

2. I'm shy about hut popping early on. I gather that Eyes can afford to concentrate on horses early on, because the tribes and settlers he finds more than make up for building horses instead of settlers. (Must suck for him when he builds those horses and finds he's on a hutless island, but every strategy will have some drawback.) But I jus hate being delayed on my way to Monarchy. I figure I'm good enough to catch up without the early huts. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

3. Physics, Phamily, and the Phreaking national guard take me away from Civ too much. The first two I love, the third being a necessary evil. Aside from that, I often have a tough time finding beople with my taste in rules. In short, I will never be as good as someone like Arii, because I don't play enough. (Not that I'd be that good any way.)

4. All who hate the camel must die die die DIE DIE DIE !!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I guess that was off the subject, wasn't it?

Rasputin · May 12, 2001, 07:38

damn forgot what i was going to post

cavebear · May 12, 2001, 16:05

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by Matthew on 05-11-2001 09:19 PM</font>
Actually Murphy has a grudge against everyone. He was actually a physicist, you know.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

Actually, Capt. Ed Murphy was an engineer at Wright Field Aircraft Lab in 1949. Referring to a technician with an awesome ability to arrange wiring incorrectly, Murphy remarked "If there is any way to do things wrong, he will". The project manager recognized the idea as a major problem in lab work and later credited their overall success to "a firm belief in Murphy's Law" and "their determination to deny the inevitable".

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font>Murphy's law is just another name for the second law of thermodynamics. It's sort of like this. See, at any given instant there is a huge number of possible things that can happen in the universe. Most of these things are bad. And while there are many ways good things can spontaneously go bad, there just aren't many ways for bad things to spontaneously fix themselves. Ever sweep up a broken glass, and found that it has reassembled? In short, since the vast majority of possible outcomes in any given situation are bad, well, the odds are bound to catch up with you.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

That's entropy (though far be it from me to deny they are connected conceptually in a pragmatic sense).

<font size=1 face=Arial color=444444>[This message has been edited by cavebear (edited May 12, 2001).]</font>

SmartFart · May 12, 2001, 21:51

I have many weaknesses. The one I am most embarassed for is that i can't whistle.

Big Lewi · May 13, 2001, 01:14

My weakness is that I usually put off changing to a Republic or Democracy because those government types restrict my expansionist impulses and I hate having to support troops. So I usually change governments too late. I'm overcoming this one and changing government types at more suitable moments.

I've also played SP for way too long and sometimes expect to get away with things that I could usually could get away with the computer players. I'm also very fond of my wars and can sometimes put a little too much into my offence as opposed to my defense. I like to let loose the hordes for a swift and crushing victory with the AI and is something I've done a few times against human players who then don't want to play against me again.

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*Big Lewi is Lowang
*Member of the Fidel Castro fanclub
*You no mess with Lowang

strategicking · May 16, 2001, 02:36

Weakness in my game? Hmmm.....
1) I do not adapt well to not having trade producing resources near my first few citys, as I win virtuaully ever game via a tech lead, hard to do if you cant produce a lot of trade.
2) Not a big barracks builder, vet units coming from all directions could cause serious problems.
Other then that, I am the Game.

markusf · May 16, 2001, 11:17

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by strategicking on 05-16-2001 02:36 AM</font>
Weakness in my game? Hmmm.....
1) I do not adapt well to not having trade producing resources near my first few citys, as I win virtuaully ever game via a tech lead, hard to do if you cant produce a lot of trade.
2) Not a big barracks builder, vet units coming from all directions could cause serious problems.
Other then that, I am the Game.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

I guess you definition of "winning" is disconnecting every time you fall behind and then never finishing. You've lost over 80% of the games you played against me.

My only "weakness" is i get bored, and don't pay attention, chat on icq and surf, download movies, games etc.

May 16, 2001, 14:37

Markus you have more of a weakness than that. You're very weak early on because you go a quick republic. I can admit I have a weakness, so can you.

sekong · May 16, 2001, 15:21

I think I have more weakness than I can think of. ANd I believe the worst weakness is the one that you don't know of. Of course, if you really know your weakness, better way is not speaking it out

Anyway, here is my list:
1) Played more civ1 than 2
2) Played more deity than other levels.
3) Sux on combat skills
4) Not familiar with civ2's tech tree, therefore postponed some important techs. I once thought physics was a not-that-important tech. Now I know how big mistake it is.

5) Like super science city and rely on it for science discoveries.
6) Pay too much attention to details and lost the big figure
7) Like to pile up a lot of caravans only for next wonder. Only build trade route for big cities. Trade more with foreign cities for the big cash, etc. But it's changing now. Thanks to the apolyton's forums, I know the benefit of early trade.
8) Played AI too much.

sekong · May 16, 2001, 15:32

Ok, here is two weakness that I do have but did not realize before. Then it makes up 10.

But, actually, balance is the biggest problem after all. Different weakness are contradict to each other. If you build barrack a lot then you may have less unit built, therefore slow on developping, for example. CIV2 is a strategy game. I understand it means do right thing at the right time. How good you played depend on how balanced you played.

My 2 cents.

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by strategicking on 05-16-2001 02:36 AM</font>
Weakness in my game? Hmmm.....
1) I do not adapt well to not having trade producing resources near my first few citys, as I win virtuaully ever game via a tech lead, hard to do if you cant produce a lot of trade.
2) Not a big barracks builder, vet units coming from all directions could cause serious problems.
Other then that, I am the Game.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

markusf · May 16, 2001, 16:07

<center><table width=80%><tr><td><font color=000080 face="Verdana" size=2><font size="1">quote:
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1>
</font><font size=1>Originally posted by EyesOfNight on 05-16-2001 02:37 PM</font>
Markus you have more of a weakness than that. You're very weak early on because you go a quick republic. I can admit I have a weakness, so can you.
<img src="/images/blue1.gif" width=100% height=1></font></td></tr></table></center>

That isn't a weakness, depending on what the settings are. I don't call using a certain form of government etc a weakness. A weakness is something you do that hurts you no matter what the settings you play on are.

May 16, 2001, 17:24

Well then you're going to be subject to criticism by people saying your strategy is only suited to a few settings. I use a quick republic on 1x1x, but on 2x2x I use a quick monarchy unless it's a team game, then I use a quick republic on that too. Either way though, it's still a weakness. If you had no weaknesses, I wouldn't be beating you on both 2x2x and 1x1x.

markusf · May 16, 2001, 18:17

my strategy works perfectly fine in everything but duels. If i wanted to play duels i would use monarchy-rep. Since i don't play duels, its hardly a weakness.

May 17, 2001, 00:58

You'd be bored spitless playing strat then.

What's the average turn length for you guys?
We had to force him into 4 minutes at 1400 B.C., and no war's going.
Five sessions to get to 1400 B.C.
I shudder to think what it will be like in future sessions, when there's actual confrontations.

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"It's In The Way That You Use It."
Tuatha De Danann Tribe

solo · May 19, 2001, 11:33

My biggest weakeness, which I suspect many share, is that I keep playing this game past my bedtime.

strategicking · May 19, 2001, 15:44

I have lost 80% of the games we played? What a crock of **** Sloww. Quite frankly I cant remember ever having played you. Certainly not when I was obbsessed with my Game League Championship, obtaining and keeping it and took games very seriously. Now, the only games I can take seriously are tribe games. Since we will force a surrender of your tribe in less then 20 turns, we will win that game, add another victory over the OWLs. Add to that the victory over the archons by the divine, which I was a big part of. And that brings my tribe record to 3-1. I am now the preeminant player in tribe/team games today, and that is true, its true.
Furthermore, if you ever want to play me in a duel, you can only win via luck, you are not, and will never be on my level and that is also true.