Lonely Hearts Club, Chapter III : Zara Yacob

r_rolo1

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Welcome to the Third edition of the Lonely Hearts Club for BTS. In the Lonely Hearts Club we explore strategies to cope with one of the most dreaded situations in Civ IV ( possibly the main reason for reloads after the military collapse one :p ): starting in isolation....

For the Third game in BTS the choosed leader was Zara Yacob of the Ethiopian :
Spoiler :

Zara Yacob is one of the BTS leaders that people learned to hate as a AI and love to play as human.... As a AI he tends to build a large and well developed empire, teching decently and to be a major threat to any kind of victory. As human, the possibility of having a drill IV unit right out of bat and a cheap and early culture multiplier UB makes it one of the favourite of the new leaders AFAIK.

Not much to say about traits: creative helps with early border pops and Organized helps with the necessary empire expansion

His UU.
Spoiler :

A real monster in non isolated starts, due to the possiblity of having drill IV musket units with 5 XP ( even barbs fights will do :eek: ). I believe that even wtih a isolated start this unit will have a nice place in the show, giving us the possiblility of fending a renaiscence outside attack with some easy, and maybe even some action overseas :devil:

His UB.
Spoiler :

A building made for the culture lovers. A cheap, early culture multiplier... too bad it obsoletes with Astro. That poses a problem to to the player that wants a culture victory in this kind of starts: playing without astro in isolation is a high-risk move, but +25% is not neglectable..... Let's see if someone tries it ;)

So, here is the settings( from prince save ):
Spoiler :

And the start:
Spoiler :

Not exactly stellar....

About saves: As usual, pick the level you prefer in the end of the post. Deity save is in the next post.

Again a small request ( not mandatory :p ) :

We ask the participants to do, if possible, a write-up with the victory save and a description of your game ( strategies, techs researched, wars,...). All the info should be in spoiler tags ( to not disturb other people's games ). If you want ( we would like to :p ) post reports at this moments of the game:

Checkpoint 1 - when we have explored the island and are aware of what resources it has. Its not so important when this is, but this is a time to discuss city sites etc. Don't look into a checkpoint 1 spoiler until you have reached this point yourself.

Checkpoint 2 - first contact - when we have met all the other AIs. At this point we can discuss our strategy to get to this point and our plans for dealing with them.

Checkpoint 3 - when we are committed to a victory condition (or at least think we are).

Checkpoint 4 - Victory (or defeat).

The last words are to wish good luck to all :goodjob: . And let the games begin!

P.S We don't have any kind of problem with defeats and reruns. Just play and enjoy ;)
 

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Nice, i'll play this one, Zara is a strong leader. Hmm should I go Emperor or try Immortal... Hmmmm.
 
A very "meh" start. As usual, can't play due to mac love.
The real challenge will be getting use out of the Oromo Warrior. How to get Gunpowder, Lib-->Astro, then Nationalism for drafting fun?
Cultural vic based on the Stele would definently be interesting.
Back to lurk mode.

EDIT: 300th Post! I'm a prince!
 
I'll probably go Emperor, cultural - haven't done a cultural win in LHC yet.

But not sure that he is ideal for cultural. Strong military unit which will help in defense. But the Stele obsoletes with Astronomy. I think the extra commerce from trade will easily outweigh another +25% on base commerce.

If you have a cottaged up city with say 15 +7 tiles, thats 105 base commerce. So the Stele will give around 26 culture per turn.

But with foreign trade routes you should have +250% in other multipliers (3xcathedral + free speech). And at least 3 trade routes with +8 or so. =24 commerce = 84 culture per turn - easily dwarfing the Stele.

So the Stele will help earlier culture get multiplied faster but its probably not going to be a reason to delay Astronomy. Maybe if the collossus is in play...
 
Ouch that start sucks, based on the SS. How do you get it to prompt you for the title of the SS, by the way? Is that in the options? Mine just saves it by numbers automatically.
 
I've never played Ethiopia before but do I understand correctly that the stele
culture bonus goes obsolete with astro?

Since we're isolated, even a cultural VC will surely want astro, and since we're creative no use in building for border pop. So then it seems to me completely and totally useless.

As for the UU--problem is that muskets are pretty weak imho so improving one of the weaker units in the game is marginal, especially as you will run into a lot of AI knights in that time period where the Drill 4 promo is not good.

Seems like if you want to war with an isolated start, you will likely want rifles anyway.
 
I've never played Ethiopia before but do I understand correctly that the stele
culture bonus goes obsolete with astro?

Since we're isolated, even a cultural VC will surely want astro, and since we're creative no use in building for border pop. So then it seems to me completely and totally useless.
Unfortunately I agree....the Stele could beused very efficiently in non-isolated starts for a cultural win, because you can, with some luck and planning, bypass Astro. In Isolation, you need Astro, period. You need some kind of fleet, you need the trade routes, you need the foreign religions.
As for the UU--problem is that muskets are pretty weak imho so improving one of the weaker units in the game is marginal, especially as you will run into a lot of AI knights in that time period where the Drill 4 promo is not good.

Seems like if you want to war with an isolated start, you will likely want rifles anyway.
Oromos give nice rifles when upgraded, but that surely needs some careful planning and a large grain of luck ( and deep pockets BTW ). As muskets replacement, they aren't so gamebreaking in isolation ( cannons are much more gamebreaking IMHO, even with the BtS nerfing of siege ), because when you get them you can't invade no one and the Oromos work only in a small window of oportunity, until some stronger pinch units enter in the game.
 
As for the UU--problem is that muskets are pretty weak imho so improving one of the weaker units in the game is marginal, especially as you will run into a lot of AI knights in that time period where the Drill 4 promo is not good.

Seems like if you want to war with an isolated start, you will likely want rifles anyway.

Oromos are not a weak UU by any stretch. They make great attackers and stack defenders. Sure you need to accompany them with pikes or elephants to deal with knights, but knights aren't city defenders and are easily protected against. Its still a long time to rifles - I find myself using ordinary musketmen a lot more now.

For an isolated start I think they are probably a little early though. You aren't going to launch an intercontinental invasion without a strong fleet - which really means chemistry. Which means you are only one tech from cannon and are close to rifles (through trade even if you have beelined chemistry). The isolated start is where late UUs like SEALS really shine.
 
Hi everyone. Thought I'd give this a go :)

Not particularly a nice start on the face of it. Hoping there are some commerce resources nearby, as the capital is not going to be a research powerhouse.
 
Checkpoint 1 & 2 - Emperor

Spoiler :

Decided I would go for a culture win. Founded capital on plains hill to NW. Actually looks a pretty good site. Lots of cottageable terrain, food and hills.

Researched agriculture, animal husbandry, writing then bronzeworking. I'd tried out this path earlier and it helps get research going quickly, particular with a creative leader. I had two great scientists in the BCs and an early academy + scientists really helps.

Settled a second city near the marble - another good site with food and sugar later. Teched to wheel and masonry to hook up the copper, then to priesthood. Build the temple of artemis in my capital and oracle in city 2. Founded city three in amongst floodplains - another good site. Took code of laws and founded confucianism in city 3.

Research was pretty high from academy and settled great scientist + libraries in all three cities. Then teched towards Aesthetics, build Parthenon in city 2. Then teched towards theology. Founded Christianity in city 2. City four was established near the gems.

Built AP in city 3. Built Statue of Zeus in capital. Then gained literature and GL in capital. Almost like an industrious leader :) Lots of chopping.

Then it was time to settle the rest of the island. Four more cities on the mainland and two island cities were founded. Spread confucianism. Established trade with Shaka - his borders proved close enough. Traded massively with him - about 5 techs as soon as I met him. He is buddist but I hope I can turn him to the true faith - hoping the AP helps with this.

Isabella will hate me of course - she founded buddism and Gilgamesh also follows it. I teched to Philosophy but miss Taoism by 2 turns. I will have to get another religion somehow - maybe by invading Monte (last civ I discovered and very backward).

Peter has found me and does not have a religion. Hopefully I can get a caravel to him first.

Teched to paper, built university of sankore. Got Education, Optics, Liberalism and took Astronomy as free tech. Now in the 1200's researching gunpowder.

I think I'm in a fairly strong position. I have a great set of wonders working for me with gunpowder I can go offensive if I want to. I may need to in order to claim more religions. And its a bit more fun than a peaceful culture win.
 
Monarch checkpoint 1
Spoiler :
I have to say that this map is very interesting: lots of seafood, almost no calendar resourses, wierd shaped island. This begs for coastal cities and wonders....
I already advanced a little from the complete mapping and will try to get the GLighthouse and the Collosus....
Map below
Spoiler :
 
Monarch checkpoint 2
Spoiler :
First of all, I got the GLighthouse and the Collosus ( and failed a bunch of wonders, like the Oracle, the Henge, the GW...) and tracked in the eco path. Got Lib in the 1400 ( sure sign that Mansa or Gandhi aren't in the game :lol: ) and lost the circumnavigation bonus to Peter. The first civ I contacted was Shaka ( well before Optics ) but couldn't take techs from him until I contacted peter... The shot below is from 1540 ( far loo late, but monty is in the far north and I'm the first one to contact him)
Spoiler :

Plans: Space or Diplo ( with maybe a vassal or two...Monty would be good :devil: )
 
can a permanoob ask hubby to make her a warlord difficulty save, since she's this unnamed individual has proven so terrible at isolated starts before? this friend of a friend of a ... ah, i admit it, it's me, i'm skeeeeeered *giggle*. the only thing i'm good at is messing with the heads of other leaders, or getting along with them!

ps even if you say no i'm gonna do it and just not tell you or report it :p
 
^^ :lol:

For me you can do whatever you want :p And I really don't think you need to go Warlord to use you Jedi mind tricks on the AI . Some of the guys that are in the game are very easy to get along and to manipulate ( hope that I haven't spoiled too much the game ;) )
 
First time trying this, so any pointers would be appreciated.

Monarch Checkpoint 1

Spoiler :
This is more an archipelago with a land bridge than a continent. I got lucky and popped fishing in a hut, so Sailing will come soon enough. Although I'm not sure what direction to take the game yet.

The Great Lighthouse and Colossus are obvious choices for this situation. And building the Colossus gives us another reason to put off Astronomy. With no Astronomy, that would lead you down the path of a Cultural victory, which would be helped with the Wonders.

So an early Stonehenge for the free UB, then the Marble to slingshot to CoL for Confucianism. Build them in the same city and you can get a Great Prophet early for the Confucian shrine, while putting the Great Lighthouse and Colossus in a second city to pop Merchants and generate culture. Then, Music through Aesthetics (picking up Drama afterwards) for the Sistine Chapel, Parthenon, Statue of Zeus and a free Great Artist. I would drop all four of those into the same city, if possible.

After Music, I guess you get Paper through Theology (You'll probably have an extra Great Prophet lying around) then run to Liberalism for Free Speech. Keep on towards Democracy for Emancipation, then cottage everything over, bump up the culture slider and wait until you win. Or is that too cheesy?

I'm gonna wait until a few more reach the first checkpoint and see what they think.
 
OK, I lied about waiting for Input.

Monarch Checkpoint 2

Spoiler :
Techs:

Fishing (from a hut), Bronze Working, Agriculture, Mysticism, Masonry, Wheel, Meditation, Priesthood, Writing, CoL (With the Oracle), Animal Husbandry, Sailing, Pottery, Aesthetics, Polytheism, Literature, Drama, Monotheism.

Events:

2500ish BC) Herbalist: +2 health in all cities.

Wonders:

Stonehenge
The Oracle
The Statue of Zeus
The Parthenon
The Temple of Artemis
Kong Miao

Overall game:

Askum was settled 1 NW. Built a warrior, worker, settler, barracks, Stonehenge. I alternated the Barracks in and out as a dumping spot for hammer overflow. After that another settler, the Oracle and another settler.

I basically gave up on getting the GL and Colossus. Sailing and Metal Casting were not Priorities if I wanted to get Music and Liberalism first. I don't know how this will affect me in the long run, but it will be interesting to compare to other games.

725 BC, Thomas Aquinas is born. He builds the Confucian Shrine ASAP.

Zara is now my REXing god. Cheap Courthouses, libraries and quick border pops makes for easy expansion while keeping your economy afloat. Add to that the early Confucian shrine, and you have a very large empire for pre-AD. (4 cities at 80% research with only one courthouse!).

350 BC, I am named the third most advanced faction. I'm guessing that the three other religions out there were split between three civs, causing lots of war.

Gondar was chosen as the site for the Artist wonders. Finished off the SoZ and Parthenon. Hopefully the one Great Prophet point from the shrine won't mess things up too badly.

I noticed around this time some yellowish borders along the western coast. And they said this was isolated :p. I sent a galley over that way and found Shaka. So that's the second checkpoint, probably much later than the rest. I'm well on my way to a Cultural victory, I just need to get a third culture city up and running. Probably Addis Ababa.








 
For me you can do whatever you want :p And I really don't think you need to go Warlord to use you Jedi mind tricks on the AI . Some of the guys that are in the game are very easy to get along and to manipulate ( hope that I haven't spoiled too much the game ;) )

ha! after i meet 'em ... i'll mess up 80 ways before then *giggle*. but, i decided to go with noble. and great/bad signs so far ...

Spoiler :
i am reallllllllllllllllllllly superstitious. too much good luck means i'm doomed. so i see the hut up north with my scout, and i know that metalcasting is a tech you can pop from a hut. i look at the tech tree, realize i need pottery first. i was researching writing, skipping pottery for now since my cities were growing fast with no happy-increasers so who needs granaries? but i switched to pottery, it'll discount writing anyway. i left the hut there, sent the scout exploring the rest of the north, and he was back in place to open it the turn that pottery came in. i won't lie, if i got hostiles i was gonna reload and keep trying :p. but if i got something lame like writing or gold then i was gonna suck it up and play on. well i knocked wood, moved the scout, got the era change pop-up, and ........


that's 1840 BC :eek:. i'd finished pottery that turn, and looked at the choices even tho i knew i'd pick writing. MC was going to take me thirty-two turns. i just saved baskin-robbins + 1 baybee! terrible sign!

and i never ever get events early in the game. like EVER. in 1600 BC ...



mind you i don't even have copper hooked up, so i have no axemen! which i realized is a flaw in the metalcasting plan, it doubles production of colossus /sigh. but i've had that event before and it counts for future axemen too.

so, obviously, i won't live to see 1 AD! i have used up all my good luck, and the barbs are going to show up with riflemen soon. but it's been fun so far *giggle*
 
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