- Joined
- Mar 11, 2008
- Messages
- 25,096
^^^I think Hippodromes are okay, but the reason I don't put them in the class of Hammams and Ball Courts is that the happiness in their case is "static". Relying on culture slider for happiness is "situational", although I agree that the happy boost from Hippos is indeed very strong, especially considering that you don't have to raise the culture slider as high. Still, I prefer being in situations where I don't have to raise the culture slider for happiness. And if I do, it is usually very late game for score milk.
Both Hammams and Ball Courts are quite synergistic with expansive Mehmed and Pacal, with potential for very large early cities. That's a huge eco boost. Granted, you could have somewhat large Byzzie cities with Drama early, but at the expense of research. I don't like sacrificing research that early. Of the two, I like Hammams the best as it is a building I actually build in most games. I think Hammam is top tier. I rarely ever build coliseums, but ball courts certainly make it worthwhile.
Still, I do agree that Hippo has its uses and it can certainly be very useful during times of full on war stompage. Thus, it can give a fairly tangible benefit at a reasonable point in the game. However, that benefit comes at a cost and is what I would consider niche. Anyway, I don't think it is underrated either. I think it's always been consider somewhat middle tier among most discussions I've seen in the past and I think that is right where it belongs.
Both Hammams and Ball Courts are quite synergistic with expansive Mehmed and Pacal, with potential for very large early cities. That's a huge eco boost. Granted, you could have somewhat large Byzzie cities with Drama early, but at the expense of research. I don't like sacrificing research that early. Of the two, I like Hammams the best as it is a building I actually build in most games. I think Hammam is top tier. I rarely ever build coliseums, but ball courts certainly make it worthwhile.
Still, I do agree that Hippo has its uses and it can certainly be very useful during times of full on war stompage. Thus, it can give a fairly tangible benefit at a reasonable point in the game. However, that benefit comes at a cost and is what I would consider niche. Anyway, I don't think it is underrated either. I think it's always been consider somewhat middle tier among most discussions I've seen in the past and I think that is right where it belongs.