GOTM 51: Spoiler 1:

[Più Freddo]

your early GA seems to have been successfully invested. I have to think my aversion against an AA GA over.

I had indeed planned for an AA/Despotism GA but as it turned out, I got both Republic (thanks to the PTW religious 0-turn Anarchy) and later MA within the GA.

510 BC turn 102 enter GA
370 BC turn 109 establish Republic
210 BC turn 117 enter MA
130 BC turn 121 exit GA

 

[I. Larkin]

QSC-stats:
8 towns with 16 citizens, 3 barracks and 1 harbor
6 workers, 10 warriors and 1 galley
73 tiles owned
Unfortunately I missed to save at 1000bc, so I won´t be able to submit for QSC

What is QSC? Where I should submit 1000BC file?

 

[Twonky]

The Quick Start Challenge is running alongside every C/GotM. Participants submit a 1000bc save and a writeup of what they it until then. An evaluation of that will be published together with the game results and allows a comparison of the starting moves in particular.
For submission and further details check this.

 

[denyd]

Isabella was pleased with the initial landing zone, though she was concerned about the devious smile on the face of Ainwood (Mursilis’ aide) as he handed her the assignment folder. “What’s he up to this time” she thought as she completed packing her bag for the trip.

After a quick survey of the landing site, she order Madrid to be founded NW, on the golden hill, while her worker began her nations first road on the landing site. Research began on pottery as from what information she could acquire, the odds on acquiring it via trade were minimal. Once pottery was discovered in 3450 BC, she had her scientists begin work on writing at full speed.

Thor was the initial scout for Isabella and was pleased by his early discoveries of furs, gems and silks, however he quickly determined that Spain had limited expansion available either south or west. In 3100 BC after the completion of the first temple in Spain and settler was ordered and soon (2630 BC) the nation would double in size. The second warrior (Odin) quickly determined there was not much land to the NE except for a jungle island across the strait. When Thor reached the SE corner, it was confirmed that Spain was alone. With the completion of two more warriors Spain’s initial defense force was complete. By stationing them in zones where barbarians might be seen, the threat of massive uprisings was delayed until the entire island could be secured.

With the discovery of Writing in 1990 BC, Isabella was faced with a dilemma, research literature for libraries and the Great Library or Map Making for colonization of the jungle island (galleys) and the Great Lighthouse. Map Making was the choice. About this time the third city (Seville) was founded on the fresh water lake and the third temple of Spain was begun. About this time, Isabella decided to use an old magician’s trick by building a worker in Barcelona and sending him to join Madrid to speed up the production of settlers. Isabella felt the sooner she could secure this island the sooner she could begin off island expansion.

With the discovery of Map Making in 1125 BC, she began constructing her first ships and at the end of 3000 years of rule, her nation stood at 7 towns with 11 citizens. Her infrastructure consisted of 3 temples with 4 in process and a palace. Her meager military consisted of 4 warriors (1 Vet) and 4 workers.

As Isabella pondered her future, she philosophically looked at her research path. She had confused the different rules and had gone on a path to get two technologies for the price of one and realized too late that all she had gained was the question “WHY?” Quickly refocusing her research to literature she began building a future Great Library. Each announcement of a wonder being completed (Oracle in Tenochtitlan, Pyramids in Paris, Great Wall in Washington, Colossus in Boston, Great Lighthouse in Avignon and Hanging Gardens in Paris) caused a moment of dread of a cascade to the Library that might remove her one hope of regaining technological parity with the world.

With the research on literature complete, research began on Bronze Working to allow for city defenders, then the Wheel to locate horses (there were none). After some cheaper techs (Warrior Code, Masonry & Mysticism) were researched work began on Iron Working. With the research complete in 130 AD, Isabella suddenly knew why Ainwood was smiling. She was without strategic resources. The completion of the colonization of the jungle island was complete and her growing fleet was probing the seas looking for a crossing point. In 350 AD after the discovery of Mathematics, Seville completed the Great Library. The same year the Aztecs completed Sun Tzu’s War Academy and Isabella suddenly became aware of how far behind she was in science.

After a brief period of no research, she decided that there were enough benefits to the Middle Ages, not to wait for some one to contact her. All of her cities had a veteran spearman for defense and there was a pair of 10 veteran archer stacks to serve as a mobile defense force. Most of her cities had temples, libraries and barracks and many were now adding harbors and courthouses. News continued to roll in on wonder completions (Sistine Chapel in Atlanta, Copernicus’ Observatory in Washington, JS Bach’s in Paris, Leonardo’s Workshop in Tenochtitlan and Magellan’s Voyage in Avignon) as she began her nations switch to Monarchy. As her scientists presented her with Construction in 1220 AD, Spain undoubtedly was the final nation to enter the Middle Ages. The same year France completed Newton’s University and Smith’s Trading Post. She was nearly a complete age behind.

Her biggest concern however was not how far behind in technology she was, but what was happening in the other land. Had Montezuma, used a Jaguar Warrior rush to neuter his neighbors and would soon reach the domination limit? Had France used an early Wonder triggered Golden Age to shoot ahead of the pack in technology and even with the Great Library, Isabella would find herself hopefully trailing the Maid of Orleans? Had Abraham used his early expansionist trait to snare a large portion of land and was now out shielding the entire world? Any of these three paths would lead to an almost certain defeat for Isabella. With over a dozen galleys missing in an attempt to find the other nations (#14 did see a red border before sinking), Isabella decided to just wait for them to find her. What she didn’t know is that event was over 200 years away.

 

[ionimplant]

All of her cities had a veteran spearman for defense and there was a pair of 10 veteran archer stacks to serve as a mobile defense force....
What she didn’t know is that event was over 200 years away.

hopefully you will have enough money to upgrade all your units for industrial age fighting then.

 

[Redbad]

open, going for conquest.

Settled Madrid 1 SE. Later I settled Barcelona next to lake at distance 7 from Madrid. In Barcelona the FP was build. All cities on the island were either at distance 4x from Madrid or 3x from Barcelona or both.

Research was potts, writing, maps and then col, philo, republic. After getting maps Sevilla (besides the eastern wheat) build the GLight. First I colonised the northern island, and after obtaining the Glight , I send 4 galleys out. The galleys refused to sink. For a brief moment I thought they had turned sinking off somehow. But then after three turns, the fourth galley, who was still cruising the ocean, finally sank.

The other civ were met in 250BC, but were all quite advanced. When in 230BC the Republic was researched I was able to trade for all AA techs but currency, construction and monarchy. Construction was known by Aztec and Abe. So I went for currency and traded for construction in 110BC.

There are no iron and horse here, but I see a possibility to settle them on the other continent.

Moderator Action: Edited minimap to remove possible spoiler info

 

[Oxide]

Hey Redbad, what are all the black lines in your mini-map ?

 

[AlanH]

If that's a serious question, please read the first post for limitations on map information in this spoiler.

 

[Oxide]

Alan, having just re-read my post I can see how it can be misunderstood. What I meant was; it looks like RB has the whole map in his mini-map but has used an editor to "black" it out (so as not to be a spoiler), however, the main window looks as though there is only about a galley's view from the coast of the starting island....

I presume that RB traded for the rest of the map and has blacked it out for this thread.

Cool gfx pack by the way Red !

 

[AlanH]

the main window looks as though there is only about a galley's view from the coast of the starting island....

I don't see that. There are only a few black areas on the edge of the main map image, which look like they coincide with genuinely black areas on the minimap. If anything RB's minimap is still a spoiler, as the minimalist editing shows too many places where there *isn't* land, making it easier for players to decide where not to try to find it.

EDIT - So I've cleaned it up

 

[DBear]

Settled on nw gold hill.
Ok, no iron, no horses on continent is bad. We are alone, as feared.
QSC stats are HORRID, 1575. Only 4 towns.
Have lotsa trouble with barbs.
I'm going for a ring 3, 6, 9 placement.
We colonize the island just north of our start.
Beaten to GL, so we're on our own. Settle for FP.
Suicides finally make it, contact others around 460AD. Buy some cheap tech and enter the MA in 520. I'm not as bad off as I would've thought from an isolated start. We're down the civics + mono + feud.
Once we learn republic, quick switch and we'll be ready to go.
Ended the AA with 15 towns.

 

[Desertsnow]

I was wondering where Ciudad de la Luna came from. I didn't remember it from any time I'd played Spain previously. I had to laugh, though, at Casa de Bamrápido. I knew it was a Bamspeedy reference.

*sigh* :shakehead This is not going as well for me as I'd thought, though. I sent one settler one tile NW to get closer to that fish, and the other east to the coast, as there was gold in them thar hills. Now I'm in the 15th Century CE, and just breaking into the Medieval age, and am an age behind the pack. I've spread out to the two islands easily enough, but have been at war with everyone except France. My economy is suffering badly, though not as badly as in previous turns now that my Marketplaces are coming online. (For a while I had most of my cities producing wealth.) The only good thing that has come so far is a Colossus-triggered GA, in Barcelona if I recall correctly. I guess I'm not ready to take on Emperor, even with the Conquest bonus.

On the plus side, I have a fairly large military force, and may go conquering before this is over, once I get better ships. Hell, it may be my only chance at winning.

 

[denyd]

Desertsnow: Have courage young man, this is not your normal Emperor level game. Depending on what the AI did in your game, this may play as much tougher than the level.

 

[DJMGator13]

RNG luck has a lot to do with this particular GOTM also. Judging from my own game and from the posts here, it appears that the players who made it across the waters early turned the game into a normal Emporer level game. While the ones who were not successful have much later end of AA dates and find themselves behind.

I'll post my spoiler later, since (recently) I don't take alot of notes during the game. I reopen the archive saves to create my spoilers, once I finish the game.

I made contact in 390BC and entered MA in 150BC. Here are some top MA dates previously posted.

Obormot 310BC
Piu Freddo 210BC
Redbad 110BC
Marc Aurel 70AD
Twonky 170AD

Had it not been for the timing of my crossing I'd have been way behind these dates also.

 

[Desertsnow]

*knocks wood* I hope I can eke something out. The barbarians give me a pretty thorough thrashing in the early going.

 

[tR1cKy]

Space Challenge

Settler E-SE on the eastern golden hill; Madrid is founded there in 3900BC, in a location rich of food, money and production. City 2 (Barcelona) and 3 (Seville) are founded on the 2 other golden hills, at equal distance 3.5 to the capital. Research is set to Writing at min. The build order of Madrid is warrior -> settler -> warrior -> settler -> worker.

Pretty soon we find ourselves isolated in a limited landmass, with only a hope north. Writing is completed in 2070BC. This minimum run has provided quite a good amount of money that will allow us to research at 100% for all the rest of the ancient ages. Pottery is completed in only 5 turns, then we start Map Making at full steam. Meanwhile, we build city 4 (Toledo), hooking furs, then city 5 (Santiago) on the 4th golden hill and city 6 (Salamanca) near the lake, hooking the gems and in a perfect position for the 2nd core;

Map Making is discovered in 1400 BC and the next turn the 1st spanish galley sails the seas. It goes immediately to explore the landmass north... what a delusion In the mainland, Literature is researched, followed by Philosophy and Code of Laws, all at 100% with a small deficit; city 7 (Murcia) is founded in 1050BC, 2nd city at RCP with Salamanca (the 1st is Santiago!).

We hit the 1000BC mark with 7 cities, nothing exceptional;

After exploring, the galley goes in a suicide run but is sunk before making contact; to have more chances, a small fleet will be amassed and sent on a suicide run all at once. So no further attempts are made for a while; city 8 (Valencia) is founded at RCP with Salamanca, hooking silks; all 3 luxuries are connected now. City 9 (Ciudad de la Luna) is founded on the southern tip of that crappy jungle island; city 10 (Zaragoza) is founded a few turns later, and the southern tundra is finally claimed, neglecting the appearance of barb camps;

In 750BC Code of Laws is complete, and research is set to Republic at max. A fleet of 3 galleys sails somewhere... and the attempt is lucky: 2 of them are sunk, but the surviving one manages to contact a civ oversea in 650BC. In the very same turn the last city on the mainland, Pamplona, is founded;

As expected we're quite backward in science, but with a powerful weapon to catch up: 3 monopoly techs. The successive trade round nets us: 8 techs, all contacts, world maps and about 100 quids; we build embassies with everyone and still have enough money to complete Republic. At this point, the missing techs are only 3, and 2 of them are already known by the AS.

In 610BC i notice that 2 civs oversea are at war; i sign an alliance and get in return: Polytheism, world map + 80 quids. The spanish army is made of just a pair of warriors at the moment, but it doesn't matter. Two turns after, the civs oversea sign peace :shakehead

Don't you believe it? Believe it.

In the following turns, two more cities are founded on the crappy jungle island. Republic is established in 390BC. Too bad the AS haven't researched Currency, but it's possible to research it in 5 turns with some deficit. The tech is sold immediately, for Construction and a nice amount of money that is enough to cover the deficit and to shortrush a pair of things around.

Middle ages are reached in 290BC with the completition of Currency; the tech is gifted around and everyone is in the MA. We start Engineering, with a lone specialist for the moment. The tech can be researched in 10 turns at max rate, but it could be better to have another min run and in the meantime prepare the infrastructure for a future fast research;


A shot of Spain in 290 BC:

Tech progress:

4000BC: Alphabet, Ceremonial Burial (prerequisites);
2070BC: Writing (own research);
1910BC: Pottery (own);
1400BC: Map Making (own);
1100BC: Literature (own);
975BC: Philosophy (own);
750BC: Code of Laws (own);
650BC: Bronze Working, Masonry, Wheel, Warrior Code, Iron Working, Mathematics, Mysticism, Horse Riding (trade)
610BC: Polytheism (trade);
390BC: Republic (own), Construction (trade);
290BC: Currency (own);

City sequence

3900BC: Madrid;
3000BC: Barcelona;
2390BC: Seville;
1990BC: Toledo;
1600BC: Santiago;
1550BC: Salamanca;
1050BC: Murcia;
925BC: Valencia;
900BC: Ciudad de la Luna;
850BC: Zaragoza;
650BC: Pamplona;
550BC: Aldea de Ribannah;
470BC: Casa del Bamrapido;

 

[ionimplant]

when will the 2nd spoiler come out? it seems many of us cannot wait to tell/see what happens in MA and later

 

[AlanH]

when will the 2nd spoiler come out? it seems many of us cannot wait to tell/see what happens in MA and later

It's up. I'll move some of the more blatant MA stuff into it.

 

[AdrianE]

I settled so that Madrid was on the coast and had both the grain and game in its radius.

I didn't have many problems with barbarians as I left some warriors on the mountains to keep most tiles under observation. I only needed a couple of archers to wipe out the camps.

My reasearch was to Mapmaking and then Literature. Map making let me send suicide galleys out (which all failed until very late) . I built few units and concentrated on infrastructure.

 

[PaperBeetle]

Super Science City! Go! Go! Go!
I'm not yet decided which victory to go for, but it will be one of the late ones, so I plan to set up a specialist science city. It will be my capital, and will need all three gold hills. As I don't want to preclude a fishing town to the northwest, I settle 1SE. Research is set to Pots and I send a couple of axes out exploring. Pretty soon it becomes clear that, as suspected pre-game, Spain is isolated. What I didn't foresee was that most of Spain would not have access to irrigation, and that there would be no strategic resources. Ouch. At least we have lots of high-commerce luxuries lying about.

The Other Great Spot
Madrid builds the first settler after a granary, in 2590bc. The settler heads straight for the lake in the west. This is a superb location, but I can't bridge the fresh and salty waters without settling on the cow. I decide to go with the lake - it gets me both gems in this town, so I have another specialist commerce city in the making. The founding of Barcelona is delayed until 2310bc by a rash of barb camps springing up in the area.

Wasting a Golden Age
One of the key ingredients of a Super Science City is the Colossus - completed in Madrid, 1550bc. The trouble is, this triggers a despotic golden age. Well, at least that will help me get my expansion up to speed, right? Err, no, not really. Continuing barb problems delay settler production in Barcelona and Madrid, so by the time the GA kicks off in 1550bc, I still have only these two towns. Not good. Furthermore, the GA bonus is wasted on beegees and roads already benefiting from Colossus. My antipathy toward despotic golden ages is renewed.

Incremental Progress
The barbs also start to get horses (where are they finding these animals?), which makes life harder. I have to spam out plenty of axes to keep them under control - the last camp is disbanded in 1375bc, and I keep axes stationed in unsettled areas so that the whole continent is clear of fog. Never again would a non-Spaniard walk free on Iberian soil (but some would work Iberian soil in bondage ).
So by the end of the golden age, I have only managed to found one more town . On the up-side, research on Mapping finishes in 1025bc, and my first galley slips its moorings.

QSC Stats
3 towns with 11 citizens and 66 tiles.
1 barracks, 2 temples, 2 granaries, Colossus.
65 shields in the box, 42 food in the bin, 51g in the treasury.
4 workers, 6 axes (3 vet), 1 spear (vet), 1 galley.
Bronzework, Alphabet, Pottery, Burial, Writing, Mapping, 26 beakers of Literature.
No contacts.
3 luxuries hooked up.

Spanish Eyes Turn To the Sea
The galley heads north to check out the jungle land. I do not expect this to be another continent, as I have had an axe watching over it and seen no activity there. Still, it must be examined. As expected, it is a deserted island. I get some more galleys out to check that there are no easy jump points to other lands, and start a Lighthouse build in Madrid. I have some cause for concern when the AIs build Oracle (925bc) and Pyramids (825bc) but the Lighthouse does not go in a cascade. It will still be a long time coming, though, so I send a galley out on a suicide run.

Ocean Beats Galley 1:0
The suicide galley doesn't make it to coast, but it does see foreign borders (750bc), and as it sinks, the survivors are rescued by the crew of a foreign ship (most fortunate; I'm not sure I was close enough to the borders to have established contact otherwise). This strange new culture possesses much knowledge that I do not, but not Literature, which I am researching. They also know other nations, but there's no need to buy their contact details. With the predator AI getting deity trade rates, my contact details will get sold around soon enough.

Catching Up
As expected, I am introduced to the last two civs in 730bc. Literature is researched next turn, and is immediately traded for Philosophy, Laws, Ironwork, Masonry, Mysticism, War Code, Maths and Wheel. I have also traded my map, and taken techs in preference to a map of Alpha. I am now behind only by Riding, and it is at this point that I discover Iberia has neither iron nor horses .
After Literature I go for Republic, but one of the AI beats me to it. Of course no one can offer them anything expensive enough, so when I get Republic I can trade it for the last four ancient techs, and enter the medieval era in 110ad.