GOTM 41
Player: Grogs
Class: Open
Version: PTW 1.27f
Going for 20K Culture.
I entered the MA in 150 AD, having received the last couple of techs in the peace negotiations from the Roman war. A bit of trading drew me the 2 government techs and a couple of Roman workers. I waited 4 turns while Pasargadae (20K) completed the heroic epic, then we revolted and installed the new Persian Republic in 300 AD.
WAR!: I had almost convinced myself I should just play nice for the rest of the game and focus on infrastructure when a moment of extreme clarity hit me: Samurai+No horses on continent = Very BAD News. Luckily for me, the Japanese have been at war with Rome since 900 BC and show no sign of letting up. They send, on average, 2-3 archers/swords per turn against the elite legionaries in the last Roman city (Pompeii). This also leaves a very long chain (~20) of Japanese units strewn out through my territory as the advance on Pompeii. They should be easy to defeat in detail when the fighting starts. I begin making Japanese invasion plans in 510 AD. Scores of workers hack 2 roads through the jungles and 6 cities are built, allowing for a quick strike on Japanes iron. Just as my plans are nearing completion, Japan does something unexpected: They manage to wipe out the Romans! Japanese forces turn around and start heading for home, so I must strike now!
In 720 AD, after Emperor Tokugowa refuses my perfectly reasonable demand for his WM+25gpt I declare war. The Japanese forces strung out in my territory are quickly defeated with minimal losses. Luckily for me, the Japanese seem to invested most of their military budget into their navy (~25 galleys), so I am able to push through their territory quickly. By 760 AD, I control all of their iron. The Japanese actually *used* those ships a little bit, capturing Herat and Rome, but they are quickly retaken. In 840 AD, the last Japanese Emperor is killed (His last words? Arrrgh!) and I have the continent all to myself. After the Japanese were gone, I set about the task of ICSing the jungle and former Japanese lands to support my 'peaceful' defense forces.
There goes the neighborhood!: In 680 AD, I finally managed to get a suicide galley across the ocean. The new world was discovered and by 690 AD, I had met all 5 civs on the other continent.
Technology: I picked up 3 MA techs (Invention, Chivalry, Gunpowder) thanks to the GL. Other than that, it was mostly self research with a few trades for optionals. Because Pasargadae needed to be producing a wonder at all times, I had to keep the research pace quite brisk. I did slow up as much as I could researching education, but I never did get another free tech out of it. I ended up researching Education myself and killing my GL. After that, I beelined along the top path, trading with the AI's for the techs in the bottom path.
150 AD: Feudalism (Free tech)
490 AD: Monotheism (Researched)
580 AD: Theology (Researched)
670 AD: Engineering (Researched)
690 AD: Invention, Chivalry (GL)
700 AD: Gunpowder (GL)
~820 AD: Education (Researched
)
890 AD: Astronomy (Researched)
920 AD: Chemistry (Trade)
930 AD: Music Theory (Researched)
970 AD: Banking (Researched)
1010 AD: Economics (Researched)
1060 AD: Physics (researched)
1090 AD: Metallurgy (Trade)
1100 AD: Theory of Gravity (Researched)
1140 AD: Magentism (Researched)
1140 AD: Steam Power (Free Tech)
1170 AD: Military Tradition (Trade - IA)
1220 AD: Navigation (Trade - IA)
1385 AD: Printing Press (Researched - IA)
1405 AD: Democracy (Researched - IA)
1425 AD: Free Artistry (Researched - IA)
Pasargadae (20K) Builds:
210 AD: Heroic Epic
310 AD: Colosseum
650 AD: Sistine Chapel
660 AD: Cathedral
890 AD: Copernicus's Observatory
920 AD: University
930 AD: JS Bach's Cathedral (MGL Rush)
1200 AD (Estimated): Newton's University (Due in 6 at the beginning of IA.)
Pasargadae seems to be coming along nicely. I haven't been fighting too much or really trying to farm GL's, so the finish date won't be particularly exciting. Still, I do still have some peaceful builder in me and seeing on of my cities grow like Pasargadae has grown makes happy.
Pasargadae (20K) in 1120 AD.
Minimap of my empire in 1140 AD