SGFN-09: Constantinople stands alone!

[GamezRule]

Okay, I have homework to do today, but I should be able to play tomorrow.

 

[del62]

My thoughts on tech is get to the next era as fast as possible, which means Chemistry=> Metallurgy=> Physics=> ToG=> Magnetism. In some games, I'd gift up our SCI buddies, but not this one. Why help the competition? I want steam to get our capital railed, but not enough to risk somene getting ahead of us. Hopefully we don't lose Cope's in a Leo's cascade, but no guarantees.

Lurker Comment

You may temporarily what to divert to economics or navigation once copes is finished to open another wonder build

 

[Sparthage]

Economics would be the better of the two, but let's see how our more skillful players feel...

 

[Spoonwood]

Magellan's gives you the better value in the 20k.

 

[Elephantium]

Chemistry=> Metallurgy=> Physics=> ToG=> Magnetism

We're partway through Physics right now, and more A-Cavs are still marginally useful. With that in mind, I think we're better off going
Physics > ToG > Magnets > Metallurgy.

Edit: As for losing Cope's, I'm not too worried. The AIs JUST started with their Wonders, and we're only a few turns out.

 

[GamezRule]

Okay, my failing math grade is starting to make me mad. I am going to be loaded down with homework tomorrow night, the night after that I am in a school play, but Friday should be a good day to play, if we can wait that long.

 

[Elephantium]

Looks like waiting until Friday wasn't a problem

 

[GamezRule]

I am going to drop this. I don't have the time.

 

[Elephantium]

Sorry to hear it, Gamez.

Roster update:

1: Overseer => On deck
2: Sparthage => In the hole
3: DWetzel => MIA
4: Bowsling => Eating Canadian Bacon
5: Elephantium => Just Played
6: GamezRule => skipped
7: Charlemagne => UP!

 

[GamezRule]

1: Overseer => On deck
2: Sparthage => In the hole
3: DWetzel => MIA
4: Bowsling => Eating Canadian Bacon
5: Elephantium => Just Played
6: Charlemagne => UP!

 

[CharlemagneXLII]

Got it. I'll play within a few days.

 

[darski]

lurker's comment: Here's hoping you can get it back together. It's been a good game thus far.

 

[CharlemagneXLII]

Ok, I've played. A rather uneventful turnset, the next player gets to go into the industrial age. We've hit 100 cpt in Constantinople, so we should win within around 110 or so turns.

Spoiler :

Turn 0:
Slider to 100%, saves us a turn on Physics. Check the f4 screen. We're at war with almost everyone! Not that it should be a problem, we're pretty much on autopilot now waiting for our victory. Give the Mongols democracy for 99 gold and 66 gpt, allowing us to keep our slider up for a while longer.
IBT: Some Greek and Zulu units move towards us, the Greeks land a settler pair near Santander
Turn 1:
Barabaropolis Knight>Knight
Slider to 90%
Knight kills Zulu archer near
Kill a Greek longbow near Santiago. Give Greece 140 gold for peace so they stop
bothering us. Move caravels towards home to protect the capital in the case
of an emergency, or something.
IBT: Zulu impi goes for the saltpeter.
Turn 2:
Physics -> ToG
Madrid Treb -> Library
Peace for peace with Russia. Kill a Zulu impi and horse, start preparing an attack on Bapedi.
IBT: Aztec galleys are heading north, Greek settler pair shows up at the border. Greeks start cope's.
Turn 3:
Uneventful. Chop a forest near Salamanca.
IBT:
Lose our supply of silks and gems. Zulu MDI out of Bapedi moves towards Isandhlwana, sees giant stack, hides in forest.
Turn 4:
Dispatch that Zulu MDI with an elite knight, kill an impi in Bapedi with Justinian's army. Chop near Salamanca gives us a BG. Micro Constantinople for some growth.
IBT: Nothing save some wandering galleys up north. I'm not writing down every single galley I see, by the way, there are too many.
Turn 5: Constantinople Cope's -> Leo's. Barcelona rax -> knight, Barbaropolis, Salamanca knight -> knight. Get an A Cav.
Lose a knight but kill a pike and impi to take Bapedi, set to treb. Change Isandw to musket. notice Swazi has been captured by the Turks. Swap some mines for irrigation near Intombe. Reconfigure Const.
IBT: An impi shows up on the borders.
Turn 6:
Send out some tourists to visit Spain, they depart from Seville. Slider down to 20%, netting us 308 gold. Choprush harbour in Vitoria.
IBT: Aztec galleys reappear near Murcia. Maybe they weren't trying to settle.
Turn 7:
ToG -> Magnetism. Change Leo's to Newton's.
Murcia: Knight -> aqueduct. Justinian's army kills that impi. I think that knight will stay close to Murcia for now. Change Toledo from knight to aqueduct. Camping party lands near Valencia for an adventure in the jungle. Time to watch the Daily Show, will finish this tomorrow.
IBT:
Aztec Sword appears from the south, and a Zulu MDI shows up. Aztec galleys still don't drop anything off.
Turn 8:
Intombe MDI -> MDI
Santiago treb -> treb
Kill the MDI and sword with a knight and AC respectively, with help from trebs. Good call on that, Elephantium. My campers, after enjoying a very rainy and miserable weekend, run out of food. They decide to raid the nearby town of Valencia. The 2 knights and AC make short work of 2 spears and an archer. Set Valencia to worker. I remember the rule about building workers in newly captured cities, change Santander to a worker. Rush harbour in Vitoria. Bapedi and Zaragoza are already size 1. Finish clearing the pollution near the capital, will do some roading up there.

IBT: Zulu want peace for peace. Nah. A Spanish worker, deep in the jungle, spots his hometown of Valencia in flames. Not wanting to return to the city, and having nowhere else to go, he is forced to live off the land until help arrives. He tries desperately to remember what he learned in that survival class he took that one time back home. These mushrooms look like they're safe, right? With no one else around to help him decide whether or not they are in fact safe to eat, he spends a long time deliberating on whether or not to eat them, until hunger gets the better of him, and he gives them a try. They're quite tasty, and seem to give him no trouble. He eats them all, only to be promptly eaten by a tiger that had been stalking him while he was trying to decide on the mushrooms. The tiger of course was entirely confident that this small worker was safe to eat, and would indeed be quite delicious. Being eaten by a tiger was still a better alternative to 1000 years as a Byzantine slave worker though.
Turn 9: Isandwlh musket -> aqueduct.
Santander builds a worker, but it's Byzantine. Join the worker, start on treb.
IBT: Mongols declare on Greeks. Ottoman settler pair at Zulu border. Soon that settler will be wishing for death by tiger as they build our railroads.
Turn 10: Seville treb -> treb. Santander, Barbaropolis knight -> knight. Get an A Cav, Valencia riots. Oops.
Set slider to 40%. Constatinople is now at 100 cpt, 34 spt, 318 gpt and no growth, as high as it gets pre steam (we'll have more gold after Newton's though). I should mention Constantinople provides about half of our total gold income.

I recommend moving the workers back to Constantinople for railroading, and doing your best to get steam power as our free tech. Do whatever you feel like with the Zulu, and builds are optional (except for Constantinople). There's some caravels and units in Seville ready to go to Asturias.

1: Overseer => UP!
2: Sparthage => On deck
3: DWetzel => MIA
4: Bowsling => Eating Canadian Bacon
5: Elephantium => Crossing the Alps
6: Charlemagne => Just played

 

[TheOverseer714]

Looks good, ready for the big push into the Industrial Age. I will be busy railing if we have Coal, busy fighting to get some if not. I'm going to really stretch my trading and gifting up skills soon.

 

[Elephantium]

Nice set

I would have kept up the war on Greece, though -- they have a lot of yummy cities.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I have finished my turns, discussion and pictures later. Here is the turnlog:

Spoiler :

Pre-flight: CivAssist 2, Word running. Get the save loaded. Assess the situation. MDI kills Ottoman Spear clean, get 2 slaves free. Move AC army adjacent to Zimbabwe. Trade peace plus a slave and 13 gold with Ottomans for Chemistry. Move Caravel with 2 Knight to finish Spain.
Press enter=>

Non-Combat
Workers 7
Slaves 32

Military units:
Pikemen 6
Musket 1
MDIs 3
Army 1, 3 Acs
Knights 8
Ancient Cavalry 19
Trebuchets 4
Dromon 1
Caravels 4

Unit Support:
Total Units: 54
Allowed Units: 25
Support Cost: 58 gpt

Contacts
Zulu=>War Republic, strong to
Spain=>War Republic, strong to
Greeks=>Peace Republic, average to
Ottomans=>War Republic, strong to
Aztecs=>War Republic, average to
Mongols=>Peace Democracy, weak to
Russians=>Peace Republic, strong to

Capital Size 15, growth stalled, Newton's in 7 turns. 100 Cpt, 8235 total culture. CivAssist 2 victory date, 1640 AD.

Research/Treasury Magnetism, 1 turns at +222gpt, 675 total gold, sliders 6/4/0

IBT: No worrisome movement, Mongols demand Wines, I say no, we are at war. Magnetism=>Metallurgy, 4 turns at -22gpt.

Turn 1, 960 AD: Kill 3 Impis with AC army, -4 hp, clean, and -2 hp. Kill Archer with eAC clean, Zimbabwe taken, 1 gold, 2 slaves.

IBT: Aztec sword near Saltpeter bears watching, no other significant movement.

Turn 2, 970 AD: Land 2 Knights at Asturias, move 2 ACs and 2 Knights into Zululand.

IBT: Mongols settle Ereen north of Constantinople.
Zimbabwe Worker=> Worker
Barcelona Knight=>Marketplace.

Turn 3, 980 AD: Kill Zulu MDI clean near Zimbabwe with eKnight.
Kill 2 Spears -1hp apiece at Asturias with e and vKnight.

IBT: Very little movement.
Madrid Library=>Marketplace.

Turn 4, 990 AD: Trebuchets go 2/3, kill Aztec sword -1hp with eKnight. 3/4 Knight > 3/3 Archer, -2hp, Asturias taken, 36gold. The Spanish are no more! 2ACS and a knight move toward Ulundi. Prepare for new millenium celebrations. Sliders 2/7/0, +25 gpt.

IBT: Aztecs offer peace, no thanks. Metallurgy discovered, the new era is upon us! Go to big picture, turn science off. Go to Russia first. Gift them from early MA to IA. They draw Medicine as a free tech. Trade Free Artistry, Music Theory, Ivory, Horses, 400 gold and 120 gpt for Medicine.
Next, we dial up Greece. Gift them to IA. They draw Nationalism as a free tech. No trade yet. Next is Ottomans. Gift them to IA. They draw Steam Power(yes!) as a free tech. Trade Free Artistry, Medicine. Wines, 390 gold and 115 gpt for Steam Power. Back to Cathy, sell Steam to her for 400 gold and 98 gpt. Alex will not sell us Nationalism for anything we have, damn trade embargoes... We draw Sanitation as our freebie. Begin Industrialization.
Zimbabwe Worker=>Library
Barbaropolis Knight=>Forbidden Palace.

Turn 5, 1000 AD: Trade Sanitation to Ottomans for 130 gold and 103 gpt. Nice. Trade Sanitation to Russia for 60 gold and 45 gpt.
We have no Coal, but our (soon to be dead)Zulu friends have 3, 1 already hooked up.
At Tugela, 4/4 Knight > 3/3 Impi, -3hp. 6/6 AC > 3/3 Impi, -3hp, Tugela is ours!

IBT: Very quiet. Toledo Aqueduct=>Library.

Turn 6, 1010 AD:At Ulundi, 16/16 AC army > 3/3 Impi, -3hp. 13/16 AC army > 3/3 Impi, -4hp, Ulundi is ours! 5/5 Knight > 3/3 MDI clean.

IBT: Some Greek Knights intrude, looks like an invasion.
Constantinople finishes Newtons=>Leonardo's.

Turn 7, 1020 AD:Prepare as best as I can to give a fine party for yon Greeks. Move 2 Knights and an AC to Mpondo.

IBT: Greeks move further into our lands.
Barcelona Knight=>Marketplace.
Barbaropolis Knight=>Forbidden Palace.
Salamanca University=>Frigate.

Turn 8, 1030 AD: Demand Greeks leave, they comply, this time.
At Mpondo, 4/4 Knight > 3/3 Impi clean. 4/4 Knight > 3/3 Impi, -3hp.
5/5 AC > 3/3 Impi, -3hp,Mpondo taken with 4 slaves. 5/5 Knight > 3/3 Zulu Archer, -1hp. Move 2 ACs and a Knight to Ngome.

IBT: Greeks are assembling a decent force.
Valencia Worker=>Library.

Turn 9, 1040 AD: Demand Greeks leave, they comply.
At Ngome, 6/6 AC > 3/3 Impi, -2hp. 6/6 AC < 3/3 Impi. Bummer!
4/4 Knight > 2/4 Impi clean, Ngome taken with a slave.

IBT: Greeks are after the Mongol town, apparently.
Toledo Library=>Marketplace.
Isandlwana Aqueduct=>University.

Turn 10, 1050 AD: At Hlobane, AC army > 3/3 Impi clean. 4/5 AC > 3/3 Impi clean, Hlobane taken. We have Coal! Rail 3 tiles with assembled worker gangs. Please keep them together, rail to the capital and fully improve it, then finish the rail backbone.

Non-Combat
Workers 7
Slaves 45

Military units:
Pikemen 6
Musket 1
MDIs 3
Army 1, 3 ACs
Ancient Cavalry 18
Knights 12
Trebuchets 4
Dromon 1
Caravels 4

Unit Support:
Total Units: 57
Allowed Units: 36
Support Cost: 42 gpt

Contacts
Zulu=>War Republic, strong to
Spain=>Eliminated
Greeks=>Peace Republic, average to
Ottomans=>War Republic, strong to
Aztecs=>War Republic, strong to
Mongols=>Peace Democracy, weak to
Russians=>Peace Republic, strong to

Capital Size 15, growth stalled, Leo's in 15 turns. 106 Cpt, 9259 total culture. CivAssist 2 victory date, 1615 AD.

Sliders 3/7/0, Industrialization in 2 turns at +17 gpt, 905 in the bank.

The save:

 

[Bowsling]

Looks nice.

I personally love the AI government choices - the only one that has a strong military compared to us is in a democracy.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I am done working, so ready to discuss things. The capitol is set to Leo's, which is a fine factory pre-build. When Industrialization is researched, switch to a factory and chop a forest or two(save the the cattle forests for last), then rush it. Next turn, do the same with a coal plant. We will then have an obscene amount of shields per turn . Trade for Navigation and we can get Magellan's built before Universal Suffrage. As noted in my turnlog, we have some suspicious Greek activity. I think we might research Military Tradition next, which lets us have a nice way to pre-build wonders and cavalry. Things are in great shape for a nice end game.

Pictures galore:

Spoiler :

Core:

Greek:

Zulu:

Islands:

Islands South:

Edit: added pix and a last thought: Ereen is perfectly sited, let it grow and we can add it to our empire.

 

[GamezRule]

lurker's comment: Looking good guys!

 

[Elephantium]

Dang, nice work! I'm VERY pleased to see the military gains you made, Overseer!

On the topic of the Greeks ... are they at war with Mongolia? That would explain their troops venturing into our territory.