COTM 12 - First Spoiler (End of Ancient Age)

[AluminumKnight]

Open, fixed barbs:
No screenshots as I forgot to take any, this being my first COTM. I think I may be the only person to explore north and then move the settler to the hill on the lake north of the inital spot, to get the game. I then promptly founded medina across the lake to get the other game and cattle and made that my primary settler factory (once again, first time for this as well). Mecca produced settlers as well, however.

I plan on warring most of the game, but like some others didn't have a single war in the ancient age. I concentrated on settling as much as I could (had to scramble to get iron), and actually claimed a 2nd iron on the small island. At the end of the ancient age, Russia appears to be my first target as they stole my spare horses and an incense, and they have no iron

 

[DaveMcW]

690Bc, russia walked into Damascus... well, you bastard Russia... after giving you two free tech and now you get my 20K city...So ends my attempt for another 20k…

Ouch!

Did you build any military at all?

 

[MiniMe]

Didnt have much time lately due to a phenomenon often referred to as RL. But here goes without any strict notes.

Settled on the incense to the SE after my scout spotted the end of a river and some forest on the first turn. See that some sent scouts NW instead and I wish I had done the same.

Building scouts in these games have rarely payed off and so I started on a granary finishing that around 3100BC. Built second town close to capital to share all the food. Third town close to silks. Had 11 of them end of QSC, with 25 pop.

Research was focused on republic slingshot and discovered Philosophy in 1550BC (or some time just before, dont remember). I give away all the techs as soon as I get them in order to avoid double research by my neighbours. The exception was Republic that I wanted for trade on entering MA with all these sci-civs. I could trade for techs like math, poly, map etc. I discovered Currency well before 1000BC and missing only Construction I hoped that some nitwit would get it for me before end of QSC. But no, so I had to research it myself, entering MA in 875BC.

I granted currency and construction to Korea, Russia and then Ottomans. Two of them got Monotheism and one got Feudalism. I could trade for both using Republic and slowly started on Chivalry to save some money for horseupgrade.

Did not have any wars in AA. Towards the end of AAI started building barracks in cities close to the capital and then horsemen to have ready for upgrades to ansar when time comes.

Havent decided on victory condition yet. For the moment I am conquest mode, but that might change.

QSC stats:
11 towns, 25 pop
2 settlers
10 workers
5 warriors
1 curragh
2 granaries
1 barracks
EDIT: 1 temple

Empire (1000BC):

 

[ionimplant]

Ouch!

Did you build any military at all?

i think i skipped too much details in my spoiler... all my forces were sent to the battle front with Ottomas and were making good progress. and i do have a single warrior in the western part of my country but he happened to wandered off when two Russian warriors came to my culture city.

mayb a picture is better than a thousand words
you can see the two cities i got from goodyhuts.

 

[Mark Cutt]

I sent the scout on the hill NW-N. He saw the deer and incense. I thought that settling on that hill could be a good compromise between site effectiveness and moves needed to reach it.



The scout went S-SW.
I reaserched Mysticism because it was the only second tier tech I could learn.
Mecca built a second scout who went N. Then I built Granary, Settler, Settler, Temple, Settler.
I had no settler factory. Each city built a Settler when possible otherwise it built the quickest useful unity/building available.
By 1000BC I had built 14 additional Settlers:
Mecca (no food surplus in Despotism) built 6 Settlers, Medina (2 surplus) 4 Settlers, Damascus (0 surplus) 2 Settlers, Basra(0 surplus) 1 Settler, Najran (1) 1 Settler.
The objective was to built a 4 and a 7 rings.

My scouts found 6 huts. I got Bronze Working, Horseback Riding, Mathematics, 2 Warriors and 25g. I found the last hut in 2070BC (turn 43) close to Korea cities, it looks like other civs were not very active.


Arabs met France in 3650BC, Russia in 3300BC and Otto in 3100BC. We did not meet anybody else for more than 3000 years.

I learnt Mysticism in 2850BC. In the meanwhile I got Alphabet, Warrior Code, Masonry from trading.
Arabs learnt Writing in 1830 and traded for The Wheel and Iron Working.
We learnt Code Of Laws in 1400BC and Phylosophy + Republic in 1225BC.
I had a very short (2 turns) anarchy, I guess because I had just 16 citizens at that turn. Then I traded for Polyheism and Map Making.
Eventually I learnt Construction and Currency and entered Middle Age in 800BC.

I had two kind request from Russia and Otto. I could not afford war at that time so I gave them free techs.

In 1325BC I realized that France was at war with Russia.

I had no war but 5 "contacts" with barbarians. I lost a Scout and a warrior.

Connected Incense in 2630BC and Horses in 1025BC.
I had Wine and Silk in my perimeter ready to be connected as soon as necessary.

Iron was very far from the core cities. I had to build a city at distance 12 to connect Iron in 590BC.


Other civs did not build cities too close to my bordes so I could build 2 complete rings. To minimize the risk of close cities I preferred to build some of the distance 7 cities before completing the 4-ring.

At 1000BC I had:
12 cities
All AA mandatory techs but Currency and Construction (plus Republic)
4 Warriors
3 Settlers
4 Workers
4 Slaves
4 Temples (too many!)
1 Granary
2 Barracks
Score 242

 

[Più Freddo]

The objective was to built a 4 and a 7 rings.

Mark, no need to bother about RCP in Conquests!

 

[Mark Cutt]

Mark, no need to bother about RCP in Conquests!

ehm.. I guess you understood this is my first COTM

 

[CKS]

Open, barbs fixed, 20K

I moved my scout S and E, the worker NW, and then moved the settler SW and built Mecca. I started in on alphabet at maximum and started exploring.

Exploring went pretty well. I popped huts for Warrior Code and Bronzeworking and met Ottomans, Russians, and Koreans in the first 20 turns, with France not long after. I also got some maps and cash from huts; the maps did lead me to Russia, so they were helpful.

I traded ceremonial burial and pottery to the Ottomans for masonry + 10 g. Russia had nothing to trade. Korea gave me alphabet + 35 g for CB, and I switched to writing at 90% science. France had nothing when I met them. I traded masonry + 30 g for the wheel when Korea learned it. Once Russia also knew the wheel, I traded it to the Ottomans for mysticism + 25 g. I finish off writing and start philosophy at max. I learn it first, take literature for free, and start mapmaking. Before investing any time into it, however, I trade philosophy for iron working + 75 g and then philosophy + IW for polytheism. I then switch to monarchy at max (49 turns, but I'm hoping that will come down). It does. I trade it for code of laws, math, wines, and 50 g from Russia. I then research map making, trade monarchy for construction + 60 g, and then research horseback riding, which no one else has. I finishe the great library just after learning HBR; it gives me currency, the republic, feudalism, and engineering to bring me to the middle ages in 310 BC.

Rather than move my first settler to better lands, figured I'd just put my 20K city in the nearest really good land. I put Medina on the water south of the deer to the northwest of the start. It grew nicely and had a temple in 2430 BC. It starts a wonder built that eventually becomes the Mausolleum in 1375 BC. It gets a library in 1125 BC and the great library in 350 BC. Unfortunately, it also gets a palace in 2030 BC.

The Koreans declare war out of the blue when they have a regular warrior wandering by Mecca, defended by a single regular warrior - one turn before my first archer would have finished. They kill my defender and raze the city. At this point I have only Medina and a settler in transit, and I figure I'm in for a quick end. However, Korea does not send the warrior on to Medina, which is also only defended by a warrior (veteran, this time) or after the settler, who is unescorted. In fact, the warrior just hunkers down for a while and then wanders off. Eventually they make peace when I give them writing + 15 g.

The same turn that Korea declares, the Ottomans demand alphabet. Needless to say, I give it. Just before finishing the great library, the Ottomans demand literature, too. I give in again, though I worry about losing the library. I should have built the great library before the library, and then I might have been able to rush the library (after revolting to monarchy, although my small empire has cash flow issues) and I wouldn't have had to worry about losing out on the GL. I was worried about tying up a lot of shields in something and then having to switch to military, though.

The ancient age does not go well for me. Losing Mecca meant that Damascus had to produce units and settlers both, slowing down things greatly. I end the ancient ages with 3 cities and one settler in transit. I have incense and silks connected and am 2 turns away from having horses connected, but I have no way to get iron.

I almost abandoned my 20K plans, but I decided to try and hold on. Maybe I'll get a nice shield out of it. Unfortunately, Medina no longer has a palace prebuild available. This causes problems later. I enter the middle ages with 559 cp + 19 cpt. Culture-wise I'm not in horrible shape, but I have no empire to support Medina with, so things aren't looking good.

 

[RFHolloway]

Good and bad stuff,

I moved the scout. I thought I would need to move the settler at least 4 turns to get a better start position so settled in place. Next turn moved the scout and discovered the twin game.

Oh well second city should be a good enough settler pump, pop a settler soon, and every thing will be OK.

Traded for iron working early and saw the iron near the ottomans

Settled there right on top of the iron

half a dozen turns later culture flip lose the iron back to the Ottomans.

They would keep it for the rest of the ancient age. (but only build 1 swordsman with it. )

secured horses in the hills to the NW, and started building Horses for an ansar upgrade - a 3 move knight would help compensate for may lousy unit positioning and my tendancy to charge all my units from one side of the map to the other.

Used print screen when setting up embassies and timed that once the other empires started building TOA (500 shields always seems a lot and I never get round to it - 16 horsemen seems much more useful ). Russia would be quickest so they were the first target. I entered the Middle ages with Russia on the rack and me looking to secure the iron back -

wont see you in the next spoiler as I never make it to the Industrial Age!

 

[A'AbarachAmadan]

Open, barbs fix.
Goal: Diplomacy
Ancient Era update: 4000BC-0825BC

Pre-History thoughts: Decided to go after a fastest Diplo win again. This is a great COTM for conquest, but that is what I love and last time I did Diplo I got beat by 20 turns, so I really wanted to try it again. I really studied some other games and posts before starting on this one. Before starting I see 5 civ’s w/ Alphabet and 4 Scientific civ’s. Wow! Will definitely try to use the Scientific civ’s to propel every change of ages.

Initial moves: Check that what I thought was a coast is actually a lake. Send scout to hill by lake and see the game forest. Decide to settle in place and most likely make my second city by the game (which I do). Then send scout to the mountains for a high view and continue East. With 5 of 7 having Alphabet, start off w/ 0 science until I trade for Alphabet, then go to ‘max’ forever.

CITY FOUNDING & CONSTRUCTION (to 1000BC)
FOUNDED - NAME - PRODUCTION DETAILS
4000BC – Mecca – Granary (3100BC), Settler (2800BC), Scout (2710BC), Scout (2630BC), Settler (2390BC), Warrior (2310BC), Warrior (2230BC), Settler (1990BC), Warrior (1910BC), Warrior (1830BC), Settler (1650BC), Warrior (1600BC), Warrior (1550BC), Settler (1400BC),
2710BC – Medina (4NW) – Granary (1910BC), Worker (1830BC), Worker (1725BC), Settler (1600BC), Worker (1525BC), Settler (1375BC), Worker (1325BC), Settler (1175BC), Settler (1025BC),
2230BC – Damascus (2NW/3N) – Granary (1500BC), Worker (1425BC), Settler (1200BC), Settler (1100BC),
1790BC – Baghdad (4SE/1E) – building Colossus (will try to get Cop’s Obs & New’s Univ)
1525BC – Najran (6NE) –
1525BC – Kufah (8NW) – Worker (1225BC), Worker (1000BC),
1300BC – Basra (4S/1SE) – Worker (1050BC),
1275BC – Khurasan (5SW) – Worker (1025BC),
1125BC – Anjar (5N/5NW) –

Cities with low corruption/waste go after libraries, marketplaces, universities, temples. Cities with high corruption/waste go after temples.

GOODY HUTS
Got 8 of them, in order: Gold, Warrior, Gold, Maps, Warrior, Gold, Mysticism, Warrior
This was disappointing, I was really hoping for more techs, but was surprised I still hit so many not building scouts first, though I did have 3 out and got warriors to help also, which actually popped two of the huts.

DATE MET CIVs
3500BC, meet Korea
2630BC, meet Russia
2470BC, meet Ottomans
2270BC, meet France

TECHNOLOGY - DATE/HOW
Pottery, 4000BC start
Ceremonial Burial, 4000BC, start
Alphabet, 3500BC, trade Korea
Masonry, 2630BC, trade Russia
Warrior Code, 2630BC, trade Korea
Bronze Working, 2630BC, trade Korea
The Wheel, 2270BC, trade France
Writing, 2150BC, research
Mysticism, 2070BC, goody hut
Mathematics, 1650BC, trade Ottomans
Iron Working, 1650BC, trade Koreans
Code of Laws, 1525BC, research
Philosophy, 1375BC, research
Republic, 1375BC, free tech
1375BC-1325BC, 2 turn revolt to Republic
Literature, 1200BC, research
Currency, 1150BC, trade Ottomans
Map Making, 1150BC, trade Korea

I decided to go after Polytheism and hope to trade for HR & Con, but it didn’t turn out as well as I thought it would. Russia found Poly before anyone found HR and no one would trade Con until I got Monarchy . I was doing that so I could gift the 3 scientific civs I know and trade Monarchy for MA techs. I still got 1 in the trade (Engineering found by 2 of them), but couldn’t trade for Feudalism , which was found by the other one.

Polytheism, 1075BC, research
Monarchy, 0825BC, research
Construction, 0825BC, trade Korea
Horseback Riding, 0825BC, trade Ottomans

End of Ancient Era Status (0825BC)
12 Cities, 34 Population
2 Settlers, 10 Workers, 1 Scout (left), 8 Warriors
At switch I’m at 30% income, 60% science, 10% luxury. On a few occasions in the AE I actually switched 1-3 citizens to scientists when I was about to miss a tech. The later in the era the more I was willing to use.

Not a single combat between civs conducted or seen; just barbarians. I'm able to block the Koreans from finding everyone, though the Ottomans did get through to meet them.

 

[Nichelle]

Open, barbs fixed, Going for a Diplo Victory

Of late, I have kind of been stuck in a rut. From reading the QSC pages, I have gathered that I kind of have the basics down in the AA, but just the basics. I also realized that my MA sucks. I am way not a warmonger and when it comes to that time to war and take more territory … well ….again I say I suck. I seem to be able to pull out a victory, but not that great. With that in mind, I was going to try to expand as fast as I could and come up with a plan to try to get to that domination limit asap and then get the UN. I try this on most games, but I think only half heartedly. So, here it goes, and any suggestions would be great.

The Ancient Age, 4000bc—710bc
First Moves
In looking at the initial start, I knew most people were going to search sw, which seemed fine, but knowing I hate to move more than 3 turns (I know sometimes a mistake) I really thought about the visable tiles. The choice came down to going sw or n. Unless something really great appeared in the south the move n would be quicker. I knew this was contrary to most who posted in the pre-thread, but I have always been a bit contrary to what others say (for good or bad-it’s my life-what can I say). So, I decided to move my settler n and before that I figured I would indulge my curiosity and send my scout n+ nw to see how big the lake was. To my surprise (as to all of us) there was some nifty game around the lake. Next decision-do I move my settler around the lake or not. Having said earlier, I hate to move a lot for my first city, so….I moved my settler n and worker nw to the oasis. Next turn I sent my settler nw onto the hill to build Mecca and set my worker to mine the oasis. The scout went 2e along the mountains. Next turn, founded Mecca and scout went 2n and set tech to wheel @ 90%.

Worker moves
After worker was done with the oasis, it moved 4 turns to the game forest, chopped, and irrigated. Worker then moved se and chopped and mined. Worker moves n and chopped and irrigate, and so on. My goal was to have the best tiles worked for Mecca and also prep for the next city location.
Mecca initial builds
3050 bc-granary 2800 bc-settler 2510 bc-settler 2230 bc-settler
(Mecca was to be my settler factory and other than a few military, it still is)

I think one of the big things I really focused on was micro managing. I always had, but I think I took it to the next level in this game.

Exploration
I focused heavily on growth at the beginning and didn’t focus on more scouts or exploring warriors. We met the AIs on the following dates:

3300 BC-Russia 2900 BC –France 2270 BC –Otto 1350 BC -Korea

At this point, I assumed the other civs were a bit too far away to be concerned with so I decided I would get to really searching for them later.

Empire Expansion
As mentioned earlier, I really and truly concentrated on expanding so I build hordes of settlers. If
this were a high level, I wouldn’t have lived long due to my slow military growth. Here are the dates
of founding on the next few cities and what I believe I built???

2510 BC founded Medina- built archer 1st, settler 2nd
2310 BC founded Damascus-built war 1st, worker 2nd
1950 BC founded Baghdad- built war 1st, worker 2nd

Here are my 1000 BC stats:

12 towns pop 32 ( 14 happy, 12 cont., 6 unhappy )
141g -4g per lux @ 20% tech @ 80% lit due in 4
currently building 7 war, 2 arch, 1 court, 2 rax- wars will most likely switch
have horses and insence connected
1 settler, 7 workers, 1 scout, 8 war, 3 arch, 2 char, 1 cur weak to rus+oto, ave to fr+ko
know Russia, otto, france, korea
culture 136 +2 per
missing poly, const, curr, rep+ mon, researching lit
2 rax+ 2 granary
current score 249 in 2nd place



Research and Government
I assumed that with 4 scientific civs and goody huts that the tech pace would be fast and furious …

4000 bc Pottery+ cb
2900 BC traded france pot+cb for alph+ 20g, traded Russia alph for bw+ wc+ 10g
2670 BC got wheel and set to writing
2270 BC traded otto masonry for wheel
1650 BC got writing, traded otto myst +25g for writing, traded france iw for writing, set tech to col to try for rep slingshot-don’t get it though
1350 BC traded korea math +35g for cb+ writing
1200 BC got col, traded france col+math for mm+25g+ bought phil for 139g,tech to horsies @ 80%
1075 BC got horse and set to lit @ 90%,
900 BC got lit set to cur @ 80%,
730 BC traded otto construction for horse+lit+poly+col+ 48g
710 BC got currency, entered next age

Warfare
Well, I will make it quick….an entirely peaceful AA.

Summary and Plans
I currently have 15 towns 46pop –I was a bit silly and didn’t save @ 710bc, but I do have 650bc and there isn’t any real difference between them.



I did trade and gift MA techs around but that is a different thread.

Goals for next age, continue to expand, build military and infrastrucure, keep tech pace going.

I am very proud of the micromangement and growth I was finally able to do on this game of the month. I hope this isn’t a one time thing and I think this is one of the best starts of a game that I have had.

Now, if I can just keep it going….into the sucky MA (at least normally for me) but we’ll see…..

The Middle Ages summary will follow shortly…

 

[Hannabir]

Predator, barbs fixed

I did not participate in the pre-game thread, so maybe that helped, but I was surprised to see that so many people explored south. Not only is that immediately away from the oases, but also in the north the lakes are more than one square which means a richer choice of starting locations. And, thirdly, moving to the equator ensures that the desert ends.
So the scout went north around the lake and immeditaly spotted a game forest on the river. We settled in 3700bc, northwest of the two game forests, the Worker started chopping to increase the food surplus, and a scan of the surroundings learned that Mecca has a potential 30 shields (with -1 food) in the Middle Ages. An excellent site for 20K Culture (although any strategy works here: settler factory or one horseman/turn).

The scout popped a Warrior from a hut which made contact with Russia, we traded for Pottery and then stole their Worker.
While the Scout turned about and headed south, the Warrior went east towards the wetlands and ended up rounding the lake, and the slave joined Mecca to speed up its development.

The scout, going counterclockwise, managed to contact France, Ottomans and Korea, and that was it. It never saw another hut .... oh well, we kept sharing all techs with our neighbours and we only wanted the Republic slingshot and Literature anyway. Thanks to the Great Library, we still reached the Middle Ages in 825bc.

A funny thing happend in 2230bc when an unprotected Russian Settler entered the territory around Mecca, apparently chased by barbarians. Naturally, we made two slaves, and a few turns later the dented Russians gave St. Petersburg for peace!

Mecca
3700bc Palace (2 rounds of wealth)
3550bc Warrior (forest cut)
3250bc Worker
3200bc Slave (Russia) joins Mecca
3050bc Slave (France) joins Mecca
2950bc Settler (to found Medina on the desert incense)
2800bc Worker
2430bc Granary (4-turn factory at size 4-5-5-6)
2270bc Settler (to found Damascus on the silks)
2110bc Settler (to found Baghdad on the hill near the wines)
1950bc Temple
1910bc Worker
1830bc size 7
1650bc size 8 (turned Republic in 1675bc)
1600bc size 9
1550bc size 11 (one slave joined)
1475bc size 12, sold Granary
1275bc THE GREAT LIBRARY
1250bc Library (disbanded Warrior and bought Granary)
875bc THE PYRAMIDS
850bc Colosseum (disbanded Scout and bought Marketplace)
825bc ---- MIDDLE AGES ---- buildqueue says:
610bc THE ORACLE
590bc Cathedral
570bc Marketplace
370bc HANGING GARDENS

Towns
3700bc Mecca
2850bc Medina
2190bc Damascus
2030bc Baghdad
1910bc St. Petersburg (peace deal with Russia)
1400bc Najran (connecting lake and norhern sea)
1325bc Kufah (on the large southern lake with fish,sugar,wines)
1175bc Basra (southeast on the Arabian lake)
1100bc Khurasan (dropped by Galley on the landbridge, seagate)
950bc Anjar (dropped by Galley on Korean continent at game forest, seagate)
875bc Fustat (at the wheats north)
825bc Aden (hill NW on Mecca's river)
825bc Yamama (dropped by Galley at the games far southeast)

Technology
4000bc Ceremonial Burial (sole starting tech)
3650bc Pottery (Russia)
3250bc Alphabet (France)
3150bc Bronze Working + Masonry (Russia)
3050bc Warrior Code (Ottomans)
2350bc Writing (research), Iron Working (Korea), The Wheel (Russia)
1870bc Code of Laws (research), Mathematics (Ottomans)
1790bc Horseback Riding (Russia)
1700bc Philosophy (research), The Republic (slingshot)
1300bc Mysticism (Korea), Map Making (France)
950bc Construction (Great Library)
875bc Currency (Russia)
825bc Polytheism + Monotheism + Engineering (Great Library)

Culture progress in Mecca
4000bc 0
3500bc 4
3000bc 14
2550bc 27
2150bc 47
1750bc 79
1500bc 111
1250bc 166
1000bc 296

QSC 1000bc
9 towns (one over 6)
28 citizens (potentially all happy)
117 tiles
1 Palace
3 Temples
1 Library
Great Library
2 Settlers
13 Workers
4 Slaves
2 Scouts
1 Warrior (vet)
2 Archers
1 Galley
3 contacts
218 gold
300 shields
91 food
all AA tech except Polytheism,Construction,Currency,Monarchy



Obviously I didn't optimize for QSC score, the 20K has priority.

 

[DBear]

The Garden of Allah

This will be my first religious civ to play in XotM.
It also turns out we are the only religious civ in
the game, which means a pottery monopoly. Probably
a lot of people going for 100K, we'll see what happens.
One interesting thing I find is that the three civs
with sea UUs are all in.

First Wanderings

Looking at the map, we are slightly south of the
equator. After trying CotM42 thru the ancient age,
I don't want any part of jungle, so we're heading
south. Mecca is founded after a move ne. In -3400 we
find the Turks. The French are contact 3 turns later,
and 2 more turns later finds a Russian settler pair.

Haggling

The Ottomans were not receptive to trading BW and
Masonry for pottery and CB. The French were more open,
trading mason + 10 for pottery. We turn around and
trade Ozzie pot + CB for BW + 10. Cathy trades warcode
+ 10 for mason.

Taming the horses

We discover the wheel in -2800. We spot horses 5se, 1s
of Mecca. We turn Mecca into a 10 turn settler/worker
factory. Medina founded in -2270 next to the horses.
In -2110 we trade France mystic for a dhimmi.

The culture center

In -1725 we found Damascus, and decide that city will be
the cultural center of Arabia. In another note, we build
Baghdad in -1525. In -1400, we celebrate the year of the
temples, as Damascus, Mecca and Medina all finish at the
same time.

Ambassadors of the faith

In -1350 we trade writing to Russia for math + 111. We
use that money to open embassies to France, Turkey and
Russia. I've set up things so that Mecca is my settler/
worker factory, Medina my military factory, and Damascus
my culture center. In -1175 we pull off the philo sling-
shot, getting poly. In -1125 we build Najran.

Barbarian infidels

A group of workers roading the incense ssw of Damascus is
harassed by barbarian horses. Our own move to intercept
and end up playing zone defense. Also in -1150 we meet the
Koreans, who are backward and have nothing to trade.
Russians try to send a settler pair into our lands, we play
zone again to block.

QSC Stats:

Score: 179 Firaxis, Mapstats 2531
Russians 293, Turks 263, Korea 201, France 192.
Land: 5 towns, 93 squares
Population: 14--7 happy, 4 content, 3 sad.
Units: 4 workers, slave, settler, scout, warrior, archer,
3 horse. Horses are vets, others are regulars.
Buildings: 4 temples, rax, grain.
Production: 47 food, 129 shields, 40 gold.
Diplomacy: 4 contacts, 3 embassies.
Techs: All starters + IW, math, writ, mystic, philo, HB,
poly.

Expansion:

In -975 we build Kufah. In -800 we learn lit, start
currency. We later trade philo to Russia for maps + 25.
We build Basra in -670 on the grapes. In -590 we trade
Philo + map + 22 to France for construct, which gets traded
to Korea for law + 35. That was some fine haggling.

Sneak attack:

In -570, the Russians sneak attack Basra, but are repulsed.
Damascus is beat to the Oracle, so they switch to the GLib.
Khurasan built, starts a rax. Our neighbors want Lit to
ally with us, so we are on our own. We briefly take Novgorod
2 turns later, but it is immediatley taken back. Russians
are ready to talk in -410, but I want to try to take something
from them first. In -390 we learn Currency and enter the
medieval age. Start learning Republic. We are 8 turns from
the GLib. I forgot to get stats, may edit them in later.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Open, barbs fixed.

We decide to follow the breadcrumbs to the east and settle Mecca on the river next to the game in 3750BC. We meet the French and Ottomans soon after and trade for Alphabet, Bronze, and Masonry. Build a couple of curraghs and a couple of scouts and send them around the continent. Our scouts are unlucky and get killed by barbs pretty quickly. We meet Korea in 2550BC and trade for WC and Wheel. Meet Russia in 1990BC and trade for IW - we need a bit of culture at Damascus to grab the iron currently inside Ottoman borders, which is not a problem with cheap temples and forest chopping.

In 1300BC we pull off the Republic slingshot and revolt. In 1250BC the Ottomans demand Writing from us - we are weak, so we let em have it. Russia does the same a few turns later.

--------------------------------------------------------

QSC Stats:



8 cities, 18 pop
1 granary, 1 barracks, 1 temple
6 workers, 10 warriors, 2 curraghs
4 contacts
AA techs bar Construction, Currency, Maps, Monarchy, HBR

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In 750BC we trade for the remaining techs we need to escape the Ancient Ages, leaving the others trapped. I've got a feeling I expanded too far out in an attempt to grab sweet spots and deny others resources and lux. We'll see if it comes back to haunt me later.

 

[Lamprey]

I decided to return to Civilization and due to a break in the Russian Nonreload championship turned to CoTM.

Did not take notes during the game so just some key events.

The capital was founded like many to the SE near two games. Setting the capital in the centre of a dezert not a good idea anyway.
Start learninng mysticism to trade for alphabet I expected to get from one of quite many commercial or seafaring civs that were in the game. French were to trade with.
I founded only 6 cities including Mecca. I don't like settling in poor places and having cities too dense to interfere with each other later.
In goody huts nothing interesting was poped-up except por IW.
Researched mathematics and construction myself going for aqueduct for my capital.
Also literature was researched after Republique slingshot.
As result MA came only in 670BC after got Currency.
Got Engineering from Ottomans and Monoteism from Russians. The Koreans were the last in the list to allow free tech so I decided to stop at the point. There was only 1/3 chance to get feudalism and morover, they had iron nearby.
6 cities only but 4 of them with 7-8 population with temples, libriaries and barracks. And now ready to produce horsemen to start conquests. First - Ottomans as they have Edrine to complete 1st ring (they managed to place it near silks) and Iron. And certainly they are closest.

 

[denyd]

The sunrise through his hotel startled a badly hung-over Mursilis awake. If he could survive another couple of nights, he’d be heading back to the quiet days and nights at Galactic Operations Terrestrial Management Unit (GOTM for short). As he laid there waiting for his eyes to finally focus, the buzzing of the intercom nearly launched him into orbit. “What is it?” he moaned to the operations manager as he tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind. The response seemed to echo around his head until the words finally arranged themselves into a proper sentence. The launch scheduled for the middle of the month had been rescheduled earlier due to unforeseen solar flare activity.

Without thinking, Mursilis bolted upright, only to find himself lunging for the waste basket to deposit what was left of last night’s dinner. As he rose he wiped is face and asked the operator for connect him with his office. The duty officer was surprised to have the boss calling at that early in the day. He quickly read the list of on-site colony managers and waited quietly for Mursilis to select from the available options. Abu Bakr had stayed behind to celebrate a Muslim religious holiday and was the only leader on campus. With the launch only hours away, Mursilis was quickly connected to Abu’s quarters.

Abu was so pleased to be finally assigned to lead a colonial party. His last assignment was terminated early due to time constraints and he was determined to complete his mission this time. He studied the terrain survey and came to the conclusion that the initial landing site was not conducive to long term growth. He longed for the chance to control an entire continent and be voted leader of the world. With this new colony he would finally achieve that goal.

The early reports from Lewis the scout made the decision to move north an easy one. Plentiful game and a fresh water supply were ideal for starting a colony. With the founding of Mecca in 3700 BC, his empire had begun. Lewis was the first of three Arab scouts and his successes were the key to early growth for Abu. The contact with France in 3450 BC by Lewis and Russia the same year by Clark, led to the acquisition of Masonry & Bronze Working. Lewis also contacted the Ottomans in 3150 BC gaining Warrior Code and popped a hut for Mysticism. Boone, the third and final scout contacted the Koreans in 2710 BC gaining Alphabet for the Arabs and popping a hut for Horseback Riding in 2270 BC. Boone’s final act was to pop a hut for 25g, but in doing so, he arrived next to a barbarian warrior who slew him without mercy. Additional research and trading had pushed the Arabs to the forefront of knowledge, however with little military, both Russia and Korea were able to demand and receive technology for no cost. The discovery of Philosophy in 1100 BC led to the gift of Republic from a passing wise-man and The United Arab Republic was born in 1025 BC and the at the end of his third millennia of rule his empire was seven cities strong with a very small military of three warriors and one horseman.

The next three hundred years were quite calm, with only the death of Clark to a barbarian horseman, the completion of the Pyramids in Paris and couple of blackmails by the Ottomans and Koreans, when in 710 BC the Arab scientists discovered Map Making and the Arabs were the first to enter the Middle Ages.

Things looked pretty good for Abu. He had survived the early ages with limited military and had acquired access to horses and iron. His army was beginning to grow and soon he would have his feared Ansar Warriors to begin his continental conquest.

 

[Gato Loco]

COTM 12 – Predator

I started this game hoping to redeem myself from my humiliating loss in GOTM 43. Looking at the start, I was tempted to walk the settler, but was also afraid of sending the settler in the wrong direction. Two oases and three freshwater tiles lead to a good research rate and a settler every ten turns. I sent my scout north, and spotted the game across the lake. While it was sort of within walking distance, I was somewhat wary of the time it would take to walk that far, chop the forests, and set up the settler factory. Ultimately, I settled in place, researched pottery, and built a couple scouts, 2 military police, and a granary. Once the granary was up I started a 10-turn settler/unit pump. The first settler went north and founded Medina in 2110 BC on the coast next to the game forests. With the help of a couple well-timed chops I put a granary up in Medina and began pumping out workers and settlers.

Expansion
Expansion was slow at first. In 1000BC I had only 6 cities, but I was generally able to get good land. I decided to expand to the north first before the Russians snapped up all the good city spaces. I also placed one city on the horses to the south on top of the horses to deny them to the Ottomans. Once Median was up and running, the pace picked up and by 200BC I had 12 self-made cities (and a few stolen ones).

Research
I researched pottery first to ensure the presence of granries, then the wheel for trading leverage. Once this was done I decided to go for a Republic slingshot seeing how slow and backwards the AI was. I actually succeeded in getting CoL and philosophy before anyone else on the continent, but apparently someone on another continent got there first. At this point I self-researched Republic and traded it for Monarchy. I took advantage of the religious trait and used Monarchy as an intermediate government to soften the unit support shock of republic.
Trading was nothing spectacular, mainly because the AI lagged severely and didn’t have much to trade. France and the Ottomans eventually started moving faster I did manage to pick up most of the ancient techs through trading. My approximate research path was:
Pottery
Trade for BW, masonry, and WC
Wheel
Trade for IW
Alphabet
Writing
Code of Laws
Philosophy (in 1000BC)
Trade for MM
Horseback Riding
Republic
Trade for Monarchy
Literature
Trade for Consturction
Trade for Currency (in 210 BC) to reach middle ages

Luxuries
This map was rather generous with luxuries. Besides the freebie incense near the start, I grabbed a silk from the mountains to the north and a wine to the southwest. Further inspection of the map revealed furs in Ottoman territory which I planned to secure in the early middle ages.

War
My first thought upon seeing the desert start was that I would have to fight early on in order to get better land, like in GOTM 42. However, the civ placement on this map was significantly looser, leading to less pressure early on. Also, the presence of a settler factory nearby made waiting and founding more cities a viable option. Finally, the lack of the militaristic trait makes a real difference for early attacks, since a non-mil barracks costs the same as a mil barracks plus a (veteran) archer. As it was, I had 3 attack units (archer + 2 chariots) in 1000BC. Had I been playing a militaristic civ instead I would have had 6 and been a position to attack someone.
I finally declared war on the Ottomans in ~370 BC, mainly because they had iron. I started the war with about 8 horsemen and a few archers. The Ottomans had just fought a war with Russia and lost a lot of their army, so they presented no resistance at all. They didn’t even think to connect their iron and build swords When I entered the middle ages, I had already taken their core cities and was well toward mopping up the remainder.

Wonders
The Ottomans kindly built the Oracle for me in their capital. I won’t get too much use out of it before getting Education. The also built the Mausoleum of Mausillos, for what that’s worth. I’m also likely to get the Hanging gardens from their last remaining city once they finish it. More importantly, the French have built the pyramids, which will be very useful. Since the AI is such a push-over on this difficulty setting, the real challenge isn’t steamrollering them but rather pumping enough settlers to claim domination as quickly as possible, something that will be really helped by the pyramids.

Future plans
As the middle ages begin, I control the only iron on the main continent, besides Korea, who appear to be lagging severly anyway. This leaves me open to go wild with Ansars, hopefully before anyone can start building muskets. The French are definitely next, since they have the pyramids, and because I want to hit them before they can build the new and improved C3C musketeer. The more land I take the less likely they are to have saltpeter when it becomes available. Because Ansars are almost as good as cavalry, I’ll research the top branch of the tech tree first in order to get naval capability earlier. I may even shut off research entirely and just rush-build more ansars. It is entirely possible that the home continent itself is big enough to get domination without ever building a single ship.

My QSC map with six small but precious cities:


And my much larger empire at the start of the middle ages:


Evaluation:
Settling in place was probably a mistake. Those who hiked seem to have done better. Also delaying the Republic slingshot for so long was stupid. I should have skipped the Wheel and done it right after pottery. And I probably could have hit the Ottomans sooner, although that doesn’t matter too much in the long run.
On the positive side, I managed to make good use of the settlers I did have. The northern cities will be very productive with their hills and grasslands. I have as much of my core as could be expected given the starting position of the Russians. And I also managed to make it into the middle age in a strong military position. Without horses or iron, Russia will not be a threat until the industrial age, and France is about to get smacked before they can develop gunpowder.

 

[pindicator]

Open, Barbs Fixed

Wow, it's good to be back to civfanatics. It's been a long reprieve, almost a year I think -- stuck up in the boonies of Alaska will do that I suppose. Anyhow, I know my civ-skills are in decline because I haven't played in so long, but now that I'm back I can't resist the calling and here I go again. Picking up COTM12 hopefully with time enough to finish before the end of the month. So we'll try for a quick conquest/domination victory.

As I missed the QSC submission, I didn't write anything down and don't have specific dates. But I decided to plant on the spot because I didn't want to move far (and I started without checking out the pre-game discussion). I didn't see anything nearby, and I kind of regret that, but not too badly.

Russia was a big land-hog from the north. She hit the good lands in the north of the start spot just after I started settling, so it got a little crowded in there. Several times she just beat me to a settling location, especially the town just west of Mecca. Also a bit of a bully -- she's demanded techs from me twice so far. War with Russia is inevitable; as soon as anwars arrive she dies.

The other bully, to the south, is Otto-Man. He's a bit of a jerk. But between the two jerks, it's been peaceful so far. No wars of any kind. That'll change: I've finally hooked up horses, and have started pumping a few out.

Korea is completely backwards, and France is just a bit behind. I still don't think anyone else has contacted Korea, besides myself; the central location has helped as far as trading techs goes.

I'm still in a depotism, which I wonder why now -- I'm playing a religious civ, duh! My thinking was that I wanted to wait to hit the MA before revolting because of the down time, but if I'm religious that doesn't really stack up. Ah well.

So in 530BC I hit the Middle Ages. I have a full 11 cities, and two settlers are en route to new locations, however prime real estate is scarce and galleys will soon have to shuttle settlers about. Medina is a good 5 turn settler factory, which was good practice for me to get back in the swing of making the things. I had a couple mis-haps along the way, for sure.

Here's hoping for a violent Middle Ages.

 

[WarDance]

edit: playing open class

Well, I'm new to this so I don't have super detailed notes. This is my second GOTM... the first being a catastrophic failure in GOTM 43!

I moved the settler SE and settled directly on the incense hill. Built one scout that went north, the first scout went south. Built a granary and a settler before building anything else.

I was able to expand fairly rapidly but I neglected to check things out at the end of the QSC period so I don't remember how many towns. Think I had around 8. The Ottomans started roading the iron to the south and I plopped a city right next to it... they proceeded to road and mine it for me! I built barracks and warriors exclusively, forgetting how expensive they are to upgrade. Oh, well. When I remembered I started on the horses. I should have roaded them and built nothing but, but oh well. I went up the bottom of the tech tree, researching poly and monarchy. Switched to monarchy as soon as I got it and then switched off research to hoard gold for upgrades and temple rushing in soon to be conquered lands.

Declared war on the Ottomans in 510BC. By 410BC I had taken their capital and 2 northernmost cities. Around this time I see barb horses coming from the NE. I never explored past the mountains just NE of the capital and never realized there was more land up there! So I send some horse up there and finally find Korea in 290BC. Had no idea there was another civ on our continent. Somewhere in the 200's the French, Russians, and Ottomans all enter the MA. I'm able to trade for currency and enter the MA myself. I take one last Ottoman town and make peace with them for Engineering, Literature, and one town, leaving them with two towns very distant from each other.

In 190BC I'm researching Feudalism, have 21 towns, 4 settlers, 8 swords, 13 horses, 15 workers and a couple slaves, 9 warriors, 1 spear.

I'm remaining friendly with the Russians by gifting them some luxuries. As far as I can tell they don't have any horses! I have extra but will keep them to myself. The French have seven towns but four of them are building wonders. They should be easy pickings if I can get them before they have pikes. I want to eliminate them before they have a chance at muskets. Then I'll go after the Russians before they can get cavalry.

My empire in 190BC, just after entering the MA and ending my first war:

 

[THEMike]

I had to quit not long after I last posted. Everyone else had muskets and was so far ahead of me, then my border cities started to culture flip. I gave up in disgust.