G-III Charlie

Marsden

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Hello and welcome to the new G-III gauntlet.

This time we are going to the stars, first one to Alpha Centarui (or Vulcan) wins!

  • Mapsize: Large
  • Difficulty: Warlord
  • Condition: Spaceship


All submissions for this gauntlet must be in by July 15th, 2008. Good luck!
 
I'm guessing the same one that has been better for all other gauntlets will be better again, but that doesn't prove anything ;).
 
Back to the gauntlet - I wonder if there is any way that a non-russian game could win? 1/3 of the time at the MA, you get chivalry, which is useless and 4 out of 6 IA second level techs are optional (communism, fascism, ironclads, sanitation) and Ecology doesn't help for the space race, either. So, maybe expansionist/agricultural or expansionist/industrial. Even expansionist/commercial, maybe (can stop adding cities earlier) or seafaring (cut a turn off of CB and writing early on, can kick off the GA with collosus whenever you want).

Given that it's large, it's POSSIBLE that a non-expansionist civ could win - they won't get through the AA as fast, but might make up for it in the beginning of the MA. But it's tough, cause on this level, we should be able to get to 4 turn research soon after unis.

And it will be interesting to see if the "build a single great city with lots of wonders" beats the "spam out a lot of cities" - a size 12 city will make about 40 bpt after corruption and lib/uni through the IA, while an early collosus/MoM/SoZ/Pyramids/Oracle city might be making 40-60 gpt in tourist revenue in the IA, making 120-180 bpt (or more) in the IA (with lib/uni/science doublers), or the equivalent of 4-6 size 12 cities.

That's also the same as 40+ science farms.

AI won't be any help, other than for starting techs, free techs at ERA change and maybe iron working, though they might supply some science farms later down the line - a warlord AI can expand some.
 
And it will be interesting to see if the "build a single great city with lots of wonders" beats the "spam out a lot of cities" - a size 12 city will make about 40 bpt after corruption and lib/uni through the IA, while an early collosus/MoM/SoZ/Pyramids/Oracle city might be making 40-60 gpt in tourist revenue in the IA, making 120-180 bpt (or more) in the IA (with lib/uni/science doublers), or the equivalent of 4-6 size 12 cities.

I had this thought a while ago but the problem is that a fast science game is just too fast for the tourist income to really come into its own, 4 turn research should have long since been locked down before the tourist $'s start coming in large amounts.
 
...and Ecology doesn't help for the space race, either.


Sorry, but my pedantic staff position wouldn't let that go. Ecology is required for the spaceship, I think your thinking of recycling, which can be a free tech if ecology is already known. It's also the only possible modern free tech that's useless, the other useless ones being far up the tree.
 
yes, I meant recycling :) thanks marsden :)

I'm definitely going to try a game where I try to get a super city - pyramids/collosus/MoM with the science doublers - see if that does better than science farm spamming. One nice thing is that combo (collosus/MoM) gives Russia a GA, which would be nicely timed for the beginning of the MA. I dunno that it will be the winning strategy, mind you.
 
I've finally got MapFinder running again after re-installing CivIII Complete. I've found some pretty good maps and will be using Russia. Other civs might be able to compete for this, but the possibility of three useful second-tier techs on the age change might be hard to overcome. Wish list would be a settler from a hut, early MA, and a Pyramids SGL.

Anyone trying this should check out the similar G-III Lambda thread where killercane got the fastest spaceship. It also has several links to other fast research games by SirPleb, DaveMcW, Ronald, and Sandman. Good luck, everyone.:)
 
PrinceMyshkin, are you refering to the Philosophy sling shot over the age change?
 
^^
Although philosophy is often the last tech researched in the AA, I would still take Republic as the free tech since this is a fast research game. Russia usually has a small empire at this point and gets a very short anarchy. AT referred to trading for first-tier techs with the ai's and the possibility of getting an optional tech like chivalry, sanitation, or recycling for free. OTOH, if Russia is fortunate enough to get theology, electricity, and space flight for free on the age changes that is 12 turns a non-scientific civ needs to make-up in order to beat them to space. Combined with an early MA from popping huts and cheap libraries this makes Russia very hard to beat at the lower levels.
 
I played a fairly slack game at the weekend and launched in 1160 AD. I'll have another couple of goes to look for a better start, but I might just end up submiting that one.
 
Excuse me for being ignorant, but how can anyone get Chiv for a free tech? I have not played a SS since maybe the game came out, if then, so not up to speed on the tactics.

Anyway, I would think none of the civs would be close to ready to make the middle ages as you would be poised to do it. Once you go over your get a tech, right so far?

Now you go to the next guy and gift the techs to get into the age. You cannot give any MA techs at that point as they are not in the age. You get out of the F4 and come back and now they have a free tech it may be one you have or not.

It can't be Chiv as you need two other techs for that. So how do you get the civ to get Chiv or any non tier 1 tech? You would need to be able to gift all the first levels techs, would you not?

Is there some trick that lets you do this?

That would be fastest ever launch for this level and map would it not Bartleby? Heck of a job. Do you spam out settlers without regard to infrastructure? Do you go for taking others land to gain more farms?

Do you try to keep them up to speed with you in tech or wait till you get to the next age? Some combination of all?

How many civs, just the 9 with Science trait?
 
Basically, once you discover the last tech that puts you into MA, you go to the big picture, then to F4 screen. Then you gift all the other scientific civs to MA and trade for their free techs (while not leaving the F4 screen). Now when you leave F4-screen you get your free tech which is going to be a second tier tech since (if you got at all lucky with what techs the AIs got) you already know all the first tier techs.
 
I used the method that DaveMcW publicised here, and more specifically here. Using the Big picture, you gift the scientific civs forwards, trade for their techs, then receive your freebie. In the middle ages it's usually easy because you have Republic and Monarchy to trade, but in the Industrial and Modern ages it's not always easy to get the techs from the AI, often I have to lose my reputation.

Do you spam out settlers without regard to infrastructure? Do you go for taking others land to gain more farms?
I didn't really use science farms in the game I played at the weekend, because I couldn't be bothered fighting...so most of the research was uni's and lib's.
I did have lucky free techs; theology, electricity and miniaturisation.

Do you try to keep them up to speed with you in tech or wait till you get to the next age? Some combination of all

I largely ignored the AI except when gifting them. At the start of the middle age I made sure they all had engineering, feudalism and republic in the hope that someone would get invention for me, but I had to research it myself in the end.

How many civs, just the 9 with Science trait?

I was the russians, and I had the eight other scientific civs. It might be more useful to put a couple more Com/Sea civs in to increase the chances of being able to trade for alphabet.

I'm sure that the date will be beaten, and by quite a margin.
 
Hum, I thought I recalled that no ones free tech would show up while you were still in the F4. Must be you have to go to another nation and then come back to see their tech? That would keep you from getting yours.
 
You just need to propose a new deal after you've given them the last current-era tech, and you can see what their free tech was.
 
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