6otM123 Opening Actions

[Eyswein]

Welcome to the 6otM123 Opening Actions thread.

STOP - Please do not continue reading this thread until you have completed at least 80 to 100 turns in your game.

This thread is used to discuss the game once you've started playing through your first 100 turns. Apart from normal decency, the only posting restrictions are to please not post videos until the deadline is finished and to use the spoiler tags for screenshots. Here you can post questions related to the game and share your achievements/anger/frustration/victories while you play. Please remember that we are running a family friendly site, so express anger or frustration with this in mind.

Please use this thread to discuss your goals for the game and your opening moves through the first 100 turns. Anything after that should be posted in the After Actions thread once you have completed your game.

- What was your plan for achieving the VC? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
- How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
- Where did you settle your capital city? Why? Your second city? Why?
- Early order for technology/civics? What did you prioritize for technology/civics?
- What was your early build order in your capital and other early cities? Military units / Civilian units / Districts & city development / Wonders / Civ Unique Unit & Infrastructure? Most critical or interesting?
- Pantheon chosen and why? Religious beliefs chosen, and why?
- What governments did you select? What policy cards did you use? Why?
- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
- How long did it take to find your neighbors? What did you do for early diplomacy/trading? Peace or War (and by you or them)?
- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you nurture to your side?
- When did you have Dark/Golden ages?
- How did the game modes affect or impact your play?
- How were the Barbarians?
- Any surprises/frustration/elations?

Please use spoiler tags for any surprise details you'd like kept hidden. Thanks.

 

[Planktonic]

heh- I see that someone (obviously much faster than me) already entered an AAR. I'm just at turn 106, and since this is only my second try ever with Byzantium I'll make a report.

What was your plan for achieving the VC? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
Maximize faith output and try to get to Tagmas as soon as possible. Tried to get an early religion - ended up getting the third one. This cost me- I had recruited a Great Prophet on the last turn of the Ancient Era, but didn't activate until the first turn of the Classical since I didn't want to waste the Era score (already was going into Golden Age). But in that turn someone else established a religion and took Choral Music, which upended my plans a bit and definitely greatly slowed my progress through the culture tree.

- How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
Very powerful for combat so far but just getting started on the warring.

- Where did you settle your capital city? Why? Your second city? Why?
Settled capital opn the spice. Settled second city north between the various city states as it loked to have decent production.

- Early order for technology/civics? What did you prioritize for technology/civics?
Astrology first, then mining, then sailing.

- What was your early build order in your capital and other early cities? Military units / Civilian units / Districts & city development / Wonders / Civ Unique Unit & Infrastructure? Most critical or interesting?
Scout, then settler, then holy site.

- Pantheon chosen and why? Religious beliefs chosen, and why?
River goddess. wanted to get Choral Music but missed out as above; took Work Ethic and Crusade.

- What governments did you select? What policy cards did you use? Why?
Autocracy first, then switched to Oligarchy. Am just a few turns away from Divine Right for Monarchy.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
Saved all titles for Moksha with Divine Architect first, to get new cities up and running quickly. Now also have Pingala with Connoisseur.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? What did you do for early diplomacy/trading? Peace or War (and by you or them)?
Little diplomacy, have met 8 of the 11 other civs so far.

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you nurture to your side?
Met a whole bunch, suzed three so far, mostly for Era score and to levy troops. Quests have been very helpful. Armagh was key, as I levied troops from there and used them to just now conquer Edinburgh.

- When did you have Dark/Golden ages?
Golden Classical and Medieval.

- How did the game modes affect or impact your play?
Haven't had much impact so far.

- How were the Barbarians?
So far very manageable.

- Any surprises/frustration/elations?
Was not paying attention to Mali- thought he was too far away to be any trouble. He surprise DOWed me and razed my southernmost 1-district city. A stupid error and real setback but not big enough to derail my plan I don't think....

 

[MrRadar]

Well, I've finally decided to give this one a try too, that's my second ever game with Byzantium as well, so I'll also make an OA report, though I'm not so sure, if I get the game until the end, DomV on Huge maps aren't exactly my idea of fun

- What was your plan for achieving the VC? What are the major steps you planned to take? What events, if any, changed the plan in execution and to what new plan? Any interesting decision points?
Get religion, rush to Divine Right, delay the first Hippodrome until that time. I'm not very familiar with the true Earth map, I maybe played it once or twice a few years ago, so the first disappointment was the absence of Pamukkale. But then I went to the opposite direction and found Matterhorn.
Got religion with 2 HS and 1 shrine and 0 prayer projects. Got second religion, which saddened me greatly, as someone took Eastern Orthodoxy first, just a turn or so before, out of nowhere. Had to go with Catholicism. Immersion totally ruined At least I got the Choral Music, as a consolation prize.

- How did the leader bonus and civ unique ability impact your plan/play, if at all?
Tagmas are good Also, running prayer projects wasn't necessary.

- Where did you settle your capital city? Why? Your second city? Why?
Capital in place, as a canal city, seemed nice enough location. Second city in the Eastern Turkey, just East of the wheat. Close, plenty of luxes around, and forests for the chops, and Wheat for the Irrigation eureka, as lots of plantation resources around.

- Early order for technology/civics? What did you prioritize for technology/civics?
First one MasonryMining, for the quarry, then Astrology. Foreign trade first, as it was immediately boosted, and an early trade route is always nice.

- What was your early build order in your capital and other early cities? Military units / Civilian units / Districts & city development / Wonders / Civ Unique Unit & Infrastructure? Most critical or interesting?
Decided to push out a slinger first, then a builder, a settler, another builder, trader and HS. Second city a HS immediately. No wonders. Capital later built a GP with Warlords Throne and a campus. Barbs were astonishingly absent, so I spent a lot of time with just a warrior and a slinger, later had another warrior and a couple of slingers, also got a heavy chariot from a nearby meteorite.

- Pantheon chosen and why? Religious beliefs chosen, and why?
Festivals, for culture from plantations, which were plenty around, and culture was needed to progress along the civics tree.

- What governments did you select? What policy cards did you use? Why?
Autocracy, for the whole set of cards, although no time for wonders. Diplo league very useful, Agoge, and Maritime industries helped a lot to push out 3 galleys and 5 dromons or so.

- Which Governors did you choose and why did you choose them?
First Amani for establishing Suz, then Liang for additional charge, then Magnus for chops and pop saving later, then Pingala for Connoisseur.

- How long did it take to find your neighbors? What did you do for early diplomacy/trading? Peace or War (and by you or them)?
Not too long, but also not too soon, just in time for the Writing boost Did not do much with diplomacy, apart from some early trading. Shaka paid me 43 gpt for 113 DF Declared friendship with Bruce. He pays nicely for the luxuries, so he'll live a bit longer.

- What City-States did you meet and which ones did you nurture to your side?
A whole bunch, got to PP t55 or so. Valetta already helped with a few emergency walls, Yerevan is awesome as usual, Armagh as well, also got a Suz in Fez, which was under attack by Mali. They had a bunch of troops there, but something was stalling their attack for a while, but then the assault resumed. So I denounced Mali and then used a Protectorate war CB - a very rare occasion. Fez did fall, but thankfully Mali did not raze them, so I recaptured and liberated with dromons and galleys.

- When did you have Dark/Golden ages?
Golden Classical - Monumentality, Golden Medieval - Exodus.

- How did the game modes affect or impact your play?
Got a couple of industries going on, citrus in the capital was helpful for the unit spam.

- How were the Barbarians?
Barbs were supersparse. One camp spawned in the plains not very far, but was promptly taken care of by the CS horde of warriors. Lucked out in taking out another close one, for the eureka.

- Any surprises/frustration/elations?
The early stage went very well, but now I feel somehow everything slowed down. T110 I've only taken a couple of Mali cities. Dromons were useful for liberating Fez and taking out Jenne on the Western tip of Africa, but now they get a shot from a walled city and take more than half total hp damage. Spent all the faith in Classical for settlers and builders, now I feel shortage for Apostles. I had to take even a Debater one, as there's a huge spam of Khmer and Zulu missionaries going on. Mali seems to have run out of units and that's not very helpful.