Deity please! #3

• This is not isolation nor semi isolation.
  
  
• Our leader is not marginal one
  
  
• We got nice initial location and surroundings.
  
  
• We got enough room to expand.
  
  
• I like this map!

This is not isolation nor semi isolation, so you can hope for some fogbusting from neighbors.

I SIP'ed, researched mining first to improve the riverside gold.
Scout revealed a nice place to block off Sumeria.


Planned to settle the northern city first and ASAP, because it's a great spot by itself and the exact placement of the southern city isn't that important (e.g. settling on the rice is just as good).

But Gilgamesh was faster...



I planned to settle the northern city anyway, and move the southern city 1S - this would probably mean war against Gilgamesh, but at least both my border cities would have been hillside.

Oh, even before that, the barbs settled a city:



I think this sucks, because it will take me forever to clean out a barb city on a hill, and it's blocking a lot of good land.
Anyway, this was not the only thing the barbs did - they also sent 3 archers and a warrior exactly on turn 40...
(Should have screenshot this, it was really scary.)
I had researched archery really early, but I sent out the first archer to secure the location of the rice-gold-phant-city. One archer and one warrior left in my capital defended it well enough, but of course they couldn't stop the barbs from pillaging all of my improvements.

After that, when I finally wanted to send out my first settler, this is what Gilgamesh sent to greet him:



When he settled Bad-Tibira next turn, I decided it was time to retire.



It's turn 68, I didn't manage to send out even my first settler yet, my strategic resources are blocked by barbs or Gilgamesh, and the AI is at 8(!) cities...

- - -
Of course, I messed this start up quite a bit. I want to try this one more time and go for agriculture, mining, archery, BW to chop out at least one settler before the AI suffocates me.

Gig was annoying here, too. He stole my spot AND the barbs spawned a city on the same tile as yours.
I did a few reloads to see if I could beat Gig to the spot, but each one failed. My best was AH>Mining>Agriculture... where I got the settler out and on the spot when Gig settled the city. :/

SIP. AH first is obvious best for the 6 raw yield. After that I went Mining ----> archery while expanding. I was able to pick up hinduism from sal early-ish and that helped steer gilgamesh off the early DoW (my #1 reason to lose on deity). Gilgamesh beat me to a spot I wanted, but thanks to the seafood on the west I was able to eek out 6 cities. The presence of marble boosted the aesthetics line. I deliberately failed great library, went music ASAP for great artist + sistine. With 3 religions, the rest was a matter of diplo.

For most of the game I had joao/gilga/sal in hindu. With 10 turn treaties with gilgamesh he was easy to keep elsewhere until HR pushed him friendly. Later on he went FR but I had a def pact with him a while, gave into demands, kept him pleased while he hated others and kept farming 10 turn treaties. Eventually Joao founded islam and switched but got locked into a massive war with sal (who had capped fred and wang). When sal wasn't declaring on someone he was my pact ally because he was running away in size (~40% land and pop and massive power lead probably).

With sistine in hand this wasn't even a close culture game. Gilgamesh actually tried too, but got blown away. He got SERVED!





Unfortunately that last artist popped on the previous turn, while sparta was the last city to go legendary.







Okay, how to put up 50k in a city with 200 culture/turn? Artist bombs. Lots of artist bombs.

And final VC screen:



A couple people had apollo program but nobody was actually too close to space. Sal would probably have won domination or diplomation if I didn't cross the finish line first .

Priorities: Expansion is a first priority in 90% of cases. Finding creative leader next door makes REX 100% first priority (only other option is earliest possible rush. But Gilgamesh is protective. So REX is only choice).

--> Starting tech: food first is a rule of thumb for reason. AH - first is a no brainer here. Despite all this gold you need start work pigs ASAP. It will allow you get your first settler out by turn 35-37 (turn 67 is very late).

Barbs: Fogbusting? My scout siting there from ~turn 20.
With Gilgamesh to the right, 5x5 fogbust rule makes it a perfect fogbusting spot.


No offense.

T0.
The first square moved by the scout reveals: another gold. The second square moved by the scout reveals: a 5th gold! Still SIP however.

T1.
The third square moved by the scout reveals: ivory!

T2.
Protective Gligamesh - the first mildly bad news. Quite near.

T13.
2 x horse source.

T18
Potential blocking cities.



T20. Meet 3 more AIs. I leave the scout fogbusting a nice large area to the south.

T21. It's possible we could fogbust entirely with warriors here but since our beakers runneth over and we already have hunting I go archery.

T40.
First city settled. Gilgamesh appears to be settling aggressively this way, utterly messing up my nice blocking plan. He's either squeezed by somebody else on the other size (good especially if it's sitting bull who is his worst enemy already), or just has bad land which is possible as we can see a little bit of jungle down there. I'm happy to get the ivory site anyway even if one of the two golds is contested for now.



T50
Grew capital to size 4 and built 2 archers. In the end I build 3 archers and lose 1 but clear the barb infestation in the northern beaver area.

T60.
Another settler ready. Giggles has 2 settler parties right here and I debate whether to settle to make an immediate block on the road 1SE of the settler, or take my preferred site 1E where the worker is and get the block in 5 turns when the settler party could be on the marble tile if they tried to go round. I'm not sure of the rules there but I think it works that the settlers would be sent back to Gilgamesh's side rather than just shunted outside north of the marble. The settlers turned back of their own accord anyway.



T88.
Gilgamesh was apparently squeezed by Joao and had to send all his settlers this way. He has 7 cities, 4 of which are in the area I thought I could claim at the start. This turn I put down the crab city and adopt hinduism which all the cool civs are doing. I have teched HBR and am now aiming at construction.



T98.
Construction is finished. It seems I have researched TOO fast because the empire is nowhere near ready to start cranking out units yet! Oh well I work on barrackses etc. as well as building an academy and starting aesthetics (possible glib attempt at some point). Giggles has his eye on the whale city but Athens gets a border pop in 6 turns so hopefully he'll forget that idea. I can always close borders now anyway.



T100.
End of set, 375BC. Here's the tech situation. No tech trades done yet. Encouragingly Gligamesh is the most backward. Also he has no elephants in his land - hooray!

War buildup was WAY too slow. Gliga got macemen and longbows (and crossbows) and they defended well enough against elepults. Lost ~ 20 cats and 10-15 of my eles for net gain 1 crappy city. Huh.

I will try again, this time turtle up a bit early on and break out post-lib more like normal. We do have room for a 3 or 4 strong cities and a couple of fillers even with Sumerian settlers flooding our way.