Pacing

from Elemental Forums

So I've been enjoying the game, sort of screwing around getting a feel for things so I'm playing on easy, but I just can't seem to tell how I'm doing. Has anyone gotten a feel for where you should be in what number of turns in regards to number of cities, tech, magic research, etc? I look at the kingdom stats of other nations and they're a bit ahead of me in terms of generating resources and money but about equal in buildings so I don't know if the other nations are just having better time finding money resources.

I'm looking for opinions of when in term of turn numbers you should be moving from single man units to party sized, to company and so forth. I've been building cities as I find good spots for them but in games like this with random maps and with no gauge of experience of previous maps I'm not sure if I just ended up with a bad starting location. For example I've yet to find a metal site.

I realize that much of what I'm asking is dependent on my specific situation but I'm not sure what factors are most important. I have a custom sovereign with all magic choices so I've just been running the sovereign around with a posse of summons doing exploration and killing random mobs. I haven't created any regular units aside from pioneers and caravans because the units I have available don't hold up to summons and all my money and other resources are going into city developments. If I were at my computer I'd be more specific, I don't remember the turn number. Sovereign has two kids who are still babies, is in her mid twenties, all research is about level 5 with adventuring lagging at 1 because I didn't want the critters more difficult while I was still growing.

elemental
2,305 views 5 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Sounds like you're developing pretty normally. 4-5 good city sites with a nice mix of resources are all you really need. Personally I'm finding the pacing of this game a bit too fast, going to try a game on epic pace tonight and see if that helps.

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I find the pacing to be just about right at normal...but the distribution of resources has a lot to do with it. A ton of research resource and it feels like there's not enough research-able tech. Too little and you are leagues behind the AI.

By the same token, AI placement and their resource availability determines how quickly the game heats up. If Kraxis gets lucky on their placement, they just start rampaging around. If they also happen to start right next to you, it totally changes how quickly the game moves and how you have to play.

I should give the epic setting a try though, slowed way down a game could last for days or more.

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Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

This may be a bit off topic, but I got to thinking I'd like to see Logistics not be such an early choice. Seems to drive the pacing upwards quickly, and can make single units unviable in just four turns after getting research fired up.

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

I depends on the map for me. Sometimes, I see adventure levels jump really fast; other times, it stays low for some time. Likewise, when I have 4 cities, I may see an AI with two or even just their starter (and it's not a minor), possibly from pioneers getting beat down. So some games progress faster than others.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

IMHO, expansion happens a little too quickly in this game.  On a small map, by about turn 50 the entire map seems to already have been settled and controlled.  If you don't start building a pioneer near the start of the game, you fall behind.  I pretty much just start cranking them out, settle all the land I can, and then research the adventure tech that reveals the food resources.  That allows me to build enough food to grow all the villages I've settled, especially after I research irrigation (and granaries) as well.