After scout S-E, i spotted the 4-turner and decided to settle in place. The initial build order was settler -> granary -> worker, then settlers all the way up to MA and beyond. City 2 was founded S-SEx2, to exploit the game and the wine tiles, and struggled to train the bare minimum amount of warriors necessary. For a mere one turn, i could defend my lone worker to an incoming
fast barb - in this regard, the game creator needs to be tarred and feathered
Subsequent cities were built at RCP 3 from the capital and, later on, a partial RCP 7 was also built. I say "partial" because Korea built no less than 3 of their settlements at RCP 7 from
my capital, a perfect recipe for earning the top spot in my kill list. In later times, Korea furtherly reinforced its position by completing the Pyramids in Seoul
At the beginning, the scout went W, then N, popping gold from a hut, then eastward, fishing a Cuman conscript from a 2nd hut just before meeting the Koreans. I got knowledge of 4 tribes very early, and met two more of them after Writing was known. Just one AS remained uncontacted, and at the dawn of Middle Ages nobody still knew them. By venturing further east, the scout stepped onto another hut, and a Kassite worker was found. It was quite far away from home, and with those pesky barbs around its safety was in jeopardy, so i sent the Cuman warrior, who in the meantime has ascended to regular status with a successful defense, to meet it half-way and then escort it back through the mountains. The unusual duo made it back and, over the following centuries, the local bards could entertain the general public with the story of the Cuman warrior and the Kassite worker surviving a long and perilous journey back to the homeland
Research was set to Alpha at max, bought half-way from the Koreans, followed by Writing at max - maybe a min run was better, it took 31 turns and someone else completed it at the same turn as mine, but i could still buy the remaining contacts and all the known techs. Then, with CoL given in 24 turns, i thought i could have better chances with Philosophy. It worked... in part, in the sense that nobody went for Philo, but nobody went for CoL as well, so i had to start on it myself, and i could finally buy it only 3 turns before completing. The good news are that i got Poly and MM as well and, a few turns later, Math too. Next target was Republic.
The 1000 BC mark was reached with the following stats:
12 towns, 29 pop units;
army: 1 galley, 2 impis, 2 horses, 10 wars, 9 workers, 1 slave, 1 scout;
buildings: 1 granary, 1 temple, 4 barracks
90 quids, +22 gpt;
Know all the AS minus one
Missing Const, Curr and the optionals; 1 turn to Republic
Next turn, Republic was researched. I revolted immediately, fished 4 turns of anarchy and decided not to reroll. In 900 BC the Zulu Republic was established. I kept Republic for myself, with the intention of trading it for the scientific freebies, and went for Construction at max. In the meantime, Literature, Monarchy and Currency popped up somewhere. Alas, for when Construction was completed, in 730 BC, Republic wasn't a monopoly anymore, so i could trade my way into the MA and also obtain the two optionals, but the scientific freebies (Monotheism from Korea and Feudalism from Russia) were totally out of question.
However, they might still trade each other, and by consequence give knowledge to England which has the Great Library. In that case, buying them with a half-known Monarchy wouldn't look unrealistic. Plus, there's still the unsolved matter of the unknown AS. I hoped to meet them in time to use their contact, and possible their freebie, as a bargaining chip, but it wasn't to be.
Mono and Feud are of particular relevance because with them you're just one research away from Chivalry. At first i thought i'd rather take over a large part of the mainland with a horseman swarm, but with a tech pace so fast getting knights actually makes a lot of sense, also because, in the immediate, i'll be busy dealing with
barbarian horseman swarms coming from at least two camps in the unsettled far west. In any case, Korea will be my first victim, for the aforementioned reasons.
Here are some logs:
Techs:
4000bc: Warrior Code, Pottery (prerequisites);
3550bc: Alphabet (trade, Korea);
3250bc: Ceremonial Burial (trade, India);
3150bc: Bronze Working (trade, India);
2150bc: Writing (research); Iron Working, Mysticism, Wheel (trade, Korea); Masonry (trade, England);
2030bc: Horse Riding (hut)
1725bc: Philosophy (research);
1550bc: Code of Laws (trade, Russia, 3 turns);
1500bc: Polytheism (trade, Russia); Map Making (trade, England);
1300bc: Mathematics (trade, Korea);
_975bc: Republic (research);
_730bc: Construction (research); Currency (trade, Korea); Monarchy (trade, France); Literature (trade, Scandinavia);
Cities up to QSC:
4000bc: Zimbabwe
3100bc: Ulundi (wines)
1950bc: Bapedi
1750bc: Hlobane
1650bc: Isandhlwana
1525bc: Intombe
1400bc: Mpondo (iron, incense)
1350bc: Ngome (horses);
1275bc: Swazi
1150bc: Tugela
1050bc: Umtata
1000bc: Umfolozi
Contacts:
3550bc: Korea
3250bc: India
3200bc: England
3150bc: France
2150bc: Scandinavia, Russia
And here's a shot of my empire in 1000 BC:
