G-Minor CXLXXI

Denniz

Denniz

Where's my breakfast?
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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: Small
  • Map Type: Highlands
  • Speed: Standard
  • Leader: India (Gandhi)
  • Opponents: Must include Aztec (Montezuma), Celts (Boudicca), Inca (Pachacuti), Maya (Pacal), Zulu (Shaka)
  • Version: SV8
  • Date: 6th August to 9th October 2018
The earliest finish date wins, with score as a tiebreaker.
 
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Not a big fan of moving armies, each turn takes sooo long... Will probably give it a go anyway, but need to learn how to do fast domination victories, never really played them. I guess Liberty opener is the standard, then going for 2-3 self founded cities given it is just a small map and trying to get 2 armies of 3-4 elephants asap and then learning where the starting spots are and how to navigate the Highlands map the fastest should be the basic way, or something like that. Probably not teching beyond The Wheel / Horseback riding at all, but dunno, maybe I am underestimating it, given all the opponents have some early war advantages.

Thoughts on good times @vadalaz?
 
Just did a first test run, T72 win. Surprisingly it went really fast. Feels like this is just mostly about optimizing movement of the armies. Also not sure if even things like monument/shrine are worth it here, given how fast the game is. And also probably 3rd city is more a delay than a help.

Civ5Screen0029.jpg
 
Yeah, these games don't take very long. Usually I'm not a huge fan of them myself, but Highlands at least has a predictable layout.

Things to consider:
- You can skip all buildings and just go Scout/Scout/Scout/Archer/Archer... Or throw a warrior in the mix there for better CS tributes
- 2 armies is good but 3 armies is better if you can pull it off in time. First two take 2 cities each, third army takes the last one
- You need a lot of gold to get your armies up asap. Use every trick in the book - abuse peace deals, clear barb camps as long as that doesn't delay conquest, demand tribute, sell whatever you don't need anymore
- Liberty is good for a fast worker to improve and sell luxuries and/or chop forests. I don't think a free settler is particularly valuable here since you don't need horses for the UU
- Annexing a capital and starving it to pop 1 allows purchasing units there and I think it's the same unhappiness hit as a pop 3 puppet

Not sure about the best possible times here. Low 60s should be doable, sub-60 might be as well, especially if you get lucky and have Mt. Kili or Skilldorado nearby.
 
I've tried this 3 times, and taking all the above advice my best finish was 121. How do you take five capitals in half that time?

I built zero buildings, went liberty free worker and +hammer, then opened Honor. Scout-scout-scout-archer-elephants with a couple melee capture units. Much easier after horsemen.

I'm guessing you need to start in the middle not the corner, and need to get lucky with enemy cap placement. A couple times I found Cusco surrounded by mountains and basically had to re-roll.

The hardest part is definitely efficient troop movement. Highlands is brutal. Haven't had a single map with Kilimanjaro yet, but that would definitely be a game changer if near enough to the cap or first expand.

I'll keep at it, I really want a sub-100 finish on this.
 
Middle helps, but I managed sub-70 from a corner position too. You just need a good enough production capital, no expansion at all, don't waste time on Settlers or anything, really just go scouts, archers and elephants. Also you probably shouldn't need Horses, by the time they become available, you should be finishing. I actually stop building units after like T46-50 and go for Statue of Zeus, because new units wouldn't get there in time, while Statue of Zeus helps in last 1-3 turns. Probably the biggest reason why you are not getting better times is that you are not getting enough money. I usually buy ~3 elephants. You need to abuse the AI from peace deals, get huts, clear camps, get tributes, sell stuff in conquered cities, plunder, ... And also not sure how many armies you using, but for best times you probably need 3.
 
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First try was a leisurely T136 victory. Got a much better center top start 2nd time around and managed a T100. Pretty straightforward, not much else to do than what JoeSham says above.
 
Results appear highly dependent on the map. I've tried this several times on new maps and some of them are just crazy! I had one where I was nearly completely hemmed in by mountains and there were only two small paths through, blocked by barbs and CS's, or I've had water too. If you re-roll to a spot near the middle on relatively flat ground, you have a much better shot at 100 or less.
 
finminer said:
Results appear highly dependent on the map. I've tried this several times on new maps and some of them are just crazy! I had one where I was nearly completely hemmed in by mountains and there were only two small paths through, blocked by barbs and CS's, or I've had water too. If you re-roll to a spot near the middle on relatively flat ground, you have a much better shot at 100 or less.
Click to expand...

@finminer maybe try different settings for the Highlands map. I liked it best with Mountains: "scattered" and Bodies of water: "small lakes".
 
Tried that and was heading for a low 90's victory. Problem was, I left Shaka for last and he had a bunch of troops in the way. Didn't have time to squeeze another in.
 
@aafritz17 I think you can still submit, usually the gauntlet is open until @Denniz closes it, which is often a few days after the oficial deadline. And even if it won't count to the gauntlet, it will count to your HoF submissions regardless, giving you points, VVV progress, etc. Also, the more submissions the better for the winners, as there is a minimum of 5 submissions for a gold medal to be given :) Plus more activity attracts new players, so always submit at least one game when you do give it a try. And ideally post a screenshot plus some commentary to the topic for everyone else to read. It doesn't have to be the winning time or anything, it is simply fun reading someone else's playthrough, especially if they write it in a story-like fashion.
 
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I would submit, but I wasn't able to finish any of the games I started. I have a Major in which I have 2 caps yet to conquer, but I won't be able to get back to it for a couple of days, so...

But - I wasn't aware of the 5 submissions rule, and I thought the VVV was an entirely different competition, didn't know there is some overlap. Guess I'll have to go re-read those rules and parameters. Thanks, @JoeSham, for putting me on to that.
 
MAGA said:
Did something happen to Denniz? Is he okay?
Click to expand...
I have not been able shake off the feeling that it's something bad. People believe in different things. I believe in prayer, and I have been exercising it for him.
 
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