Hunting with Ely

Ely McGreen · June 13, 2000, 14:21

I don't know about you, but the most enjoyable part about Civ2 is hunting down traunt barb leaders or enemy units. But there are rules and procedures to be followed.

1. Never go into unexplored regions after barb leaders if you don't have a city on the other side of the unexplored region. This is inviting a barb ambush as barb units thrive in unexplored regions and the barb leader flees to his own kind.

2. Pursue only if you can out run him [that is, Calvary vs. Infantry.] or you have one movement point to his one movement point. Never pursue if your two movement points are matched by his two movement points. Exception: Pursuit into a peninsula area. Then all speed is needed.

3. Attack from triangles, trying to force him into geographic bottlenecks [MP only- in regular, the computer goes over mountains over using a river]. If your using a triangle attack, ignore rules one and two.

Now, let us suppose you have a tank between three cities and his escapes are to hop on a road and go to a plains square, then exit south; go north; or get on a river and head west. To the east is one of your cities and thus he will not go there.

First is to cut off the river, then cut off the north escape. This will leave him the option of hoping on a road, and if you've made you civ right, this road leads to one of your cities. Thus you can pursue and clobber him.

Rule 4: Never attack from four angles. Instead, use a triangle to squeeze the unit toward your forth unit, then finish him off at your leisure.

Rule 5: Navy is powerful; force units to the coast and attack with heavy gunships. Save you ground units and let ironclads absorb the counter-attack.

Rule 6: Never spend more than four turns on any unit if destruction is not imminent. If not, your wasting time.

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Elizer R. McGreen

Genghis Al · June 13, 2000, 15:54

Wow, lots of good advice.

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See you in court.

Campo · June 15, 2000, 08:50

quote:

Originally posted by Ely McGreen on 06-13-2000 02:21 PM
2. Pursue only if you can out run him [that is, Calvary vs. Infantry.] or you have one movement point to his one movement point. Never pursue if your two movement points are matched by his two movement points. Exception: Pursuit into a peninsula area. Then all speed is needed.

I've captured many barb leaders with matching movement points, and in some cases with lesser movement. As long as there's some limiting factor (usually a coastline) it's not all that uncommon. They have equal or greater movement, but they don't always use it intelligently. I've had them move into a capture point when they could have moved away.

Ming · June 15, 2000, 08:59

quote:

Originally posted by Campo on 06-15-2000 08:50 AM
I've had them move into a capture point when they could have moved away.

So true... So true... That's why I will always tty to hunt them down, even with a one movement unit. They can be so stupid at times

Ely McGreen · June 15, 2000, 20:19

And what if the barb vanishes into thin air, as he does after so many turns? Then you have wasted two times the movement that pursuitant unit used to hunt the barb, and plus, in MP, you may have missed out on Goody Huts you could have gotten. In my judgment, getting free units and techs is more valuable than the 100 or 150 gold you may have gotten. True, you can 'outwit' the computer with 1 movement to its two, and it can have move threw a forest to coast and escape on two terra incognito plains squares. And in civ, like life, time is money [this case, gold]

Ming · June 16, 2000, 07:22

I'll still always take the chance for the money. Yes, sometimes he does just disappear... (usually just when you are about to get him) But 100 or 150 bucks early in the game can be BIG, so it's worth the risk and possible wasted time!
Now I don't understand your comment that you could miss a goody hut for doing this???

Ely McGreen · June 16, 2000, 10:59

While you're messing around looking for this barb, your competitor has been exploring and has turned over huts you may have gotten to first. Possible gold, possible tech, possible unit, possible settler, possible city...possible barbs. But I'd rather explore and build my map, and turn over huts than waste time chasing a barb unless it fits into my criteria, as listed below.

Hell, I haven't even gotten into army opperations.

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Elizer R. McGreen

Ming · June 16, 2000, 11:26

Ahhh... I see what you mean. But it really doesn't apply to the situation I was refering to. I'm talking about moving defenders out of a city to get the king. After they succeed or fail, they will go back to the city.

And if I run across a king with my exploring troops, I will still hunt him down if I think I have a good chance to nail him... even at the expense of costing me uncovering a few more squares. Heck, who knows... maybe that extra hut you tip will be barbarians...

June 18, 2000, 21:07

Tallyho!