G-Minor CXLXIII

[Denniz]

[img=right]https://www.civfanatics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/hof_gauntlet-100x100.gif[/img]While the general Hall of Fame is an ongoing competition, we like to run time-definite competitions between updates that we call Gauntlets. Standard Hall of Fame rules (*) still apply, but any games meeting the settings will be counted towards the Gauntlet.

(*) Please read the >> HOF rules << BEFORE playing!​

Settings:

• Expansion: Brave New World
• Victory Condition: Domination (though all victory conditions must be enabled)
• Difficulty: Warlord
• Map Size: Standard
• Map Type: Large Islands
• Speed: Standard
• Leader: Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus)
• Opponents: Any
• Version: SV8
• Date: 3rd December 2017 to 1st January 2018

The earliest finish date wins, with score as a tiebreaker.

 

[vadalaz]

The finish time in this one comes down to how fast you get Compass and how quickly you can sweep the map with Galleasses. Low t70's Compass should be doable and a domination-friendly map can be cleared in less than 30 turns, so sub-100 is the goal here.

Not sure swimming archers can compete since the island maps are pretty big and you need Optics. I have this idea to try getting AI expos in peace deals, build/buy 1-2 catapults or CBs there and take all the capitals with triremes and the ranged/siege unit support. You can do something similar with Galleasses, get an AI city somewhere useful as a rush-buying base to speed up the conquest. It didn't work in my first run though, my army score was a bit low due to barb galleys suiciding into my triremes, so Austria didn't want to give up a city.

E: Tried the peace deal approach, killed 6 AIs by turn 85 but never found the 7th one. Why this map script doesn't guarantee shallow water connections to every AI is beyond me, but the strategy itself seems pretty solid. One thing I didn't know is that catapults are very expensive - 390 gold, which is just 10 gold less than a Galleass!

 

[vadalaz]

Second try with the peace deal cities strategy resulted in a T85 DomV.

Some details and thoughts:
- I took 3 AI expos in peace deals and had 3 armies, each consisting of numerous triremes and 2 chariot archers. The army that had to fight the toughest capital (20 city strength) also had 2 normal archers. Catapults are fun, but they come online too late and cost way too much, CAs only cost 260 and 4 movement is very nice
- Like in the current G-Major, the first army took 3 capitals (the third one I took with just the triremes as it was flatland and had 2 adjacent coast tiles), the other two armies took 2 capitals each
- I went Liberty, worker first then settler, then Honor for SoZ which I didn't manage to build in time anyway. Worker policy first is very likely a mistake, you really want to expand ASAP to grab all the resources on your starting island - horses for CAs and luxuries to sell in peace deals. Not to mention your expos also build triremes so you can demand tributes or attack weak AIs earlier... If I played again I'd hard-build the worker and maybe skip the worker policy entirely to get Honor opener earlier and potentially the +% strength policy in Honor as well to buff up triremes
- I delayed Optics this time because I realized it's largely useless until you actually need to move your armies from island to island. Getting the luxury techs and the Wheel early is better than picking up some extra ruins or getting GLH
- Don't accept peace deals during the AI's turn... The city tile loses its yield then and the city won't even be able to build a scout in time. Forgot about this stupid bug
- Granary + Mining luxuries starts are OP as always
- Sweden's UA isn't bad here, at some point you get a GG and then you can ally a mercantile CS for that sweet, sweet happiness boost

Sub-80 is surely possible but requires quite a lot of luck and good play. Let's say 3 AIs have their expos out by T40, you manage meet them all early and DoW, peace deal T46 and take the expo, re-DoW T57, kill ~T60, swim to the next AI, DoW ~T70, kill T73. With 3 armies that's 6 capitals down by T73ish with one more left to take, which you should probably try to do with kamikaze triremes if you're aiming for sub-80.

Have to say I'm pretty excited to try something new in this game again. Even more excited that it actually worked well.

 

[billybgame]

I find it humorous and eye opening if you won this on turn 85......of course, I'm one to just take my map as I get it.....but it's turn 95, and we are cut off from all other civs until we get caravels. I ended up on a fairly small island, with one city state. So, not a good warmongerer situation, at all. I'll finish, but I'm sure it'll be a long time from now.

Edit: PS....didn't get horses either.....not a horse to be found on my island.

 

[aafritz17]

I find it humorous and eye opening if you won this on turn 85......of course, I'm one to just take my map as I get it.....but it's turn 95, and we are cut off from all other civs until we get caravels. I ended up on a fairly small island, with one city state. So, not a good warmongerer situation, at all. I'll finish, but I'm sure it'll be a long time from now.

Edit: PS....didn't get horses either.....not a horse to be found on my island.

I played two maps out quite a number of turns only to learn that I couldn't find the whole map without Astronomy. On one of 'em 3 Civs were cut off. @billybgame, I dropped those maps as soon as I found out. If @vadalaz is gonna drop an 85 on us, I figure I should at least to do no more than twice that...

And the chariots are a great idea, but I, too, have had a bunch of maps with 0 equine influence. I kept playing some of those, tried to take the first Civ with archers and hope for horses there. But the archers takes a lot of hammers I really want to put into triremes (as well having a LONG commute to get to work!)

 

[zenmaster]

Second try with the peace deal cities strategy resulted in a T85 DomV.
Have to say I'm pretty excited to try something new in this game again. Even more excited that it actually worked well.

Nice! I know there has some been some success with using peace deals to "crack" continents before, but that being the whole strategy is pretty awesome to see work.

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

 

[billybgame]

Nice! I know there has some been some success with using peace deals to "crack" continents before, but that being the whole strategy is pretty awesome to see work.

Happy Holidays to everyone!!

I don't even know what this is yet. I did just search the forums, and came up empty, as well. I tried this Minor twice, and was too busy with the holidays to complete the second one. But, it was nothing even probably twice as long, so no great loss.

 

[aafritz17]

It's what @vadalaz posted about at the very top of this thread. Declare/fight war, accept the target's expo as a peace-out deal, than use that expo as a forward base.

I've played a number of maps, none of them impressive. And there were too many that had Civs across deep water. Had one yesterday where I only found 2 Civs. One of them was land-locked against the ice. He was nearby, would have taken him with chariots and a warrior, but then learned I couldn't find anybody else.

 

[Denniz]

Gauntlet Results:
G-Minor CXLXIII - Domination, Warlord, Standard, Large Islands, Standard, Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus)

vadalaz 750 BC T-85
2nd zlither 425 AD T-132
3rd superman32870 1160 AD T-176