User's Guide to Empire: Part 1
Geoff Cashman
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| By Geoff Cashman |
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. . . . | This work copyright 1991, Geoff Cashman |. . . . .
. . . . .| All rights reserved except you may copy | . . . .
. . . . | this work using electronic methods. Non |. . . . .
. . . . .| electronic copying, hard copies for the | . . . .
. . . . | purpose of distribution and/or selling, |. . . . .
. . . . .| is strictly prohibited without author's | . . . .
. . . . | express written consent. No changes may |. . . . .
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Preface
This guide's intended audience is the beginning player and those players
who have played a game or three and would like to have some insight on some
more subtle aspects of the game. Some experienced players may find some
benefit from reading this manual as well. While you may feel you are an
expert, it is always possible to learn. Nothing in this guide is intended
to be difficult to understand, and every effort has been made to make this
guide an easy learning tool.
This publication is current to Berkeley version 1.1 patch level 5
Foreward
It has been over a year now since I first sat down and thought in a serious
way about writing this guide. It has been a long trip with many interesting
turns and developments. When I first started, the version of Empire that
this guide has ultimately been written for had not yet been released. Now,
with this project nearing release I find that yet another new version of
Empire is coming out. I look on in near despair as I realise that this guide
may very well soon be outdated. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to release
this information in what might be considered a final form.
However, I hope that this is not the final form. With new versions of
Empire coming out in the very near future I hope that some other potential
author steps forward and takes up the banner of educating the new player.
I caution you though that such a work as this takes quite an effort.
To the reader and any critics or even cynics that might be reading, I say
that I am not writer. I never was, and I never intend to be. There are
certainly enough writers in the world to write almost everything the world
could want to know about in print. I was never skilled in the art of proper
style for any sort of writing. Please, be kind and keep this in mind.
I wrote this guide because I felt there was a great need for something of
this nature. I have watched so many players come to the network looking
for information on Empire, such as the rules, or information on how to play.
One can get information about the various commands available to oneself
within the game, but to understand how to use those commands effectively
and get skilled at running a country is a far greater task. Many new
players have despaired after playing their first game for lack of the
requisite knowledge to play effectively. Some come back fighting hard
in the next game, but many just disappear never to be heard from again.
This guide was written with the hope that if the new player is supplied
with the basics, they can advance in skill more quickly than previously
possible and not despair at their first defeat.
I can not take credit for the idea of this guide. The need for such
a guide I think was painfully obvious to a great many players. Some in
fact did engage in projects to fill that need. Every such attempt has
fallen short, in my humble opinion. Witness the large number of people
who still ask the network, "How do I play?" and even more importantly
the lack of sufficient answer to such people's questions. In my highest
hopes, I dream that someday soon that answer will be "Get a copy of the
User's Guide to Empire, which is available via FTP from xx.xx.xx".
This work was made possible by the contributions of several empire players.
This work would not have been completed without the insights and assistance
of many empire players and deities. To the empire community as a whole,
I say thank you for your priceless contributions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** Contents ***
Preface
Foreward
1. What is Empire? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a. Basic outline.
b. Short history.
2. How to get into a game of Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4. The primative basics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5. Geography in Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. The beginning phases of Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7. Diplomacy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8. Setting up your defenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9. Nuclear warfare. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10. Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11. The economy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X. War
X. Other helpful or not so helpful hints. . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendices
a) glossary
b) known bugs
c) ftp sites
Figures:
1. Example of an Empire map.
2. Possible opening scenario map.
3. Another possible opening scenario map.
4. Map of region hit by nuclear weapon.
XXX Needs to add in all the bloody figures here...
Other things: index...finish glossary...appendices probably still need work.
Page numbering...
check all XXX references for fill ins...
etc...etc...will it ever end?
Chapter 1 :-: What is Empire?
Empire is a game in which you are pitted against several other
players in a country vs. country format. There are economies to
run, armies to support, policies to generate, and allies and
enemies to make. The game supports various features that make
certain aspects of the game seem to parallel the "realistic"
world. These include satellites, planes, banks, parks, etc.
Empire, in the version herein described, is a very complex
game. The closest game that most people will know that is
analogous to it is the game known as Risk. However, Empire is
more complex by a factor of at least one hundred. Nevertheless,
as a result of the computer aiding you every step of the way, the
game is not difficult to play. Thought it can be difficult to
learn. If you read this guide thoroughly, and use it as a
continuing resource, you can help make learning this game alot
easier.
It should be noted that in learning to play this game, you
may become frustrated or feel daunted by its complexity.
Several players have noted that they almost gave up on Empire,
until one day when everything seemed to start to make sense.
We call it the "threshold level of understanding" after which
learning the art of Empire becomes several grades easier, and
players learn substantially faster. We urge you to stay with
it until you get to that level. It may take some time, but it
is well worth the effort.
Games usually take 2-3 months depending on various factors that
are changeable by the person who runs the game prior to its inception.
Some games, known as blitz games, last a day or three and will wear out
your finger tips from typing too much, will cause your family
and loved ones to be tremendously upset with you for missing
breakfast lunch and dinner for three days straight, will cause
your stomach to argue constantly with you about its right to
food, and are a tremendous amount of fun. Blitz games are not
for the light of heart nor are they meant for the beginner.
For more information concerning the basic scope of Empire,
refer to the game itself. Within the game, there are
various help entries accessible through the command 'info'.
This guide is intended to go well beyond the scope of help
available from 'info'.
Empire, the game, has evolved through many different forms
over the last decade. There are still numerous versions
for various computers around. The version herein discussed
is BSD Empire, written for the most part by Dave Pare along
with alot of help from net people. As release time approaches
we are aware that Mr. Pare is working on BSD Empire V2.0.
This guide is only current to version V1.1.5 of BSD. We wish
the future author of the guide to V2.0, whoever that might be,
the best of luck and bequeth that person a family size bottle
of aspirin for personal use.
Summary: Empire is a very complex game that has a rather steep learning
curve. Most of the complexity of the game can be handled by
the commands available to you, the game server itself, or tools
that you use to better your country. Tools are described later
in this text.
Chapter 2 :-: How to get into a game of Empire.
The most common way of finding about about games that are about to
happen is by monitoring the newsgroup rec.games.empire on your local
news reading program. Other ways are via e-mail by getting to know
several players with whom you correspond over the network. Some
games are by invitation only but these are few and far between as
usually a game is better with more people in it. If you do not know
how to use your local newsreading program, ask a local site consultant
or find a brochure about the news programs available. One of the most
common newsreaders can be reached by typing 'rn' from your unix
prompt. If you have VMS for an operating system this may not be true.
To go directly to the rec.games.empire newsgroup you could type in
'rn rec.games.empire'.
Before entering a game of Empire, consider the amount of time that
you have available to play the game. Two hours a day for a four
update per day game is usually the norm. If you are inexperienced,
and have not fought in wars before, that two hours will dramatically
increase should war break out between you and another country.
Note that it is easy to get addicted to the game. The player should
be aware of this prior to playing. Play in moderation. This is
obviously not meant to scare you off. It is merely a word of caution
to some people. Remember to play in moderation.
If you do decide to join in an upcoming game of empire, then you will
have the pleasure of playing one of the best games around. Empire has
been described as being the most complicated game ever created.
Despite the fact that the game was created for computers and has
been in existence for several years, as yet no robot player has been
developed nor is it anticipated. It is possible to build such a
robot, but it would be a huge task. Do not be dismayed though.
Most of the complexity of Empire is handled by the server and client.
There is a fair amount of what is called "micro-managing" that may
need to be done to be a highly successful nation. However, it is
not a necessary thing to do. Furthermore, there are many tools
(described later) that can handle the micromanaging aspects to
a great degree.
After you find out about a game, and decide that you do want to
play in that upcoming game, you need to contact the "Deity". The
"Deity" is the person who runs the game. You should mail him/her
with information about yourself and your country. A customary
basic form for registering your country to play might contain
the following information:
Country name: (any name you like, from Brianville to USofA)
Rep: (this is your *password*)
Net address: (the address at which you can be contacted over the net)
Skill level: (1-10..10 being the best, 1 being beginner)
It might be necessary depending on the Deity to include all addresses
from which you might be playing. With the proliferation of suns as
general user machines this is becoming more and more a chore, and
few deities require it. It might suffice to say "mickey@*.buffalo.edu"
which might cover all machines you play from if you played from
SUNY-Buffalo. Mickey of course is just an arbitary username chosen
for this example.
Empire players connect to games in progress through a program known
as a "client". This program handles communication between your
computer and the computer that the game is running on.
There are several versions of clients available. Some are more
"capable" than others in that they can make decisions easier for
you or make the decisions themselves. They are intended to reduce
the amount of work you have to do to maintain your country though
in some cases they actually increase the amount of work you have
to do. We have listed places from which you can get other types
of clients from in the FTP listings in the appendix.
Sources for basic client program is available by FTPing to
ucbvax.berkeley.edu. For the user's benefit, we include
a copy of a session in which a user FTPs to ucbvax, retrieves the
source, compiles the source and establishes the appropriate
environment variables to connect to a game.
Note that the following example will work ONLY on a unix,
ultrix, or other flavor of unix operating system. This will
not work for the VMS client.
-----------------------------<begin sample>---------------------------------
(PLEASE NOTE: Walk through comments in this sample will be enclosed
in [** and **]. They are not part of what actually appeared on screen
in collecting this sample. They are meant only as guides.)
[** First, I create a directory to put the client in. I then cd into that
directory and then proceed with the ftp to ucbvax. **]
autarch{tmp}!>mkdir myclient
autarch{tmp}!>cd myclient
autarch{myclient}!>ftp ucbvax.berjkelkeley.edu
Connected to ucbvax.berkeley.edu.
220 ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU FTP server (Version 5.30 Tue Mar 28 18:11:37 PST 1989) ready.
[** Type in anonymous for your name **]
Name (ucbvax.berkeley.edu:cashman): anonymous
[** Send your real identity for the password **]
331 Guest login ok, send ident as password.
Password:
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
[** I am now logged in to ucbvax's public access FTP area. Now
I cd into the "pub" directory, then the "games" directory, and then
the "bsd-empire" directory where I know the empire client source
resides. **]
ftp> cd pub
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> cd games
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> cd bsd-empire
250 CWD command successful.
[** Now, I set my file transfer mode to "binary" and set hash on so that
I can see transmit progress on screen (# = 1024 bytes.) **]
ftp> bin
200 Type set to I.
ftp> hash
Hash mark printing on (1024 bytes/hash mark).
[** Now, I view the directory listing to confirm the name of the client
source. **]
ftp> ls
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for ..
empire-1.1.tar.Z
empire-1.1.patch.5
empire-1.1.patch.4
empire-1.1.patch.3
contrib.tar.Z
client.tar.Z
empclient-1.1.tar.Z
[** ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ it's this one. **]
README
emptools.tar.Z
#
226 Transfer complete.
143 bytes received in 0.03 seconds (4.7 Kbytes/s)
[** Now, I "get" the file and the transmission to my directory begins. **]
ftp> get empclient-1.1.tar.Z
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for empclient-1.1.tar.Z (20859 bytes).
#########################################
226 Transfer complete.
local: empclient-1.1.tar.Z remote: empclient-1.1.tar.Z
20859 bytes received in 1.8 seconds (11 Kbytes/s)
[** The client source now resides in my directory, so I log out of Berkeley **]
ftp> quit
221 Goodbye.
[** I next confirm that the client is in my directory. **]
autarch{myclient}!>ls
empclient-1.1.tar.Z
[** Next, I have to uncompress the file (the Z postfix means it is in
compressed format). I again ls to confirm it's presence. **]
autarch{myclient}!>uncompress empclient-1.1.tar.Z
autarch{myclient}!>ls
empclient-1.1.tar
[** Next, I have to tar the file (tar postfix means it's in tar format).
Again, I ls to confirm operation completed. **]
autarch{myclient}!>tar -xf empclient-1.1.tar
autarch{myclient}!>ls
client/ empclient-1.1.tar
[** Ah, ok. I tar'ed the file and it created a directory for itself.
So, I cd into that directory and ls it. **]
autarch{myclient}!>cd client
autarch{client}!>ls
Makefile empire.6 host.c main.c saveargv.c
README expect.c hpux.c misc.h servercmd.c
bit.c fnlist.h ioqueue.c proto.h serverio.c
bit.h globals.c ioqueue.h queue.c termio.c
dtable.c handle.c login.c queue.h termlib.c
[** There's the README file up there...That will tell me what to do next. **]
autarch{client}!>more README
BSD Empire 1.1
This is the empire client for BSD Empire.
To make the program, edit globals.c and change localhost to
point at the machine where the game is running.
Type "make".
You can change hosts on-the-fly by using environment variables -- see
the man page for details.
[** Simple enough. I don't bother modifying globals.c since I can modify
the environment variables using the unix command 'setenv'. So now,
I just type 'make' and hope everything goes ok. NOTE: This was done
on a sun4. Your results may vary slightly. **]
autarch{client}!>make
[** Now, it does the compilation automatically without me having to
do it by hand...I just typed the make and it does it by itself. **]
cc -g -sun4 -c bit.c
cc -g -sun4 -c dtable.c
cc -g -sun4 -c expect.c
cc -g -sun4 -c globals.c
cc -g -sun4 -c handle.c
cc -g -sun4 -c host.c
cc -g -sun4 -c hpux.c
cc -g -sun4 -c ioqueue.c
cc -g -sun4 -c login.c
cc -g -sun4 -c main.c
cc -g -sun4 -c queue.c
cc -g -sun4 -c saveargv.c
cc -g -sun4 -c servercmd.c
cc -g -sun4 -c serverio.c
cc -g -sun4 -c termio.c
cc -g -sun4 -c termlib.c
cc -g -o empire bit.o dtable.o expect.o globals.o handle.o host.o hpux.o
ioqueue.o login.o main.o queue.o saveargv.o servercmd.o serverio.o termio.o
termlib.o -ltermlib
autarch{client}!>ls
Makefile expect.c hpux.c misc.h serverio.c
README expect.o hpux.o proto.h serverio.o
bit.c fnlist.h ioqueue.c queue.c termio.c
bit.h globals.c ioqueue.h queue.h termio.o
bit.o globals.o ioqueue.o queue.o termlib.c
dtable.c handle.c login.c saveargv.c termlib.o
dtable.o handle.o login.o saveargv.o
empire* host.c main.c servercmd.c
empire.6 host.o main.o servercmd.o
[** Walla, it compiled, and now there is a file in the directory called
'empire' with a * next to it (meaning it's an executable...not all
ls's will do this...see 'man ls' for further info on parameters for ls).
That file is the client. I could delete all of the '.c', '.h', and
'.o' files right now to clean things up, but I am anxious to get into
the empire game that is already in progress. So, I next setup my
environment variables so my client knows which computer to call and
which port to use on that computer. **]
autarch{client}!>setenv EMPIREHOST oleander.cs.odu.edu
autarch{client}!>setenv EMPIREPORT 1617
[** EMPIREHOST and EMPIREPORT variables will have been given to you by
the deity running the game.
With that done, I can now run my client and connect to the game... **]
autarch{client}!>empire
Country name? [** I type in my country name **]
Your name? [** And my password...NOT my real name... **]
-=0=-
You have six new telegrams waiting...
[0:255] Command:
[** And you are now connected to the game and are ready to play dictator **]
-------------------------------<end sample>-----------------------------------
Since you are playing across a network of computers, it is possible
that there will be problems along the way in connecting to the server
from the computer you play on. What follows are some common connection
errors.
Problem 1:
autarch{client}!>empire
connect: Connection refused
Problem This generally means that you have either set your environment
variables wrong (see 'setenv' from earlier in this chapter), or
the server at the host site is not currently running.
Solution (1) Check your environment variables by issuing a 'setenv' command.
(2) Wait for the server to come up.
Problem 2:
autarch{client}!>empire
connect: Connection timed out
Problem This generally means that there is a network outage somewhere
along the network.
Solution (1) You can monitor the network by using two unix commands located in
/usr/etc on most unix systems. These are 'ping' and 'traceroute'.
/usr/etc/ping 128.205.7.3 for instance will send a ping at the
host with ip address 128.205.7.3. If that machine can be reached
from your machine across the network it will return:
128.205.7.3 is alive
traceroute 128.205.7.3 will request responses from each site along
the way. This is useful for seeing which site along the way is
causing the outage.
(2) This solution is easier, but more frustrating. Wait.
Problem 3:
autarch{client}!>empire
Country name? <your country name>
Your name? <your password>
-=O=-
3 country in use by mic...@lictor.acsu.buffalo.edu (pid=5797)
Problem This one is potentially nasty. It means that another process is
logged into your country. This could be from multiple sources.
1: Your friend who is playing your country as well.
2: A process of yours that got accidentally hung.
3: The network hung your remote process even though your local
process is now terminated.
Solution (1) Go kick your friend in the head :-)
(2) Kill your process 'nicely'. To find the process execute a
'ps -x' command and find the appropriate process number:
autarch{client}ps -x
PID TT STAT TIME COMMAND
3555 t1 S 0:00 -usr/new/csh (csh)
3575 t1 R 0:00 ps -x
3559 ? S 0:00 -usr/new/csh (csh)
3560 ? S 0:00 (empire)
The offending process number in this list is 3560. To kill it,
simply type the command 'kill 3560'. After that, all should be
well. Try entering the game again.
(3) If your process is hung on the server machine, you can
do one of two things. First, you can mail the Deity with the
"pid", or process identification number. This number is listed
in the original error message and in our case is 5797. Secondly,
you can log in to the remote site and kill the process yourself
via the process illustrated below. Note that in the first line
of the illustrated process that the name storm.tamu.edu is the
host site for the particular game we're using for an example.
Also, 1617 is the port on that machine that Empire is being run
through. Commands that you should type in are indicated
by a "<----" at the end of the line.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
% telnet storm.tamu.edu 1617 <----
Trying 128.194.15.98 ...
Connected to storm.tamu.edu.
Escape character is '^]'.
2 Empire server ready <---- (your country name in quotes)
coun "Terminus"
0 country name Terminus
pass "busyemperor" <---- (your password in quotes)
0 password ok
kill <---- (this terminates the hung process)
3 process 1056 (from cas...@autarch.acsu.buffalo.edu) terminated
[** next type in 'ctrl-]' and then type 'close' **]
^]
telnet> c
Connection closed.
%
Figure XXX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your process is now unhung, and your country should be ready to play
once again.
Problem 4:
autarch{myclient}empire
Country name? <your country name>
Your name? <your password>
Bad password
Problem The server does not accept the password you typed as being correct.
Solution Try typing it again. Try using capital letters at the beginning of
the password as well, or the entire password in caps. If this does
not work, mail the Deity and inform him or her of the problem
and what the password should be.
These are most of the problems that you will encounter in connecting to
the game server. There are some more problems that you might encounter,
but generally they are not common. If you can not reach your game
server for more than a day, contact your deity and let him/her know
that you can not connect.
Summary: Getting into a game of Empire is not terribly difficult. Setting up
a client program should be a fairly painless task. If it is not,
don't be dismayed. Get help from a consultant or another player
if you can. Some problems with the network may prevent you from
temporarily playing. Be patient, the network is a horse that should
be shot, but generally it comes around after a while.
Chapter 3 :-: The primative basics.
There are a few basic commands and ideas that will help you get
acquainted with Empire. These are here summarized.
Concept: Sanctuary.
All players begin a game of Empire in what is known as a sanctuary.
While you are in a sanctuary state you can not be attacked, overrun, or
otherwise hurt. However, while you are in sanctuary you can not do
very many things. In order to really begin playing the game you need
to do what is known as "break sanctuary". You can do this using the
'break' command. When you do this, your two sanctuary sectors (which
everyone starts with) will become capitol sectors. You are no longer
protected from attacks from enemy countries.
Concept: Movement in Empire.
Paths of movement are indicated by several keys. Path indicators
exist in a hex shape around the letter H on your keyboard. Thus, y means
travel North-West, u for North-East, j for East, n for South-East, b for
South-West, and g for West. Also, h means "stop" which terminates movement
of whatever you are moving. There is one other key, v which "views" the
sector you are currently moving through. Thus if I gave a movement path
of gggvgh the game would move whatever I am moving three sectors West, view
the sector at three sectors west of my starting point, then move one more
sector west and then stop.
Concept: Update
Empire games have "turns" known as updates. When an update occurs,
your country goes through economic growth or decline, interests are paid
on gold bars, military costs are paid for, mobilty increases in your
sectors, etc. You can do a great many things between updates, an update
merely does bookeeping more or less, at a predetermined time. To find
out when the next update is going to happen, you can type 'update' as
a command.
Command: map -10:10,-7:7
This command will give you a map of the area immediately surrounding
your beginning two sectors. Specifically, it will give you a map from ten
sectors West of your 0,0 to ten sectors East and from seven sectors North to
seven sectors South of your 0,0.
Command: explore civ 0,0 1
This command allows you to move one civilian from your 0,0 and
"explore" into wilderness and mountain sectors.
Command: info commands
This command will list the various commands available in Empire.
It is a very good idea to go through the information on each command
by typing 'info <name of command>'. This will help you get more aquainted
with the game. Though this guide shows many commands and how to use them,
it is no substitute for the game's help itself.
Command: designate 1,1 +
This command will enable you to designate a sector you own into
whatever you desire. Usually, in the beginning of the game you will designate
sectors that you will not be using actively for a while into highways.
The above shown example of the command will designate your 1,1 sector into
a highway.
Summary: These are the basic ideas and commands of Empire. Empire has a great
many commands however, and the player should endeavour to learn them.
Empire can be played with only a few commands but the additional
commands are there for your best interests. If you do not understand
a command shown here, simply type 'info <command>' while in the
game itself.
Chapter 6 :-: Geography in Empire.
Maps in Empire are based on a simple hex design. For example:
----------------------------------
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ There are three basic sector types in
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ Empire (note: "type" is different than
-4 | . | ^ | - | ^ | . | "designation". Designation refers to what
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / that sector has on it, a factory or school
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / for example. Type refers to what it is
-3 | - | - | . | . | built on). There are:
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ seas : .
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ mountains : ^
-2 | . | - | - | - | . | wilderness : -
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / When using the empire map, we use an "X,Y"
\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / system. The X coordinate refers to how far
-1 | - | - | . | . | along the horizontal we are, the Y refering
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ to the vertical. Thus, there are seas on
/ \ / \ / \ / \ / \ example map at 5,-1 7,-1 0,-2 8,-2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 5,-3 7,-3 0,-4 and 8,-4. Negative X is
to the left (to the East) of 0,0 just as
Figure XXX in your high school math courses. However,
Example of an Empire map negative Y is above (to the North of) 0,0.
This is different from high school math.
---------------------------------- Why the maps have coordinates in this way
is one of the great mysteries of Empire.
Figure XXX below is a real map of empire, in its real size and form.
Figure 1 is "zoomed in". Note that the '?' marks on the right part of
the map belong to a neighboring country. In this figure all wilderness
type sectors have been designated into something other than a
wilderness There are several mountains, and alot of ocean visible as
well.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[309:112] Command : map #1
33333322222222221111111111---------00000000001111111111222222
5432109876543210987654321098765432101234567890123456789012345
-3 + + + + + . . . . . . . . + . . . . . . . -3
-2 a ^ + m ^ + . . . . o . + . . . . . . . . -2
-1 + + + + + + + + . . . a o a . + + + . . . . -1
0 + + + + + + + g o o o + + + . + o c m . . . 0
1 + + ^ o + a j m g w g ^ ^ m + j j + . + . . . 1
2 + + a + + + + + + + + . b j + m + w + . . . . . . 2
3 + a . a a + b + m o j + t + + + + + + . + . + + + . . ? ? ? 3
4 . . . . . a g + ^ + m + + l ^ ^ ^ + o + + + + + + + + ? + ? 4
5 + . . + + + + + ^ + ^ m + j ^ ^ c + m + + + + + + + ^ + + + ^ 5
6 . . . + + ^ + + + + m + + o o + k + + + + + + ^ ^ + + + + 6
7 . + + + + + + + + o m + a o + e + + + ^ ^ a + + + + + ? 7
8 . + + + + a + ^ + g d m + w m + m + + + + + ^ + + + + ? 8
9 . + + + + + + + + + + + k + g t + + + + + + + + ? ? ? ? 9
10 . . + + + + ^ + ^ ^ g + + + p g + i g + + + + ? 10
11 . + + + + + ^ + + + ^ + + m + g o + g + + + + + ? ? ? ? 11
12 . + + + + + + + + + + + g g + + + + g + + + + + + + + ? 12
13 . + + + + + + + + + + + + + g + g m + w + + + + + + + + ? 13
14 . . . + + + + + + + + + + + g + + m + + + + + + + + + + 14
15 . + + + + + + a + + + + + + + + m + + + + + + + a + + + + 15
33333322222222221111111111---------00000000001111111111222222
5432109876543210987654321098765432101234567890123456789012345
Figure XXX
Realistic version of Empire map
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following listing is taken directly from the command
'info sector-types' in the game. There is a lengthy description of each
sector type also in this command, but we have ommited it here for brevity.
BASICS INDUSTRIES MILITARY / SCIENTIFIC
. sea d defense plant t technical center
^ mountain i shell industry f fortress
s sanctuary m mine r research lab
/ wasteland g gold mine n nuclear plant
- wilderness h harbor l library/school
c capital w warehouse e enlistment center
p park u uranium mine
COMMUNICATIONS * airfield FINANCIAL
+ highway a agribusiness b bank
) radar installation o oil field
j light manufacturing
# bridge head k heavy manufacturing
= bridge span % refinery
As you can see, there are a wide variety of sector types in Empire.
However, until your country becomes populated the most useful sector
is the highway ('+'), for it allows you to move things around easier,
even if the highway has only begun being constructed (ie, 0% efficient).
Summary: Empire maps are based on a simple hex design, with the movement
keys based similarily around the letter h on standard keyboards.
These movement keys are a basic tool in Empire and must be learned.
Chapter 7 :-: The beginning phases of Empire.
Typically a game starts with a `speed' phase... if it doesn't, then
initial play can get boring quickly. A `speed' opening also demands
more time for the period when the updates are frequent, but hopefully,
that will be balanced by your efficient country and the less time
spent running it when your classes/real life demand more time. :)
There are several opening strategies for empire players. We are going
to go through a few of them here. If you feel you can make a better
strategy feel free to do so.
Basically, all strategies for the opening phases revolve around a
few basic ideas. First, you want to secure as much land for yourself
as possible. Secondly, if you share an island with some other person,
you want to leave yourself in a strategically advantageous position
against your opponent, optimally to surround him/her before s/he breaks
sanctuary. These two ideas are the most important things to consider
prior to the first update. There are other things to consider, which
will be reviewed later.
It is highly important for you, the player, to begin playing the game
as soon as the game begins. If you do not, you risk being surrounded
before the first update. Furthermore, not breaking sanctuary prior to
the first update can cost you a great deal in terms of population growth
and the establishment of your economy.
Some players will use tools, which are reviewed in chapter XXX, to break
sanctuary and occupy land from the beginning. There are other means to
aid your land occupation as well. If you have a programmable terminal,
or terminal program, you can program a key to contain a particular
command such as "explore civ 0,0 1 jjjujuuu". This could be a path
along a line of land that you have already occupied, and wish to expand
beyond. If you had to repeatedly type in that command and path you
would take a much greater amount of time to occupy land. This can also
be done through X windows, using the mouse and cut/paste capabilities.
There are a few different theories on how to explore out from your
sanctuaries to claim as much land as possible for yourself.
In the following maps, the square island shown is entirely wilderness
except for the two sanctuaries in the middle. It is important to note
that prior to exploring the entire island, the only thing you would
be able to see on your map would be this:
- - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - s s - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - -
- - - - -
It is your job to explore the island, while occupying, or securing for
yourself, as much land as possible. Note that for the sake of
simplicity we have not placed another country on this example island.
If a sector is a "+","c", or "s" it is an occupied (by you) sector.
If it's a "-" it's a wilderness sector, and if you can move into it,
it is unoccupied. This is an important piece of information. If you
can note move into a wilderness sector it means that it is occupied by
another country. Note that "." are seas, as indicated in chapter XXX.
The basic commands to complete this exploration are 'explore' and
'designate'. Learn about those commands either from chapter XXX or
the game before attempting these theories.
First, we show the entire island prior to your break and exploring:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - s s - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figure XXX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next, we show theory 1, occupying in a concentric circle.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + + + + + c c + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figure XXX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So far, 84 sectors have been occupied. Now we show theory 2,
occupying in spokes with concentric hexes spaced every few sectors
apart:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + - + - - - - + - + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + - - + + + + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + - - + + - - + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - + - - + - + + + - + - - + - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - + + + + + + s s + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - + - - + - + + + - + - - + - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + - - + + - - + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - + - - + + + + + - - + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + - + - - - - + - + - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - + + - - - - - + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figure XXX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, 84 sectors have once again been occupied. However, an additional
56 sectors are now within the borders of your country. Thus, securing
a total of 140 sectors for yourself. The disadvantage? You have three
lines of occupation ( the "+" sectors) between the center of your
country and unsecured wilderness. In theory 1, the same number of
sectors provides for 4 lines for most of the country. Another
disadvantage is that it costs more mobility to use theory 2.
A third theory is the idea of coastal occupation as a means of securing
a large island. The idea being to secure the land immediately around
you and then explore in one direction until you find seas, and then
proceed to occupy the coast:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - + + s s + + + + + + + - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - + + + + + - - - - - + - - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - + + + + - - - - - - + - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - - .
. + - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - + - - - - - .
. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - - .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Figure XXX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here, once again, 84 sectors have been occupied. In addition, 179
sectors of wilderness have been secured, ie cut off from another
country. This brings a total of 263 sectors occupied or secured.
This is obviously impressive. However, it has it's drawbacks as well.
If there was a country bordering this country, that country would
need only to attack and occupy one of your sectors and then they
could explore into all of the "secured" sectors. In addition, there
are only 2-3 lines of occupied sectors between the borders and the
center of the country. This also costs more in terms of mobility than
either theory 1 or 2.
The next section contains a strategy submitted by Scott Yelich. Scott
adheres to theory 1 as his method of exploration:
"Designate one of the two initial [sanctuary] capital sectors to
an agricultural center. Then move a civ out from either sector to
either 1,-1 or 1,1 and designate it a +. Then, I continue to move out
one civilian at a time from both of my initial sectors. Only move
the civ one spot into the wilderness and then I designate that sector
as a highway (+). Then, do a map to see if there is anything
especially interesting... such as, a mountain, more land or ANOTHER
PLAYER. Of course, Only do that map at certain times... it's not
necessary to do a map after EVERY explore since explore will show you
a one sector radius!
[Editor's note: exploring with one civilian across a wilderness sector
takes .8 mobility. Across a highway, even a 0% highway, it will cost
only .2 mobility. Thus, the reason for designating new land as soon
as you occupy it. You will conserve mobility if you only explore into
lands bordering your new highways.]
"Here is where quick action comes into play. If you spot any controlled
sectors (?) or a (-) that can't be entered (if you can note move into the
sector it is occupied by someone else! hurry!), try to make a boarder as
quick as possible by following the pattern above... move one civ, look,
repeat. If you don't find any controlled sectors, simply [try] to
AVOID MOUNTAINS at ALL costs... especially during the first couple of
updates. Typically, from 30 to 70 sectors can be grabbed this way
within the first minute or two.
"To sum up, the strategy for this is: 1) You want to see who is out there,
2) You want to see what land is out there, 3) when you take more sectors during
the intial updates, you will get more mobility each update (typically 8,
'version' will tell...). Anyway, the more sectors you grab with the first
update, the more you can grab the second. It's like an exponential
function."
This next section is a strategy submitted by Geoff Cashman. Geoff
adhere to theory 2 as his method for exploration:
"The basic strategy of moving one sector into the wilderness and then
designate them with a command such as this: designate #1 ?des=- + which will
designate all sectors in realm #1 that are wilderness into highways, is a
common one. Using it wisely is not always done. My personal method is to
expand only in a few directions, ie 3-6 different directions from your 0,0 2,0
area. The idea here being to make "spokes" of exploration radiating out from
your 0,0 and 2,0 area. Using this method, you can use less mobility and see
more land though not actually own more land until after the first update.
Another advantage is you might reach an opponent before s/he reaches you. A
weakness is that an opponent can explore inbetween your spokes. If I feel
this is possible inbetween two spokes then I connect the spokes via concentric
(on 2,0 0,0 ) arc several sectors out from the 0,0. If you do not use this
method, then you would use up all of your mobility to achieve the same number
of sectors by the second update.
"Why save mobility? Mobility in the 0,0 sector is especially critical.
The reason is because the 0,0 starts out with 999 civs. If a sector has
999 or more civs it will not give birth to more civilians. Half of the
battle in winning empire is population explosion at the beginning of the
game...ESPECIALLY if you get involved in a low tech war with a neighbor
early on. More population means more resources mined, more supportable
military, and more taxpayers. If you are going to be a tech producer then
it may be desireable to limit population, but early on I do not recommend
it. So, with 999 civs in your 0,0 sector you need to be able to move out
many civs (depends on the number of ETUs per update (see the version command)
as to how many you should move out...see number of births per 1,000 civs per
etu in the version command). Thus, my strategy is slightly different.
I concentrate on getting a 100% highway built at 1,-1 or 1,1. Why those
sectors? because I can then use the mobility in 1,-1 or 1,1 to move civs
or products into 2,0."
The use of the third theory requires a player with some experience to deal
with its shortcomings. For the beginner, we do not recommend it.
The following was submitted by another player to point out their means
of establishing their production and the beginning stages of their economy:
"Setting up a distribution network, even with inefficient wharehouses, is
fairly critical early on. If you starve civilians in the beginning of the
game, you will fall behind in production. It is not uncommon to lose
contact with the game for a day or more due to net failures. Do not
depend on your capability to connect to the game to feed your civilians.
"Some people never leave their 0,0 or 2,0 designated as a capitol during the
beginning of the game. They check the resources in 0,0 and then determine if
it's suitable for being a mine or a gold mine. If neither, then they designate
2,0 into a mine. If mine, then 2,0 becomes a gold mine. Using this method
they can get maximum production from their civilians that are essentially
trapped for the time being in their 0,0 and 2,0 sectors due to lack of
mobility. Note that in doing this that you must conserve BTUs. Having
a 0% efficient capitol somewhere else will cause a lack of production of
BTUs. You must be careful not to run out of BTUs completely, or it could
cause you a great deal of grief.
"NOTE: IT IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO LEAVE A CAPITOL ON THE COAST AFTER
ANYONE PRODUCES A BOAT. Until that time, a capitol on the coast is
an advantage in some ways. It is easier to defend (less places that
it can be attacked from). You MUST get some civilians into the capitol
at -2,0 (about 50) before the first update along with some food.
In general, your capitol will not produce BTUs for a while, but neither
do you need them for a while. However, leave your 0,0 sector as your
capitol until JUST prior (like 2-4 minutes, make it 10 to be safe) to
the update. Does this all sound complicated? Yep. But it works.
"After the first or second update I will occupy the remaining wilderness
that I can see, using the mobility from the sectors that I explored into
in the previous update. I will then continue to move civs out of 0,0 and
into 1,-1 or 1,1 (the highway that I am trying to make 100%) and move from
there. If I am not going for tech production then I don't need the library
or parks (you can still make education...it helps in some regards, but for
the most part you don't need it if you're not going the way of tech.
You can then pretty much do as you please and work towards the goals you
think are reasonable for your country. "
Summary: There are several basic ideas expressed in this chapter:
1) Break sanctuary as soon as the game begins.
2) Secure as much land for yourself as possible.
3) Use your civilians efficiently.
4) Do not allow your 0,0 sector to have alot of civs in it.
5) Get a distribution system set up early.
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geoff Cashman "The grand unification theory is really just
cas...@eclectic.com another variation of Murphy's Law"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------