Mistfit said:
Just a quick question (please don't take offense):
Why are you SO diametrically opposed to building an army?
It may be our only opportunity to build one in this game, and I'd kinda like to be critiqued on how to properly use one.
Because the armies of Civ3 are extremely weak. I spent months playing games where I'd hrurry and get a leader, make an army, attack so I could build HE + MA, and then spent rest of the game making armies that did nothing. Basically in Civ3 an army is only good for defense. A MI army in your capitol means you can have about 20 units attack that army, and probably still survive.
FOr offense, you don't do very much but add 1 movement point. You don't get anything else but ZoC, which an archer in your stack can provide. If you want to practice using armies properly go over to my Race War thread and take a look at the turns I just played there.... we have 2 pillaging zerk armies going...
If this was a C3C game, then without question we'd be rushing an MW army as we speak... if we do build one now, what we'll do is take 3 units with 3 attacks and 6 total movement points, and join it into 1 unit that has 1 attack and 3 movement points.
Now, as for rushing the wonder, if it's not the FP, which I believe is the best possible option, then it should be the Hanging Gardens. The Hanging Gardens will benfit the whole empire. The GL may allow contact a few turns earlier, and save us some galleys, but if you add it all up, it's still not worth it. And both become obsolute. Our FP never will.
Now, if we do skip the FP and build it from stratch, I want everyone to realize what we'll be lossing. Building the FP in the proper location, with cities spaced properly around, (like Susa already is might I add) will not just give us a bit less corruption. It will give us bascially A SECOND EMPIRE!!! We'll have not just one area able to produce units quickly, we'll have 2. And that will be more of a benfit in a space race then using the MA to prebuild a space part one time... aftre that one, there is no more prebuild.... again, using ICBMs is a much better prebuild if the shields are counted properly.
Again, my vote is for the FP. Anything else, besides maybe the gardens will be a waste... even the gardens may be a waste... I believe we're running 0-10% luxury and having no happiness issues anywhere in the empire...
The GL? Yeah, we can cross sea squares, but what about ocean? If we have 6 squares of ocean between the contients, we're not going to find the other civs at all, and will have our GL wasted.
An army? Not even scout can convince me that's a wise course of action to take...
As for warmonging vs building victories... building is possible in easy games... get to Monarch level or higher and you'll have to mainly do warmonging with only select buildings in the right cities... no more cities that have everything to build in it... Let the AI use their bonuses and build for you... then you just take it from them.
And just to add something to what Bugsy said... Bede is a great player, and in the SG he's joined with me, has giving me great advice and I'd play another SG with him in a heartbeat... Even if he does wear that crazy cowl...
Those thigns in GJs signature look like a chess game looks like someone wasn't very bright when they were playing GJ... or maybe "blind" is a better word.... is a very risky move GJ.
Don't change the Marketplace builds... Our GA will allow MWs to come flying out of our core. In 20 turns we'll probably be able ot build at least 40, and still be able to build infra.
You guys really need to think about using the leader for a FP rush, even if that means starting a war with Persia a bit earlier then expected to get our leader to Susa... to this, we'd probably want ot take a coastal city that's north of Susa... can't rememebr it's name it's been a while... and that will be a nice launching point for our galleys to drop off MWs... going there, and through the choke will end the war very quickly, and allow us to capture Susa within 5 turns of declaring... if you're brave enough we can rush the FP as soon as we capture it, and just put units around the city to make sure no one can touch it.
I think I covered everything on my mind.... at least we're not talking about wasting the leader on an army anymore.
I'm not diametrically opposed to an army; in fact, I wouldn't mind the capacity to build more armies and get more leaders later, so long as we plan on going to war some more. I just think (or, well, thought 
J/K 
).
