GIII Alpha

Since HOF-III has entered a new phase (post Civ4 release) and we're doing monthly updates on the 15th, it makes sense to start a new naming phase for the Gauntlets. However, with the updates in the middle of the month, using a month name doesn't make sense. So, I'm going with the greek alphabet.

And without further delay, here are your current Gauntlet settings:
Difficulty: Warlord
Mapsize: Large
Victory: Domination
Date Due: April 14th if I do the next update. 14 April if it's Dianthus.

This sounds like fun.

The leader boards are filled with Iroquois and Celts. Will try each of those, plus Aztecs. May try arabia - figure the ansars will give us help in taking cities fast, and that might be important in a great date.

Other approach is archipelago as the dutch or the english or something - just build curraghs, and upgrade to galleys and toss settlers all over the place.

Lots of options...

Domination as expect!
great superslug!

addicted to CB-SGL, I am not a warmonger,
so I think I can't win even before 460AD
(the last entry in current list),
so I am sure to rest for a month!

and expect a 10 BC submission!

I had another comment here, but it sounded a little self-serving, after I actually *got* a 10 BC Domination date.

Strange game - Iroquois, pangea map, 6 opponents (Byzantium, Russia, England, America, Scandinavia, Portugal - or, a bunch of guys who don't have early UU and dont' expand well) - no barbs, AI aggression set to almost nothing.

No SQL's *or* MGL's.

Built Pyramids and Artemis.

Never saw either England or America - they got stuck on islands to themselves, across the ocean.

I got into the MA, as I spent much of the game power researching to get an SGL.

I tried one as the Aztecs, which went great - got a SGL for the Pyramids - but about 1/2 way through, I realized that domination is land tiles only!!

Anyway - 10 BC is the target!

Ended up taking out Russia and Portugal - would have taken out the Vikings, but they founded a city on the other side of the continent, and by the time I got back to them, the game was over. Was on the edge of killing the Byzantines - they actually had a couple of swordsmen!

AutomatedTeller said:

I tried one as the Aztecs, which went great - got a SGL for the Pyramids - but about 1/2 way through, I realized that domination is land tiles only!!

Click to expand...

Not quite, coast tiles count as well.

archphoenix said:

and expect a 10 BC submission!

Click to expand...

AutomatedTeller said:

...I actually *got* a 10 BC Domination date.

Click to expand...

Uncanny! Maybe you need an Avatar with the Oracle on it, archphoenix.

Good opening bid, AutomatedTeller. What was the domination limit for your game?

BTW I rolled some saves for this whilst I was a work but I'm playing a low level 20K game at the moment. I'll get around to this sometime soon I guess.

1211. Had a great start - huge amount of food. 1 cow in view to begin, but 2 others showed up immediately, and I had floodplains with wheat all over the map.

Coast tiles *do* count towards domination? hmm. Well then, I probably could have bettered that date - I didn't bother building many coastal towns, cause I figured they wouldn't help, so some of my close lands didn't get claimed.

My guess is that the winning date will be at least 10 turns earlier than this. I will definitely try again.

Nice game AutomatedTeller!

Way to start the battle!

It surprised me - I had actually originally posted that I thought 10 BC was really reaching, after a couple of my early games.

I may try one as the mayans - my strategy involved throwing a lot of roads down, and industrious workers do that really well. problem is that the UU is just ok - Mounted Warriors kick butt. Sumeria might be good, too - better chance of an early SGL, and getting the pyramids...

But then - if you just restart until you do get an SGL for the pyramids after ceremonial burial, that kind of solves the need...

And I will try the arch route - galleys travel faster than roads. I don't know whether more or less war will help, though...

Here is the outline of my strategy, which might or might not be beneficial or work for most games, but it worked well in the first game I played, which I did not finish because of various stupid mistakes.

-AI respawn on.
-need at least 3 4-turn settler factories in the starting radius
-early UU for quick expansion
-settle from the outside in
-a "city takeback" area of ten cities size 2 and above to gift and retake against each AI
-goody hut settler early
-knock out an early neighbor with jags/chasquis
-ToA somehow by 500 BC.

My first game I rolled a start for as the Incas had 6 cows, so I figured it would do , though crazy food starts like that arent that uncommon on these settings. I used a typical farmers gambit, built chasquis out of quasi corrupt cities, and sent most settlers long (no goody hut settler, no SGL, no neighbor close). I didnt have AI respawn on, and I didnt remember to do the city takeback thing until 800 BC (a test really). Gifting and retaking 8 cities from Japan in my game, the opponent farthest away, yielded me "close to a deal" on getting 3 cities. I figure if you can get 2-3 from each of the opponents+ToA+25 cities by 1000 bc you can rack up domination before 600 BC. Note that I agree this is highly exploitive, but is allowed under the current rules.

I was at 38% of land at 550 BC or so, mostly optimally placed, so having an SGL would have put me close to domination around that time. If someone plays a good game, they could get a crazy early date for this. Warlord gives the AI just enough capability to build some cities for you, but you dont need a big military to take over them. I might try the Maya but I dont know if it will be better to hand build the Pyramids with them or what to do (for the necessary GA, and I dont really want to waste time with building Jav Throwers to start the GA at the right time).

wow. I hadn't thought about the give/take thing. that might be even better.

My strategy was to set up factories, and send out long lines of workers building roads into where I wanted to put cities in an OCP form, then when I ran out of room, take over the others with MW.

I ended up with a huge number of extra settlers.

600 BC. I think maybe you need the pyramids from an early SGL for that, because then you can pop rush settlers from out lying cities in high food areas easily.

Killercane:

Could you explain a bit how gifting cities to your opponents and then later (how much later?) taking them back helps you, rather than just keeping the cities for yourself?

By gifting cities, and then immediately taking them back while they are undefended, they lose one pop, but the AI thinks they are losing a war badly and will give you all their one population cities 4 turns after you declare or so. You dont need any units to travel to the other side of the pangea to take cities.

Wow. I never thought of that. I think I might try one more time. So far all I got was 900AD and 610AD. I knew someone would get a BC, but 600? Wow.

BTW, what does this mean Superslug?

Date Due: April 14th if I do the next update. 14 April if it's Dianthus.

Click to expand...

Is this an attempt to blow the logic circuits in any androids that might be spying on the Civfantatics?

Fill in scene from Star Trek where Mr Spock told the android that logic is a little bird tweeting in a meadow, and then Harry Mudd said he is lying.

Marsden said:

BTW, what does this mean Superslug?

Click to expand...

That the cutoff will be on the 14/4/06, or the 4/14/06, depending on who does it. Or the 15/4/06, if you happen to be submitting from GMT+11.

sanabas is right. I was just making a joke over how America and Great Britain use different date patterns.

610 BC on my computer at home, which has no internet access atm until I completely move to my new place. After getting no SGL luck in several games, I began playing for a CB or writing SGL, and in this game I got one for writing I think and another at Polytheism, so the Pyramids and ToA were rushed at the same time. At the end I had something like 80 cities.

I usually build a barracks and about 4 jags to 1) pop a few goody huts and get a settler; 2) get alphabet from the closest com/sea civ; and 3) camp out and wait for the two closest AIs to produce their first settler. Those slaves come in handy, and the two free cities as well. Take their 90 gold or whatever when they respawn elsewhere on the map. They usually wont come off any free cities.

I didnt use the gift and retake trick in this game, as all the AIs were quasi reachable and I couldnt really spare resources to do it.

That's going to be tough to beat. Wow. 610 BC...

Nice date, killercane!

I've only made 2 attempts but neither game turned out to have a sutable map. I played as Egypt and the terrain can be a real problem. Neither gave me any luck with huts or SGLs. In the second game I got into Republic but then I wondered if maybe I should have stayed in Despotism for rushing temples. Then again, maybe I just need to hope for an SGL if I'm going to get anywhere near that date!

I think you only need an SGL for the pyramids - temple of artemis will provide all the temples you need. On the 10 BC game, I went to monarchy, which I think is better than republic - goes right up to TOA, at least. And you should be able to build TOA pretty easily in a golden age with a size 12 city in 20-25 turns or so.

btw, archphoenix - I think it is quite possible to win this with very little war - just enough to set off a GA, perhaps.