Two initial resources

[Zilogix]

Greetings all,

If you haven't read my intro yet, please have a look here, as this is a forum account without a matched in-game account, due to the fact that I am gathering information and advice about the game before I register in-game. I don't need to be reported by anyone, as I have already reported myself. :lol:

Now, to the point of this thread. I am still gathering info about the game, and learning about it. One thing that I have identified already is the advantage that can be gained from having good resources at the start. I understand that the two resources that you begin the game with are chosen at random and are set, affecting your gameplay from that point onwards. I would like to know, from those who have been playing CN for some time, if you had the chance to change your two initial resources, what would you change them to and why? What is the best resources to start the game with?

Any advice that I can get, without flaming, would be appreciated. Please remember that while I am a n00b at Cyber Nations, I am not a n00b at this type of game, and have a lot of experience with other online gaming communities.

Kind regards,

Zilogix.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Zilogix

[Delta1212]

Aluminum, Cattle, Fish, Iron, Lumber, Marble, Pigs, Spices, Sugar, Water, Wheat

Basically, any combination of those and definitely at least one of them.

If you have any other questions, PM me. I'm available through PMs, MSN, and IRC. I've got a decent grasp of game mechanics (I've got nothing on (DAC)Syzygy, but I think he knows this game better than admin) so I should be able to answer most questions.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Delta1212

[LeVentNoir]

Wheat and Fish.

In this game pop = money. Therfore a base 16% increase in pop with no trades is the best thing to happen to you. Then you will be able to demand what ever you want for trades.

[Syzygy]

Wheat+Fish. Nuff said.

[Zilogix]

Okay, thank you for that. I have now located the Resource Calculator by Kaban, as posted on the MrFixitOnline website, so I can see what different combinations of those resources will accomplish.

Any other suggestions would be great too. I already have an idea for an alliance and team to join, so please do not suggest those here. B)

[Delta1212]

Wheat and Fish.

In this game pop = money. Therfore a base 16% increase in pop with no trades is the best thing to happen to you. Then you will be able to demand what ever you want for trades.

Yes, although it won't make much of a difference in an end game scenario which of the main resources you have, and you can make better use of your aid slots in tech deals than you can from selling your trade slots early on, anyway.

[LeVentNoir]

Yay (DAC)Syzygy agrees with me, and i posted first!

[Aeternos Astramora]

Wheat, fish, water, iron, lumber, marble, and aluminum.

Those are the best seven in order.

[Zilogix]

Yes, although it won't make much of a difference in an end game scenario which of the main resources you have, and you can make better use of your aid slots in tech deals than you can from selling your trade slots early on, anyway.

Yes, I understand that new accounts are quite the commodity in and of themselves, as we don't have to pay as much for purchasing tech. I intend to use this as leverage in my negotiations for joining an alliance, offering exclusive tech trade deals with the alliance that I want to join.

[Mirreille]

Doesn't it really depend on his situation? If he is not going to have any aid to start, wouldn't something like gems or silver give him a decent boost? You can't use 28% tax rate right away, and resources like that help you a lot very early on. You can't guarantee you are going to get the resources you want in trades. Also, if one is going solo then getting the resources to make tech dealing possible sooner might be better for such a nation? Tech dealing can build your economy faster then any resource.

[Delta1212]

Yes, I understand that new accounts are quite the commodity in and of themselves, as we don't have to pay as much for purchasing tech. I intend to use this as leverage in my negotiations for joining an alliance, offering exclusive tech trade deals with the alliance that I want to join.

Leverage isn't particularly needed. Most of CN is a joiners market for alliances. Especially if you intend to be and demonstrate the intention of being active and inolved. Anyone who wants to contribute and isn't obviously a liability is going to pretty much get jumped upon by most alliances. Active members are the single most precious commodity of alliances in this game.

[Zilogix]

Leverage isn't particularly needed. Most of CN is a joiners market for alliances. Especially if you intend to be and demonstrate the intention of being active and inolved. Anyone who wants to contribute and isn't obviously a liability is going to pretty much get jumped upon by most alliances. Active members are the single most precious commodity of alliances in this game.

I generally spend about 80 hours per 8-day week (work roster) in online gaming, and will be dropping out of my existing game before focusing on CN, so I don't think my level of activity should be a problem! :lol:

Currently I'm just creating a back-story, IGN, and nation identity before I join the game. I'm a bit of a roleplayer as well, so I enjoy getting the feel for the game before I dive in. Reading some of the history of CN that is available has been very interesting for me, including the chronicles of the major wars etc that have happened, and the events that have shaped the political face of this cyberverse. It is a lot more detailed than some of the games that I have played in the past.

[Delta1212]

I generally spend about 80 hours per 8-day week (work roster) in online gaming, and will be dropping out of my existing game before focusing on CN, so I don't think my level of activity should be a problem! :lol:

Currently I'm just creating a back-story, IGN, and nation identity before I join the game. I'm a bit of a roleplayer as well, so I enjoy getting the feel for the game before I dive in. Reading some of the history of CN that is available has been very interesting for me, including the chronicles of the major wars etc that have happened, and the events that have shaped the political face of this cyberverse. It is a lot more detailed than some of the games that I have played in the past.

Yeah, we do love our history here. It's very interesting how into this game and the politics people get conidering the very low amount of RP (in the traditional sense, realistically, this whole game is a giant RP with actual events taking the place of described ones). It's rather addicting.

[Noob Cake]

The four premium resources that EVERY single trade set requires;

Wheat; Fish; Cattle; Iron. Wheat/Fish is hand down the best two resources if you only get to choose two.

Now that trade resources for balanced a bit, there are no longer really bad resources combo that would put your nation in an disadvantage against the traditional 3 BG + Uranium.

[+Zeke+]

^^^Cattle?^^^ Not hardly. An average resource at best and only good for the FF bonus. I know plenty of nations without Cattle as native or in trade that are top flight. My nation will never have cattle as a resource because it would be crappy with my existing native pair.

Wheat and Fish might be the best resources in the game, but a player with Lumber and Marble would never hurt for trade partners. Never.

More likely could demand a fair trade bribe price too.

Another would be Iron and Coal. Sure, not the top tier, but players would love being able to lock down Steel in one trade. Likely pay for the privilege too. That you get the bonus resource right out of the gate would do wonders for early infra growth and not having the coal environment penalty is nice too.

If I could restart and pick my resources then it would be a toss up between those 2 pairs. Having the "best resources" isn't about having the best individual ones. It's about having a pair that OTHER players want. A player with Lumber and Marble might actually need an agent to field all his trade requests and bribe offers.

Edited March 25, 2008 by +Zeke+

[Noob Cake]

Coal is trash; that is that. Lumber and Marble are useless for many people who have stopped buying infra.

Wheat, Fish, Cattle, Iron are the only four resources in two of the three main sets (3 BG, 5 BG, and pure income). Just because Fish/Wheat is better than Cattle doesn't make it an average resource.

Edited March 25, 2008 by Noob Cake

[Delta1212]

Coal is trash; that is that. Lumber and Marble are useless for many people who have stopped buying infra.

Wheat, Fish, Cattle, Iron are the only four resources in two of the three main sets (3 BG, 5 BG, and pure income). Just because Fish/Wheat is better than Cattle doesn't make it an average resource.

Outside of your alliance I wouldn't describe the number of people who have stopped buying infra as "many"

[+Zeke+]

Delta called it.

Some 30K plus players in the game. I'm about 275 in rank. My infra is almost the same as yours, Noob Cake. And I'm still buying a couple hundred infra a week. It's cheap enough with my modifiers.

So yeah, Lumber and Marble are useless......

....for about half of 1% of the players.

Here we are talking to someone looking to start at the absolute bottom of the heap and tell him that Infra isn't important?

Exactly how is he supposed to get to the top of the heap with that advice?

He can wonder about what to do with "useless Lumber and Marble" after it vaults him past 99% of the players.

[Zilogix]

Here we are talking to someone looking to start at the absolute bottom of the heap and tell him that Infra isn't important?

Exactly how is he supposed to get to the top of the heap with that advice?

He can wonder about what to do with "useless Lumber and Marble" after it vaults him past 99% of the players.

I think I am more concerned with being a productive member of my alliance, and will allow my high level of activity to compensate for not having resources that may "springboard" my growth, in exchange for having resources that will be beneficial later in the game. Sure, I will start at the "bottom of the heap", but I certainly do not intend to stay there for long! It will be interesting to see how this goes. Think of it as an experiment. Does having resources conducive to fast growth give someone an advantage that having high activity couldn't match or even beat? That remains to be seen! I guess my initial question in this thread was not tempered with the defining of my goal in the game, which will also affect what resources would "fit" best for me.

My thanks to all who have replied. I know that I will have plenty of other questions as I go along, and I'm really grateful to those choose to offer their sagely advice to someone who knows comparatively nothing of the game.

[Syzygy]

Sure, I will start at the "bottom of the heap", but I certainly do not intend to stay there for long! It will be interesting to see how this goes. Think of it as an experiment. Does having resources conducive to fast growth give someone an advantage that having high activity couldn't match or even beat? That remains to be seen! I guess my initial question in this thread was not tempered with the defining of my goal in the game, which will also affect what resources would "fit" best for me.

Good luck with that, but don't be disappointed if things go slowly. Your initial resources have *very* little impact on your performance overall, if you make the right decisions in the more important questions:

- which alliance to join

- how to use the mechanics this game provides to the max.

You can expect to need by far more then one year of concentrated playing with very few mistakes to enter the top10 or top20 here. And even this would be a DAMN GOOD run. Your chances of entering the leage of the "fat guys" (when it comes to nation size) in 3 or 6 months is, sorry to say that, zero.

And believe me, I know what I am talking about

[Cylon]

Good luck with that, but don't be disappointed if things go slowly. Your initial resources have *very* little impact on your performance overall, if you make the right decisions in the more important questions:

- which alliance to join

- how to use the mechanics this game provides to the max.

You can expect to need by far more then one year of concentrated playing with very few mistakes to enter the top10 or top20 here. And even this would be a DAMN GOOD run. Your chances of entering the leage of the "fat guys" (when it comes to nation size) in 3 or 6 months is, sorry to say that, zero.

And believe me, I know what I am talking about

Don't believe him, he's a liar. He knows nothing about the CN game mechanics.

I have nothing to add, the post you made above shows that you are interested and motivated to play the game, the only thing you should do know is to find an alliance that fits your ideals. That will most likely be the most difficult part, CN features several great alliances.

Don't worry to much about nation growth, it's the social and political aspect that makes this game the most fun.

[Aeternos Astramora]

Does having resources conducive to fast growth give someone an advantage that having high activity couldn't match or even beat?

Would starting resources necessarily give you an advantage or disadvantage? No. However, with bad resources, you will likely be hurting forever and be put through a ton of trouble finding replacement trades when people drop.

Here's why wheat/fish is amazing:

1. Early on, you'll get people paying you $3 million for your trade.

2. If you sell your trade slots, you can't be sure of what resources you'll get. The two +8% population resources that you are guaranteed because they're native will mean that you will be able to buy more improvements earlier on, which helps growth.

3. When you're larger, stop selling your trade slots, and get your own good setup, you'll be less likely to get screwed over if someone drops a trade with you right before you collect because almost nobody will drop a water/wheat trade.

Also, don't expect to get in the top 10 for the next two years. I've been playing for 13 months, and if I maxed out my military, I'd be ranked 97th. I'm very far above average in my efficiency. I'm not the best by any means, but certainly up there, and I'm still a number of ranks away. You're starting later, and so you're at a much greater disadvantage.

[Genzod]

Don't believe him, he's a liar. He knows nothing about the CN game mechanics.

I have nothing to add, the post you made above shows that you are interested and motivated to play the game, the only thing you should do know is to find an alliance that fits your ideals. That will most likely be the most difficult part, CN features several great alliances.

Don't worry to much about nation growth, it's the social and political aspect that makes this game the most fun.

This is true. For the first few months, nation building will be exciting. But after that it gets to be repetitive, especially compared to other resource-gathering/empire-type games. What makes CN great is the social and political aspect, and obviously your experience in this realm will differ greatly depending on which alliance you're in.

But fear not if you choose the wrong alliance initially. We're alliances, not gangs, and you're allowed to make a few switches before you're socially branded as an alliance hopper.

Edit: It may take years to enter the Top 100 in terms of nation size, but you can be one of the top 100 players in terms of political influence much quicker by joining an influential alliance whose leadership isn't closed off to newcomers.

Edited March 25, 2008 by GenZod

[myruler]

wheat/fish is the best resources you can have because every setup would love to have them in there. Mainly if you have those resources, you are going to go for the 3BG setup at the beginning and if you stop buying infra, you'll pick up the FF only setup. With wheat/fish, like others said, very few people will drop a trade on you and many will even pay for your resources. However, the best thing you can do is join the right alliance for you.

Edited March 25, 2008 by myruler

[Zilogix]

Wow! Thanks for all that positive feedback everyone. I am going to commit to this over the long term. I know how these type of games go. The start is like a burst of activity, and things tend to slow down thereafter, and many people drop off out of boredom in the later stages, as it takes a long time to collect the resources needed for that next upgrade or purchase. Yeah, I've been there and stuck through the tough times in previous games, sometimes playing the same game for 2-3 years, so yeah, I know what to expect. But the game mechanics, the politics, and the history is what I am wrapping my brain around at the moment.

Just today I had to send a mass IGM out to members of my alliance in the game that I'm leaving, letting them know that someone else is quitting, and they want to find someone to take over their account. My time is soon coming there too, soon, and then I will hope to find someone to take over my account there also.