I've been trying a few different approaches without Maya. The idea has been to take turns off Antiquity and Exploration as the Modern finish will be slower without the Maya UQ.
I played a couple of games with Assyria to try to capture developed towns/cities (meaning those with large populations and ideally a few buildings) and get a few free Future Techs for attribute points. While this sort of worked, my culture rate suffered and captured settlements means you have a lower Influence rate and consequently can't suz as many IP's. This then slowed civic and IP acquisition in the Exploration Age too much. I used Xerxes KoK for one game and Ada for the other. A leader with Diplo bonuses might be better.
The benefit of capturing developed settlements (or gaining them in peace deals) was the main takeaway - it means I needed to build-up military far more than I have in the past.
Now got a new PB and the following is half report, half guide:
Pangea+ Huge map; Standard speed; update 1.2.4; Deity (no countdown clock, continuity, bypass Civ unocks enabled)
142 turns: 92 Antiquity, 36 Exploration, 14 Modern
Confucius leading Han --> Abbasids --> Japan
Mementos: Cultural + Diplo attributes, Diplo + Influence on Science Buildings, Diplo + Science attributes
End city count by age: 5, 11, 2
Legacy paths by age: Ant - all complete; Exp - Economy 0/3, rest complete
Golden Ages: Both Scientific
General approach: Expand as fast as possible (get 4 towns settled ASAP); pick one neighbour as target of war from around t60 onwards; suz a Cultural IP first then a Science IP and pick the free Civic/Tech bonuses; try to keep culture and science rates high (maybe suz another Cultural and/or Scientific IP to help with this but....); to get attribute points from free civics/techs, save Influence to suz as many IP's as possible, timed so they suz on the same turn at the end of the age (Note: in the 1.2.4 Update, when you hit 100%, there will still always be one more turn so some of the IP's can be suzed 1 turn later but you need to make sure to hit 100%!).
Leader/Civs:
Confucius: Great for helping Towns grow quickly which is a benefit for gold generation, resource acquisition and cheaper conversion to cities (thanks to higher populations if left to grow). The Science on specialists isn't very relevant in Antiquity but becomes stronger as the game progresses.
Han: Extra pop is super for getting resources earlier. The Traditions are excellent for this approach (providing Influence on Happiness Buildings, Influence on Science Buildings, and 1 Science on Specialists) and the unique civics also give extra Influence. Great Wall: tricky. Reducing the population on completion is good for lowering the next population threshold but bad if you want to convert a town to a city as that will increased the cost of conversion. So either buy them (which is expensive) in Towns that you don't want to convert until conversion is a fixed 1,000g or build them in Cities once they're converted or some combination. I wanted as many as possible of them to buff the base culture rate in Exploration and ended up with 7 across the empire which didn't feel like much!!
Abbasids: Science, Science, Science Traditions plus gold from all the Specialists you place.
Japan: Gaining Science from overbuilding is key. No other civ can do this and it allows you to bulb techs which you're going to need to do get to Rocketry in as few turns as possible.
Map:
I want at least one resource which provides 2 or more production in range of the cap. If there isn't, I'll reroll the map (unless there's some astonishing alternative like a NW or lots of Gold resources - as was the case here!!), I think the production from t1 is that important.
My ideal map: 1 or more Cotton resources in the cap's area. For the first 4 Towns: Clay resources to drop in the cap as it develops, Game or Fish resources to drop in Towns, Gypsum for new cities; For the Cap and first 2-3 towns: Lots of Gold resources. Buying buildings is the vast majority of expenses and every gold resource provides massive savings.
More detailed approach:
Antiquity:
Government: The Culture/Wonder one
t1-20: Start with Scout then two more Scouts to find 1. goody huts; 2. neighbours; 3. IP locations; and 4. Gold Resources and Resources giving production. Prioritise Culture and Gold from goody huts. Culture for getting early civics ASAP (in this game I was first to get Mysticism so could have chosen Influence on the Alter but chose not to as Han's civics will provide a good amount - took Stone Circles (production on pits, quarries, mines) instead). Gold is for purchasing the first or second Settler. Try to get the first Settler built or bought by t15, the second by t20, third and fourth as soon as possible after but some buildings/units might be needed. Settle locations with production resources and Gold resources.
Neighbours: I nearly always offer the 20 Influence on first meeting. The exception is if it's already clear they are a very close neighbour and I know I'm going to want to go to war with them but that's tricky in the opening 1-20 turns. If a neighbour offers a Cultural endeavour, support it. Any other endeavour, just accept. Offer someone a Science endeavour if you can.
t21-50: Keep exploring with the Scouts. Consider researching Sailing reasonably early as there will be goody huts in the sea (!). Once the free commander is granted, take available military units (minimum 2) to go and take out an aggressive IP that might or might not be in a spot you want to settle. Doesn't matter which type, it's more to get the Maneuver and Movement after unpacking promotions. If possible, suz a cultural IP around t35-40 and take free civics bonus. If you suz too early, you it grants a cheap civic which is a shame. With the Han and diplo memento combo, the first suz gives a diplo attribute so now the cost of suzing drops from 170 to 114. Start befriending a Sci IP for free techs and another cultural IP for 1 culture on warehouses. Other civs don't tend to suz an IP before t60 in my experience so you'll likely have your choice of the bonuses.
Settling: Get the 4th and 5th settlements down ASAP. It doesn't matter too much if they go down a few turns before the respective settlement cap is at 4 or 5 but not too many turns as getting Celebrations is really important for increased +20% Culture and extra policy slots. If you've identified a neighbour for war, forward settle.
Towns: Use gold to start developing the Towns. Buy Granaries first to help them grow quicker, then the production warehouse buildings. Convert the first city when the conversion cost is at the minimum (200g). Hopefully this will be around t50 with the Han/Confucius combo.
Cap: The cap has lots to do which is why production resources are so important. Settler(s), Warehouse buildings, Alter, Monument, Library, military units and most importantly at this stage imo: Great Stele. With the recent buff it's a gold machine and will make the difference between how many GA Academies you can take into Exploration. It doesn't often get built by the ai until towards t50 but can come in much sooner. My rule of thumb is have it built by t47.
t51-60: Prep time for wars and wonders. The Oracle and Emile Bell with their attribute points are essential builds. Emile Bell unlocks later now but concentrate on unlocking the Oracle and building it. Your first city after the cap can contribute by building something like Gate of All Nations for war. By this point, it should be becoming clear who your friends and enemies are going to be. The ideal marker is someone close by denouncing you. They'll almost definitely declare war when the 10-turn action is complete so if you don't already have some, build a few military units when they denounce you. You don't need a huge army but on Deity, each enemy unit will need 3-4 hits to destroy. Ancient Walls on Town centres near their borders is advisable.
A couple of war tips for a small army:
a. If the ai moves their units to your border before their 10-turn denouncement has completed, denounce their military presence as soon as possible (make sure you're ready!) - they will declare war but you will get extra war support. The earlier you do it, the more support you will get.
b. Pack your commander with 4 units and have it ready nearby the first settlement you want to capture (ideally their capital). If it's got more than one set of walls, don't bother, find a softer target. The commander needs to have the Maneuver and Unpack promotions. Often the ai will move their army towards the settlement they want to capture from you and Walls plus 2-3 units can be enough to hold them off. Meanwhile, the ai will often leave their capital or other large settlement behind the lines unguarded. Swoop your commander in, unpack, and you'll usually by able to capture it that turn or 1 later.
t61-80: There will probably be lots going on! The most important thing is to identify when you can reasonably get the age to end while still acquiring at least 5 free techs or civics. I aim for t90 and see if that's possible or can be bettered. The determiner is the maximum number of IP's that can be suzed at the same time. Around t60 start befriending the aggressive IP's as it will take 30 turns and it's unlikely there will be lots of friendly IP's. Befriend friendly IP's around t75. Add influence where necessary. Keeping the culture and science rates as high as possible is important to get as close to the ends of the respective trees as possible.
Towns/cities: If there are good production resources to drop into a city, convert a second Town to a City. This could also be done earlier or later but should cost as little as possible, meaning: have all warehouse buildings already bought plus Alter. Consider specialising it to an Urban Center and buying Monument and/or Library if you have the gold. Remember that every conversion will also lose you a lot of gold per turn as all of a Town's production is converted into Gold.
Specialising Towns: My approach is to let a Town keep growing until it's acquired all useful resources, usually place a couple of farms to aid growth and then place mines/pits/cutters. With Confucius, they do grow quickly and you could justifiably let them keep growing throughout the age. At this point, I tend to specialise when the next growth event is going to take 10 turns. Specialisation choice is usually Mining for the extra gold.
War: Might have already started but if not, try to instigate one by t70. Hopefully you can capture one city and get another in a peace deal.
Wonders: Build them. With Great Stele each will give 200g and they'll add adjacency. Prioritise those with attribute points however Colossus, Maus.Theodoric and Hanging Gardens are really tough to get so probably avoid them for others. Any wonder that gives production should be built in the capital to aid space projects in Modern. The ai loves Petra but Pyramids might be viable.
t81-End age:
GA academies: Build/buy as many academies as possible for a Scientific GA in Exploration. This requires converting Towns to cities so only convert if you can put an academy in the city. If you can get the Mathematics tech in good time, build them in existing cities. It's fine to convert them on the final turn if necessary as that means you'll generate more gold until that point.
Tip: If you suz a Scientific IP on the 100% turn, choose the bonus that gives % to building science buildings. It can mean the difference between needing to buy an academy rather than building it. I got 5 academies in this game.
Settlers: Use any existing ones to get 3/3 on the military legacy path, keep the rest for the next age.
Peace deals: It might be possible to swap low population/undeveloped Towns for better ones.
100% Turn to actual Final turn: Hopefully every city can finish something. If a city has completes something on the 100% turn then it will have one more turn of production. Even a smaller city should be able to build a scout and that scout will carry over to the next age!
Tip: More importantly on the final turn, drop buildings (even if they can't be completed) on any farms in your cities and turn the population into a specialist on the academy.
Final Turn free civics/techs: It's a lottery what attribute points you'll get so the more free techs/civics the better. I got 7 in this game.
Exploration Age (not going to go into as much detail as Antiquity!):
Government: The culture one
Legacy points: Change the cap. Choose Science GA (2), Fealty which gives +2 Settlement limit but also the legacy (don't know the name) that gives minus 2 Settlement limit but +100% to befriending IP's. Take two diplo attributes, and consider 2 Economic attributes even if it means you don't use all of the economic points available (the aim is to get enough Economic attribute points to get the 15% reduction on purchasing). Should also be able to take 1 Scientific, Expansion and Cultural attribute point.
Suzing IP's: With Han's Influence Traditions, the legacy mentioned above, and the Influence memento, I was able to suz every IP (20) on the map by turn 36. Three (1 Scientific, 1 Cultural and 1 Economic) were suzed early in age to give free tech bonus, Culture on warehouse buildings and Gold on warehouse buildings. Two were suzed shortly before the 100% turn as I would have lost them to the ai otherwise. The rest on t35 or 36. Finished the tech tree on t35 so every suz was a free tech and so attribute point.
Town specialisations: Specialise all on t1 with the majority as Mining towns for gold,1 or 2 as Hub towns and maybe 1 or 2 as Urban Centers for purchasing the level 1 Science building.
Religion: Start with piety to get the first religion and choose 2 relics on IP conversion. 1 or 2 missionaries will be sufficient to get enough relics to complete the culture path. The second Theology civic is only needed just before settling your first town in distant lands but do it early enough to get the belief that makes towns in distant lands found with the religion in place. Six towns with this will complete the military path.
Civics/Science rate: The first two civics and the Theology civics mentioned above are important but getting the Abbasids' uniques is as well. The sooner the better for them as the buildings and Traditions they give are needed to start driving up the Science rate.
Towns/Cities/Science rate: End the age with as many cities as possible with a full UQ and University. In this game, I was able to convert and buy those three buildings in 5 cities on the final turn. The others were converted steadily throughout the age when gold allowed and they could build at a reasonable rate. Converting towns to cities a bit earlier has the advantage that is a few more buildings can be completed, they can be built over in the Modern age for bonus science from Japan's ability. It's a balancing act throughout the age. Again, the tip of placing buildings on farms (or other rural tiles) on the final turn will give you extra Specialists and loads of gold from the Abbasids ability.
Wonders: The one that gives a wildcard point is the priority. Tomb of Askia and Serpent Mound for production in the cap is useful. The one that gives gold for gaining relics is nice as is the one that gives an extra Settlement limit.
Alliances: Cultivate these throughout the age as they will carry over to Modern. Establish trade routes if possible but it might not be. Start endeavours.
Final turn: whatever gold leftover (or final turn production) is used to buy/build Merchants to carry them over to Modern.
Modern age:
Government: The Science one
Legacy points: Change cap back to Ant Age Cap. Science GA, 2 diplo points, 1 or 2 science points. The rest is less important.
t1(Alliances, Towns, Military IP’s, techs): Started with two Alliances in place and a Merchant gave a third straight away. Use Merchants, improve trade relations, open borders and endeavours to build relationships with other civs. I got a 4th alliance on t7 and 5th on t8.
Specialise every Town as an Urban Center.
Select Academics tech and purchase a building OVER an obsolete building. This will bulb Academics. Then purchase the Schoolhouse building over other obsolete buildings in the specialised towns. This bulbed the other two starting techs. Continue to use this approach to get through the tech tree (ignore masteries except the Electricity one) at 1 tech a turn with some others bulbed.
In the cap (assuming it’s the higher production city), build Oxford University. Hopefully it finishes by t6 and will give a free tech on the path.
Find every Military IP and immediately move units to them. If they’re on an island, buy ships from the nearest Town. Take out the unit in the Center as soon as possible and occupy the Center without clearing it - wait until the final space project is being built.
IP’s: Only really need one Scientific but befriended 2. One for the project bonus, one for Science on warehouses. Project one was suzed on t9.
Civics in priority order: Regular one for 2 Science on Specialists, Japan unique for 1 Sci/prod on Specialists, to ideology for Production on Specialists. Then second Japan unique to complete UQ.
Techs/projects: completed Fight on t5 and had the other city build the project. Aerodynamics on t9 and the cap built it in two turns. Rocketry on t11 and the cap took one turn for the first project and two for the second with - and this was lucky - 4 militaristic IP’s being harvested. Every single possible source of production was in the cap at this point.
Lucky elements:
- Weak neighbour who built: Lafayette leading Greece built the unique UQ in two of the settlements I captured.
- Friendly Cultural and Scientific IP’s relatively nearby in Antiquity saves turns befriending.
- Gold resources: Started with four around the capital.
- Military IP's: Four in range in Modern - that won't always happen.
- Cap had desert, navigable river tiles and some other river tiles so Pyramids and Tomb of Askia could be built to give production.
Overall:
Suzing as many IP's as possible in Ant and Exp to get Diplo attributes is the underlying strategy especially as attribute points are random. In this game, I got 0 diplo points from the 7 random ones at the end of Antiquity but at the end of Exploration 4 from 16. 4 from 23 is about par but it could easily distribute another way. How many diplo points could realistically be gathered? 3 from mementos, 4 from legacy selections, 1 as Han is Diplomatic, 4 from Wonders (Oracle, Emile Bell, Schwedagon, Oxford Uni) = 12. I also got 1 from a Narrative event (not sure what and haven't had that before) and those 4 from free techs so 17 in total meaning the Diplo capstone was repeated 13x when Oxford was put down.
Building alliances from Exp (or even Ant) onwards makes the diplo points return great yields and the sooner they can be formed the better. As Alliances now continue through age transition, starting base yields can be very good.
Build up production in the cap for the Space projects, as much as possible.
Next I'm going to try to maximise Influence use by going Himiko (QoW) leading Greece > Abbasids > Japan
EDIT: After posting this I saw 1.2.5 will drop next week - hopefully plenty will still be relevant
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