Hehe, that's what i will do, except for the fact that i won't wipe them out immediately. I intend to attack, grab a few cities, make peace, extort everything i can and then deliver the fatal blow. About Japan, yes, it's not a worthy target for the moment, but their time will come
Interesting news on the storyline. Here's the next update:
Emphasis on improvement
I don't plan to build more cities in the next few turns, except for the one, already in schedule, that will be founded in site 8. Probably mine it's not the best strategy overall, but i prefer to have my cities connected and with productive tiles, instead of distant isolated settlement that won't produce anything significant for lots of turns.
From now, i won't give the maximum detail on the military production of cities, unless something is particularly significant. Even such stuff becomes boring after a while.
The cities of Persepolis and Pasagardae are going to train units for now. Supposing the same use, Antioch, Susa and Gordium are building barracks. A temple is being built on Arbela, on the far east, and once finished the city will probably start a naval unit for exploration. Tarsus is going to complete a galley.
1200BC - Nothing to report.
1175BC - More to report.
Woodchop completed around Arbela. The temple (first one!) will be completed next turn. The workers have roaded the tile. Too bad if i add a shield it will go to waste, so it's pointless to mine the tile now. Next turn, the team will head to Susa, where some improving and woodchopping work will be much more useful.
The first naval unit of the Persian Empire has been completed in Tarsus. The galley start venturing into the sea, looking for possible new landmass. Tarsus is now building a temple (20).
1150BC - The first Temple of Mithra has been built in Arbela. It's the first cultural building except for the capital Palace in Persepolis.
1125BC - Rome owns Horseback Riding now.
1100BC - Finally, started woodchopping near Susa.
1075BC - Completed barracks in Antioch. Started a settler to colonize site 8. A road connecting site 8 has been finished this turn. The galley from Tarsus ventures oversea, and spots a probable landmass in the distance... a puny sea tile, but there seems to be coast too. If that heroic boat survives the ocean, a very early contact could be established.
1050BC - The galley didn't survive the ocean cross, but at least i have an idea of where a possible other landmass is. Production in Tarsus switched to galley (5). The rest is business as usual: more worker activity and the conscript warrior returning to Persian land to be employed somewhere.
1025BC - Woodchop terminated and barracks completed in Susa. The city will train units from now. Rome has built the Pyramids. What will Caesar decide to build now? Another wonder would be perfect.
1000BC - Tokugawa owns Map Making now... can't he research something that i don't have?!? I give him Mysticism for his world map, so he'll probably go for a new tech. The map is not completely useless, some extra roads in Roman and Japanese lands are shown.
The problem now is that Caesar will start again to gain culturally over me. I need at least 2 more temples to bring things back. Gordium will delay the barracks and build a temple (8). Susa switches too. The temple will be built in 19 turns, but another woodchop will speed up things.
975BC - Tile improvement around Tarsus has been completed. The workers in charge are sent north, back to Gordium. There are some plains to be irrigated and some forests to be chopped. City 9 will probably be founded north of Gordium, so it's better to prepare the terrain. The 2 teams, now pratically merged, continue working the tiles around Antioch and Susa.
950BC - The Romans have started the Oracle, in Rome. It wouldn't be a bad thing to capture it. If someone else don't beat Rome in the construction. Anyway, our plans don't change. Build city 8, then crank up the military at full steam.
925BC - More units are moving to the gathering point in Antioch. A 2nd galley has been built in Tarsus. I hope the crew will have better luck than the previous one lost in the ocean. Tarsus is building a temple now.
The first Roman war
900BC - Completed Polytheism, started Monarchy (20 turns at 2.8.0). Veii has now achieved cultural rank 2. It seems that Caesar is willing to compete culturally. Well, that city won't be autorazed even if it goes back to size 1. But i'm not sure if capturing it would be the best option. I could raze it and found a new city 1 tile west, on the hill. This would leave room for another city at CxxC between it and Rome, and would make possible a better exploitation of all the gem and gold tiles.
The settler has reached site 8. Arbela has completed a galley. The boat goes east to explore the shorelines of the jungle-ridden stripe of land eastward. The city starts training a worker (3).
In the interturn, Caesar demands that i hand over Polytheism. I send him packing and he declares war.
875BC - The current state of war forces us to change our plans a little. As planned, Bactra is founded on site 8. Production in Susa switched to archer (1). The archer currently in the city moves south to reach the main strike force currently parked in the newly founded city. The archer and 1 spear currently in Antioch move there too.
Inspired by the excellent strategy shown by Theodora of the Byzantines in a parallel universe
i decide to use a bait to possibly lure some military units out of Veii. Since i am not the Byzantines, i cannot make use of Byzantine Babe Magnets
So i'll have to think about something else. I pick a worker with strong legs and send him on a nearby hill where he will scream profanities at the garrisoned troops inside Veii, then run away as fast as he can when the cretins will come out to chase him.
Meanwhile, woodchop out of Susa is cancelled: i need 3 workers to build a road for an immediate connection of Veii once captured. The 2nd suicide galley sail boldly for a trip on the oceans. This is a shot of the current situation around the front:
World meetings, trade madness, dumb AS
850BC - Two great news!
First, the suicide galley has survived the trip. The proud ship sails westward and reaches the safety of a coastal tile. Borders of 2 different civilizations are spotted. Since i don't want to sell communications with the civs on my mainland, i won't ask for a meeting with the Celts. In the interturn, the civs will probably establish a contact and sell communication with me each other. This will obviously spare me the money to buy contact for myself.
Second, the bait has worked! An archer has popped out from Veii and now it's threatening the lonely worker. I move the bait west to further lure the archer out of the city.
825BC - Delaying contact has worked! Now i know 6 of the 7 other civs of the world. Time for some trade madness around!
First a preliminary tour. I miss contact with the Spanish. All the known civs on the new world have knowledge of Code of Laws and Horseback Riding, but lack Polytheism. I have a big asset to trade: my world map, completely unknown to them.
The cheapest embassy to establish is with the Celts (45 bucks). Entremont is quite undeveloped. No city improvements except for the Palace, no luxuries connected, 2 regular spears as city defense. Now building the Oracle (28 turns). Only 6 cities in the Celtic nation. I buy Code of Laws and the celtic territory map for my world map and 10 bucks. Big deal! One tech mastered.
Next customer: the Ottomans. I establish an embassy for 59 bucks. Sogut is size 7, defended by 3 regular spears, no improvement except for the Palace, no luxuries and no resources connected. They will complete the Oracle in 2 turns. I sell to Osman my world map for contact with the Spanish and 60 bucks. Osman has 11 cities, almost all unconnected and undeveloped.
Let's go to see gorgeous Isabella now. Spain is quite backwards, lacking Mathematics and Code of Laws. But before trading with them i pay a visit to Tokugawa. I sell him Code of Laws for Horseback Riding, his world map and a measley 1 gold. I want him to trade with Caesar, in the hope that the Romans would have a useful tech to extort when peace will be signed.
Now a visit to England. My world map for their territory map plus 50 bucks. Not bad.
The Iroquois: world map for world map. They have absolutely no money to shell out, so this deal is the best that i can obtain.
Back to Isabella: Mathematics and Code of Laws for world map + 20 bucks. Good.
Back to the Celts now: my world map for their world map + 20 bucks. Money!!!
A second visit to Elizabeth of England to grab the english world map. I have to shell out 10 bucks, but they are worth spending them.
Finally, Osman again. World map for world map + 1 gold. Agreed. At the end of the trade round, i come back home with a complete map of the New World, a tech, and 82 more gold coins. The embassy expense is 104 gold. Net loss: 22 gold, almost nothing. Rome and Japan still don't know the map of the New World, so i still have a good asset to sell them if it's the case.
Back to the front, the archer from Veii isn't anymore in the range for going back into the city. I send 6 archers, 2 spears and 3 workers on the forest tile north of Veii. Next turn the city will be mine and immediately connected. The worker bait moves south.
800BC - The heroic bait has worked better than expected! Now 3 archers are chasing him, another idiot has exited the safety of Veii to join the madness. The worker is surrounded so he'll be lost next turn, unless i send some units to protect him. But the reward is far greater than the loss. The shot explain well the situation: 3 idiots chasing a lone worker while my stack of doom is ready to take over Veii. Dumb AS.
Gordium has completed the temple and now barracks are being built (10). Arbela has completed a worker and started walls (10).
My stack of doom attacks Veii. The 1st archer is killed, the next 2 are both victorious and the city is conquered. A fine roman slave has been captured. Only 2 regular spears were defending the city, and without the bait, there would have been 2 spears and 2 archers, possibly enough to repeal my attack.
However, troubles aren't over. The cultural expansion of Veii is a real curse. Next time resistance will probably end, but i'll need some 7 units garrisoned to ensure from the cultural flip menace. Probably the best thing to do will be abandon and resettle. I decide to recall the bait and defend it with 1 archer and 1 spear, veterans and behind a river.
Although war was almost unexpected, i reacted quite well. The first Roman city has fallen, thanks also to the bait trick that worked perfectly. And i profited quite well of the early contact with all the other civs. By not selling contact, i can play dirty with Rome and Japan while keeping my reputation pristine with the civilizations of the New World.
