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Chatterbox Series: maimin_matty and Out4Blood Chat Excerpts
There's just no stopping maimin_matty as he tears through the world of Age of Empires. He's preparing for his prize trip to Rome at the end of May, as the reigning Grand Emperor of Age. He and his partner, Out4Blood have just swept the Ultimate Ager competition. The following chat was on Tuesday, May 11 at 6:00 P.M. Pacific Time in the Theater Chat Room. We'd like to thank maimin_matty and Out4Blood for joining us for this chat. --MSN Gaming Zone-
CvivLee> I'm pretty new at this...I find singles to be way different than partners.
Out4Blood> Talking is the best thing you can do -- let them know where you are at in economy and militarily. Those voice programs are GREAT for that, but they eat bandwidth.
RomanWahoo> So o4b, how did you manage to handle that time period where everyone said that matty won the tournament and no one gave you any credit for it? Didn't that annoy you? Just wondering buddy :-)
Out4Blood> Ummm hehe - sort of but.. matty IS better than I am, but it was good to stick one to my ol' buddy methos finally but it could have gone either way.
maimin_matty> I would say o4b is not taking enough credit.
RomanWahoo> And matty, how's it feel to rule the world where everyone says that you could chew up methos for breakfast? :-) (just kidding methos) :)
Out4Blood> Actually -- I complement matty's game -- I am weak where he is strong and he is weak where I am strong, we cover each other really well and have played a lot of games together.
maimin_matty> Well there seems to be a mix of people out there. Some say I am great...others just want to kick my butt.
_Methos_ST> Matty, is it true that Canadians excel in Age of Empires because they live in a frozen wasteland where there is little else to do? Seriously, in your opinion, and also that of your faithful cohort out4blood, what is the greatest mistake that a newer player makes?
maimin_matty> Yes, frozen wasteland is an excellent excuse to stay in all winter playing AoE. I would say newbies most often don't understand how to advance ages...and are overwhelmed by the techs/buildings.
Out4Blood> I think newer players do not concentrate enough on the economy, and hence get crushed by an opponent's military.
ahcoolguy> Hey guys! do you have any good team strategies you would like to share with us?
Out4Blood> I can't speak for the emperor, but I believe almost everyone could stand to make a few more peons -- I love the guys that rush for that 11:00 [minute] Bronze but stop at 24 peons the whole game -- COMMUNICATE.
maimin_matty> As far as team strategy goes, I would say people don't combine forces often enough. It doesn't take much to both agree to Tool rush at 12 or say that you broke through Red's walls, let's go CRUSH HIM!!! :)
MA_Reeces> Did you enjoy Net Campaign? You could have won it, but it seemed you didn't even try. Hyper beat our @$$, even though you ended up in the top 5. So, did you enjoy NC, and did you even try?
Out4Blood> Yes communication is key.
maimin_matty> As to NC, Net campaign was amazing. I had a lot of fun when I was involved and played almost every day. I felt like it was getting too competitive at the end.
MA_Reeces> What position did you get in the end?
maimin_matty> Ummm, about 5th.
MA_Reeces> Almost beat you, I got 6th. Have you ever owned a web page or learned a computer language?
Out4Blood> I think AoE could use another sort of "meta-campaign" system like that -- only have it be 1-on-1 or team vs. team. We had a Web page a while back -- but I graduated and lost our space. Matty is a web MASTER though.
maimin_matty> I am currently enrolled at University of Guelph and am going into computer science. O4b is the computer expert on the team.
Out4Blood> Not me man - I am an MBA. No REAL skills at all.
yen96> Do you guys ever sling shot (if so how often?) or just both play normal? (Any tips on partner plays?)
Out4Blood> We tried a slingshot ONCE -- it failed miserably. Usually, we just do whatever the map gods allow us to do -- sometime we Tool attack, sometimes we Bronze early.... for partners -- common tip is... COMMUNICATE constantly.
yen96> When slow Tooling/Bronzing (16-17 Bronze) how many vills do you go with?
Out4Blood> Hmmm, my average times are 12 min Tool, and 17 minute Bronze. With that, I usually have around 40-50 peons including boats. So, even when I lose a bunch to camels, I still have more than my opponent.
maimin_matty> Dude, 17 Bronzes are a bad idea unless you either wall or Tool attack.
Waterfall_Pure> 1. What do ya think is the best civ? For what reason?
maimin_matty> I would say it depends strongly on map size and map type.
Out4Blood> Hittite, but it depends on the map and settings. Hittite are the most versatile and I play them on most map settings. They are awesome in Bronze, the BEST in iron, and they are not gold dependent. On tiny maps, I go with Shang or Sumerian definitely. I play a lot of water -- and the bigger maps favor the Bronze/Iron civs.
maimin_matty> Yeah, Hittite rock but on a tiny map unless it is water they can easily be overwhelmed.
Waterfall_Pure> What was your strategy?
maimin_matty> For the final match, I did a strong economy Tool battle. Which o4b followed with a quick Bronze. I wouldn't say we went into the game thinking we were gonna do that.
Out4Blood> I just remember methos Tooling with 11 villagers and me trying to kill his Yamato ships and wondering why they were stronger.
JAWS_CATS> What is your favorite game settings, civ for it, and units?
Out4Blood> Jaws -- I love medit map and I love med resources the best. IMHO - med resources take away the problems with random map luck regarding berries and water and evens out the civs a little better.
maimin_matty> My favorite settings are anything I haven't played in a long time and my favorite civ is random...always gives me a good excuse if I lose.
Out4Blood> Not me I hate random :-)
CvivLee> O4b...if you were Egyptian, what two types of units would you combine for a strong Bronze attack?
Out4Blood> Chariots and chariot archers ... mostly chariots though.
CvivLee> You do like those chariots?
Out4Blood> Since they will soon become scythes which are really unstoppable. At least the Egyptian ones are, and they don't take gold.
CvivLee> Are archers good to hold off chariots?
Out4Blood> To defeat chariots with archers -- you need to learn to "dance.” That is, move the chariot archer being attacked while the others fire at the attacking chariots.
CRaZeD_BoWMaN> Hey guys thanx for the time, I'm a recent transplant from AOE to ROR, and I was wondering on a water map what is your land peon count for a boom and how are they distributed? Oh, and what's your thoughts on the AOE cheat program?
Out4Blood> Ugh... I think the cheat program is the worst thing ever. I make about 30/20 or slightly less.
maimin_matty> 24 land/16 boats for a good Tool and that leads into a strong Bronze. Cheat programs suck whatever size and shape they come in the real problem is the people that make them....give them out. BOOOO.
Out4Blood> The WORST thing about the cheater prog is that now everyone you beat SUSPECTS you of cheating. I have been accused of cheating the last five times I have played -- annoying.
onethousand0> How many peons do you use to explore with?
maimin_matty> Strongly depends on the map. On a hill country map, I often explore with two or more but send them out singly. On a continental or Mediterranean map, I usually send out only two and they circle the shore. When they go together, they won't be likely to die by lions and can build docks faster.
Out4Blood> I explore too little -- biggest weakness here. I prefer to use those guys on economy -- since they gather about 500 resources in 10 min.
AOE_Gs> Maimin and O4B is it true we should send in villies with military since they're always standing there looking innocent? So should we? Like send a shrimp boat with your trireme?
maimin_matty> How do you mean send in vils with military? As in sending them in as forward builders?
AOE_Gs> Yes. Because they do all the work, and give them a piece of action.
Out4Blood> Umm.... better to have them working later on, you can move them to build forward bases and in Iron, I get jihad or siegecraft or both and go towering away all over.
maimin_matty> The only reason you should send in a villager with your military is to make archeries/etc. near the enemy camp.
MA_Reeces> This is a personal question, but what kinda music do you listen to?
maimin_matty> I listen to a lot of lighter music. I like bands like Ani DiFranco and John Prine. My favorite band ever -- James.
Out4Blood> My faves are Nirvana, Cranberries, Sinead O'Connor and Johnny Cash. I also like Ed James -- but you gotta be weird to know him.
MA_Reeces> Mav(jk) wanted me to ask you this, but what would you do on a default resource random map game with you as Pal. and your opponent as the fast Shang? I'd say just wall up and hope.
Out4Blood> Depends on map. On a map where you can stop Tool attacks -- boom a bit -- palmy economy rocks and they have nice camels on an open area -- you got Bronze rush with camels.
HTA_U4_PiLLaGe> After I put my first 6 peons on wood...I start putting the rest of my peons on wood....and start docking. When those berries run out, I move those to wood also....this makes me really slow Tool. How do you guys do your opening from a granary start?
Out4Blood> I try to have a second food source like elephants or another berry patch going. Everyone on wood and making fishing boats is a great boom strategy, but it does make you very slow.
HTA_U4_PiLLaGe> Okay....so I should keep those first six peons on food until after Tool?
Out4Blood> Actually I usually have about eight as food gatherers until I Tool and then they go onto wood, gold, or farming depending on the map.
_JustAPeoN_1> Hey, what are your booming strategies??? How do you get a lot of wood for a huge Navy, and how do you defend your base, cause I get killed while killing a lot of times?
maimin_matty> Ouch, a lot of meat in that question. Booming strategies first? Get six guys on food (any civ but Shang...they only need 4. The rest, pile on wood, build a storage pit, then get a dock up.
Out4Blood> When I boom -- I usually get attacked just like you -- so I recommend 1) spreading out, 2) blocking the choke points so they can't get you, 3) spread out, and 4) spread out.
_JustAPeoN_1> Do you dock first or after pit ?
maimin_matty> Pit first...then dock(most often).
Trex_> Hi guys, how many peasants you usually do in Stone Age?
maimin_matty> I usually do 24 regular villagers, 6 to begin and then I try to get the rest of my food from boats.
Out4Blood> Well, I do around 30 real villagers, around 7-8 on food. I am a bit more aggressive on the early booming -- matty booms more in Bronze. Bronze speed is not as important in RoR as it is in AoE. I generally win most of my games even when my enemy Bronzes way ahead of me.
maimin_matty> Yup, I am a heavy Bronze boomer. Blood does it in Stone and Tool.
Lord1234> Hello Grand Emperor and O4B, it is nice to finally meet you. I am wondering if you like this technique I do in DM. I make a box using walls while the enemy is advancing. I then send 20/15 villys to make ballista towers while the opponent is still in the box. I wanna know if you can give me hints to make it better.
Out4Blood> I think walls in a DM are a waste early on.
Lord1234> But I use it when I am desperate and it really works.
maimin_matty> As far as boxing strategies, you should try out Choson boxing.
Out4Blood> Better spend time making stables or siege workshops.
Lord1234> I do. I box Greeks and Hittites well. And, can you tell me what your favorite unit is to use in DM?
maimin_matty> Greek vs. Choson is scary for Choson (in my experience). Favorite DM unit has to be a 3-way tie: Scythes/heavy cats/Armored elephants due to time constraints.
Out4Blood> Scythes, AEs and heavy cats in that order.
theseus71> Is Mace a viable civilization? If not would it be if it had "the wheel?”
Out4Blood> Mace rocks -- they are like slow death, since nothing really kills their hops until Iron but once Iron, they kinda peter out.
maimin_matty> They rock in Bronze but are left in the dust come Iron. Biggest problem with Mace is they have some major faults. They are slow, slow, slow. Don't get me wrong, they can be powerful but it takes a long time to get your army around so it is tough to attack and defend at the same time.
Out4Blood> I play with them a bit -- I do a straight Bronze rush and build in my enemy's town. Otherwise, they are very slow. The problem with them is I cannot do my guerilla spread tactics because they are so slow. I also suck with Persia so I lose a lot of vills with both civs. Wheel is very important IMHO.
Trivia winners were:
JAWS_CATS
yen96
CRaZeD_BoWMaN
yorick999
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