(October 18th, 2016, 17:24)Fluffball Wrote: I agree with Scooter that it's really weird REM is trying this race to SoL when he knows he's behind in tech AND the GE.
After rereading the discussion between El Grillo and REM, it seems he doesn't know he's behind in tech, really. At least not as far as he actually is - they seem to be taking it for granted that they will hit Democracy before Scooter does. Take El Grillo's comment, for example:
Quote:If they get to Democracy even 4t after you
It seems like it will be the other way around! Scooter's expecting to pick up Democracy a couple turns *before* REM does, if I'm reading their respective threads correctly.
Quote:And the double factor of it seems like the entire world is going to let Mackoti do whatever he wants militarily. I think that's partly on Scooter as well though. On that note, are NAPs typically upheld at RB? I would be breaking them left and right if it won me the game.
That, on the other hand, I agree with you. I don't think anyone can conquer Mack, but they could certainly force him to leave half his army at home by providing a threat he has to respect. That, in turn, could be the difference between him making a good profit from war and getting into a quagmire.
There is a bit of Prisoner's Dilemma, in that holding Mack back is something everyone benefits from, but only the person who does it actually pays the cost. I think that's the fundamental reason it's not happening, actually. Well, plus I don't think anyone seriously believes Mack will be able to get more than a couple border cities.
NAPs are typically upheld. But...nothing in an AI Diplo game is a real NAP, and Mackoti is one of the few who is known for breaking NAPs, so honestly I'm surprised that Scooter is being so blasé about it. Seems to be leaning too hard on 'I could whip out an army if I had to' and not enough on 'I have an army'. Especially when he's already on the wrong side of the military quality line and would presumably also not have initiative.
Quote:I have never played a civ4 multiplayer in my life, but I have a lot of experience with RTSs and other various online strategy games. Feel free to call me out if my analysis is way off.
The main thing that's different between Civ and RTS games is that Civ heavily favors the defense. Culture and associated mobility, collateral, the rock-paper-scissors mechanics combined with every attacker facing the best defender for him. So a lot of your 'minor adjustments' like mack's western border theoretically going to Scooter and then scooter cities to plako, won't happen. You generally need an overwhelming advantage in numbers or quality or both to make good progress. That's where Commodore's treatise comes from, the one linked in Scooter's thread.
Honestly, even RMOG or Alhazard could stop Mack cold, if they stopped trying to expand and instead built up a critical mass of catapults + hitters. The main reason Mack's making progress is that no one else is building military, so he does have an overwhelming advantage in numbers. And the reason for that, is that everyone keeps hoping he'll go after someone else, so they have time to get some more economy instead. If they'd admit that he's coming and the only recourse is to stop him, then ironically he wouldn't want to come anymore.
