What is Xinning?

[goape]

I did not want to have to post a thread on this but I could not find any information in the searchs I conducted. I have seen the term Xinning used in many discusions but have no idea what it means. Could someone please help this Apolyton newb.

Thank you for your time.

[Smash]

Probably known also as size 5ing.A technique first mentioned by Xin Yu(iirc)

Any city size 5 or better>turn all citizens to specialists(scientist,tax collector) disregarding food supplies until the food box is completely empty,Then put workers back for 1 turn so that the foodbox gets at least 1 food.You can then put all citizens to specialists again.As long as you have at least 1 food in the foodbox,the city population will not suffer famine

Particularly useful in scenarios.

[rah]

Or Xinning can be used to describe somoene noticing and defining an obscure fact about CIV and then figuring out how to use it to your advantage. (Thanks for a lot of good ones Xin. Like how to terraform in one turn, etc.)

RAH

[solo]

Check the Size Five City Strategy in the Great Library index for more details.

[goape]

Thank you all,

There is so much information for me to take in about this game, I think its great.

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Or d/l any recent save of the current 'No Science' succession game to see Xinning in action.

The advantage to Xinning is that in certain governments, you can get more science or cash by turning all citizens to scientists/taxmen respectively, than you would by having the citizens work the terrain (as they normally would be doing).

[Elephant]

Rhymes with "Sinning"?

[Verto]

to Xin.

I'm going to have to try this out.

[Smash]

Xin Yu has come up with many ingenious techniques for Civ2.My favorite is the X-pack stack.

The core of the "stack" is 4 engineers,at least 1 fighter(many fighters is optimal),2 bombers and preferably 2 of your best defenders.To set up- 2 of the engineers will build an airbase.You then fly in your fighter(s) and bomber(s).Then pillage the airbase with the defensive unit.The other 2 engineers build a fort.You now basically have a bomber stack with great offensive power.Each turn your fighters can attack and return to the airbase(pillage fort and 2 engineers build airbase after airstrikes).Just remember the order in which you command units and use the (W)ait comand wisely.Its brilliantly simple when you set one up.

You can add in other units such as spys and the whole thing is moveable.There are only 2 ways to remove an X pack and the AI will certainly not use either.

[Scouse Gits]

Smash - one is obviously nuke it - but what is the other?

SG[1]

[Smash]

well actually you would need a 3rd party unit next to the stack to nuke it.Missiles can't attack planes in your x pack.That is 1 way

The other is hit it with a bunch of fighters and cross your fingers

I spose there is a 3rd way.Capture all the cities that are supporting the units in the stack

[Bloody Monk]

Originally posted by Smash
Xin Yu has come up with many ingenious techniques for Civ2.My favorite is the X-pack stack.

The core of the "stack" is 4 engineers,at least 1 fighter(many fighters is optimal),2 bombers and preferably 2 of your best defenders.To set up- 2 of the engineers will build an airbase.You then fly in your fighter(s) and bomber(s).Then pillage the airbase with the defensive unit.The other 2 engineers build a fort.You now basically have a bomber stack with great offensive power.Each turn your fighters can attack and return to the airbase(pillage fort and 2 engineers build airbase after airstrikes).

I understand that the airbase allows the air units to "recharge." But, why do you pillage the airbase??? Probably, something to do with a vulnerability of an airbase??

Monk

[Smash]

Because the bomber stack doesn't work if the bomber is in the airbase or "on the ground".

[Six Thousand Year Old Man]

Originally posted by Bloody Monk


I understand that the airbase allows the air units to "recharge." But, why do you pillage the airbase??? Probably, something to do with a vulnerability of an airbase??

Monk

I've only tried to build an X pack once, but I'll try to answer.

Like Smash says, the bomber 'stack' isn't a stack if it's on the ground - i.e land units like howitzers (or nukes) can attack it. You don't want that - you want bombers in the air forcing your opponent to use fighters or stealths.

That, and (I think) you pillage the airbase so you can build the fortress. Fortresses and airbases can't coexist in the same tile. And you want the fortress so that if your opponent does manage to win an attack, he'll only kill one unit, not the whole stack.

Devilish.

[Bloody Monk]

Devilish, indeed!!

Thanks, guys!!

Monk

[Ben Kenobi]

Elephant:

Rhymes with "Sinning"?

Not a word that exists beyond Apolyton, in the real world.

I say it with a "z" for "zinning."

[SlowThinker]

I am branching here from the ELG 2 thread and I see I must disagree.

Originally posted by Smash
Particularly useful in scenarios.

IMHO Xinninng (in cooperation with disorder) is an extremely strong technique in any kind of Civ2 game.

---

I will try to make a summary of things related to Xinning:

Xinning is based on the 'famine trick': if a city has at least 1 food in the food then famine will never occur, and there may be unlimited food missing. Famine comes only if there is a fully empty food box and hunger simultaneously.
So you can rotate turns with 1 food surplus and turns with 50 hunger.

OK, this was explained well by Smash. But don't forget the disorder:

City disorder is divided in two turns (see Managing cities: the order thread in GL #2 for details):
First turn of disorder (Disorder1 next) you see a red name of the city after you press F4. This turn the city lose only gold.
Second turn (Disorder2 next) the city has a green mark (BTW, what that icon means?) in place of city size. This turn the city loses only shield surplus (shield support works).

So you can synchronize Xinning and disorder:
City in Disorder1 must allocate 1 food but it needn't care about happiness, city in in Disorder2 it must keep citizens content but it needn't to produce any food.
In Disorder1 you lose gold: so you should set science to 80% in Republic or 100% in Demo, also you can try to use scientists in place of trade-producinq squares if they are not needed for food. In Disorder2 you lose shield: necessarily shield from city square (don't pre-mine hills if you want to use Xinning), but other shield-producing squares may be changed for taxmen or scientists. You have to use enough of taxmen and scientists so that your people is content: this way you can lose trade from trade routes (trade that would go from worked Ocean). From other side scientists don't suffer from corruption and a benefit from their work may be higher than from work on poor ground squares.

This way happiness improvements are needed for celebratings only, so that you keep the second half of citizens content (first half is happy). So you can live with 0% luxuries under Republic and Demo.

It is good to divide your cities in two groups: when one group is in Disorder1, another one is in Disorder2 and vice versa. This way you can have large cities although they overlap: cities in Disorder2 don't need ground squares for workers, they can use specialists only.

[atawa]

Interesting strategy

Would be imposible in MP though.

[:) Smiley]

The X Stack reminds me of the aircraft carrier surrounded by stacked bombers and aegis cruisers. Also another place the AI would throw lots of stealth fighters to die against.

[duke o' york]

On the subject of AI units throwing themselves against formidable opponents, has anyone ever done a Civ 2 variation of the Aztec Jaguar Warrior mass attack?
This wouldn't work with Leo's obviously, but going into fundy without gunpowder or feudalism and then creating massed hordes of either warriors or archers to throw themselves against the AI city walls. I know it'd take over a hundred probably and use all the allowed units in the game, but it'd be fun to see how many poor warriors it took to wear down the HP of a musketeer behind city walls.
Or will I just be wasting my time.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Originally posted by obiwan18
Elephant:



Not a word that exists beyond Apolyton, in the real world.

I say it with a "z" for "zinning."

Actually, Xinning is a fairly common Chinese female name. It's pronounced a bit like "Shinning". One of the graphic artists on our newspaper is named Xinning.

[-Jrabbit]

So how would the name Xin Yu be pronounced? (I always assumed it was "zin you"...)

[rah]

That's what I thought too. Maybe Ming will answer since he's actually met him.

[Mercator]

If it's using the "regular" (pinyin) Chinese romanization rules the x is pronounced like sh, and the q like ch... I think those are the only two unintuitive characters used for romanization.

So it would be "shin you".
The "z" pronunciation is what you would expect if it were an English word, I guess.

Not that I actually know any Chinese...

[-Jrabbit]

Interesting. Thanks.

Now -- I've heard names pronounced with a "zh" (like a voiced ""sh"). What spellings produce that sound??

(Sorry to wander further OT, but this has been bugging me. I used to do radio, and correct pronunciation is a bit of a thing with me.) Enlightenment sought. (Actually, a Web link would be better... )

Anyway, thanks, Alinestra and Mercator.

[Mercator]

Well, I think "zh" is spelled exactly like that... um... Like in Wuzhou (a Chinese city near Hong Kong) or Zhongdu (the name of Beijing during the early Mongol conquests)

As you can see, most of my "knowledge" of Chinese comes from my Atlas and history books.

... So I bet Allie can be more helpful than me and my buddy Google.

[Boco]

I work with a Zhong (sounds like 'Jong' coming from him) and a Xaio-Yu ('Shau You'), but I suspect my monolinguistic ears are missing a lot of subtlety.

[Alinestra Covelia]

Xin Yu is supposed to be pronounced like "Shin Yu".

The "Yu" sound does not rhyme with "You", either. It sounds a lot more like the French word "tu".

My British friends have a lot of difficulty pronouncing this, but my French friends have no problem.

"Zhong guo" is the Chinese name for China and the 'zh' sound you're thinking of is just that - zh. It's pronounced a bit like a guttural "j" sound.

More like "dzh" than a simple "j", actually.

[-Jrabbit]

Thanks, Alinestra. Thanks, Mercator.
Oh, and Boco, too.

[rah]

Well than I've been wrong for all these years, because I though it was pronounced as zin you.

Still waiting for MING to respond since he has met him in person.