Praetor_Staffa wrote:
> This article is geared towards the high end player
> who has a fairly deep understanding of the economy
> of the game, the advantages and disadvantages of
> certain methods of resource gathering, and knows how
> to boom. A player who not only enjoys playing the
> game, but at being very good at the game, and wants
> to get better. This article will explain the "why"
> of things, and will explain the timing of gathering.
>
> The economy of the game shares a lot of similarity
> with that of real life. It is better to have 1
> dollar working to make more money, then it is to
> have 2 dollars saved. For instance, if your running
> a business, it is better to invest your money in
> equipment to manufacture more income, then it is to
> have your money sitting in a bank collecting
> interest. Of course, its better to have your money
> sitting in a bank collecting interest, then it is to
> have your money sitting under your pillow collecting
> dust, for the same reason, just a matter of scale.
>
> In the game, resources have 4 primary purposes, if
> your resources are not fulfilling one of these
> purposes then they are being wasted. If they are
> fulfilling the wrong purpose, then their use is not
> being maximized, and you will lose the game to
> someone who more fully maximizes their resources.
> The number of games lost due to a bad map are
> grossly insignificant in comparison to the number of
> games lost due to poor play. In all games, both
> sides made numerous mistakes, with the outcome of
> the game hinging on the decisions of the player.
> Bad maps make it harder to win, but rarely do they
> make it impossible. Between equal opponents, the
> one with the worst map will lose. Rarely do you
> have equal opponents, and if the one with the bad
> map was the better player, then often you will see
> he will win. The question here is not who had the
> worst map, but who was the better player.
>
> The earlier you spend your resources to improve your
> economy, the quicker you will have more resources to
> spend, and the quicker you can reinvest those
> resources to again increase your economy. And the
> quicker you economy will be large enough to kill
> your enemy, and this game is all about the quick and
> the dead.
>
> Often, people will build to much economy, and lose
> to a smaller economy that tooled faster and
> attacked. Loosely one can determine the size they
> can build too by the size and type of map. The
> smaller the map, the quicker you need to be ready to
> fight. One should also watch their opponents
> actions through achievements to determine when the
> opponent plans to attack.
>
> There are many ways you can use your resources, 4
> general ones are as follows/.
>
> You can invest your resources into generating more
> resources, economy
> You can invest your resources in your military
> You can invest your resources in defensive
> structures
> You can pool your resources to acquire the ability
> to respond to immediate situations.
>
>
> Stone age is the simplest age to determine where you
> should spend your resources, while 3 comes up with
> dock blocking and walling the map off with
> barracks/houses, its rare and wont be discussed
> here. For the most part, Stone age is all economy.
>
>
>
> Ask yourself this. Do you build a barracks before
> or after you start tooling? Unless you intend to
> rush with axers/clubbers, building a barracks before
> you started tooling is the sign that you did
> something wrong. You either gathered too much wood,
> or you didn't build enough fishing boats. Even if
> you don't build a barracks, if you are able to build
> a barracks without slowing down your production of
> boats/docks etc, then again, you did something
> wrong.
> Did you prevent your peons cutting stragglers from
> walking back to a straggler with 0 wood, cut the
> zeroth wood and return back to your tc, wasting an
> entire trip. I would not suggest micro managing
> your wood cutters when you have 20 of them and the
> distance they walk to the pit is minimal, but when
> you have 6, and the distance is large to the tc,
> then you should, for its very doable.
>
> When getting your first wood pit, did you time it
> such that the peons walking a long distance
> gathering wood from stragglers around your tc were
> sent to where you will place your pit before you got
> enough wood. Such that when the last peon gathering
> wood from a straggler arrives at the tc with the
> last of the 120 wood, you can have your peons
> cutting wood at the forest turn around and quickly
> build a pit. Thus greatly reducing the amount of
> time spent walking by your peons. Did you do this
> when the stragglers are close to your tc, thus
> wasting your time and energy, and wasting the nearby
> wood.
>
> Do you spread your peons out along the edge of the
> forest so they don't get trapped by other peons. It
> is better to walk a longer distance then to not walk
> at all.
>
> Did you place your granary such that the peons you
> need to keep peon flow walk a minimal distance, do
> not run into each other, and do not get stuck.
>
> These apply only to when you dock boom.
>
> When looking to build a dock, do you have 200 wood
> before you start building that dock, then you didn't
> send your peons out soon enough. Ideally your peons
> should have just arrived at the place you will build
> the dock when you get that 100 wood, I prefer having
> two peons there.
>
> Do you have more houses then you need, and not
> enough wood to build boats. Did you not keep up
> with housing, and run out. Ideally you should stay
> just ahead in housing, maximizing your wood by
> getting out as many fishing boats as quickly as
> possible.
>
> Do you just barely have enough food to produce the
> next peon, having the rest on wood, such that you
> can get the pit/dock/boats as quickly as possible.
>
> Do you place multiple fishing boats on a fishing
> spot right next to your dock, minimizing travel time
> for the boats. This will greatly speed up tool
> time, the most important time in the game.
>
> At around 4-5 minutes in the game, when your wood
> income is enough to supply your docks(2-3), do you
> send many of your peons to food. Greatly speeding
> up your tool time, while keeping your docks
> producing. Once you start tooling, do you send all
> your peons back to wood, relying on your 10-20
> fishing boats to supply you with food, and gathering
> enough wood to keep your fishing boats afloat in the
> coming battles.
>
> Do you spread your fishing boats out after tooling?
> Allowing you to concentrate on other aspects of the
> game, as you don't need to pay as much attention to
> your boats as they become idle.
>
> Do you continue building docks along the edge of the
> sea, greatly shortening the distance your fishing
> boats travel as they use up the fish near the old
> docks?
>
> The other ages.
>
> Resource management in tool and beyond is far more
> complex as it involves a lot more variables. For
> instance, you can invest most of your resources into
> an offensive military stance, wall your self off,
> just to find your enemy has built within your walls,
> and is himself walled up. Thus leaving your
> military useless and your economy dying. This was
> not really a resource management mistake, the
> resource management mistake is allowing your
> military to remain useless(bring them back home or
> tranny them across)
>
> Thus keeping some resources in reserve to deal with
> situations like above has a valid use. But having
> 2000 wood sitting in reserve doesn't. Most mistakes
> in resource management after stone involve having to
> much of one resource, and not enough of another.
> When you have 1500 food, 2400 wood, and 0 gold, and
> decide its time to think about ironing, you messed
> up, you should have started already.
>
> Resource management involves anticipating what you
> will need in the future, and gearing your economy to
> produce it. Anticipation involves balance, do not
> over react to a lack of resources, and create a lack
> elsewhere. If you have trouble anticipating what
> you will need, think about the games you have played
> before hand that have taken the path this game is
> taking, what did you need in those games, what will
> you need in this one. If your opponent starts using
> elephants, should you perhaps increase your gold
> mining operation to produce priests in counter? If
> you captured the sea, and realign your economy to
> fight on land, when suddenly your opponent makes a
> big push again for the sea, did you send some more
> peons to wood to cover the sudden need? Certainly
> you have some wood saved up to deal with his sudden
> push for the sea, and thus have the wood to produce
> the boats at the start, but if you don't put more
> peons on wood, you will not be able to keep up. If
> your mass producing elephants, did you first insure
> you would have a massive supply of food. If your
> mass producing wood, do you build chariots or
> camels. I have too often seen someone lay down 6
> stables because they had a ton of wood, only to find
> they are not producing anywhere near enough
> gold/food to make use of those 6 stables.
>
> Above all, bear in mind, these are not questions you
> should ask yourself when you win, for when you win
> you played better then your opponent. Trying to
> find ways to improve when playing people you beat is
> hard. These are questions you should ask yourself
> when you lose. For it is in losing that light can
> be shined on the way to improve your game. So don't
> blame the map, a bad map is just a test to see if
> you are up to playing better than your opponent.
>
> This article is geared towards the high end player
> who has a fairly deep understanding of the economy
> of the game, the advantages and disadvantages of
> certain methods of resource gathering, and knows how
> to boom. A player who not only enjoys playing the
> game, but at being very good at the game, and wants
> to get better. This article will explain the "why"
> of things, and will explain the timing of gathering.
>
> The economy of the game shares a lot of similarity
> with that of real life. It is better to have 1
> dollar working to make more money, then it is to
> have 2 dollars saved. For instance, if your running
> a business, it is better to invest your money in
> equipment to manufacture more income, then it is to
> have your money sitting in a bank collecting
> interest. Of course, its better to have your money
> sitting in a bank collecting interest, then it is to
> have your money sitting under your pillow collecting
> dust, for the same reason, just a matter of scale.
>
> In the game, resources have 4 primary purposes, if
> your resources are not fulfilling one of these
> purposes then they are being wasted. If they are
> fulfilling the wrong purpose, then their use is not
> being maximized, and you will lose the game to
> someone who more fully maximizes their resources.
> The number of games lost due to a bad map are
> grossly insignificant in comparison to the number of
> games lost due to poor play. In all games, both
> sides made numerous mistakes, with the outcome of
> the game hinging on the decisions of the player.
> Bad maps make it harder to win, but rarely do they
> make it impossible. Between equal opponents, the
> one with the worst map will lose. Rarely do you
> have equal opponents, and if the one with the bad
> map was the better player, then often you will see
> he will win. The question here is not who had the
> worst map, but who was the better player.
>
> The earlier you spend your resources to improve your
> economy, the quicker you will have more resources to
> spend, and the quicker you can reinvest those
> resources to again increase your economy. And the
> quicker you economy will be large enough to kill
> your enemy, and this game is all about the quick and
> the dead.
>
> Often, people will build to much economy, and lose
> to a smaller economy that tooled faster and
> attacked. Loosely one can determine the size they
> can build too by the size and type of map. The
> smaller the map, the quicker you need to be ready to
> fight. One should also watch their opponents
> actions through achievements to determine when the
> opponent plans to attack.
>
> There are many ways you can use your resources, 4
> general ones are as follows/.
>
> You can invest your resources into generating more
> resources, economy
> You can invest your resources in your military
> You can invest your resources in defensive
> structures
> You can pool your resources to acquire the ability
> to respond to immediate situations.
>
>
> Stone age is the simplest age to determine where you
> should spend your resources, while 3 comes up with
> dock blocking and walling the map off with
> barracks/houses, its rare and wont be discussed
> here. For the most part, Stone age is all economy.
>
>
>
> Ask yourself this. Do you build a barracks before
> or after you start tooling? Unless you intend to
> rush with axers/clubbers, building a barracks before
> you started tooling is the sign that you did
> something wrong. You either gathered too much wood,
> or you didn't build enough fishing boats. Even if
> you don't build a barracks, if you are able to build
> a barracks without slowing down your production of
> boats/docks etc, then again, you did something
> wrong.
> Did you prevent your peons cutting stragglers from
> walking back to a straggler with 0 wood, cut the
> zeroth wood and return back to your tc, wasting an
> entire trip. I would not suggest micro managing
> your wood cutters when you have 20 of them and the
> distance they walk to the pit is minimal, but when
> you have 6, and the distance is large to the tc,
> then you should, for its very doable.
>
> When getting your first wood pit, did you time it
> such that the peons walking a long distance
> gathering wood from stragglers around your tc were
> sent to where you will place your pit before you got
> enough wood. Such that when the last peon gathering
> wood from a straggler arrives at the tc with the
> last of the 120 wood, you can have your peons
> cutting wood at the forest turn around and quickly
> build a pit. Thus greatly reducing the amount of
> time spent walking by your peons. Did you do this
> when the stragglers are close to your tc, thus
> wasting your time and energy, and wasting the nearby
> wood.
>
> Do you spread your peons out along the edge of the
> forest so they don't get trapped by other peons. It
> is better to walk a longer distance then to not walk
> at all.
>
> Did you place your granary such that the peons you
> need to keep peon flow walk a minimal distance, do
> not run into each other, and do not get stuck.
>
> These apply only to when you dock boom.
>
> When looking to build a dock, do you have 200 wood
> before you start building that dock, then you didn't
> send your peons out soon enough. Ideally your peons
> should have just arrived at the place you will build
> the dock when you get that 100 wood, I prefer having
> two peons there.
>
> Do you have more houses then you need, and not
> enough wood to build boats. Did you not keep up
> with housing, and run out. Ideally you should stay
> just ahead in housing, maximizing your wood by
> getting out as many fishing boats as quickly as
> possible.
>
> Do you just barely have enough food to produce the
> next peon, having the rest on wood, such that you
> can get the pit/dock/boats as quickly as possible.
>
> Do you place multiple fishing boats on a fishing
> spot right next to your dock, minimizing travel time
> for the boats. This will greatly speed up tool
> time, the most important time in the game.
>
> At around 4-5 minutes in the game, when your wood
> income is enough to supply your docks(2-3), do you
> send many of your peons to food. Greatly speeding
> up your tool time, while keeping your docks
> producing. Once you start tooling, do you send all
> your peons back to wood, relying on your 10-20
> fishing boats to supply you with food, and gathering
> enough wood to keep your fishing boats afloat in the
> coming battles.
>
> Do you spread your fishing boats out after tooling?
> Allowing you to concentrate on other aspects of the
> game, as you don't need to pay as much attention to
> your boats as they become idle.
>
> Do you continue building docks along the edge of the
> sea, greatly shortening the distance your fishing
> boats travel as they use up the fish near the old
> docks?
>
> The other ages.
>
> Resource management in tool and beyond is far more
> complex as it involves a lot more variables. For
> instance, you can invest most of your resources into
> an offensive military stance, wall your self off,
> just to find your enemy has built within your walls,
> and is himself walled up. Thus leaving your
> military useless and your economy dying. This was
> not really a resource management mistake, the
> resource management mistake is allowing your
> military to remain useless(bring them back home or
> tranny them across)
>
> Thus keeping some resources in reserve to deal with
> situations like above has a valid use. But having
> 2000 wood sitting in reserve doesn't. Most mistakes
> in resource management after stone involve having to
> much of one resource, and not enough of another.
> When you have 1500 food, 2400 wood, and 0 gold, and
> decide its time to think about ironing, you messed
> up, you should have started already.
>
> Resource management involves anticipating what you
> will need in the future, and gearing your economy to
> produce it. Anticipation involves balance, do not
> over react to a lack of resources, and create a lack
> elsewhere. If you have trouble anticipating what
> you will need, think about the games you have played
> before hand that have taken the path this game is
> taking, what did you need in those games, what will
> you need in this one. If your opponent starts using
> elephants, should you perhaps increase your gold
> mining operation to produce priests in counter? If
> you captured the sea, and realign your economy to
> fight on land, when suddenly your opponent makes a
> big push again for the sea, did you send some more
> peons to wood to cover the sudden need? Certainly
> you have some wood saved up to deal with his sudden
> push for the sea, and thus have the wood to produce
> the boats at the start, but if you don't put more
> peons on wood, you will not be able to keep up. If
> your mass producing elephants, did you first insure
> you would have a massive supply of food. If your
> mass producing wood, do you build chariots or
> camels. I have too often seen someone lay down 6
> stables because they had a ton of wood, only to find
> they are not producing anywhere near enough
> gold/food to make use of those 6 stables.
>
> Above all, bear in mind, these are not questions you
> should ask yourself when you win, for when you win
> you played better then your opponent. Trying to
> find ways to improve when playing people you beat is
> hard. These are questions you should ask yourself
> when you lose. For it is in losing that light can
> be shined on the way to improve your game. So don't
> blame the map, a bad map is just a test to see if
> you are up to playing better than your opponent.
>