^^ Okay, so just 25 turns faster than I did? I don’t feel too bad then!
Yes, from the other thread, I though we had established that my larger difficulties were in the earlier part of the game.And the larger problem is that optimization matters more in the early parts of the game (that whole cascade thing).
But you are quite correct, that saving 60 turns is something that I should be paying attention to.
Yes, from the other thread, I though we had established that my larger difficulties were in the earlier part of the game.
4. Make your religion the dominant on the map i.e. have it followed by the majority of cities - 4 points (Close but no dice - probably around 38-40% of cities - not all cities follow a religion, the faith screen doesn't give this information out so that is my estimation)
I played this map to win by domination, despite the suggested Culture win. I don't like non-domination games, basically.
I won on turn 198, having captured the first capital in the 120s. Using Honor and upgrading a lot of ancient and classical era units allowed for some super-powered Mehal Safaris to soak up the blows while first Trebuchets, and then later Cannons and Artillery pieces rained hell on the opponents.
I purposely avoided ranged units, as it's much too easy to win with Composites and Crossbows, and also, they become useless as no one wants to make war with Gatling Guns, do they?
After settling 3 cities, I build a lot of units and prepared for war. I was certain one of my 4 neighbours would declare war own me, and it came from the Wu, who backstabbed me in the process. Getting to Steel early was what saved me, and my Longswordsmen kept the ChoKuNus and Horses at bay.
After holding Wu off, I pushed her back and took her capital, then Rome, then went on towards Aztecs while a 2nd army went after Byzantium and then up into Netherlands. AI was kept at war with by bribes, so tech pace was slow and when my Safaris came online with an Oxford-Scientist push towards Rifling, I had a lot of them and it looked great seeing them march towards the enemy cities while the cannons moved into position and blasted everything away.
Commerce was filled quickly due to the alliances with Cultural city states and Theodora having the Culture wonders, and then I saved up some money to buy 3 factories and open Autocracy.
The first army took out Aztecs, Swedes and America in less than 20 turns, then both armies fell to the SW to finish off the Incans on their little scruffy peninsula.
I think that if you keep everyone at war, and push towards a specific technology like Rifling, and have an enormous spam army, it's the safest way of clearing the map in a single big push. If Mehals had come earlier like Americas unit, then I could have finished the game even earlier, by maybe 15 turns.
So it was Honor --> Commerce --> Autocracy.
No ranged units, no guilds, no built Wonders, sold science buildings after Rifling.
Thanks to peddroelm and consentient
Winning with no ranged units is really something...how do you manage to do it without losing too many units?
@enslingkorpI played this map to win by domination, despite the suggested Culture win. I don't like non-domination games, basically.
I won on turn 198, having captured the first capital in the 120s. Using Honor and upgrading a lot of ancient and classical era units allowed for some super-powered Mehal Safaris to soak up the blows while first Trebuchets, and then later Cannons and Artillery pieces rained hell on the opponents.
I purposely avoided ranged units, as it's much too easy to win with Composites and Crossbows, and also, they become useless as no one wants to make war with Gatling Guns, do they?
After settling 3 cities, I build a lot of units and prepared for war. I was certain one of my 4 neighbours would declare war own me, and it came from the Wu, who backstabbed me in the process. Getting to Steel early was what saved me, and my Longswordsmen kept the ChoKuNus and Horses at bay.
After holding Wu off, I pushed her back and took her capital, then Rome, then went on towards Aztecs while a 2nd army went after Byzantium and then up into Netherlands. AI was kept at war with by bribes, so tech pace was slow and when my Safaris came online with an Oxford-Scientist push towards Rifling, I had a lot of them and it looked great seeing them march towards the enemy cities while the cannons moved into position and blasted everything away.
Commerce was filled quickly due to the alliances with Cultural city states and Theodora having the Culture wonders, and then I saved up some money to buy 3 factories and open Autocracy.
The first army took out Aztecs, Swedes and America in less than 20 turns, then both armies fell to the SW to finish off the Incans on their little scruffy peninsula.
I think that if you keep everyone at war, and push towards a specific technology like Rifling, and have an enormous spam army, it's the safest way of clearing the map in a single big push. If Mehals had come earlier like Americas unit, then I could have finished the game even earlier, by maybe 15 turns.
So it was Honor --> Commerce --> Autocracy.
No ranged units, no guilds, no built Wonders, sold science buildings after Rifling.
Firstly, let me repeat what I said in the other thread. Domination without ranged units is suboptimal. But on some maps, winning with Archers, Composite Bowmen and Crossbows, is a breeze. If you're looking for an extra challenge, choosing to leave them out can be a fun challenge to try. I got the idea from players like Grendeldef, Manpanzee, and Consentient.
Bear in mind that this is not JUST with melee units. Siege units were used as well. And units DID die, but if you do as I said by clearing out the units around the city, baiting the units out of the city, and getting the siege units into position, you can take them in a turn or two. The important thing is getting to the tech early so that the damage the Trebuchets/Cannons inflict will be enough to take the city before 3 tuens.
Tech wise, I was at peace until Wu Zetian DoW'd me. So I could concentrate on growth. Getting to Education as fast as possible is the biggest part of this. After Education, you just click on Gunpowder, then Chemistry, then other techs you will need. Forget Scientific Theory, you won't need it. And as you conquer capitals, you can annex them for a huge science boost. I recommend you watch some of peddroelm's videos to see the general idea of this. In games where the computer players get to the Renaissance early, you can often steal Education, as well.
Not sure what you mean about 3. I did not start conquest early. Far later than normal. And as you conquer capitals, you have a LOT of extra culture from the Wonders that the computer player built.
[EDIT: There is an Aztec map in the forums. I'll play that without ranged units, and try to remember to take some screenshots]