[BNW] Community Deity Game #28 - The Huns

[Grendeldef]

CDG 28 with Attila the Pacifist

The map is std size Terra Incognita ie something similar to the build-in Terra maps BUT starting spots are all over the map and it's more unpredictable. Also note that sea level is set low so there will more land and the world is Arid so jungles are limited and lurking behind every tree and hill is a band Raging Barbarians. Other than that everything is peachy, 8 civs & 16 CSs.

The various map packs should be excluded but if not let me know and I'll make a notion about that.


*** 2nd starting file has been added ***

Only change in the lite version is that the 2nd Settler has been removed from the civs sharing the starting continent.



*** CDG 2Lite version added ***

changes from the -- Lite -- version

- starting Warrior replaced by a Spearman
- 2 HAs from the start
- 30G gold to begin with





Notes from the map editor:

- Ice doesn't block circumnavigation as it has been removed from coastal tiles
- some land has been added
- few extra Natural Wonders around the world
- AI starting areas have some extra iron & horses
- some additional lux tiles nearby (AI) starting areas
- few extra Ancient Ruins on off beaten tracks around the world to encourage exploration

 

[Grendeldef]

Had to start this right away and

Spoiler :

Settled on the hill, early dow with Dido and later with Shaka and took Ulundi T72 but had to make peace right after as first Impi came T69 and those are deadly.
Scout blocked the FoY site for my 3rd city as 2nd claimed the KSM area oddly without contest so the start is ok but very unit oriented.
Dido shares my Liberty, Shaka went Honor as did Cathy but has Piety opened as well. Boudicca went Piety and is the local Kushner leading everything. Next I'll do - something, prolly, I should at least, possibly or in other words I have no clue.

I'd like to keep few trading partners but I'm not expecting DoFs anytime soon and nearby CSs are few.

 

[raider980]

I failed at my last Huns game so this is good; I get another chance. But ow, the AI gets extra stuff beyond Deity?

 

[Grendeldef]

There're supposedly few extra Iron & Horse tiles here & there so that everyone has at least some nearby the starting area. Also, (very) few extra lux tiles were added somewhere but nothing major - most likely peeps won't even notice it at all and I surely can't tell a difference after 70 odd turns.
A minor indirect result might be the lack of opportunities to sell resources especially later on but nothing to worry about.

 

[beetle]

Thanks @Grendeldef! From OP, I appreciate the extra care and feeding you gave the AIs. In CDG27, I gave Oda an Iron plot. I hate when an AI does not get their UU!

I probably will not open for a week, as I am out of town this weekend. I think I move N towards the desert.

 

[Grendeldef]

NP, especially when the map editing process was outsources to a friends of mine - I wanted to stay away from the details but the map is supposed to cater seasoned Deity veterans while giving a fair chance for the less customed. Still, this probably is harder than an entry level map due to one key aspect.

The idea with the extra resources was to keep everyone within reasonable chance to use their UUs and moreover have some Frigates when the time comes. The lack of selling opportunities is a secondary bonus. The rest is more likely a RP opportunity than anything else.

Sadly time, especially free time is a limited source and I'll prolly get back to my game at earliest and it might be even Sunday before there's anything to report.
On a side note, is direct linking to other sites prevented now as I couldn't get my pics to work?

 

[beetle]

Okay, I have started the map, and it looks like great fun! Reloaded T7 to hit ruins in a different order, so now I have a Battering Ram!

Spoiler I name civs and features :

Settler N got me FoY in third ring, so that was a nice surprise. Took Carthage on T40 but made peace soon thereafter since I only brought the BR and city was as 0 health from barbs (which, really, is why I could take Carthage with only the BR). T43 put a city near KSM halfway between Attila’s court and Carthage.

T67 Shaka DOWs me, but I saw that coming and am in fine shape with three HA. I will start on NC soon, and then I plan to try and clear the continent. HA vs Impi will be a trick, but I think once I get sufficient XP it will be okay.

 

[Grendeldef]

Some 50 more turns and surprisingly struggling though partly due going RP mode after the 1st capital. Also might be just the way I played this but the latter half seemed much trickier than I expected around T80.

Spoiler :

After taking Ulundi and more thoroughly scouting the coastal area I went for 4C NC ~T86 by Liberty GE and settled the two islands to the West just for kicks.
Happiness hasn't too bad of an issue but money surely is sparse - nothing much to sell and no one pays full price for anything.
After getting 4th religion I decided that Boudicca have to be stopped so I DoWed her with Dido's help but they made peace right away after Dido losing a city. Cathy is mas ar her corner and harrassing my Wittenberg but unwilling to start any wars.
After killing gazillion Celtic missionaries I also DoWed Dido mainly for her GW which will be handy when Shaka comes, prolly accompanied by Cathy.

Got Carthage roughly T130 and made peace right away to start preparing for inevitable war with Shaka while the Celtic war will continue forever.

Techwise everything is very late, T119 Cathy went Rennaissance while I had only one Uni and only capital 10+ pop, most cities still missing aqueducts and so, luckily I'm not too far behind the pack. Just got Navigation but due to lack of money I have to hard build everything and meeting the rest will take some time.
Also I'd like Shaka to wait for a dozen turns to get myself Xbows as HAs won't even tickle Impis properly.

Next will be circumnavigating the globe hopefully making some friends and especially trading partners and after that either Frigates or something else.

On hindsight I should've taken Shaka off the map right away as the others are either broke or unwilling to trade anyway but would've left the West flank secured even without troops while taking pot shots in the East and by now I'd have enough GGs to bomb my way to Moscow. Now parts of my Army is just bleeding money.

I like the Beetle's path but I was just too scared to leave Shaka be until his DoW.

Full Liberty, Tradition opener as I didn't have money to buy tiles and the left side of Honor next one going to Ratio opener.

 

[penguin74]

I think this map is way beyond my skill level.

Spoiler :

Haven't gotten beyond turn 83 yet. First time tried Tradition, swarmed by about 25 Zulus. 2nd time through (trad open, then honor)moved settler so the Mines would be in capital range, but again around turn 70 Shaka just came with too many troops. I had 8-10 around the capital but he had 3 times as many and it was just too much. 3rd try was Liberty. Put 2nd city near the Mines. Managed to fight Shaka off this time, but Dido came with the UU's and picked at my bones.

At a loss as to what to try next

 

[Grendeldef]

A general note which is relevant on this map as well

Spoiler :

If Shaka is the next door neighbour take him out before Impis come, everything else can be sorted out later.
Not always optimal but always functional.

 

[Grendeldef]

Come to think of it as this was supposed to be playable and not too hard I'll post tomorrow or on Sunday if I have to edit it myself a Light Version of the map ie AIs sharing the starting continent will have only one Settler or something along those lines. Excellent idea the two map system with limited player base.

 

[raider980]

I must've never fought

Spoiler :

Shaka before. His melee can move 3 hexes! I never knew that. First a warrior moved over a hill to attack me and I was like what just happened? Then a spearman attacked me when I was 3 spaces away and thought I was safe. My HA are getting decimated. This is going to be a quick game.

 

[Grendeldef]

Spoiler :

That's the Ikanda boosted units for you hence my general note above but don't worry it'll become manageable once one is used to it, still deadly though.
As promised I'll post the Lite version tomorrow.

 

[Grendeldef]

Bump to point out that 2nd starting file aka CDG Lite version has been added to OP.

 

[beetle]

I will start on NC soon, and then I plan to try and clear the continent. HA vs [neighbors UU] will be a trick, but I think once I get sufficient XP it will be okay.

All bluster on my part. @Grendeldef is right, I was just tickling them. Clearing the continent, if I manage at all, will be late. It is T170 and I have just DOW’d again, this time w/ Muskets and Cannons, so wish me luck. But it is not just me, as he is now at war with the three civs remaining.

 

[Grendeldef]

T200 here and still only 2 capitals taken but finally having at least some income and no immediate happiness issues before someone will take other ideology than my Order - up to this point both have been constant trouble hence the sloooow tech pace, small cities etc - currently teching Electricity and I'm sharing the lead. At this point I should've a dozen more or so techs done but the very late Aqueducts among other thing has made this extremely slow. Oddly enough peeps on the other continent weren't ahead of us even though it apparently has been a peace fest there.

Spoiler :

Shaka came late T140s but I only lost one BR in the that war. After that I started moving units towards Moscow curious to see how long the HAs would carry and that time came by Cossacks. Not that the HAs could take hit of a Knight either but Cossacks were ransacking my tanks so I made peace and got few which I sold to Maria & Ahmed to get some gpt but also to finally provoke some wars. Currently upgrading XBs to Gatlings while thinking whether to take Moscow next or go to the Celts which I've been with continuous war since the dawn of time just to kill the missionaries. Too bad she doesn't build a Navy as I can't get much of xp to my Frigates - even one with Logistics would make a huge difference.

@beetle. Yup, I've played enough or way too much against Shaka to appreciate the Impi - it's by far the best unit in the game in the hands of an AI. The distant 2nd is the GA boosted Persian Pikeman. Also as Shaka builds Ikanda right away the Impis tend to have Cover II very quickly which makes them less vulnerable than cities and the 3rd mp doesn't help defending against them.

This was also the core thinking behind I was satisfied with this map as a CDG. Attila is one of the easy mode civs but Shaka as neighbour would make it interesting especially when Attila lacks tanks early tanks against the Impis unless one goes for Swordsman which often isn't the case. Close by FoY was suppose to act as a counterweight against this and make the game easier but that doesn't seem necessarily being the case even with Shaka starting zone being under par. FoY was part of my original map roll but the KSM is a later addition.

 

[raider980]

Lasted longer than I thought. T150 something loss.

Spoiler :

Shaka took me out. I did capture his capital earlier but had to make peace because he would've taken it right back. That only gained me 25 turns or so before he sought his revenge.

I may try the lite version but I doubt that its going to help me win. If I do, I think I'll try to be friends with Shaka the whole game and have him help me take out the others on our continent.

 

[beetle]

That only gained me 25 turns or so before he sought his revenge.

I would be inclined to reload to see if it is not possible, somewhere in that 25 turn window, to bribe someone else to DOW him (or to get him to DOW someone). Well worth giving up a unique lux to make that happen. You probably only need him in one more war to get you over the hump.

I agree w/ @Grendeldef (and others) that with him as a close neighbor, he needs your full attention. With this map, I think he is too close to be friendly with, no matter what you might try.

In general, having him the game can open up lots of opportunities. He will DOW for cheap. And since all the AIs end up hating him, the trade routes can be lucrative. But not (in my experience) when he is so very close.

 

[Grendeldef]

Just paused my game @T270 with 3 capitals to take but I have SBs and XComs so it's more of a matter of executing with very limited funds than anything else. Doesn't often at all but I'm tempted to replay the map and even more weirdly so starting with Tradition. This has included all the perks that I hate in the game while still being interesting so technically I'm having a blast.

To those having trouble with unfriendly neighbours etc.

Spoiler :

There's no way of being friends with Shaka throughout the game so don't try that but rather follow my general rule above to be safe - especially if playing the lite version there shouldn't be any problems. In this case few Scouts, then 4(+) HAs and 2 BRs when you're ready to take the capital. 1 or 2 Settlers early enough to secure the FoY & KSM sites if possible - both offer easily defendable positions as well. HAs should be used for barb clearing and a good time to DoW is when Shaka is sending his Settlers out - preventing him to settle and a free worker as a bonus. First Caravan to Dido and she should be a happy camper for long enough.

 

[raider980]

I would be inclined to reload to see if it is not possible, somewhere in that 25 turn window

Spoiler :

I had tried that but it didn't prevent him from attacking me. He was in a war with the Celts and Carthage. Boudica even took one of his cities. But then they peaced out and he attacked me. I was just too far behind him to begin with and needed to cripple him instead of just taking his capital.

I am going to try again from the beginning.