3140 BC and France builds Colosuss???

[LivingDog]

I set up a sim... (um, not simple...) little Warlord game with a Normal map, and only 3 AI. (I put up a post about it called "300".)

300

I got a Militia, and Barracks and then a Phalanx, and was researching Granary when all of a sudden, in year 3140 BC I read that the French built Colosuss! SAY WHAT?!? That's 200 SHIELDS!!! How is that possible, we all just got started and immediately the AI are owning the map!?!?!

Is this game, specifically the Warlord level, rigged to make me look stupid... um, stupider than I already look???

Thanks in advance.
.
.
PS: how do I link to another thread? While the "quote" tag works, it looks awkward.
.

 

[Verrucosus]

As far as Wonder construction for the computer controlled civilisations is concerned, the game is rigged on all levels ... probably not against you personally, though. The computer players are just given Wonders without having to build them. There seems to be some random element to it, but I agree 3140 BC is early for any level.

Having said that, on Chieftain level it's not impossible to do it honestly, i. e. yourself.

3140 BC is 43 turns into the game (not counting 4000 AD since no production happens then).

Consider a city founded on a plains square in 4000 BC, with a shielded grassland square and two forests in its radius; you also need to start with Bronze Working ... it doesn't happen always, but it's not that unlikely either.

You order your city to build the Colossus and set taxes to 100 %. You start with 50 gold (Chieftain).

4000 - 3780 BC (11 turns): working the plains and the shielded grassland square yields 2 surplus food + 2 shields + 1 gold per turn.

In 3780 BC, the city reaches size 2. Even if the new citizen is auto-assigned to a shieldless grassland you now have 22 (= 11 x 2) shields and 61 (= 50 + 11) gold accumulated; you reassign your two citizens to work on forest tiles.

3760 - 3160 BC (31 turns): working the plains and the 2 forests yields no food surplus, but 5 shields and 1 gold per turn. By 3160 BC, your city has accumulated 177 shields (= 22 + 31 x 5) and 92 (= 61 + 31) gold.

You are lacking 23 shields which, as it happens, cost 92 (= 23 x 4) gold coins to buy.

3140 BC: The Colossus is built


On levels without starting gold, this won't work because you are lacking 50 gold. You can try building a militia unit first. With lots of luck you'll find two minor tribes with gold gifts. (You need 2 of them because not only you need the missing 50 starting gold, but you also need 40 gold more to buy the 10 shields "wasted" on building the militia unit. This involves too much luck to be called a strategy. You can always sell the Palace, of course, but my guess is that the French in your game still have their Palace, so you you'd still feel cheated.

Still, on Chieftain level it seems possible, so that's something, right?

Incidentally, I never tried this myself. It's merely an intriguing exercise in Civ maths, so I may very well have overlooked something. As a strategy, it's complete nonsense anyway, both because of the risk that someone waltzes into your unprotected city and because even the Colossus is not worth such a delay of early expansion.

By way of comfort, if the French are living close by, they made themselves the perfect target for your first campaign. Just be careful not to destroy the city by attacking after it is reduced to size 1.

 

[Chieftess]

I recall reading somewhere that wonder building by the AI in Civ1 is (sometimes?) random. If you revert to the turn before the wonder is built, see if they still build it.

Also, to link to another thread, just go to that thread and copy the url in the address bar, then paste it into your post. URL tags are optional, i.e. [url="link"]Text[/url].

 

[LivingDog]

To Chieftess: thanks! 300

To Verrucosus: 8( ) <-shock I'm not worthy