Interview with Firaxian Jesse Smith

[ChrTh]

Originally posted by Sirp
So this Incan Scout can treat all terrain as roads, and has 1 attack and 1 defense? Do you start with one of these things? Gee...on monarch and below, you could probably send it out and find another civilization before they've built a warrior and kapow, they'd be dead!

Also try building like 4 of them early, send them at another civ, and pillage any improvements they've built, keeping them very primitive.

I find it hard to see how this unit couldn't be overpowered. They damn well better not retreat!

-Sirp.

It looks like the Incan Scout only has a movement of 1, so it'd be tough for it to get to another Civ before a Warrior is built. I think the main advantage of it is that it won't be immediately killed if it accidently comes up against Barbarians.

 

[Ribannah]

What it should be is 0/0/1 treats all squares as road.

 

[Evie]

The early snippage possibility won't work. Which unit expansionist tribes get as a bonus is a single determined factor : all exp. civs get the same bonus unit.

Which is to say that if the Inca are expansionist, unless some serious engines change are done, the Inca will start with a Scout, not an Inca Scout.

It's just that afterward they will be able to build an Inca Scout rather than Scout like other expansionist civilisaions usually can. An excellent souped-up exploration unit, but you probably won't be able to field one before your opponent can field warriors to defend.

 

[Louis XXIV]

Originally posted by bewareofgnomes
i noticed that directly south of the capitol (cant read the name) in the 4th picture is a new resouce/ luxury/ bonus resource. looks almost like silver to me. DAMN THOSE BETAT TESTERS! we are scouring over evey little scrap of info that firaxis throws out in our general direction, while the tester get to play the *$&@^&! game already.

Hey BoG

Long time no see

It does look sort of like silver (same shape as the gold, only silver colored)
Also looks like a swamp is there as well ( )

As for the Beta Testers, I know how you feel, but maybe we can get some comfort in the fact that the game is probably kind of buggy

See ya around some time

 

[Sirp]

Originally posted by ChrTh


It looks like the Incan Scout only has a movement of 1, so it'd be tough for it to get to another Civ before a Warrior is built. I think the main advantage of it is that it won't be immediately killed if it accidently comes up against Barbarians.

Yeah but it treats all terrain as roads, so it effectively has a movement of 3, treating all terrain as grassland. It's typical for civs to start ~10 tiles away from each other, so that's only 3 turns of movement if you get lucky.

Think how powerful this thing is going to be. You could move onto mountains to look around, and then keep moving around on the same turn.

-Sirp.

 

[ChrTh]

@Sirp: Yeah, I realized that after I posted. However, I think Oda Nobunaga's point is valid: the Incas should still start with a normal Scout.

Do we have any confirm that the Incan Scout treats all terrain as Roads?

 

[Pembroke]

Well, we have the quote that the Inca have a "very fast scout" and from the screenshot we see that it's ADM is 1.1.1. The explanation making the most sense would thus be that it treats all terrain as road.

But, as said, if the Inca start with the normal Scout and have to build this new scout of theirs then this isn't much of a problem.

Except that I (and probably many more) tend to send the first two warriors to explore if there are no scouts available. Safe because there are no barbarians around for the first few turns. Might start leaving my 1st warrior fortified in my capital. Maybe. Well, definitely if it's a multiplayer game.

 

[ChrTh]

Re: The Screenshot. I agree that it states 1.1.1, but isn't it possible that the 1 is the number of moves remaining, and that it has already moved 1 or 2 tiles? Perhaps it is a native 1.1.3, but does not treat every tile as road? (Correct me if I'm wrong about the remaining movement)

 

[Gen]

That is not possible. If it would have 3 moves and 2 already used, info box would say 1.1.1/3.
1.1.1/1 for active unit with "all terrain as roads" may mean 0, 1 or 2 moves already done. But, do we already really need to worry about that now? I hope they'll balance that well. It's still in early beta-testing, everything can still change!

 

[Sirp]

...and even so, 1/1/3 would be MORE powerful than 1/1/1 (all terrain as roads). It'd get the retreat ability then, and it could also move-pillage-move. It'd be far more powerful than the already-very-powerful jaguar warriors.

I also can't really see the Inca starting with a scout and then being able to build their special scouts. That'd just seem weird: like the Zulu being able to get a regular spearman or the French a regular musketman. But...maybe it will work like that, who knows.

I agree with Ribannah's suggestion, or it could be 0/1/1 (all terrain as roads), to give it some chance of fighting off barbarians, and making it fairly good at pillaging)

Sirp.

 

[Chieftess]

Someone could make a scenario with the Inca scout stats and try it. That way, you can see first hand how it might be. The only thing you don't know is the shield cost.

 

[Padma]

Originally posted by Louis XXIV
What does the "v" key in the bottom right hand corner do? I remember what the D, E, P, and H keys do, but not the "v key"

Just to tease you a little, let me say that when you actually see it, you will love it!

 

[Civrules]

Padma, you tease all of us poor people like that. When will we actually know?

Hmm, lets see, how many words start with the letter “V”???

 

[CivCube]

Originally posted by civrules
Padma, you tease all of us poor people like that. When will we actually know?

Hmm, lets see, how many words start with the letter “V”???

Here's a guess...Voice Chat!

 

[Civrules]

Voice Chat with the AI would be great!!!!!!!

EDIT: Some people will probably think I was serious so... to that.

 

[bewareofgnomes]

i think it means volcanoes. just my two cents. i think im ging to stop reading these boards cuz it is just damn depressing

 

[warpstorm]

Originally posted by Louis XXIV

As for the Beta Testers, I know how you feel, but maybe we can get some comfort in the fact that the game is probably kind of buggy

Actually, it seems less buggy than PTW was this much before release.

 

[marceagleye]

Just think if the Incas are expansionist and this scout replaces a normal scout. They might start the game with a free UU. Can you imagine starting your GA in 3800 BC. Ouch!

 

[Sirp]

But starting a golden age so early would actually be potentially very useful when you can use it to churn out a heap more of these super-fast fighting scouts.

Sirp.

 

[marceagleye]

True, but with so few cities early in the game the benefits don't go very far. Maybe you'll get a decent tech lead on the lower levels.