Once in a while I like to play a leisurely game where I don't intend to challenge myself too much or try to win as fast as possible.
My recent Morocco game where I bee-lined for Petra is a prime example.
My starting terrain was ridiculous, all desert with a few patches of plains up north and one with horses nearby. A three way river fork with Marrakech smack bang in the middle, so heaps of flood plains. FIVE flood plain wheat tiles, 7 desert hills and 2 desert sheep....and to top it off... Lake Victoria 3 squares away! The only downer was that the site lacked luxury resources (only 2 incense) as I moved about 4 tiles from my settler's starting spot.
I did my usual Immortal strategy by where I nab Temple of Artemis then went straight for currency and grabbed Petra. The relief I felt when I built it was huge, as I had Ramesses nearby and was thinking he'd likely grab it, however after scouting him I found that he actually had a plains start rather than desert.
Overall, it is just incredible to see how much a really strong capital solidifies your game. As I was so focused on infrastructure and wonders I missed out on a lot of spots to settle, hence the two more cities I founded were alright but nothing special. My population growth was ridiculous with 5 flood plains wheat and Lake Victoria and I was around size 30 by the Renaissance. Ramesses was being an ass and somehow settled 3 cities within 5 tiles of my capital, luckily I didn't lose any tiles. By the time I could access infantry and artillery, I could churn out units from my mega capital with ease, even on epic speed and take the fight to him.
My science game was massively boosted by having such a large population with only 3 cities and I managed to snag Pisa, Forbidden Palace, Sistine Chapel, Porcelain Tower AND Globe Theatre, 5 wonders from the same era which makes it easy to miss out on at least one of them.
I'm at work now so can't post pics, however tonight I'll imagine I'll tech to rocket artillery and finish off what's left of Ramesses, then pursue a peaceful VC whilst trying to grow my capital as much as possible.
For the record I initially went Freedom and spammed specialists and great people, then took Volunteer Army to boost my military forces which I had neglected. It proved a very wise move as Egypt attacked not long after and would've crushed me without them. After building Statue of Liberty I switched to Order and made it the world ideology. I've built Kasbahs on every regular desert tile, farms on every floodplain and mines on every hill to allow for the Chemistry + Order Production bonuses and pastures/plantations where appropriate.
I'm happy to post the save game when I get home. In the meantime do you guys have any awesome Petra stories/pics to share?
My recent Morocco game where I bee-lined for Petra is a prime example.
My starting terrain was ridiculous, all desert with a few patches of plains up north and one with horses nearby. A three way river fork with Marrakech smack bang in the middle, so heaps of flood plains. FIVE flood plain wheat tiles, 7 desert hills and 2 desert sheep....and to top it off... Lake Victoria 3 squares away! The only downer was that the site lacked luxury resources (only 2 incense) as I moved about 4 tiles from my settler's starting spot.
I did my usual Immortal strategy by where I nab Temple of Artemis then went straight for currency and grabbed Petra. The relief I felt when I built it was huge, as I had Ramesses nearby and was thinking he'd likely grab it, however after scouting him I found that he actually had a plains start rather than desert.
Overall, it is just incredible to see how much a really strong capital solidifies your game. As I was so focused on infrastructure and wonders I missed out on a lot of spots to settle, hence the two more cities I founded were alright but nothing special. My population growth was ridiculous with 5 flood plains wheat and Lake Victoria and I was around size 30 by the Renaissance. Ramesses was being an ass and somehow settled 3 cities within 5 tiles of my capital, luckily I didn't lose any tiles. By the time I could access infantry and artillery, I could churn out units from my mega capital with ease, even on epic speed and take the fight to him.
My science game was massively boosted by having such a large population with only 3 cities and I managed to snag Pisa, Forbidden Palace, Sistine Chapel, Porcelain Tower AND Globe Theatre, 5 wonders from the same era which makes it easy to miss out on at least one of them.
I'm at work now so can't post pics, however tonight I'll imagine I'll tech to rocket artillery and finish off what's left of Ramesses, then pursue a peaceful VC whilst trying to grow my capital as much as possible.
For the record I initially went Freedom and spammed specialists and great people, then took Volunteer Army to boost my military forces which I had neglected. It proved a very wise move as Egypt attacked not long after and would've crushed me without them. After building Statue of Liberty I switched to Order and made it the world ideology. I've built Kasbahs on every regular desert tile, farms on every floodplain and mines on every hill to allow for the Chemistry + Order Production bonuses and pastures/plantations where appropriate.
I'm happy to post the save game when I get home. In the meantime do you guys have any awesome Petra stories/pics to share?
Playing Maroco with Petra is great and fun but you had extreme luck 
