After reading alot of the stories on Fanatics, I thought it was time to post my own, from start to finish, so:

Difficulty: Regent
Map: Large random with 11 Ai civs.
Victories: I enabled Domination, Conquest and Cultural, though I am going only for either a Cultural or victory point win. Basically, I will have to mess with the Ai civs to prevent them from gaining the first two conditions. I also am playing with the rule that I will not conquer enemy cities except by culture flips. I know, it'll be tough, but it will also be fun.
My Civilization: Greece
Settings: Re-spawn AI players, cultural flips allowed, GSL allowed, culturally linked starting positions disabled, Ai Agrression is More Aggressive, barbarians are restless. I just love fighting restless barbarians in the Ancient Times!

Ancient Times - Part One
So in 4000bc I found Athens:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/foundingathens4000bc-1.jpg

I admit that I went through around twenty random map generations to get a good position. As I am really making victory very tough for myself, I wanted a really good start position, basically a 7 growth/4 production at the start. Basically a really good start point: wines, cattle, and gold nearby.

I immediately start to build two warriors to head off and explore. I need to find a coastline spot to establish my first city, as my plan is to build both the Colossus amd Great Lighthouse, two of my favorite wonders. I am also going after the Republic slingshot with all my resources.

The situation by 3150bc is this:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/foundsparta3150bc-1.jpg

I have managed to establish my second city, Sparta right nearby, and have picked up Ceremonial Burial and Pottery from goody huts, Yay for free techs! In 2800bc I start building the Colossus in Sparta and continue with my explorations.

In 2590bc, I get my first glimpse of some of my opponents:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/history2590bc.jpg

Germany, Japan, and China? That's not good for me, though maybe they are not my continent....but for now I am on top.

By 2550bc, I have finished my exploration and discovered this:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/lands.jpg

It seems that I am on a peninsula with some good lux's and a great variety of terrain offering several possbilities for resources. Until I explore to the southeast, I cannot rule out that i am on an island though. Time to start building settlers and establishing some cities in my core! I figure that the area can support ten cities, and I may be able to expand to the southeast. Exploring that area is a priority! I have not met any roaming barbarians yet, even though the setting for them is "Restless", hmmm.

By 1575bc, I have completed the Colossus in Sparta and begin the Great Lighthouse in 1300bc. At this point, I have a total of 4 cities, with more soon to come.

In 1075, my planning pays off!

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1sttophilosophy1075bc.jpg

I discover Philosophy first and end up getting Code of Laws for free and I can start on Republic right away. I have also expanded to 6 cities. I think I am doing good, though I am just waiting to run into my first AI civ to the southeast. Perhaps I really am on an island all alone.

My plans continue right on schedule whem I complete the Great Lighthouse in Sparta in 850bc. I now am going for the Great Library and revolution. I have also managed to establish ten cities total on the peninsula, my core. I haven't met anyone else, very strange. But before I can start expanding to the southeast, those barbarians I was wondering about above finally show up:

First in the southeast:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/barbinvasion650bc.jpg

Then the north:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/morebarbs590bc.jpg

And then again from the south:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/comingfromeverywhere550bc.jpg

All within a couple of turns of one another. I guess when I was wishing for barbarians, I got my wish!

One quick note, I was not building my miltary, so all my cities have but one hoplite at this point. possibly a problem.

Strangely, the barbarians to the north just sit there and let me kill them off one, by one. The ones to the south, however, head right into my core towards Thermopylae and Corinth, tearing up my roads and such as they move. They don't even bother with Delphi, on the border, just ealtx right past it to tear up my roads and mines...

I guess my must have angered the Gods, because in the middle of this barbarian invasion, I see this:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/eruption490bc.jpg

Old glory starts to spew, and right ontop of my sugar tile! And four tiles effected in all, not a minor eruption...

However, by 450bc I have defeated the last of the barbarians and even managed to go through a revolution and become a Republic in only two turns. Good, I think I am right on track as far as my plans.

I also discover that I am indeed on a continent, when I contact my first AI civs, first the Byzantines not too far to the east:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1stcontactbyzantines470bc.jpg

And then the French:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1stcontactfrance430bc.jpg

By the screenshot above, there is definitely space to expand to the east, very good. I need at least 14 cities to build my Forbidden Palace, and I only have 10 cities so far.

A quick check with current standings, it looks like I am good so far at least with my neighbors:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings430bc.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings430bcparttwo.jpg

So far, it looks like I've got a good lead on the other two civs nearby.

Still, more to come...

You'll need to build lots of temples and libraries early, that's for sure. Cultural usually involves at least some culture in conquered territories, and without that, you'll be extra-dependent on your core cities being uber-cultural. It also is usually advised for Cultural that you build your cities really close together, so you can fit in more cities in which to build Temples, Libraries, etc. Though not following that strategy does add a bit more challenge and make the Empire look a bit more natural.

Unless you're going for 20k, of course, in which case you can disregard all that I just said!

I like the variant idea. Good luck!

You'll need to build lots of temples and libraries early, that's for sure. Cultural usually involves at least some culture in conquered territories, and without that, you'll be extra-dependent on your core cities being uber-cultural. It also is usually advised for Cultural that you build your cities really close together, so you can fit in more cities in which to build Temples, Libraries, etc. Though not following that strategy does add a bit more challenge and make the Empire look a bit more natural.

Unless you're going for 20k, of course, in which case you can disregard all that I just said!

I like the variant idea. Good luck!

Actually, I am going for either cultural victory, and I have build temples and libraries in all my cities, but I haven't posted the latest on the thread. However, being Greek, I do think its very natural to have temples and libraries in most of my cities.:)

I thought about going after cathedrals also, but I think the cost for having one in every city will cost too much. At the very least, I want my culture score high enough to get a chance to do culture flips on AI cities. I am anticipating alot of war with Germany, Japan and China, who unfortuantely I have discovered are all on my continent.......I will go after as many wonders that I can to boost my culture score also. I think I will concentrate them between Athens and Sparta as being Wonder capitols.

Ancient Times - Part Two

After drinking a glass of wine with my girlfriend (and her going to sleep), I decided to post my latest update. She hates me playing computer games.....

With some galleys in the water exploring, I discover Germany to be on my continent in 250bc:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1stcontactgermans250bc.jpg

I also establish an embassy in the French capitol. I don't think i have to worry about the french. That is alot of jungle and marsh:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/frenchcapitol250bc.jpg

In 190bc, I get good news:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/islanddiscovered190bc.jpg

What looks like two small islands just to the east of my small pennisula. PERFECT! This should allow me to get my required 14 cities for a Forbidden Palace. Its still way early in the game, so I don't think that another civ will discover the islands before I can settle them.

With contact with new civs, its time to check the standings so far:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings130bc.jpg

It seems that I have a really good lead on my neighbors. Germany, of all people, is my cultural rival it seems now?!? Paris is lagging way behind Athens at the moment, but that can change quickly.

On a more sour note, I discover that expansion to the southeast is not possible:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/frontierdefined10bc.jpg

I am expecting war soon then with China

It looks like China is my neighbor and someone else. My expansion to the south is effectively ended. I should have explored this region sooner, oh well.

interesting game...it looks good so far. What are your trade relations doing? Good luck for this one :goodjob:

Ancient Times - Part Three
Time to complete my update for the Ancient Times era. My position is rather good I believe. I am way ahead in techs at the moment, though I am concentrating my specialist citizens in generating wealth right now. That will soon change. My culture has a healthy lead over all others also. everything looks good.

I have begun to colonize the island discovered to the northeast in 50ad - right now I have two cities establsihed but it looks like there is room for another two perhaps on the bigger island. With these cities, I should reach my 14-city requirement for building my Forbidden Palace.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/overseascolonies50ad.jpg

Overall, the Greeks come to the end of the Ancient Times rather peacefully. I have made contact with my neighbors, there has been no war with them so far, and my culture is quite strong.

The Ancient Times are rounded off with the following:


I get a Scientific Great Leader at Athens in 90ad. As the only wonder I am constructing right now is the Great Library (and I only have 5 turns left until completion), I hold onto the sgl for now.

I complete the Great Library in 170ad, which also triggers my Golden Age! Very nice.

Middle Ages - Part One
190ad kicks off the Greek Middle Ages with the Scientific trait learning of Feudalism for free - I was hoping for this. At this point, I have no military at all beyond a single hoplite garrisoning each of my cities. As I think war will engulf my entire land, I go right for Art of War using my SGL I was saving for just this purpose. I have waited to build any barracks, and now each of my cities on the main continent have them! That alone saves my some cash and time. I am now feeling comfortable about my war-time abilities.

In 250ad, I discover that good ol' Germany has been at war with the Dutch - and I never knew.....

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/germanydutchpeacetreaty250ad.jpg

And then in 270ad, I establish my 14th city on the islands to the northeast - time for my Forbidden Palace, though I am unsure where to put it. I believe this will be my final limit for city expansion for now. I may be able to establish some far-flung cities elsewhere, but right now its not a priority for me to do so.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/14cities270ad.jpg

Its time to crank up my research even further to keep my tech lead and to begin building a military. I plan on a small, purely defensive military only along my mutual border to the southeast, which consists of two cities. Its not a real bottle-neck, but better than a continent-stretching border of 5+ cities that I would have to defend and garrison. To protect my core from sea-born invasion, I plan on building a strong naval force and to keep a small but powerful land force in the center to react to any invasion by seea that might happen.

My cities on the main continent have hardly any corruption, especially after building Courthouses. My cities adjacent to Athens have virtually no corruption - and they don't even HAVE Courthouses in them. You've got to love the CIV trait Commerical! I figure I can either put it in Ephesus, my southeastern-most city, or on one of my colonized islands.

I'll have to ponder this decision for awhile.

I've now have to get back to playing the game at this point, as I am fully updated the situation. In my next post, I'll detail the situation more thoroughly as far as my neighbors, especially along the mutual border to the southeast.

Hope this is to enjoyable to read as it has been to tell.

Middle Ages -Part Two:
As I promised, I will attempt to give a detailed report on the current situation in the game.

First of all, a map of the frontier and my only mutual border on land with my neighbors as of 380ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/frontier380ad.jpg

China has two cities along my border and one more close by, while Japan has one bordering city. just to the south is the German city of Cologne and the French have expanded north along the coast.

Ok, now for some facts. As of 380ad, here's the standings:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings380adparttwo.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings380ad.jpg

Germany seems to be my number one rival right now. I top Germany in world population and area, but probably not for long. Spart is culturally far outscoring its nearest rival, Kyoto, by two-to-one. This is a very comfortable lead, I think. Germany is my top rival for overall culture, though here again I am out-matching my rival by than two-to-one. As it sits right now, my attempt for a cultural victory is rather good, as long as I can continue it. The game has basically just started really.

Apparently, as of 390ad, I still cannot trade with anyone. I guess none of them have established raods from harbours to their capitols yet.

Now for some cold hard facts. After loading my latest save, I started checking out my rivals and their current positions, To my surprise, here's what I found:

Germany
1. German scientists not very advanced.
2. They have swordsmen.
3. The germans are admirers of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of German culture.
5. The Germans say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Germans outnumber the Greek military.

China
1. Chinese scientists not very advanced.
2. They have the archer.
3. The Chinese are in awe of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of Chinese culture.
5. The Chinese say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Chinese equal the Greek military.

Dutch
1. Dutch scientists not very advanced.
2. They have swordsmen.
3. The Dutch are in awe of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of Duth culture.
5. The Dutch say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Dutch equal the Greek military.

Japan
1. japanese scientists not very advanced.
2. They have the archer.
3. The Japanese are admirers of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of Japanese culture.
5. The Japanese say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Japanese equal the Greek military.

France
1. French scientists not very advanced.
2. They have the spearmen.
3. The French are in awe of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of French culture.
5. The French say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Greeks outnumber the French military.

Byzantines
1. Byzantine scientists not very advanced.
2. They have the archer.
3. The Byzantines are in awe of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of Byzantine culture.
5. The Byzantines say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Byzantines equal the Greek military.

Russia
1. Russian scientists not very advanced.
2. They have the spearmen.
3. The Russian are in awe of Greek culture.
4. The Greeks are disdainful of Russian culture.
5. The Russians say that we are technologically advanced.
6. The Russians equal the Greek military.

About the only thing that didn't surprise me was being outnumbered by the Germans militarily. I knew my culture was really strong, so I guess this should be no surprise. However, I was surprised to find that I was equal to or stronger than my other civs. I mean, in my two border cities, Delphi and Ephesus, only had small garrisons of a horseman and three hoplites (so four units in two cities). And I was matching the other civs militarily? (well, except for poor French)

The biggest shock was that Germany was my top rival in three out of four victory standings. Germany, it seems, has become both a cultural and military power to match my own. And their military is bigger.

So here's my thoughts on the current situation in the game:

China, though my closest neighbor along my only land border, is not much of a threat right now. Nor is France. Both the French and Chinese capitol lies just south on the border map above. However, China's three cities along the border are pretty precarious. I don't think I would be hard-pressed to defend myself should either attack.

Japan somehow managed to sneak a city on the border, though their capitol is really far away. So, that city is of little importance to me as far as a threat.

Germany has one city, Cologne near me, but the rest of Germany lies south of France. However, Germany will be aggressive and militarily sttrong, so they might be able to gobble up France and China, thus marching their border right up to mine.

How I see it right now, as long as I can keep the other civs at each other's throats, I am good. As long as none of them (especially Germany) starts gobbling up foreign cities, I should remain on top. Thus the plan from here on is a balancing act. Should any of the civs starts to get more powerful, I will have to go to war for the underdog to keep the others balanced (and thus weaker than me). I also must make sure that the other civs don't gang up on me - that seems to always happen to me when I am going for peacesful wins.

So back to the game then:

In 620ad, Athens completes the Sistine Chapel and Sparta completes the Knights Templar wonders. I went for the chapel solely for the culture value, where as I built the Knights to keep it out of the other civ's hands. I so far have alot of wonders..that should really help my culture score out even further.

Then, in 640ad, Germany and the Dutch go to war, and things just changed for me in the game. First, heres a detailed world map:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/worldmap830ad.jpg

I quickly check out the current standings to discover:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings640ad.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings640adparttwo.jpg

The two warring civs, Germany and the Dutch, are my two top rivals (except for Kyoto for one city culture). The Dutch remain as they were as detailed above with comparisions to Greece, but Germany has once again surprised me:

Though impressed with Greek culture and we are dismissive of German culture, the Germans now match my own scientific achievements, feel that they are my scientific equal, and they match my military for top unit and size.

This could be good or bad depending on how the war goes. I am hoping that they simply bleed one another dry, with neither one gaining a lead over the other. With so much distance between me and the war, there's no way I can even get invovled militarily at this point (like to help one side out if the other starts winning alot). I'll just have to wait it out and hope for a stalemate. At the very least, I could direct mony and techs should one of them get clobbered and are on the verge of collapse. And there's always the option of setting up a large alliance against Germany with her other neighbors...

On one last note, I am kind of kicking myself right now, as I am in a really good position to simply steam roll over everyone. I could rather easily conquer most of the continent by the modern age, I think. I love peaceful games, but I am itching for some action. But, I will continue with my self-imposed rules to the end...

By this point, I have increased my garrisons along the border, and switched over specialist citizens to scientists for research. Finally, in 740ad, I complete the Forbidden Palace in Ephesus, my southern-most city.

Middle Ages - Part Three:
The next seven or so centuries (between the 600's and the 1300's) are rather peaceful, boring, and quickly passes by. I hardlt even get to enjoy the rest of the Middle Ages. An endless stream of city management and checking Ai civ standings and all. With no action going on, I'll just recap the time:

1. Complete Leonardo's Workshop at Athens in 900ad.
2. Complete JS Bach's Cathedral at Sparta in 1070ad.
3. Complete Conpericus' Observatory at Athens in 1090ad.

I have played alot of peaceful victory games, and alot of them tend to follow the same path. The first two ages (Ancient and Middle) are rather uneventful , then world war breaks out, usually targeted at me. Then this happens in 1120ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1120adproblem.jpg

The Dutch establishes a city on my largest colony island. I am rather surprised by this. Delit is really far from the Dutch homeland, and the site of the city does not lend itself to building a strong city. Yet, this will probably lead to war with the Dutch. My military on the island amounts to a single hoplite in each city, so I naturally ship some reinforcements from the continent to garrison bith cities, as I expect war soon with the Dutch. I am sure they will attack me on the isalnd soon.

On a side note, I get this humorous notice in 1305ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/alittlelate1305ad.jpg

Way to go, Iroquois! Thats the spirit! :goodjob:

Warfare!
The war is was anticipating with the Dutch does not come. By investigating Delit, I find it garrisoned with 2 spearmen, with a sworddsman positioned along the border. I guess they are not ready for war, so I let them have the space.

No, war comes to my borders from my good ol' war-mongering friend, Germany in 1310ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/germanydeclareswar1310ad.jpg

The screenshot above is of my southern border. 4 German Knights enter my territory - I am not sure what they plan on doing, but I don't wait around to find out. I demand for them to leave my territory and, naturally, Germany delcares war on me!

Not wanting the German units to wreck my improvements, I decide to attack, despite the fact that they are sitting in hills. In one turn, I lose 2 knights and 2 crusaders, and manage to only kill one of the German knights, red-lining the other 2 - and this takes into account of bombarding the german units with 3 cannons from my fortress. Not a very good start for my first war.

I'm not sure what Germany was planning, but in case this is a full-fledged invasion, I decide to get some help. In the same turn, I convince China (by offering them Education0 and France (by offering them wines) to delcare war on Germany. I also get a ROP with China, as that makes it easier to get to Germany by land.

War is finally upon me.

Industrial Age - Part One
In 1320ad, I enter the Industrial Age by immediately researching nationalism and learning Steam Power for my free Scientific advance.

As far as the war with Germany, No other german units show up on the border, so I send a scouting force of 3 cavalry south to Cologne, to find that China is aggressively moving to capture the city:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/battleforcologne1345adparttwo.jpg

In one turn, I tear up some German roads, before the Chinese captures the city:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/battleforcologne1345ad.jpg

The Chinese end up losing 3 Medieval infantry before they kill the 2 German spearmen garrisoning the city, and thus taking Cologne.

Having no desire in attempting a land invasion of German territory, I pull back my tiny cavalry scouting force to my border.

In 1350ad, I complete Smith's Trading Company. The next turn, 1360ad, China signs a peacy treaty with Germany. Those wimps. So much for my Coalition of the Willing.....now its just France and myself, yet Germany have not made an attempt to attack me. Strange.

The war I was anticipating with the Dutch happens in 1380ad when they delcare war for no good reason. I don't even have units inside their borders. Oh well. However, the war turns out to be rather pointless. There is absolutely no action with the Dutch, though they refuse to sign a peace treaty. Kind of stupid IMO to delcare war and then not even attack me....

Anyway, back to the war with Germany. With no action on my border, I decide to send some frigates to mess with Germany's nearest cities, Hanover and Nuremburg. After a couple of turns of bombardment, the cities look like this:

1395ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/hanoverleveled1395ad.jpg

And then 1400ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/nuremburglevel1400ad.jpg

I just love bombarding the enemy's infrastructue. You really can bombard them back to the stone age....

By 1415ad, my alliance with the French against the Germans has expired, so, with no action going on, I sign a peace treaty with the Germans. I would ahve done it sooner, but I want to keep my reputation perfect, so wait out the 20 turns. The rest of the war for me is boring - I never see any more German units, and the couple of German galleys my frigates came across blew them out of the water.

In 1425ad, I get my second Scientific Great Leader - with nothing to use him for, I hold him in Athens for future use.

In 1435ad, I complete Newton's University in Athens, and the French make peace with the Germans.

The results of the war was good as far as I am concerned:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/warmap1380ad.jpg

It appears that the Germans must have captured Nanking from the Chinese, only to lose it to the French, while Germany lost Cologne to the Chinese. So, the end result for the war is: France gains another city, China trades one of its own cities for a German city, and Germany is the loser by losing a city. This is exactly the way I want wars to be resolved in this game.

Finally, in 1435ad, the Dutch make peace with me, after not even trying to attack me - what a waste of a declaration of war.

The war went well. I must admit that I'm still not sure you'll hit 100k culture or 20k by 2050 - I don't see how 100k can be done sans cathedrals and universities in every city possible (not to mention colosseums). You certainly do look to be in a good position for Diplomatic, though that is not an option.

The war went well. I must admit that I'm still not sure you'll hit 100k culture or 20k by 2050 - I don't see how 100k can be done sans cathedrals and universities in every city possible (not to mention colosseums). You certainly do look to be in a good position for Diplomatic, though that is not an option.

You think there is no chance for a cultural win then? I admit that I have not built enough cathedrals so far. So, maybe I can win by default victory points then? Or I can up my capitol building to win by 2050. Perhaps I have already lost ......I have to stick to my original rules and not change them just to win, even if I lose. Maybe if I can mess with the other civs, I could at least win by victory points, or I can go to war to reduce my rivals culturaly.

I'm unclear about why you signed peace with the Germans and Dutch. After all, they declared on you and are doing you no damage, so you'd continue to get war happiness from each of them. You've made no mention of how many lux you have or how happy your cities are.

I'm unclear about why you signed peace with the Germans and Dutch. After all, they declared on you and are doing you no damage, so you'd continue to get war happiness from each of them. You've made no mention of how many lux you have or how happy your cities are.

I am trying to play a peaceful game as much as I can, so I will gain peace as soon as I can without taking a Rep hit.

As far as lux's, I currently have 3 wines, 2 spices and 1 gems. I have had alot of problems trading with the Ai civs unfortunately. They have little or no money to trade with, and will only accept techs when I want luxs from them, and they usually ask for at least 2 minimum. As I am way ahead in the tech tree, I am unwilling to trade techs for luxs, though I have traded some older techs, like Monarchy, for some luxs. it is really hard to conduct trades right now because, like I said, the other civs are pretty broke money-wise.

As far trading my stuff, the best trade deal I have gotten was 3 gpt for spices to the French. Otherwise, I get offered something like 50 or 100 gold lump. I have a total of 3 extra luxs and 3 extra resources that I cannot trade with.

However, my happiness levels are fairly good. To keep researching techs at a fast rate, I have been keeping my research sldier at 60-70% and my lux slider at 30%. When the completion rate on a tech gets to 3 turns, I am able to reduce my research slider down, and boost my lux slider up. So, basically, when researching a 5 turn tech, I am getting 2-3 turns of WLOKD.

Gah! Cliffhanger!! How does it end? How does it end?

Industrial Age - Part Two
The next two centuries roll by peacefully - this game is heavy on that it seem. The AI is reluctant to engage in all-out war, so I'll recap this part:


In 1450ad, I finally make contact with the other continent and meet the Iroquois. I admit that I kind of forgot to keep exploring the map, beyond sending out a couple of privateers on "EXPLORE" mode.

My wonder factories continue to crank out wonders like mad. I build Battlefield Medince in 1580ad, the Intelligence Agency in 1600ad, Universal Suffrage in 1605ad, and finally Wall Street in 1645ad. Whew!

I check my world standings in 1660ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/standings1660ad.jpg

Thoguh my lead is astronomical, I am beginning to believe that I canot secure a cultural win. So, I am going to have to win by default victory points. No problem there, I think. There is no way I will allow the AI to get a conquest or domination victory.

Then in 1665ad, I discover that the Dutch are up to their old tricks again:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/war1665ad.jpg

No reason for this declaration of war, once again. The Dutch just do not like me. The Dutch open up their groundless war with a age-old Dutch military tactic, the lone longbowman invasion. :rolleyes:

The poor Dutch never hear from that unit every again...

I decide that Delit needs to be punished, so I move two fleets of frigates to the city, and:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/bombardmentofdelit1680ad.jpg

I don't think they will be growing or building anythime soon.

However, it seems that the Dutch have mastered some strange yet powerful galley technology that I am unaware of when a single Dutch galley manages to sink two of my frigates and red-lines the last one before sinking to the bottom of the sea:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/1705toughdutchgalleysinks2friagtesr.jpg

In 1715ad, I build Theory of Evolution, and followed by Hover Dam in 1756ad. It is really sick how many wonders I have....really sick....

Apparently under the belief that SOMETHING had to have prevented this very same tactic from succeeding before (and not simply sheer stupidity), the Dutch initiate what I have termed, the Dutch Maneuver:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/dutchgoontheoffensive1752ad.jpg

It doesn't work any better than the last time...poor Dutchies.

Well, this game is turning out to be one big marathon session of peace. By now, I have contacted all the civs in the game, and everyone is still alive!:goodjob: The AI is more peaceful than me (well, except for the Dutch, but then again they ARE the Dutch).

My Happiness levels are still quite good and WLKD's are common. I still cannot get the Ai to trade with me for luxs I don't have - the other civs just want techs. For instance, I asked China for Incense and they demanded three techs from me just for a lux. Naturally I said no - I maybe peaceful but I'm not stupid.

I will say again that I could win militarily rather easy at this point - I figure I could take over my half of the map in probably 20 turns at most. But I will keep with my original plans for victory, though they are appearing more and more slim.

The Industrial Age - Part Three
Well, after the Dutch's rather poor attempt at a second war with me, I wait this one out until they want peace - and when they do, I demand something this time from them:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/peacetreaty1786ad.jpg

Its not much but it makes me feel better...

Just as I am closing out the Industrial Age, Germany and China sign a Mutual Protection Pact in 1790ad. The war I was waiting for, it seems, is coming. In 1798ad, I enter the Modern Age and war...

The Modern Age - Part One
My Modern Age opens with this happy event:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/cultureflip1806ad.jpg

A quick look at the city once I take control shows me what my constant bombardment had done to Delft:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/deflt1806ad.jpg

Absolutely no city improvements. I cannot believe it has taken me this long to get a culture flip on an AI city....

However, I have other pressing matters. Germany continues to build a coalition against me by signing a Mutual Protection pact with Japan. That is now BOTH civs that border me allied with Germany. Looks like war is for sure.

In response, Russia asks, and is given a MPP and ROP. I also sign a MPP with France - hey, I might need some friends.

I don't have to wait for long to see what Germany needs these MPP's for:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/wherearetheygoing1830ad.jpg

Now where could they all be going?

Not wanting to declare war first, I wait for the Germans to enter my territory, then demand for them to leave. Of course, the Germans declare war on me - no surprise there. I guess they came to chew bubble gum and kick a**..and they are all out of bubble gum. So, finally, in 1832ad, there is major war.

Here's a breakdown of the German invading force in 1834ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/invadingforce1832ad.jpg

I am not in the slightest worried. In Delphi, Ephesus, and my fort, I have a good number of Mechanized Infantry and Cavalry, backed up with alot of artillery. I also have alot of bombers, a huge naval fleet and two carrier groups with bombers.

As a side note, it took me a long time to really get a grasp of warring in CIV3. I now know the benefit of lots of artillery, bombers, and naval ship for bombardment, as I demonstrate in repelling the German attack. I should almost feel sorry for what I am about to do to the Germans, but I don't.

However, the sniveling Japanese also declare war on me the same turn. Naturally, France and Russia declare war on both Germany and Japan. This should be fun.

I basically use all my artillery from my fort and Ephasus, plus a horde of bombers on the German stacks. I then attack them after they had been red-lined.

Here is what is left after my first counter-attack:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/invasionforceweakened1834ad-1.jpg

Of a total of 28 German units, there are only 5 left. The Japanese, however, have joined in with the invasion. The next image is after my second round of counter-attacks on the invaders on the same turn, 1834ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/counterattack1834ad.jpg

Its like they were never there....in all, I lost 1 cavalry unit and destroyed 30+ German and Japanese units. I guess no more invasion.

Of course, the Dutch could not stay out of this conflict, as they sign an embargo with the Japanese against me that same turn.

On the next turn, I send a jet fighter on recon above Rheims to spot German troop movement, only to find this:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/fernchlosses1836ad.jpg

The Germans have captured Lyons and Rheims. That leaves France with only three other cities.

I drop 6 mechanized infantry from transports next to Rheims in 1838 to retake the city - and give it back to France. Now, I thought about doing this, as I had made the self-imposed rule that I would not cature cities by military force. I decided that I could capture a city as long as it had been conquered and that I gave it back to the original (or at least the last owner).

I was able to take Rheims with no losses, though the bombing of the German garrison reesulted in the destruction of the city's harbor and marketplace. heck, I figure the French can't complain now that they have their city back.

On another note, I decide to bomb Kagashima back to the stone age with every bomber I have in range, including my carrier groups. In short time, Kagashima has the following destoryed/killed: 5 citizens, barracks, granery, temple, marketplace, library, courthouse, bank, and cathedral. That has got to hurt.

In 1842ad, I continue my campaign to liberate France from the evil Germans by marching on Lyons:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/marchonlyons1842ad.jpg

There were a good number of German units that I had to fight through to get to Lyons, resulting in some of my units being damaged. However, in all, I had 12 Mechanized Infantry and 5 Cavalry to take the city, plus all my bombers and three carrier groups.

The war starts to expand further when, that same turn, the Iroquois sign an embargo with Germany against me.

In 1844ad, I am able to re-capture Lyons from the Germans:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/lyonssaved1844ad.jpg

Not one loss in taking the city. :goodjob: Again, I give the city back to France.

In 1846ad, the Dutch sign a MPP with China. At first this surprised me. I kept expecting China to declare war against me because of her MPP with Germany. All I can think is that the MPP ran out and was nver renewed. Too bad though; I wish I had the chance to school the Chinese for awile.

I think this is going to be warfare for the rest of the game. I feel good about the war so far. I liberated France's two cities, and have managed to stave off Germany and Japan from capturing any Russian cities so far. My next objective is to march for German soil and bring the war home to them.

Apparently under the belief that SOMETHING had to have prevented this very same tactic from succeeding before (and not simply sheer stupidity), the Dutch initiate what I have termed, the Dutch Maneuver

Lol.

Hey, it worked for the galley...

However, it seems that the Dutch have mastered some strange yet powerful galley technology that I am unaware of when a single Dutch galley manages to sink two of my frigates and red-lines the last one before sinking to the bottom of the sea

Think I'm going to be incorporating the "Dutch Maneuver" into my book of tactics.
:scan:

Well, I should have thought twice about startinf two stories at once....at of work.

As of my last last post, France, China, myself, and Russia were at war with Germany and Japan. However, as I cruised through the Modern Age, the war changed:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/war1868ad.jpg

Japan had bowed out of the war, only to replaced by Persia and the Byzantines as Germany's war-time allies. However, my part in this on-going war seems to be only naval after I took back France's cities for her. No one even tries to invade my home core or even my islands.

As a side note, in 1876ad, I complete the Manhatten Project. I so far ahead of the other civs in tech its scary. The closest is Germany and she only has replacement parts, where as I am working on tactical nukes (just for defense mind you).

The war finally comes to an end in 1902ad:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/endofwar1902ad.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/endofwar1902adparttwo.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/endofwar1902adpartthree.jpg

In all Germanu loses 3 cities and Japan loses Of the winners, it looks like its a tie between Russia and China, each gaining 2 foreign cities.

However, peace is not long lasting when China declares war on me. I don't even know why she does, no wait, yes I do:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/oops1904ad.jpg

So I guess no peace for me then. Japan declares war on me after becoming China's ally, then Russia (of whom I have a MPP with) declares war on Japan.

I decide to punish China for the war:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/after2turnsofbombardment1906ad.jpg

I don't think I have to worry about China for a while...

The war drags on for a LOOOONG time, right up into the 1960's, but I have all but pulled all my troops back to my own territory. I just sit back and watch the AI's pound the snot out of one another for turn after turn.

Until this pops up:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/oops1968ad.jpg

I really didn't want any other civs getting destroyed, oh well.

Now, at this point I have to eplain that, since Germany declared war on me, my two best allies have been Russia and France (both have been Gracious to me since the war began). I have managed to keep France in the game, who was basically threatened of being overrun by Germany.

Then this happens:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/my2allies1971ad.jpg

I am not sure what to do at this point. With Japan destroyed, Russia has grown stronger, taking all of Japan's cities as her own. I will probably side with France against Russia - I will have to make a choice because I have MPP's with both sides of all problems.

Well, I won't even bother to relate all that happened when Russia went to war with France. In my last post, I forgot that, even with MMp's with both sides, I would automatically declare war against Russia since they were the aggressor. China ended up joing the war against France and I spent many turns defending France against both Russia and China.

I thought that the game would simply drag on forever with me having to play peacemaker and keeping one civ after the other from dominating the world.

Then I got this notice:

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/victory2112ad.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/victory2112adparttwo.jpg

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m28/junovitch/civ3/victory2112adpartthree.jpg

I was quite surprised by this. I didn't think that would have enough time to win by a cultural victory. And yet I did it on turn 502 with 38 turns left in the regular game.

At the end, I controlled 13% of the world, with 22% of the total population. Athens (my winning city) ended with 20,036 in culture as opposed by my closest rival, Berlin, with 9828 culture.

Since I started to understand how to micromanage my cities, and especially about the effects of city improvements, my game play has increased immensely.

Game over.

As of my last last post, France, China, myself, and Russia were at war with Germany and Japan.

It was World War II!

Nice finish. Athens did quite well. Your impressive technology no doubt helped. It certainly looked better after the 1660 demographics screenshot. That 99% literacy figure is quite nice.

It was World War II!

Nice finish. Athens did quite well. Your impressive technology no doubt helped. It certainly looked better after the 1660 demographics screenshot. That 99% literacy figure is quite nice.

I agree completely. It was a replay of WW II in alot of ways, especially how Russia and China became so powerful after the war with Germany. During the war with Germany and Japan the only civ that was missing was England :lol:

I was completely surprised by the win though. I really thought I would have to win by victory points.

By the time I hit the Modern Age, I had built every modern wonder there was - that certainly helped. At the end, I was fighting the Russians and Chinese with stealth bombers and modern armor against infantry. Most of the fighting revolved around me bombing their unit stacks with aircraft - and destroying them with no help from ground units. having a strong airforce is a really good advantage as long as the opponent has none. I am unsure though why the Ai was lagging behind me so in techs - though by the end of the Industrial Age, I was hesitant to trade techs to keep my lead.

I have to thank everyone here on the forum for showing me the correct way to play this game. I understand alot more now than I ever did before.

That was well written and entertaining Brucha, thanks for sharing it with us.

Thank you both. It was actually fun writing the whole story. And it is especially fun to play CIv3 now that I fully understand how the game works. I can do things in the game instead of always being on the losing end of things.

I have been thinking of another game in the future that would be fun to play. The basics would be that I would have to play Russia and become Communist as soon as possible. However, the big thing would be that, by the time I get Writing and I contact at least two other civs, I must pick one as my ally (even though I cannot form any MPP's until Nationalism). All victory conditions would be enabled in the game. The object would be to win by any method possible, but that I must remain allied with one civ throughout the entire game, never letting their mood drop below annoyed (preferably keeping it at Polite or even Gracious) and as soon as we both have Nationalism, I must maintain a constant MPP with that civ. It would be even more fun if I automatically include China as an AI civ and make China be that ally, since China is the only other Communist favoring Civ in the game. I could even make the alliance with China a locked alliance with edited rules.....