Civ V Beta 1

1750 win here (turn 260 AD). 9 turns slower than Neuro, which I might try to beat at another time. I thought I easily had him after my Cristo went up, but then I realized I estimated the number of Social Policies I needed incorrectly (Didn't realize you need to unlock 30, not 25 policies!). Other note is that there were only 3 Culture CS in my game. That really sucked.

Anyway, my opening was very similar to everyone else here. Stonehenge->Great Library->Oracle is the main idea. I built a second city though, which is why I may have been slightly slower than Neuro. However, instead of taking Civil Service with my free tech I took Theology, and used my first few Great Scientists to bulb up to Acoustics. Meanwhile I researched up to Steel on the bottom which allowed me to upgrade my 2 starting warriors to Longswordsman + 1 Swordsman gifted from a CS, and started conquering my continent with 3 Longswordsman. Took over a good portion of my Continent when I decided to be lazy and said that was good enough, when I probably should've finished my continent off since there's no penalty for being in war, and on the plus side I would've spawned some more Great Generals for Golden Ages. My empire was largely fueled by buying out all the City States, after unlocking the 1st 3 in Patronage.

I didn't realize how powerful the Cristo Redentor trick was so I only started saving once I was relatively close to it. I might've shaved a few turns had I stopped after getting 4 in Patronage (I think the science boost is the last must have).

My policies went Tradition->33%Wonder Saving -> Patronage -> all Patronage except for the Happiness one -> Freedom. Took Order as my 5th tree, since I wanted the extra 5 hammers, because I thought I was going to be production locked instead of culture locked in the end. I was incorrect, and still had to wait like 5-10 turns after finishing the Sydney Opera House before I could start on the Utopia Project.
 

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Oh damn, 10 pages already.

Btw possibly stupid question : would not it be better to have everyone start with the same savegame to remove any map specific advantages?
 
Oh damn, 10 pages already.

Btw possibly stupid question : would not it be better to have everyone start with the same savegame to remove any map specific advantages?

That is a different competition.

Game of the Month (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=382199) currently has a game going with Rome where you download the starting save and play.

Gauntlets have always been everyone starts with the same TYPE of game but part of the challenge is finding a start that works for you.

I like to play them both. Games of the Month are a fantastic learning tool because you can compare your game closely to what the great players do and HoF games are fun because they give a bit of focus when I don't really know what I want to do and they still are good learning tool although I think GotM slightly better for that purpose.

Edit: Be careful if you go to the GotM forum for the first time. They have separate threads for spoilers and don't want posts in the thread I linked after you start the game save. :)
 
There can not be any "stacks of doom", but how can there by two archers in one city. So the city and two archers firing on my units in the presence of a Great General?

I wanted to take a screenshot of it, but when I paste the print screen in paint :mischief: it gives me a black screen. Is there an easy way to do this?
 
3rd attempt, turn 279, 1818. This time with two cities, not one. This time saving up too many techs for Cristo Redentor. This time with a reload in the middle, too. :(

Discovered that with the early conquering of a continent, the piety tree is a complete waste to take early. All the extra happy cap did was make my empire slightly more populous while still hovering at 0 happiness, so no bonus culture. Researching for Colosseums is very important, I did it relatively late, but that's the key to getting the puppet economy to start rolling. Until then there's not enough happiness to support growth, so less gold-producing tiles being worked, so no money for bribing city-states.

I think with another good start and the lessons of the first three games, a sub 1700 win is doable with a little luck. But I'm not trying for at least a week, time to set my own pseudo-gauntlet challenge for those interested and to let us look at other types of game, something large & epic speed I think.
 

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Well...my time would have been pretty good a couple days ago. I can definitely do better than 1947, but I don't see myself finishing before 1800 lol.
 

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Edit: Be careful if you go to the GotM forum for the first time. They have separate threads for spoilers and don't want posts in the thread I linked after you start the game save. :)

No I am not new to it, used to play these here (was it called the noble club at some point? we played harder mode games but the noble name stuck around).. It was a long time ago so my memory is a bit shaky, but I do remember the rules etc.

Thanks for linking that, I wasn't aware it started already. :)

Quick / urgent question : To get the single city achievement, can I simply play with one city or do I have to enable the "single city challenge/mode" in advanced options when I start the game? I am already 70 turns into the gauntlet and I want to make it a single city because it is working well for me.
 
Okay I played thru and managed a Victory I did a 4 city set up and was completly peaceful save for the barbarians.

Also I spent my points as I got then instead of banking to see if it was possible. Except when i actually building the Christo Rendentor and that was banking for like three turns.
Started off quickly got my two cities then I Built Stonehenge, Great Library, and The Oracle in Mecca.

I found the price of Policy was determined number of policies you actually paid for example when I built the Oracle the current policy I was working for was 395 had three cities after getting my free policy the cost did not jump up to 555 till I actually paid for a policy. So IMO if your going for a cultural victory you might want to save the two free policies for later.

Here are the cost I saw as I was doing the play thru

One City

Policy 1 -- 25
Policy 2 -- 45

Two Cites

Policy 2 -- 55 Price changed as soon as I planted City
Policy 3 -- 120
Policy 4 -- 205
Policy 5 -- 320

Three Cities

Policy 5 -- 395 Once again Price changed as soon as I planted City
Policy 6 -- 555

Four Cities

Policy 6 -- 660 Once again Price changed as soon as I planted City
Policy 7 -- 885
Policy 8 -- 1135
Policy 9 -- 1415
Policy 10 -- 1720
Policy 11 -- 1535 (I got the 25% reduction in cost in freedom)
Policy 12 -- 1800
Policy 13 -- 2080
Policy 14 -- 2380
Policy 15 -- 2695
Policy 16 -- 3025
Policy 17 -- 3370
Policy 18 -- 3735
Policy 19 -- 4110
Policy 20 -- 3000 (I Built Christo Redentor butt until then price was 4505)
Policy 21 -- 3275
Policy 22 -- 3555
Policy 23 -- 3845
Policy 24 -- 4145
Policy 25 -- 4455
Policy 26 -- 4775
Policy 27 -- 5105


So breaking out the calculator it looks like for every city the net cost of policies goes up 20% per city you have. So It can be done without banking you influence but what your going to have to decide as they improve the AI is first do you want to shave some turns off or get the benefits of the having the policies. Now the other thing your going to have to balance is size of your empire, yes it increases the cost by 20% per building but you can eventually make up for it by all the infleuence generating building you have. For those who do want more cities it is greatly beneficial that you put a Wonder in every city because after you get the policy for 100% increase if there is a wonder present makes up for what you loosing by having the extra city.
 

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So hopefully this works, new to the HOF approach, looks like there are some impressive scores going up while I played mine. I went with a one city approach and almost got served twice by Askia. 2003 I think was my last turn. So I was pondering the war monger approach. Maybe I'll give that a go, sounds like fun!
 

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I found the price of Policy was determined number of policies you actually paid for example when I built the Oracle the current policy I was working for was 395 had three cities after getting my free policy the cost did not jump up to 555 till I actually paid for a policy. So IMO if your going for a cultural victory you might want to save the two free policies for later.

If the free policies caused the cost for the next to jump, then you'd want to save it as late as possible. Because the free techs don't make the cost increase, then it doesn't matter when you grab them. Whether it's your very first policy free from the Oracle, or your 30th, you still end up paying full price for 27 policies.
 
Won in 1866 (turn 303) in my 2nd play. Somewhat disappointed as I felt I played well. I really underestimated the power of rivers and great people. I did not build my capital along a river but did along a coast. I was near a lot of wheat and marble and a couple hills which is what I wanted. I also built my capital on a hill. So between both of those things I didn't get to buy a windmill or buy a hydro plant and ended up using one of my other cities for producing the Utopia Project. I think these are the factors for the ideal starting capital (in order of importance):

A) be near a river
B) at least 1 hill adjacent with a few forests/hills within your 3 hex radius
C) has a wheat immediately adjacent
D) marble nearby
E) another luxury resource nearby, preferably wine
F) build on a desert spot or adjacent to one
G) do not build on your capital on a hill


I would have liked one of my starting cities to have been near a mountain too for me to build Machu Pichu but money really wasn't an issue. I bought pretty much every building from mid industrial age on.

I also didn't get any maritime city states until mid game and that really slowed down my teching. I conquered my continent about midway through the game using 4 camel archers and 1 horsemen. I razed maybe 1 city. With an improved starting spot, a better map, and closer proximity to maritime city states I certainly think I could shave off 30 turns.

My tech build order was pretty standard except I got Masonry a little earlier. I built 5 warriors which was dumb. I tried to take an early city state and failed, settling for a worker from them. I don't think you need units besides the first scout until you get horsemen. Also I think it's important not to take any of the bottom techs until you really need to. This way the puppet states will not build them and will generally produce libraries, colosseums, monuments, and temples.

I doubt I will play this a 3rd time because the AI is just too easy to game on Prince. But it was a fun first gauntlet for me as I never did them in Civ 4!
 

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I experiment with Wu on the earth map using the 2 city idea and had them producing 281 and 113 CPT. Got 6 artists from the CSs and split them 4 in cap (production poor) and 2 in 2nd city. Makes a person wonder about using an "artist resort" city.
 
Sorry Neuro -- just finished a 1700 victory (turn 250). Went with a one city approach this time instead of a two city approach, and the feel is slightly different. They both play out fairly different so I'm not sure which one is stronger -- I definitely prefer playing with one city because it's just that much faster to play :).

There are three main things limiting a fast culture win. 1 ) Culture 2) Science and 3) Production. Having two cities means you get better Science and Production, but Culture becomes slightly more expensive. Two cities means a lot more great people as well, which becomes tantamount in getting those key techs quickly. I like Great Scientists... I'm not a big fan of Artists, personally. After all the bonuses, a landmark is only worth about 13 culture per turn, and that's toward the end of the game, when you have hermitage, and a broadcast tower. Even a Great Engineer is better because if you really have no better use for it, you can just rush-build one of the +4 Culture wonders.

This game my biggest error was losing the Porcelain Tower to Darius (who was on my continent, I should've just attacked him instead of getting lazy... again.... argh). I felt really behind in science the entire game -- whereas in my first game, I finished the Sydney Opera House and still had 2-3 policies to go, in this game I didn't even get to globalization. I don't remember off the top of my head, but I think I got the Telegraph or Cristo Redentor around turn 212, which meant I pretty much had no chance at getting globalization. This time around as well, I only got 9 policies before stopping to save up (2 in Tradition, 5 in Patronage, 2 in Freedom).

I think to get a game where you blow away the competition, your start has to be perfect -- Marble is pretty much a must I think. I spent virtually all my end turns building wonders (I buy the improvements), and it'll save you critical turns in the beginning when production is a must. Also, imagine how quickly you can win a game if there's something like 8 cultural city states.
 

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I decided to give HOF a try, but wich files shall i then upload here? People above has uploaded 2 saves, the win save, is the other the start save? Is both of them required to submit?
 
Yep. Save in 4000BC, and once you win, click 'just one more turn' and save again, those are the two files you need.
 
If the free policies caused the cost for the next to jump, then you'd want to save it as late as possible. Because the free techs don't make the cost increase, then it doesn't matter when you grab them. Whether it's your very first policy free from the Oracle, or your 30th, you still end up paying full price for 27 policies.

Your right I typed that wrong :confused:
 
I tried the only-found-one-city approach, and it didn't work out so well. Managed to win, but not until 2026 AD. It didn't help that the darn Chinese kept attacking me - they seemed unable to learn that just because my power ranking was lower didn't mean I wouldn't wipe the floor with them. :) All that fighting slowed down my building of culture, though.
 

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OK WTF, you just BAN selling cities in the middle of my game? I spend 8 hours to play, and i sold a city i counquered back to the owner for money... so u are telling me becouse of this i cant use my game?

Thats just sad.

I'm seriusly angry at this change. I owned the mentioned city for exectly 1 turn. Obviusly it didtn generate any culture. Why is this not allowed?

First time playing in something with the label "beta" eh? The point of a beta is to test the system and nothing more. And yes, changes can and are made right in the middle. That's why we're not playing for money. :p
 
If I'm critiquing it for the gauntlet, I'd say reading the instructions would help. ;) You need to play as Arabia for it to be eligible for the gauntlet. No big deal for this one, and you're not the first to do it. But always good to check the required settings before you start a specific challenge. Other than that, as you found 3 cities is a big increase to total culture required, particularly if the other two don't build everything cultural.



Sweet. Saves me writing as I go. Though for mine I have 2 cities, no horses in my capital and a location I couldn't resist for city #2. Should be a decent date, though thanks to a crash & replay nearly 10 turns, it'd get excluded for a non-beta game. Still playing for research purposes anyway. What is noticeable is that the first 12 techs cost ~6k culture. So even if you save up to the point that Freedom is your first tree unlocked, you're only going to save ~1500 culture compared to getting it after 2 tradition and a full piety or patronage tree. Which is maybe 3-7 turns at the end, depending how your empire looks. Definite argument for taking useful policies ASAP.

In my current game I bought the two tradition upgrades straight away, and then waited until Freedom unlocked, thanks to beelining to theology + using a great scientist, I reached it prior to turn 100. Didn't worry about patronage tree earlier, thanks to still conquering my continent and only finding 1 cultural city-state.
You can change the ini to autosave every turn. Mine crashes for every great person produced in the late stages of the game so I had to figure that one out fast!
 
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