Sun-tzu's The Art of War has been a must-read for all military commanders for over two and a half thousand years. However, it is not only a practical guide to the running of a military. It can be applied to any sort of conflict, from business to debates... or Sins of a Solar Empire.
The Art of War is comprised of 13 sections, each of which deals with a specific aspect of war. Each week (if all goes well), I will be releasing a thread devoted to one of these sections. I will break it down, and demonstrate how it applies to our favorite RTS. This thread contains my introduction, some background information, and the first section of The Art of War.
Know that this guide is only really useful for multiplayer. It can assist you somewhat in SP, true. But The Art of War devotes a decent amount of time to (disrupting) enemy thinking. Computers don't think, they repeat.
Some chapters are almost entirely applicable to SoaSE. Others have a lot of useful advice, and a few don't apply much. I will be covering them all.
DISCLAIMER: The original Art of War is uncopyrightable. However, I am completely unfamiliar with Chinese. It's safe for me to assume that you are, as well. The text that I am using is a copyrighted translation. (The Art of War, translated by Ralph D. Sawyer, copyright 1994, if you're interested). I will not be including work specific to that text in the following pages. (By that, I mean I will only be writing about and distributing the translated, original text).
I am currently writing this using Wordpad. Because of this, the formatting may be mixed up when this goes on to the forums. You can find a link to the original Wordpad document here: http://www.speedyshare.com/files/21098371/Intro--_section_1.rtf
Any and all suggestions, feeback, and excessive karma are well-recieved.
Table of Contents (links)
I. Initial Estimations (You are here)
II. Waging War Not yet written
III. Planning Offensives Not yet written
IV. Military Disposition Not yet written
V. Strategic Military Power Not yet written
VI. Vacuity and Substance Not yet written
VII. Military Combat Not yet written
VIII. Nine Changes Not yet written
IX. Maneuvering the Army Not yet written
X. Configurations of Terrain Not yet written
XI. Nine Terrains Not yet written
XII. Incendiary Attacks Not yet written
XIII. Employing Spies Not yet written
Use this thread for both discussion of "Initial Estimations", or the project as a whole. Talk of different sections should remain in their specific threads.
And now, I am pleased to present...
Sun-tzu's
The Art of War
I. Initial Estimations
Sun-tzu said:
"Warfare is the greatest affair of state; the basis of life and death, the Way (Tao) to survival or extinction. It must be thoroughly pondered and analyzed."
Fairly self-explanatory. First, Sun-tzu will establish some analogies which will be used throughout the project.
"Therefore, structure it according to [the following] five factors, evaluate it comparatively through estimations, and seek out its true nature. The first is termed the Tao, the second Heaven, the third Earth, the fourth generals, and the fifth the laws [for military organization and discipline]."
"The Tao causes the people to be fully in accord with the ruler. [Thus] they will die with him, they will live with him and not fear danger."
This seems to be talking about morale and alliances. As there is no troop morale in the game, the Tao in this respect will not come into play. Culture spread might assist in this, but to a minor extent. I do not own Diplomacy, so I'm not sure how much the Tao applies to that expansion.
"Heaven encompasses yin and yang, cold and heat, and the constraints of the seaons."
Yin and yang. Balances between everything must be realized. THe perfect mix of defense and offense, civilian and military research, and more are all relevant to Heaven. Don't think of Heaven as the fluffy white cloud place when reading The Art of War.
"Earth encompasses far or near, difficult or easy, expansive or confined, fatal or tenable terrain."
You must know where you are fighting. Figure out where the pirates are, where the resources lie, and which grav wells can wreak havoc with your ships.
"The general encompasses wisdom, credibility, courage, and strictness."
YOU are the general. You must gain all of the above traits in order to lead an army. Sins is no different.
"The laws [for military organization and discipline] encompass organization and regulations, the Tao of command, and the management of logistics."
Keep your fleets well-structured. Use the Empire Tree to your advantage. Always keep watch on your resource/credit flow. If you can manage an empire (minus direct combat) without ever leaving a certain grav well, you're good to go.
"There are no generals who have not heard of these five. Those who understand them will be victorious; those who do not understand them will not be victorious."
Read that three times.
* * *
"Thus when making a comparative evaluation through estimations, seeking out its true nature, ask:
Which ruler has the Tao?
Which enemy knows what he's doing? If he doesn't have the Tao, he is much less of a threat.
Which general has greater ability?
Seek out the best player first.
Who has gained [the advantages of] Heaven and Earth?
Who has the best planets, resources, and balance of things?
Whose laws and orders are more thoroughly implemented?
The organization of your empire is key. Know what you need to do, and do it.
Whose forces are stronger?
Numbers do not win a battle. But they help.
Whose officers and troops are better trained?
In Sins, this has an obvious correlation to both capital ship levels and the amount of research different types of ships have recieved. But YOU are also the battlefield officer, so you have to know how to conduct your battles well.
Whose rewards and punishments are clearer?
Again, this is more of a morale thing. But if, say, you're leading an MP team, they need to remain motivated. Reward attackers with planets and resources. Punish weaker allies with fewer gifts and reinforcements.
From these I will know victory and defeat!"
There you have it. Ponder these questions well.
"If a general follows my [methods of] estimation and you employ him, he will certainly be victorious and retained. If a general does not follow my [methods for] estimation and you employ him, he will certainly be defeated, so dismiss him."
Well, you are the only general. So use these methods of estimation well.
"After estimating the advantages in accord with what you have heard, put it into effect with strategic power (shih) supplemented by field tactics that respond to external factors.
Think about that sentence for a moment. Use your field tactics to advance your strategy, but keep your tactical plans very flexible.
As for strategic power, [it is] controlling the tactical imbalance of power in accord with the gains to be realized."
A rather dense, self-descibing sentence. Strategic power is controlling the non-balance of (universal) power to achieve gains.
"Warefare is the Way (Tao) of deception. Thus although [you are] capable, display incapablity to them. When committed to employing your forces, feign inactivity. When [your objective] is nearby, make it appear as if distant; when far away, create the illusion of being nearby."
My favorite paragraph (and the one to follow). Your enemy cannot fight you effectively if he doesn't know what you're doing.
"Display profits to entice them. Create disorder [in their forces] and take them.
Lure the enemy with promises of easy battles and quick resources. Create havoc with special abilities (Repulsion, for instance), and cut them to pieces.
If they are substantial, prepare for them; if they are strong, avoid them.
Remember: quality and quantity are different. If it's a rabble of ships thrown together by a hapless newbie, obliterate them. If it's an elite squadron of ships in command of an expert player, avoid! There is no shame in retreating.
If they are angry, perturb them; be deferential to foster their arrogance.
Be subtely superior whilst using the in-game chat. Don't spam insults; that will only make them think less of you. Advertising your (possibly non-existant) diverse fleet as the best one in the galaxy is far more effective than swearing about the enemy's mother.
If they are rested, force them to extert themselves.
Why on earth would you allow an enemy fleet to repair in peace? There had better be a really good reason to allow a damaged fleet to survive.
If they are united, cause them to be seperated.
Divide and conquer! This applies to both you and the enemy. Split your fleet and trap them. Split their fleet and shred them.
Attack where they are unprepared.
I seriously doubt anyone was prepared for the first-ever Scout Rush. Weak points in defenses should be eploited. Forget about making things 'fair'. You are here to vanquish your enemy.
Go forth where they will not expect it.
That's a nice-looking wormhole...
These are the ways military strategists are victorious. They cannot be spoken of in advance."
The first part is easy to understand. The second sentence seems to mean, "Don't reveal your plans."
"Before the engagement, one who determines in the ancestral temple that he will be victorious has found that the majority of factors are in his favor. Before the engagement one who determines in the ancestral temple that he will not be victorious has found few factors are in his favor."
You may recall from 'Mulan' that the Chinese were very devoted to their ancestors. If a general proudly announces that his ancestors told him he will win, he probably realized ahead of time that he has a lot of factors in his favor. And vice versa. An air of mystery should surround you and your plans.
"If one who finds that the majority of factors favor him will be the victorious one [and vice versa], what about someone who finds no factors in his favor?"
Yes, what happens then? This is the most infuriating sentence in the whole book. I assume that man is boned, unless he can pull of a miracle (by reading the rest of the book).
"If I observe it from this perspective, victory and defeat will be apparent."
=====
End of Aspect I.
