SGOTM 15 - One Short Straw

Not much happened. Huayna picked up 2 Great Merchants. An Airship attacked one of our Galleons (better a Galleon than a Grenadier). I started our Golden Age and set the Cultural Slider to 30%, then adjusted citizen assignments.

I hardly played ahead much but I guess that every little bit counts. I'll be uploading the game shortly.
 
The log:
Spoiler :
Turn 206, 1460 AD: The enemy has been spotted near Tokyo!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: The enemy has been spotted near Hastings!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Zlatorog has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Marble City can hurry Market for 4⇴ with 28ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Osaka has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Tokyo can hurry Market for 4⇴ with 25ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Deer Cow has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Elephantine has grown to size 8.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Giza has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Pasargadae has grown to size 4.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Pasargadae can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 24ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 16 turns.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Beshbalik has grown to size 7.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Angle has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Turfan has grown to size 5.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Turfan can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 8ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 17 turns.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Coventry will be pacified on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Susa has become happy.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Mansagawa has 190 gold available for trade.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: The borders of Ning-hsia are about to expand.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Gandhi's Golden Age has begun!!!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Tokyo will grow to size 6 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Memphis will grow to size 9 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Babylon will grow to size 10 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Akkad will grow to size 7 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: New Sarai will grow to size 6 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Gaul will grow to size 7 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Ning-hsia will grow to size 6 on the next turn.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Delhi. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Zlatorog. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have constructed a Market in Marble City. Work has now begun on a Catapult.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have constructed a Market in Tokyo. Work has now begun on a Catapult.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have constructed a Buddhist Temple in Dur-Kurigalzu. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Thebes. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have constructed a Barracks in Pi-Ramesses. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Babylon. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Cherokee. Work has now begun on a Catapult.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Catapult in Bulgar. Work has now begun on a Catapult.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have constructed a Forge in New Sarai. Work has now begun on a Market.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: You have trained a Grenadier in Karakorum. Work has now begun on a Grenadier.
Turn 206, 1460 AD: The borders of Ning-hsia have expanded!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Marco Polo (Great Merchant) has been born in Cuzco (Huayanagawa)!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Sir Alexander Mackenzie (Great Merchant) has been born in Cuzco (Huayanagawa)!
Turn 206, 1460 AD: Your Galleon 2 (Alexandria) was attacked by an enemy Airship! (-20% Damage)

Turn 207, 1470 AD: Delhi has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Delhi can hurry Grenadier for 3⇴ with 44ℤ overflow, 17ℴ added to the treasury, and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nature's Chandi can hurry Buddhist Temple for 1⇴ with 26ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Marble City has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Marble City can hurry Catapult for 3⇴ with 28ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 19 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Kyoto has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Kyoto can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 21ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Tokyo has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Tokyo can hurry Catapult for 3⇴ with 35ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 19 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Memphis has grown to size 9.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Memphis has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Memphis can hurry Market for 3⇴ with 15ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Bombay has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Bombay can hurry Forge for 4⇴ with 6ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Dur-Kurigalzu has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Dur-Kurigalzu can hurry Grenadier for 5⇴ with 56ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 11 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Thebes has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Thebes can hurry Grenadier for 5⇴ with 65ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Opis has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Opis can hurry Buddhist Missionary for 1⇴ with 19ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 19 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Heliopolis has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Heliopolis can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 35ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 14 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Babylon has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Babylon can hurry Grenadier for 5⇴ with 51ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 19 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Cherokee has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Harappan has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Vijayanagara has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Vijayanagara can hurry Forge for 4⇴ with 20ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Giza can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 33ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 24 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Akkad has grown to size 7.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Sippar has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: New Sarai has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Old Sarai has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nippur has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nippur can hurry Grenadier for 3⇴ with 40ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nongoma can hurry Grenadier for 3⇴ with 46ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nobamba has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Nobamba can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 26ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: kwaDukuza has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: kwaDukuza can hurry Market for 3⇴ with 32ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Karakorum has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Karakorum can hurry Grenadier for 5⇴ with 49ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Ulundi can hurry Grenadier for 2⇴ with 38ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Gaul has grown to size 7.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Ning-hsia has grown to size 6.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: uMgungundlovu can hurry Catapult for 1⇴ with 30ℤ overflow and +1⇤ for 10 turns.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Coventry has been pacified.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Hastings has become happy.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: Mansagawa has 260 gold available for trade.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: The borders of Osaka are about to expand.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: The borders of Opis are about to expand.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: The borders of Elephantine are about to expand.
Turn 207, 1470 AD: The borders of Coventry are about to expand.


The game is now again up for grabs.
 
Ok, well played, Dhoom!

Got it.
 
Playing now:
AD1470:

Things look ok. In the Golden Age we don't need to build quite so much Wealth.

IBT:
Liz counterattacks, kills a couple of grenadiers.
Huayna starts a Golden Age
Liz adopts Emancipation.

AD1480:
I made a slight mistake with the clockwise galleon chain, so some units will be delayed slightly.

AD1490:
London has 7 redcoats and a similar number of knights. We have a stack of new units, in Hastings, and I'll have to decide next turn, whether to send them to the main stack, or to try and get Canterbury for the Silver.

IBT:
Huaynagawa discovers Liberalism, takes Astronomy :eek:

AD1500:
London is bombarded down to 0%. I think the stack we have there is sufficient, so 17 Grenadiers start to move towards Canterbury.

AD1505:
We capture London, and take control of The Statue of Liberty, The Pyramids, Notre Dame, The Mahabodhi, The Hagia Sophia and some other wonders. It also has three settled Great Generals and two settled Great Prophets.
I think we'll be able to hold it IBT, and definitely reinforce it next turn.
We also advance on Canterbury, to open up a reinforcement route to London.
Now I've got some free specialists to assign :p

I think it's time to start organizing a stack for Huayna.

AD1510:
The attack on Canterbury doesn't go so well. Maybe I was a bit premature attacking it, I'm not sure.
We killed all the redcoats there, but there are several knights left. If it isn't reinforced from York we might be ok.

AD1515:
Well, York is also sparsely defended - if you call 4 redcoats sparse - so none could walk up to Canterbury.
For that reason, I'll advance on York before Nottingham (which is also on a hill). We need to regroup our stack before going after that one.
I'm trying to build a nice mix of Grens+Siege for Huayna. He has Military Tradition, so the toughest units we'll face will be Lbows and Cuirassiers.

AD1520:
The sacrificed Grens at Canterbury pay off, and we capture it, defeating several units with no defence bonuses.
This makes unit movement a lot easier, and in 2 turns we'll get another +2 :) from the silver resource coming online.

AD1525:
Our units surround York. I've bombarded it a bit, and I'll capture it next turn or the one after. I think we've broken the back of the English resistance, so I've put a bit of time into arranging our boats for Inca and Mali. Why both? Because we have units in the right place for each, and to attack only one would force many of our units to travel for several turns to get there.
Mali has a source of Fur on the very northernmost row of tiles.
War weariness is a problem, but running a golden age allows us to continue to pump the culture slider, while still making a gold profit, and captured resources (and vanquished foes) should alleviate this soon.

AD1530:
One more turn of bombardment at York, then we'll be set to go.

AD1535:
Gandhi is elected AP Resident.
We capture York easily. Now Liz has just 5 redcoats for her two cities.
Next turn, ships will set sail for both Mali and Inca. The first target will be the port city of Vilcabamba so that we can reinforce more quickly.
Espionage switches to Inca/Mali (they are one team, so it all goes into one pot).

AD1540:
We sabotage the walls in Nottingham. That'll make it an easy kill. Units swarm around it.
We declare war on Inca/Mali, landing units in the Inca right away, with the Malinese landing coming soon.
Our Golden Age is over, but we still run a profit and have 3k gold in the bank.

AD1545:
Our initial landing party of twelve is routed by Incan Cuirassiers :eek:
Well, one Trebuchet survived, and runs away, tail between legs.
The other three boats decide not to land, and the next landing will be full of defensively-promote grenadiers - siege can be dropped off once we have a beachhead.
In Mali, there's a forested hill to land on, so we should be safe there.

AD1550:
The Malinese stack of 20 units lands safely.
A second landing party for the Inca is forming - we have 9 Grenadiers now, with several more in the next two turns.

AD1555:
We capture Nottingham, and are over 50% land.
Four Malinese units suicided on our stack. I'll wait a turn to see if any more are coming.

AD1560:
One unit pokes his head out, and sees what's in Djenne:
7 Cuirassiers, 6 War Elephants, 6 Macemen, 13 Catapults, 4 Longbowmen, 5 Crossbowmen, 2 Trebuchets, 1 Horse Archer, 1 Swordsman.
The rest of the stack decide not to follow him, and instead load up on Guerilla promotions.

The Incan attack force is up to 15 Grenadiers; I'll ship those and a couple more across soon. They don't have a forested hill to land on, but numbers and promotions "should" see them ok. I'll try and send some old highly promoted units from the English war when it's done, and upgrade them to be the real shock troops.

Since the Great Person from Kyoto was a Great Artist, I won't fire a golden age, but rather save him for a culture bomb somewhere.

AD1565:
The Malinese units all fall over and die, and since they're already Guerilla 2, I promote a couple of Grenadiers to G3 for the withdrawal chance.
One more turn at Warwick - I want to cross the river before attacking.
The stack for the Incans will board the ships next turn.

AD1570:
We capture Warwick and Liz bites the dust. I'll just play through to the end of the turn so that war weariness resets.

AD1575:
Time to upload. :)
 
Are York and Nottingham the last two English cities or is there one more?

I agree with hitting Mansa and HC at the same time. As soon as we DOW on one of them, the other will go into war buildup mode so the sooner we hit them the better. Although they've both been WHEOOHRN since we've met them, right?

If you're not planning on running any more espionage against Liz, should we start directing our EPP toward Mansa and/or HC?
 
Mitchum, since you worked out the domination numbers, do we have to settle sites soon to expand borders and all that?
 
We don't have enough tiles on the donut to hit Domination. IIRC, we were 80-some short. So, the quickest way to domination will likely to be to:

1. Get the donut cities to 100 :culture: that need to expand one more time to grab extra tiles. Most cities were able to expand in a reasonable time by building culture for a few turns.
2. Settle in any donut holes (pun intended) for tiles that we won't be able to capture culturally with our existing cities. We may need one or two in Liz' area since those cities will take a long time to come out of revolt and then expand.
3. Start capturing HC/Mansa cities. When safe, plant settlers where possible to quickly grab 9 (no border pop) or 21 tiles.

Regardless of what we do, we'll need to go down on HC/Mansa, so we can't win before then. Item 1 can start happening slowly now so that those cities can go back to building wealth. Once you have an idea of where any holes will be in the donut after item 1, you can have settlers ready to plant once we start capturing HC/Mansa cities. It would probably be good to stop once we've captured 2 or 3 Mansa/HC cities so that we can fine tune things and figure out when and where to settle cities. Plan for 5ish? settlers in the donut and 2 each for Mansa and HC (said without checking the game or seeing where the holes are).
 
Regardless of what we do, we'll need to go down on HC/Mansa, so we can't win before then. Item 1 can start happening slowly now so that those cities can go back to building wealth. Once you have an idea of where any holes will be in the donut after item 1, you can have settlers ready to plant once we start capturing HC/Mansa cities. It would probably be good to stop once we've captured 2 or 3 Mansa/HC cities so that we can fine tune things and figure out when and when to settle cities. Plan for 5ish? settlers in the donut and 2 each for Mansa and HC (said without checking the game or seeing where the holes are).

Ok - that's a good stopping point.
Donut cities pop their borders very very fast - some of the English cities can get to 500:culture: with just 5 or 6 turns of starvation.
I'll be switching to Caste System + Representation when the English are dead - we won't need HeredRule any more, and it'll be nice to research again.
 
I'm not sure that we really need to research much more do we? Steel would be nice but by the time we have cannons on the scene the game will be over. In any event, if we can live without HR happiness then Representation is better.

Ouch on the Incan landing party. That's no way to treat a guest. Hopefully we took a few Cuirassiers with us.
 
While the Malinese stack was attacking us, I had a crash. I have a save from right before I ended the turn, so I don't have to replay any moves, but do get to watch our stack decimate the Malinese one again. I'll upload this save, just in case, and reboot my PC.
 

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Since the Great Person from Kyoto was a Great Artist, I won't fire a golden age, but rather save him for a culture bomb somewhere.

Nice. Maybe there is somewhere in the middle of Mansa's or HC's territory where a culture bomb could grab 40ish tiles. :goodjob: I forget, does a culture bomb take a city out of revolt? If not, we'd need a settler for this.
 
Nice. Maybe there is somewhere in the middle of Mansa's or HC's territory where a culture bomb could grab 40ish tiles. :goodjob: I forget, does a culture bomb take a city out of revolt? If not, we'd need a settler for this.

It did in Vanilla and Warlords. Not in BtS.
 
While the Malinese stack was attacking us, I had a crash. I have a save from right before I ended the turn, so I don't have to replay any moves, but do get to watch our stack decimate the Malinese one again. I'll upload this save, just in case, and reboot my PC.

Bummer about the crash. Will the AI attack in the exact same way next time?
 
It did in Vanilla and Warlords. Not in BtS.

OK. Is there a place in the middle of Mansa or HC land where we can settle a city to get full effect of the culture bomb? ... after we've destroyed the surrounding cities and rid ourselves of enemy culture of course.
 
Bummer about the crash. Will the AI attack in the exact same way next time?

I assume so - random seeds are preserved. I'll load it up and let you know :rolleyes:
 
Yes, the battle was the same.
Result:
Our Flatland Grenadier took one Cuirassier with it.
The stack on the hill?
38 attackers died. 2 Cuirassiers retreated. One of our units died. :hammer:
 
We don't need very much more land at all. I'll stop and upload as soon as I've wiped out England, so we can work this out properly.
 
Mitchum said:
Nice. Maybe there is somewhere in the middle of Mansa's or HC's territory where a culture bomb could grab 40ish tiles. I forget, does a culture bomb take a city out of revolt? If not, we'd need a settler for this.
I'm pretty certain that the rule of thumb in BtS is "don't Culture Bomb in a City that is in revolt."

The City will instantly come out of revolt but you won't get any Cultural Border expansions out of the deal. So, it's a total waste of the Great Artist.

Instead, you will want to Culture Bomb a City that just came out of revolt and hasn't had much time to expand its Cultural Borders yet.

Thus, you want to plan in advance which City you will capture given the number of turns that a City of its City Size will remain in revolt, such that you capture it in time to come out of revolt around the time that you plan to win (or before then).


Mitchum said:
Is there a place in the middle of Mansa or HC land where we can settle a city to get full effect of the culture bomb?
Hmmm, yes, if there is space for such a City, this idea would work well for a last-minute Culture Bomb.
 
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