GOTM 125 - First spoiler - 1AD

[neilmeister]

GOTM 125 - Monarch - First Spoiler - 1 AD

[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/gotm125civ.jpg[/img]

How did your early game go?

Stop! If you are participating in GOTM 125, then you MUST NOT read this thread unless EITHER

• You have reached at least 1 AD in your game, OR
• You have submitted your entry

Posting Restrictions

• Please do not disclose ANY events or information gained post 1 AD.
• Please do not reveal your final result if that happened after 1 AD.
• Please do not discuss the location of resources that may not show up before 1 AD. (Iron is OK, coal and oil are not)
  
• Do not post any savegame file from the game. Discussions and screenshots are fine but not actual games

 

[Daijin7]

Settled in place, but at 1AD I am about to move the capital south to the second city (2W of marble). Third was at the Gold in the east, fourth between cows and copper to the west.

I managed a rather late (about 600BC) Oracle-CS sling.

I know three other leaders by now. Louis is good friend (confucian like me), Alex hates me and Tokugawa is isolatd like always. Probably I will have to attack Louis soon, because he has the next best land.

I did not much exploration yet. This is a next step.

The map is crazy with all it's ressources. ;-)

 

[Deckhand]

Settled in place as well. 2nd city for the Gold. 3rd city 1S of marble (for copper). 4th city for Silver & seafood. Just produced 5th settler headed to Iron/Cows/Stone/Wheat.

grat's on 600 BC Oracle-CS! I was ten turns from CoL and CS sling in 975BC when Oracle BIAFAL (Stonehenge also build somewhere that turn.) Pyramids were built in 125 BC. Good news is I'm 2 turns from Great Library.

Toku's was the first religion to spread to me, and I adopted it as only way to get Toku to trade with you is to get him to pleased. Of course, this upset my other neighbors. Alex is Buddhist and Louis is Hindu.
Louis declared on me 500 BC and we made peace in 125 BC. I watched an Alex stack moving north (my exploring warrior was S of France at the time). When he didn't declare against Louis, I figured I was the target.
I was robbed! 1AD Alex declares. I have stack fortified in jungle 4S of marble (at edge of border) and his units are there too. But my units are teleported back into my border to grassland - and he kills one. Oh, the injustice! I still have 5 axes and a sword vs 2 axes, phalanx and archer (that I know about in first wave). I don't expect any trouble winning the war as I was prepared.

Six turns from Catapults. Then after Alex war, it will be time for revenge on Louis. Can't reach Toku (haven't build a galley yet) but I don't care. Nice not to worry about him.

I don't expect any medals. But I do expect victory.
4th in score, 4th in land area, 4th in soldiers, 5th in GNP, 6th in crop yield, but 1st in production.

 

[Minou]

Well, this is certainly my worst GOTM ever. Retired at 900BC!

Settled in place. There was not much for Workers to do with the starting land/techs, so I built three Warriors hoping to steal some AI Workers in the early game. One found Luis but never had the angle to snatch a Worker, the second traveled deep into the southwest meeting Alexander before being eaten, and the fourth searched out the best city spots nearby. At 1000BC, I had settled the FP/Pig/Copper area, the double Gold/Corn site, and a double Silver/ double Crab site. Barbarian Archers were delaying my next city by the Wheat/Cow/Stone to the west, but on the plus side had founded a city worth capturing later. I missed the Oracle by 3 turns.

Four turns later, a French Chariot rolled up and captured my best city by the FP. It was only defended by a Warrior so I guess it is my fault, but I was not expecting the AI to get aggressive so early, especially when the only diplomacy I had was a +1 for Open Borders. I would have been more careful with defense if I had actually declared war and stolen a Worker, but figured I had plenty of time until the AI came knocking at this difficulty level. Too dispirited to continue, I resigned.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

Settled in place, but at 1AD I am about to move the capital south to the second city (2W of marble).

Pretty much the same plan with me, although my planned new capital got settled in a slightly different location than you settled it. It's rare that I move my Palace, but I plan to make my capital my Great Person Farm. "Lol, what?" you say, seeing what a City that gets settled in place looks like, but it will be a decent location once I complete a few more Wonders there.

Also, my new capital will have 13 "Helper" Cottages that other Cities can work for it, meaning that once Oxford University gets completed, I should be able to rock my way quickly through the techs. Well, that's the theory, anyway.


I had a lot trouble with Barbs, losing a City that got razed. Having lost several Warriors, I couldn't keep a Barb-spawning network in place, so I took Archery in trade and started spamming Archers instead.

Needless to say, survival came at a higher priority than Wonders, so I didn't manage to build The Oracle, with me just only barely managing to complete The Great Lighthouse in my capital before the spoiler cut-off date, although I don't have a lot of coastal Cities, so I'm not sure how much it will really help me.


I briefly managed to get Open Borders with Toku until after Alex "compelled me" to switch to Alex's State Religion, with multiple stacks of Alex's Units floating around my Cultural Borders. Okay, sure, if that's all that you want, I'll convert, just for you, buddy.


Although I'm late to produce Great People, it's nice to have Philosophical Saladin back (instead of Protective Saladin, as seen in the game's expansions).


I'm also thinking of heading toward Guilds, since Camel Archers are a fun Unique Unit, with neat graphics and a nice intrinsic ability to withdraw. They also don't require Horses, which were conspicuously placed far away from our starting area, making it hard for us to "upgrade" Horse Archers into Camel Archers. At least my Scientists won't have to figure out the genetics behind that conversion.