TMNTurtle
Chieftain
I had been reading up a bit on CVs and general tactics, such as not overemphasizing rushbuying Unis, which means I can actually sign a few research agreements cause suddenly I have the cash for it. I decided to take my new strategies out for a spin on two maps that seemed very similar, but with completely opposing results.
The similarities being: decent lands on an isolated peninsula with difficulty to get any kind of science leech going using caravans. In hindsight the French lands were a bit worse and moving to the coast was probably a mistake. Actually, I find it kind of interesting that both me and penguin went to the coast with questionable results while the smart players stayed on the salty mountains.
BO: Scoutx2 start worker, shrine, finish worker, settlerx2
Ruins: unsure, but one culture, maybe one pop
Food religion: EM/tithe/SiP/FtW/IP
Policies: Full Trad, Aesthetics 1, Ratio 4, Freedom3/Explo 1, Ratio 1, Aesthetics 1, Finish Ratio, Freedom to lvl 3, finish Aesthetics
Tech pace: T107 Edu (no rushbuys), T128 Secularism (doublebulb), T189 Plastics, T217 Internet
T151 Machu Pichu (somehow still available ), I get Taj but Ramses snipes Ufizzi, which is ok, not my favourite CV wonder but the artist is nice (note: this is before I realized that the FREE GWAM from wonders, and not just from LToP are in fact not free).
Assyria got to order before me! So I go for freedom, I think order could've been nice on this map, especially with a food religion diminishing the need for freedom to run specialists.
Bulb RP (for SoL) into T189 Ratio-finisher Plastics. Most likely a misplay, should've saved it for internet, but I wanted it for my RAs. Actually my RAs were nowhere near finishing, so definately a misplay to not save it, since I didn't have faith for scientists by this point anyway.
IG won at T207, T217 internet (RA finishes at T216, could've delayed scientist bulbs one turn to get it T216)
Everyone denounces me and I return the favour, picking volunteer army and building a few subs. Since I'm isolated geographically the war never comes. Turtle zulu is the new meta.
so close!
T251 WR passed. Buy 2 faith musicians and send 2 natural (3x 6.5k and 1x 3.5k) for the victory.
Culture to beat: Morocco and Egypt at 40k each.
15 WWs (vs. Ramses 11 ): Sistine, LToP, Globe, Machu, PT, Taj M, Louvre, BB, Eiffel T, SoL, Broadway, Cristo, Sydney, CN T, Neuschw...
So a few inefficiencies, but all in all a decent game. I think I went a bit hard on bulbing all my GWAMs and could have used maybe one or two extra great works instead to boost my base tourism. I also tried to build and work the musician's guild late after reading up a bit, this worked out fine but I don't think it is necessary. Still, I couldn't fit it into my buildorder earlier either due to other priorities.
Feels good to have CV with a decent finishing time vs runaways while essentially playing the neutrals.
Since my prayers to the cargo cult went so well I thought I would transfer my method to that other map since they were so similar after all, right? I had actually already played "Magnifique" up to ~T30 four or so times. Quitting either because I wasn't feeling it or because I suicided all my scouts while trying to get workers (Haile had built all his cities on hills). I should've gone with my gut feeling on this one.
My sympathies for anyone trying for their first CV on this map. As Nizef already pointed out there are plenty of better options. I found it to be quite hard actually. Not as in a hard Deity map, but definitely hard by EDG standards and the least enjoyable one for me so far by a wide margin (at least that I've played to completion, my aborted attempt at EDGE#99 using Acken-Liberty comes close ^^). Although, I suppose there is always a kind of enjoyment in experiencing new extremes.
BO: scoutx2 shrine worker settler archer settler
Snatch last religion T87 after 5-turn wait, phew! At T95 Washington enters renaissance through gunpowder, speedy! T118 Education into T161 ST. Haile is running away with all the wonders (9 WWs by T104) while Darius has somehow found the rationalism tree despite being an AI, completing Eiffel at T174 and Broadway by T181 and he has LToP, sigh.
Things are going sideways way too fast so I prepare to arty-rush Haile to prevent a loss. Even as I switch gears I forsee my entire army dying on the isthmus to the north since things are proceeding slowly enough for Haile to comfortably get flight by then. Of course, this is exactly what happens.
But before then as if things weren't bad enough I get double DoWed- by Attila and Haile while I'm still building barracks and factories. You see, way back when I took out some big loans and wanted to get free. I did every nasty diplo move you're allowed without being the backstabber to try to get them to betray me. Of course they stayed friendly, but now that the DoFs and RAs have run their course they are hungry for revenge.
My trade fleets instantly desintegrate, which means that the gpt I was going to use to get some allies to help me take down Haile is gone. My capital takes 4 turns to build artillery, my expos about 8, not fun. Trier falls in 2 turns to Haile's fleet while still building its castle. My fledgling army marches north after narrowly defeating the Ehtiopian navy south of the Cape of Ormus, but France was doomed from the start.
T221 Lyon falls. T222 Trier falls for the 4th and last time. T226 the general of the northern assault force is finally executed by the enemy only after his troops have already been bombed to smithereens. T231 an absentminded Napoleon orders for the completion of Prora while the enemy marches on Paris and takes it at T234. T237 Total defeat.
2 WWs engineered: Brandenburg, Prora
France before disaster:
Spoiler EDGE#49 Zulu EDGE#93 France :
The similarities being: decent lands on an isolated peninsula with difficulty to get any kind of science leech going using caravans. In hindsight the French lands were a bit worse and moving to the coast was probably a mistake. Actually, I find it kind of interesting that both me and penguin went to the coast with questionable results while the smart players stayed on the salty mountains.
Spoiler EDGE#49 Zulu - T266 Peaceful CV :
BO: Scoutx2 start worker, shrine, finish worker, settlerx2
Ruins: unsure, but one culture, maybe one pop
Food religion: EM/tithe/SiP/FtW/IP
Policies: Full Trad, Aesthetics 1, Ratio 4, Freedom3/Explo 1, Ratio 1, Aesthetics 1, Finish Ratio, Freedom to lvl 3, finish Aesthetics
Tech pace: T107 Edu (no rushbuys), T128 Secularism (doublebulb), T189 Plastics, T217 Internet
T151 Machu Pichu (somehow still available ), I get Taj but Ramses snipes Ufizzi, which is ok, not my favourite CV wonder but the artist is nice (note: this is before I realized that the FREE GWAM from wonders, and not just from LToP are in fact not free).
Assyria got to order before me! So I go for freedom, I think order could've been nice on this map, especially with a food religion diminishing the need for freedom to run specialists.
Bulb RP (for SoL) into T189 Ratio-finisher Plastics. Most likely a misplay, should've saved it for internet, but I wanted it for my RAs. Actually my RAs were nowhere near finishing, so definately a misplay to not save it, since I didn't have faith for scientists by this point anyway.
IG won at T207, T217 internet (RA finishes at T216, could've delayed scientist bulbs one turn to get it T216)
Everyone denounces me and I return the favour, picking volunteer army and building a few subs. Since I'm isolated geographically the war never comes. Turtle zulu is the new meta.
so close!
T251 WR passed. Buy 2 faith musicians and send 2 natural (3x 6.5k and 1x 3.5k) for the victory.
Culture to beat: Morocco and Egypt at 40k each.
15 WWs (vs. Ramses 11 ): Sistine, LToP, Globe, Machu, PT, Taj M, Louvre, BB, Eiffel T, SoL, Broadway, Cristo, Sydney, CN T, Neuschw...
So a few inefficiencies, but all in all a decent game. I think I went a bit hard on bulbing all my GWAMs and could have used maybe one or two extra great works instead to boost my base tourism. I also tried to build and work the musician's guild late after reading up a bit, this worked out fine but I don't think it is necessary. Still, I couldn't fit it into my buildorder earlier either due to other priorities.
Feels good to have CV with a decent finishing time vs runaways while essentially playing the neutrals.
Since my prayers to the cargo cult went so well I thought I would transfer my method to that other map since they were so similar after all, right? I had actually already played "Magnifique" up to ~T30 four or so times. Quitting either because I wasn't feeling it or because I suicided all my scouts while trying to get workers (Haile had built all his cities on hills). I should've gone with my gut feeling on this one.
penguin74 said:EDG 93 turn 330 loss
I give up. The elusive 1st cultural victory on deity might be unreachable. Had started replaying some of the older one, but I wanted that first CV, so played this a few times.
My sympathies for anyone trying for their first CV on this map. As Nizef already pointed out there are plenty of better options. I found it to be quite hard actually. Not as in a hard Deity map, but definitely hard by EDG standards and the least enjoyable one for me so far by a wide margin (at least that I've played to completion, my aborted attempt at EDGE#99 using Acken-Liberty comes close ^^). Although, I suppose there is always a kind of enjoyment in experiencing new extremes.
Spoiler EDGE#93 Magnifique 5th attempt - T237 loss by domination :
BO: scoutx2 shrine worker settler archer settler
Snatch last religion T87 after 5-turn wait, phew! At T95 Washington enters renaissance through gunpowder, speedy! T118 Education into T161 ST. Haile is running away with all the wonders (9 WWs by T104) while Darius has somehow found the rationalism tree despite being an AI, completing Eiffel at T174 and Broadway by T181 and he has LToP, sigh.
Things are going sideways way too fast so I prepare to arty-rush Haile to prevent a loss. Even as I switch gears I forsee my entire army dying on the isthmus to the north since things are proceeding slowly enough for Haile to comfortably get flight by then. Of course, this is exactly what happens.
But before then as if things weren't bad enough I get double DoWed- by Attila and Haile while I'm still building barracks and factories. You see, way back when I took out some big loans and wanted to get free. I did every nasty diplo move you're allowed without being the backstabber to try to get them to betray me. Of course they stayed friendly, but now that the DoFs and RAs have run their course they are hungry for revenge.
My trade fleets instantly desintegrate, which means that the gpt I was going to use to get some allies to help me take down Haile is gone. My capital takes 4 turns to build artillery, my expos about 8, not fun. Trier falls in 2 turns to Haile's fleet while still building its castle. My fledgling army marches north after narrowly defeating the Ehtiopian navy south of the Cape of Ormus, but France was doomed from the start.
T221 Lyon falls. T222 Trier falls for the 4th and last time. T226 the general of the northern assault force is finally executed by the enemy only after his troops have already been bombed to smithereens. T231 an absentminded Napoleon orders for the completion of Prora while the enemy marches on Paris and takes it at T234. T237 Total defeat.
2 WWs engineered: Brandenburg, Prora
France before disaster:
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