Ssc

rickontherun_21 · April 8, 2003, 04:48

what is a SSC? secondly how do i go about getting it?

Scouse Gits · April 8, 2003, 07:01

SSC = Super Science City

The concept is to build up a monstrous city that performs most of the research for your Empire. To this end the following WoWs are virtually mandatory although you can make a good fist at a SSC if you miss the odd one or two.

Colossus - increases arrow production
Shake's - allows explosive growth
Cope's - more science
Ike's - even more science

I personally would add

Gardens - early celebration and growth

This city should be sited on an arrow rich environment - ideally a four trade special site, but this is not always available - a site with only two trade specials and a few rivers can be almost as good.

The SSC gets everything as fast as possible, initially the Temple, Library and MarketPlace - sell the Temple when you get Shake's, then Bank, Aqueduct, Sewer System, University, later SuperHighways, Stock Exchange. Research Lab (SETI is often not cost effective) and you will find that about 60% of the wealth and 80% of the research is generated by this single city!
Trade routes are essential and should be established asap, ideally with overseas foreigners, but roaded and later railed internal routes can be very sweet. The deliveries from this city will bring in enormous quantities of cash (AND beakers) and towards the later game it is quite possible to gets two advances per turn - one generated by trade + a few beakers from the outlying cities and the other purely acquired by the power of the SSC alone.

This is a VERY powerful strategy - and it takes a while to get into the frame of mind to utilise it to the best - the rest of the Empire has to be subjugated to the God of the SSC - often doing nothing but producing camels for the string of WoWs that the SSC needs.

Try it and enjoy

SG[1]

rah · April 8, 2003, 09:10

Good summary. And don't forget to keep on the lookout for hidden specials.

War4ever · April 8, 2003, 21:47

SSC can be used in any strategy, from ics to early republic, to perfectionist..etc..

rickontherun_21 · April 9, 2003, 01:32

ok thanks guys

rickontherun_21 · April 9, 2003, 01:36

i tryed this and what happened was, i picked a good place 4 the site, all was going well then i got hanging gardens, soon after i changed to democracy. then all of a sudden i had a size 23 city in just a few turns!

DrSpike · April 9, 2003, 06:49

Quote:

Originally posted by rickontherun_21
i tryed this and what happened was, i picked a good place 4 the site, all was going well then i got hanging gardens, soon after i changed to democracy. then all of a sudden i had a size 23 city in just a few turns!

Hehe that is the plan. :b

War4ever · April 9, 2003, 11:26

now, learn how to master the task of keeping all your cities at size three, and celebrating them up to size 8/12 in consec turns without wasting much science

rah · April 9, 2003, 13:59

Too inefficient.....
You celebrate what you can, then back off and wait till you have enough new cities to do it again.
Or more tricky, without a happiness wonder, timing the even/odd pop celebrating.

RAH

War4ever · April 9, 2003, 14:10

its only inneficient if you have too many cities, not if your using a perfectionist strategy with limited cities

but yes, you have to alternate between a few differnt strats to make them all grow when you have 20+ cities

rah · April 9, 2003, 14:45

sorry have to laugh when you talk about perfectionists.
The only time I've seen you use the perfectionist strat is when you get pinned in early and don't get to sea early enough.

War4ever · April 9, 2003, 16:15

Well we weren't talking about me , were we

were talking about someone learning how to WLTCD.....

by the way.......are you labelling me an agressive, militaristic, expansionist ?

takes one to know one , or so they say

rah · April 9, 2003, 16:28

Quote:

Originally posted by War4ever
by the way.......are you labelling me an agressive, militaristic, expansionist ?

BINGO

War4ever · April 9, 2003, 18:09

but i can go perfectionist with the best of them....the most important key to MP is the ability to adapt to the hand you are dealt....all the strategy in the world won't do you any good , if don't have clairvoyance to see the bigger picture.

Scouse Gits · April 10, 2003, 06:07

Quote:

Originally posted by rickontherun_21
i tryed this and what happened was, i picked a good place 4 the site, all was going well then i got hanging gardens, soon after i changed to democracy. then all of a sudden i had a size 23 city in just a few turns!

What - only size 23 - must try harder

As you will have discovered Eins in the SSC are mega-powerful - once you have SuperMarket try for even more growth - the maximum useful size is 36 (after 16 Eins & Taxmen don't count), but in fairness to you a SSC of more than 30 is rare, most stay in the 23-27 range.
Glad you enjoyed it - did you get all the WoWs?

SG[1]

atawa · April 10, 2003, 12:21

One point though, while this strategy will work in SP, in MP it will take you to an early and quick death.

Cope's and Ike's cost as many shields as ST and Leo's

Bob_Smurf42 · April 10, 2003, 18:48

Quote:

Originally posted by SG[1]To this end the following WoWs are virtually mandatory although you can make a good fist at a SSC if you miss the odd one or two.

Colossus - increases arrow production
Shake's - allows explosive growth
Cope's - more science
Ike's - even more science

What about King Rick's?

DrSpike · April 10, 2003, 18:58

Most often your caravans can be put to far better use.

Six Thousand Year Old Man · April 10, 2003, 19:59

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob_Smurf42

What about King Rick's?

It doesn't last long enough for the expenditure in shields to build it, to be outweighed by the extra shields it produces, IMO.

There's a time value of shields problem here

Scouse Gits · April 11, 2003, 07:50

Plus KRC has zero gain in terms of science or trade -- which is what the SSC is about

SG[1]

rah · April 11, 2003, 08:13

Yes, due to the very early expiration, I can't remember the last time I built KRC, if ever.

RAH

DrSpike · April 11, 2003, 08:26

I used to build it a long time ago, around when the game came out, to support democratic wars in a power democracy. But I haven't built it in a few years.

atawa · April 11, 2003, 11:10

Yes, the Sheake's/KRC combo is good in bribewars for keeping a decent size navy, other then that I never build it.

Bob_Smurf42 · April 11, 2003, 18:45

oops, I got King Rick's confused w/ the Collossus.

Scouse Gits · April 11, 2003, 20:18

We would have thought that you needed to be more pissed than we are to make that error!!!

The SGs - totally sloshed out of their very tiny minds

Bob_Smurf42 · April 11, 2003, 20:48

extra shield, extra trade, close enough.
I've had very little sleep the last few days, and it seems to be going to my head.