A strategy for the Indian UU ( and its immense advantage )

[RoboPig]

I'm making a few assumptions here . The first is that Indians have a UU that is given an extra movement point . The second is , like in Civ 3 , even 1/3 of a movement point can be used to move to any place , or to initiate an action .

Taking that , on a terrain of type T ( which has movement cost 1 , i.e. , a unit with two movement point can cover two such terrain squares in one turn ) , it takes N workers to construct a road in one turn , then , given any number of workers higher than N , it will take any civilisation whose worker has one movement point a minimum of M ( and a maximum of 2*M , which is much more common ) turns to construct a road across M tiles of terrain type T ( assuming that no infrastrucutre existed in the first place , as is the case in the early game ) . The Indian worker can , however , do this job in M/3 turns ( or rather , M/(bonus granted by roads ) ) .

This is rather simple to show . Imagine six adjacent squares A , B , C , D , E , and F ( of terrain type T ) . Imagine we have put 3*N workers on A ( divided into three sets of N workers - X , Y , and Z ) . N workers use their movement points and construct a road on A ( X has used their movement points ) . Then another N workers ( the set Y ) move to the next tile ( which is B ) , and use the one remaining movement point to construct another road on B . The last remaining workers ( set Z ) use the already constructed roads on A and B to move to C , with only 2/3 movement point remaining , and construct a road on C . The turn ends . The position at end-of-turn is - X on A , Y on B , and Z on C , and roads on all A , B , and C .

On the next turn , X ( located now at A ) move across the roads on B and C ( which use up 2/3 movement points ) , and land on D . Having 1/3 movement point remaining , they construct a road on D . Y ( located at B ) move across the roads on C and D , and , like X , construct a road on E with only 1/3 movement point remaining . Z ( located now at C ) move across the roads on D and E and , like X and Y , construct a road on F with only 1/3 movement point remaining . The turn ends . The position is identical to the end of the first turn , with X , Y , and Z poised to construct roads on the next three squares in the next turn .

Let us see what the Indian workers have accomplished in two turns - all starting on the same tile , they have constructed a road on six tiles in one two . This means that it will be possible for the Indians , if you take the road route , to have workers build roads for your army units ( having one movement point ) as the army moves along plain terrain ( with the army always exactly one turn ahead of the workers , if it starts on the same tile ) . This is a fantastic advantage for a warmonger - your army becomes effectively a "treat all terrain as roads" on all plain terrain ( and also obviously so for a builder ) .


But this is only the tip of the iceberg - the effect mentioned here is scalable . It is obvious that , when railroads come out , it will be possible for 10*(k*N) workers to build railroads across 10 squares ( of terrain T ) in only one turn ( where k*N is the number of workers required to build road+railroad in one turn ) . Imagine an industrial army of artillery and infantry ( as currently that is the most powerful ) which can treat all plain terrain as railroad .



All this is , of course , assuming that the Indian worker is faster in that it has an extra movement point . If Firaxis says no , this elaborate model I've constructed will be shot to hell .





UPDATE : This strategy is no longer exclusive to the Indians . It can now be used by all Civs ( as all workers have been confirmed to have two movement points ) . The advantage the Indians have is only that they can road six squares in one turn , unlike the others , who can road only two .


MOD REQUEST : Could a Mod please move this to the Civ 4 Strategy and Tips forum , now that it has been created ?

only us indians can figure that out!

 

[Gogf]

We should it have an extra movement point? You don't think extra production is enough of a bonus?

 

[Khaim]

You do have an extra movement point, and no extra production.

And as I predicted, that means the Indian UU is the worst. But at least we can still argue about which one is the best.

 

[swordwiz]

I disagree, I think having a strong worker is very useful. Even if its only faster movement, and not action.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

I think you guys are making some Civ 3 assumptions and also ignoring a possibility or two.

First, even in Civ 3, even if all workers normally had 2 MP, there would still be a real (albeit small) benefit to 3 MP workers. For one thing, we have all been conditioned to use workers by planning out their moves, so that the next thing to build is adjacent or no more than three squares along a road.

However, think of it more abstractly. The set of squares that a worker can pick from for the next task, with minimal waste of worker actions, is MP - 1 away. That is, for a 2 MP worker, it's all the squares no more than 1 MP away (counting cost to enter the square). For a 3 MP worker, it's all the squares 2 MP away (counting cost to enter the square). That is, not only many more grassland and plains to pick from, but also closer forests.

Then there are Civ 4 changes, both known and speculated. We know that workers are more expensive. Roads no longer give commerce. Therefore, we will have and need overall less workers. Even if the entire territory eventually gets roads, we will spend far more of the game with unroaded but improved tiles.

For example, let's assume your starting city has the following squares:

XPPDX
GPDPP
PDCPG
PGPPD
XDDPX

where X=unavailable corners, C=City, P=Poor, D=Decent, G=Good.

In Civ 3, you'd plot out a worker plan that got the Good squares developed fairly quickly, with roads, and maybe irrigation/mines, in the intervening squares--preferably the Decent squares. Still, the overriding intent is to get the squares worked by the city to maximum development as soon as possible, overall, without wasting worker moves.

It should be clear in the example that a 2 MP worker can do a solid job of working on the necessary squares. A 3 MP worker, however, can beeline straight to the best tiles, and still be efficient.

We don't know how the new development options compare to Civ 3 (in terms of cost/benefit). In Civ 3, it was rarely worthwhile to mine hills or chop jungle until one got out of Despotism. This may or may not be true in Civ 4. If it's worthwhile to jump on 2 MP terrain fairly early, the Indian worker will shine at getting those squares productive.

Finally, there is another aspect of fewer workers that you may not have considered. When you reach the point where you want to mass workers to complete a task, you can do so from disparate locations. This will be especially true if the worker tasks have varying costs that do not split well across worker stacks. It is yet another way that you can quickly get the correct amount of workers to next most important location. Until railroads, there can be quite a spread.

And that is what it boils down to. The game has always been to get the "next most important location" developed as quickly and efficiently as possible. With fewer, more expensive workers on more varied but less roaded terrain, movement points will matter.

 

[Dragonlord]

I agree with Crazy Jerome that the extra movement point will be worth something in terms of faster improvements - and remember, there are far more possible types of improvements in Civ4.
One more bonus: a 3 MP worker can move and start improving on the same turn on terrain types a 2 MP worker cant: Forests and Hills for instance.

Still, a 3 MP worker isn't such a big improvement over a 2 MP worker as a 2 MP worker would have been over a 1 MP worker.

So I would now rate the Indian UU as on a level with the other UUs - which as it should be, I'm happy with it!

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Still, a 3 MP worker isn't such a big improvement over a 2 MP worker as a 2 MP worker would have been over a 1 MP worker.

That is what I thought as well, until I thought about the affect of roads, movement, and worker strategy. Why did you build roads all over the place before, even in a square you didn't need to develop right now? Because:

1. You knew you'd ultimately need the road for the +1 commerce bonus.
2. You wanted to save a later worker actions for moving off and onto the square again later.
3. Movement of troops anywhere, and ultimately the railroads.

#1 and #2 no longer apply in Civ 4. #3 is diminished. The big jump from 1 MP to 2 MP is that you get to be even more efficient working on a Civ 3 worker strategy. However, once Civ 4 went with rules that made roads less important, the 2 MP is mainly compensation.

I'd say 3 MP over 2 MP in a lightly-roaded game is very nearly as good as 2 MP over 1 MP in a heavily-roaded game.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Holy Cow! Just read Sulla's Civ4 walkthrough. Standard workers are 60 hammers/food. At 40 h/f, 3 MP, the Indian worker is fast to get produced and fast to get where you need him. Those are some serious cumulative advantages in the early game.