For those interested in the SE: Win this game!

[futurehermit]

Yeah, cottage research and specialist research are probably better ways to describe what is meant in most cases. Acidsatyr liked to include production in his understanding of economy as well.

@ Giaur, basically Dave is pointing out that what is normally under consideration when talking about "economy" is where you are getting your beakers and commerce from, not your hammers. Workshops are fundamentally a production improvement and only benefit beakers and commerce indirectly if you build them in the city.

 

[futurehermit]

Well, one semi-mistake cost me this game. It's really unfortunate because everything was proceeding swimmingly...

Spoiler :

Bah, I'm really cheesed off about this. The game was going perfectly until one small mistake cost me big time. Basically, Ragnar had declared on Mao and later I followed suit, increasing relations with the former as planned. I sacked Mao's capital first and switched out to police state to increase the production of cavalry. Heroic Epic completed in my military city and I was working up a blitz cavalry to level 6 to unlock West Point. Everything going as planned, Mao would fall in a matter of turns. Only in the 1200s, so all was going well. Unfortunately, Ragnar started teching and got to Military Tradition. That would mean I would need to tech to rifles, but that was no big deal since I got globe theatre set up in Berlin meaning I could draft a rifle every turn once I hit Rifling.

So, all was going great!

But then disaster struck. In the same turn, Mao vassalized to Kublai in return for the latter's declaration of war on me. I watched, helpless, as Kublai then sent in a huge stack of keshiks and knights against my lightly-defended (because I had Mao's nearest city under surveillance by a cav scout) military city. They came out of a patch of fog of war and I didn't see them! I wanted to throw my computer screen out the window--only figuratively, I love my widescreen LCD monitor --as he RAZED my military city

Bah, I could've continued on but that was a MASSIVE blow to my empire

So, let that be a lesson in diplomacy on the one hand (didn't build strong enough relations with Kublai) and defending your cities on the other--have more mixed troops at border cities.

Hopefully your games turned out better! This is the kind of mental mistake that keeps me from winning consistently on emperor level! Pretty much perfect play until 1 turn, 1 decision costs me everything

 

[lukep]

Futurehermit, thanks a lot for that. That was very instructive and interesting.

Much stronger and radical than i have ever done, I'm a still not so good monarch player.

Spoiler :

700 AD liberalism pick Nationalist - revolt to nationhood
never got it so soon
but i did the same kind of mistake as you, and got attacked by Mao before i was ready right on the mil city which was defended by few horse archers ca 1150.

Noneless, i think i learned a lot

 

[futurehermit]

Futurehermit, thanks a lot for that. That was very instructive and interesting.

Much stronger and radical than i have ever done, I'm a still not so good monarch player.

Spoiler :

700 AD liberalism pick Nationalist - revolt to nationhood
never got it so soon
but i did the same kind of mistake as you, and got attacked by Mao before i was ready right on the mil city which was defended by few horse archers ca 1150.

Noneless, i think i learned a lot

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Spoiler :

Too bad about the premature war declaration. Diplomacy is so important! You always want to be in the driver's seat when it comes to warfare. It's too bad my game didn't turn out better because it was going quite well. You might want to check out the final game I posted. Despite it being a losing save, you can see how I developed my empire up until about the same time you played til.

 

[mice]

Up to about 560 AD

Spoiler :

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself because i negotiated Kublai to go to war with Mao *before* reading about his aggressive behavior to the other players.
He took a barb city in the SW and this dropped him to cautious for close borders. So it seemed like a good idea to blow Philosophy and...some other tech on him to make him worst enemy of someone else.

Giving up Philosophy I still expect to get liberalism without any trouble.

I'm keeping on with it slowly as I'm playing a few other games too

Update, 1250 AD

Spoiler :

I have cavalry and am attacking Shanghai.

Ragnar changed to Hinduism , losing +7for same religion. I bribed Kublai to attack him , but 2 turns later he declared on me anyway.

Now I can probably fend off Ragnar, but it stalls my attack on Mao.

Mao's protective LB on a hill in Shanghai were taking 60% odds from my cavalry after 3 collateral damage bombardments. I took the city but it slowed me down.

All in all, not a good situation.