Beta Gauntlet IV

[Denniz]

Man, I am definitely going to have to practice. I tried a couple of OOC attempts and I am not even coming close. I must be researching the wrong tech path. Maybe I can do better with a regular game.

 

[Big_Ben]

Yeah, OCC can be really hard. You almost HAVE to research code laws-civil service-paper and use the Oracle to get education. That is REALLY risky though. I have lost it several times. In a normal attempt I previously used a prophet for theology and the Oracle for paper. As Bill pointed out, to shave a few turns off of your time you almost have to risk researching paper and using the Oracle for education in the normal game as well. That is more of a risk since you have to balance having a high tech output with growth.

This is an interesting gauntlet in the fact that you can go about getting near the winning score with a couple different strategies. Being on normal speed kind of makes it bad since it makes it easier to get to the winning time. Right now I believe Bill is in 1st place by himself (and 2nd), wastintime after that, probably 3rd and 4th, and then I am not sure after that. I am definitely top 10, not sure if anyone else has beaten me yet. Guess we'll see. There will probably be several ties for the top spots.

 

[WastinTime]

I was going for education at first with the Oracle, but found it's faster and safer to just get Civil Service. You get to turn on bureaucracy sooner and can usually switch to Representation (from the Pyramids) for free during the same Anarchy to save a turn.

Regarding one person winning 1st, 3rd, 4th, 8th.....etc.
I think each person should only get one place. If I'm a long jumper and I get the two longest jumps, I don't get the gold and the silver.

 

[Big_Ben]

The hall of fame allows for a member to have 2 positions on any given table in the HOF. I would imagine it is the same for the gauntlet. I know Bill captured 2 positions on the last gauntlet (I think it was the last one). I agree with the 2 spot rule though. I mean I would say that a player with a 850 ad and 900 ad finishes is better than a person with a 800 ad and 10 1500 ad finishes. It goes to actually point out the superior players.

 

[Big_Ben]

BTW, I switch to representation, caste system, and beauracracy all in the same turn of anarchy. If I get pacifism early enough I will switch or if I need universal suffrage to buy the UN then I will switch, if not then I just keep those civics.

 

[BlueRenner]

I'd be more inclined to change the rule "One Slot per Player per Gauntlet"

This means more people will get recognition in the Top Ten, which in turn should generate and sustain more interest.

- Bill

 

[regoarrarr]

I gave an OCC a try with Elizabeth. Couple of games - my best outing was one where I had 5 to go on Paper and 6 on The Oracle when it was built about 600 BC.

Had Stonehenge and a prophet for Theology, but he had to wait awhile while I discovered Monarchy and Writing - do you guys take time to get Alphabet if you're trying to get Education from the Oracle? It didn't seem like there was enough time...

 

[thip]

Just wanted to thank you guys for posting so much about the gauntlet. I'm still trying to learn the game and have found the posts here much more informative and interesting than in the GOTM threads.
I've learned a lot just from trying the gauntlet over and over. Good fun. Thanks again guys...

 

[Big_Ben]

regoarrarr: Going for education depends on how you are playing. If I am playing a normal game (not OCC), my tech path goes: bronze-myst-pottery-alphabet-trade for medit, poly, masonry, mono (if you can) - theology (with prophet) - paper - education (oracle)

If playing OCC I don't build stonehenge, you don't need it, and my tech path looks like this: bronze-pottery-alphabet-(trade for masonry and myst)-priesthood-civil service-paper-education(oracle)

If you are using a prophet for theology, you don't need monarchy. If you have monotheism and writing, the prophet will research theo before monarchy. If you are playing OCC, you need civil service ASAP and convert to bureaucracy.

If playing this as OCC, it is ALL about the starting location. You MUST have the majority of your squares on a river. Gems are ideal but really hard to get. Gold is ok as long as you have several floodplains to offset the food loss by mining the gold. If you have multiple silk tiles on a river, build house on the ones by the river and only turn 1 into a plantation.

 

[regoarrarr]

Thanks for the tips. My problem was that I didn't have Writing, and :weed: didn't realize that I needed it for Theology. When I finished Mono Moses wanted to research Monarchy, so I researched that. Then, when he wanted to research Writing next, is when I figured out my problem. I had a couple of other mistakes too but it was some good experience

 

[WastinTime]

Education VS. Civil Service in OCC.

The real goal is to get education (and the Oxford Universtiy) completed as soon as possible. You can either :

a) research CS, then turn on Bureaucracy to research Paper and get Edu for free.
b) take CS for free and then research Paper and Edu.

So, the question is, Can you reasearch Edu faster while running Bureaucracy than you can researching Civil Service? The answer is yes, research Edu yourself.

You waste 25 turns, give or take a few, researching CS. Just take it free with the Oracle and turn on Bureaucracy now. Another advantage is you want to use the same anarchy for the Pyramids change to Representation. Now you can change that sooner and grow your city sooner.
Also, you don't gamble on losing the oracle either.

Edu usually takes only 15-20 turns, so you're ahead of the game. I stopped going for Edu with the Oracle a long time ago.

 

[WastinTime]

Regarding starting location:
It's not such a big deal any more. I've realized that all I need to search for is a start with Stone. 90% of the time you will get a decent river and one food resource which is all you need. I don't even like to get gold..no food there.

 

[pooLarized]

Love these gauntlets, even though ive only played two of them. I've really had to change the way i play while trying this gauntlet. I dont think ive ever placed my capital on a deer before, just to get a quicker start. And not building stonehenge when playing as Elizabeth that just seemed like pure craziness

Oh and i must say im impressed you managed to guess the finishdate so accurately, Bill. i was completely clueless myself.

 

[Big_Ben]

Wastin: I will try getting CS for free and researching education myself next time. I haven't missed the Oracle playing OCC after that first 2 times. I still can't get a finish better than 1300 playing OCC. I have only had 1 start this entire gauntlet that had gems, actually had 2 grassland gems with a river on both. Only bad thing was that Frederick was 5 squares from my capital and took all of my trees in his cultural boundaries. Was also one of my first attempts.

Couple of questions for playing this OCC though. How many workers do you make? I only make 3, 1 to improve and 2 to chop. Not sure if 4 would be better though. Also, do you focus on growing to your maximum happiness as fast as possible even if it means not working a cottage ASAP or do you focus on getting your cottages to towns ASAP?

 

[BlueRenner]

Well, I did completely blow the leader. Victoria? Whooo.. yeah, that was a major blunder. Still, two out of three ain't bad.

- Bill

 

[Big_Ben]

Victoria could still be a viable option on OCC though. Haven't played with her yet but she could work out. With Lizzie I only get 3 GP at the most. Playing as Qin I landed 3 as well. If I would have had the right resources I could have popped a 4th with Lizzie but I don't think that would be much help. With Victoria the extra +2 health could help out with growth a little bit. There are a few times that I stalled because of health problems. I may give her a go later tonight to see what she can do.

 

[WastinTime]

Couple of questions for playing this OCC though. How many workers do you make? I only make 3, 1 to improve and 2 to chop. Not sure if 4 would be better though. Also, do you focus on growing to your maximum happiness as fast as possible even if it means not working a cottage ASAP or do you focus on getting your cottages to towns ASAP?

I usually have 3 workers, never considered 4. Three sometimes run out of things to do. Once I only had 2 workers when there weren't many trees. But if you don't have a lot of trees, you might as well start a new game, right?

I will work a corn tile for a while to get my population up ASAP. You really want to get everything up to Village because of the Printing Press bonus. I'll stop working a Village to start on another cottage.

Only 3 GP? I usually get 7. Here's how:
1. Chop out the Pyramids by 2000BC. With Liz, you get an engineer 25 turns later (a few turns less with the oracle boosting the birth rate).

2. Take the detour to Literature before Paper. When the engineer pops out, use it to build the Great Library. Now, with the oracle too, you're at +24 birth rate. In about 9 turns, you'll get a scientist (hopefully) to build the Academy.

3. Only 12 turns later you get another GP, again, with a high probability of being a scientist. It's probably about 500 BC now. I use the scientist as a super specialist instead of saving him for electricity or something like that.
With the Oxford University coming soon, you get 9 beakers + 200-225%. So around 30 beakers per turn. I figured that's better than saving them until the end, but now, writing this, I realized it might be better to use them early, like to finish education. hmm...

anyway, if you build the hanging gardens, that should help pop out another engineer. Especially since you lose the Great Lib. after Sci Method. You only need one for the UN, then rush buy the rest.

 

[WastinTime]

The problem with trying to use the GS for education is that you need those other boneheads you're playing with to give you Mathematics first. This gauntlet would be a lot easier (for OCC) if it were on Immortal. In fact, I think OCC would win earliest finish at higher skill levels, because the city maintenence is way too high for 10-12 cities. I thought they "fixed" the old corruption problem from Civ III, but city maintenence is just as bad or worse if you've ever played on the higher levels.

 

[pooLarized]

I dont suppose the next gauntlet will be presented when this one closes?

Otherwise i might have to squeeze in the gotm. Damn civ4 and its addictive gameplay

what timezone does this gauntlet end?

Smilies are also addictive

 

[BlueRenner]

Er? When did the closing date get changed to February 9th? I could have sworn it ended on the 4th.. I haven't been playing for a week, and had been really quite puzzled why they hadn't released the winners...

Well, oops. Ah well.

- Bill