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Yet Another MP Thought - Accelerated Production
Update to my previous musings on the viability of the various traits in MP. I've been tinkering with Accelerated Production for a few games, testing the weight of the effect of (I think) 1/2 shield costs on the flow of the game.
Obviously, we can all assume what that leads to. Massive money raking, rapid research, quick military buildup. It very much helps the builder, and I think it hurts the conqueror because his army can really only grow so far before his means (gold reserves) don't allow further expansion of forces. Of course, with the extra speed you can strike fast...
Anyway, a quick initial rundown of the traits.
RELIGIOUS: Ho-lee moley. There is one reason and one reason only why religious becomes a *runaway* trait with AP on. Can you say '~50 gold rushed temples?' I knew you could. Get your marketplaces/banks up early (and it won't be that hard, since they're 1/2 off), and you WILL have cash to spare. 50 gold per temple is chump change, and it assures cultural expansion at a frenetic pace. Who cares about razing and replacing? A city that can pop a temple for peanuts isn't likely to defect too soon. There are other advantages (the extreme cheapness of cathedrals plus Sistene is weeping-inducingly beautiful), but this is a kicker. It's incredible.
RATING: A
MILITARISTIC: Producing units fast makes militarists dangerous. AP means twice as many units, twice as fast. Sure, it means the same thing for the enemy, but you can usually outproduce him on defense, and if you can't crack his cities, you can always send your hordes out to burn his improvements down. Then just use your massed production to pool catapults or other arty units and show him who's boss. Oh, did I mention that barracks, ALREADY dirt cheap, become trivial for the miltarist? It's like Sun Tzu's for a tiny investment of gold. For free. Get Sun Tzu's anyway, and non-militarists will be quaking.
RATING: B+
INDUSTRIOUS: Problematic in one sense, infinitely helpful on the other. If everything's cheap, you don't need to rely as much on improvements. On the other hand, things will be SO cheap that you'll find yourself expanding beyond your ability to keep up, often gaining RRs so early that you haven't even finished improving the place to begin with! Industrious just keeps on helping. Oh, and add to that the rampant pollution (building all those factories so quickly was really stinkin' up the place), and you'll be glad the workers are twice as fast to compensate.
RATING: B+
SCIENTIFIC: Cheap science buildings create a compound effect on your research rate. Not only are libraries trivial to build, but you'll have them earlier and in more cities than you ever dreamed possible. This, in turn, leads to tremendously fast research. If you're playing with the default rules, you'll hit the 4-turn cap surprisingly early, and can ratchet up the tax slider for mucho dinero. Since everything's 1/2 off, rush costs will be easier too. You can really make some money off this, and research at a rate that puts Emperor (and, if you play it right, even Deity) to shame! Just be careful that you don't tech up faster than you can afford to upgrade.
RATING: B
COMMERCIAL: Still the worst. Rapid expansion with extra allowable cities might allow a firmer foundation, which in turn might lead to an earlier FP, but I'd rather take militaristic and get a leader for the FP myself. Maybe if there were half-price marketplaces this would be a trait to reckon with in AP games, but as it stands everyone can benefit from the cheaper markets and banks just as much as you.
RATING: C-
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