Utopia history...

[pmyraje]

Since I have only recently returned to Utopia after a 6 year break I am just interested to know a few things on the game evolution since that time.

Most obviously, when was "chaining" invented? Or rather, when did some bright spark decide to rename GBing when done in war and when did it replace proper attacking as the dominant war tactic? Was it the same time the war meter got removed so that acre gains no longer define who is "winning" a war? Back in my day people just made attacks in war and bashed provinces around their size and for the best gains. Then at the end someone woukd surrender, withdraw or have mutual peace.

Also, am I the only onw who finds chaining mind-numbingly boring as a "tactic"? You don't need people running the provinces since there is no human "brain" element to just following monarch orders on who to hit next. Time was when wars had some element of interest!

I'm also intrigued to know who brought the term "wave" into Utopia and how on earth whoever it was managed to get such a naff term to be used by the masses. I mean, come on, if you were going to coin a term for what "waving" is you could have called it "broadside" or something a bit more sensible sounding. I know it refers to a wave of attacks, it's just a bit crappy given it's other totally unrelated meanings that make it sound like a really limp activity!

[Bonesplitter]

Even Back in the day we used chaining and waveing it is nothing new. Waveing and chaining became much more popular nowaday's for some reason. only diffenrce is back in the day the chain wave didnt stop intel the prov lies in ruins.

[Hurlin]

depends on when your "back in the day" is ...... mine chaining is when one kingdom is warred by multiple kingdoms one of after another "your passed down the chain", that definition changed to provinces instead of being "banged".

[Calimar]

Wow, I hadn't realized the similarity between chaining and gb'ing til now. I remember when gang banging was wrong too. I guess since the name changed, the action became acceptable.

[pmyraje]

Well, I last played something like Ages 11 to 23 and back then there were plenty of tactics in war, but t/ms were valuable and people attacked a range of provinces in the opposing KD because a war meter measured land taken and made it better to make big grabs on the whole.

[Meeni]

Well, I last played something like Ages 11 to 23 and back then there were plenty of tactics in war, but t/ms were valuable and people attacked a range of provinces in the opposing KD because a war meter measured land taken and made it better to make big grabs on the whole.

The game mechanics were very different those ages, but it was standard to run what we would consider extremely high dpa and low opa those ages (40 dpa was suicide, 60-80 was standard)
army layouts were much different, with elite values much higher than the 4 value specs but also with high upkeep and high nw, 2/2 sols, income through the roof (100k net wasn't unusual on 2k acres)
among other things. Tactics didn't change that much, you run t/ms on some, gb down some. Having too many t/ms was a problem as it is now, so I'd say some things have become standard knowledge. There are many neat tricks that didn't really survive but all in all utopia kept the most rewarding/easy ones, like chaining, NSing, FB runs mass MS etc.

A lot of times the advanced tactics are just tough to pull off so either kds aren't aware of the potential or just don't have the capability... lots more addicts back then

[Gothmog]

The difference beetwen chaining and GB is that a chain is arranged so that you hit with provs according to their gainspotencial, ie the one prov able to get the most will be the next to hit. While in a GB everyone just jump on the fella more or less regardless of gains.

First time I really can recall beeing properly chained and not simply hit by alot of provs at the same time I think was when Divine Wind AWed my wizzies, NMed the bejeezus out of me and did a long proper chain afterwards. In age 17-18 or so?

Before that it was more of a GB, but that was a proper chain for max effect :)

[Ironballs]

Age 17 was the age when NMing went off the scale due to the changes in elites.