posted 12-30-02 05:19 PM CT (US)
Since I have about five minutes of free time, I've decided to go in-depth into the most popular variations of House starts, and then talk about the civs who have special circumstances for them. And, of course, I need a newbie quote: This is based entirely off common sense; no tests needed. *glares at Nabrimn and Doug Thompson* The most common buildup for non-Mayan, non-Chinese, non-Spanish and non-Hun civs (for the sole purposes of ease in this guide, we'll call them "normal" civs) is this: Vils 1 and 2: House. Since you're at 4/5 pop (Scout and 3 Vils), you're going to be needing Houses to extend that pop cap so you can pump Vils more smoothly. However, is this the most optimal start? Another buildup I have seen for normal civs is this: Vils 1 and 2: House. One sole Vil cannot build a House fast enough in order to be able to put the pop cap back. If you used one Vil on a House at the start, the second Vil being made at the TC will be delayed a bit. A House takes 25 seconds to build, and a Vil takes 25 seconds to train. However, you spend time getting the Vil moving to a "good" House location (a location that's not going to interrupt Farming around the TC later on). Thus, you'll miss out some time. Although two Vils don't build a House twice as fast (they only build one a few seconds earlier), they will still get the House up before the first Vil has been trained. You don't need the second House right away. So, you can use the third Vil to help your Scout look for Sheep, or have him chop a straggler until the Sheep arrive at the TC for processing. The second House comes at 8/10 pop, since Houses must be built 2 pop slots ahead of the current pop cap. If you were to build a House at 9/10 pop (1 pop slot ahead of the pop cap), you would delay a Vil. The current pop (9/10) Vil has to walk a bit before it builds a House. By then, the Vil at the TC is already being trained. The next Vil will be delayed because the House won't be up by then. It's most optimal to build a House 2 pop slots ahead of the pop cap, because you won't delay production, and that you won't waste time making a House ahead of time. When you use the 8/10 Pop Housing start, you have a bit of a problem. When you compare the Default start with this, the 8/10 House start is slightly slower. Why? Every start looks for Sheep to place on that TC. However, the 8/10 House start wants to look for the Sheep earlier or chop some wood earlier. However, most Sheep, on average, are placed at about the same distance from the TC (BTW, Nabrimn, Doug, this will not affect the Mill/LC-first starts, thanks). If we take into account that the Sheep get to the TC, that the third Vil stops chopping wood, he'll only have gathered 3 or 4 wood. And the 8/10 House start loses more time making the second House at 8/10 pop, when the corresponding Vil in the Default start is actually putting those Vil seconds to use. The 8/10 House start is sometimes better on water maps (Sheep is LIFE on water maps). However, the Default start tends to get much more better on land maps. Yet another buildup for normal civs: Vils 1 and 2: House. Some people prefer to go three Houses, because it saves more Vil seconds. Your Sheep might not be on the TC when the second House is done, so you could build another one. The Vil on 13/15 pop in the corresponding Default start would have to build a House. In this start, you don't have to build another House until 18/20 pop. Theoretically, it can get you more resources, saving those Vils seconds for something "useful" other than for building a House. Wood. Three Houses (before civ bonuses, etc.) comes to a total of 90 wood. The player is left with 110 wood, making it even harder to plop down a Mill or LC (don't even think about debating in THIS thread, Doug, Nabrimn) after the first one (if the civ is not Japanese or Persians). If you were to LC, you need to gather 90 wood before you can plop down a Mill. It goes the same the other way. In a Default start, you're left with 140 wood (only two Houses), and only have to gather 60 wood, making your second 100 wood building easier to get up, and it will be before the third House at 13/15 pop, as well. This buildup is not really recommended. Three Houses may theoretically save Vil seconds, but when you take into account the early wood deficit, it's not really worth it. The Mayans can yet again perform a Default start, but they would consider Looming first. If a Mayan player were to use the Loom "trick" (hit C, press Loom really fast in multiplayer lag), they essentially queue up a Vil after Loom is done. This saves a few seconds in multiplayer lag. The Chinese start at 7/10 pop (Scout, 6 Vils) and down some wood. However, the Chinese can safely consider the 8/10 House start, because they can allocate all their Vils to cutting a straggler before the Sheep arrive. And when they do, the Vils chopping wood can drop off wood (probably around 20-25 wood, a good starting surplus that almost pays for the first House). The first Vil from the TC can then build a House. The Spanish can get something really cool. They can: Vil 1: House. How come? They got 30% faster building. The Spaniards could also build a House 1 pop slot before the pop cap (14/15), while still keeping smooth Vil production IF (and only IF) they start building the House at least before the Vil currently being trained is 30% done. That way, they save more Vil seconds (plus, they already save more from faster building Houses), and still not delay Vil production. The Huns are a bit obvious. They can help the Scout scout for Sheep, or just hit a straggler to add a bit more wood surplus into their 100 wood deficit at the start. The Japanese are probably one of the only civs that can properly perform the Three House start due to that their LC and Mill only cost 50 wood. They aren't behind with 110 wood, so they can safely plop both down, and easily gather the next 20 wood needed for the next House at 18/20 pop. The Persians start with +50 wood and +50 food. They can also perform the Three House start, since they end up with 160 wood. They need to gather only 40 more wood after they plop down the first 100 wood building, in order to get the next 100 wood building down. And the 30 wood for the next House is easily met by 18/20 pop. On land maps, the most used start is the Default start, and is usually the most optimal start (see above for the notes). However, the 8/10 House start is not bad for water maps, as you can use that third starting Vil to help the Scout find the Sheep, as Sheep is what is absolutely required in the first few minutes on water maps (Grushing, going Fires, etc.). The Japanese and Persians are probably the only civs that can execute the Three House start relatively well, and the start isn't bad; it saves Vil seconds in the long run. Don't forget the "other" civs, like the Spanish and Chinese, who demand special attention. The Mayans only need attention at the start with Loom, and the Huns...well, they're the Huns. [This message has been edited by swp (edited 12-30-2002 @ 05:56 PM).]
Vil 3: House.
Vil 3: Scout/Straggler.
Vil 3: House.
Vil 3: House again when it's done the previous House.
Vil 2: House.
Vil 3: Scout/Straggler.
STEVE
Age of Kings Heaven, Myll Clan
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