COTM47 - First Spoiler

[civ_steve]

COTM 47 First Spoiler - the Ancient Age!

Reading Requirements

1. You must be able to research a Middle Age technology.
2. You must have contact with all remaining civs on your starting continent.

Posting Restrictions

• Feel free to discuss AI contacts, Diplomacy and Trades, but do not reveal AI locations. Do not post a minimap.
• No discussions of the middle ages (or later)
• No screenshots of any middle-age (or later) resources.
• Absolutely NO discussion of any other currently active 'X'OTM!

Did you like the starting location, or try to wander off somewhere else? If you didn't wander, did you found in place, on the coast, or further inland? How did the Ancient Age go for you? Any powerhouse AI's on your continent? And have you figured out who the 'Minor' AI is?

 

[MarleysGh0st]

I've been comfortable playing at Monarch level, so this game promised to be a challenge for me. And, from reading the War Academy and seeing how badly I was surpassed in COTM46, I realized that my builder habits would have to change. We'll see how well I can adopt new strategies.

I moved my settler one square SW, to avoid overlapping the coast and desert squares. Early expansion was northwards towards the cattle, then towards securing the iron and horses. The goody huts weren't so good; I popped 25 GP, a worker, and then two warriors.

Early trading was decent, but after establishing a border with Greece, there was no chance for an early rush to war, nor any great desire for horsemen and swords going up against their hoplites. A massive barbarian uprising south of my territory in 430 BC kept me quite busy enough. And when Cleo demanded 20 GP in 370 BC, I was glad enough to pay it.

I switched to Monarchy in 30 BC and researched currency in 90 AD to enter the Middle Ages...

 

[MarleysGh0st]

Either I'm the only one playing this month or everyone else managed to win a victory in the ancient age.

 

[Red Horse]

Nah, MG you’re not alone. But like yourself, I find emperor level somewhat of a challenge. This game, with it’s dearth of luxes and very annoying barbs, has found me in last place going into the MA.

I made contacts fairly quick despite losing way too many boats to floaty barbs; as such, I was able to trade techs and keep close through the AA, but now find I’m losing ground in the MA.

This game, I believe, is still winnable but the score would be an embarrassment. Since outside chores now call for much of my time I don’t see this game being completed in time to submit.

I look forward to reading how the game plays out. Good luck all.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Cruel and unusual punishment... I am struggling due to the distant, hard to reach luxes that are all owned by someone else and the raging barbs with depleted uranium spears and axes(barb horse defeats healthy veteran sword fortified behind walls). I am also getting whipped by Egyptian rSpears (my vHorse doesn't scratch an rSpear, my vSword get 1 hp before dying, then my rHorse dies, again dealing no damage) I can't get my towns to grow without continuous riots, I missed the Republic Slingshot, and Egypt is becoming a runaway. If I didn't know better, I'd swear this was Deity level. I may not finish due to the extremely bad RnG and map, making this COTM like a trip to the proctologist

 

[I. Larkin]

Cruel and unusual punishment... I am struggling due to the distant, hard to reach luxes that are all owned by someone else and the raging barbs with depleted...

Did you play Predator?

Predator, to avoid Pink Animal yelping...
Moved Worker on Wheat and settle on spot. Research Pottery on max. Warrior scout west and met Greeks, they probably did contact with Egypians. Met Egyptians soon, their Warrior come to help fight Barbarians at my land. Trade Alpha from Greeks and start Writing in Max. Suffered disease, that destroy rithm of settler-worker factory.
Got Republic smoothly at 1250 BC. Got hand-waving contact with English via English Channel.
Curragh made contact with Hitties an sank at 1150 BC. Trade Map making from Hitties, and with help of Galley contacted Ottos at 975 BCBC. Trade rest of MA techs form Hitties at 950 BC and came to MA. Decided to wait Chivlry for active war. Declare War to Hitties and bound Ottos to conflict bounded with Peace treaty.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I am playing open class, and I also made the critical error of refusing an Egyptian demand and then allying with Greece against them. They pwned the Greeks with a seemingly limitless amount of war chariots. I had to break the alliance to keep them from destroying me. Now, my plans are to build a Mongol horde of Keshiks and scour them off the planet.

 

[Honda[SU]]

Open, I all still want Domination.

1000BC:
CM – 419
Culture – 136 (2 per turn)
Land – 157
Gold – 118
Cities – 13
Citizens – 40
Units – 2 Warriors, 2 Curragh, 1 Setler, 28 Workers, 3 Slaves
Buildings – 1 Granary, 2 Barracks, 3 Marketplaces, 2 Harbors
Resources – 0
Contacts – 5

800BC – enter to MA alone
710BC – ToA in Karakorum

 

[Lanzelot]

This game is not going well for me, either... At first I thought: "great, two 4-turners, this is going to be easy sailing!". But then everything started to go wrong.

Very early on Karamorum suffered from swamp desease and went from size 3 back to 1. Missed the Republic Slingshot by 3 turns. Barbs destroyed the granery in Ta-Tu, delaying the second 4-turner. Barbs sank my first two Curraghs, preventing early overseas contacts. A regular Egyptian Warrior killed a fortified veteran Swordsman in a town on a hill, took the town and destroyed my next galley a few turns before completion. Barbs several times destroyed the half-finished granery in the town, which I intended to become the FP site. Barbs destroyed the granery in Karakorum in a very peculiar way: I was running a -2gpt deficit at that time in order to finish a tech earlier, but I still had 4 or 5 gold in the treasury. Then in the interturn a horde of barb horses pillaged a border village of mine and took away the gold... Now guess what got disbanded by my ministry of finance: the granery in Karakorum, quite unexpectedly destroying my settler factory!

Barbs also destroyed a number of workers and a settler or two. I guess, I played too carelessly in this game. At one point I got nice war happiness as the Greeks and Egyptians had declared on me, but I made peace with one of them and forgot to adjust my lux slider... resulting in a general riot...

I didn't take any notes this time, but my QSC stats would be something like:
11 or 12 towns,
14 techs,
horses and iron, but no luxes
2 contacts (English borders visible for ages, but no contact possible, yet)

My worst start in ages. Lateron it got a bit better, though. After I had 4 horses and 4 swords, I was able to take(destroy) two Greek towns, and in the following peace deal I got two techs and two towns. Now I can concentrate on the Egyptians, which kind of ran away with the game: at the beginning of the Middle age (appr. 100BC) they are at 20 towns compared to my 21. On the other continent Sumeria seems to be the powerhouse with 16 towns.

To answer some of civ_steve's questions: I settled in place. Normally I would have moved away from the coast to get a more centrally placed capital, but in this food-deprived starting position I wanted to use the flood plain wheat right from the beginning. Imagine how surprised I was, when I found out that a 4-turner was possible from this starting position...
I'm still missing one contact (Ottomans), but I already dare to make a guess about the "Minor" civ: India, isn't it? It has only 5 towns, but is the technically most advanced civ, and Delhi already build 3 great wonders. (I've never seen an AS going for 20K before... )

Cheers, Lanzelot

 

[Paul#42]

Units – 2 Warriors, 2 Curragh, 1 Setler, 28 Workers, 3 Slaves

No horses in the AT? How did you cope with barbs?
28 workers in impressive!

 

[Honda[SU]]

No horses in the AT? How did you cope with barbs?
28 workers in impressive!

I have occupied the north by 1000BC. Greeks have occupied my northwest. In the east there was an ocean. Therefore remains, where Barbarians were born. To me with struggle against them helped Greek Archer. I have reached Horses only by means of the constructed ToA.

I never build many armies right at the beginning of game. At Despotism I build only a minimum of Warriors for suppression of disorders. At transition to Republic I dismiss the majority of Warriors. Usually I am at war only fast units (Horsemen/Knights), instead of the pedestrian soldiers. Therefore I do not modernize Warriors up to Swordsmen. Also I do not wish to pay for them two gold for a course.

I build Workers always much in the beginning of game. About two Workers for one city. On this map it is a lot of mountains and jungle, therefore Workers it is required even more.

 

[supersova_SU]

HONDA= great start...

you have finish game ?
или как всегда ?...

 

[Honda[SU]]

HONDA= great start...

you have finish game ?
или как всегда ?...

как всегда ... думаю ... но я стараюсь

 

[Chamnix]

Predator, going for domination.

I chose to move the settler NE to get on the coast. Of course the worker went to the wheat. As I often do with a flood plains wheat start, my first build is a worker. Research set to Pottery at full speed. My capital built the worker, 1 warrior, 1 settler, granary, then 4 turn settlers.

My exploration was very weak since I started with just the one warrior, and I kept him close to home to guard against barbarians. My second city was settled along the river. My third settler went to the northwest to settle on the greenery and found the cows – one just before settling, and the second only as I founded the town.

Greece was met in 2590 BC and Egypt in 2270 BC. I saw an English border across the channel in 1910 BC, but it wasn’t until 925 BC that the city got a cultural expansion, and I met Liz.

After Pottery research went to the Republic slingshot completed in 1125 BC. In the same year prior to revolting, I established embassies with both Greece and Egypt. I declared war on Egypt and renegotiated peace with Greece including an alliance against Egypt. In 690 BC I upgraded 10 veteran warriors to swords and pulled to average against Greece. Still hoping Greece would declare on me to ease the low luxury crunch, when the deal came up for renewal in 630 BC, I resigned the peace/alliance with Greece.

QSC:

12 cities
29 citizens
15 workers
6 warriors
3 archers



It was at this point, I discovered that India must be the “minor” civ:



You don’t often see 1 tribe with the top five cities by 1000 BC .

By 230 BC the honorable Greeks still had not broken our deal, so I finally declared on them and immediately signed peace with Egypt including an alliance against the Greeks. The Greeks had already been beaten down somewhat by Egypt, so progress was fairly quick despite the hoplites.

The massive barb uprising occurred in 590 BC while I still lacked Currency and Construction. In 130 BC, I finally met the Hittites and purchased my way into the Middle Ages.

 

[Paul#42]

3950 Karakorum founded NE, works forest. worker to wheat. 100% The Wheel, then Republic.
Build sequence: scout - warrior - worker - granary - settlers

meetings
3650 Greece (+BW, Alpha; -Pot, WC)
3150 Egypt (+Mas, BW, CB; -Alpha, Pot, WC)
did not write down when I met the others (except for India...)

research
3650 Alpha (Greece)
3050 CB, Mas, BW (Egypt)
2850 TW (self)
2030 Writing (self), Myst (Egypt)
1550 CoL (self), Maths (Greece)
1375 Philo (self), Republic (free),

huts
3600 worker
3100 Ta-Tu (2S-10SW)
2550 maps

internal stuff
1350 revolt, 5 turns of anarchy
1225 Republic formed

950 Currency, Middle Ages. Greece get Mono, and Ottoman get Feudalism
Get both for Republic and Literature.

edit: darn! Forgot to submit QSC. Sorry Più.