The UU-A-Day Countdown

[Shafi-is-back]

Its been great fun reading these writeups. Thanks

Now that i have to wait till Friday what do i do ...

 

[TM Moot]

(i didn't realise the thread had been moved, took me ages to find it!!)

Shaqfu, thanks for starting and your continued input with this thread, an excellent read...only a few days now until we find out just how good/bad these UU's are.

 

[Le Roi Soleil]

Also, you have to take into account the Civ as a whole, IMHO. Russia has one of the best (IMHO) unique abilities -- you are going to get resources in your civ at some point or get wiped out -- and when you do, you get bonus production and units. Having a moderately better unique unit is ok for them. Also look at their other unique item -- Barracks, available at the beginning (if it's like other civs...or at least available pretty darn early). So, as a whole, I think Russia looks pretty darn formidable.

Honestly, the +1 production from horse resources is probably the best part of the Russian special ability, because you get it very early in the game when a +1 production matters. The rest of the production bonuses are less useful. +1 prod from Iron is still early enough to be helpful, but not enormously so, and +1 prod from any later strategic resource is basically irrelevant. Essentially, this boils down to a production bonus in the ancient age.

Uranium...meh. By the time you get to the point of using or not using uranium, the game is already won or lost. Getting extra uranium (and wow, an extra +1 production for it!) is extremely unlikely to tip the balance in any game.

Basically, Russia is set up for an ancient/medieval era blitz, with bonus production and more of the strongest units available. A second push may also come during the Renaissance behind the Cossacks, but that UU is the third best of the period (behind the Janissary and Musketeer, IMO), so it's not that decisive. Russia's neighbors will probably want to invest early in anti-cavalry-type infantry (spearmen/pikemen) and ranged units (with some cavalry, as well) in defense, a tactic which should go a long way to blunting Russia's advances. It's certainly a powerful civ for an early military blitz, but being able to make good on this will depend greatly on having the productive capacity and tech to do so.

 

[TM Moot]

Also, you have to take into account the Civ as a whole, IMHO. Russia has one of the best (IMHO) unique abilities -- you are going to get resources in your civ at some point or get wiped out -- and when you do, you get bonus production and units. Having a moderately better unique unit is ok for them. Also look at their other unique item -- Barracks, available at the beginning (if it's like other civs...or at least available pretty darn early). So, as a whole, I think Russia looks pretty darn formidable.

you are totally right about looking at the whole package, rather then just comparing UU v UU..

and i also agree that the Russians are looking pretty strong,
UA - extra production and extra units
UB - stronger units and bigger cities
UU - decent mid game boost

once i get my mandatory Roman first game out of the way, i am definitely giving the russians a go..

 

[Louis XXIV]

Yeah, it's tough to speculate on the Ship of the Line without more stat info. My response is similar to the B17, though. For what it is, I'm sure it'll be good. If you want to dominate the seas, it will do it. Can be fun for naval invasions overall.

 

[say1988]

I have a little bit of trouble with naval UU, I just dont use ships that much, it is possible that this will change in civ 5 with the embarkation but I think I will take my chances pretty often and just go out without protection and hope for the best

Ships will liekly be a lot more useful in Civ V than IV. The one unit per tile makes their bombardments a lot more useful for breaking throught the enemy front and naval invasions easier (no transports) and more useful as you can flank the enemy and either attack the front from the back or go straight to the heart of their empire.

If there is a coastline, controlling it will be important, unlike CivIv where you just needed a small stack to beat back invasions.

 

[El Caballerion]

Just wanted to reach out say a big THANK YOU to Shaqfu! I've enjoyed your UU a day countdown (kinda reminds me of being a kid and eagerly counting down the days to Xmas lol). Can't wait until 22 hours from now when the game unlocks!

 

[Louis XXIV]

Oh yes, definite thanks. This has give a good appreciation of everything.

Although maybe we do want to consider the bonus civ's UU as a bonus discussion after the game is released.

 

[SomethingWitty]

Agreed. Thanks, Shaqfu, best thread on the whole board.

 

[B-29 Bomber]

you are totally right about looking at the whole package, rather then just comparing UU v UU..

and i also agree that the Russians are looking pretty strong,
UA - extra production and extra units
UB - stronger units and bigger cities
UU - decent mid game boost

once i get my mandatory Roman first game out of the way, i am definitely giving the russians a go..

Now got no problem with the extra units but stronger? what's russia famous for? Quantity over quality.

 

[CleverFool]

Aye, fantastic job Shaqfu! Just about every day I'd come home from school/work and see what the strategies everyone was dreaming up. Just hours away until the game now, let's see how many of said strategies actually stand up!

 

[ShaqFu]

Just wanted to reach out say a big THANK YOU to Shaqfu!

Oh yes, definite thanks. This has give a good appreciation of everything.

Agreed. Thanks, Shaqfu, best thread on the whole board.

Aye, fantastic job Shaqfu!

Its been great fun reading these writeups. Thanks

Shaqfu, thanks for starting and your continued input with this thread, an excellent read

Aw, thanks! It's weird, having a day where I'm not thinking of new uses of UUs, or hoping another one shows up on Arioch's site.

I'd just like to again thank AriochIV, TheMystic, Azazell, ltarmstrong3, and, of course, 2k Greg for making this all possible. If not for you guys, this thread would be me speculating for 500 posts, and that wouldn't be much fun. Of course, this thread was made awesome by the fantastic posts we've had. If it weren't for you guys being fantastic, this thread would've been me going on to myself about forward defenses and Knight detachments for a month, which is exactly as interesting as it sounds. Again, thanks to everyone that's posted here for the great discussion on what was seriously an underdiscussed part of the game.

I would like to also take the chance to apologize to the Minuteman. Not only did I have his ability completely wrong, but it makes him a lot more interesting than I originally said. 1 movement point through any terrain lets him quickly get into ideal ground, as well as rush to a fron...wait, I thought I was out of days/units!

If you guys haven't had enough of me yet, I'm posting my first game over on Stories & Tales. Hopefully the War Elephant's as good a defender as I think...

And yes, I'll do a special edition Day 0: Bowman tomorrow.

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

I hate to do a shameless plug, but...

If you want, you can join my new Civilization V Succession Game. We're playing as Japan, so...

We've only got 3 people right now. Join up if you want!

 

[Schalke 04]

If you guys haven't had enough of me yet, I'm posting my first game over on Stories & Tales. Hopefully the War Elephant's as good a defender as I think...

I really like your strategic thinking. Therefore you can count me in as a lurker. At least till the 24th, the day I can play for myself... But maybe/surely even after that!

 

[Goldflash]

Thank you, Shaq-fu! Great thread.