The Industrial Age starts with me gifting Korea (Steam) and Byzantine (Nationalism). We all get different techs and I am not able to trade for Steam until after I receive my free tech, Medicine. This is where my game starts getting fun.
I have no coal, but there is one on my border with Korea.
So, I quickly rush a settler in Susa. Then this happens the very next turn.
I go ahead and use the settler to found the coal-stealing city anyway, which turns out to be a good thing.
Here is my timeline for the Industrial Age.
Turn 166 : 500AD
Sumeria captured the Korean city Hyangsan
Turn 167 : 510AD
Sumeria settled New Erech
Turn 178 : 620AD
Sumeria created Smith's Trading Company in Sumer
Turn 182 : 660AD
Sumeria created Newton's University in Ur
Sumeria started golden age
Turn 191 : 750AD
Sumeria created Theory of Evolution in Lagash
Turn 202 : 860AD
Sumeria ended golden age
Sumeria created Hoover Dam in Ur
Turn 210 : 940AD
Korea captured the Sumerian city Hyangsan
I maintain a mostly 4-turn tech pace and as the techs are learned I soon discover that I have no rubber or oil
so no tanks, infantry etc
This is not good, but since Im shooting for space I can live without these two resources. My luck with SGL has not changed, still have not generated one. I end the Industrial Age in 970AD.
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As the
Modern Age starts I gift Byzantine (Ecology) and Korea (Rocketry) to the new age and I get Fission. I have a UN prebuild well under way so I am comfortable trading Fission away to gain Rocketry. Surprisingly, I cannot trade for Ecology yet. Im also only researching at a 5-turn rate now and then I notice this.
The only two sources of aluminum are not in my lands.
Im faced with the prospects of abandoning the game at this point because this is the state of my military.
Im weak to both Byzantine and Korea. After taking a break I decide to continue the game and I know there is not enough time to hand build a proper military so I start drafting conscript TOW Infantry and rush/switch builds to get some artillery. I also pick Korea to be my intended target because they had the fewer cities and they had aluminum, rubber and 2 luxuries I was importing. Korea had oil but it is located in the city way to the south and I figured that the Byzantine would take that source when I brought them into the war with an alliance.
So I begin the Draft. I draft 15 TOW and rush 6 more artillery in 980AD. I am now strong to Korea so I picked the right target. I disband the 5 Enkidu Warriors to stay under the troop limit. I draft 5 more TOW in 990AD and gather my forces together. I put a TOW and a Musket (I have 11 of them) in each of my border cities to brace for a counter attack. Since TOW only have 1 move I have to declare war and then move them into Korea territory.
In 1010AD even though Im 1 turn away from learning Computers, I decide to lower my science rate from 90% to 30% since I am running out of money after rushing the artillery. This only adds 1 turn to the research time, which was about 7 turns to start with. Koreas rifle has changed into a TOW overnight. I use the artillery to redline the defenders and then attack with conscript TOWs. This is ugly as my TOWs redline off the free defensive shot, but I capture Nampo and pick up a luxury. I complete the turn by drafting more TOW. I have 23 of them after losing half my attackers.
Did I say this was going to be ugly? Unlike war weariness, draft unhappiness is quick to strike. Im still 2 turns away from Computers due to all the draft unhappiness in 1020AD and I fail to capture Seoul leaving 1 redlined spear in defense. By 1030AD Im up to 12 artillery pieces and I do take Seoul this turn. Seoul has the Pyramids, the Library and Magellans.
Upon learning Computers in 1040AD I finally see a message I have waited for all game.
This allows me to switch some of my Wonder builds around. The UN was scheduled to complete next turn but I switch it for SETI. The UN will now complete in 10 turns but it should not matter if I lose it since Korea and Byzantine are at war. I decide to save my SGL for The Internet to help my research rate, currently at 8 turns due to the war. I also capture Inchon that turn.
I fall 1 unit short of capturing Hyangsan in 1050AD so I quickly surround it so it cannot be reinforced. 1060AD sees Inchon flip back to Korea taking a few TOW that were healing there. By now the Byzantine have captured Cheju and that aluminum source but Wonsan had expanded to place the other source under Korean control. So they have switched sources. I use a settler and claim the aluminum near Wonsan and I capture Hyangsan.
In 1070AD I capture Inchon again and found New Akshak as a stepping stone to the rubber city. In 1080AD I capture Pyongyang with the Statue of Zeus, Knights Templar, rubber and ivory. After having a few flips I decide that Korea cannot remain in the game. In 1090AD I capture Wonsan with Universal Suffrage. Luckily I have been able to go 2 turns without having to draft any troops but I am now down to 12 TOW so I must draft again. War weariness is getting high due to the high casualty losses Im suffering. I end the turn by founding New Zabalam which allows me artillery access to Koreas last 2 northern cities.
Byzantine finally takes out the southern city in 1100AD and I capture Pusan. I learn Miniaturization in 1110AD and use the Big Picture to rush The Internet. I also capture Koreas last city. The war is finally over.
Im at a 5-turn research rate for Space Flight but I can now focus on science again. Since Byzantine does not own any uranium I freely trade and gift them techs to keep them happy. I cannot defend myself against them if they were to attack.
The rest of the game becomes a Whats my Line for specialist. Some turns they are taxmen other turns they are scientist. I do this to achieve a 4-turn rate after Space. I learn the rest of the techs in the following years.
Space in 1160AD
Satellites in 1200AD
Nuclear Power in 1240AD
Laser in 1265AD
Robotics in 1285AD I also check out my prebuilds so that I can build the final parts using the Big Picture
Synthetic Fibers in 1305AD
Superconductor in 1325AD
I then use the Big Picture to change my 2 prebuilds, while Lagash completes its part on time. This completes my space ship and I hit the launch button. I win in 1325AD with a score of 4973.
