Blid-01- A ring to rule them all

[blid]

Defense in Cuzco is down, 7 defenders and 6 attackers from Mansa. Wait. Huayna plays before Mansa so when Mansa attacks , Huayna hasn't time to heal his forces and we will finish him.

After Printing Press i want research economics, free market is good for our economy and free market is Mansa's favorite civic. Except this, if we only research a part of it, Huayna will offer us the rest when we make peace with him. Research it till Huayna is willing to give the rest for peace. In meantime research something else. Hope this makes sense for you

Asperge, I like the idea of making HC finance the rest of economics. But not before taking his last coastal city. I'd rather not take another -1 with Hatty for another war declaration on HC.
At the moment, Hatty is running mercantilism and maybe Mansa too. So free market won't help much and is not urgent

 

[armstrong]

At the moment, Hatty is running mercantilism and maybe Mansa too. So free market won't help much and is not urgent

Mercantilism only affects incoming trade routes, not outgoing... if you run it, you can provide trade routes to others, but you can't receive the benefits of them yourself. So, it doesn't matter if your spiritual buddies are mercantilists, you can still get trade routes from 'em. That being said, since you have all coastal cities and the Great Lighthouse, it's only increasing trade routes from 4 to 5...

G'luck Once you finish off HC, you only need about about 6 cities left to complete the ring! Unfortunately, they're Gandhi & Hatty's...

 

[SpriteSODA]

LoL they need to win the game too you know=P

 

[angeleyes]

@blid, i don't want to make peace with HC before taking his last coastal city either, but after we have razed Cuzco and taken his last coastal city, it would be nice if he has really something to offer us, and that's probably not a whole tech.


Our world at night....

(kikinit, i'm doing something wrong. EDIT: thanks, it's only to big now)

 

[Kikinit]

Asperge, first up, I recommend signing up for a free account at www.photobucket.com to put your pics on. I've been using it for months and it's been great and let's you store a huge amount of screenies.

Until you've done that try using the upload file link at the very bottom of the screen. You then have to put [IMG]http://(the link)[/IMG] . It seems the link you've provided there is broken.

 

[Thrar]

Mercantilism only affects incoming trade routes, not outgoing... if you run it, you can provide trade routes to others, but you can't receive the benefits of them yourself. So, it doesn't matter if your spiritual buddies are mercantilists, you can still get trade routes from 'em.

since patch 1.61, that's not true any more. Mercantilism now shuts down trade routes in both directions.

Also, switching to an AI's favorite civic only gives you diplomacy bonuses when the AI civ in question is using that civic itself. In this case, then, no bonuses for you (yet).
All it does right now is provide some more trade routes with Asoka (if he can provide more), or internal ones.


Good luck with the rest of the ring, I'm back to quiet lurking now...

 

[sooooo]

Once we've razed and pillaged Cuzco and taken Ollyantambo (sp?), there's no rush to get peace. We can keep pillaging until WW becomes too high or until a significant counter attack comes in. As long as we get peace before MM takes every other town that's fine.

I'd like to see that spot settled soonish.

Also, we seem to have a lot troops in Lyons and Libyan. Those can probably head towards Ollyantambo straight away.

Are you planning a report KK or should we carry on?

EDIT: We'll probably need cavs and rifles to take Asoka down. I'd like to get replacable parts next to lumbermill those forests near our Heroic Epic city.

 

[Kikinit]

First of all, sorry for holding things up with the report. I've got a lot of things going on in RL at the moment, particularly with work.

Here's a picture of Machu Picchu before we took it with Asoka's lands in the back. Now that sooooo's taught us all how to take nice pictures, we'll have to post a few more nice postcards.

The turns were nothing too special. I made a bit of a as I didn't change to Free Religion until right near the end of my turns. Sorry about that, I wrote it down in my notes and did it the first time I loaded the save but then didn't save it and when I reloaded, I played the first turn again and forgot.

(0)-1450AD - Cancel the Dye for Sheep with Asoka
(1)-1460AD - Sparta: Grenadier -> Courthouse. I looked at our finance screen here and as we have a lot of troops in enemy territory our expenses are quite hight. I thought courthouses would be useful to reduce our expenses a bit. We can't really afford too much more military before our economy grinds to a halt as we are about to take a few more cities too.
(2)-1470AD - HC moves out with a settler from his capital and straight towards our stack. I take them out and get another worker. Maybe we should disband a couple to reduce our expenses. I was struggling to find anything for the ones we've got to do.
(3)-1480AD - Moving through the cultural borders takes sooooo long.
(4)-1490AD - Lyons: Cat -> Harbor
Umm.. didn't see any messages about HC's city getting taken but it's gone from the map now... don't know how I missed that.
(5)-1500AD - Couple of boats would be handy to move our troops a bit faster for taking the future coastal cities and it will also help us to get from one side of our empire to the other in a hurry. Something to think about. Nothing else to do this turn.
(6)-1505AD - Tatriz: Lighthouse -> Forge. Just realised that these are half price for us and we should be building them in every city.
Battle of Machu Picchu
Odds aren't great for the first battles as it's a city on hill with longbows CGII and they are awesome on city hills as all the defensive bonuses are cumulative.
1st Cat withdraws. Does no damage to the LB. Bit of collateral of course.
2nd Cat dies with no damage to the LB.
CR2 Grenadier doesn't even scratch the LB.!!!!!
CR2 Grenadier loses at 69%.....
Grenadier finally wins against longbow.
Grenadier wins against Mace.
Couple of cleanups then and it's ours. Bit painful but a positive is it helps our expenses. Trouble is the loss of experienced guys hurts most.
(7)-1510AD - Paris: Uni -> Bank
Orleans: Grenny -> Bank
MM's GA is over.
And the Iron is ours again.
(8)-1515AD - A HC Knight attacks Machu and beats our fortified musketeer... grrrr. Had to have been bad RNG luck for us there... but it happens.
(9)-1520AD - Knight attacks again without healing thankfully this time he loses.
Ning-Hsia: Library -> Bank
Rheims: Granary -> Lighthouse
(10)-1525AD - Defenses in Cuzco are reduced to 0 but we should wait until the next turn to sacrifice a cat or 2 and make it easy.

On last pic of the situation at Cuzco. We'll get it no problem esp. with the idea of asking MM to attack it with the troops he's got together with our stack.

You've got the save already so I won't post it again. Not really a very interesting report so sorry again to make you wait so long.

 

[angeleyes]

I'll play and report within 24 hours.

 

[blid]

Asperge already posted his got it. But this is a roster to welcome the new member frankcor :

Fellowship:

blid
Kikinit -- just played
Asperge -- UP
soooo -- On deck
frankcor

acidsatyr -- autoskip

 

[angeleyes]

This were the most satisfying turns of my short sg-carriere

1525 AD: Whip court in Tours as suggested.
Think we make to little use of our watertiles. change that. Better 3 gold than 1 hammer (at the moment).
Little army in Lyons > front.
Cuzco: wait before the storm...

1530 AD: Machu Picchu: musketeer defeats attacking knight,
Tiwanaku captured by Mansa forces,
Tours > lighthouse,
Cuzco: defending forces are heavily wounded by Mansa
battle of Cuzco: grenadier (97,3%) dies to longbow
grenadier (97,3%) beats longbow,
grenadier (100%) kills longbow,
grenadier (100%) kills catapult,
maceman (100%) kills longbow > Cuzco destroyed
WW > +3 , whip theatre in Lyon,
New city build on spot.

1535 AD : WW +4
delete 3 workers
do some pillaging with a spearman in mongol area > +31 gold

1540 AD: We get Printing Press > replaceble parts
decide to build Forbidden Palace in Tabriz (near egyptland), not perfectly placed for it but this way we get it soon (12 turns),
We have spices ready in our new city

1545 AD: BIG SURPRISE ... While entering to next turn i see from the edge of my left eye that our science goes from 40 % (-13) to 40% (+17), knowing that not one bank of other building was finished this turn. Not untill 2 turns later i realize Hatsheput has adopted free market. Oh sweet sweet Hatsheput, what a pity we have to kill you later on ....

I feel safe at the front with forces of Mansa everywhere..
Whip bank in Orleans.

1550 AD: 3 HC-catapults attacking my army in the forest, only collateral damage,
Mansa asked for help (PP), refuse (-3),
Banks in Paris and Orleans. Science slider 50% (+14),
Paris > grocer, Orleans > grenadier

1555 AD:
Machu Picchu finally get rid of resistance but..: 7x > whip theatre
Troops approach Ollantaytambo (last coastal city of HC

1560 AD: Whip lighthouse in Machu Picchu, situation now stable, it has already 15 gold from trade only
Move attacking forces at Ollantaytambo accross the river, most catapult stay at the wrong side.

1565 AD: battle of Ollantaytambo ? no i wait 1 turn more, 4 Mansa-knights are ready to do them severe harm,

1570 AD: another incan city destroyed by Mansa,
defenders at Ollantaytambo hurt
Asoka completes Tai Mahal

battle of Ollantaytambo: catapult > collateral damage , dies
grenadier (93,7%) kills longbow
grenadier (93,8%) kills maceman,
maceman (99%) kills longbow,
musketeer (99%) kills longbow > City is ours !, rice and pigs within reach ! HC is driven away from the coast, has only one city left, i ring him up and he comes with a surprise...he wants to pay the rest of replaceble parts (834 bucks) if we make peace with him. I really wanted to wait with this for sooooo ( i'm always the peacemaker) but this is to good for us.
EDIT: make peace with HC who has only one city left.

Steel > 0 % , sooooo may decide what he wants to research next

1575 AD : grenadires do some pillaging

 

[blid]

Excellent Asperge
We got what we want from HC. Let's consolidate economy a bit before the next battle. We need at least cannons for that

That jump in trade routes was really huge

Concerning extortion, I am afraid if we wait too much, HC will die before we can extort anything from him. If I am not missing something, he has only one city left, and in this case Mansa will send all the units there
U can check the situation but don't wait till it's too late

Fellowship:

blid
Kikinit
Asperge -- just played
soooo -- UP
frankcor -- On deck

acidsatyr -- autoskip

 

[Kikinit]

Nicely done Asperge. I agree with blid. If we can get that tech, let's take it while he's still alive.

How are we going to deal with Mansa? He together with us control over 1/2 the map now. Once he starts to get his cities developed he's going to start to be unstoppable. It can be seen by the demands that he's making of us that we could be in his sights eventually. Maybe we have to work out a way to deal with him sooner rather than later.

 

[SpriteSODA]

Just a comment guys - I'm pretty sure that workers doesnt cost upkeep.

 

[Kikinit]

I was pretty sure they do. Even missionaries cost upkeep (so I thought). It could be tested in worldbuilder I guess.

 

[sooooo]

Nice turns. Will HC give us nationalism? That would probably be better than RP because we've researched most of that tech already (2 turns left!).

I'll play tomorrow. Will try to do something about the economy, but won't completely halt grenadier builds. Unfortunately, the land we are forced to settle isn't so ameanable to cottages. We also don't have a GP farm. Therefore I fear we will be overtaken in tech towards the end of the game. I don't think we can afford to wait too long before the next war.

 

[angeleyes]

There seems to be some misunderstanding, i did make peace with HC, it was not possible to extort a whole tech, and he has only one city left (Vilcabamba,> second screenshot), that Mansa i fear within a few turns will raze (unless we bribe Mansa to make peace with HC but that will cost us liberalism...). We earned 834 beakers with it , and our financial situation is good enough to make more grenadiers and later cannons. Asoka has already rifles, so we need grenadiers and cannons against him.

 

[sooooo]

Sorry, my mistake. If he has rifles already then we need to take him down before he upgrades them to infantry . I guess cavs are not so useful against rifles so you're right about grenadiers and cannons.

 

[angeleyes]

I was pretty sure they do. Even missionaries cost upkeep (so I thought). It could be tested in worldbuilder I guess.

I just deleted a few workers in our last save and it saves indeed money.


@sooooo: make two workboats for clam and fish for our new city's. Mansa will give us 15gold/turn for our only clam, and he's already almost broke .. .

 

[sooooo]

I played 10 builder turns. They didn't take too long - just as well because the world cup game is due to start in 15 minutes.

This guy is worrying:



He's going to get infantry soon. Our only hope is to knock him out with cannons ASAP.

We have hit the WFYHBTA limit with him and also with Hatty. MM will trade with us but he's broke. I sell clams to MM for 15 GPT as suggested.

He are so far behind in tech because our food-poor cities cannot build enough cottages. Thankfully, the cities we just captured have plenty of floodplains so I cottaged over their farms.

Could we not have deleted workers AFTER we needed to build 1 billion lumbermills?

The incas are dead - MM razed their last city.

Mainly focussed on infra builds. Steel is due next turn at which point nearly every city should switch to cannons. I build a few more grenadiers and I think we have enough now. I researched at 60-70% which is quite good. Reduced it to 40% on the last turn because I value the cash more than the overflow and steel is still due in 1 turn. We need cash to upgrade our cats to cannons. Demanded 90 gold from Genghis (remember him?).

I think we should get MM to help us with the asoka war. He can't afford to keep any more cities but has an army twice as large as anyone else. Hopefully he'll agree to it for steel. Remember he'll be more likely to agree once we've declared.

A worrying screen:



The ring:



We're in trouble. Good luck Blid.