1.18 Ethiopian UHV (Another help request)

[Sovietof17]

Ok, this thread is for discussing the Ethiopian UHV. It is incredibly hard, maybe impossible. Specifically, the 2nd UHV condition, where you have to maintain Pleased relations with 10 Christian nations or more. Let's get into the analysis

Start date: 295BC
You'll be starting in a tiny core area, with not much viable area for expansion. You have some rich hills to the southwest with iron, 3 patches of incense to the south by settling 1 city in in vary arid lands, and 2 patches of incense to the east across the sea. Those patches are not accessible without a coastal city. To your north is Nubia, a friendly nation that will later Christianize. Farther north is the rest of the contemporary world, mostly out of contact. A significant distant to the east is the Indian subcontinent. Your capital will be a big population zone.

Unique power:
+1 food on hills that produce a food. Green hills are your friends. Not sure if this works with windmills.

Unique units:
Shotelai [a hills swordsmen 6 strength that can be made with obsidian, conviently accessible. Needs bloomery]
Mehal Sefari [Who knows, I never even remotely got here].

UHV#1 by 400 AD
You'll need to settle the following cities besides your capital
Medunna, in the horn of africa
Taizz, on the southwest coast of S.A. [3 patches of incense]
San'a, on the interior of S.A. [2 patches of incense]
Culture will expand to the incense if you build Stele and Astar Temple. Maybe a Weaver and Theater can't hurt. Be sure to defend the Arabic city and the northern incense patch with 2 hills-promoted shotelai each, or you will lose them.

UHV#2 by 1200 AD
Settle 5 prophets
Pleased relations with 10 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) civilizations that are also Christian (!!!!!!)

Settling 5 prophets is really not a problem with your Stele, Temples, your massive population, and taking a civic like Monasticism, building Mount Ethos, etc. You also have until 1200 AD.

So let's talk about Orthodoxy, and it's potential. Before Cathocilicism, it's the dominant religion. Afterwards, Catholicism wipes out 1/2 of the orthodox cities. Ouch. However, I just played a game where the AI didn't build the required Orthodox Cathedral to found Catholicism, so I did. It still really didn't help much. I even cheated some scouts in to talk to europe, and most of them stayed Orthodox.

But it doesn't really matter. It's not possible to have 10 civilizations in the world, all staying consistently Christian. It's also basically impossible to get into contact with Europe most runs.

I am certain this UHV as it stands is impossible. As for #3, I can't comment on it.

 

[Dannimal]

I achieved it by switching to no religion on the last few turns. Not ideal but it did the job

 

[triplebassist]

Not sure if this works with windmills

It does! Windmills don't do a ton for your core (I'd rather have the production in almost all cases) but they're extremely nice for when you expand to desert and plains hills for UHV 3.

 

[xerxess]

What I did was rush a couple scouts via Egypt and Byzantium to get contact with all the European civs. There were literally 10 (Spain, France, England, HRE, Norse, Kievan Rus, Poland, Italy, Celts, Byzantium). The difficult part is actually getting to pleased and contacting the Celts. Circunnavegating Africa with a couple ships helps. The key was switching to no religion and gifting a bunch of techs and resources.

 

[Sovietof17]

What I did was rush a couple scouts via Egypt and Byzantium to get contact with all the European civs. There were literally 10 (Spain, France, England, HRE, Norse, Kievan Rus, Poland, Italy, Celts, Byzantium). The difficult part is actually getting to pleased and contacting the Celts. Circunnavegating Africa with a couple ships helps. The key was switching to no religion and gifting a bunch of techs and resourcA

 

[Sovietof17]

My empire just collapses without a state religion after a while.

 

[Lilna]

My empire just collapses without a state religion after a while.

Keep your state religion up until you're rushing for the relations goal. Then switch to Paganism, and then right after that switch back to Orthodoxy. It doesn't feel great as a solution, but for now it works.

Holding onto Egypt is the key to playing Ethiopia. It lets you build ships in the mediterranean to contact Europe. It lets you build up science and commerce to dominate the lategame. And unlike poor Nubia, who struggles to hold onto it with their pitiful core in the middle of the desert, Ethiopia has a GREAT core, which lets them administer Egypt easily so long as they can wrestle it back from Arabia.

 

[banzay13]

Ussualy I raze Nubian city and settle 3 core cites.

 

[Sovietof17]

I managed UHV#2 once when I was able to found Catholicism. But I can't get UHV #3. too many european settlements....