ALC Game 16: Persia/Cyrus

[jerVL/kg]

I recently played a shadow game with Cyrus and got a total of 13 GGs. The 1st was used as a medic, 3 were attached to the HE city as MIs, one built an academy in the IW city, the rest were attached to obsolete units as warlords.

I have a question...when you upgrade a Warlord unit, does it revert back to 10XP like other veteran units? Or do you get to keep all that free experience?

I anticipate playing one more ALC game prior to BtS. This will be the Russia/Peter game. I'll consider throwing another wrinkle into it, but let's leave that for the pre-game thread.

I'm still patiently waiting for "ALC: Special Edition", an isolated start on a Huge/Archipelago/Snaky Continents map! Come to think, Peter (Exp/Phil + a late UU) would be an ideal candidate for that scenario...

 

[sneaky]

Doing one more ALC before BTS probably is a good idea. It might give both you and us the chance to get somewhat used to the changes.

 

[Sisiutil]

I have a question...when you upgrade a Warlord unit, does it revert back to 10XP like other veteran units? Or do you get to keep all that free experience?

Upgraded Warlord units get to keep all their XPs, which is a big advantage.

I'm still patiently waiting for "ALC: Special Edition", an isolated start on a Huge/Archipelago/Snaky Continents map! Come to think, Peter (Exp/Phil + a late UU) would be an ideal candidate for that scenario...

I'll consider it. Bring it up again in the pre-game thread. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds to do something really different for the last ALC on Warlords.

 

[Lance of Llanwy]

Upgraded Warlord units get to keep all their XPs, which is a big advantage.


I'll consider it. Bring it up again in the pre-game thread. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds to do something really different for the last ALC on Warlords.

Hmmm. That sounds like fun. We sadly don't have a perfect record any more, so not so much pride at stake. And it would be cool to do something wonky. Perhaps another Conquest victory, in celebration of Warlords? But this is all easy for me to say, I'm not the one potentially facing the conquest of a Huge Pangaea

 

[Sisiutil]

Hmmm. That sounds like fun. We sadly don't have a perfect record any more, so not so much pride at stake. And it would be cool to do something wonky. Perhaps another Conquest victory, in celebration of Warlords? But this is all easy for me to say, I'm not the one potentially facing the conquest of a Huge Pangaea

A huge Pangaea is still easier to conquer than a bunch of islands!

 

[aelf]

Any chance that Sisiutil's naming convention is getting AdBlocked or otherwise stripped from the html before it arrives at your doorstep?

I don't know. How do you solve that anyway?

Still no images loading in the thread Copying the url to another window works, though.

 

[Sisiutil]

Round 12: 1709 AD to 1742 AD

So as the round started off, I began to implement much of the advice I'd been given. First, after a little haggling, I made a deal with Huayna:

I also made up my mind on how to use the GE. I figured I'd get the most out of him by settling him in my Ironworks city, so that's what I did:

And with Huayna safely ensconced in my back pocket, it was time to get down to business with my next vassal:

Yeah, babe. Remember how you broke my heart in the Mansa Musa game? It's payback time!

I also snuck a civics switch in there, to Representation to help research, and to Free Speech to accelerate whatever border pops I needed for the win:

I sent two stacks at Isabella, one heading southwest, the other heading north. Seville fell first:

Toledo followed on the next turn:

My Great General finally caught up with the stack, and I used him as a Warlord unit with one of my uber-promoted Cannons:

I think he managed to fight one battle with his new promotions.

The next couple of Spanish cities contained some extra treats. The capital, Madrid, contained a shrine and a wonder:

As did Barcelona, the last Spanish city on the continent:

I now would have more than enough territory, once the borders of the cities still in revolt popped, to have a domination win. So I decided to end the war with Isabella, leaving her, like Huayna, isolated on a little island.

So how close to victory was I? Darn close!

I suppose I could have just waited for my next border pop, but you know me--impatient as ever. Besides, I'd been piling up units outside that barb city on the island to my east, so on the next turn...

Check it out--that single tile gave me just enough for the win:

So on the next turn... victory!

Next up: the post mortem.

Unfortunately I forgot (once again) to save the game after the win, so the best I have for you is an autosave a couple of turns back:

 

[Sisiutil]

Post Mortem

First off, here's a look at the power graph for the last 50 turns:

Yeah, you can see there was a huge gap there between myself and my neighbours. Only Ragnar was anywhere near me, and he was on another continent, and we all know how inept the AI is at intercontinental invasions.

Production for my entire history:

Even before the war with Mongolia I was ahead of everyone else in this regard. I think prioritizing Forges and running Organized Religion certainly helped. And then all that wonderful Mongolian territory pushed my production into the stratosphere. Well, that certainly explains the previous power chart.

Demographics:

Top 5 Cities/Wonders:

Isn't that interesting? The top 3 cities hardly have any wonders at all! That's not usually what you see at the end of the game, is it?

Statistics:

So I only built 6 cities all game--I didn't really take advantage of Imperialistic's cheap Settlers in a big way.

And finally, the score:

Not too shabby--my 2nd-highest ALC score ever. Better than the Tokugawa game, and only surpassed by the Kublai Khan game, where I had a domination win over 100 years before this one.

Nevertheless, I probably could have beaten that Mongolia score if I'd put my mind to it. There was that long interval where I was peaceful and should have been pressing Huayna. Frankly, I should have smartened up and realized, with 5 civilizations starting on it, that my continent would have enough territory for a domination win. As I mentioned before, the SE not only lends itself to warfare, it seems to require it. Next time I run a SE, I'll remember that.

Cabert was probably right, the long breaks in the game probably didn't help me keep my focus. But life's like that; I got busy and couldn't afford the time to update as frequently as I usually do. I have had off-line games where that's happened, and I've sometimes abandoned them, no matter how promising they were, because it's so hard to get back into a specific game if you've been away from it for a long time.

So let me know your thoughts on the game. I'm going to take a break--it's a long weekend up here in Canada--and then I'll be back early next week to start the Russia/Peter game, up next.

 

[kniteowl]

So I only built 6 cities all game--I didn't really take advantage of Imperialistic's cheap Settlers in a big way.

The advantage of the cheap settlers from Imp I believe isn't for settling a large number of cities because of maintenance cost, it's about getting the best located cities before the AI does.

Anywayz I dunno if you answered this question already but when are you planning to get BTS and include it as being apart of ALC? as soon as it's released or will you wait for the patch?

If you're getting BTS ASAP, you might as well have a month break and start the next ALC with BTS.

 

[martin031]

I'll consider it. Bring it up again in the pre-game thread. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds to do something really different for the last ALC on Warlords.

If you are looking for a "new" map experience, you should check out the modified terra map in the map forum. Basically, if spawns like a terra map, but civs can be spawn on the new world. Little more variation than regular continents. And I like it better than Fractal, which usually gives me one of three results: Isolation, wierd snaky continent or pangea type landmass with all civs meeting soon, or just a regular conts game.

You should check it out.

 

[LightSpectra]

If it isn't too late for a request, I'd rather you do Stalin instead of Peter. I want to see someone do Agg/Ind.

 

[Tyrael]

[delurks]
Long-time lurker coming out of hiding to say congrats on another win! Love the ALC series- I'm sure you're proud of the fact that you've brought up complete strangers multiple levels in Civ, including me. Thanks Sisiu, and keep it up! Look forward to your next game in the All Leaders' Experiment (not really a challenge for you anymore, but the important thing here is showing off each leader's traits, UUs and UBs, and it's cool that you've stuck with that instead of just showing off ). Hopefully I'll be able to pop out of nowhere with some advice sometime, I'm sure you would love more conflicting advice.
[relurks]

 

[Maydrock]

Congrats on the win Sis and thanks for devoting so much time to the community!

So let me know your thoughts on the game. I'm going to take a break--it's a long weekend up here in Canada--and then I'll be back early next week to start the Russia/Peter game, up next.

Is this the weekend Canada has summer?

 

[MangleMeElmo]

Nice win. So who's next? I thought I saw mention of Catherine being the next leader, but I may have been mistaken. Be careful when playing as her. You'll need to grab latex as an early resource so your health doesn't go down.

 

[Porphyrius]

Post Mortem
... the long breaks in the game probably didn't help me keep my focus. But life's like that; I got busy and couldn't afford the time to update as frequently as I usually do. I have had off-line games where that's happened, and I've sometimes abandoned them, no matter how promising they were, because it's so hard to get back into a specific game if you've been away from it for a long time.

Yep i know the feeling, even if one can bring himself to recall the situation in detail much of the interest is gone... One can always find comfort in the enthousiastic thoughts of his next game though.
Still it was a quite solid effort overall and an early domination, my compliments.

Post Mortem
As I mentioned before, the SE not only lends itself to warfare, it seems to require it. Next time I run a SE, I'll remember that.

SE's adjustability on a per individual city basis and the short term beefs from GP shine with a devoted warmonger style of play. The fact that SE is easier to deploy effectively quite earlier doesnt hurt either. Once things quiet down though, CE gets its revenge. The game of course could be almost over at that time, even if not, conquered lands offer the opportunity to switch to a decently developed hybrid.


Just a small suggestion, however. In previous ALCs you used to post screenshots of cities you conquered with the (about to) attack stack selected and pointer hovering over the city thus detailing defender. IMHO it gives a much feeling of how the war goes and ongoing strategy. Fell free to intermix with the occasional bragging screenshot of the enemy capital finaly fallen though.

 

[popejubal]

The advantage of the cheap settlers from Imp I believe isn't for settling a large number of cities because of maintenance cost, it's about getting the best located cities before the AI does.

Ditto. Being able to pop a settler from a size 4 city instead of a size 6 city is a lovely benefit. Also, remember to always whip settlers with an imperialist leader since whipping counts as hammers (which are multiplied by the bonus) while the food "bonus" production is not multiplied. Start the Settler, whip the next turn for 2 population and get that city out and into production ASAP!

Also, congratulations on the win. I was thinking there, "how is Sisiutil going to pull this off?" Well, you certainly did it and with a very convincing win. I was so impressed, that I finally made a civics change to nationalism in my current single player game and I just conquored my continent in record time. I never realized just how fiercely good Drafting Riflemen and Infantry can be!

As for the next ALC, I'd like to suggest playing with the Better AI mod. It's coming down the pike in BTS, so starting a Monarch game with Better AI would be a good preparation for playing BTS without the headache of trying to learn the new aspects of the game at the same time.

 

[Matt_G]

Is this the weekend Canada has summer?

 

[sneaky]

Nice game champ, already looking forward to the next.

 

[pigswill]

If you're looking for a slight challenge without running a mod have a go at an isolated start for a domination victory. Your Mehmed game inspired the Lonely Hearts Club so give it a go.

 

[Jet]

It's cool if you've already made up your mind, but I wouldn't mind seeing an ALC with Uncle Joe. Then you could build more wonders. You know you want to.