The Great Artists keep coming. I generate Frank Frazetta as my latest Great Person.
Ollantayambo finishes the first World Project: the Encyclopedia. It grants any technology known by 5 other civilizations, which I don't expect to be able to use, and +15% science in all cities, which I really expect to be able to exploit.
With Steam Power, I can upgrade my escort Frigates to Iron Frigates. I've also upgraded my Galleons to Paddle steamers. Paddle steamers aren't any faster than Galleons, but they are much tougher.
Refining technology is next. I can now build Wells for Oil.
Some C2C buildings have potentially fatal drawbacks. For example, the Catacombs. This building requires a Castle and grants +10% gold to the building city. However, adjacent enemy units have a 10% chance per turn of discovering a secret entrance into the city, causing the units inside to defend in REVERSE order. The First Army discovers a secret entrance into Akkad, letting my strongest Riflemen take on Saladin's weakest units. I can smash the weakest units, then wait to let the strongest units take on the remainder on the next turn.
I extend my Golden Age from Taj Mahal by building Neuschwanstein in Vitcos. This gives me another 16 turns of Golden Age.
Since I have been careful with the Wonders I build, I have a National Wonder slot open in Cuzco, and I use it for the Ironworks. I'm restricting Cuzco to Engineer wonders to try and generate more Great Engineers.
I can actually finally start building Railroads. I forgot that in C2C, you need Steel (not Iron) to build rails, but the only way to get Steel is with a Steel Mill building, which replaces the Forge but requires power to break EVEN with its replacement, or the Ironworks wonder.
The fighting around Akkad generates another Great General: Napoleon I.
I research Semi-Automatic Weapons next. This allows me to build Machine Guns. I like MG's as guard units for my stacks. These armies only had about two guard units each (whatever heavily-defensive units I can find); I've since increased the number to four per stack.
I now set a few technological priorities: Artillery, then Automatic Weapons, then Amphibious Warfare, then Flight.
A couple of scoreboard notes: Brennus's French have been conquered, so they are a dead civilization, and there is a Native American Principality of Norwich on the list. The NA leader is Isabella. The Vikings that I defeated so long ago have actually been crowded off the scoreboard by the number of currently-living rivals. I guess the AI is even worse at putting down rebellions than it is at preventing them.
Huamanga gets into the Wonder business by building Magellan's Voyage. I don't have that long to really use it, though. It goes obsolete at Screw Propeller, which is fairly close by. It's on the path to Flight, so I will definitely lose it by then, if not sooner.
Akkad falls to the First Army.
Akkad is a major treasure trove: Stonehenge, the Pyramids, Angkor Wat, and the Glassblowers Master Guild headquarters. I am not going to raze this city.
I finish researching Artillery, but it doesn't let me build true Artillery units yet. I can build Light Artillery at this point. I will need Guerrilla Warfare for true Artillery, but I have several other technologies I need first.
Chuito builds the Arc de Triomphe. I'm not really concerned with what World Wonders Chuito gets, but its National Wonders have to be extremely well-chosen. At the same time, Lincoln builds the Hermitage. The Hermitage has been shifted to a World Wonder, but its effects haven't changed. I haven't needed much in the way of additional culture, so I didn't care about building it myself.
I love selling off Medieval technologies in the Industrial Era.
Assembly Line comes next. I can start industrializing my cities and really ramp up production, although the biggest jumps come with electrical power.
Another Great Artist: Johnny Clegg.
I research Stock Brokering as another step along the way to Automatic Weapons. It nets me about +50 gold/turn from increased trade route income.
Nasca builds the Brandenburg Gate. It acts as a mini-Pentagon, providing +1 XP for all my new units.
Marxism is a technology in C2C. I need this to lead into Labor Union. I can also build Police Stations. War weariness was a serious issue in this version of C2C. It's been toned down a lot in newer versions. You can see some of the effect in how my gold per turn has dropped since I started the war.
Tambo Colorado is the first city I build off my original continent. I kept the Portuguese city of Aveiro because I didn't want an AI settling too close to me, but this is the first city I deliberately went offshore to build.
Vitcos adds to the cash flow with Fort Knox.
The new Fourth Army, with Grenadiers and Light Artillery, has arrived in Babylonian lands. This screenshot is from a few turns later, so you can see what's about to happen to Babylon. The older armies have Riflemen and Cannons, but they have experienced Field-Commander Great Generals to help them out.
I research Labor Union next, because it is a prerequisite for Industrialism.
Rebellions are STILL going on. Mongkut (nominally Siamese) of Greece appears. I don't expect him to be a huge threat.
The Second, Third, and Fourth Armies have the city of Babylon caught between them. "Surround and Destroy" is a major feature of C2C that I like to exploit. It inflicts a strength penalty on opposing units for every adjacent tile you have occupied. With three armies, Babylon falls easily.
Babylon actually does not have any World Wonders, but it is the Hellenic holy city, so I decide to keep it.
Saladin has a second stack marching in, but I have enough troops in the area to meet them in battle while still garrisoning the captured cities.
Next time: A little song, a little dance.
RevDCM.
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I tried playing C2C myself yesterday, but it broke down.
