1st Noble Victory--Tips--The Story

[Honorable_Pawn]

I just won my first Noble victory. I had come close several times. Usually, I can either be first or second in score at the end of a game but, ultimately, run out of time. I did a little research on these boards to get some tips. There was this one thread that was very insightful. It was this guy who played through a game and discussed his moves and why he made them. There wasn't much there that I didn't already know. But, there was one thing that I learned...

Spiritual leaders are clearly superior to all other types. The benefit of being able to change civics w/o anarchy is definitely the most powerful trait. India also has the fast worker as its UU. This is clearly the best UU in the game. It doesn't just last for one age but lasts the entire game. Cities terrain improvements are developed very quickly, subsequently, cities can be grown quickly. More importantly, the specialization of a city can be more quickly adapted to changing circumstances (More on this later). The UB of India is the upgraded courthouse. It reduces maintenance, naturally, but +2 is a big benefit. In long wars, +2 really helps with WW.

As I mentioned earlier, the spiritual trait allows civics changes with no anarchy. Choosing India, I knew I had to take advantage of this trait. Combined with the fast worker, I figured I would have a nice little building game. My intention was to connect quickly connect to stone build the pyramids bee-line for Caste System. I was going to go with a hybrid economy with an emphasis on specialization.

My starting position was in the center of a continent next to a river. I scouted the area and discover that this very long river stretched north and turned at a 90 degree angle to the west extending all the way to the western shore. I was able to get four beautiful cities along the river early.

In this game, I really started to choose techs and develop cities based upon the environment. I learned to adjust my plans. The best advice I can give to anyone still struggling at Noble is to don't be afraid to change a tile improvement. Let’s say you have an Iron on a grasslands tile. Obviously, you mined it. You built some iron requiring units. You just sacrificed 4 population points to get a courthouse up because your research slider was dropping. Now your size 7 city is a size three. Instead of just switching to another build order and using the default worked tiles, I started doing something I never did before. I would use my workers and build a farm over the mine and emphasize growth. As long as it wasn't a cottage, I had complete flexibility with the tile.

This is what I learned: Don't just improve, improve, move along until there is nothing to build and then put your workers to sleep. If you need growth, farm those mines on the hill, especially during slavery. If circumstances change and you need units, mine those hills. Only cottages, in most circumstances, are static. Everything else should be used as needed.

Obviously, I am not an expert but this, IMO, being flexible and altering strategies based upon the circumstances was the difference between wining a 2050 winning score loss and winning a 40,000+ point domination win the early 1900's at Noble.

Good luck.

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

Here is an interesting little development in the game that I enjoyed and followed along with screenshots.

I had already, quickly, developed along the river, cutting Egypt off from the rest of the continent (the south was tundra). Once I wiped them out I was able to expand north and meet Shaka to the northwest and Hammurabi to the Northwest. Shaka plopped a couple of settlers in the tundra to the south. I wiped out Shaka except for his southern most cities and vassalized him. I couple care less about 4 highly dispersed weak cities in the tundra. I also took two of Hammurabi’s cities and vassalized him, too...A couple of plains/desert/tundra tiles to the northeast. He can have those. All that was left was the deep south east.

And this, Kids, is what this story is all about:

In the Deep South East, there is a great forest in the Great Wild. At the eastern most tip of the Great Wild Peninsula there is a terrible and heathen tribe of fierce men. Men? No, ruthless Barbarians, indeed.

For centuries fierce axe men flowed from the heart of the Great Wild Forest. They raided our cities and plundered our land and there was great fear in the Indian nation. Nevertheless, my friends, Shaka and Hammurabi were ruled "Supreme Enemies of the State."

After centuries of splendid conquest to the north, the eyes of the Church began to look south. And what did they see?

 

[pxpdoo]

Being a warmonger-type, I avoided Gandhi for a long time. But after trying him out (for the reasons you described), I'm afraid that I've become a Gandhi-exclusive warmonger...
Except for the hunger-strike part. (Goes to make tacos...)

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

The Church ruled that mercy should be shown to the heathen people to the south. A Great Missionary named Man God Ummunga and his following embarked on a great campaign to convert the Navaho People of Barbania.

The missionary never made it in their city.


He reached as far as the footstep to the entrance of the Barbainian City of Bantu. He raised his hand up in a gesture of benevolence. With peace and love in heart he spoke the in a great and booming voice,

"I am come with peace. I am come with the Truth."




There was silence. The birds stopped chirping and the butterflies stopped floating. The only sound that could be heard was the shriek whistle of the howling wind as cold artic air blew in from the south.

Without warning, 20 or more drunkards staggered out of a pub from the night before. Right at the footstep to the entrance to the city of Bantu. In one glance, the slovenly barbarians howled in rage. They could smell the spice of incense wafting from the Indian caravan of Hindu followers and missionaries.

The drunken barbarians bolted forward with fierce axes and overcame Man God Ummunga. They dragged him to the ground and beheaded him at once. The astonished missionairies and followers in the caravan turned to flee in grief-stricken panic.

At that moment a great horn blast ripped through the wintry air. It was as if a great wasp’s nest had been disturbed. Every man and child in the city was instantly moblised for War!!!

There was a great feast that night in Bantu as the barbarians celebrated a great conquest. They burned incense all that night long. The only God the barbarians worshipped or admired was the night celebration with the smell of incense in the air.

It was the greatest mistake the Barbarian People had ever made...

So...

 

[pxpdoo]

Stop it, HP, about to have a stroke from laughing lmao

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

The Asoka, the great king of India, declared that the Great Wild Forest was a Holy Land. Your head was the price for cutting down a single tree in the Great Wild Forest in memory of the Great Missionary Man God Ummunga.

For ages the Forest was a place of contemplation and retreat. But there was strange whispering in the air. It was if the great sickness of the mind that plagued the extinct People of Barbania infected the people of the City of navaho.

A geat scientist, Ernest Rutherford, was born and soon discovered the root causes of the madness in the Deep SouthEast.

 

[pxpdoo]

Come on now lmao
Bulb him haha

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

Almost Done...

At once, workers and scientist were soon dispatched to understand this new substance. The workers and teams of scientist sent to understand this new treasure needed more resources and the City of Navaho was too small to supply the needed resources of such a massive project. It was ruled that workers of the City of Navaho were exempt from taxation. A secret labratory facilty was erected in the mines at the heart of the Great Wild forest.

The edge of the forest in the western vicinity of Navaho was chopped and irrigated farmlands were put into place to increase the flux of workers in Navaho.

The City of Navaho was dedicated to understanding this new substance. Secret teams of scientists were dispatched to the city. The secret substance was mined and sent to a secret location...

 

[pxpdoo]

Nice flying camera work lmao
Now seriously, quit it, laughing too much to be healthy

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

Uranium, so it was called, was shipped to the secret laboratories in the dungeons of the Kremlin in the City of Memphis.

It was rumored that this city was the headquarters of the Workers Indian Intelligence Network System (WIINS). The city of Memphis was Empire’s center of Espionage.

Here is what the city looked like:

In the year 1921, Man God Ummunga was rumored to have returned from the dead. There was a great pilgrimage to the City of Navaho. The religious zealots of Man God Ummunga--rumored to be affected by the uranium --gained control of the government and closed the borders to staunch the flow of heathen religions from foreign lands. The international markets were closed and the people were to put to production.

In the year, 1921, when the Hindu Sect of ManGummish gained control of the City of Navaho and the seat of government in the Capital of Delhi, Man God Ummunga spoke to the devoutly religious workers party of India and to their Head of the State: The Holy Righteous One.

What did Man God Ummunga say?

The priests of Man God Umuunga interpreted it as a sign from Man God Ummunga. It was an Omen. It was a foretelling of the future. At once, it became clear. There must be a New World Order with Man God Ummunga at the top. No, Kids, this had nothing to do with the Uranium.

A great research project was initiated. The research project was named Project Man God Ummunga. This project, ultimately, led to great advances in scientific theory. The State-Controlled Fascist Theocracy of India was able to leverage their science against all other world powers.

A great intercontinental war erupted and the Fascist State-Controlled Communist government of India soon brought a One World Order to the World.

George Bush style

 

[Honorable_Pawn]

All in the name of Man God Ummunga.

 

[WARRIOR_MD]

A great intercontinental war erupted and the Fascist State-Controlled Communist government of India soon brought a One World Order to the World.

Umm I think your story i great, but the last sentence kinda threw me off, since Fascism is the extreme right in politics and is the total opposite of Communism. I don't like when people just stereotype these ideologies just as "the bad guys". It sounds kinda ignorant. Gratz on your noble level though.

 

[Underdawg]

Umm I think your story i great, but the last sentence kinda threw me off, since Fascism is the extreme right in politics and is the total opposite of Communism. I don't like when people just stereotype these ideologies just as "the bad guys". It sounds kinda ignorant. Gratz on your noble level though.

Are there any redeemable qualities of Fascism?

 

[Way_Traveler]

Spiritual leaders are clearly superior to all other types.

Ehhhhhh. Spiritual is a nice luxury, but it's not really superior to financial. If you plan ahead and set up your GPP farm, you can avoid most anarchy by having strategic golden ages and maybe even the Taj Mahal. [Obviously, when the initial transition to slavery comes, you just have to take your medicine and accept the turn of anarchy as a non-spiritual leader. From then on, it's not so clear-cut]. Spiritual may save me a turn of anarchy, but a financial leader who has to put up with it may have a strong enough economy that 9 turns plus one lost to anarchy is worth more than 10 turns of a non-financial spiritual leader.

You could go spiritual/financial, of course, but then you lose out on the REXing possibilities of financial/organized, or the sheer early power of agg/financial.

So, spiritual is good, yes. I am just not so sure it is 'clearly superior', as you make it out to be.

 

[hossam]

Umm I think your story i great, but the last sentence kinda threw me off, since Fascism is the extreme right in politics and is the total opposite of Communism. I don't like when people just stereotype these ideologies just as "the bad guys". It sounds kinda ignorant. Gratz on your noble level though.

fascim actually has a lot in common with communism except that it is not based on karl marx idea of class equality.

 

[scu98rkr]

I think he's suggesting he's using both, State Property (the Civ IV version of communism) and Police State (the Civ IV version of Fascim).

Hence he has a Fascist communist state.

 

[Munch]

Good game!

I think he's suggesting he's using both, State Property (the Civ IV version of communism) and Police State (the Civ IV version of Fascim).

Hmm, I dunno. You can have "Police State" and not have "Fascism". Police State suggests heavy surveillance, detainment without trial and so on, whereas Fascism - as Mussolini himself said - "should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power."

Hence he has a Fascist communist state.

State Property + Police State is not 'Fascist communist' because you have no 'corporate power'. What you have instead is a Communist police state, like the USSR under Stalin.

Someone correct me if this is wrong?

 

[WARRIOR_MD]

Good game!

State Property + Police State is not 'Fascist communist' because you have no 'corporate power'. What you have instead is a Communist police state, like the USSR under Stalin.

Someone correct me if this is wrong?

umm I may not know what "corporate power" you are talking about, but you are right about the Communist police state.

 

[Jobbeelg]

The UB of India is the upgraded courthouse. It reduces maintenance, naturally, but +2 is a big benefit. In long wars, +2 really helps with WW.

No, it is an upgraded jail. (I don't know why I do this )
But I agree on India beeing a very nice civ.

By the way, looking at the scores and the techs, you play on a waaay to low level. Move up!