Anyone tried a WonderSpam in MP?

[illram]

I personally find the wonderspam strat to be one of the funnest and most satisfying SP strats, and I was wondering if anyone has given it a shot in MP? Understandably it's a lot riskier and depends largely on the type of MP game (e.g. waste of time in a quick duel game). You also need to be much better defended in MP games in the early going, but on the other hand I think people in MP games generally don't concentrate on wonders as much as the AI does in a SP game. So... thoughts? Does the unpredictability and human element make it too risky?

I personally only play MP 1v1 games or MP games with my two brothers and some AI, so I am wondering if anyone with more experience in the teamers or FFAs on GS has tried this out or seen it in action before.

(I felt this was "strategy" so it belonged in this forum.)

[Verge]

I'm actually not really sure what "wonderspamming" is, to be honest. Mind enlightening me?

[futurehermit]

In multiplayer if you don't have a strong military you are dead (against half-decent players). You can nab a wonder or two depending, but to "wonder-spam" I would say is a suicide risk. At least it would be if I was one of your opponents

[Black Mech]

Had a neighbor in mp that tried to wonderspam, another of my neighbors killed him in 2 secends with chariots, the moral of the story is to never wonderspam in mp. But thats at ffa, in teamers it helps if the guy in the middle wonderspams while the players on the flanks build units, but the enimy team might have 3 war minded players and swamp you

[illram]

Originally Posted by Verge

I'm actually not really sure what "wonderspamming" is, to be honest. Mind enlightening me?

Trying to build as many wonders as possible in one city to make it a super production/specialist powerhouse. Basically what Obsolete does in his games.

[Verge]

Originally Posted by illram

Trying to build as many wonders as possible in one city to make it a super production/specialist powerhouse. Basically what Obsolete does in his games.

Oh, okay.That's what I thought at first, but I wasn't sure if there was more to it. I guess I should read some of Obsolete's games.

[futurehermit]

Originally Posted by illram

Trying to build as many wonders as possible in one city to make it a super production/specialist powerhouse. Basically what Obsolete does in his games.

if you have only one city building nothing but wonders you would get mauled by any civ4 player with basic knowledge of the game. there's no such thing as "diplomacy" in mp

[mutax2003]

You can wonder spam pre-astronomy in one contient per player MP game. But after galleons come on the scene, you better build some decent defenses (because players check the power graph), otherwise you will be the prime target with all your juicy wonders.

[Maben]

I play 4 player LAN games a lot with AIs as well (for a total of about 10-14 players depending) where getting wonders can be a big help, but you can never spam them. LAN games are a lot different though because while we aren't allied and each of us is trying to win, we have a strong bias against the AIs naturally lol. I've won enough cultural victories where if I start getting any cultural wonders people start marching in lol.

[oyzar]

I've done it, if a bit unvoluntarily(i took over the civ halfway). It is ok but not great. It still can't beat just expanding and cottaging up everything...

[TheArchduke]

Originally Posted by futurehermit

if you have only one city building nothing but wonders you would get mauled by any civ4 player with basic knowledge of the game. there's no such thing as "diplomacy" in mp

Which is a shame. Europa Universalis works better there, as you need not only capture but also get the provinces (in CIVs case cities) in a peace treaty.

[kcmarkwell]

Wonderspamming in multiplayer would be suicide. It would be quite easy to figure out what idiot was building tons of wonder and immediately wipe him off the face of the earth cause your production is being spent on building military. Only way i see it working is an islands map and being able to put up enough defense before the enemy comes knocking.

[Gooblah]

Actually, it has a chance of working, but only if you are playing with a Protective leader.

For all intents and purposes, lets say Qin Shi Huang. He is Industrious and Protective, and thus has 50% on Forges and Wonders, and free City Garrison I/Drill I to all Archery and Gunpowder Units. What you'll try to do is create the "Buffer Zone of Holiness" (BZH). The BZH is one or two AIs whose cultural borders protect you from the land invasions. Preferably, this should be a Zealot like Monty or Isabella. A weaker Civ, like India, which starts out with Mysticism, should be close. Bet on the Weak Civ nabbing an early religion. Assault with an Axe Rush, and capture the holy city. Tech to Monotheism while spamming Settlers and military. Settle the best land in a 30 tile radius, and change to Organized Religion. Build Stonehenge in your capital or the holy city, whichever is the better production site. Blitz the Zealot with missionaries. Once the Great Prophet pops (if you can't get Stonehenge, go for Priesthood and The Oracle, grabbing Aesthetics or Alphabet or CoL) build the Shrine. Then enter an era of peace. Spam Archers, Longbows, and Cho-Ko-Nus. Build Catapults and Trebuchets. Fortify 2 Longbows and a Catapult on every single resource, just to be safe. Then sit tight and Wonderspam.

[Black Mech]

That works if you got an ai opponint right there as a buffer zone, not a likely chance happining, and a human player would just use a fleet or ships to flank you at your coast,or just sign a OB deal with the ai after adobting its religion. And u have a long period of time building an army, everyone else just took all of your wonders by then and your left with the late or midlle wonders. Also one big liability is the relience on an ai(not likely in mp, especially not a religios zelot since only ai appears when the human leaves, and noone goes for them). Best bet is to just use your outstanding army to conquer the human players.

[Morgrad]

I could only see this working if you are isolated (read: no human players, AI is OK) on your own continent. You could end up with a monstrous powerhouse of a production city pre-astronomy, but then would have to change the entire strategy at that point. It would make for one heck of a military-cranking city to bring your military up to where it needed to be by the time Astronomy hits.

Of course, I don't play MP, so maybe I'm entirely full of it.