Roads

[vinstafresh]

I use roads less and less. I'm even at the point where I build roads when I absolutely have to save a city from getting sacked by sending over troops right this turn. The downside from having roads is that enemies will use these roads as well and they can surprise you very easily, since roads increase their mobility on your turf as well. Since I don't build roads, I get attacked less often and surprised even less. A couple of obsolete units as sentries on hills near the outskirts of my empire will do just fine as an early warning system.

 

[Kadazzle]

I'm starting to agree with you, I do build roads less and less, but you still have to have them. Never build roads conecting to cities to the back of your empire. For me, I only ever build roads when it's from my Capital to a city that is right at the edge of the enemy borders, so I can get a Catapults are there quickly.

 

[Kev]

I agree with both of you - roads are very expensive and more often not completely necessary as an overall build.

Still, there are times when they do become helpful - as in the aforementioned 'city under threat' situation. Connecting two cities near and/or at the front lines can actually allow you to have a deal where it's almost two armies for the price of one. You could have one defensive or skirmish army travel between the two cities depending on which is threatened at any given time, and this can, in the analysis, save you money compared with having to rush units.

I find that I do this as I start conquering and taking AI cities over - where I don't really have the ability to leave armies behind. I can have two armies defend 3-4 cities that are connected by roads and survive well enough. I'll even allow an AI to take back a city briefly if I MUST (they won't get one of my techs when they do that) and use the roads to quickly take it back.

Speaks a lot to those civs with half-priced roads. Could be a valuable trait under these types of circumstances.

 

[Icaria909]

I agree with both of you - roads are very expensive and more often not completely necessary as an overall build.

Still, there are times when they do become helpful - as in the aforementioned 'city under threat' situation. Connecting two cities near and/or at the front lines can actually allow you to have a deal where it's almost two armies for the price of one. You could have one defensive or skirmish army travel between the two cities depending on which is threatened at any given time, and this can, in the analysis, save you money compared with having to rush units.

I find that I do this as I start conquering and taking AI cities over - where I don't really have the ability to leave armies behind. I can have two armies defend 3-4 cities that are connected by roads and survive well enough. I'll even allow an AI to take back a city briefly if I MUST (they won't get one of my techs when they do that) and use the roads to quickly take it back.

Speaks a lot to those civs with half-priced roads. Could be a valuable trait under these types of circumstances.

I completely agree with you on this. I play as France most often, and the half priced roads are key to my strategy with this civ. I use my +2 attack cannons to destroy cities while i can quickly build roads cheaply to connect the new cities to my empire, allowing me to more quickly send in riflemen (+1 movement helps here) and more cannons there for further attacks. It allows me to opt for a napoleonic blitzkrieg.

I haven't been that radical though with my road strategy; i just connect each city directly to paris to prevent a warlike AI from using my roads to attack other cities. Tonight i am going to try your strategy.

 

[mikeyredk]

I wish I could destroy my roads like in real life when you are getting hammered they can be destroyed to slow down the attackers

 

[CivMonger]

I've only played a few games of Civ Rev so far, but I think I like Icaria's strategy. Using a centralized city as a road hub lets you move units around your empire easy enough while preventing the other players from abusing your road systems to swiftly take over your nation. With that being said though, the maps I've been on so far are generally so riddled with chokepoints that not only would half those roads run through another city, but if I lost my front line it would likely be 90% of my army and there would be nothing bringing up the rear anyways!

 

[bonafide11]

Yeah, I rarely build roads as well. They're useful, but they're expensive, I'd rather not purchase them unless I need to. Maybe if I played as the Romans or the French I'd build them more.

 

[soprismb]

Without admin complaining about the segue, it was a legit problem that was discussed in history. Recall that Ike's big project as the Prez was the Interstate System. It was only after he'd seen Germany's Autobahn that he got the idea. Well, long story short, he wanted it but there were those in his cabinet that had realized how quickly we'd moved through Germany on the roads they'd created.

Oddly, the deciding vote was the military who liked the flexibility of moving large units across the country quickly.

But you're right, in CivRev or real life, they can shanghai you if you don't guard them.