[BTS] BOTM 274: Catherine, Emperor - First Spoiler to 1AD

[kcd_swede]

BOTM 274: Catherine, Emperor - First Spoiler - 1AD



Catherine of Russia, tell us how you are doing!
Use this thread to tell us what happened in your game, up to 1AD Is the Trans-Siberian Railroad useful or harmful to your goals?

Reading Requirements
If you are participating in BOTM 274, 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

 

[nocho]

I went SE/SW with the scout and as it didn't show anything of interest, decided to settle 1NE, hoping for something more than just the cow and pig. Sugar and wine was not quite what I hoped for, but not unhappy with the spot. Kind of a tough game anyhow, with little happiness and commerce around. I've been planting quite some cottages to keep afloat, but tech isn't very advanced with Currency a turn away and Aesthetics the only other tech of note. The bright side is that I've just conquered Pacal's capital with swords and axes, at least crippling him for now and of course to annex him in the short/medium run. Currently 9 cities and 46 pop. No wonders, but building the mids, either for fail gold or the happy cap. Calendar should help with happy too in a not too distant future.

The transsiberian railline is a nice touch, I think it mainly helped to meet the AIs a bit sooner than usual.

 

[Conquistador 63]

My game to 1AD is similar to @nocho 's in some ways.
I also settled 1NE, and had to rely on riverside cottages for commerce. At 1AD we also have exactly 9 cities (3 taken from barbs) and 46 pop.
We are finishing the Mids this turn in a auxiliary city to the west, although it won't do us much good short term, as there isn't a lot of food surplus to run specialists yet (most freshwater grass tiles have been cottaged). At least we had stone to make it cheaper.
The prebuilt transsiberian transamazonic railroad was nice, with so many early contacts, we kinda beelined Alpha. Can't recall the last time I got Agri from trade!

Turn 87/500 (700 BC) [11-Jun-2024 17:54:37]
Tech traded to Montezuma (Aztec): Writing
Tech acquired (trade, lightbulb, hut, espionage): Mysticism
Tech acquired (trade, lightbulb, hut, espionage): Agriculture
Tech traded to Roosevelt (America): Writing
Tech acquired (trade, lightbulb, hut, espionage): Sailing
Tech traded to Washington (America): Alphabet
Tech acquired (trade, lightbulb, hut, espionage): Iron Working


I did attack Pacal early twice, but only for worker stealing and pillaging once I got axemen. But at 1AD I just declared again, this time with a nice stack of cats, swords and axes, to get rid of him for good. Luckily he has only HC as his hindu friend, everyone else including us has adopted Monty's buddhism.

@kcd_swede nice touch making us play as a Russian leader in an all-American world!

 

[MarleysGh0st]

I went with my plan to settle Moscow on the PH 2NW, and I was pretty happy with that decision. (Even happier later, when silver was randomly discovered in a mine next to the city, and when iron was revealed in my fat cross.) St. Petersburg went on the other PH to the SW. Then, after discovering that the railroad ran through the jungle, I REXed in that direction to grab as much of that as I could, which resulted in a drag on my economy/research. Early on, I think a wolf took a ride on the railroad, but my biggest disappointment was when a barb razed one square of it. (No, it will take me thousands of years to repair that!)

I built the Pyramids in 350 BC and switched to Representation, which helps with my happiness and gives me a little research boost. Seven cities at 1 AD, and all is peaceful, although Sitting Bull is plotting, with Monty as his worst enemy.

 

[Frederiksberg]

A very resource poor map indeed. I settled on the plains hill to the NW and expanded very conservatively due to the lack of food and commerce. Built the GLH in the capital. Sitting Bull beat me by one turn in capturing a barb city to the north so expansion options were closing fast. For this reason I beelined Construction and in the late BC's attacked Pacal. So far I have captured two cities, including his capital, with Stonehenge and the Hindu shrine. I have a sizeable stack of catapults, and soon some war elephants will be joining. Should be easy to eliminate him and maybe even continue on offense against either the Americans to the north or Sitting Bull. Hopefully, the capture gold and the shrine will enable me to get to Currency and CoL. These are always fundamental to supporting a larger empire.

@1AD I have 8 cities and 37 pop and tech is only at Construction/Horseback Riding.

EDIT: Forgot to mention the railway. It had a lot of unsavoury, club wielding, non paying customers of the barb kind in the early days. It was like: "Don't take the train unless you bring the bigger axe." Later the barbs even set up a city on the railroad line and in the following skirmishes the rails were destroyed at a certain point. For hundreds of years it was beyond the grasp of our best craftsmen to repair this damage.

 

[antimony]

Also settled on the plains hill NW of cow, 2nd city on stone further NW (since it can work crab and gets instant coastal trade route with capital), 3rd city north of capital with river and horses (and the railroad!), 4th city southeast with deer and fur. Tech path was AH-Fishing-Wheel-Pottery-BW, reflecting the sense that commerce and not production was the limiting factor early on. BW and 4th city in 2000 BC. Given the mediocre food and commerce situation, but plenty of forests available to chop, I also opted for an early rush, going HBR after BW and had a dozen horse archers to attack Washington by 900 BC. Without Writing and open borders it was a bit going in blind, but he seemed the most vulnerable AI compared to PRO Sitting Bull, or Pacal and his resourceless spears. Took 3 cities from Washington (razed his other 2) and 2 from barbs (razed 1). With conquest gold and cheap libraries I got to Alpha and Currency to free up my slider, then Calendar, and then on a beeline towards Guilds (by 1 AD I'm missing most of Machinery and Feudalism). 9 cities and 48 pop, with 10th city and last before knights to be founded next turn.

Railroad wasn't pillaged around my part of the map, which I suppose is lucky based on the other posts.