GerrardCapashen
Benalish Master-at-Arms
Spoiler :
Well, I just had everything go my way this game. I got a culture ruin on turn 3 and then on turn 24 got a ruin that gave me 30 faith, giving me Desert Folklore. When I checked the log later, Morocco got a pantheon on turn 26, so I am guessing that had I been a couple of turns later I wouldn't have gotten DF. I actually skipped building a shrine, figuring on Deity I had no chance at a religion. I built 3 scouts to scout and attempt worker steals (1 from Morocco, 1 from Bogota). Build order was scout x3, granary, Temple of Artemis, library, water mill --> Hanging Gardens, Petra as soon as I teched those. I skipped a monument since I hit the culture ruin. It was OCC with an obvious Petra spot so I decided to try for the wonders:
t37 Temple of Artemis
t66 Hanging Gardens
t76 Petra
t83 Found religion
t93 Oracle
t100 tech Civil Service
t101 Chichen Itza from the GE from ToA/Petra engineer points
t115 tech Education
t174 Porcelain Tower
t186 Big Ben
t212 Kremlin
t215 tech Plastics via 1 bulb
t238 CN Tower via GE spawned by tier 3 Order policy (I ran out of useful social policies to take and wanted the great scientist)
t248 Neuschwanstein, just because a CS that I didn't own wanted it
t251 Win
I got really bogged down during the Medieval Era for some reason. My tech progress was terrible and Germany, the tech leader, was spamming cities all over the map and about 10% ahead of me in tech. Fortunately my spies did very well over the course of the game. I think I stole at least 8 technologies, with a couple happening even after I took the tech lead.
OCC culture and domination seemed impossible, and Siam seemed built for diplomacy, so I went for diplo. However, Germany built the Forbidden Palace long before I ever got Banking. I went to Industrialization for a factory, then teched Architecture, Scientific Theory, Electricity, and Radio via Oxford. Germany and Assyria were already Order and the Iroquois were Autocracy, so I went Order to avoid getting crushed by unhappiness, since my tourism was terrible. I made 4 great works and dug up about 3 artifacts, keeping the other GA and GWs for bulbing. With Chichen Itza and the help of 3 great artists, I spent almost the last 50 turns straight in a golden age. After I got my ideology I teched Railroad to build the Kremlin for the social policy, then just beelined Plastics and Globalization.
I had DoFs with Germany, the Iroquois, Assyria, Songhai, and Morocco for most of the game and generally had an average of 5 RAs going at any one time from turn 130-190. With the Porcelain Tower and a completed Rationalism tree, I was able to tech pretty quickly. Eventually the Iroquois, Morocco, and Assyria got tired of me (after I had the tech lead and 10 of the 15 remaining city-states) and denounced me, but it was too late and they never attacked me.
Germany took out the Celts fairly early, and Assyria reduced Greece to 2 cities pretty early as well. Assyria then started beating up on Morocco, but never managed to finish the job. The Iroquois were making me nervous by surrounding me with cities and coveting my lands, so I paid Germany 22 gold + 2 gpt to go to war with them during the Renaissance. They stayed at war for the rest of the game. You can see Germany is on the brink of removing them from the map in my first screenshot. Basically I just had to manage diplomacy so as not to get attacked by Germany, the Iroquois or Assyria. Nobody else could touch me, since they were too far away and/or getting pummeled by other civs.
Germany and I were best pals, because I suggested resolutions he liked and I always voted for his World Congress resolutions, even when they were stupid things like banning luxuries (twice). He suggested World Ideology: Order, which suited me fine, but then tried to propose his religion in the Modern Era. I had to actually vote that one down, but one red modifier didn't outweigh all of the green ones I had with him. He was also incredibly rich and bought my spare iron, coal, and wine all game long.
I had far more faith than I knew what to do with. I was saving it to buy scientists to bulb Globalization, but all my RAs made me hit it much more quickly than I anticipated. If I had bought scientists earlier and bulbed Plastics more aggressively, I think the game could have ended sooner. Also, going for Plastics before Railroad would probably be much more efficient, since I had more social policies than I needed. I haven't studied the timings you have to finish each era at for a maximally efficient Diplo victory, so I'm sure there is room for improvement here.
Order of social policies in case anybody is interested or has suggestions:
6 Tradition
2 Patronage (+25% to gold gifts)
4 Rationalism (secularism, humanism, free thought)
1 Commerce
3 Order (+25% great people, 33% cheaper building purchase, factory science)
1 Patronage (science from allies)
2 Rationalism (gold from science buildings, +50% to RAs, free tech for finishing tree, can buy GS with faith)
1 Commerce (wagon trains)
3 Order (+15% strength in friendly territory, +1 production from mine/quarry, free GE/GS)
1 Patronage (+ happiness/resources)
1 Commerce (double value GMs, though I never spawned one)
t37 Temple of Artemis
t66 Hanging Gardens
t76 Petra
t83 Found religion
t93 Oracle
t100 tech Civil Service
t101 Chichen Itza from the GE from ToA/Petra engineer points
t115 tech Education
t174 Porcelain Tower
t186 Big Ben
t212 Kremlin
t215 tech Plastics via 1 bulb
t238 CN Tower via GE spawned by tier 3 Order policy (I ran out of useful social policies to take and wanted the great scientist)
t248 Neuschwanstein, just because a CS that I didn't own wanted it
t251 Win
I got really bogged down during the Medieval Era for some reason. My tech progress was terrible and Germany, the tech leader, was spamming cities all over the map and about 10% ahead of me in tech. Fortunately my spies did very well over the course of the game. I think I stole at least 8 technologies, with a couple happening even after I took the tech lead.
OCC culture and domination seemed impossible, and Siam seemed built for diplomacy, so I went for diplo. However, Germany built the Forbidden Palace long before I ever got Banking. I went to Industrialization for a factory, then teched Architecture, Scientific Theory, Electricity, and Radio via Oxford. Germany and Assyria were already Order and the Iroquois were Autocracy, so I went Order to avoid getting crushed by unhappiness, since my tourism was terrible. I made 4 great works and dug up about 3 artifacts, keeping the other GA and GWs for bulbing. With Chichen Itza and the help of 3 great artists, I spent almost the last 50 turns straight in a golden age. After I got my ideology I teched Railroad to build the Kremlin for the social policy, then just beelined Plastics and Globalization.
I had DoFs with Germany, the Iroquois, Assyria, Songhai, and Morocco for most of the game and generally had an average of 5 RAs going at any one time from turn 130-190. With the Porcelain Tower and a completed Rationalism tree, I was able to tech pretty quickly. Eventually the Iroquois, Morocco, and Assyria got tired of me (after I had the tech lead and 10 of the 15 remaining city-states) and denounced me, but it was too late and they never attacked me.
Germany took out the Celts fairly early, and Assyria reduced Greece to 2 cities pretty early as well. Assyria then started beating up on Morocco, but never managed to finish the job. The Iroquois were making me nervous by surrounding me with cities and coveting my lands, so I paid Germany 22 gold + 2 gpt to go to war with them during the Renaissance. They stayed at war for the rest of the game. You can see Germany is on the brink of removing them from the map in my first screenshot. Basically I just had to manage diplomacy so as not to get attacked by Germany, the Iroquois or Assyria. Nobody else could touch me, since they were too far away and/or getting pummeled by other civs.
Germany and I were best pals, because I suggested resolutions he liked and I always voted for his World Congress resolutions, even when they were stupid things like banning luxuries (twice). He suggested World Ideology: Order, which suited me fine, but then tried to propose his religion in the Modern Era. I had to actually vote that one down, but one red modifier didn't outweigh all of the green ones I had with him. He was also incredibly rich and bought my spare iron, coal, and wine all game long.
I had far more faith than I knew what to do with. I was saving it to buy scientists to bulb Globalization, but all my RAs made me hit it much more quickly than I anticipated. If I had bought scientists earlier and bulbed Plastics more aggressively, I think the game could have ended sooner. Also, going for Plastics before Railroad would probably be much more efficient, since I had more social policies than I needed. I haven't studied the timings you have to finish each era at for a maximally efficient Diplo victory, so I'm sure there is room for improvement here.
Order of social policies in case anybody is interested or has suggestions:
6 Tradition
2 Patronage (+25% to gold gifts)
4 Rationalism (secularism, humanism, free thought)
1 Commerce
3 Order (+25% great people, 33% cheaper building purchase, factory science)
1 Patronage (science from allies)
2 Rationalism (gold from science buildings, +50% to RAs, free tech for finishing tree, can buy GS with faith)
1 Commerce (wagon trains)
3 Order (+15% strength in friendly territory, +1 production from mine/quarry, free GE/GS)
1 Patronage (+ happiness/resources)
1 Commerce (double value GMs, though I never spawned one)