GIII Gamma

[Dianthus]

I like 100k games, but I can't get it done before 1600. I tried Sumerians twice, once using ToA and one without. I might try one more, but it loses it's fun aspect when I can't get the results I want.

I'm not sure if you're after hints, but the main thing you're doing wrong is not enough territory or cities. You need to expand to the domination limit and build as many cities as possible. On a small map that could be as much as 120-150 cities!

 

[AutomatedTeller]

for the gauntlet, I highly recommend generating 100 or so maps, and restarting until you pop an SGL in the first two techs for the Pyramids. Nearly every HOF game relies on Pyramids, but this, more than any, because you need so many cities and so much pop-rushing.

I might also recommend being religious, so you can switch governments twice - once to republic to get out of despotism and build up some cash and facilitate research through education, and once to feudalism for the support and pop rushing.

And if you are going to be scientific, I think the ToA is a bad strategy - reason for scientific is cheap buildings, and ToA will drive you away from education and unis.

Try the Celts. I think you will have some better luck. Not that I'm any expert, mind you.

 

[Marsden]

And if you are going to be scientific, I think the ToA is a bad strategy - reason for scientific is cheap buildings, and ToA will drive you away from education and unis.

Thank you both. My thinking was that if I had a religous civ I would only be saving 30 shields per temple instead of 60, but the loss of the universities does seem to be a greater loss. I don't have the time or will try to get the early SGL, but thank you. I think I finally understand one of the missing pieces of information regarding how such dates are attained.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

yeah, that is one of the problems with HoF games -the number of starts it takes to get an SGL for pyramids.

I have yet to play in a gauntlet where the person who won *didn't* get an SGL to rush Pyramids. It's almost a requirement for a great score.

 

[killercane]

I would only be saving 30 shields per temple instead of 60

Cathedrals are also half price, so you save 110 shields per city (30+80). Sci allows you to save 140 shields per city, but at the cost of more research.

Perhaps someone could do an education slingshot by 1000 bc, take Feudalism, and go from there. I havent really thought about this before, but I will try it soon.

 

[Tone]

yeah, that is one of the problems with HoF games -the number of starts it takes to get an SGL for pyramids.

I have yet to play in a gauntlet where the person who won *didn't* get an SGL to rush Pyramids. It's almost a requirement for a great score.

Out of the current submissions that we know about, the current leader of this game did not get an SGL for an early Pyramids build. I can think of one gauntlet where I won without getting a single SGL and another where I got it my sole SGL so late that I didn't bother using it (prebuilds for ToE and the UN where already in place). That is not to say that an early SGL isn't going to give a huge advantage but if you have a good game going you might not want to discard it too early. For example, if the AI builds the Pyramids and they are close to you, that would be fine for this victory condition IMO.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

well, what do I know

and I have to say... *getting* an SGL for Pyramids has never guaranteed me a great score - in fact, thinking about it, the only gauntlet where I didn't place last, I hand built the pyramids...

 

[sanabas]

I abandoned one game in which I stayed in despotism all the way to Fuedalism, hand built Pyramids, & didn't build ToA. Played as Babylon with all AGR opponents (Maya, Celts, Dutch, Sumer, Iroquois) in the hope that they'd build more cities for me to take. Didn't concentrate anywhere near enough on expansion, but kept a very tight build with early culture builds. So I didn't have a big enough base to get up to a proper amount of culture.

Second attempt is working much better. I'm at 500AD, currently looking at a finish around 950. It might be possible to get it under 900 if I'm lucky. Made 2 big mistakes in this one, but I don't have the patience to try again at the moment. I didn't realise just how little commerce there is in Feudalism, and didn't realise that even at 100% tax, ~400gpt maintenance & 200gpt of pre-taxmen income doesn't balance very well. I was in Republic doing a 50-turn run at education, but I was using the cash to rush 1-2 libraries per turn. I should have been stockpiling. I also waited far too long to switch from Republic to Feudalism. When I did switch, I turned up the research as well, I probably should have waited the 10-15 extra turns to stay at 1 scientist and stockpile the cash. It's currently a constant battle to stay out of bankruptcy, and all the taxmen are slowing growth and hence pop-rushing in cities. Next 100k game I play will be done much better, but it won't be for this gauntlet.

Just looked at the 2 games at 10AD, which is when I abandoned the first game, and I didn't realise just how bad the first game was. City count is 33 v 87, cpt is ~100 v ~500

 

[sanabas]

Finished the game, and if my housemate ever finishes downloading what seems to be about 5 terabytes of stuff, I'll get it uploaded. Finished up with 870. Missed 860 by under 200 culture, and without my mistakes, I would have gone very close to sub-800 I think. I managed to get enough units for all the wars I needed from SoZ and KT. One other mistake was waiting far, far too long to build a couple of marketplaces in my few high commerce cities, especially those with tourism cash. I was sacrificing a potential 20-30gpt by not having them. Oops.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

well, I was hoping to give it another shot, but never got around to it.

so, looks like another 4th/5th place in the gauntlet.

 

[Tone]

Well that's better than never managing to finish a game for a submission in the first place.

It's not the winning; it's the taking part.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

It is the taking part, yes

I can see why 100K games are not the most popular, though...

 

[Bartleby]

I had intended to attempt a submission with a 4cc, even though it probably wouldn't make the bottom of the table. As it happens, I got distracted by the World Cup. Still on my list of things to do, though, it seems eminently do-able even though I tried and failed to do Tiny Regent 3cc/60k.

 

[Tone]

Now that does sound like an interesting game. I think I'll have to try that out sometime. Thanks, Bartleby.

 

[Dianthus]

This Gauntlet has finished:

sanabas won with 870AD, killercane came 2nd with 950AD and Karl_t_great came 3rd with 990AD.

The Delta Gauntlet has now begun.