Lonely Hearts Club, BtS Edition, Chapter XLVII: Asoka

I'm making Sids Executives now, with 2 transports to convey them to the AI's lands. If the A.I. Won't spread the corporation, I will Vote me INTO Environmentalism will you. The only thing I have to watch out for is a Cultural win by Elizabeth or Hatshepsut, Space race by Hammurabi, but he seems to be either having a go at Hatty, who's HUGE, but struggling tech wise.


Spreading Sids Sushi, and Civilized jewelers, if I gain an artist, will drain the AI's coffers of cash, cost them more to spread their own corporation, and help me immensely. Having rival AI corps, just means more costs in spreading/ running these corporations.


Hammurabi's my only threat with regards to space, but he's researched Robotics, for Mech Infantry, so he's either trying for the space Elevator, or domination. Hatshepsut is going cultural, but will have her hands full with Hammurabi soon enough. The others, I've actually been able to pass in tech's now, though I don't have rocketry and the Apollo Program.





I continue with my spreading Sids Sushi to the AI, most notably Hammurabi 1st. The very turn I gain Plastics, Hammurabi's completed the Internet, that's why he now has Superconductors. Oh well, I'll just have to destroy his capital after launch if he beats me, which it looks like he may. We've also had a non Proliferation treaty vote, and no Manhattan project has been built as yet.


Looks like I've outsmarted myself, I can't incorporate Standard Ethanol, as I have no Sugar, corn or rice to use, and none of the AI's will trade me any. Oh well, I continue to spam Sids Sushi to Hammurabi to send him BROKE Science is up to 1242/turn and rising further, no specialists employed, I'm having some health problems, as I've sold off all my sea food resources, I may have to keep just 1 of each to offset health. Bigger population=more production/science. Hammurabi's gone out of red fist mode AGAIN. Sheeze...


Wall street has been built, and I'm 96 in the green at 100% science. Sids was just spread by an AI as well. Hattie's on a cultural run, Hammies going for space, Elizabeth, I assume is 2nd on cultural, along with Mansu, Pacal and George are non events.


1859 AD We've all just been voted into Free Speech, by Hatshepsut, going for her Cultural victory. Dumb AI's all voted yes for it, even Hammurabi who's favourate civic is Bureaucracy. Two of her cultural cities are Coastal, so I'll have to burn them down.


I finally decide to build the Heroic Epic, as I'm going to have to go to war and burn down some Cultural cities, up until now, I've gotten by with Spear men, warriors and chariots as my guards, with 1 city, having NONE . Pacal is the only one who's a worry, as he's Cautious, but he's more focused on Washington, then me, as long as I stay out of the religious civics, I'm safe. Hatties 80 turns from a Cultural victory, which she'll get BEFORE I can launch my ship.


Beakers per turn breach 1500 for the 1st time, and rising, gold is 130+ at 100% and rising, Cultural victories are my only worries, to that end I begin construction of a 'Cultural vandalism force', Marines, Ships, etc. All are expendable. Hey, maybe hammurabi can be bribed into a war with a space tech, as I'm about to pass him in space race.


As I need the Apollo project, and I'm not about to research artillery and Rocketry, I trade 1st for Artillery, with Pacal, who's asked me to stop trade with a still pleased Washington.





Next I will trade with Hatshepsut, for Rocketry, who's going cultural, and I'm building my 'Cultural Vandalism force' to meet greet, and explore the sites of Egypt.


Rut Roh, I've just seen that a please Washington is in WHEOOHRN mode, but the Civ Reference, say's he won't declare at Pleased. So its not me, Pacal I'd say, go for it Georgie boy, soon as you'll talk i'll trade you Industrialism for Rocketry. Hammurabi's come on by asking for a trade for fission for Rocketry, and I've realized that most of his cities are too far north to build the Space Elevator, so I may still have a chance to build it in Capital city, even though I have no Aluminum, and Elizabeth had built Aluminum Corporation.


After being so quiet on the random events front, suddenly, I have a flurry of mine explosions, storms, and terrible weather. Got to take the good with the bad, as I popped another gold resource. George will now speak to me, and I trade for Rocketry.





As can be seen, George, must have been mostly into researching Industrialism, and gold at +240 /turn at 100% science is not a big problem for me, what to do with it all is, Plus it'll help to butter him up with all the fair trade malarkey. I go back to Robotics, Satellites, build the space Elevator, Burn down a Egyptian Cultural city or 2, and watch the English dog's. The AI's are spreading Sids Sushi about for me now, but not FAST ENOUGH.!!!!!


All the A.I's keep coming by, asking to trade my Uranium with them, as none of them have Fission as yet.





Hammurabi's has Satellites, so he's able to build the space Elevator, I'm in a race to build it. I've also popped a Great Engineer, who I'll use to rush the space elevator.


I'm in a race to prevent Cultural wins by the A.I. Constantly checking the victory screen, I now see that Mansu Masa, had jumped to the Cultural lead, with a 2nd city about to go Legendary, and the 3rd only 32 turn away, Hatshepsut has 2 cities at least 50+ away, so It's Mansu who feels the burn 1st.





As well, he's well liked, may have outsmarted me, may have. I've been able to find a way to break all the defence pacts and not have them all come down on me like a ton of bricks, I can bribe Mansu into war against Hammurabi, who's actually scared of him??





This will have the effect of breaking the defense pacts he has, and allowing me to Burn down Timbuktu. All for the cost of Plastics
As I'm currently in war civics as best I can be, Theology and Police state, I'm making tanks to take out his Main Cultural city, which is 1 Diagonally off the coast, and his capital. The other 2 are all inland.


I use my Sids Sushi Executives as spies, as they can't be caught, but can't revolt cities either, can't have it all I guess Mansu's Eased off on the Cultural victory, Got to keep an eye on it, just in case someone else pop's up, I was beginning to panic, that I didn't have enough time to build an assault force, but now I have, I'm adding Artillery to reduce Cultural defenses.


Ha Ha, Ha Ha, The A.I.'s are having Corporate battles with each other, Sids Sushi, was just spread into Babylon AGAIN!!! helps me, I haven't really spread it to hatty as yet, she's got a couple of branches, might have been removed by now, I assumed she'd use them going Cultural. Robotics is in, Building some Mech Infantry for attack/defence. Going for Satellites now.


NOW its Hatshepsut, who's only 25 turns away from a Cultural victory, I have to move my army back across the nation, and invade her 1st. Washington was in red fist mode, so I demanded 1 gold off him for 10 turns of peace, he had fallen to Cautious anyway, no matter. I'll have to 1st burn down Hatties cultural city, then swing around onto Mansu, so I need to bribe him into war 1st, attack Hatty, then Mansu, who should have moved all troops to front.


Hammurabi comes on by, requesting a deal involving Oil, I give him Oil, which he doesn't have, for cow which I don't , and I need some additional health, even being in Environmentalism and having built Public transport.





Hammurabi's just built the space Elevator as well, I might just capture that city and hold onto it, built in Akkad, I can't really gain that city..oh well, burn it down maybe, if he launches before I can.
For some reason, Hammurabi's afraid of Mansu Masa, he won't declare war, and he's fallen out with him as well, no matter, Mansu will declare on HIM


I'm now ready to launch my 'Cultural Vandalism tour', first I set Mansu onto Hammurabi to break up the defence pact alliance.





Then I set myself onto Hatshepsut, so she can't win Cultural, I'll then make peace ASAP, and swing around onto Mansu, with further reinforcements, burning down his Cultural effort. Lastly, I'll just have to check and see who's running a Cultural 3rd.


Unfortunately for Hatshepsut, she's friendly with me, and is only 18 turns from winning a Cultural victory, I have to declare war and burn down Pi Rammesses.





As well, I bribe Mansu into war with Hammurabi 1st, to break up the defence alliance, I couldn't get Elizabeth to gift me 1 gold, for a peace pact, as I've done with both Pacal and Washington.







That absolute WIMP MANSU, more like 'old woman su', immediately next turn requests my assistance in the war with Hammurabi, like that's going to happen. I also have the idea of a permanent alliance with Hatshepsut, and winning as a team. She's fallen to Pleased now, too bad, Pi-Rammesses burns. I fry Pi- Rammesses, losing 5 Marines, expendable troops, 1 battleship trying to sink one of hers at 64%, now its onto “Old woman su”.





I make a trade with Washington, Fission for Flight and gold, the U.N. Brings up a non Proliferation treaty again, I vote yes, and Hatty sends 2 Destroyers off my coast, big deal, I sunk a few Submarines in port as well, and 3 more sent to harass my fleet of attack. Mansu has only 15 more turns then he loses his capital. Georgie boy, comes by and I make a trade for fission and Communism, for flight, Democracy 1710 gold and world map.





Hatshepsut quickly wants to make peace,and just to show there are no hard feelings, I give her 90 gold and sell her Gold for 6/turn as well. Such a nice young lady. Mansu has only 10 turns till Timbuktu is burnt down to the ground, he's 18 from a cultural victory.


Washington has declared war upon Pacal, and looks like Mansu and Hammurabi have made up, better get in quick to kill Mansu's city.


To that end I declare war, even though I'm 4 turns away from landing my troops, but I don't want a defense pact popping up with Elizabeth, maybe I should have declared earlier, and helped out Hammurabi, but I wanted 'just 1 more Mech Infantry' to send over.


Timbuktu, is burnt to the ground, partisans from up, blah blah, yeah yeah. Elizabeth is the next cab off the rank at 53 Turns, with York going Legendary this turn. I'll save what I can of my attack force, or maybe burn down his 2nd Cultural city, which has Mining corporation head Quartered in it, to remove a corporation.


I revolt back to representation,and Hereditary rule, to get Hatshepsut back on side, boost my science rate, and get my economy back on track. Elizabeth has only 40 turns before I turn on her, and burn down a cultural city as well. Nottingham, her 3rd Cultural city, is Coastal, and as such, I'll use 200 Marines to Burn it down, well not 200, but 20 plus tanks.

July 1908 AD I return to survey my armies, the war against the Vile Malianise, has gone well, that city of sin and corruption that was Timbuktu, is no more, my armies await transport in the Babylonian city of Sippar. Elizabeth, has only 50 more turns of life, then Nottingham is to be extinguished.





I adjust scientist, Fussion is due in 20 turns, and we are racing Hammurabi to its great Engineer reward. Science breaches 1500 beakers / turn once again.


Not wanting to wait for the 40+ turns, I decide to end the English Cultural victory run now, and declare war and Torch Nottingham.






What I should have done, is just gone for a domination win, vassaled the ones I attacked, and just kept on snowballing a win that way, but I had my heart set on a space race win, I'm replaying again from Check point 3, not so quick to offload the tech's, and I seem to be doing much better, I'm actually in the race for the internet, and I've founded Sids Sushi again, along with Aluminum corp, which will make a HUGE difference.

Learnt a lot about the AI's late game trading, as I'm used to no trading at that point of game.

I settled the rest of the continent, got a couple of scientists which I used to bulb philosophy, education and maybe something else. Founded Confu and Tao.

I was met by the Mayans in 780AD


This was the tech situation:



Took the risk and started trading with them.

Traded everything I had. When I was 1 turn away from Lib, switched research to Optics to get Astro for free (which Pacal already had, BTW).

Got two galleons and started sailing to find the rest of the world.

I managed to get to tech parity by trading with everyone. Mansa and Hammurabi have Divine Right on me. The research rate is pretty bad, It would take me 28 turns to research constitution while it only takes Pacal 16 or 18.
Washington, Elizabeth and Hatty are pleased, MM is cautious because Pacal is his worst enemy, Hammurabi is annoyed for the same reason and Pacal is friendly. I'm running Hereditary rule, Bureau, Caste, FM and FR.

Hammurabi is really big but is also backwards. I think I'll attack him and replace half of his land with a colony and keep the other half. I'm currently researching Replaceable Parts, then Gunpowder, Chem, Steel and Rifling to prepare the attack. All my EP points have already been assigned to him. Let's see how this goes.

Off-Topic: How can you bulb Liberalism? I knew that Machinery makes your scientist want to bulb PP, so I avoided it. Then he would bulb Compass. I researched Compass. Then he would bulb Calendar. I gave up and started trading for everything and researched Lib manually.

So, I was thinking of attacking Hammurabi. It took me longer than I thought because I had something like 6 chariots and 3 warriors so I had to build an army from scratch. When I had my 30 arties and 30 infantries I sailed to attack.

I wanted to attack Hammi, but he had a DP with Elizabeth, who's the tech leader and the strongest in the game. So I thought, let's attack Egypt. When I was on her borders, I don't know why, I started diplo with Lizzy and saw she would go to war with Pacal for Fascism. I had just cancelled my OB with Egypt. I reloaded then from the last auto-save (that's alright, right?) and bribed her to do it.

At that moment I was feeling the top dog strategist. "Man, how smart you are!" and "Of course, it was so obvious!" were what was going on in my mind. You see, the best targets were Hammurabi or Washington. As I said, Babylon and England had a DP and so did Guatemala and America. I went after Babylon.

What I failed to see was that, in the 3 or 4 turns after the bribery, Hatty and Hammy signed a DP. What a surprise I had when I declared! At that moment, I wished I hadn't reloaded and had stuck with Egypt. Well, it is how it is, right?

Until now, I've taken two Babylonian cities and his SoD showed up:


Pretty scary, huh? (He already has Rifling and Military Tradition, so I can see a stack of cavs instead next turn)


So, all that is to say that I will try to have my first conquest win with this. Does anyone know if it's a conquest when you vassalize everyone? Thanks

So I kept my war going with Hammurabi and signed a peace treaty with Egypt as soon as I could. After losing 4 more cities, he capitulated. Unfortunately, I lost the screenshot. After that I vassalized Mansa Musa. Then I sailed to America, took one city and capped Washington. I spent a while building the army to finally take over the world (I inserted pics of it because it was so cool! Three huge stacks) The wars vs Babylon, Mali and America were siege wars. The wars against Egypt, England and Maya were air power and tanks wars. Conquest in 1879.