i started a new game tonight, and ive been getting hammered nonstop by barbarians, sending archers, axemen, and swordsmen.. swordsmen require iron to make so i naturally check out those spots first, but theyre not there. so how the are they barraging me with swordsmen? and in quantities that also seem unlikely to actually be legit. meanwhile ive got ghengis ing khan on the opposite borders plotting my demise and i cant build up an army to stop him because its being spread out so thin by barbs. wtf man! [/whine]
Cheating Barbarians?
- Thread starter Noodler13
- Start date
Ghpstage
Deity
Barbs aren't just built from cities and when they are it takes immense timescales to actually get cities with improvements that would allow them to build resourced units.
The primary way they are 'produced' is by randomly spawning on the land. I couldn't describe it as a cheat as barbs play by a very different set of rules compared to proper civs, they exist as a source of pressure rather than competition.
About dealing with them, barbs cannot spawn in areas you can see, nor in areas within 2 tiles of any unit. The latter rule meaning a square of 5*5 tiles surrounding a unit prevents barbs appearing in that area is particularly useful for preventing spawns in large areas, its use is usually referred to as spawnbusting.
Spawnbusting is extremely effective on maps with standard settings, but larger maps make it more difficult to spawnbust enough land, and both larger maps and slower speeds increase the number of barbs.
For bigger and slower games (huge + marathon mainly) your usually best off building the Great Wall to prevent barbs bothering you.
The primary way they are 'produced' is by randomly spawning on the land. I couldn't describe it as a cheat as barbs play by a very different set of rules compared to proper civs, they exist as a source of pressure rather than competition.
About dealing with them, barbs cannot spawn in areas you can see, nor in areas within 2 tiles of any unit. The latter rule meaning a square of 5*5 tiles surrounding a unit prevents barbs appearing in that area is particularly useful for preventing spawns in large areas, its use is usually referred to as spawnbusting.
Spawnbusting is extremely effective on maps with standard settings, but larger maps make it more difficult to spawnbust enough land, and both larger maps and slower speeds increase the number of barbs.
For bigger and slower games (huge + marathon mainly) your usually best off building the Great Wall to prevent barbs bothering you.
Tristan_C
Emperor
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,724
These threads have sprouted up over a few weeks here and it was actually concurrent with my trying to observe barb spawns.
In one case I was able to set up a moderately-populated game (10 civs on a huge flat - i.e. no cylinder - rainforest) that ended up in a perfect storm of fast barb spawns and relatively unprepared AI's.
The barbs managed to get momentum by killing all scouts, which ensured they kept a lot of land fogged-up for spawning. They were then able to pressure and destroy the AIs' new city sites. A capital in the middle of the map fell, and there was a sort of chain reaction, because all barbs scripted to approach that civ turned heels towards remaining AIs, resulting in unusually high pressure on the map edges and corners.
What resulted was a juggernaut of barb battlegroups, rounded up by them making a circular motion around the center of the map and sort of collecting themselves, while the front lines (barbs who spawned closer to targets) kept pressure on civs along the edges.
Here is the juggernaut, the entire spawned content of half the map, heading straight for the last AI standing, a pic I posted in "Bro Do You Even Whip". I was walled-off by mountains and won on conquest in 175AD, without making contact with a civ.
In one case I was able to set up a moderately-populated game (10 civs on a huge flat - i.e. no cylinder - rainforest) that ended up in a perfect storm of fast barb spawns and relatively unprepared AI's.
The barbs managed to get momentum by killing all scouts, which ensured they kept a lot of land fogged-up for spawning. They were then able to pressure and destroy the AIs' new city sites. A capital in the middle of the map fell, and there was a sort of chain reaction, because all barbs scripted to approach that civ turned heels towards remaining AIs, resulting in unusually high pressure on the map edges and corners.
What resulted was a juggernaut of barb battlegroups, rounded up by them making a circular motion around the center of the map and sort of collecting themselves, while the front lines (barbs who spawned closer to targets) kept pressure on civs along the edges.
Here is the juggernaut, the entire spawned content of half the map, heading straight for the last AI standing, a pic I posted in "Bro Do You Even Whip". I was walled-off by mountains and won on conquest in 175AD, without making contact with a civ.
Spoiler :
ThorHammerz
zzz
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
- Messages
- 836
Here is the juggernaut, the entire spawned content of half the map, heading straight for the last AI standing, a pic I posted in "Bro Do You Even Whip". I was walled-off by mountains and won on conquest in 175AD, without making contact with a civ.
Spoiler :
Spoiler :
Better get 'dat Great Wall up.. ThorHammerz
zzz
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2014
- Messages
- 836
Literally pay with your kingdom for a Great Wall
(and only if you have stone next to you)Not cheating, but it smells fishy.
1) The only neighbour surrenders to the barbarians while I prioritise Alphabet to steal early techs to save beakers for the path to Astronomy.
2) The AI loves to spam colonies while I'm going for a religious victory.
1) The only neighbour surrenders to the barbarians while I prioritise Alphabet to steal early techs to save beakers for the path to Astronomy.
2) The AI loves to spam colonies while I'm going for a religious victory.
Tristan_C
Emperor
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2006
- Messages
- 1,724
Yeah... a little late for that Wall there. Sorry Wang Kon.
It was a case that flew in the face of the usually-good advice of "don't build a wonder, build settlers!"
It was a case that flew in the face of the usually-good advice of "don't build a wonder, build settlers!"
That sounds like victory to me.
Lennier
Emperor
In my current game I'm going for a religious victory, and Freddy spawned Lincoln with the one city of his I converted. Then he plopped down a city on a small island off my coast, and Judaism (the AP religion) auto-spread to it.
