Dr kossin #37

[georgjorge]

A general question, do "Fractal" maps somehow reduce the number of land available? In my last three Deity tries I always got ten to twelve cities...and none of the AIs had less than fifteen, multiple AIs had over twenty. It feels like the game is harder that way, as I can't really keep up with AI expansion + maintenance over a longer amount of time...

 

[kossin]

It depends what you're comparing it to.

It's pretty similar to the standard map types, but if you compare it to garbage like Tectonics... then of course there's (sometimes) less land in Fractal.

 

[kossin]

Round 7

Another round, 25 more turns. Thank god this one was less boring.

As I said a few posts up, research was set to PP>GP>RP>Lib>Rifling. Every turn I checked to see if Peter/Ragnar had started researching Education by trading to trade it to them and seeing what they would offer.

Instead of trading Education to Peter when he did start researching it... I let him research the whole thing himself. As a result, he finished Education on t158 where I decided to pull the trigger on a few trades.

Spoiler :

Optics is for workboating the newly acquired Whale by Fish 'n Fur. Nationalism, of course, as a pre-requisite to Military Tradition.

You can see I'm one turn from finishing Replaceable Parts... Peter can't bulb Liberalism (a GS would bulb Astronomy in his case I think) and there's no way with the amount of time it took him to finish Education that he can research Liberalism in 2 turns...

The next turn, seeing I have now acquired Nationalism, I decide to sell it to my attack dog, who was researching it anyway.

Spoiler :

This is a great move: it slows research of both Mehmed and Toku plus they waste tons of hammers killing each other... making them softer targets.

On 1000AD, the elusive Lib->Rifling slingshot on Deity.

Spoiler :

Yay! Now to keep growing cities, build Forges, Buddhist buildings, stables and barracks in preparation of mass whipping.

Here is what I'd be facing if I hadn't sent Toku to war:

Spoiler :

I use the second GM stored away in Istanbul. Much better this time around!

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Why am I researching Constitution instead of Military Tradition you ask? It's pretty simple, to get the best bang out of my beakers.

Spoiler :

Both techs were part-researched of course.

Here is now an example of AI stupidity.
First, Tokugawa's garrison:

Spoiler :

Pay special attention to the city defense.

And now Mehmed's stack outside the city:

Spoiler :

Pay attention to the lone trebuchet.

Dumb AI will not attack city as long as it has the option to bombard the city defenses. I don't even consider bribing peace as Mehmed will never be able to take that city.

In the meantime... Ragnar is back at it.

Spoiler :

More AI stupidity:

Spoiler :

Yes! Toku has a stack able to remove the threat to his endangered city but what does he do? He sends it to war against Hammy+Biz! (Which he joined after already being at war )

I finally took control of that Iron tile... too late however. I can always use it to build Cannons later or sell it back to Ragnar

As the 25 turns come to an end, here's the situation.

The military - the end result of 9 turns of whipping (I didn't whip on the first turn neither this turn yet)

Spoiler :

Poised to strike 3 cities on the first turn. I could try a 4th city but it's more heavily garrisoned so 3 is safer.

F1 screen... poor whipped cities.

Spoiler :

Techs - racing to Communism. I can shift to hammer economy afterwards if I want... maybe even get The Kremlin with the Stone I'll get via war.

Spoiler :

It's good to note that no one is close to Rifling. I might get to take out 3 AIs with Cavalry here... maybe with the aid of Bombers, we'll see!

Diplo - still holding onto Friendly Ragnar and Peter (who has yet to declare war - very strange... probably too busy building wonders)

Spoiler :

My future land... notice how weakly garrisoned it is. Too busy 'playing at war' hehe.

Spoiler :

Finally, the capital, responsible for well over 50% of my research (since I whipped so much... even whipped here).

Spoiler :

That pretty much covers this round. 3 cities should fall this turn which will weaken Toku's production by 30+%.

Tune in tomorrow to see how it fares.

 

[SillyGoat]

Congrats on the Rifling from Lib trick.

Yes! Toku has a stack able to remove the threat to his endangered city but what does he do? He sends it to war against Hammy+Biz!

According to the log, Toku and Mehmed signed a peace treaty the turn before that screenie. (and Toku was DOWed by Hammy+Biz, not the other way around)

I wouldn't get too complacent about that iron, you're barely in control of it and Roskilde has had it's second border pop now. Rags has Buddhism present in the city now and doesn't have Sci Meth yet so it won't take much for him to get enough culture in the city to reclaim the tile.

Neither Mehmed nor Peter have anything on their hands at the moment. Pete is willing to declare on Mehmed, but you can't afford it right now. He'll declare on Hammy for RP if you are willing to break your monopoly. Mehmed is currently willing to declare on Peter for University and RP (he might do it for cheaper if you bribe Pete into a war first...)

Looking forward to seeing that can o whoop-ass getting opened next set.

 

[kossin]

Oh well, my memory is fuzzy it seems.

The point about Toku however is he paid Mehmed to get out of the war while he had the necessary means to get out cheaply.

About the Iron: I gained it after Ragnar's border pop so it'll be mine for a while still. It doesn't really matter however as there are other sources to be had around.

I'll keep the RP monopoly, bribing a war with it isn't worth it now as I'll be busy with Toku... but certainly it will be a good option later on.

 

[Inso]

Wow, 27 cavalry at 1150AD is very impressive, plus tokug's land is fantastic. With most AIs not even having education yet should be able to take out a lot of civs now. 768 bpt at 1000AD is very nice too!

I like the smaller turnsets as well, more detail is great to see the thinking behind everything.

 

[kossin]

Funny as it sounds, smaller sets are actually way more work! (and less Civ playing, of course)
I guess I don't really mind however, it helps keep me focused and you guys can help find my mistakes

 

[cripp7]

wow 27 cavs, I know you had 9 turns of but how many times in each city? obviously more than once

 

[Ahovking]

your going great lol

 

[kossin]

wow 27 cavs, I know you had 9 turns of but how many times in each city? obviously more than once

Depends on the city. The F1 screen will be the best indication... some cities got the whip 4 times. High food low prod lends itself well to 3-pop whips.

your going great lol

We'll see how next round(s) unfolds before calling victory!

 

[stopstopp]

You have a lot of nice riverside for watermills, or are you going all out workshops?

 

[kossin]

Either will be fine... with an edge to watermills if I grab The Kremlin for more whipping down the line.

 

[SillyGoat]

Oh well, my memory is fuzzy it seems.

The point about Toku however is he paid Mehmed to get out of the war while he had the necessary means to get out cheaply.

>_< Now that was dumb.

About the Iron: I gained it after Ragnar's border pop so it'll be mine for a while still. It doesn't really matter however as there are other sources to be had around.

I'll keep the RP monopoly, bribing a war with it isn't worth it now as I'll be busy with Toku... but certainly it will be a good option later on.

Keeping RP strikes me as a good plan (wouldn't want the AI to suddenly tech Rifling on you and nerf your Cavalry rush). My main concern here is avoiding getting dogpiled by Mehmed, though I may be jumping at shadows.

 

[kossin]

Round 8

War was launched on t176... I had forgotten that I moved one of the stacks of Cavalry, making it impossible to reach the city in 1 turn... oh well, it made for more Cavalry before striking.

Spoiler :

Mid-war Peter's relations dropped to Pleased (Fair trade wore down) so I begged 1 gold to ensure peace with him for a while longer.

I was a bit lazy in war preparations and neglected to build any spies... 2+ revolts would have been possible and could have saved several Cavalry. The odds were good enough anyway:

Spoiler :

As planned, three cities fell on the first turn.

Spoiler :

I kept whipping here and there and after healing, resumed city captures. The first GG made a Medic-III Cavalry to hasten the healing process. Further GGs will be settled in my HE city.

Spoiler :

Next turn... the AP is mine!

Spoiler :

Why is Toku putting up so little resistance?

Spoiler :

He's busy crusading across the world!

That's all good for me.

Spoiler :

Something a bit funny happened next:

Spoiler :

Hammy capitulated to Mehmed, making a lot of wars... basically everyone except Peter.

That war was useful for 1 thing, it allowed me to open borders with Hammurabi.

Spoiler :

Normally Hammy doesn't open borders at Annoyed, but since we're sharing a war, he'll open them anyway.

I captured Toku's last 2 core cities shortly.

Spoiler :

Vassaling a 1-city AI is a bad idea, especially when that city is stuck in between 2 foreign cultures... so I stayed at war.

Time for a trade with my best friend, Ragnar.

Spoiler :

I thought it was funny that such a large gap existed between Toku and Peter and readied a settler as a consequence... apparently I got there just in time.

Spoiler :

After watching a few stacks fight, this opportunity arose:

Spoiler :

And Toku is no more. I opted to raze the Holy City, earning me a few demerits!

As the last of the second GM gold vanished, I called up the 3rd Great Merchant and had him do the same. Unfortunately, being at war reduces the trade mission's value... although it doesn't matter too much at this point.

Spoiler :

With Stone in hand and the first at Communism, this was an easy wonder to build!

Spoiler :

Can't remember the last time I built this thing, it's been forever... will work great with whipping!

More wars happening.... still no Peter though.

Spoiler :

2 turns from Physics, I switched every city to Research.

Spoiler :

To guarantee I'd get the free Great Scientist!

The very next turn, I used the free Spy and Scientist to trigger my second Golden Age.

Spoiler :

My main bud Ragnar still being a good trade partner.

Spoiler :

And t200 brings us to the end of the round.

Things to note: I could have smashed at least another AI and be almost ready for a 3rd by now. However, I've been wanting another go at Bombers+Cavalry, especially seeing the tech rate is so slow for some reason.

Techs screens

Spoiler :

Diplo - hardly matters now

Spoiler :

The capital... more impressive but not as important as before. Keep in mind it's boosted by the Golden Age.

Spoiler :

F1 screen

Spoiler :

Some more statistics... can't be bothered to wait for cottages, going Watermills+Workshops.

Spoiler :

After Radio I'll grab Assembly Line and whip Factories+Coal Plants. Hopefully I can trade a bit for the bottom techs Railroad-Combustion to get started on the end game faster. Should be a fun few next rounds.

And I completely forgot to generate GPP during this golden age... shoot me! At least I'll have the Cristo Redentor and easy civic switches.

 

[DampRain]

Going very nice kossin, all the cool kids are jealous .

 

[Sian]

who are you going to aim at next? ... Peter, since he can't get anyone to help you or Mehmed while Rangar keeps your westen flank save?

 

[kossin]

Peter is the more dangerous so he goes first. The others will be jokes afterwards

 

[oranje willem]

Wow nice play once again, it seems the only thing that stops you from winning is an early DoW (it really stinks, if you try to stop one you will delay other things too much to win) or really bad luck with barbs.

 

[kossin]

Well, to be fair to the AIs, this is a fairly easy game and they're being stupidly slow.

 

[Dirk1302]

Amazing that you can keep that DR schedule up. It's always a very good read, most important reason for me to visit the forums now and then atm . You've become a very good player obviously.