AG3 - Ultra Big Map (Portugal - demigod)

[Greebley]

Bach's is a possibility if Copernicus and Sistine complete before the AI research another wonder tech. They are probably getting close to completion and I expect them to complete in Madbax's turn. I would hold off resarching Music Theory until after that happens, but a prebuild would be reasonable to get something I think. I don't think any cascade will include Newton's for example. Just set it to Palace for now. Actually we may want to go for Smiths instead though.

Microbe - you did mention 4 bananas in your report - thus my comment. (oh I see you edited your post).

Also, you are right on C - I meant Mayans of course. I got my civs mixed up and didn't notice

Oh there is a settler that is heading toward the east coast of the continent. I liked carlos' idea of sending toops from that coast using rails to get there. It is also heading N to get out of the jungle. This is probably the iron settler mentioned by Microbe.

I used to play a lot of huge maps with 15 AI's, and you can get incredible gold by selling techs with so many AI to trade to (though I suppose the city limit puts a cap on this affect).

I might even be tempted grant France techs so they can provide us with money as well (they and one other civ don't have currency).

I am sure it was the warrior that got us across. It is an interesting way to cross. It might feel exploitive to do it on purpose though.

 

[mad-bax]

Thanks Greebley

When do you guys expect to get this game back? I can't promise it before Wednesday as I can only play 3 hrs a day.

got it!

 

[Aggie]

mad-bax, Wednesday is OK.

I tried an interturn myself and it took me about 3 minutes.

Greebly did have unusual long turns with a lot of new contacts and trade possibilities. I'm not going to guarantee that YOU will have a shorter '10', but I do expect that.

@all: from this point onwards I do not mind if someone only playes 5 turns. So I want to suggest to allows 48 hours for 5 turns and 72 for 10 turns.

Reason is that it is perfectly normal to check developments with all the AI every turn. That means 27 at this moment and we will probably have contact with the rest very soon with our unsinkable Carracks.

 

[mad-bax]

That's a relief. Thanks.

 

[Greebley]

The deals I was doing were immensely complex and not the norm. For example, when trading contracts, I had to carefully make sure I was not giving away the wrong one (By the end, I had memorized which group a given civ was in). It is highly unlikely you will be spending the 2 odd hours it took me for that combination of deals.

Also there are only 3-4 tech leaders that need to be checked every turn. For example, checking to see if France has finally learned currency and advanced to the middle ages is not necessary.

I would just note down at the beginning which civs could gain a tech that matters and check those every turn. For the rest just see if they have gpt to spend on an outdated tech every 3-4 turns. It might also be worth noting down on what turns gpt deals expire for these other civs so you can go to them on that turn to keep what you can of their gold.

The war will make the turns longer, but no more than any other game.

 

[mad-bax]

250AD: Pre-turn
Stop 4 bananas growth and switch to settler.
Go through the diplomacy. A couple of civs have banking, otherwise we're level. Great job.
Find the Aztech horses, but I am still looking for the iroquois horses. Ah yes. 25 tiles away

IBT:
Dyes is pillaged. Do we have any others connected?
Americans start Copernicus

260AD:
I hope this is OK but I decide to start a settler, worker an MDI toward the horses. We can have a colony for a while perhaps.
This game is too much for me. There is a settler with a couple of warriors in the middle of the jungle, miles from anywhere. Why?

IBT:
X-man wants to give us 23gpt for silks. I decline for the moment

270AD:
Dozens of units bypass our walled cities and head for Lourenco and I am forced to rush a wall from an empty bin.
I can't reduce the slider for banking.

IBT:
We have 20 units visiting Lourenco. Should be interesting.
Research banking and go for economics. Wasn't sure what everyone would want, I just thought we had the best chance of getting ths first.

280AD:
Load three boats and send them to aztech horses. Won't be enough units probably.
Kill 4 javs without loss. My first fight since I'm turtling.

IBT:
Jaguar warrior offloads at undefended Lagos.
Another dozen or so mayan javs line up against Lourenco, making around 30. The attack starts. We have 8 units in the city. 3 pikes and 5 MDI.

At the end of the attack we have 1 pike and 3 MDI left. They have 9 units left, 5 of them uninjured. We also get a leader. I'm torn between a Pike or MDI army...

290AD:
The Hittites have a Democracy Monopoly, but everyone is broke, so they won't profit from it yet.
The vikings have a little money and I could offload our spare silks on them for 90g and 9gpt. I'm pretty sure the value of silks is 30gpt or above so I leave it for now.

IBT:
The Jag suicides on a pike.
Only the 5 uninjured Javs attack and all die for no loss. Lots more arrive though. More of them just warriors now.

300AD:
There are now around 30 Mayan units surrounding Lourenco. I think we may have broken the back of it 12 of them are warriors. Our reinforcements are now arriving in proper numbers and the MDI can begin to deploy.

I have completely underestimated this game. The diplomacy on its own takes 10 minutes a turn. This 5 turns took 3 hours just about. I'll play another turn tonight and finish tomorrow...

You may want to kick me from this game Aggie as I will probably hold you up like this every round if I continue to play.

I will finish these turns though, and you can let me know what you think.

 

[Aggie]

mad-bax, I do not mind if you leave it at 5 turns. Also, if you want to continue the 10 I have no troubles with your pacing at all. I'm not going to kick you from this game. As long as you feel comfortable to play it, I'm happy to have you in the team.

In fact, although I do want this game to continue in a decent pace, I don't mind if players take longer for the turns. As long as they give an update on the status, like you did now.

 

[Greebley]

Madbax, I wasn't sure what the settler was for either, but Carlos had the good idea earlier of forming a city on the far coast of our continent, so we can instantly railroad units into boats on that side of the world.

Since we lost Sao Paulo on that coast, I was going to build another city on the east coast where there would be no danger of flips.

Only useful thing I could think of for it.

 

[microbe]

3 hours for 5 turns is not bad at all.

I think to make everybody's life easier, the previous player had better describe what he thinks the next player should do, especially about the things that he himself initiated. For example, I had no idea what the settler/warrior on the galley should go when I inherited my turn. And I always try to be verbose about my thought after my turn (sometimes they are more lengthy than the report itself )

That way you at least can get into the context faster.

 

[Aggie]

microbe, I totally agree with you!

 

[microbe]

Originally posted by mad-bax
IBT:
Dyes is pillaged. Do we have any others connected?

I remember Greebley mentioned buying it from Persia with PP. Alternatively, we can wait until silks deal ends and exchange them.

At the end of the attack we have 1 pike and 3 MDI left. They have 9 units left, 5 of them uninjured. We also get a leader. I'm torn between a Pike or MDI army...

Why not both? That would be good for both offense and defense.

The vikings have a little money and I could offload our spare silks on them for 90g and 9gpt. I'm pretty sure the value of silks is 30gpt or above so I leave it for now.

Is the trade route safe? If for any reason that's cut, our rep would be hit since we take the 90g..

 

[mad-bax]

Yes we have a dyes deal, and I am pretty confident that the road will be reconnected by the time I give the save back.

The Army is still empty ATM but I intend to build an MDI army with it to take the top defenders out of cities. The Mayans appear to be without iron and will not attack pikes fortified on hills, so they are hardly likely to attack an MDI army. Unfortunately with the volume of weak units throwing themselves at the city I am not ready yet to put all my eggs in one basket. The army will remain empty for another turn and a half.

No, I don't consider the trade route safe, and I am not about to give Persia a lux. I can also sell to the vikings. As a rule I don't trade resources for lump sum - too much aggravation. This is why I haven't traded the silks. Keeping other civs unhappy is a very useful tactic IMLE.

 

[microbe]

I agree keeping AIs unhappy is important, but it depends how strong it is. Persia is not a top dog (at least in my turn) so I think if the trade would also help us we should do it.

 

[mad-bax]

I was thinking more that if a tech trade comes up we would be able to get full value for our silks rather than *give* them to Xerses for 9gpt or the vikings for 7gpt.

Remember I was offered 23gpt for them already. Unfortunately I was so surprised that the trade route had suddenly opened up that I decided to wait until the interturn finished to see what was going on. As is often the case with interturn deals its a take it or leave it situation, after the interturn I could only get 9gpt.

 

[mad-bax]

300AD:
Galley finds more horses. (See pic at foot of post)
I take an executive decision to call off the attack on the Aztecs which we might not win and divert the task force here.
Adjust a couple of towns for war weariness, but don't change slider.

IBT:
So it gets a little more interesting.
Carthage build Sistines
Russia build Copernicus
No cascade. We should get Smiths with the wind in the right direction.

310AD:

Fill the army with two MDI and a pike. Where did I get that idea?
Played the turn badly. I was using a stack of 3MDI and a pike to pick off any retreating units, but I missclicked and left the pike on grass. The MDI have to follow to stand any chance. But they will die.

Our army is still weak compared to the Maya despite killing 40 units to our 6.

IBT:
The four units are slaughtered for the loss of only four of their units. Sorry.
The americans start magellans.

320AD:
The Mayans tun their attention to Dieu.
There are only 17 units left in our territory now.
2nd level war weariness kicks in.
Sliders to 30%

Abe values his world map at more that 117g + 34gpt. Couldn't get closer to its actual value than that. I decide to buy it

Banking and silks to Abe for Navigation, WM, Tmap, 117g and 9gpt.
Democracy will cost us everything we own, so no deal with Hittites yet.
Banking to Inca for WM 8gpt and 28g
Banking to Celts for WM 22gpt and 110g
Mono to Zulu for WM and Tmap
Mono to Rome for the same
Banking to Persia for WM 9gpt and 80g
Invention to Japan for WM
Col to joan for WM and Tmap. I can't help it - I love her
Invention to Korea for WM + 60g
Banking to Babylon for WM +19gpt + 27g
Press to spain for WM +19g
Chivalry to Bismark for WM + 8g + 5gpt

Can't get Russias world map. They too have Democracy but can't sell it to Abe as Abe can't afford it. He only has 15gpt spare. (Famous last words).

Mao does not have democracy but I don't want to pay large gpt for his map either.
Make peace with the Aztecs for their WM and I give them 10g in return.Hope this is OK.

Banking to Vikings for WM 11gpt and 59g
Press to Arabs for WM + 39g.

There are a number of significant maps that I haven't traded for, Notably Russia and the Ottomans.

Slider to 40%. <pained>

Again, this is my three hours up, so I will have to pass the game on.

This is what you need to know.

There is a galley circling the island with th free horses on it. There are 3 boats with units on them coming back from the Aztecs. One of these boats has a worker, a settler and a pike on it. This boat should go and claim the horses.

Bananarama is locked at size 2 ready to convert to a settler when the horses are ready.

Oporto is on a pre-build for Smiths - due in 5. Economics is due in 4, but we can turn that back a little if required.

There are workers near Castelo Branco that are about to reconnect the dyes, there is a small risk that a Mayan unit will appear around here. I was going to send a pike in that direction from Diu, but that is entirely up to the next player.

There is an archer in Garda that was intended to kill tha warrior to its' south before it could pillage anything.

Only us and the ameicans know navigation.
Only the Hittites and the Russians know Democracy.

War weariness is a pain. I'm not sure whether the war should continue much further or not. I would continue it for a few more turns though and try to raze and replace Dzibichulturn to take advantage of the wheat.

The uploads server is down at the moment. I'll try to post the save and picture later tonight.

The Horses near England

>>THE GAME<<

 

[Aggie]

Good work mad-bax. That makes me up. I had 5 games today and two very big ones still to come. Unbelievable how I was waiting for turns the whole week and now they come all at once

Aggie ----------- Up
Melifluous ------ On deck
Rubberjello
CarlosMM
Microbe
Greebly
Mad-Bax ------- Just Played

 

[Aggie]

IHT: Things look great! But our war weariness is going through the roof. I think we lost the need for the war vs the Maya, because we have both horses and saltpeter on spots were we can settle.

I make peace with the Maya for world map and the city of Xcalumkin. I will produce a settler here and then disband it. This will allow us to build either the horse colony or the saltpeter city.
Luxury at 10%, science at 90%. Economics in 2. Would be nice to have it at first.

Turn 1 (330 AD) USA and Babylon know Chemistry. Science to 80%, Economics in 1.

IT: Economy comes in. The Ottomans start Bach. Oporto witched to Smith, which will take at least another 14 turns. Lisbon switched to Magellan. Would be nice to get it and we have Heroic Epic if it fails.

Turn 2 (340 AD)

I sell Economics to America for Chemistry, 19 gpt and 9 gold.
Russia gets Chemistry for 171 gpt, 170 gold and wm
The Hittites pay me 112 gpt for Chemistry

At 90% research we make 527 gpt. We should keep on doing research at max (90%), because we still can trade between two continents. Before long others will be able to do it as well though. Physiscs in 6.

IT: Ivory deal with the vikings ends. We don't need it to keep lux at 10% and 32 gpt is a lot of money!

Turn 3 (350 AD) Quiet turn

Turn 4 (360 AD) Quiet turn

IT: Russia starts Shakespeare

Turn 5 (370 AD) Science to 80%, Physics still in 3 turns.

Turn 6 (380 AD) We need to establish a connection between the two continents to be able to trade luxes and resources. At this moment there is still big black blur.

Turn 7 (390 AD) The Americans and Babylonians know the Dutch. Physics in 1 and 70% science. No-one knows it yet...

IT: We learn Physics. Next of is Theory of Gravity.

Turn 8 (400 AD)

We have established a visible connection between the two continents. But no trade possible yet. However, having Physics at first gives us something:


-I sell Physics to America for contact with Holland, 99 gpt, wm and 190 gold.
-The Dutch know Sumeria!!
-I buy contact with Sumeria, world map from the Dutch for Education[/i]

I see some comforting things: The Dutch and Sumeria are very close to our continent and both Russia and America didn't ry to cross the big ocean yet.

-I sell contact with Sumeria to America for 7 gpt.
-I buy Gems and spices from Byznatines for Education.
-I sell Physics to Russia for 130 gpt, 260 gold and world map.

Science to 100%, ToG in 5.We make 679 gpt and have 5018 gold.

Turn 9 (410 AD) Russia and Hittites have Metallurgy now. But we'll probably be able to trade for ToG.

Turn 10 (420 AD) America and Babylon also went for Metallurgy. ToG is in 3.

Magellan should be finished in 3, Smith in 5. It is a close call for both. But I think that selling Economics gave us more benefit than Smith could give us for a long time. I think it was worth the risk. Magellan -imho- should have been started immediately. Who knows, we may still ge tit. Or we maybe be able to switch to Newton (or Shakes).

Four Bananas will have a settler in 6, Xcalumcin in 3. This means that the settler that we have now ready at the saltpeter spot can form a city there. Mad-bax's horse site should be next

We are still the ones with all the contacts. But be alert! Navigation is known and it is best to get an updated map of the frontrunners to time the moment at which we have to sell contacts for a lot. Example: we could get Chemistry from America for World Map and a contact!! Democracy and other non-required techs can be obtained this way I think.

There is a settler North East that could form a city somewhere around there, when possible that is.

420 AD save

 

[Aggie]

The world map an our empire:

The saltpeter spot:

The horses spot and our carracks:

ROSTER:
Aggie ----------- Just played
Melifluous ------ Up
Rubberjello ---- On deck
CarlosMM
Microbe
Greebly
Mad-Bax

Note: 5 turns is OK!

 

[mad-bax]

How? How did you play that quickly? I only put the save up a couple of hours ago.

We're in Great Shape though.

I apologise for not starting Magellans. Only the americans had started it on my turn and I needed to build a few units.

 

[Aggie]

Peace time makes a lot of difference! I only had to check the top dogs every turn and the rest every three turns or so. And MM-ing the cities wasn't too difficult (we don't have a lot of them). I have to admit that my PC is very fast as well though.

EDIT: In my ten turns America, Russia, Hittites and Babylon (until turn 8) were the ones able to pay maximum prices for techs. We are able to buy two more luxuries, but we don't need them for lux tax, maybe for WLTKD?