Featured Game #2 Spoiler 1: Pre-Astronomy

[void_genesis]

Oops....just realised I posted this in the wrong thread....

I've been a bit slow to get started- I played to turn 70 but had my system crash and needed to reinstall. So feel free to disqualify me for replaying, but I don't think I'll be winning any awards.

I was curious to see how few cities I could get away with founding on my own, and how focused I could be on just getting capitals and leaving the rest to trade my surplus luxuries with.

I settled on the riverside hill to the NE of the start. Built scout/scout/worker/monument.
Researched pottery/writing/mining/masonry to get first few luxuries connected.
Got the great library then the hanging gardens. Filled out honour by barb clearing, made kathmandu and the southeast militaristic CS allies.
T90- Got settler from pyramids. Settled on the coast to the NW to get the natural wonder, marble, fish and lots of riversides.
Built up an army and went to stomp Egypt (a push over who had lost a couple of small cities to Japan, who had also been fighting the Iroquios, who in turn had been fighting Russia who had expanded east of the mountain range)
T119- Thebes falls, burnt Alexandria down.
T123- Denounce Iroquois, bribe Japan to war them, Russia joins soon after. Takes about ten turns to take their two biggest cities. Got the 20 minimum influence policy then Angkor Watt around now to ally/friend every city state. Also got Notre Dame for a big happy boost.
T144- Bismark declares war, sends a reasonable number of troops (most outdated) a few turns later. Rush buy a Treb and couple of camel archers to hold him off. Putting in Piety/Patronage policies with no real plan. Commerce seems a bit weak even for Arabia on a pangaea map. Porcelain tower is nearly done (another incentive to keep every civ alive for trading).

So I'm just about to pop into the renaissance with Cannons. Plan from here is to push west to stomp down Germany (but again see if I can get away with only taking the top two cities and leaving them crippled) and pushing north to a very rapidly expanding Persia (who lost a trash frontier city to Kathmandu around T100-quite funny). India's capital is already gone to Germany, so Rome, Russia and Japan should be easy for the clean up with artillery.

I think relying one one supercapital (now pop-17) for too long was a bit suboptimal, but not by a huge amount. Will start annexing the other capitals I have captured soon once they start building rubbish.

 

[Thalassicus]

@void_genesis
Just click the button next to a post to request a moderator to move it. I asked them about that, and they said it's for more than just reporting spam and such... any sort of mod/admin requests.

 

[Dunkah]

So even though I actually saw the "You must win by Conquest" moniker on the Load game for GOTM #2... I apparently didn't pay any attention to it. I am currently in the late (Edit:early) 200's in turns, Just reached Astronomy and have yet to be in a single war with anyone.

I started out looking at my surroundings and since Harun is such a gold-ist I decided to go for Culture and Gold economy right from turn 1. Since everything around me had to do with Mining that was the clear choice, and with that I Beelined for the Colossus.

I dug in to two policy trees right off. I love the "Four Culture Buildings Policy" and I love the "Free Settler and Worker" Policies. So those were the first three I grabbed, (5 technically with the openers).

I settled my second city North East next to the mountain (observatory), with all of the Jungles for Science and South on an island to grab all of the extra luxuries. Then finally Due West Mainly for the Iron. I managed to get DOF's and Open Borders with just about every Civ... with a couple of minor hits to diplo but nothing that lasted very long. I tried to keep those up with the major powers for the best benefit.

The Great Library went early on but with the huge amounts of gold I was able to generate through all of the OB's and DOF's and Colossus I was able to focus on early wonders. I eneded up getting almost all of the wonders. Stonehenge, Pyramids, Colossus, Lighthouse, Oracle etc... and still had enough gold to buy every building I could in the capitol.

Pyramids is awesome because it allows only 3 - 4 workers to really quickly get all of the needed hexes improved. I only have 4 workers and every hex is improved by now and I have started expanding beyond workable hexes and installing Forts. Same with Oracle (3 hexes), (and the other two hex wonder), are also awesome as I have a ton of land for only having 4 cities.

So I am currently in Late Renessaince. Entire map has been explored. Have a decent sized army. 1 Miliatary CS and 2 Culture CS's. About 450 - 500 gpt income. I am the leader in points, policies and culture and gold. Only Germany has more Techs than I do and I think that is only by 1 or 2. Egypt has been eliminated by Japan and India is down to only 1 City.

This could have been one of the easiest culture victories I have ever attempted if I could have actually finished the game that way.

So now I have only the late game left to try and secure my Conquest victory. My plan is to choose the strongest most hated opponent first, (probably Germany or Japan), and get as many friends to help me conquer them as possible so I don't loose my trading partners and friends along the way, so that by the time they realize I am going to kill everyone they will be too weak to be able to stop me...

Also going to try and bribe other wars to start as well. There has been no lack of wars in my game up to now but no one seems to becoming dominate.

I have used a Great Artists to grab the Furs near Egypt/ Japan (I freakin love culture bombs!), and have two more prepared to take land away from Germany and Japan to help instagate them into a war. Lets hear it for passive aggressiveness.

Guessing that I will claim the longest lasting game...

 

[Txurce]

So even though I actually saw the "You must win by Conquest" moniker on the Load game for GOTM #2... I apparently didn't pay any attention to it. I am currently in the late 200's in turns, Just reached Astronomy and have yet to be in a single war with anyone.

Guessing that I will claim the longest lasting game...

You should go all-out for high score then. Conquer every square inch of territory, put your cities on "food" for higher pop, and build as many GW's as possible!

 

[Dunkah]

Started warring with Germany last night. Actually thought I was further along in turns than I was. Got to about turn 245 last night. Still cranking out just about every wonder there is. Have just about every building built in my cities. Founded a new city in the snow on the lower western peninsula to the south west to allow my Navy to pass through to bombard Germany from below.

Persia and Ghandi were both all ready at war with Germany and none of the other Civs seemed to give two craps about the fact that I attacked. Germany did me the favor of Conquering Delhi for me now I have it puppetted.

Managed to get about 5 German cities including Delhi, puppetted 3 of them razed the other two. Berlin is next then I need to think about just how far I want to go with Germany. Bismark still seems to be able to put out a few units but has dropped from Second to fourth over all in the standings.

Catherine has turned her back on me finally but Japan and the Iriqiuo have both come around to my side. Raging battles between everyone. Yet I still seem to be slipping under the radar. And no one else seems to be gaining any ground. Hoping they are just wasting all of their strength on each other.

Maxed out my units, (are the units you are allowed to have based on the number of cities you own or is it a hard cap?). Got to Rifling and beelining Artillery. About half my units have converted to Rifles the Eastern army left behind to defend still has to upgrade but I have plenty of gold.

Have the better part of 5 of the lowest Trees filled out, 1 or 2 policies each left to go.

 

[Thalassicus]

The supply cap is (10 + numCities + population/8). With five 10 cities we can have 21 military land units, larger than my typical army. The main purpose of the cap is to prevent the AI from filling the map completely with military land units, so it's set to a level that rarely affects human players.

 

[Dunkah]

@Thal: Does NumCities = Owned + puppeted or only owned cities?

Managed to conquer Germany fairly easily then went after Japan and conquered 3/4's of their cities. Liberated one of Egypts Cities as I went. 4 Civ's Down, 4 to go. Catherine seems like the most likely next target as everyone seems to be upset with her. The Iriqious are launching planes so I need to do a bit of catching up tech-wise before I can go after them.

Strange how no one really sees me a Warmonger yet besides the Civ's I've conquered all ready.

Once I decided to launch my conquest of the world it has only taken about 70 - 80 turns to take down 4 Civs.

 

[Thalassicus]

I believe it counts puppet cities.