[GEM] Kaitzilla vs. The World

Before this Turn starts, a word from noted motivational speaker M. Bison:


Link to video.
"You came here expecting to fight a madman, but instead you found .. a god?!"
-M. Bison


Ok, I'm thused now! @_@
Let's go to war...

... but the title might also make someone think, that it's "just a n00b story by someone who has seen too many Rocky films or played too much Street Fighter" ^^

Hush you! :spank:
 
Turnset 86 (T327)

T327 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Inquisition in Szeged removed all non-state religions. (Hungary, on border with Poland)

First, a look at northern Khmer shows tons of Khmer units being distracted by Yue.
I'm not sure I could start this invasion of southern Khmer without the Yue's help.
Axes will be placed on hilltop jungle tiles in mountain passes to block rogue Khmer units, but if Khmer wants to break through in force that won't stop him. (He has a lot of Chariots)
For my invasion of southern Khmer to go smoothly, I need Yue+Japan+China to keep Banteay Kdei, Isvarapura, and Angkor Wat forces busy. :please:
Any strong Khmer attack towards Biskek will cause 1/4th of my invasion stack to retreat to go protect it.
Spoiler :











Canceled Open Borders with Khmer.
This teleports all units outside my borders so I can see if they will cause any problems.
Spoiler :









After moving up some Axes to block the mountain passes to Northern Khmer, everything looks in position.
My Turkish Empire DOW'd Suryavarmen of the Khmer Empire. :ar15:
Got -1 diplo with Babylon (ugh), Zulu (bah), and Arabia because all 3 were Pleased with Khmer.
Spoiler :













The attacks began in the west.
Note that the Khmer Axe in Babylon is too far away for me to attack, so I'll move a Chariot into Persepolis this turn in case the Axe moves east.
Axe won against Sword 2N2W of Susa at 76.5% odds. :)
Axe won against Spear 2N2W of Susa at 96.8% odds.
Spear won against Warrior 2N2W of Susa at 99.4% odds.
Spoiler :







47 units left Khotan and entered South Khmer and will attack the 4 units in Nagara Jayasri next turn.
The mere act of leaving my own borders costs me -26:gold: per turn.
That is because it costs 0.5 gold per unit for supply costs outside my borders. (Only get free supply for 4 units)
Wait.. the math....eh close enough.
At 0% research, I am now -4:gold: per turn, so once I run out of money that will almost halt my teching speed.
Spoiler :




 
"That was... beautiful!" (cit.) :lol:
 
Turnset 87 (T328)

T328 - Barbarians: 1 Axe died.

Axe won defending Chariot 2N3E of Biskek at 74.9% odds.
Axe won defending Chariot 2N3E of Biskek at 52% odds.
Axe lost defending Sword 2N3E of Biskek at 2.6% odds.
Wow, what a hero!
If that Axe had lived and beat the Sword too, I would have named that unit. :salute:

Great Prophet born in Carthage.
Great General born in Khmer.

The Scandinavian civilization has been destroyed. :eek:
Ragnar finally died after fighting most of Europe for 100 turns.
Rome, Egypt, Babylon, Poland, France, and Arabia are now all at peace.
My war against Ragnar (purely for diplomatic reasons) is also at an end.
Spoiler :

Egypt has become a Peace Vassal to Rome.
Good for Ramesses!
I was sure Egypt would be dead by now, but they've managed to survive with just one city so far.

On the war front, Surya has 9 defenders in Nagara Jayasri, up from 4 last turn. :mad:
Time to cross my fingers that my Spy works (91% chance), or I'll have to promote my 7xp catapults (City Raider I + Accuracy) to help bombard faster instead of City Raider II.
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Success! (Spy died)
Nagara Jayasri revolted and now has 0% defenses for 1 turn. (Still has +25% defense from hill though)
Spoiler :





The assault begins with 5 Catapults.
Each one does up to 75% damage to the unit they attack, and collateral damage to 6 units up to 50% of their hp.
5 Catapults are a great way to get a mix of 25% hp and 50% hp defenders that can be easily killed unless there are more than 10 defenders. (Use more catapults)
Catapult lost against Sword in Nagara Jayasri at 31.2% odds.
Catapult won against Archer in Nagara Jayasri at 33.8% odds.
Catapult won against Axe in Nagara Jayasri at 80.6% odds.
Catapult won against Sword in Nagara Jayasri at 93% odds.
Catapult won against Axe in Nagara Jayasri at 91.6% odds.
Spoiler :


After 1 Catapult attack that died:

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After 5 Catapult attacks. (Good mix of 25% hp and 50% hp defenders)

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Catapults can't kill in Beyond the Sword like they do in Warlords, so always make sure to bring enough killers to finish off the injured defenders in 1 turn.
Counting is very important along with keeping track of losses.
If you don't have enough killers to finish the fight this turn, it can be a good idea to halt the attack and work for better conditions.
No conqueror likes the situation with the lone 0.1hp defender that promotes the following turn and gets reinforced with whips and nearby defenders.

I have far more than 9 killers, so I can pick and choose units to farm xp for promotions.
Attacks that give 2xp with the best Combat odds are when the attacker has twice (or slightly less than twice) the strength of the defender.

http://www.civfanatics.com/book/export/html/28
Attacker xp = Floor[4*(Defender's modified strength / Attacker's modified strength)]
With a Chariot attacking a Warrior (both with no promotions), it would get Floor[4*(2/4)] = Floor [2] = 2xp.
If the Chariot has a Combat 1 promotion, then it would get Floor[4*(2/4.4)] = Floor[1.8181] = 1xp.

Precisely how collateral damage works is also very important to know.
Amount of Damage Done

The damage calculation is similar to the damage calculation for regular combat. However, the modifications to each unit’s strength are done differently.

The only potential attacker strength bonus is Barrage -- +20% for Barrage I, another 30% for Barrage II and another 50% for Barrage III. This affects the starting percentage of strength of each unit. The defender gets no strength bonus for anything. Hps are also not used in calculating these relative strengths.

All the regular artillery units (catapults, cannons, artillery, and (stealth) bombers) calculate based off of their full strength. The tanks (tank, panzer, modern armor) calculate based from 0 and the Cho-Ko-Nu starts at 50%.

Example: A Cho-Ko-Nu (str:6) will always have an adjusted strength of 3 (.5 * 6) when figuring collateral damage.

Example: A tank with Barrage I will have an adjusted strength of 5.6 (28 * .2) for collateral damage. With Barrage II, it would be 14 (28 * .5).

Then, the likely damage is half what it would be if the units were fighting directly with those relative strengths. That is, damage = floor(10*(3*A+D)/(3*D+A)). This amount is reduced only if the damage would put the defender past the damage threshold discussed above.

Example: A catapult (with Barrage I and Barrage II) is targeting a longbow with 71 hps in a city on a hill for collateral damage. The catapult’s adjusted strength is 7.5 (5 * 1.5) and the longbow’s adjusted strength is 6 – the hill defense, the city defense, the hps just don’t matter. The catapult does 11 damage to the longbow.
Worth reading multiple times!
A 5 strength Catapult will do 9% collateral damage to a Sword, 10% collateral damage to an Axe, 15% collateral damage to a Warrior, 6% collateral damage to a Musketman, etc.
A 6 strength Cho-ku-nu (3 adjusted strength) will do 7% collateral damage to a Sword, 7% collateral damage to an Axe, 6% collateral damage to a Maceman, 10% collateral damage to an Archer, etc.
A 4 strength Trebuchet will do 8% collateral damage to a Sword, 8% collateral damage to an Axe, 4% collateral damage to a Tank, etc.
Catapult does more collateral damage than a Trebuchet, even if it does much worse attacking the city defender itself.
Tank with Barrage I puts out collateral damage like a Catapult, but with Barrage II it puts out collateral damage better than a Cannon!
Tanks can't get Barrage anymore in Beyond the Sword (Patch 3.17) thankfully. (Overpowered!)

To counter Catapults, attack enemy stacks with Horse Archers. (Hopefully the enemy doesn't have War Elephants +50% vs. mounted units)
If the Horse Archer lives, then 5 of the Catapults will take collateral damage and even die if low hp. (Yes, a withdrawal causes collateral damage too. Flanking II promotion gogo!)
Flank attacks like this only work outside of cities.
====================================================

Ok, back to the game!
War Elephant won against Spear in Nagara Jayasri at 96.5% odds.
War Elephant won against Axe in Nagara Jayasri at 99.9% odds.
War Elephant won against Sword in Nagara Jayasri at 99.9% odds.
Sword won against Axe in Nagara Jayasri at 99.9% odds.
War Elephant won against Archer in Nagara Jayasri at 100% odds.
Sword won against Axe in Nagara Jayasri at 99.8% odds.
War Elephant won against Chariot in Nagara Jayasri at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Chariot in Nagara Jayasri at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Chariot in Nagara Jayasri at 100% odds.
Nagara Jayasri captured!
The city yielded 187:gold:, 10 population, and a Hammam.
Spoiler :

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Next I'll kill vulnerable Khmer units and move everything into Nagara to defend it.
That includes the Guerrilla II Archer from Khotan. (Nagara Jayasri is on a hill)
Axe won against Sword 2N3E of Biskek at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Chariot 2E of Khotan at 100% odds.
Spoiler :





The finishing touches involve moving more Axes into mountain passes to complete the Great Wall of Axes.
My Northern Flank is now secure as long as Yue keeps being a pest.
My next target Hariharalaya has 4 defenders, but there are 7 free units wandering around.
Worse, there are 3 cities within 4 road tiles, and the city to the south Rajavihara has 12 units.
Spoiler :











Oh ya, now that Ragnar is dead I can expand the Coalition of the Bought and Paid For. (ง︡’-‘︠)ง
Traded Rome 680:gold: for war with Khmer.
Traded Poland Currency for 140:gold: and war with Khmer.
Traded France Currency for 90 gold and war with Khmer.

Spoiler :



.

Rome DOW'd Khmer.
Egypt DOW'd Khmer.
Poland DOW'd Khmer.
France DOW'd Khmer.

African scout has more on Shaka's homeland.
Spoiler :

Traded Copper to Netherlands for 9:gold: per turn.
Barracks 2-pop whipped in Susa. (Overflow into Catapult)
Forge 4-pop whipped in Lahore. (Overflow into Palace)
Forge 3-pop whipped in Chinook. (No overflow)
 
Turnset 88 (T329 to T330)

T329 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Very quiet this turn, but I can still kill a few wandering Khmer units.
War Elephant won against Chariot 2N1E of Khotan at 100% odds.
Galley won against Workboat 3W1S of Ghulan.
Spoiler :



Wait, where is the Yue stack?! :confused:
Did it die attacking the city?
Gnnn, the defenders don't look injured enough.
It must be going south for some insane reason.
I don't care as long as all those troops stay in Bantreay Kdei and Isvarapura.
At least Bantreay Kdei is bombarded down to 18% defenses.
Spoiler :





Founded Konya 4W1S of Chinook, a 1 Fish village that will make use of 1/2 price Granary + Lighthouse + Courthouse.
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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IT'S THE WRONG ISLAND
:wallbash:
The foodless island city is so awful, I had to give it away or it would lose money for the next 200 turns.
At least with Egypt, I can steal his treasury from Konya if his capital ever gets captured.
Spoiler :





Been a while since I set 300:hammers: on fire.
Continuing on!

An Axe extended my wall of protection up north.
Moved up my 2nd Archer from Khotan and left a strong War Elephant + Shock Axe in Nagara in case the Hariharalaya army wants to take it back from me.
My army advanced next to Hariharalaya which now has 19 defenders, 15 more than last turn. :twitch:
......
Ahaha and I moved my Super Medic up too instead of leaving him behind to heal. :o
At least I haven't mis-clicked ALT+Q and instantly lost the game.
Spoiler :











Khmer has another 7 units up near Angkor Wat that could attack my main stack but is 1 tile short from reinforcing Hariharalaya.
I'd be worried if Khmer had Catapults.
Should be ok as long as Yue stack doesn't get wiped out.
Moving up my 1 Galley + 1 Trireme fleet to help capture the Khmer island city of Vimayapura.
Spoiler :



Palace in Lahore got a forest chop.
Barracks 2-pop whipped in Istanbul. (Overflow into War Elephant)

Khmer Road pillaged 2N3E of Biskek to slow any advance towards Biskek.

T330 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Heinz Guderian died in combat. (He was born 5 turns ago in a faraway land)

The Yue stack is back south of Bantreay Kdei. :D
Hopefully it will continue to distract the Khmer up north, but it will eventually attack Bantreay Kdei when its defenses get bombarded close to 0%.
Spoiler :



Nagara Jayasri, the 1st Khmer city I conquered, did not get attacked in between turns.

Rome's vassal Egypt now has Feudalism, just like his master.
I've got lots of techs that Egypt wants too!
Traded Aesthetics + Mathematics + Currency + Metal Casting to Egypt for Feudalism and 190 gold.
Feudalism discovered! :dance:
Longbows are only 5:strength: in this mod, but they are still strong on hilltop cities.
Entered the Medieval Era!
Any AI that enters this era will get a small teching speed bonus, a small production bonus for units + buildings, and will keep 1 extra defender in every city. (Just like Classical Era)
All I get is new music.
Spoiler :





One other thing to note is how I went from 3 turns to finish Civil Service to 2 turns once I discovered Feudalism.
That is because every prerequisite tech that I know gives a +20% tech bonus towards the tech it leads to.
I was getting +20% research towards Civil Service for knowing Code of Laws, and now I'm getting a +40% research bonus for knowing CoL + Feudalism.
This is one of reasons people like to use Liberalism on Astronomy.
It is a hugely costly tech that has 0 techs leading to it on the tech tree, so there is a 0% research bonus if you research it normally.
Spoiler :
 
Turnset 89 (T330)

T330 Continued - Time for another roll of the dice with my Spy doing a City Revolt in Hariharalaya. (91% chance for success)
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Success! (+3 Spy xp)
Spoiler :



And my Spy lived, the 1st time that's ever happened in this game. :crazyeye:
Check out the Spy promotions:
Logistics I: +1:move:
Deception I: +10% detection evasion bonus
Security I: +1 Vision, +10% enemy spy detection bonus, +50% bonus to counter espionage mission
Improvise: +10% free preparation bonus
Loyalty: Never reveals nationality
Spoiler :









Those are all very good!
Loyalty means you never have to worry about -1 diplo when your spy gets caught and reveals its nationality. ("Your Spy was caught Causing Trouble!")
Security is good for making life hard for enemy spy missions.
Deception is good for making the spy rarely get caught.
Improvise starts the Spy out with -10% mission cost, and would be ideal for an Espionage victory when the gift cities are 4 tiles away.
Logistics is arguably the best unless the spies are being Galleon chained to the target city.
+1 move means the Spy gets where it is going faster and gets its mission done faster.

Checking the Civlopedia, Scotland Yard gives +3 Spy xp, Intelligence Agency gives +2 Spy xp, Security Bureau gives free Security promotion to Spies, and Jail gives nothing extra.
Deception -> Instigator I -> Instigator II -> Instigator III gives +100% bonus unrest and +100% bonus city revolt, but I'd need a Spy with 17 xp to test that out.

Now that Hariharalaya has 0% defenses for 1 turn, I can proceed with the attack.
The city has 3 less defenders (16 units) this turn since 3 Spears moved to 1E of the city, so I shouldn't have too much trouble since I brought 29 killers and 7 Catapults.
Catapult lost against Archer in Hariharalaya at 32.5% odds.
Catapult lost against Axe in Hariharalaya at 41.7% odds.
Catapult won against Axe in Hariharalaya at 41.7% odds.
Catapult won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 59% odds.
Catapult won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 48.3% odds.
Catapult lost against Sword in Hariharalaya at 56.9% odds.
Catapult lost against Sword in Hariharalaya at 56.9% odds.
Axe won against Axe in Hariharalaya at 90.2% odds.
Axe won against Archer in Hariharalaya at 94% odds.
Axe won against Axe in Hariharalaya at 87.3% odds. (The pair of 2.7hp Khmer Spears means I want to keep attacking with non-Elephants)
Sword won against Axe in Hariharalaya at 97.4% odds.
Sword won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 88.9% odds.
Sword won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 96.4% odds.
Sword won against Spear in Hariharalaya at 99.4% odds.
Sword won against Spear in Hariharalaya at 99.1% odds.
Sword won against Spear in Hariharalaya at 98.7% odds.
Sword won against Axe in Hariharalaya at 98.5% odds.
Sword won against Spear in Hariharalaya at 98.4% odds.
Axe won against Chariot in Hariharalaya at 98.9% odds.
Axe won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
War Elephant won against Sword in Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
Hariharalaya captured!
The city yielded 164:gold:, 9 population, and no buildings. (aww)
Spoiler :

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With the Hariharalaya culture down, it is easy to get some free kills.
Also moved 2 Chariots onto my Galley to attack the island city of Vimayapura next turn which is defended by 1 Axe.
War Elephant won against Chariot 2N of Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
Axe won against Spear 1E of Hariharalaya at 99% odds.
Axe won against Spear 1E of Hariharalaya at 99% odds.
Axe won against Spear 1E of Hariharalaya at 99% odds.
Axe won against Spear 2S1W of Hariharalaya at 99.3% odds.
2 Workers captured!
Spoiler :











The Yue appear to be gradually losing strength as Khmer marches another 7 units north.
Will reinforce my screen of Axes and try to hold the northern defensive line.
I've go so many reinforcements passing between Biskek and Khotan now that I can probably defend against any Khmer push west while my main army pushes for the Khmer capital.
Spoiler :







Moved a lot of the Nagara forces up into Hariharalaya.
Moved a Sword + War Elephant to 2S1W of Hariharalaya to protect my Axe and 2 captured Workers.
Upgraded an Archer into a Longbow in Nagara Jayasri and Hariharalaya for 134:gold: each to protected against rogue attacks against each hilltop city.
My next target will be the capital Yasodharapura which has 8 defenders in the plains tile city.
Losing 21 military units this turn was a tough blow for Khmer to swallow, and I will only be pausing 1 turn to heal.
Rajavihara to the south has 5 units protecting the grassland city and is too depleted to prevent my march on the capital. (The 2 Galleys might be a pain later)
Should have just enough espionage points for 1 more expensive (no time to wait for -50% spy bonus) City Revolt in Yasodharapura before I have to resort to bombarding down city defenses.
Spoiler :
Longbow Upgrade


Rajavihara


Yasodharapura (Capital) at end of turn (Nagara Jayasri Spy moved towards Angkor Thom right after this screenshot)

Catapult chopped in Ecbatana.
Settler 4-pop whipped in Estruscan. (Will settle the correct island south of Chinook this time. -_-)
Chariot whipped in Ergili to garrison cities. (Overflow into Chariot)
War Elephant whipped in Pasagardae.

Persepolis stole a 3 food tile from Babylon, so that will help it produce more culture later.

Canceled Bronze to Yue for 8gpt.
Canceled Ivory to Yue.
Traded Ivory to Yue for 2gpt. (Doh! usually it adds onto the total and I'd trade Ivory for 10gpt)

Asked China, Japan, Poland, Rome, and France to attack Banteay Kdei. ^_^
Forgot I could do that with war allies.
Will wait until the Yue stack dies to ask Yue to also attack Banteay Kdei.
The longer it stays alive, the longer Khmer will be distracted in the north.
 
Turnset 90 (T331)

T331 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Sardis popped borders.

Axe won defending against Sword 4E1S of Biskek at 99.6% odds.
Axe won defending against Chariot 4E1S of Biskek at 79.4% odds.
Axe lost defending against Chariot 4E1S of Biskek at 41.7% odds. (Aww! Another hero unit almost got named)

This is the 2nd time Khmer has pushed through my wall of Axes. :p
Thankfully, I have forces in place to hammer my wall closed again.
There isn't much that can break through a War Elephant + Axe on a jungled hilltop.
War Elephant won against Chariot 4E1S of Biskek at 100% odds. (Lately, I've started promoting units after easy wins for the 1/2 healing if there is a chance they will be counter attacked)
Spoiler :





The defenses of Banteay Kdei got bombarded low enough for Yue to attack.
The entire Yue stack of 11 units died, while Khmer lost very little (2 units). :cry:
I went ahead and asked Yue to attack Banteay Kdei too, but I'm not sure this kind of request ever focuses the AI. :dunno:
Hopefully I can make good progress down south before the Banteay Kdei garrison heals up and starts moving.
Spoiler :







Moved 2 Spies into Yasodharapura and Angkor Thom (hilltop) because both have high cultural defenses.
War Elephant won against Chariot 2N1W of Hariharalaya at 100% odds.
Spoiler :



Vimayapura (the island city) didn't recognize the danger from my fleet and still has 1 defender.
Chariot won against Axe in Vimayapura at 79.1% odds.
It is really interesting how the odds calculated on that amphibious attack.
The Chariot got 5.2 strength because it had Combat III.
The Axe got 3.84 strength because the +125% from vs. Axe and Shock bonuses more than canceled the +95% defense bonuses, so the Axe got -30% or 5/1.3 = 3.84 strength.
Vimayapura captured! :D
The city yielded 77:gold:, 2 population, and no buildings.
Spoiler :



Sailed the Galley into the city and loaded the 0 move Chariot so I can unload it next turn on the mainland.
Also retreated the 2 Workers I stole along the their protectors north back into Hariharalaya for the capital push next turn.
Spoiler :



At this point, Suryavarmen is ready to capitulate since I have more than 40 war success and twice Khmer's land or population, but I'd rather take everything he owns. :mwaha:
Getting a Vassal would give me +1 :) in all my cities, but it would also give me -1 diplo with everyone in the world.
Even worse, all my diplomacy values would be averaged with Khmer's (Pleased with me + Annoyed with Khmer = Cautious with both, but I'm not 100% sure of the mechanics on this), so I would run into "We Fear you are becoming too Advanced" with most Friendly civs.
Lots of civs that I assume I'm safe from (won't plot war at Friendly/Pleased) would be able to plot war against me unless I was 1.5 to 2 times their strength (Power Ratio).
In short, my Diplomatic Protection and ability to trade for Monopoly techs would vanish if I took a vassal. x_x
Spoiler :

There are still monopoly techs I need, and I'm in the middle of the map and can't handle unexpected war decs right now.
Maybe when I'm more advanced, with Castles and Nationalism, I can start taking Vassals.

Will move my new 3:move: Spy (Logistics I promotion) to Cherokee since the Yue city has Hinduism.
Yue is my most advanced close neighbor and is Pleased (Not Friendly), so I want to be able to steal any unique techs he researches. (Like Machinery)
Spoiler :

My Great Person plan in Biskek has changed slightly.
I'm going to run an Engineer specialist so I can bulb Engineering if I get a Great Engineer.
Will also build Temples so I can run Priests and try to get a Great Prophet for Hindu Shrine. (David of Israel better pray I don't get a Great Prophet! :lol:)
As Biskek grows my specialist priority will be Engineer->Scientist->Scientist->Priest->Priest->Merchant->Merchant->Spy
Spoiler :

My main army is healing this turn. (+40% hp in Hariharalaya and +35% hp 1N1W of Hariharalaya thanks to +25% healing Super Medic Axe)
Next turn I'll march on the capital Yasodharapura and will have to decide if I want to attack south also.

Far to the northeast, Siberia is endless forests!
All I'm doing is increasing the trade value of my Map at this point.
Spoiler :





Canceled Rice to France for 2gpt.
Traded Rice to France for 4gpt.
Canceled Cow to Japan for 2gpt.
Traded Sheep to Japan for 4gpt.
Canceled Iron + Rice to Carthage for Deer + 3gpt.
Traded Iron to Carthage for Deer + 5gpt.
Canceled Horse to Netherlands for Stone + Pig.
Canceled Rice to Netherlands.
Traded Rice to Netherlands for Pigs.

Granary chopped in Ankara.
Hindu Missionary whipped in Sardis. (Overflow into Hindu Missionary)
Forge 3-pop whipped in Tashkent.
Spoiler :



My Power Ratio with Khmer is now 1.792 after the beating he's taken so far.
 
Turnset 91 (T332)

T332 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Delhi popped borders again.
My 2nd Spy in Angkor Thom was captured and killed. (Will send in another backup!)

Israel completed Mausoleum of Maussollos. (+50% Golden Age Length)
Combined with Jewish Shrine, Hindu Holy City (great for Espionage purposes), and Chichen Itza (+25% city defense), Israel is starting to look like a delicious 6 city war target. :yumyum:
Spoiler :

Japan demanded that I cancel my deals with his Worst Enemy Egypt.
This is just like Khmer on T295.
After looking things over, I'm barely Pleased with Japan as it is, and -1 diplo might make the difference for me being able to war bribe Japan once his war with Khmer ends.
So I told Japan YES.
Open Borders canceled with Egypt.
Egypt will no longer speak with me. (! mark on scoreboard)

=======================================
Civil Service discovered! :dance:
Spoiler :

Now I just need to figure out the best time to revolt to Bureaucracy.
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Gah!
Vassalage is offering +22 Free Units. :eek:
That is worth 22*2.6 = 57.2:gold: per turn!
Plus, all my cities get +2XP for military units.
Spoiler :

I'm not sure why Vassalage only offered +8 Free Units back on T201.
Maybe it scales with population and I never noticed before? :dunno:

Anyway, those are some hefty benefits thanks to Giant Earth Mod's insane unit maintenance costs.
Let's look at Bureaucracy's benefits and compare.
My new capital Lahore currently is Size 7 and has 22 Commerce and 8 raw production.
When it grows to Size 14, it will have 44 Commerce and 12 raw production.
Add in Bureaucracy's +50% Commerce and +50% Production, and you only get +22 Commerce and 6 hammers.
It looks like Vassalage is > Bureaucracy on Giant Earth Mod until the capital develops and gets good multipliers like Oxford University and a Levee.
Both Vassalage and Bureaucracy cost an extra 9 gold per turn to run since they are high High Upkeep. (-50% off thanks to Organized Civ Trait)
Both are still superior to Barbarism.
Spoiler :


Ok, I discovered Feudalism on T330 and can make the switch, but should I switch a 2nd civic like Philosophy too?
It only increases the Anarchy from 3 turns to 4.
According to my Financial Advisor, it will cost me -89:gold: per turn if I switch to Pacifism because of all my military units.
Even worse, the 30% Handicap might add on another -27 gold per turn.
On the plus side, Pacifism has no Civic Upkeep, so i save +22 gold per turn.
Eh, it might be nice to get Great People 50% faster in Biskek, but I'll lose all that nice +25%:hammers: to buildings in Hindu cities plus building Missionaries without Monasteries.
So, no Pacifism right now.
Maybe when I do a Golden Age, I can switch to Pacifism + Caste for a while.
Spoiler :

Now to decide when to switch to Vassalage.
Looking over my empire, I think T334 might be best.

That gives me time to get all my builds out and Catapults whipped.
It seems a little counter-intuitive to whip a whole lot of military units before Vassalage takes effect, but I'd rather have them at the front lines 3 turns earlier than arrive with +2 more XP. :crazyeye:
=======================================

Phew, moving on!

My plans to bulb Paper with my Great Scientist in Lahore blew up in my face.
I forgot that Philosophy comes before Paper unless you avoid Meditation. :sad:
Mmmm, will save the Great Scientist to bulb Education then.
The plan remains to get to Engineering first, so I need to stop teching and preserve my gold for the sprint to Engineering once someone trades me Machinery.
(Engineering costs 11700:science:)
I can also wait for Apostolic Palace to finish in Spain or Hungary and then trade for Theology.
Theology would boost my research bonus for Paper to +40% since it is a that leads to Paper on the tech chart.
Madrid in Spain has 6367:espionage: in the AP, but I'm too lazy right now to calculate exactly how many hammers it is from completion.
Spoiler :





Now that Israel completed MoM, I can finally trade for Calendar.
Traded Construction + Metal Casting to Babylon for Calendar + 530:gold:
Calendar discovered! :dance:
Spoiler :

Lahore and Hariharalaya were both built on Spices, so now I only need to complete plantations on Dye, Silk, Sugar, and Incense to get the full +5:) from Calendar.
Three of those can be found around Pataliputra, and the other nearby one is next to Delhi.

Traded Metal Casting to Poland for 520:gold: (Some civ players say it is a bad idea to accelerate the AI's tech pace like this, but I want money and Machinery!)
Traded Metal Casting to China for 460:gold:
Spoiler :



My Spy has the option to do an Assassinate Mission in Yashodharapura, but I don't see a cost and I'm afraid if I click it, a settled Great Scientist or General might die.
I don't have enough Espionage Points to inspect the city any longer to check, and it will soon be my city anyway, so there's no need to murder any Great People I'd say.
Spoiler :

Time for some more fighting.
Shock Elephant won against Sword 1E of Hariharalaya at 89.4% odds. (My Combat III Shock Axe wanted to attack Chariot first)
War Elephant won against Chariot 1E of Hariharalaya at 98.8% odds.
Spoiler :



This is a good time to talk about the Shock promotion (+25% vs. Melee) on the War Elephant.
It is good for killing Swords outside of cities that have defensive bonuses, but that is about it.
If you meet an Axe outside a city, you Chariot it.
If you meet a Spear outside a city, you Axe it.
A Sword on flatland also gets an Axe.
What about cities?
Most times you are killing units in a city, they have been knocked down to 50% hp by Catapults and collateral damage.
The shock promotion only removes the fortify bonus on a 3hp Sword, 2.5hp Axe, and 2hp Spear, and does nothing against Archers.
Now, would you rather have 0.5 to 0.75 less strength on a half hp melee unit, or +0.8 more strength on your War Elephant?
Combat Promotions are the way to go for War Elephants that kill cities!
At least until Macemen and Pikemen arrive, but even then Combat Promotions are only slightly weaker for melee units and way superior for Longbows + Crossbows.
TLDR;
Only promote Elephants with Shock if you need to kill full hp melee in the countryside.
Else stick to Combat I + II promotions.
 
Spy missions that don't show a cost mean that there will be another choice after you click it (like with "Sabotage Building"), it won't randomly kill someone without telling you who exactly and for how many EPs.
There might not even be any GP settled in the city, but the mission still shows up in the menu.
 
Wow! Just learned something new. My thx Noyyau.
 
Spy missions that don't show a cost mean that there will be another choice after you click it (like with "Sabotage Building"), it won't randomly kill someone without telling you who exactly and for how many EPs.
There might not even be any GP settled in the city, but the mission still shows up in the menu.

Thanks Noyyau :)

I'll investigate Assassination on my current turn (T333).
 
Turnset 92 (T332 to T333)

T332 Continued - After pausing 1 turn to heal, it's time to attack Khmer once more.

Rajavihara, Yashodharapura, and Angkor Thom are all within 4 tiles and can be reached next turn.
Spoiler :
Rajavihara


Yashodharapura


Angkor Thom

After pondering a good 10 minutes :hmm: and analyzing the Khmer defenses, I've decided to split my army and attack Rajavihara and Yasodharapura at the same time.
Splitting your main army can backfire if the smaller armies are too weak to capture cities, but if it works you conquer twice as fast! :D
My best advice is to only do it if you are grabbing multiple border cities at the start of a war you initiate, or to do it once the enemy Stack of Doom has been killed off.

Conquering Raja will allow my tiny fleet to sail through and will also secure my southern flank.
Since Raja is on flat land and only has 3 defenders, I've calculated that 3 suicide Catapults ought to be enough to give good attack odds for the killers.

Bottlenecking to the south allows me to keep minimal defenders in Hariharapura while the rest advances on the capital.
Spoiler :





I'm not sure where Japan and China are, but northern Khmer is recovering and I must devote a bit more attention to it since the Yue invasion died.
Spoiler :



:espionage: slider set to 100% so I can City Revolt Angkor Thom too.
The hilltop city is worth the 500:gold: to negate the 50% defenses and keep my lightning fast attack going.
There are too many directions it can be reinforced from.

Forests around Sardis are being pre-chopped a bit to prepare for Notre Dame (+2 :) to all cities on continent, requires Engineering)
Granary whipped in Edirne. (Overflow into Courthouse)
Forge 3-pop whipped in Tarsus.
Forge 3-pop whipped in Varanasi.
Forge 3-pop whipped in Bactra.

Merchant specialists give an extra +1:food:! :eek:
That is pretty huge for low food cities.
Makes me want to build Markets everywhere since they also give +1 Trade routes, up to +4 :), and +25%:gold:
Engineer specialists give an extra +2:science:
Spoiler :




T333 - Barbarians: 1 Warrior died. (My Siberian Axe is now Woodsman II :smoke:)

Isabella asked for Currency.
Told her Yes for +1 diplo.
Spoiler :

Khmer made peace with China.
Aww! :sad:
Opening the trade window shows that they aren't interested in DOW'ing Khmer again.
The option to attack Suryavarmen simply isn't there, so that indicates China signed a 10 turn Peace Treaty with Khmer.
China isn't interested in attacking the Yue either. :sad:
Spoiler :

Investigated the Spy Assassinate mission in Yasodharapura.
I could kill a Great General for 500:espionage: without any bonuses.
Wow that is cheap!
If I notice any of my neighbors start using spies, I'm going to station a Spy with the Security promotion in Pataliputra to try and protect my settled Great Generals.
Spoiler :

Traded Metal Casting to Israel for 100:gold: after I noticed David was 2 turns from completion on the scoreboard.
Israel is now teching Machinery in 34 turns. :)
Spoiler :
 
Turnset 93 (T333)

T333 Continued - Now that I briefly have enough Espionage Points to investigate Yasodharapura, note that it has 2 settled Great Generals. :)

Also, the lack of happiness resources is really hurting Khmer.
Not working a 9:food: Rice is just a bad idea.
Spoiler :

Time for my 2 Spies in the Khmer capital to do work.

1st Spy has 77% chance to revolt Yasodharapura for 565:espionage:
..
......
Success!
Spoiler :



I'll have to attack Yasodharapura across a river if I want it this turn, but the defenders getting an extra +25% defense shouldn't matter.

Catapult won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 26.2% odds.
Catapult lost against Archer in Yasodharapura at 28.5% odds.
Catapult won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 70.3% odds.
Catapult lost against Archer in Yasodharapura at 63.7% odds.
(Both had 5:strength:, so the displayed odds do factor in the fact that the Catapult withdraws once the defender reaches 25% hp)
Catapult won against Axe in Yasodharapura at 92.7% odds.
Axe won against Chariot in Yasodharapura at 88.7% odds.
Spoiler :



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Sword lost against Axe in Yasodharapura at 87.4% odds.
War Elephant won against Spear in Yasodharapura at 87.7% odds.
War Elephant won against Spear in Yasodharapura at 95.1% odds.
Axe won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 93.6% odds.
Axe won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 95.8% odds.
Axe won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 96.1% odds.
Chariot won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 98% odds.
Chariot won against Archer in Yasodharapura at 98.7% odds.
Chariot won against Axe in Yasodharapura at 100% odds.
Axe won against Axe in Yasodharapura at 100% odds.
Yasodharapura captured!
Khmer's capital is mine :woohoo:
The city yielded 252:gold:, 13 population, 2 settled Great Generals, and a Granary.
Spoiler :
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A fine city for military production!

Now for the southern attack.
There's no Spies waiting in Rajavihara, so I'll have to fight through the 50% defenses.

Catapult lost against Axe in Rajavihara at 30.3% odds.
Catapult won against Archer in Rajavihara at 53.8% odds.
Catapult lost against Archer in Rajavihara at 70.3% odds.
Axe won against Archer in Rajavihara at 87.9% odds.
Sword won against Axe in Rajavihara at 86.1% odds.
Sword won against Spear in Rajavihara at 96.8% odds.
War Elephant won against Archer in Rajavihara at 100% odds.
Sword won against Chariot in Rajavihara at 100% odds.
Chariot won against Archer in Rajavihara at 98.6% odds.
Rajavihara captured!
The city yielded 122:gold:, 7 population, and a Granary.
Spoiler :



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Afterwards I secured my gains by reinforcing Rajavihara and Yasodharapura with defenders from my 2 armies.
Many buildings are destroyed when capturing an enemy city, but functionally all are destroyed if you lose the captured city and have to retake it.
Even worse, the city loses population each time it violently changes hands, the enemy gets their borders and city defenses back slowing any advance, and they often whip a defender which does get produced before the human's turn which reduces the city population more.
Each population is worth 90 hammers, don't forget!
Spoiler :





Some very strong injured units weren't needed to finish off Rajavihara, so my Super Medic Axe retreated back to heal them up.
The main army advanced on Angkor Thom while reinforcements trickled south towards Rajavihara to keep pushing southeast.
Spoiler :








 
Turnset 94 (T333 to T334)

T333 Continued - My empire has 35 cities now and still only 3 turns of Anarchy to switch 1 civic.

The mapfactor of Giant Earth Mod must be even smaller than the 6 of a Huge map.
Will make sure to change civics next turn before getting more cities.
No sense pressing my luck.

Angkor Thom is in serious trouble with only 4 defenders, but farther north there are plenty of reinforcements within range to flood into the hilltop city.
The large garrison in Banteay Kdei is almost healed and might attack west or reinforce south at any time now.
Spoiler :



African scout reports a lot a desert in the heart of Zulu's empire, so I can dial my fear of him back a bit.
Spoiler :

Hinduism spread in Bursa with a Missionary.

Time to get all the whips complete before the switch to Vassalage. :whipped:
War Elephant chopped in Tashkent. (Overflow into Swords)
Hindu Missionary chopped in Sardis. (Overflow into Forge, Sardis is Notre Dame city)
Hindu Missionary whipped in Ergili. (Overflow into Wealth, then more Hindu Missionaries after spread to captured Khmer cities)
War Elephant whipped in Kashgar. (Overflow into Catapult)
Catapult whipped in Samarkand. (Overflow into Market)
Catapult whipped in Ecbatana. (Overflow into Catapult)
Swordsman whipped in Bursa. (Overflow into Courthouse)
Catapult whipped in Susa. (Overflow into Library)
War Elephant whipped in Pasargadae. (Overflow into Forge)
Catapult whipped in Varanasi. (Overflow into Catapult)
Spoiler :

Traded Spices to China for 8:gold: per turn.
:espionage: slider set to 30% so a Spy without bonuses can revolt Angkor Thom next turn.
Spoiler :

T334 - Barbarians: No deaths.

Samarkand popped borders.
Great Prophet born in Hungary.

All sliders set to 0%.
I am now at -57:gold: per turn. :lol:

Granary whipped in Ghulaman (island city southeast of Chinook) to get whip timer started.
Revolted civics to Vassalage. (+2 xp all military units. +23 free units)
Anarchy for 3 turns.
Spoiler :

The garrison in Bantreay Kdei has vanished. :run:
Last turn it had 10 units and this turn only 4.
Spoiler :

Too late to save Khmer!
I'm already in the heartland.
Taking a quick peek at Khmer's 6 remaining cities, most resistance has already been crushed. (7th city is on island to northeast of Angkor Thom)
Spoiler :
Jayendranagari


Pre Rup


Angkor Thom


Angkor Wat


Isvarapura


Banteay Kdei

Hopefully the Spies in Angkor Thom succeed or I'll have a fair amount of losses.
The city has 7 defenders, Walls, and a hill. (2 Swords, 3 Axes, 2 Archers)
First Spy has 78% odds and costs 487:espionage: to revolt the city with -20% wait bonus.
..
......
Success! (The Spy died though)
Spoiler :

Catapult won against Archer in Angkor Thom at 26.2% odds.
Catapult lost against Archer in Angkor Thom at 51% odds.
Catapult lost against Axe in Angkor Thom at 43.2% odds.
War Elephant won against Axe in Angkor Thom at 90% odds.
Great General born in Pataliputra! :D (Settled it immediately for +4xp for military units)
Spoiler :

War Elephant won against Sword in Angkor Thom at 92% odds.
War Elephant won against Axe in Angkor Thom at 91.3% odds.
War Elephant lost against Sword in Angkor Thom at 91.8% odds.
Vision Chariot won against Archer in Angkor Thom at 95.8% odds.
Chariot won against Archer in Angkor Thom at 98.4% odds.
Chariot won against Axe in Angkor Thom at 99.99% odds.
Axe won against Sword in Angkor Thom at 100% odds.
Angkor Thom captured!
The city yielded 144:gold:, 8 population, and a Hammam
Spoiler :

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Settled GGs give 4xp? I had forgotten that detail, it's really overpowered! Especially combined with the cheap units.
 
Settled GGs give 4xp? I had forgotten that detail, it's really overpowered! Especially combined with the cheap units.

Really overpowered. :crazyeye:

Pataliputra can make 13xp units almost every turn right now with the latest Great General and Vassalage.

If I can get to 26xp, I can make the ultra-broken Combat IV + Commando units. (Can use enemy roads)
That's 3 more Great Generals and a Stable for mounted units, or 4 more Great Generals for regular units.
In regular BTS, only a leader like Boudica tends to get Commando units.
 
Is there any risk of Sury capitulating to someone either in the war or not in the war? If not, how do you deal with that risk when it is an issue. Does it matter if a bystander AI not in the war is at or above the pleased/friendly plotting threshold with you?
 
Is there any risk of Sury capitulating to someone either in the war or not in the war? If not, how do you deal with that risk when it is an issue. Does it matter if a bystander AI not in the war is at or above the pleased/friendly plotting threshold with you?

Great questions. :D

Sury could certainly capitulate to another AI at war with him that has Feudalism (Rome) if Rome got 40 war success against him.
Sury could also capitulate to a non-Feudalism civ who got 40 war success and then traded for Feudalism in between turns.

If I see one of my war partners winning battles and taking cities, I'll usually bribe them to Cease Fire with my target.
That resets the war success to 0 and they'd have to start over again to vassal my target by force with a new war.
If they start doing good but haven't taken a city yet, I'll ask them to attack the city farthest away from where they are at.
Nothing better than asking the AI to perform a suicide mission and watching them attempt it. (I'm not sure this tactic really works though)

It sucks if your war target capitulates to another AI! :sad:
It causes all wars to cease involving your target, including the human player's war.


On the other side, if your war target peace vassals with another AI, then that AI DOW's you.
This is probably the most annoying scenario, but the good news is your war target isn't as tightly bound to their new master.
When that happens to me, I keep pounding the AI who peace vassal'd until they un-peace vassal in despair, then I ask them to capitulate if they are still alive.
The Master AI usually takes a while to get a Stack of Doom ready since they had 0 time to prepare for war.

As for preventing AI's from peace vassaling your war opponent and DOW'ing you, some players recommend begging possible Master AI candidates for 1:gold: to get a 10 turn peace treaty which prevents the Peace Vassal + DOW for 10 turns.
I'm not sure if being 1.5 to 2 times as strong as the master AI militarily prevents the Peace Vassal + DOW, or if being Pleased/Friendly with the master AI prevents the Peace Vassal + DOW, but I think it does. :hmm:
(Military strength threshold and diplomatic threshold to be immune from DOW's varies between the different AI)
 
I'm not sure if being 1.5 to 2 times as strong as the master AI militarily prevents the Peace Vassal + DOW, or if being Pleased/Friendly with the master AI prevents the Peace Vassal + DOW, but I think it does. :hmm:
(Military strength threshold and diplomatic threshold to be immune from DOW's varies between the different AI)
According to DanF, peace vassaling while at war acts just like a war bribe, except that instead of paying with techs/gold, the bribing civ pays by offering itself as a vassal.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=8292358&postcount=7

In other words, your war target can never peace vassal to any leader who is Friendly towards you (except to Catherine, who isn't in the game). Sury could in theory peace Vassal to Yue or Japanese while they are pleased towards you (if they had Feud and were feeling strong enough to attack you). And of course, Sury would have to be Cautious or higher towards the other civ to be willing to become a vassal, and Yue/Toku must be cautious or higher towards Sury to be willing to be bribed into war through the vassal trade.

This war will be over long before Feudalism though. Really impressive progress, keep it up! :goodjob:

As a sidenote, since this mod changes a lot of features in this game, who knows if it also has adjusted the diplo thresholds for warbribes... :run:
 
According to DanF, peace vassaling while at war acts just like a war bribe, except that instead of paying with techs/gold, the bribing civ pays by offering itself as a vassal.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=8292358&postcount=7

In other words, your war target can never peace vassal to any leader who is Friendly towards you (except to Catherine, who isn't in the game). Sury could in theory peace Vassal to Yue or Japanese while they are pleased towards you (if they had Feud and were feeling strong enough to attack you). And of course, Sury would have to be Cautious or higher towards the other civ to be willing to become a vassal, and Yue/Toku must be cautious or higher towards Sury to be willing to be bribed into war through the vassal trade.

This war will be over long before Feudalism though. Really impressive progress, keep it up! :goodjob:

As a sidenote, since this mod changes a lot of features in this game, who knows if it also has adjusted the diplo thresholds for warbribes... :run:

Peace Vassaling during war is like a war bribe, thanks! :goodjob:
It is good to know that diplomacy values would matter.

Would be horrifying if war bribe thresholds were set to Friendly for more than just Catherine in this mod, ya. :run:
 
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