[Calahan]

I personally think you can learn a lot from SP games, but only if you are disciplined with your approach to them. I actually played SP games for 18 months before jumping into MP games (for various reasons), but after the first few SP games, I stopped trying to win directly against the AI, since that was just too easy, and made each game about challenging myself, and learning more about the vast array of spells and mechanics in the game.

One idea I came up with was for each new game I played, I'd pick some of the spells that I currently didn't know the effects of, and then would force myself (script wise) to cast them in every battle. If I couldn't cast them in a particular battle, I wouldn't allow myself to fight. Sounds odd, but I found it a great way to force yourself to learn about every spell in the game.

Another idea was to ban myself from recruiting any troops at all (especially tough as MA Ulm!). As that forces you to learn how to build thugs, highlights just how long high prot/def guys can hold the line, and teaches you that a handful of mages can take down entire armies with the right spell combos.

So there is a wealth of game experience to learn from SP games if you approach them correctly, and not just the basics. I know I was very competitive in my MP games right from the off as a result of the SP games I played (with only one of those games being a newbie game).