Semmel
Large Sid Meiers Collider
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2010
- Messages
- 233
I was wondering about the new rule for national wonders as well as the wonders it self.
First, let me review the national wonders, their [conditions] and their effects:
Hermitage [Museum]: +100% culture in the city
Heroic Epic [Barracks]: Moral Promotion (+15% combat strength) for all units
Ironworks [Workshop]: +20% production in the city
National College [Library]: +50% beakers in the city
National Epic [Monument]: +25% great people points in that city
Oxford University [University]: one free technology
National wonders have quite some effect range. It might be easy to have a monument in all cities, but 25% great person points for the National Epic is not that impressive, the garden has the same effect. The SP Democraty has even 50% bonus on great people empire wide. Also +20% production doesn't seem like quite a lot either for the Iron Works. Maybe the National College is not bad at the beginning, but once you get Universities (+50% science), public school (+50% science) and even science lab (+100% science), the national collage seems rather week.
Only two really stand out, the Oxford University which gives a free tech and the Hermitage. The Oxford University is in fact as strong as a world wonder (Great Library) and the Hermitage which is the only building (eccept Sistine Chapel which gives 33% culture in all cities) that grands a percentage bonus to culture.
Heroic Epic is somewhat in between. +15% combat strength is pretty decent, but almost every other promotion gives you more bonus. But in the end, every penny might count in a combat with limited resources and limited number of units.
After putting the effect of national wonders in perspective, lets see which empires can build them, or rather .. for which it is affordable.
Since you have to have a building of one type in all your cities to unlock the national wonders, this favours small empires with cities that are kind of all-rounders rather than specialized cities. Because if you specialize your cities, you might have some gold cities, science cities, production cities.. in the end, you don't really build a barracks in all of them, or a university. In fact, the availability of national wonders is determined by your weakest city. So, in order to get their bonus, ALL your cities should be decent. You cant just spam a city on that desert tile with almost nothing around just to get that one resource.
An other factor is building maintenance. National Wonders get increasingly expensive with a growing empire. Also in a large empire, their effect shrinks because they have rather local effects that don't give you much advantage if you build a rather large, world-spanning empire. So, all in all, warmongers might not be able to build more than.. lets say two national wonders: the heroic epic and the national epic.
Summary: National wonders clearly favour small empires with well placed, large and versatile cities.
First, let me review the national wonders, their [conditions] and their effects:
Hermitage [Museum]: +100% culture in the city
Heroic Epic [Barracks]: Moral Promotion (+15% combat strength) for all units
Ironworks [Workshop]: +20% production in the city
National College [Library]: +50% beakers in the city
National Epic [Monument]: +25% great people points in that city
Oxford University [University]: one free technology
National wonders have quite some effect range. It might be easy to have a monument in all cities, but 25% great person points for the National Epic is not that impressive, the garden has the same effect. The SP Democraty has even 50% bonus on great people empire wide. Also +20% production doesn't seem like quite a lot either for the Iron Works. Maybe the National College is not bad at the beginning, but once you get Universities (+50% science), public school (+50% science) and even science lab (+100% science), the national collage seems rather week.
Only two really stand out, the Oxford University which gives a free tech and the Hermitage. The Oxford University is in fact as strong as a world wonder (Great Library) and the Hermitage which is the only building (eccept Sistine Chapel which gives 33% culture in all cities) that grands a percentage bonus to culture.
Heroic Epic is somewhat in between. +15% combat strength is pretty decent, but almost every other promotion gives you more bonus. But in the end, every penny might count in a combat with limited resources and limited number of units.
After putting the effect of national wonders in perspective, lets see which empires can build them, or rather .. for which it is affordable.
Since you have to have a building of one type in all your cities to unlock the national wonders, this favours small empires with cities that are kind of all-rounders rather than specialized cities. Because if you specialize your cities, you might have some gold cities, science cities, production cities.. in the end, you don't really build a barracks in all of them, or a university. In fact, the availability of national wonders is determined by your weakest city. So, in order to get their bonus, ALL your cities should be decent. You cant just spam a city on that desert tile with almost nothing around just to get that one resource.
An other factor is building maintenance. National Wonders get increasingly expensive with a growing empire. Also in a large empire, their effect shrinks because they have rather local effects that don't give you much advantage if you build a rather large, world-spanning empire. So, all in all, warmongers might not be able to build more than.. lets say two national wonders: the heroic epic and the national epic.
Summary: National wonders clearly favour small empires with well placed, large and versatile cities.
argh!
).
