Warlords Settings: Balanced versus Standard resources

For the Warlords Beta, many of the new settings will be player's option. As we get to know the new settings, we on the staff would like player input as to what you think the eventual permanent rule should be.

In this thread, we will discuss Standard versus Balanced resources. Standard speaks for itself. The Balanced option ensures that every player has Aluminium, Coal, Copper, Horses, Iron, Oil and Uranium within 5 tiles of the start location, and eliminates Marble from the map.

Standard is obviously a permanent option, so the question really is should Balanced resources be allowed as a player option?

Are we allowed to post here?

Personally I feel that Balanced resources is a handicap.

For example, if I play Rome with the goal of conquer the world ASAP, I will quit and remake the map anyway if I didn't have iron available, in Standard. Balanced mode will ensure I have Iron, but that also ensures that everyone else has copper AND axemen.

If players want to handicap themselves then by all means, go for it. So I vote yes.

Robo Kai said:

Are we allowed to post here?

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YES! I started these four threads not just for the polls but for the discussions as well.

I honestly do not think balanced resources should be permitted. It takes away the challenge and plotting of finding the resources you need. That's part of the appeal of the game, fighting to get the resources you need to be the best. If you have all the resources you need from the beginning, what's the incentive to war other than land or conquest?

I vote no.

I agree with DeafDolphin, this is the hall of fame, one should not become famous just because (s)he made sure that his single resource was available for his perfect stratagy, part of what makes up the hall of fame is the struggle, not the walk to victory.

I'd like to point to ATurkishGuy's game again. While it takes skill and time to pull something like that off, I see no reason to encourage it to happen more than once at that magnitude, especially when one can select what map type it comes with, not just the Balanced map.

lost_civantares said:

I agree with DeafDolphin, this is the hall of fame, one should not become famous just because (s)he made sure that his single resource was available for his perfect stratagy, part of what makes up the hall of fame is the struggle, not the walk to victory.

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You must be talking about the GOTM. In the GOTM, if the resource doesn't exist for your perfect strategy then you're screwed and will lose time/turns because you need to switch to another strategy or battle for said resource since you are not allowed to re-do the map (unless a player goes against the GOTM rules and replay with map knowledge).

This is HOF. In HOF only the fastest/best submission counts AND you can regenerate the map until you get a good start which eventually will lead to a good game.

Back to my Rome example, not having Iron will slow down Conquest/Domination, and having to fight for that iron using weaker (non-Praetorian) units or settle far from capital for said iron will slow down the game. So I would restart using a new map because my goal of speed (faster Dom/Conquest) was already hampered.

If I played Rome on Balanced resources, I would 100% get iron, but my neighbors would 100% get copper which means they WILL have Axemen, which means it will take that much longer to conquer the world. Thus it IS a handicap.

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But I guess Balanced resources does favor more peaceful victory conditions like Cultural because you are guaranteed to get, say, copper for them cathedrals.

Robo Kai said:

But I guess Balanced resources does favor more peaceful victory conditions like Cultural because you are guaranteed to get, say, copper for them cathedrals.

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It does rule out Marble though...

Yeah marble is gone, but if everything else you need is within reach, there's no need for war or the highly disadvantageous trading for strategic resources with AI civs.

Then again, I am rethinking the "Balanced + Peaceful = good" now. Because everyone else has iron and oil.

Sorry... my vote is no, as it does take away from a whole challenge of the game - to have to fight or trade for important resources. Just like the REAL world. To have it yes, would make resources irrelevant.

Allow it. This only helps the AI. Players can restart if they don't have what they need anyway.

JungleIII said:

Sorry... my vote is no, as it does take away from a whole challenge of the game - to have to fight or trade for important resources. Just like the REAL world. To have it yes, would make resources irrelevant.

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No, the AI having everything you don't want them to have ADDS to the challenge.

Personally, I enjoy the challenge of mapping out my cities and getting those resources. If I am going cultural and don't have copper, then I build the stone or marble cathedrals. and only spread those religions until I can culture bomb or trade for copper. I like having extra resources to trade for aluminum in the space race. Sure, for a conquest, when you have restart because you have no iron or copper that sucks.....I guess allowing it, would make for some interesting changes to strategies.

Anyone notice that there is no Aluminum on Oasis maps, or is it just ;me?

WilliamOfOrange said:

Anyone notice that there is no Aluminum on Oasis maps, or is it just ;me?

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Sometimes there is aluminium on Oasis maps. But only on about 1/3 of the maps.

I voted NO.

Resources should be a valuable commodity that is highly prized, if everyone had the resources then they are not worth anything.
As in real life, resources are fought over and traded with - the Gulf war was over Oil.

The only game I have ever won on Immortal was because I was the ONLY person who had aluminium, with this I made modern tanks and won by conquest; the offers I had from AI's for it were enormous but I refused to sell it It was fun.

It also makes games more interesting when the resource you need is not available, especially if you need it for your UU.

James

I have no idea why it double posted; I posted and got an error

To an admin - please delete this.

CliftonBazaar said:

I have no idea why it double posted; I posted and got an error

To an admin - please delete this.

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Not your fault, there were some database errors last night causing double-posts.