[BTS] BOTM 186 Justinian - First Spoiler 1 AD

Deckhand

Procrastination at its finest
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BOTM 186: Justinian, Deity or Noble, First Spoiler - 1AD



Use this thread to tell us what happened in your game, up to 1AD?

Which save did you take?
If Deity, do you think you can win? Are you going to continue your game?

Where did you settle?
With more map knowledge, do you think some locations so much better as to affect the competition?

How is your game going?
What difficulties, pleasantries have you encountered?

Reading Requirements
If you are participating in BOTM 186, then you MUST NOT read this thread unless EITHER
  • You have reached at least 1 AD in your game, OR
  • You have submitted your entry

Posting Restrictions
  • Do not disclose ANY events or information gained post 1 AD.
  • Do not reveal your final result if that happened after 1 AD.
  • Do not discuss the location of resources that may not show up before 1 AD (Iron is OK, coal and oil are not).
  • Do not post any savegame file from the game. Discussions and screenshots are fine but not actual games.
 
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I took the Noble save and settled on the marble, which turned out to be a very nice spot for a capital city, indeed, particularly after the CS-sling let me switch to Bureaucracy.

Boudica attacked Gandhi in 335 BC. I attacked Boudica and took a border city, but then I noticed a significant stack approaching for a counterattack, so I took some gold for a peace treaty. I have eight cities at 5 BC, and I'm on the verge of researching guilds, which will let me build cataphracts. After that, I'll resume the offensive and aim for conquest.
 
Really lovely map!
Haven't really played this map script that much, but I'll sure play it more in the future.
Barbs really where fierce, and that added alot to the fun. :)
Spoiler :


I moved up on the gold to scout, and if 1 gold is good enough, 2 is sure enough and 3 is just massive overkill. :)
Second city down by the fish.
After copper turned a no-show, and I lost a warrior in the east seeing 2 barb archers and 1 barb warrior... I went straight for archery, postponing fishing.
Being alive > having good development.
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A barb city spawned, and I was planning on chopping out a oracle to conquer it by culture. But the turn I reach priesthood oracle is built in a distant land...
But I don't despair, a new plan is set in motion. GLH on a highlands map! <3
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Settling one more city 1N of the rice, and getting that barb city will give me 5 coastal cities, makes sense to build GLH then, especially since there didn't seem to be any competion what so ever (everyone wanted my fish/clam/crab. (Nice trio btw!)
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Did I say barbs where fierce...? Look at that kill count. :)
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I get a city, and a barracks for free too. :)
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At drama, I spend a turn at 70% culture, the small cities got to work unimproved coast too, that gave me borderpops everywhere.
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GLib in the city with GLH, I'll put national epic here.
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And I chopped parthenon too, got almost 500 failgold from other cities too.
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Got the Music artist, and built the MoM too. The AIs doesn't seem that keen on building wonders it seems.
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A chariot was holding out near a lovely barb city, but Hammy was approaching with a sword, so I decided to take a risk after gilgamesh suicided two chariots.
(I died ofcourse.)
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Spoiler T117 Situation :


I got a very tight but nicely developed "Mare Nostrum" empire. Just reached CS and swapped to bur+caste+paci. Holding research now and hoping for a GSci to build an academy (first GSci bulbed philosophy).
Whipped abit before leaving OR/Slavery, probably a mistake, I'm not that used to SPI it seems. But overflow will be nice.
Building Heroic+National and Sistine in alot of cities for failgold.
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Foreign Trade is pulling alot of the economic weight.
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Tech is looking really nice.
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Diplo is nice, a total lovefest.
Gandhi double-dipped by starting with meditation and then polytheism. (topping it off with monotheism later on) so everyone is hindu.
Not sure if it was Gandhi or Hammy who got christianity, but Zara got confu, so there might be some action later on, but not likely.

only Zara+Gigles plots at pleased. So cruising for a culture or diplomatic victory should be very much doable.
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Boudi will probably redeclare on Gandhi at some point, but other than that there isn't likely to be much action.
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Only me and Giggles has our own marble, weird. I see marble all over the map.
All AIs have iron.
I'm thinking that I would trade for copper and build the colossus later, which will be a superb wonder and I don't have any competition for it, it seems.
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Have laid down 4-5 cottages in the capital, but I'm not too certain that burocracy and academy is the way to go here tbh..
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Overview:
Peaceful ending is very much possible. But the AIs are really piling up the cities. Still have the option to reorient to a cuir breakout here, with 12T golden ages and parthenon/GLib getting great people should be super easy.
Fish/Iron city will be equipped with a heroic, and could build alot of HAs for later upgrade.
Gandhi is soft, and his shrine will be an absolute moneybag.
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Whoa, nice work Krikav! :thumbsup:
I love your Fish/Iron/Future Heroic Epic city, and your capital spot really opened up settling 5 more cities around that sea perfectly.
You share the world religion, so you can go in any direction you want against the Deity AI.




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I settled on Marble with the Deity save and had a hell of a time with barbs.
I got a Tachywaxon wall built up north with Warriors clogging every chokepoint so barbs had no paths to my cities from the north.
So the barbs went around and attacked from the west and south.
Lost a battle at decent odds.
Spoiler :

Tried to suicide an Archer to inflict some damage, but lost 2 Warriors which slowed Oracle down.
Went for Oracle->Alphabet because even at 2080BC none of the Deity AI had Writing!
Spoiler :




Then I lost a Warrior+my 2nd Worker which really slowed the Oracle down. :cry:
The missing Worker starting from 1840BC had nothing but negative effects for the rest of the game. :sad:
Spoiler :



Note that Krikav's game had the Oracle go in 1880BC, so I could have missed it very easily and been really mobbed by barbs without Archery.
Teching Archery 1st like Krikav around 2600BC is a much safer move than Oracle beeline as my entire game could have easily collapsed on a map where I knew barbs would be a problem.
Losing a hilltop city to barb Archers without an easy way to get it back is heart breaking, so an Oracle failure would have meant trying to tech Archery immediately.

I built Oracle almost complete in my capital in 2140BC for fail gold, then completed it in my 2nd city in 1720BC after much barb interference.
Each turn after 1900BC I was holding my breath pressing next turn!
Finally, after trading for Archery things stabilized.
Spoiler :




I tried to convert Ethiopia to my religion early, but failed to beat the tide of Judaism.
Zara will only agree to switch religions at Friendly.

========================
It is 1AD, and I have a Great Scientist ready to bulb Philosophy if I want.
Hopefully in 1 more turn I can confirm Music and get the Great Artist for Golden age.
Capital has Great Library+National Epic+Academy, so I haven't gone too heavy on the wonders.
Spoiler :



Celtics started the war with India, I joined later, and Zara got bribed in recently with Civil Service.
Should have the big 3 AI to the west Friendly with me as soon as Babylon gets a (Liberated) city, so after I vassal India I will go after Celts with hammer and tongs.

Feels like I am behind the pace with only 4 Workers hehe.
Just now hooked up some Iron.
I also swallowed my pride and am building Great Lighthouse now that I have 50% production bonus in capital and the 2 extra trade routes are now 3:gold: instead of 2.
Will be switching in and out of my religion when needed for monopoly trades.
Don't really have a good candidate for Heroic Epic city.
 
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I'm playing the Noble save. It's hard to say how Noble difficulty + Diety units maps to an actual difficulty level, but I would guess just a little short of Monarch.
The early expansion of the other civs really hemmed me in earlier than expected. I settled on the Marble for my capital, and proceeded to put 3 more cities around our tiny inland sea.

Spoiler Empire Map :
upload_2019-12-8_13-48-54.jpeg


I have a Settler headed north to pick up Iron, so by 1 AD I had 5 cities. Even on the Noble save, I had more trouble with barbs than expected. Lost a lot of improvements at one point or another. Mostly because I ignored Archery for longer than I should have. :nono:

I had finished CS by 1AD, and was planning to beeline Guilds and use Cataphracts to take some cities from Zara and maybe Ghandi. Boudica is stockpiling units right now, so I'll probably leave her alone for now.
 
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