GOTM 51: Second Spoiler:

[ainwood]

GOTM 51: Spoiler 2

To qualify for this spoiler, you must have reached the industrial age, or completed the game.

In addition, you must have a world map showing all landmasses, plus contact with all other civilizations (or their remains).

The starting continent was very commerce-rich. Did you manage to keep-up with the AI in terms of trading, or were you backward? Did you look to conquer the AIs with galleys and suicide ship-chaining, or did you wait until navigation?

 

[Desertsnow]

This was a frustrating but interesting game for me. Finally, after I got a few more marketplaces operating, my economy started to recover, and though I still had my science slider at zero, I was taking in enough cash to run the zero-science gambit. Then the Aztecs declared war. Salamanca (founded on the peninsula in the northeast) changed hands back and forth several times, including once back to me by culture flip. Eventually, peace was negotiated with no cost to either side. It was at this point that I was buying techs once every six to eight turns (sometimes two at a time), and catching up. I actually though I had a chance of getting a diplomatic victory; even if I didn't get the UN, I was second in both population and territory (France had eliminated the Americans in the early middlegame), so a little boot-licking in the endgame would likely give me the game. 'Twas not so, alas. I knew I was toast when I saw a pink ironclad escorting a fleet of destroyers invading my northwest coast. It was one thing to deal with Montezuma, sending units in twos and threes by caravel. This was another story altogether. All I could do was watch and wait until Joanie took me out completely. She never did however. She took a domination victory first. *sigh*

Result: Defeat (to France by Domination, 1784 CE); I didn't bother to look at the score.

History will remember me as "Isabella the Cruel." Cruel? T'was Joanie who was the cruel one. Effing backstabber.

 

[ionimplant]

I knew I was toast when I saw a pink ironclad escorting a fleet of destroyers invading my northwest coast. It was one thing to deal with Montezuma, sending units in twos and threes by caravel. This was another story altogether. All I could do was watch and wait until Joanie took me out completely.

you should build up your navy... you can easily fend off this buy killing the transporter

 

[Più Freddo]

Predator Space Race Challenge

Ancient Times in Summary

........... tR1cKy Più Freddo
Writing.... 2070 BC 2150 BC
Neighbour.. 650 BC 630 BC
Republic... 390 BC 370 BC
Middle Ages 290 BC 210 BC​

Seems I'm falling behind here... Though much of it appears to depend
on my AI being faster to research, entering the Middle Ages as early
as 370 BC. tR1cKy gifts his AI into the MA in 290 BC. Let's see if I
can leverage this in the following stages.


Getting Out of The Middle Ages

If the Ancient Age was all about establishing a research core and
getting a kick start through a half Despotic, half Republic Golden
Age, my Middle Ages were all about putting it to use. Four-turn
research, however, eluded me for the most part.

A little trick I used to speed up population growth in the eastern
part of the kingdom was to build all my Workers in the irrigated
western part in towns with Granaries. These were then gradually joined
to the eastern cities until their respective size limit (12, 9) was
reached.

130 BC Exit Golden Age
110 BC Discover Feudalism
110 BC Learn Monotheism
90 BC Learn Monarchy
50 AD Discover Theology
190 AD Discover Education
190 AD Learn Chivalry
300 AD Discover Astronomy​

Now, I discovered Theology one turn after France but could still sell
it for maximal gpt to both Aztecs and America. Education I discovered
first and could sell three times for maximum gpt. For Astrononmy the
gpt deals were much smaller. With Universities (first University in
280 AD), my research rate now quickens. I also start buying Strategic
Resources for my Technologies with the first Iron in 360 AD and the
first Horses in 430 AD.

360 AD Discover Navigation
360 AD Learn Engineering
430 AD Discover Banking
480 AD Discover Music Theory
480 AD Learn Invention
520 AD Discover Gunpowder
570 AD Discover Chemistry
620 AD Discover Physics​

Here I buy Horses, Saltpeter, Dyes, World Map and all gold and all gpt
from France in order to facilitate my attack on America the same turn,
see below.

670 AD Discover Magnetism
720 AD Discover Theory of Gravity
780 AD Discover Metallurgy
780 AD Enter Industrial Age​

Unfortunately, my "science partner" France also decided to research
Theory of Gravity, and we both discovered it at the same
time. Actually, only with Monotheism and Engineering did the AI aid me
in research. To spite my dreams of Space, it seemed, it tended to
prefer the optional Technologies whenever it could.


Other Events

530 AD Found Vitoria
620 AD Declare War on America.
640 AD Capture Detroit
670 AD Emerge Military Great Leader Sertorius
680 AD Capture Buffalo​

As I didn't really trust my overseas military power to be able to
capture and hold cities on enemy mainland, I decided to first go for
the hilly jungle island west of America. From there I would be able to
ship collected forces over faster. As it turned out, America was
weaker than expected and a direct attack would probably have
succeeded. France had dented her severely and captured three of her
towns. However, I did get a Military Great Leader in the process,
which I tucked away for the purpose of building the Forbidden Palace
in Washington once captured.

 

[Obormot]

Actually, only with Monotheism and Engineering did the AI aid me
in research.

Why didn't you gift them engineering? If they have that tech they will almost certainly choose the lower branch (invention->gunpowder) while you can research through the top one. If the AI don't have engineering their behaiviour is somewhat unpredictable, with all techs having more or less equal value for them. Then in the later MA it is best to switch to lower branch again and research chemistry because AI usually prefer astronomy.

 

[Più Freddo]

Why didn't you gift them engineering?

I didn't have it. France had Monotheism and I researched Feudalism, which I used to buy Monotheism. Perhaps a mistake.

I then bought Engineering for -- oops! -- Navigation. Apparently you are right that one shouldn't research Astronomy, but switch to the lower branch at that point.

 

[Obormot]

If i want to go deep into the tech tree i usually research Engineering as my first tech in the MA if i don't have it. In this game i decided that i'll need both Navigation and Military Tradition to win, so i researched Engineering first and then gifted it to the AI. I got Invention and Gunpowder from them and i think Astronomy too (i am not sure Astronomy though, will check it and write my spoiler when i get home).

 

[Più Freddo]

If i want to go deep into the tech tree i usually research Engineering as my first tech in the MA if i don't have it.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[ionimplant]

open 20K:
MA was a disaster for me in my wonder-grabbing race. in short, i only got Leonardo's Workshop, which is almost useless in its culture value and i never had more than 3 ground units and never upgraded a single unit...
as Aztec was wiping america out, France was busy building all those wonders and there're at least two times that she finished my target wonder 3-5 turns before i did. not having enough tiles to support a larger population in my capitol is the major reason why i couldn't compete with AI. this was finally fixed in the IA with the construction of railroad...
the 20k prospect is bleak but not unreachable...

 

[k-a-bob]

Well, I must say that this game showed me how good I am at tech trading now - to get to the Middle Ages, I needed to trade for 5 techs to get there and ended up being the tech leader entering the MA. I stayed on par with everyone through that age by researching what they did not, and started to fall behind slightly in the IA - when they started getting research done on the same turn as I did . I was trying to play a completely peaceful game, especially with having no indigenous resources with a goal of winning by Diplomacy.


edited because I have rocks in my head.

 

[DBear]

Entered MA in 520.
For some reason, my rivals were going along the top branch of the tree, so I went along the bottom.
Rather quiet MA, ended up reaching the IA in 1305. I have a city on Gamma Island and am starting to colonize Alpha Island, preparing for an invasion of the Americans, who are backward and weak. I am now in a position to trade tech for resources. Joanie is up Econ and Monty is up PP.

 

[denyd]

In the year 1220 AD, word had reached Isabella that France had completed both Newton’s University and Smith’s Trading Post, so with the completion of the research Feudalism in 1380 AD (after researching Engineering in 1320 AD), she ordered the cessation of research and began building a large treasury and counted on the Great Library for parity.

In 1375 AD, contact was finally made the other world via a Fuzzy French Frigate. With only a single contact, the Great Library was ineffective. Isabella had intended to wait for France to sell Spanish contact, but the appearance of a French Galleon, changed that plan. For the cost of Furs, Gems, WM & 36gpt, contact with the Aztecs was acquired and for an addition 11gpt to the Aztecs the Americans. A WM trade also got the American TM and it became quickly evident that the Aztecs had overrun America and exiled Abe to the NW island. It was then that the Great Library paid for itself by delivering 18 technologies from the Republic to Steam Power. At this time Isabella resumed her research, upgraded 20 archers to longbows and searched her empire for saltpeter without success. So that was 3 for 3 on missing strategic resources. France had an ulterior motive for her galleon as she landed 2 longbows next to Madrid. A trade of 27gpt to France for her WM & 195g did not persuade France from declaring war in 1420 AD. The offending longbows were quickly erased and Spain sat waiting for the next wave of French invaders. In 1425 AD, the now available luxuries of gems & furs were traded to the Aztecs along with 48gpt for Iron and Isabella quickly upgraded her spearmen to pikes and her empire was slightly more secure.

Finally in 1460 AD, after repelling another pair of French invasions (2 knights, 1 LB & 2 MDI), peace was signed with France getting 80g in the deal. Throughout the war with France Isabella was preparing to acquire the remains of America and a horse on a sliver of land left unclaimed by the Aztec. With the invasion fleet in place in 1495 AD Spain declared war on America and landed 12 LB with 4 Pikes for escorts. The three remaining American cities (defended by spears) did not last long and in 1535 AD America was gone. That same year a settler and 7 pikes landed on the unclaimed horses and founded Asturias and finally Spain had a military resource. In 1525 AD, Spain renewed the Iron deal with the Aztecs for 2 luxuries and 64gpt and began producing knights.

By now France had established quite a technology lead and was building Universal Suffrage and the Aztecs owned nearly 50% of the land and had an overpowering military. Still Isabella had a plan, get to Scientific Method and build the Theory of Evolution, then use those technologies to finance the path to Motorized Transportation. Having tanks would allow Spain to be able to take some of the ex-American lands from the Aztecs while partnering with France to cut the Aztecs down to size. From there on, a slow but steady pace would eventually get Spain to the 67% mark and a domination victory. But that story is for another day.

 

[DJMGator13]

I started by moving to the eastern gold hill in search of some fresh water. Seeing none I settled the gold hill and built a few warriors for exploring our continent. Seeing no one else on our continent I decided to build The Great Lighthouse in my second city, while continuing to settle our landmass.

By 1000BC I have only 6 cities (because of the Great Lighthouse build), 14 pop, 4 workers, 9 warriors and 1 galley (other galleys sank). Here’s a look at my map.

Cities
3900BC settled Madrid
2850BC settled Barcelona
2350BC settled Toledo
1870BC settled Santiago
1790BC settled Salamanca
1250BC settled Murcia

Known Techs
Alpha
Pottery
CB
Writing
Philo
COL
MapM
working on Republic

Science advisor tells me I’m moderately advanced. I’ve also finally spreadout enough that there are no more barbs on my continent.

Rest of the Middle Ages progresses the same. I complete The Great Lighthouse in 510BC and finally make it across the water in 390BC. I’ve only added a few more cities but I’ve started settling Jungle Island. That same year I became a Republic. I do some trading and now I’m only short Currency and Construction. I enter the Middle Ages in 150BC.

Middle Ages
America has already settled the island west of the other continent and the 3 other civs seem to be pretty even. There is no chance to poach any resources so I decide to continue researching along the upper path working my way to Navigation. By 510AD I can start Navigation, having also acquired Feudalism, Chivalry, Engineering and Invention.

I now have a plan for warfare. Aztecs have an extra iron while France has extra horses. My goal is to acquire each in trades for techs and then start building knights. France was out researching me along the bottom path and had already learned Gunpowder, but they did not have any saltpeter, although I did not know this at the time. I learned Navigation in 580AD and promptly traded for the iron and horses. It was time to build an army which I did and in 730AD I declared on America who was at war with both the French (since 590AD) and the Aztecs. I land my mighty 9 unit attack force by New Orleans and trigger my Golden Age in 740AD with the capture of New Orleans.

My GA helps me mass produce knights and the takeover of America continues. Near the end of my GA the Aztecs trade route was broken (not sure where) but I lost the iron from them, so I could only make horses for several turns until I stole an iron supply for myself. I had acquired a horse source from America early in the war so it was time to take a few cities from the French and steal their only supply of saltpeter, especially since they had cavalries. I signed the Aztecs into a MA and also separately signed a ROP with them, to let their knights get to France.

Once I secured the saltpeter from France I made peace with them and turned my attention to the Aztecs. They had gunpowder also so it was still knights versus muskets, but not the higher defenders that the French had. This time I signed an ROP with France and I allowed them to periodically send some troops into Aztec lands. This helped as the AI went after each other’s open field troops while I went after the cities.

I reached the domination limit in 1110AD but I did not win, MapStat and CivAsisst said I was over the land limit by 1 and 2 tiles respectively. So I figured maybe it was a rounding thing so I captured another city and settled one more. Next turn it told me I was almost 30 tiles over but still it did not give me a victory. So I decided that I must not have enough population, so I started to join workers to any city that could take more population. Finally in 1140AD I triggered domination.

 

[Nata]

PTW Open, 20K

My AA was awful as I used 2nd city for 20K, and that wasn't a coastal city. So I missed all AA Wonders but Pyramids, with Glib being especially painful, wasted GA on a useless palace prebuild which eventually became Aqueduct, and entered MA only in 390AD, far behind in Tech and with no resources.

500AD - galley-chain a settler/warrior pair to a free Horse peninsula near France, but France expands on it the turn they land. Settler/Warrior try to trek North to free lands but Aztecs dow and kill them.

570AD - Finish Sun Tsu from an old Palace prebuild as Feudalism is still the only MA tech I have.

630AD - research Engineering as Monopoly. Trade for Respublic, Monotheism, Theology, WM & gold. Revolt. Rush to Astronomy.

740AD - Lose Copernicus in a cascade
740Ad - Build University.
760AD - and Cathedral.
1000AD - Smith. Again a strange choice, but nothing else was around at the time.
1160AD - Shakespear! A bit of luck after all.
1285AD - Newton. Same turn Magellan Voyage is built in Seville - my Sea Wonder city.

1290AD - Discover Magnetism & enter IA. Finally Get Horse, SP, Iron for it (nobody would trade them to me before) and bring everybody to IA with us. Frantically build Cavs & Cannons, preparing for very tumultous and exiting Industrial Age.

Entering IA:

 

[ionimplant]

PTW Open, 20K

My AA was awful as I used 2nd city for 20K, and that wasn't a coastal city. So I missed all AA Wonders but Pyramids, with Glib being especially painful, wasted GA on a useless palace prebuild which eventually became Aqueduct, and entered MA only in 390AD, far behind in Tech and with no resources.

it seems at least both of us will get some kind of medal
let's see whether your not being able to get AA wonders hurts more or my not having the palace prebuild and missing all the MA wonder hurts more.

 

[AdrianE]

I eventually got a suicide galley over to the other continent. I was behind but not badly. Aztecs and France had obviously had a war as Rhiems was an Aztec city.

I traded my way to tech parity and eventually a lead by skipping all non essential technologies. At this point I decided to go for diplomatic victory.

The Aztecs eventually traded me some Iron and horses for tech so I was able to build some knights.

The Aztecs declared war on America in the late middle age. I slipped a settler over there and poached some territory. I then shipped my entire army over there.
The Aztecs traded me some salt peter so I then had cavalry. My 14 cavs, 10 infantry, 10 artillery eventually took all of the formerly American lands. I brought France in with an MPP. I wanted France to hate the Aztecs so they would vote for me in the UN.

Eventually I secured enough territory to have iron, saltpeter and horses of my own. So I made peace with the Aztecs after cancelling the MPP with France.

I gave the Aztecs sanitation (hoping they would build hospitals and have the most population and thus be the opponent for the UN) but their war with France dragged on. They switched to communism and ruthlessly pruned their population.

If I can't get a diplomatic win, I'll go for space but thats a tale for later.

 

[Obormot]

Predator.

I entered MA in 310BC and i lernt Republic the same turn and revolted immidiately.

Research.
I decided that i would need to research a lot in this game.

First of all Navigation was a must because even with the Great Lighthouse reaching the other continent safely before Navigation was not possible and even more importantly we could only get horses or iron with Navigation (If we had at least one of the 2 resources i might have still chosen to use suicidal galleys). Also the AI civs (except maybe aztecs) were quite strong: all were bigger in population then me due to demigod cost factor on predator and their great starting positions. I decided that the risk of them getting muskets while i research to Navigation is too big to fight with knights, so i would propably need MT too.

Since i needed both the lower and upper branches of the tech tree i chose Engineering as my first research goal and gifted it to AI. This ensured that they'll research invention->gunpowder for me while i research the upper branch. Of course this meant that they'll get muskets sooner which is not good, but this also meant that i'll get cavalry earlier, so i decided that it is worth it. I was also considering a more risky way of beelining straight to Navigation hoping to finish everybody off with knights (or at least get enough for domination), but i decided to go MT way eventually because it was safer and also because i never fought with cavalry in a military game before

At first i built mostly infrastructure in my towns to speed up research and also because i didn't have resourses for good units anyway. My core coastal towns got a harbour and a library each, some bigger towns also got aqueduct, temple and cathedral (religious buildings were better then markets in this game because of the rel trait and the isolation). I hand-built the FP in the cow&wheat town in the west to get a small seond core. Towns in this second core were only optimized for shields, not beakers and got only barracks because i built the FP quite late and there was no point of making long-term investments into research.

The tech progress:

50BC - Engineering (12 turns)
110AD - Monotheism (8 turns)
250AD - Theology (7 turns)
320AD - Education (7 turns)
390AD - Astronomy (7 turns)
460AD - Navigation (7 turns)
570AD - Chemistry (13 turns) - Could get it much faster, but used most cash for upgrading horsemen->knights
640AD - Metallurgy (7 turns)
700AD - MT (6 turns)

I got Feudalism, Invention, Gunpowder and Chivalry from the AI.

Wars.

I started my first small war against aztecs somewhere around 400AD with archers and suicidal galleys. The purpose was to claim horses so that i could start making conquistadors and horsemen for later upgrade at the same time i learn Navigation. I made an alliance against aztecs shortly before string the war to remove their offensive units so that i didn't fear their counter-attack. I made a mistake though as i forgot that i was at war with France at that time and they had RoP with aztecs. I captured the aztec horses city, but the french sent a big stack of musketeers and MDI there and i had only archers. So i gifted the town to americans, signed peace with aztecs and allied them against France to get rid of the french stack. I the redeclared on aztecs and transported my archers to their saltpeter city and captured it Then i got the horses town back from americans soon, but only managed to secure the iron a bit later. I built conquistadors and horsemen after astronomy and transported them immidiately to aztec land by a ship chain. Aztecs only had 2 or 3 muskets because i disconnected their saltpeter early, but still the war with them was quite messy and i made a lot of small mistakes. It ended only in 620AD. I launched my GA somewhere around 500AD. Americans were my next target, they were quite weak and their saltpeter town was captured by the french, so i could use knights and conquistadors effectively while researching to MT. I used RoP rape against them and they wre gone except 2 small towns by 700AD. This would have been enough for domination if i rushed temples instead of researching to MT, so i decided to go for conquest (otherwise my whole startegy would be wrong ), so i upgraded my knights to cavalries (dirt cheap in vanilla!) and prepaired war agaist France. They were the strongets civ in my game, they had lots of musketeers and lots of knights running around and i definetely didn't have overwhelming forces, so i couldn't use RoP rape agaisnt them. I attacked them cleanly in 720AD and got conquest victory in 840AD. This is my first military game with so much research involved and i feel i didn't do very well (i am not used to having so few units in the end of them game). But lets see what others come up with.

 

[DBear]

@Gator--if you have no contacts, the science advisor always tells you you're moderately advanced.

 

[Twonky]

predator, UN goal

I had entered the MA in 170AD - rather late compared to others here. As Monotheism and Feudalism were already available then, I did the "Obormot-slinshot" as one might call it : Engineering was discovered in 270AD and traded for Mono and Feud via the big picture. So by the time I had gotten Navigation I could trade for Invention and Gunpowder and proceed with Chemistry right away. I must admit though that the anticipation of AI-behaviour was not my reasoning to follow that path, but rather my desire for Universities, Copes and the possibility to trade goods.

The IA was entered in 870AD. Other important dates were 370AD, when my FP was finally constructed and 610AD, when Copes was built.

Furthermore, I decided not to go to war on the other continent. I figured that a diplomatic victory may be achieved without it and so I spared myself the effort.

 

[PaperBeetle]

The Ancient Age
A terrible age, blighted by my desire to create a specialist science city, just for the fun of it. I settled 1SE to get all the golds, and built the Colossus, which caused my GA to come so early that it was almost completely wasted. Eventually I filled up the Iberian continent and the jungle island, and sent a suicide galley out to find the other continent. My route was to sail due west from the western tip of Iberia, and my first attempt sank within visual range of Aztec borders. Luckily, Monty had a galley in the area, so contact was established. By 730bc he had sold my details to Joan and Abe, and in 710bc I researched Literature for a monopoly and traded to within 1 tech of parity. Finally, I researched Republic to trade my way into the medieval in 110ad. By this time I had all three AIs at war with each other.

Strategic Resouce Hunt
My first concern on entering the medieval is to get saltpeter hooked up, as I have neither of the ancient resources. I get Gunpowder in 600ad, and find that Iberia has no saltpeter either . America's iron and saltpeter are stealable, albeit from an inland position, but I never summon the courage to go for these; I have been at war with America since the ancient age so the area is not secure. There is one other free resource though; I use a suicide galley chain (3 galleys head west, 2 sink, the survivor carries a settler to the new world) to found a town on the horse to the south of France - I guess this little peninsula is only settlable if the French town to the north has been captured, as the Aztecs have done in my game. I need to ship these horses across oceans, so I research Astronomy in 750ad. Infuriatingly, before I even reach Astronomy America gets Copernicus in a cascade from Michaelangelo, so my Super Science City plans take a big knock. The shields Madrid has invested in the Copernicus prebuild are not completely wasted though; 860ad brings me Navigation, and I build Magellan.

Oceans Are No Barrier
Now that I can move my ships where I like, it is time to get down to some real war. I start by bringing Joan into my ongoing war with America. In 880ad I drop a gang of longbows onto the mountainous island to the west of America, and find that the American military is much weaker than I had expected. They lost their resources a long time ago, so the defenders are mostly spears. I lose only three longbows taking the island, before moving over to the mainland. Unfortunately, I have been overzealous with my alliances. I didn't need French help to rip up these weeds, and now I must sit and watch as Joan takes Washington (home of the Pyramids) from under my nose. The French also get the south-east American holdings, while I am left with the coastal towns around Washington.

The Easy Kill
In the meantime, the French seem to be enjoying their musketeer-induced golden age. They got Navigation in 6 turns, Printing in 4, and in 1010ad they complete Shakespeare (probably by using a leader). Conversely, America is on its last legs. Their towns are prone to flip, but this is where conquistadors come into their own; they can dash from town to town, killing the new spear in a flipped town, so I get to keep my American holdings without too much trouble. My military is still based around longbows, as there is no iron available for sale on the world market, but they are easily enough to grind the US down to one town. In 1030ad I sign military alliances with both the French and Aztecs, including Chemistry, Printing and Economics for large gpt sums, and then immediately finish off the Americans.

End Of An Era
After the Americans are destroyed, I can concentrate on science, and the French golden age runs out, so Spain gets back in the tech race; Joan is first to Metallurgy and then Mil Trad, but I am first to Physics and Gravity. I am determined to get Newton in Super Science City Madrid, so I trade neither tech until I can get Metallurgy from Monty in 1210ad. My research of Magnetism finishes in 1240ad and I enter the industrial era. During the same interurn, I dow on Monty and buy Joan in with my new tech. At this point, I still have only one strategic resource (horses), and only a loose foothold on Alpha. I am behind both the French and Aztecs in score. It looks like an uphill struggle, but not as impossible as it did at the end of the ancient age.