You know if you call it flawed you have to kinda prove it. Everyone who trying to play better do arc rush but few of them actually realize how to utilize CF the best way and CR showed us a decent route.
Except I, more specifically others, already did?
The best player who followed the skeleton of CR's strategy is... Prisca? Despite learning on the go, the FP generation of my city was slightly larger than hers, without any diamonds purchased. If you want to compare players under closer conditions (new world, some $$ spent) you can check Thruthehead city. His purchases are less than half from Prisca's and I'm sure that when his acc becomes as old as Prisca's he'll have achieved, at least, 4 times more lvls in GBs.
I would imagine Dulahan (HQS can’t join forum) writes that because
he adapted his own version of working RQs, stating that one should park in HMA to build an arc and level it to 80. Whereas the HQS presented by CR is a comprehensive strategy about the strategic objectives (maximize and optimize a city's overall production efficiency, expedite a city's expansion rate, and expedite a city’s total progress advancement), Dulahan's objective is to level an Arc to 80 and afterward to power level military GBs, power level FP producing GBs, and power level the CF and then to "tech advance."
And Dulahan, while I appreciate the ideas you've presented about how to collect BPs for an arc and level it to 80, which I will be adapting for my own city, I hardly believe you can call CR's HQS a "flawed/incomplete" strategy when it's largely complimentary to the guide you posted, and that CR's guide is significantly broader in focus in how to play the game compared to your guide. I personally appreciate the focus CR gives on leveling GBs to level 10 while also storing FP packs to be used for advancing in the tech tree, and to advance strategically in a tech sprint. I also appreciate the importance given to the CF, SMB, and LOA for working RQs, as well as the supporting role that GBs like the HS, CDM, and others have in spamming more and more RQs, as well as the focus on growing the space one has to develop through expansions paid by medals and diamonds. And I appreciate that his guide addresses objectives in ages beyond HMA or CA, as far as FE with dabs of AFE and OFE thrown in. None of this is to mention the attention he pays to fighting in GVG, GE, and PVP, since he was in a guild that fought GVG extensively.
CR’s guide is incomplete, there is no arguing that point. I would imagine you call CR's HQS flawed because he advocates to park in CA and not HMA, and that he does not focus on getting a level 80 Arc early in the game, am I correct?
I admit that CR's guide is good from a descriptive point of view, as he explained certain mechanics whose info was difficult to find elsewhere. However, from a strategic point of view it is terrible. Thus, in my opinion, the best compendium of CR "guide" would be limited to a description of the mechanics and ideas, without dwelving at all in the strategy side.
I won't deny that at first glance my guide can be seen as "less broad". Firstly, because I purposely didn't want to create duplicate info explaining too many basic mechanics, as I knew both guides would have similar audiences and I'm a fan of the "The good, if short, twice as good" idiom (I translated from Spanish, dunno if you have a similar version of it.
And secondly, because I aplied the Pareto principle, also called 80/20 which states that often times, 20% of the causes have 80% of the impact (althought in this case it looks closer to a 90/15). I'd rather fall short on the "causes" that fall short on the "impact". I'm also aware that there are some topics that haven't been adequately broken down such as city layout or what to do with 1000+ fps a day, but I think it is a separate topic that everyone should think on their own, and it is not intertwined with anything else from my guide.
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There is something that I want it to be skyclear: the objective in my guide was not and has never been to level up an arc to 80. It's true that the core of my guide is basically a method statement to get an early lvl 80 arc. However, getting a 80 arc is not the goal but a path, specifically it is THE path. The first objective of my guide is to build the most productive city mid and long term, just as CR is (at least in theory...). And the second objective is to encourage people to perform critical and analytical thinking.
The reason I call CR's guide flawed, is because his premises, and implicit hipothesis are partial and flawed.
His logic goes as follows. I want to max my city output --> RQs are one of the most efficient ways to produce goods, FPs and medals --> I'll improve RQs. Which is sort of okay. The problem is when he goes backwards and thinks that: max RQs --> maximize city output. And then his whole guide goes revolves around maximizing RQs.
Basically, he is solving the wrong problem. He is like a farmer that only focus on increasing his production and then half of its harvest rots because he hasn't found good distribution channels. Instead, he should try to maximize income ($$) and evaluate the impact of improving productivity, quality, distribution, price, etc. The same tunnel vision pollutes other aspects of the guide (e.g. GBs output at lvl 10 vs lvl 11 is poor, therefore all buildings should be lvled to 10).
Other than solving the wrong problem, he (and, as extension, his cult members) provides very poor advice in certain, obvious aspects (such as building dresden or atomium in colonial) and not so obvious aspects (such as camping colonial instead of HMA). However, the reason there was so much "CR hate" around the forums is his messiah attitude. It belongs to the human nature to do mistakes, it also belongs to the human nature not wanting to admit it, but gosh, in his case the last facet is otherwordly.
When I said I was sad that so much effort went into a flawed guide, I mean it. His guide had the potential to be insanely good, but ultimately the CR's ego was bigger that that potential. Maybe you can fulfill that potential, but for that I think you should stop "telling the CR tale" and focus on the contents.
I did LOTS of mistakes, but I don't go around recommending them. I also don't claim the strategy I describe there to be perfect, which allows the guide to grow, the door is open. Actually, since I made the guide, a topic that I had thought about but didn't consider it to be that relevant enough at first was brought to my attention. I'd go as far to say that it is likely that, planning a whole strategy around it since day 1 + a moderate spending in diamonds could lead to being #1 in the server by a long shot.
I don't feel entitled to reveal it, I wonder if that player will ever do so. What I can say though, is that if I were to start again now, I wouldn't camp in HMA, nor colonial, nor tech spring to the end of the ages.
