Age 87 VIRTUAL KINGDOM

[StratOcastle]

Recognizing Bottlenecks - As neglected in business so to is the bottleneck effect in Utopia.

Communication is a huge bottleneck in society thus filtering into gameplay. Player action to Command structure execution is pretty sloppy and slow, or doesn’t exist in a practical way. You might notice I said “player action to command structure” because this is the actual crux of bottleneck effects. It’s not that the core player runs the show, but at a skilled zenith the player should be able to execute sans communication and accomplish exactly what is best for the kingdom. The command structure micros efficiently because each player knows the trigger of the objective in question. In military terms this is ground forces calling in air strikes or special forces deploying precision strikes to open enemies to blunt trauma logistics.

When I was clearing a nw zone it was easier to demonstrate the evolution and benefits rather than explain my actions so the leadership could order me to do what I just told them. Mind you, it was my responsibility to establish the nw zone while following orders; which made it more difficult than necessary. I point this out because most players, including leadership, in utopia think in colonial terms and spearhead tactics. I think in flanks because the spearhead is killer instinct. In other words, there’s a time for full chaining, not all the time. Most kingdoms full chain all the time which is akin to leaving your flanks wide open. This is cultural strategy or cargo cult. As one player I could circumvent the entire enemy chain alignment by nw zone tactics which resulted in chain sloughing(poor max ranging made chaining incredibly difficult against my provinces).The result was markedly higher resource retention on my part. Because I could retain resources I could provide aid
to our chained provinces which freed up our t/ms to hopefully achieve unbreakable through focused resource implementation.

Full chaining is a practice in bottleneck risk/reward. If like me, you could stall a war by crashing chain alignment you understand the glass cannon so many have faith in. It’s a risk and requires diplomacy meta to ensure its potency. A player who sees nw and gains just by looking at kingdom pages can yank the plug on war practices common across the game. This is another reason I segmented the virtual kingdom alignment. For those who aren’t involved in top kingdom diplo, you’re running around with your chin
out when you make beautiful nw alignments in your core. It’s on the kingdom page and any player can observe this without intel. So what’s the alternative? Adapt. If your chain alignment is compromised immediately switch to zone. It’s a game so think in game terms, like football.

Same goes for t/ms. When prelude to chaining your t/ms cast nightmares etc. you need to pay attention to the target. I’ve played an avian tac who spammed mystic aura and I’ve seen dwarves do the same when I was an elf mystic anchor on the nightmare chain system. Actions like spamming mystic aura, lightning strikes and stealing runes can stall the chain. They have to reassess defenses and the chain captain has to deliver precise troop ratios to reach chain efficient objectives. This is where casual players begin to freak out because many have set alarms or hide in office bathrooms to make the wave.

Bottlenecks are the stress points you must recognize in your kingdom, your province, your enemies kingdom and their provinces to leverage uncommon logistics. It’s why certain players are underestimated and make a living off retal. It’s not recognized often enough that it’s your province/kingdom in motion that’s dangerous, not a static list of best gains races and personalities.