COTM 15 Second Spoiler - Middle Ages, World Map

[Ronald]

This was a real fun game. One of the most enjoyable games in the last time. Great starting place for early expansion, central location for quick conquest and a perfect UU - it can hardly be any better.

After researching chivalry there was constant war on two or three fronts at the same time. The defenders were mostly spearmen only at the very end I saw some pikemen.

Final outcome: conquest victory in 190 AD

 

[DBear]

Ancient Age
Industrial Age

Live and Let Laos
In -750 we sell backward Japan math for 288, using the money to open embassies. The war is not going well. A spear in Viangchan is killing our swords. I fear a Vijay stab for Karachi in -610, but it doesn't happen. We finally take Viangchan that year, and we get our workers back. Laotians refuse to give us Republic for peace. We make peace in -530, getting 20 + Muang Xaignabouri. The turn before, we lost the race to the GL, taking the Mausoleum as a consolation prize.

Prince of Persia
In -510 the Arabs decide they want to go another round. Jaipur is built at this time, Hyderabad 60 years later. We spot a Persian archer in -410. The Persians are advanced, and had to have beaten us to philo. We also found Bengal at this time, but since Bengal is a region and not a city, we later rename it Khulna. In -390 we learn feud, trading it to Laos for republic + 44.

Revolution
Next turn, we go into anarchy. Gems are roaded to help with happiness in the forthcoming republic. Sumeria starts whinging about the fighting going on near Erech, so I sign RoP with them in -330, which is also the start of the Republic. Arabs make peace, giving us 20. Why do they keep doing this? In -230 we found Chittagong on the silks by the coast, squeezing in between 2 Chinese towns. We learn mono in -190 and start chiv.

Turn of the Millenium
At -10 we learn chiv, start theo. Time to breed some phants. Next turn we build Punjab, but rename it Rawalpindi. We trade chiv to Laos for engineer, wine, monarch + 40. We can almost get invention from China for all we have. In 70 we build Dacca. Next turn Japan bluffs, as does China 4 turns later. In 190 we learn theo and trade it to China for invent, fur, 26 + 3/turn. An embassy with Persia is finally established in 210. Meanwhile our galley has been sailing around, discovering Sri Lanka and the Maldives. The Arabs threaten to go a 3rd round in 260, but back down.

Elephant Talk
Also in 260, Vijay gets Templars. We learn ed in 300, trade ed to Laos for guns, 103 + 13/turn. We have saltpeter between Lahore and Rawalpindi. Start banking. Trade ed to Sumer for 21 + 38/turn. Time to for the elephants to march, and the Vijay are to be the first target. Elephant is redlined in first battle, but still gets us the GA. We take Thiruvanathapuram (yeesh, what a name) next turn, even though a wounded phant gets killed by a WARRIOR. What a pathetic way to die. Meanwhile, China declares war on Persia. We trade luxes with Laos and learn bank in 350, trading it to Persia for chem, 78 + 55/turn, trading bank to Sumeria for 57 + 50/turn. Penukonda proves a tough nut to crack, so we take Bhubeshnawar instead. In 400 we learn metal, trading it to Sumer for astro, 12 + 12/turn.

Fortunate One
In 410 the RNG favors us as a redlined phant holds off a healthy knight, and a wounded phant beats a healthy pike to take Penukonda. We also take 2 slaves, 2 trebs, and an intact rax, whereupon we immediately upgrade the trebs to cannon! Next turn we trade astro to Persia for PP, fur + 13. Chitradurga falls in 450, giving us incense. The following turn we learn military, trading it to China for econ, music, 80 + 41/turn. In 480 Gajendragarth falls. Still no leaders yet.

Mapping the World
The GA ends in 510. The next turn we learn physics, start grav. We also take Anegondi. According to the power graph, China is losing the war to Persia. After a lengthy siege, Vijayanagar, with the Knights Templar, falls to us in 600 and next turn pops a templar. Trade grav to Persia in 620 for fur, demo + TM. China is getting their butts kicked. We trade TMs with everyone. Next turn we learn magnets, moving into the IA, also taking Talikota.

Didn't get a save ending the MA, this is the closest I have:

 

[MeteorPunch]

Open - 100k

Great game Kunigas.

Early Timeline
800BC - Vijay completes ToA.
710BC - I declare war on them with horses.
670BC - capture ToA.
530BC - Lan Xing builds Pyramids.
410BC - Monotheism reseached.
390BC - Vijay eliminated. Pyramids captured.
310BC - Chivalry discovered. Revolt on the IT.
290BC - Feudalism begins.
210BC - Eliminate Vijay. Declare war on Arabia. Ally Sumeria for 6 gold.
190BC - GA begins.
170BC - China won't leave my territory. China declares war. Ally Persia vs. Arabs and Chinese.
50BC - 1st MGL. army.
70AD - 2nd MGL. army.

I waged a 2-sided war vs. Arabia and China, eventually signing peace with both. Next, allied Persia vs. Sumeria and they fell fast. Used Rop rape on Persia to get the Oracle, Hanging Garden, and Sun Tzu, eventually finishing Persia off. I kept China and Arabia in the game so Japan would have someone to mess with besides me.

I clearly had my strategy wrong coming into the game. My rush order was cathedral (80/3), library (80/3), followed by endless settlers, then eventually colosseums (120/2). Now I think it should've been settlers, then culture buildings. Since I started poprushing culture in 290BC, I was getting doubled culture at the end, but not enough to justify the build order. I didn't reach domination until 380AD...that was slow compared to others on this map.

I pressed enter for the last 10 turns and maybe could've squeezed out enough culture to finish a turn faster, but that hardly matters. 100k culture victory in 1030AD, 11791 Jason.

 

[Megalou]

MeteorPunch,

You beat me by ONE point.

So I guess you get a too.

 

[killercane]

Hey I wouldnt be depressed with that score! I knew you could get a really nice date with this setup.

I really suck at 100K games but those ToA temples are 2 cpt per 30 shields, which easily outweighs the other culture builds. So expanding to close to your city limit before getting to Feudalism seems to be the way to go if you can figure out the best time to switch governments.

 

[PaperBeetle]

Open, going for conquest

The medieval arrives in 975bc, with the research of Currency. I have Literature and Monarchy in my pocket, so I bring Sumeria forward. Gil gets feudalism but won't trade it, so I bring Persia forward too. Xerxes gets Feudalism too, so at the non-monopoly price, I get Feudalism for Monarchy.

I haven't gone to war yet, but I'm about to. I was building up swords to attack the Lan Xang, but now I can upgrade them to maces. In 900bc, with 8 maces, I dow and use my tech lead to get a dogpile going. My troops breeze through the Lan Xang, not least because they insist on building wonders instead of military; Luangphrabang finishes Mausollos in 690bc and immediately starts on the Glibrary. The Lan Xang are finished off in 550bc.

Fuelled by deals I made while at war with Lan Xang, my tech pace is strong, and I research Chivalry in 450bc, Engineering in 330bc and Invention in 210bc. Meanwhile, the AI has been researching too, but is concentrating on the upper side of the tech tree. I have no interest up there, so I don't trade tech with them. If I can keep them from ever learning Gunpowder, my conquest will be immeasurably easier.

Since the discovery of Chivalry, I have been stockpiling elephants, and in 170bc I am ready to give them a spin. Sumeria is the target; the two scientific caves are the biggest research threat, so I need to shut them down if I to keep guns to myself. Persia, Vijaya and China are brought into the war too, and by 50ad Sumeria is reduced to a single town on the small tundra peninsula on the north coast - I leave Persia to pick this one off, which takes them until 170ad to achieve.

By this time I have researched through Gunpowder (110bc), Chemistry (10bc), Metallurgy (70ad) and Military (150ad), at which point I shut off research. I don't hook up saltpetre until I am ready to start the next war. This is 230ad, the same year my golden age ends. I have enough cash to upgrade 21 elephants to cavalry, and I have a Vijayan unit trespassing in my territory... I abuse Krishna until he is furious, and then give him boot order. He dows. Then he dies.

Against the Vijaya, I don't bother getting allies. It isn't necessary - I cruise through their land taking Artemis and the Lighthouse, and then razing the Glibrary (AI already have Theology, which would neutralise Artemis). The last Vijayan island town is taken in 310ad, and I move straight on to the Arabs the same turn, after extorting a free town from them.

In the last year of my Arabian campaign, 380ad, Japan sees fit to rape my ROP, capturing my spice town (on the island south of Vijaya). The AI have Gunpowder too, but no one has hooked it up yet. Still, the clock is ticking. I need to shake things up a bit more, so I dow on Persia, and get China to join me against both the Persians and Japanese. Persia never does get to use guns, but the Japanese sneak a turn with saltpetre hooked up before I can pillage it again. I have little trouble rolling through Persia, and although my invasion of Japan isn't whole-hearted, I hit the domination limit in 490ad.

That's the only pre-1000ad win I ever got, and it earns me over 11k Jasons, which I'm fairly pleased with. I think I could have been a little faster if I had switched into domination mode after getting Artemis. I knew at that point that I would win by dom, not conquest, but I didn't follow through with a shift in strategy. I could have rushed out a bunch of settlers for a last-minute land grab, and I never got around to using my ROP rape - I was saving this for the Chinese.

Still, it's great fun to have such an easy game to play with once in a while.
Very resource rich too:

 

[hendrikszoon]

@Kuningas

Galactic.

 

[denyd]

COTM 15 – Spoiler # 2

Wonder builds
Great Library in Bombay in 310 BC
Knights Templar in Bombay in 110 AD
Forbidden Palace in Bombay in 330 AD
JS Bach’s Cathedral in 730 AD

War & Conquests
70 AD – 390 AD Arabs declare war on India
90 AD Ally with Persia against Arabs
520 AD Declare war on Lan Xang
550 AD Sumer destroys Arabs

Victory condition progress
World leader in culture, top of the chart on land & population

Other items
Golden Age begins with War Elephant win in 70 AD
Elite War Elephant produces 1st MGL

[As you can see I'm quite far behind on posting spoilers, so I've gone to an abbreviated summary until I catch up]