Slave Pioneers

from Elemental Forums

Magnar has a rather broken ability to make legions of slave pioneers costing no maintenance and 1 production. At least there is the minimum 3 season training period (at least, I'm guessing that's why it takes 3 turns to produce something that takes 1 production). Still the rate of early game expansion this allows, even with a 100% focus on grain over materials, is completely messed up.

I'm a little surprised I couldn't find any previous mention of this problem, as cheap pioneers was the first thing I thought of when I started a Magnar game (but not that cheap). I guess maybe it's still a relatively unknown trick that you can edit pioneers. 

I suspect I'll find the magnar free slave unit ability to be a bit broken anyway. Not because they are militarily useful, but because they extend your visual range (there's no sneaking up on your borders) and also as an expendable distraction to delay AI controlled invading armies. But we'll see...

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Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top


Magnar has a rather broken ability tI'm a little surprised I couldn't find any previous mention of this problem, as cheap pioneers was the first thing I thought of when I started a Magnar game (but not that cheap). I guess maybe it's still a relatively unknown trick that you can edit pioneers.
End of quote

Its not unknown to me, I just choose to ignore it since it seems not to be part of the game...

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I see what you mean, if you edit a pioneer to give it a bow and remove the weak trait, you end up with a unit exactly like a basic archer including production cost, but can make cities. Which leads to the question... why not make every unit out of a base settler unit?

Even so, I'd argue that the beta is not the time to pretend a feature doesn't exist, at least until there's notice that the feature will be removed.

Besides, one thing I liked about Alpha Centauri was the ability to upgrade one's supply carriers and terraformers. I think upgradability for settlers has a lot of potential in FE as well, it just needs a little tweaking. Make settler a trait, or even equipment like in WOM, and increase production cost with it. Just make sure this trait/equipment isn't available to slaves or constructs. (The idea of constructs founding a town makes me think of Dwayne Johnson AKA The Rock simulating intercourse using Peter and Lois dolls.)

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