[C3C] COTM148 Byzantines Demigod -- Spoilers

[Più Freddo]

COTM148 Byzantines Demigod Spoilers

In this game, you will rule over the Byzantines, who are Seafaring and Scientific and start the game with the knowledge of Alphabet and Bronze Working. This is a Demigod level game with no sponsored victory condition. The Byzantine unique unit is the dromon, a galley with stronger attack and bombardment, and with even lethal bombardment on sea.

This is your starting position:

For discussion and planning ahead, you again get a greater picture of the surroundings of your start position. Please note, that in the game those tiles will not be uncovered.

Scope of the Game

Map size: large
Map topology: individually formed Archipelago, small landmass
Rivals: 7 pre-selected
Barbarians: restless
Required victory condition: none

The game is released on July 1, 2019.
Submissions are due by September 30, 2019.

PLEASE NOTE THE DATE!

Game Release Page

Game release page

Spoiler Limit

(This limit will be changed as the game progesses.)

Industrial Times or Game Submitted

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until reaching Industrial Time or having submitted the game. The results of getting and trading bonus technologies at this stage are a permissible topic as well.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

 

[Più Freddo]

Industrial Times or Game Submitted

Spoilers are allowed covering the game up until reaching Industrial Time or having submitted the game. The results of getting and trading bonus technologies at this stage are a permissible topic as well.

No spoiler information from after fulfilling the spoiler requirement is allowed!

 

[Più Freddo]

Does anyone play this game at all?

 

[CKS]

So, this game is not going so well for me. I was shooting for a diplomatic victory, but it isn't looking too likely right now. I guess I'll be trying diplomatic again with the Americans.

I had barb trouble in the beginning due to not paying enough attention - barbs hit my capital, killing citizens, to start the game, and then I sent a settler on goto to build a town, and the computer walked it in to a barb hut. If I'd paid more attention in the beginning, this game would have played out far differently.

I took notes for a while, and then they petered out. Right now, I'm in the industrial age, but the AI have started building the UN. Whoever finishes it won't call the vote, but I'll have to try to take the UN city in order to win diplomatically, and I'm not optimistic about it. I hope to finish, one way or another, before the deadline.

Notes from early on:
Settle in place, start curragh, worker to BG, writing at max = 46 turns working fish.
Hut gives barbs – eventually they go into the town.
3250 – meet Carthage
2110 – meet Babylon
1950 – Babs have writing, switch from CoL to Philosophy
1675 – Meet Greece.
1575 – Meet England
1525 – lose philosophy race, trade writing
1500 – Meet Russia, trade writing for cash & techs
1350 – learn philosophy, trade things around, learning lit
Idiot settler walks into hut, gets barbs.
1100 – meet Rome
370 – finally meet Egypt, revolting to Republic
250 – now a republic
Get engineering as free tech – it is a monopoly, so I trade for monotheism and feudalism, some cash and resources.
230 AD Romans demand, I refuse, they declare.
360 Get FP message.
IBT: Carthage declares war, takes my town.
Make alliance with Babylon, but include luxes, and I don't have a sea path to them, so I've shot myself in the foot.
380 Sink a Roman galley to start my golden age.

 

[Captain_Jack]

I conquered my island and was happy enough..., until I met my neighbors. I am a peace-loving man I suppose and all I wanted was a cultural victory with no war. It was not to be. 30 AD, shown above, marked the high point of my civilization. I was soon invaded by Babylon and could never repulse their stinking hordes. My people were subjugated and I was decapitated. A fitting end.
I had a full AAR written up but this game ended for me months ago and I cannot recall any of the particulars other than a slow bleed to death.
Thanks to the creator Piu Freddo (I think) for making a nice island. I liked it while it lasted!

 

[Più Freddo]

It didn't go well for me either. I will not be able to finish it. My pride tells me poor play came from a lack of time and concentration, but it's not to be trusted.

 

[CKS]

Well, I managed to sneak out a win. Diplomatic in 1768.

1350 Greeks and Egyptians have started the UN. Buy Atomic Theory from Egypt for 301 gpt. Sell Atomic Theory to Russia for silks, rubber, a little gold, and Refining. Sell AT to Babylon for Combustion and 9 gpt. Sell AT to Carthage for 622 g + 69 gpt. Sell Medicine to Rome for 27 g + 19 gpt. Buy Mass Production for coal + 630 g + 99 gpt from Babylon. Sell Greece iron for 760 g. Single scientist on Motorized Transportation.

1410 Athens finishes UN.

1450 Buy flight from Greece for iron + 215 gpt. Buy electronics from Babylon for flight + 179 gpt + 120 g. Sell old techs to Rome for iron, nationalism, gpt. Sell electronics to Russia for silks, rubber, espionage.

1505 Trade flight + 10 gpt to Carthage for motorized transportation. Get Ecology for free.

1540 Athens has 9 rifles, 3 TOW. No oil.

1600 Declare on Greeks, ally Babs, Egypt, Carthage. Start pillaging.

1754 Take Athens (spaceship destroyed). 1405 – 1505 – 1605 -1705 = 60 turns. 1705 – 1750 = 9 turns, 1752, 1754 = 2 turns. 71 turns since UN was built. So 6 more turns until the election = 1766, I think.

1764 Declare on England = rival for diplomatic victory. Ally everyone but Greece.

1766 Hold vote, win in 1768.

 

[TheHaze]

I found this quite a difficult setup and made the things more complicated by some bad decision making on my side early on.
The slingshot race was a disaster. First I assumed we were away from any contact and went for Pottery, only to meet Carthago a few turns on. Then I thought I would not get the full slingshot and went for Philosophy directly, getting there quite early. So I decided to hold research for a few turns in the hope of someone getting Code of Laws for me, only to see that Babylon got Philosophy. There went my monopoly tech and my bonus tech.

I settled my main island, the small island to the north, the two tile island to the south and the incense island to the east. Next bad decision, I did not fill the incense island with troops (workers) early enough. So Carthago declares and starts sending galleys. I try to hold them off by bombarding with dromons without starting my GA and at least go into Republic. They finally sneak a couple of galleys through and land 4 numidian mercenaries. My army consists of 2 warriors and 12 dromons, so there is nothing I can do. Then Carthago decides to start my GA by attacking a dromon and losing. Lucky enough I have reached Republic before that. So I use the GA to catch up in research and get a few MI out.

At this point I knew that a military victory would be a long industrial / modern war grinding away at the AI, so I thought I was going for a scientific victory. First I took back the eastern island with MI and dromons and then filled the coast of all my land except for a designated landing spot for leader fishing. Rome, Babyon, Russia all declared war on me and started landings. At this point I had cannons and cavalry, so landings were no issue. It took me a really long time to finally get a leader, but I used this time to build up my main island (infrastructure).

Next problem: resources. Our main island had all the early resources, but none of the later ones. Furthermore, my saltpeter expired quite early on (did not know that this could happen, btw). The russians had saltpeter and rubber on their southern peninsula, so I had to invade. I sent over an infantry army, artillery and cavalry and slowly took their complete southern peninsula. I was even able to build some productive cities there as it was quite close to my capital. Oil was to be found in the northern carthagian swamps. I took it from Carthago by cleaning the swamp, building a town and building culture to steal it. Obviously they did not like my sneak trick, declared and destroyed my town. Ok, you shall have war. I had tank armies at that point so decided to conquer Carthago entirely. That turned out to be a good decision as they also had uranium and aluminium.

From then on it was just watching out that nobody would get the spaceship before me. I built the UN myself to prevent an accidental UN loss:
Your name: TheHaze
Entry class: Open
Game status: Spaceship Victory for Byzantines
Game date: 1550 AD
Firaxis score: 4885

My island shortly after Carthago took the eastern island. I am in my GA here:

My island at 1000 AD where you can still see the landing spot I created for the AI:

My island at the end. There were not that many productive cities so that made building the space ship a bit tricky:

Former russian territory:

Carthago: