Catherine Cottage Spam

[Synex]

Ok, i finally got around to doing it:

http://synex.clan-hosts.net/sites/walkthru/walkthru.htm

Yes, thats right you lucky people... its a full walkthru (with pictures!! ) for Catherine Cottage Spam.

If you have any suggestions/improvements - as usual post them here.

Enjoy!

 

[Nials]

Ok, i finally got around to doing it:

http://synex.clan-hosts.net/sites/walkthru/walkthru.htm

Yes, thats right you lucky people... its a full walkthru (with pictures!! ) for Catherine Cottage Spam.

If you have any suggestions/improvements - as usual post them here.

Enjoy!

Good tutorial! Although I disagree with a few points such as starting an early war, more tech trading etc. it illustrates how you would play the CCS strategy fairly decently.

Two questions:

1) What are the two numbers you are showing in the upper-right corner of the screen where date and time is usually displayed?

2) How do you get leader names to show on the demographics screen?

 

[Synex]

Good tutorial! Although I disagree with a few points such as starting an early war, more tech trading etc. it illustrates how you would play the CCS strategy fairly decently.

Two questions:

1) What are the two numbers you are showing in the upper-right corner of the screen where date and time is usually displayed?

2) How do you get leader names to show on the demographics screen?

Both are small mods i installed for this walkthrough.

The upper right hand corner numbers are turns passed/total turns + percentage turns.

And the leader names on the demographic screen are part of a mod that shows your total beakers researched.

You'll also notice the Domestic Advisor screen looks different too.

Only downside is the Domestic Advisor mod royally screws the city-screen, making all the buttons not work and makes it slow as a dog!

Bleh :S

 

[Nials]

Both are small mods i installed for this walkthrough.

The upper right hand corner numbers are turns passed/total turns + percentage turns.

And the leader names on the demographic screen are part of a mod that shows your total beakers researched.

You'll also notice the Domestic Advisor screen looks different too.

Only downside is the Domestic Advisor mod royally screws the city-screen, making all the buttons not work and makes it slow as a dog!

Bleh :S

Do you remember what the mods are called?

 

[Moreknowledge]

It has been fun and knowledgeable reading your thread. I have tried your cottage spam strat and have seen a huge difference. Where can i download your saves please?

 

[chris.]

I used this strategy in a game (small, 5 players, Catherine (Russia), No barbs, Ancient start, Noble difficulty) and got pummled the first 2000 years or so. The French declared war on me and tried to wipe me out (but failed to even destroy 1 resource). Just as I was about to throw in the towel, massive tech and power surges starting happening around 1400 AD or so, giving me ridiculously good techs for small amounts of turns (took 32 turns for currency, but took 6 turns for things such as construction soon after. Many techs were 2 - 1 turns, giving me a huge advantage!) I then got grenadiers and cannons and wrecked havoc on Mansa Musa who just discovered gunpowder moments ago. By the end of the war, I had taken 4 of his cities over, and he had just discovered chemistry.


I had lost a game on Warlord difficulty the night before because I suck at this game, but put the new game on noble after I read this tip to see what it could do. I'm sure if I followed the instructions correctly, it would be even better, but I'm still pretty much owning everyone in tech. I also did a snatch and grab of all suitable land to attempt to set up a commerce city and a production city, which I didn't have much success with.

 

[mutax2003]

This strategy doesn't work as well now since Catherine is no longer financial. To get the maximum benefit cottage spamming, you can use one of the financial leaders.

 

[CivDude86]

Capac cottage spam is the closest I can come up with for Warlords (terrace is close replacement for creative and is industrious for grabbing Stonehenge).

 

[mutax2003]

Hmm, maybe someone can start a new thread, call it "Capac Cottage Spam". ^^

 

[ratrangerm]

I still have Vanilla CIV so I tried this strategy out earlier today. As everyone else has said, things start slowly but then things start to churn pretty well. I used a Liberalism/Democracy slingshot and changed all my civics then (Universal Suffrage, Free Speech, Emancipation, Free Religion) and things really took off from there. I was able to grab techs in four or five turns at 30-percent science! I was a little late in getting to starting war with my neighbors, though... will have to remember next time to pull the trigger a little sooner.

But it is a good strategy that shows you just how powerful cottages can be in the long run and how vital they are to your success.

 

[NaZdReG]

have you tried this with victoria?? fin/imp to help mash out the settlers.

NaZ

 

[CivDude86]

Would we call the BtS version of this strategy Clown Cottage Spam (referring to William)?

 

[dalamb]

In May 2006 Synex posted the URL http://synex.clan-hosts.net/sites/walkthru/walkthru.htm for his walkthrough of this strategy -- but the page seems no longer to exist and I couldn't find it through archive.org. Did anyone take a copy? Is Synex still around?

 

[Synex]

Wow... i was bored at work and remembered this thread so just popped on to see if it was still alive...

If anyone wants the saves email me at cbampton@ntlworld.com

In the mean time i'm looking for a new web host.

Synex

 

[dalamb]

Now that neither Qin nor Catherine is financial (in BtS), who's the best leader for this approach?

• Hannibal is Fin/Cha, with a UB (Cothon) that gives +1 trade routes. Doesn't directly fit into the cottage spam idea, but does generate extra commerce.
• Willem (Dutch) is Cre/Fin, like Catherine used to be, so maybe that makes him the natural heir? Thing is, he's said to be best on maps with lots of water, which means fewer spaces for cottages.
• Some of the previous rulers have changed -- for example, Victoria is Fin/Imp, which makes for faster expansion via faster settler production.

 

[Acidicjew]

I think the English empire works exceptionally well for this strategy. Elizabeth's Fin/Phi is good for both economics and producing those valuable great scientists to spread those academies to all your cities asap. Victoria on the other hand, as you mentioned, can spam settlers faster, which means you can capture more land and head for growth in shorter time than you otherwise would. And the UB fits rather nicely to our cash managing empire, another 15% wealth in every city from stock exchange can amount to a large sum. The UU is cute but i find that by then your research will be rocketing so fast they will soon be obsolete.

I had little experience with Willem but from my few games he is fairly cute for this strategy. He can do all that Cathy did, but also has an advantage in coastal cities. I tried pulling a coastal based economy with him a few times but didnt test it enough to say for sure if it is a valid option. Any input will be welcomed =)

 

[dalamb]

I intend to make a serious stab at the Dutch before too long (especially amusing since half my church is Dutch, some born in the Netherlands). I have a partly-completed game on an Islands map but someone else said Archipelago was better. Still, can't plant too many cottages on those water tiles!

 

[Acidicjew]

That was exactly my issue with the Dutch. A water based economy can get you a decent all around tile (some food, commerce and small amount of hammers from levee), and the availability of them might give you an easier start, but on the long run you are losing 4-5 commerce per tile that would otherwise be a town.

 

[Killroyan]

So here is my start, I'm going to bed though so I will pick up on it tomorrow...any suggestions on my land?

4000 BC:

Settled Moscow, Starting on Worker (15 Turns).
Quite a bit of Grassland, no animals or fishing resources so
I research Agriculture (9) in order to build a farm when my worker
is produced.

Strange starting position. Grassland with a hammer? Plains with 1 food/2 hammers/1 coin? Is this a change from BtS?

 

[MrFelony]

my guess is he is on the lowest graphics. somtimes it'll show a hill as a grassland or a jungle as a grassland even. i've been baffled when i had to reload a game and found that the forest in my bfc was actually a forested hill...sucks to be on the lowest graphics