[BTS] BOTM116: First Spoiler to 1AD

[kcd_swede]

BOTM 116 - Eric Snowden (Sitting Bull) - First Spoiler to 1 AD

']http://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm116civ.JPG[/img][/URL]



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


Were you pre-game settling plans working out as you hoped?



Stop! If you are participating in BOTM 116, 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

• Please do not disclose ANY events or information gained post 1 AD.
• Please do not reveal your final result if that happened after 1 AD.
• Please 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

 

[georgjorge]

Long story short: I bit off more than I could chew.

From the start:

In some test games, I was disappointed that Dogs did badly against Archers in cities. Then I discovered that by going Bronze Working first I could actually attack with a Dog before the AI had Archery! So that's what I did. Leading to...



That Dog had to kill three Warriors to get there but he made it! Then he went on to kill another Warrior from Roosevelt, kill another Archer, and in the process take two more cities. And steal three workers. A super-Dog indeed!

Then I expanded peacefully for some time...and then a bit later I really wanted to get a religion and Stonehenge, both of which Cathy had, so I made about 10 Swords/Dogs and took her two cities. By 1100BC I had 9 cities, by 500BC 12.

The problem? I wanted a space victory...but I was COMPLETELY broke with all those cities (no city razing is evil). Conquest money allowed some research, and here I made a crucial mistake. I got Writing, Masonry and the Oracle techs to Oracle Aesthetics, planning to keep the economy going with a lot of wonder failgold (thanks WastinTime!). I got some failgold from Oracle as well. However, this doesn't work at all if THE AI IS TOO SLOW TO BUILD ANY WONDERS! At 1AD I surely have more than 1500 hammers invested into Temple of Artemis (plus some into Statue of Zeus/Pyramids/Parthenon/Shwedagon Paya). It only requires Polytheism! But nobody builds it, and so I can't research anything which would give me a way out of this crisis, like Currency or Code of Laws. I'm far too deep down in this hole to ever get a decent date. If I would have aimed for domination or conquest this would have been a great start, but as it is...

However, I find this game still to be a lot of fun. I like the setup! It's a pity that the espionage aspect of it doesn't really work, since AIs seem to spend their Great Spy immediately on a Golden Age on the first turn of the game (even the barbarians had one already!) instead of using it for an espionage advantage. Not that anyone would already have Alphabet of course...

 

[Rusten]

^If you're planning on going to space there's no reason for you not to finish the ToA yourself in a suitable city at a suitable time. While often used for fail gold it's still a decent wonder and can supply you with GPs for golden ages.

I'm not playing this one, so I'm not sure, but looking at your screenshots there will be a lot of landlocked cities. Not surprised to see the ToA not being built for a long time.

 

[georgjorge]

You're right that I should have built it myself. Not being familiar with Noble showed here, as I thought every turn "it surely is going to get built next turn, the AI can't wait THAT long". So I waited for far too long.

But what do landlocked cities have to do with Temple of Artemis being built or not?

 

[Rusten]

But what do landlocked cities have to do with Temple of Artemis being built or not?

No reason. Brainfart. It can be built anywhere.

 

[Livio]

Georgjorge, Bautrupp is dog soldier?

 

[georgjorge]

Nice one! The Bautrupp (Worker) could only watch in horror from his hill as the Dog who had enslaved him plowed through all those warriors in his hometown and made it his own.

As I mentioned above - it only takes one Dog to take three cities (and a few Workers). Why would I need to build more?

 

[Livio]

Nice one! The Bautrupp (Worker) could only watch in horror from his hill as the Dog who had enslaved him plowed through all those warriors in his hometown and made it his own.

As I mentioned above - it only takes one Dog to take three cities (and a few Workers). Why would I need to build more?

Aztekenreich, your resistence is futile...

 

[haphazard1]

I decided against early warring, although it is almost certainly the best way to go given the pre-set extreme dislike of the player by all the AIs. I just did not feel like playing an early rush, so peaceful expansion was attempted but with plenty of military units being trained to deter attack by the AIs. As of the AD transition the deterrence has worked, and all the units are now helping provide HR happiness so my cities can finally grow. The big military and grabbing too many cities (including a couple barb ones that very luckily (no city razing) popped up right on my dotmap) badly tanked my economy. But I got some city capture cash from the barb cities and that got me to Monarchy for HR, and with my cities growing out for library scientists and more and more cottages the economy is turning around rapidly.

I expect to consolidate my economy for a while, then start clearing out my neighbors with knights in the not too distant future. Finish date will be nothing of note, but I am enjoying the scenario. And all those cities the AIs planted in my face earlier are going to become mine -- thanks for building them up for me, guys!