OFFICIAL: What Shall We Research?

Immortal Wombat · January 3, 2003, 15:07

(subtitled: don't you just hate it when your PC crashes and you lose your 800 word post...)

What Shall We Research? Poll I

The time has come for the first time in our history to suggest that our "wise men" could better spend their time actually thinking wisely about something, rather than sitting in a circle, idly hitting rocks against bigger rocks.

The Great Apolymura has blessed our wise men with four ideas which we can develop. No doubt in time we will persue all four lines of research, but the question I put to you today is this: Which one of these four ideas shall we persue first?

The choices are:

Writing

History: For long ages, our people have passed on stories, songs and histories by word of mouth. Generation after generation, we have remembered all the tales of worth, and let's be honest, its getting difficult. The wise men suggest a way of storing the stories in a physical form, so that even if our great civilisation perishes, our culture will live on.

Gameplay:
Advantages: Writing is the cheapest advance available to us at the moment. It is also the only one on the route to monarchy, which is a far superior governement to our tyranny. It is the only advance available to us at present that gives us follow-on advances. Namely Jurispudence (courthouse/chichen itza) and Drama (theatre).
Disadvantages: Writing does not afford any direct gain. i.e. no new units, buildings, wonders, tile improvements, or governments.

Bronze Working

History: As we fight to protect our own, our stone, flint and bone weapons have lasted well, and provided us valuable defense. Our wise men suggest however, that using the shiny metals of the earth, we may be able to make stronger, more durable weapons, and "armour" to protect us. These new weapons will be much more effective at repelling the barbarian hoards.

Gameplay:
Advantages: Hoplites of course! Bronze Working is the second cheapest advance to research, taking roughly 133% the time Writing would to research. Hoplites would enable us to protect our cities from barbarians, and any enemy troops that come our way.
Disadvantages: The map is fairly large, do we really need to protect our cities so early on? Chances are we won't meet with any other civs for a while. Do we really want to spend this time researching bronze working when we don't have a pressing need for defense? No immediate follow-on advance.

Ballistics

History: We have long since known about the powers of sling-shots and javelins in hunting wild beasts, but in battle, these weapons are too small, and not powerful enough to bring down a man. Our wise men have come up with a potential new weapon that can be used from afar, so our warriors are more protected from the enemy troops. The Bow.

Gameplay:
Advantages: With ballistics, we will be able to build archers that will provide valuable ranged attack against opponents. With some ranged-support, we may even be able to take cities early on. Also, ballista towers may help if we need an urgent need to defend our cities.
Disadvantages: Ballistics is fairly expensive for an early-game advance, and will take more time in the long-run if we researched it now, than if we left it until we had more cities. Will we really need archers yet? Will we be conquering yet? Also, no immediate follow-on advance.

Slave Labour

History: Too long have our people laboure din the fields and in the hunt. Why must we toil all day? Just as we employ beasts of burden to do hard tasks, why should we not employ the ignorant, uncivilised peoples of the world to do our work for us? They can work in the fields, and in the mines, leaving us more time to do some knitting, or flower-arranging.

Gameplay:
Advantages: Slavers will be excellent means of providing early-game population boosts. Using other cities as population collectors, we can spend PW on our new mines (production is always a premium), and not bother with as many farms. Also, taking out our neighbours settlers will give us more room to expand.
Disadvantages: Very expensive: slave labour will take almost twice as long as writing to research. Such a delay in the early-game could be a time wasted in other areas of development. Also, will we have enough money this early in the game to properly use our slavers? Dead end advance.

Those are the four choices. Please consider them carefully, and cast your vote.

The poll will remain open the statutory 5 days, and will close at about 19:00 GMT on Wednesday the 8th of January. This should allow the weekend and weekday posters to get a chance to vote.
Thankyou

The Immortal Wombat
Minister of Trade, Science and Diplomacy
CtP2 DG Term 1

aleion · January 3, 2003, 15:18

We need to make sure that we over all others will survie the longest. That's why Slavery is probalbly a good choice. If we do not act swiftly we will fall.

Oerdin · January 3, 2003, 15:21

Archers are a must.

Maquiladora · January 3, 2003, 15:22

Good summary.

Due to the deadly nature of the barbarians in SAP ill say Ballistics, because Archers 1v1 are stronger than Hoplites, which we'll more than likely encounter, as well as warriors which archers rip through and theyre cheaper than hoplites to build, nuff said.

Frozzy · January 3, 2003, 15:32

Ballistics.

Martin Gühmann · January 3, 2003, 17:36

Archers protect our Warriors in the front line from hits, combined armies of Archers and Warriors will help us to cope with the Barbarian thread, therefore we need Ballistics.

-Martin

ískallin · January 3, 2003, 17:59

Ballistic then slave labor
A must 1 warrior+ 1 archer + 1 slaver and the barbarian threat is history

Pedrunn · January 3, 2003, 20:41

Writting or Ballistucs i dont know waht to do. Look for monarchr gov would be nice but i am afraid of the barbs. But as you mentioned it is a big map

I am really confused now

Pedrunn · January 4, 2003, 13:08

Ballistics

HuangShang · January 4, 2003, 16:58

Quote:

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
(subtitled: don't you just hate it when your PC crashes and you lose your 800 word post...)

somebody must have been angry

and i went w/ balistica first, then its a choice b/t slaves and writing after taht

H Tower · January 4, 2003, 19:46

ballistics

centrifuge · January 5, 2003, 14:49

I think bronze-working first actually... Immediately followed by ballistics... Defense I think should be the immediate concern, espescially with Barbs everywhere. Archers, will be needed quite soon as well, because they will help us deal with those dirty savages even better.

aleion · January 5, 2003, 16:24

If we do Start with ballistics Slave Labor is a must-have for the next tech.

Immortal Wombat · January 5, 2003, 16:37

You'll all put me out of a job with these slow techs.

HuangShang · January 5, 2003, 19:19

we should already be diciding on whats after ballistics since that pretty much settled

aleion · January 5, 2003, 19:36

HuangShang SLAVERY VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HuangShang · January 5, 2003, 19:38

what?
u mean slavery after ballistics?

Immortal Wombat · January 5, 2003, 19:47

Quote:

we should already be diciding on whats after ballistics since that pretty much settled

Yeah, but we might as well wait until we have Ballistics, and assess the situation again then.

HuangShang · January 5, 2003, 19:59

but aleion went ahead anyway so...

H Tower · January 6, 2003, 00:33

so with the sliders moved away from science, it will be many, many turns before we need to even think about polling for what comes next.

Devil of Truth · January 6, 2003, 04:20

Let our arrows rain upon our enemies! Ballistics.

Zaphod Beeblebrox · January 6, 2003, 06:27

bronze working, ballistics ín this order (or the other, if you really want to build a lot of soon outdated warriors) and afterwards we should know enough about our closer sorroundings to decide if we really go for slaving/war or for civilization

HuangShang · January 6, 2003, 13:13

hoplite wont do any better than warrior unless ranged unit back him up

Zaphod Beeblebrox · January 6, 2003, 17:06

Quote:

Originally posted by HuangShang
hoplite wont do any better than warrior unless ranged unit back him up

well, maybe i'm a bit messing up the different mods.. but don't have hoplites double the defence value than warriors?

Martin Gühmann · January 6, 2003, 17:19

Quote:

Originally posted by Zaphod Beeblebrox
well, maybe i'm a bit messing up the different mods.. but don't have hoplites double the defence value than warriors?

For that you could always check out the APOL_unit.txt or look up the values in the Great Library, as the GL uses slic for displaying the values from the unit.txt there are correct.

-Martin

Zaphod Beeblebrox · January 6, 2003, 17:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Martin Gühmann

For that you could always check out the APOL_unit.txt or look up the values in the Great Library, as the GL uses slic for displaying the values from the unit.txt there are correct.

-Martin

well, i have to admit... at the moment there is no ctp on my machine at all. had some trouble with my computer and if i reinstalled, i wouldn't pass any of my exams

aleion · January 6, 2003, 19:05

What does this have to do with Tech???

HuangShang · January 7, 2003, 14:08

Quote:

Originally posted by aleion
What does this have to do with Tech???

everything... im trying to get no one to want bronze working

centrifuge · January 8, 2003, 14:04

I'm with you Zaphod,

Bronze working then ballistics, but since it appears that ballistics will come first. Bronze working needs to be our second choice.

Zacharov · January 10, 2003, 17:48

Bronze working