Why Do Farmers Prefer Using Mills Instead of TCs?

[@josiahgibson6373]

My mom's a farm girl who doesn't play video games. She overheard me watching this video and asked me what it was about. After I explained that it was about trying to figure out why farmers in Age of Empires would travel further to get to a mill rather than a town centre, she offered an explanation: "Mills have fewer people to deal with."

[@TheRXStudios]

Can’t argue with that logic, also, sweet name dude

[@zanda0120]

yer moms got great wisdom, feck dealing with people

[@1987AnimeBoy]

Care to explain further?

[@Staye100]

Well, Moms seem to know better most of the time. Can't argue with her logic.

[@AshiroFlo]

omg genius comment

[@sandypetersen6935]

I worked at Ensemble Studios at the time. You have correctly explicated the reasoning.

[@xaviercostermans4701]

Sandy Petersen Thank you for your service

[@plop_plop_0710]

Can you at least correct it? It is rather annoying to see it.

[@rambard5599]

Annu Ranjan I think it isn't as easy to fix as it sounds like. It's one thing to calculate different distances, it's another thing entirely to calculate different distances depending on what side you're closer to.

[@plop_plop_0710]

I know there will be more additional calculations done, but hey, it's computer and most of the calculations require a nanosecond of time. Rarely does a function take a microsecond which doesn't make any difference to the gaming experience. I can even tell you the algorithm to implement it.

[@deathdealer312]

wait, you're THAT Sandy Petersen?

[@joedalton155]

Spirit Holmes and the mystery of the dissident farmer

[@odoakerrex2787]

well, another mystery solved

[@TheStigHCE09]

She would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling mathematicians

[@Lets-ask1215]

Life of an AOE farmer Step1: Ssshhhaaaa Step2: Sow the seeds Step3: Harvest Step4: Do complicated pythagorean mathematics Step5: Eradicate world hunger .

[@OsedayCan]

I heard that Ssshhhaaaa

[@chris86simon]

@@OsedayCan How can you not XD Fucking excellent onomatopoeia.

[@jamalcalypse]

Step6: Wololo

[@Crashandburn999]

I don't even play aoe, and yet I still heard that as I read it.

[@Tigrou7777]

You probably means this : kzbin.info/www/bejne/ony0c4erjaqKpZI

[@NXeta]

The villagers got some pythagorean theorem quick maffs

[@martijn9568]

What I learned this video is that you should place your farms on the right of your mill or towncenter.

[@SpiritOfTheLaw]

Yeah, though if that's the direction you're more likely to get raided from, sometimes I find it better to switch it up and put them on the left.

[@luyenluyen7763]

Wait. You knew this along time ago isnt it Spirit . I remember in one of your video your write " what a noob , i put my farm on the left side of the TC " .... :v coulnd remember which video was it

[@burt591]

Luyen Luyen Yes that's common knowledge among AOC players, but this video makes it more clear to see why

[@BardockSSJL]

Luyện Luyện yeap. Actually I think there's also a video about it.

[@martijn9568]

Spirit Of The Law Now I'm starting to wonder how big the difference is between a farm on the right and on left side of a mill/tc. Could you look into this??

[@Vendavalez]

"Even when the math checks out you can still sometimes come to the wrong conclusion. I can respect that and even relate." I think that this is the most "Spirit Of The Law" video you have ever made.

[@RomaZeal]

Why Do Farmers Prefer Using Mills Instead of TCs? these are the questions that keep me up at night

[@Carpatouille]

Literaly since I'm watching this at 1:35 am at night 2 years later

[@bluepotato7]

That red AI is just desperate to get screen time on a spirit of the law video

[@Ben-nl3ty]

I bet the game dev who programmed the farming behavior algorithm never expected it to be analysed in so much detail. This is awesome

[@SiddhantRanade]

I bet they would've spent more time coding the actual correct distance to the edge instead of the distance to the center of the building if they knew!

[@Fraggr92]

Well my theory is that this all comes down to the "create villager" button. See, villagers don't just magically appear once the bar fills up and the sound plays. The truth is that the town center is filled with villagers that are just non-stop procreating in order to be able to keep up the villager production. See now why villagers prefer mills over TCs? Would you wanna have to go to the TC, knowing that your parents are in there working on your new siblings?

[@EdsonManuelCarballoVera]

send that to game theory

[@AngelaMerici12]

God, that sounds like a movie plot!!

[@rompevuevitos222]

The Zerg got nothing on AoE villagers

[@TonyDQT]

Karl The Fragr So you are saying the ones who go to TC having some sort of fetishes?

[@paco3523]

They don't procreate that way, if not it wouldn't cost 50 food. It must be some Frankenstein thing

[@Miimu5210]

perfect timing I just bought lunch. Your videos are my lunch videos. Do you understand?

[@kemosonicfan123lbp]

Mi i also am on my lunch break

[@dontspikemydrink9382]

you eat his videos and yell at your coworkers?

[@Dabeyoun]

I understand. You have VERY few lunches. :(

[@michaelpothoven1041]

I'm on lunch break just now!

[@IvanGTerrace]

I'm pooping and watching this. It's like the opposite of lunch.

[@HaBBiSiFy]

Two SoTL videos in a week's time? Man I must be living in a dream!

[@medoma1000]

"Next time I'll be able to tell myself that hte villagers are just trying their best and are actually doing some impressive number crunching on the fly" when villagers are crazy good in math

[@yukipaw1702]

Damn, got an ad about the 60.000 $ AoE 2 tournament

[@sephyrias883]

Same. The narrator was TaToH? Zero Empires? Some of the other youtubers.

[@apex9806]

me too

[@nachiketpargaonkar8646]

Sephyrias Sounded like Zero Empires to me!

[@satyakisil4289]

It was Zero Empires.

[@sharktrap267]

YukiPaw same, and that's probably the first time I've been happy to see an ad.

[@kevinp9110]

Man that thing was dope, Microsoft should give you a PHD in AOE. Great explanation.

[@shiinaai2978]

You have no idea how helpful your analysis has been in the designing of my city builder game.

[@willnash7907]

I love how people like you keep an old but deserving game fresh and interesting!

[@Chenla]

Thats why I prefer to use mills only - nice explanation. In AoE 1 villager will drop off resources to the closest site no mater the building, but in there it will be probably due to the fact, that both Storage Pit, Granary and Town Center is the same size.

[@yonokhanman654]

Plus villagers in AoE 1 didn't walk around on farms, they did 100% farming.

[@Chenla]

in AoE DE they actually do.

[@lortoc]

I have no idea why I am here, but I enjoy every moment of it

[@fishnsteve]

This is awesome! I always thought the reason of villagers walking to mills is because they are friends with the ox circling around the inside of the mill!

[@rarespetrusamartean5433]

Why is this in my recommended why did I watch all of it why did I enjoy it

[@andr3cb]

can you make an episode about relics? why some players ignore them? thank you.

[@PandyBong]

andr3cb This

[@baldawen]

because relics are often just placebo and not worth the time wasted and gold you spend on the monk if you are only using him for that.

[@rogeriocardoso8258]

If you have allies with whom you can trade, the relics are not that important. They're important basically in 1 vs 1 combats, when the players run out of gold.

[@vogel968]

And even then sometimes the relics won´t produce the gold in a short amount of time.

[@Toast_94]

Many early game rush strategies need the gold that the monk costs for blacksmith upgrades or a couple more units, in fact it takes a collected relic almost two minutes to pay off the cost of the monk itself (not including the time spent taking the monk to the relic and back). It's slow compared to a couple gold miners. They generate 1 gold per relic every 2 seconds.

[@marcoflores2594]

Man, if only every videogame had a KZbinr who studies the game with scientific method. You are amazing

[@XfStef]

Glad we have Spirit of the Law answering the important questions in life.

[@adibsarwar1820]

The level of detail you use to analyze every scenario is very commendable.

[@alekra3521]

I dont know why i love your intro so much but its one of the only few i havent skipped a single time great videos!

[@baptistic]

I do play AOE every now and then but I mostly just appreciate your videos' scripts and the way you solve the puzzles.

[@Hrideygoel]

OMG I was having such a bad day and u posted ur video thanks dude for making my day

[@albertobenetello5736]

I've been wondered this for my whole life. Thank you my friend!

[@_antares031]

Always appreciate your videos, Spirit. :)

[@PaulGaither]

I have no idea why this is in my recommendation. I do not play this game. I play Magic the Gathering and D&D. That being said, this was still an interesting topic and thank you.

[@IschmarVI]

because KZbin

[@CiliophoraEuplotes]

What if there is a wall between the farm and the mill, will the villager walk around? Also, will he choose the tc if the wall is completely closed?

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

She'll ignore walking distance i.e. she'll walk around. You tend to see this aspect of the programming more with lumberjacks - if there's some trees just on the other side of your wall, they'll go after them (rather than even slightly farther trees within your walls which require much less walking) even if they need to walk a mile to get to the nearest gate. Their behavior follows straight line distance ignoring obstacles, not actual walking distance.

[@michaeltolly2588]

Rafael Feliczaki It will go to whatever is closer. If there is a forrest between mill and farm and the mill is closer than the TC (even though it does not have something between the farm and the TC) it will walk all around the forest (lake, walls, 40 paladins) and drop it off at the mill - yeah they are really stubborn

[@CiliophoraEuplotes]

Oh that's right, I completely forgot about those villagers walking all around the forests to chop a tree on the other side.

[@legion2590]

11 40 paladins... the vil will even kindly open the gates for them.

[@Nebenstehender]

Legion something similar happened to me once on an arena map :/

[@YaBoi40]

I love your videos! It's always fun to tune in and see the answer to life's biggest questions!

[@YaBoi40]

And keep up the great videos!

[@FerousFolly]

Thanks, youtube recommendations, I needed this.

[@stuarthigginson9529]

Just when you thought you knew everything about your favourite video game for almost a decade straight... SOL you are genuinely a genius my friend.

[@Polynikes24]

Your videos are so brilliant man. I appreciate what you do for the community.

[@mochamaddzaki32]

Everytime I watch your videos, I feel dumb.. I even don't noticed some small things like that, that would be useful in some scenario. This guy deserve gold play button from KZbin 👍

[@ThylekofEarth]

3 Spirit Of The Law videos in 1 week? This is awesome! :)

[@skevball2792]

You are literally the reason I got back into this game, Love the videos, keep up the good work

[@aceplayer555]

Loving all these frequent, small videos!

[@robotdaneel8082]

nice tests and i appreciate you continuing to test until you built an understanding

[@martinsutton1996]

You are a gosh darn genius my friend and we all love you

[@woutervanderdoes5163]

These are my favorite types of videos by you

[@betrerolthorion3897]

You have been doing so many videos lately, I'm super glad!

[@philanthropist91]

This is why im starting to love your videos

[@bishop253]

Super informational video as always. Keep up the good work SotL.

[@shevy9146]

You've taken this to another level. Amazing!

[@technoir_]

Super interesting! Thanks for making this kind of videos man, great work.

[@JuggernautDE]

So much videos in the last time. Thats amazing

[@Fingolfin3423]

Spirit you have one of the best channels on KZbin.

[@palanikumar7877]

Frankly, this is what something so special about Spirit of the law, something out of the box and still interesting about AOE2. I guess all the game makers and patch creators have to do is subscribe to the channel and use it to their advantage.

[@fredred8371]

Very impressed u put this effort into figuring this out. Thank u

[@ProUzer]

I always noticed the villagers would neglect the right hand side of the farm, thanks for explaining

[@thescourgeofgod4847]

Incredible analysis! Another great one in the books

[@WenSon84]

i dont know why this video was suggested to me, but i love your method, your way of explanation, i really just enjoyed watching a smart video. thank you for that and good job ^^

[@Mini31241]

3 videos in 1 week? Please change Spirit of the Law to Speed of the Upload

[@MrTohawk]

Maybe that's the law?

[@wolfancap6897]

You just ansewered a question that i had since i was 11 years old, for that you deserve a like.

[@pepperVenge]

You're really good at solving problems with this game that I didn't know I was mad about. lol

[@aleksitjvladica.]

Thank you so much I needed this in my life.

[@overhang88]

this channel is just so good.

[@Joker-yw9hl]

Been binging your videos again recently

[@alejandroladreyt522]

Spirit of the Law

[@eccentrichorse11]

I can con-farm everything you said. I have faced this problem a mill-ion times

[@Auspexel]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 these jokes were a town of fun, because there was a drop-off in quality

[@moepskie]

Great vid as always Spirit

[@ryans3795]

The ending of this is still one of my favorite moments from spirit of the law

[@TorrellesEdit]

Great video! I now undestand why people tend to create the first farms at the right/top side of TC's. Villagers will be closer to the dropoff point! Even if it's only 1 or 2 tiles.

[@coachrenaldo]

Two Sotl videos in the same week!? Please, you do me too good...

[@eksmad]

Wow.. I noticed the same on my own but never thought about it too much. GREAT explanation!!

[@Andreecals]

"I can respect that, and even relate" You're such a nice guy xD

[@roachburak]

I was wondering about this. Thank you lord Spirit!

[@favio100]

i cant belive that you make a video of this. Anyway i really love your channel.

[@Skaitania]

The actual drop off point for resources at the TC is the centre of the building, if you look at it in detail. You can even see them laying around. And while it stands to reason that the mill has someone inside storing whatever the villager drops off around it, the one in the TC obviously doesn't want to run around all over the 16 tiles. Out of the 16 tiles the TC covers, 4 are the house (with only the middle opening and drop off point, I assume) and 12 open tiles that provide space for union meetings, 6 with a roof and 6 without. Not to mention that technically, when someone drops harvest at the TC, someone else has to carry it to a mill anyways. No one wants to eat grain!

[@drebyte]

0:27 I thought that villager was going to explode trying to choose one of the mills surrounding her

[@thegabbro2608]

Fun FACT Spirit: Saboteurs (in the castle) cant destroy 1 hp just placed farms but can One shot partially or grown farms :D

[@legion2590]

I've wondered why this is for ages. Thanks for the answer.

[@DataJager]

Thank you Spirit of the Law for , as usual, telling me things about math in a video game that I never realized I wanted to know

[@icecold1805]

That ending was way more deep than I expected for an AoE video.

[@CompletelyZoningOut]

Such a simple and enjoyable video.

[@TheCherryTrader]

That villager is queen, what a babe

[@MrTohawk]

And they said maths isnt needed in labour intensive jobs.

[@GS-wz9np]

Wife: "he's probably thinking of other women" Husband:

[@theodoreroosevelt3143]

SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE!!!! I love your channel, you are great man i learned a lot and i play better because of you just... thank you for making my play more enjoyable

[@Jewnboy]

Thanks so much for all these videos! Would you consider doing a general unit types strengths and weaknesses video for more intro-level players? Just explaining some of the "rocks paper scissors" aspects of the game

[@PrometheusReloaded]

This is such a great video. Gracias!

[@SomethingEls]

Thanks Spirit! I was wondering about that myself every time I saw that. Now I know. Thanks again =D

[@sachan9081]

This was interesting, entertaining and well explained.

[@fidrewe99]

It's amazing how many subtleties there are in AOE2. Everyone of them can be (ab)used to your advantage.

[@stevenborck1279]

Perfect example of how correlation does not imply causation.

[@ScythianSteppes]

3:55 top 10 photos taken seconds from disaster

[@bip901]

This. This is some quality content!

[@arcticbeak]

3 SotL Videos in the same week? Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy :D

[@Gui101do]

Still learning something new about a 20 year old game...thanks for the video

[@Ratciclefan]

Sometimes I just wanna watch a quick video and see a video by SOTL asking a question I never thought of asking

[@allinaxford]

The farms I see are still AOE 1 farms, just with different collision detection, and as is the town center. Makes sense given they share a game engine.

[@austinpugmire2843]

You are the real MVP, spirit

[@JorgeTakeshita]

As always a great video!

[@Griffon-xm9yg]

I remember when I first played I never thought about placing farms around the town center until I started noticing the AI do it and was like wow that is more efficient since the villagers don't have to walk as far to hide in the town center during attack and can get back to work faster, I think I did notice them walking to the mills but never paid much attention to it

[@DicoTheRedstoner]

Can you redo the test with town centers on the left and mills on the right, with one change: place the mills such that each town center's center location has a mill's center location on the opposite side or symmetrical over the center gather point of the farm. Then see what happens? And in addition, if you place one mill and town center such that the middles of the buildings are equally far from a given gather point on the farm, then test which one (s)he prefers. Might be decided based on direction or something or floating point errors, the latter could make it random but consistent on each coordinate. Idk... I'm rambling. I could test myself lol.

[@matthewmassengill1509]

The intractable portion of the town center is the top 4 tile square out of the 16 tiles that it covers.

[@Ibrahim_Orhan]

Thanks Sotl, again great video. U have to be an alpha tester of new aoe games. Stay mathy...