GOTM 57 - first spoiler: Entering the middle ages.

[Andronicus]

Ancient Age Spoiler

Well a very different game to those above, sounds like a fun time with those BC victories .

Mine is a 20k game. Went kind of strange as I went into monarchy in 800BC sacrificing mid and late game research capacity for an early revolt and early shield boost through AA. How much it costs me later is yet to be determined.

Settled 1 east of starting position
researched CB first up building granary as temple pre-build, then settler to nab the wheat my scout found to the east. Settler got there just 1 turn ahead of Carthaginians who settled to my north.

Remained peaceful giving in to multiple demands (primarily from strong Romans who extorted 3 techs) until Chinese came knocking after I had 5 archers, so told them where to go. Unfortunately they didnt declare.

Only found 1 goody hut (deserted) before scout eaten by barbs near Rome
Bought 2 early slaves from Greece and Rome joining them to Washington early, size 12 reached 1375BC. Later in AA bought 3 Carthage, 1 Jap and 1 more Roman slave. With lack of food boni for Washington and long delay to get more than one wheat in New York's working tiles these were a big help and worth every gold piece

Cities
Washington 3950BC
New York 2710BC to east RCP4 -> granary, settlers, workers
Boston 1525BC to NNE RCP4 -> rax, miitary
Phily 925BC to NNW RCP4 -> cats
Atlanta 330BC 4NE of Washington RCP4

Enter MA 330BC up construction from the rest - Rome is looking the strongest, other AI are similar size to me.

Culture builds
3150BC temple
1675BC collossus
1100BC oracle
975BC library
570BC HG -> GA
330BC GLib
310BC colosseum
currently building pyramids, but Rome started it in 1575BC so likely to have to switch to GLH

Research / trades
3500BC CB -> myst
3450BC Alpha from Carth
3150BC BW from Greek
3050BC Wheel from Japan
2750BC Myst -> poly
2070BC IW from Greek and writing from Rome
1675BC Poly -> lit
1375BC Lit -> monarchy
975BC CoL from Rome, MM from Japan, HBR from Carth
900BC Monarchy -> revolt immed (4 turn anarchy)
690BC Maths -> currency
490BC Currency -> construction
330BC Construction -> Medieval Age

 

[PaperBeetle]

How about The Wall? Often deprecated as a low-culture wonder, but it gets the same 2cpt as the Lighthouse, and is 100 shields cheaper. So in terms of cpt per shield, its actually as good as Michelangelo and Bach!

 

[denyd]

Just for the heck of it I decided to try this one, with a couple of self-imposed handicaps. I can only build barracks & units and can only research until horses & iron are displayed. Going for a conquest win and as usual, Marquis of Queensbury rules, with no dastardly deeds. Also end the game with a pure reputation (and a bloody sword).

Settled Washington SE and built a scout before a barracks and a stream of archers.

After that a barrage of arrows and Carthage is history and iron is obtained. Slice & dice on most of Rome and sign peace to gaining tech parity and Pisae. Head north to say good bye to Mao. My now formidable sword force snagged a couple of Japanese citites before I headed to Greece to acquire a pair of cities before signing peace for another pair. Then back to finish off Rome. As I completed the capture of Rome, the barbarians sprouted and rather than lose my substantial treasury to them, I bought my way to the Middle Ages from Greece (and also purchased Engineering).

On the horizon is the end of Japan and then a finally the removal of Alexander to complete the victory, probably in a pre-500 AD.

 

[Kulko]

Just for the heck of it I decided to try this one, with a couple of self-imposed handicaps. I can only build barracks & units and can only research until horses & iron are displayed. Going for a conquest win

From my tests I would guess thats not a handicap, but exactly how you play it fasted. The reputation thing of course is a real handicap

 

[denyd]

It turned out not to be as tough as I thought. I got lucky in picking Carthage first (he settled next to Washington) and took a pair of cities pre-NM. My concern was that I would not be able to acquire iron or horses. That would have meant archers against Hoplites, Legionaries & Numidians on hills an if the AI got to pikes & knights it would have been a lot tougher. I also had to deal with the lack of unit support with only Washington for quite a while. Being able to take Carthage with only 6 archers was a major plus.

 

[Drazek]

PtW 1.27f

Did domination, finished in 270BCE with 12764 Jason. Nothing special to say about this game. I did replay this game and got Conquest in 1150 BCE. So this game is easy Conquest, hard Domination. I still think so after 2 games. Doing Conquest, you only have to rush units in the Capital, in Domination, you have to spread out. So if Jason score for Conquest and Domination is more than 1000 years apart, it's really wrong.

 

[Niklas]

Drazek, you are certainly not only the master of Conquest!

Would you perhaps have the time to post a more detailed spoiler than the above? I would love to learn something more from you, your last spoiler was really helpful.

 

[tR1cKy]

domination challenge

Domination in 270 BC. Firaxis: 9762. Jason: 12413. Same date, but the score is not enough

Sorry, too tired for writing a spoiler. I'll post it soon, after a pair of days off.

EDIT: oh, it's ancient age domination. A curiosity: the final minimap:

shows no remaining opponents. The survivor is a japanese settler in a boat.

 

[Paul#42]

Drazek, tR1cKy: Impressive Results. Too bad there is no tie for first.

Let us have some spoilers! Did one of you attack Cartaghe with two reg warriors?

 

[Drazek]

Drazek, tR1cKy: Impressive Results. Too bad there is no tie for first.
Let us have some spoilers! Did one of you attack Cartaghe with two reg warriors?

I never attack with Warriors. I seem never be able to win those encounters. Instead, I traded workers and pumped out 2 turn Archers to take down Rome. Not sure If I had enough Archers to kill Carthage too. Need to check the game later. After that it was just upgrading Swordsmen and later rushing Swordsmen to take over the world.

 

[tR1cKy]

Nor did i. Both Rome and Carthage were fairly strong by the time i captured them - they had legions and numidian mercs. I took down Rome with archers and Carthage with swords, then used shortrush extensively to have swords quicker, and with them i took over all the rest.

Anyway, i'll post a very detailed spoiler this evening or tomorrow. There's some resume work to be done first.

 

[Niklas]

Drazek, tR1cKy: Impressive Results. Too bad there is no tie for first.

Who says there isn't? For the Jason results, no, nor for the awards. But for the Predator Challenge the end date is everything. So surely Drazek and tR1cKy are tied for that honor!

Again, very impressive!

 

[tR1cKy]

Niklas & Paul#42: thanx! Well, the challenge itself is a tie, since the finish date is the only thing we mentioned. For the scoreboard, we all know

Anyway, it's been a great challenge. At the cost of being repetitive, this is truly the best game i ever played. Being in those competitions does help a lot. Those winning dates were completely out or reach for me until a few months ago.

Your result too, Niklas, is quite good - and actually you got more jasons than mine. Would you have imagined that a 270 BC domination victory was not enough for an award and was worth only a bronze medal as its best?

-----------

Spoiler part 1 (4000BC-1000BC)

Washington is settled NE-NE of the start location; scout explores east and north, while the worker improves immediately the bonus grass SW of the capital. The build order is scout -> granary -> settler -> warrior -> barracks, followed by a mix of units and settlers;

The planned research path is: Pottery (max) -> Writing (min) -> Polytheism (max) for a quick transition to Monarchy. The other basic techs are expected to be learnt from the AS, with trade and pointy-stick. Same story for Iron Working, Mathematics and Map Making. Nothing else is necessary. It's going to be an ancient age domination.

Carthage, Rome and China are met very early. Soon after Greece shows up, followed by Japan. In 2900 BC, we know everyone in the world and have already acquired the 1st tier techs.

City 2 (New York) is founded E-E of Washington, in 2710BC. Build order is warrior -> temple -> barracks. The idea is to seize the wheat tiles before Carthage beat us. With current knowledge, it would have been less cumbersome to simply take over Carthage, but keeping it untouched has its avantages, as it will be seen later.

(the shot is actually late, but i didn't have an earlier save)

Since now the plan has gone perfectly, but things get complicated with an early war between Greece and Rome. Greece destroys a city, then greek units are seen moving for Rome. Do the Romans have iron? A few turns later we buy Iron Working from Rome. The answer was 'yes', and they got a golden age too. City 3 (Boston) is founded on the coast SW. It builds barracks, then start tossing warriors and archers. Writing is mastered, embassies are established and Rome is investigated. Three legionaries.

Meanwhile Carthage is building the Colossus. If we let it complete the wonder, then take over the city we'll need only 1 leader to trigger a golden age with wonders. So our target must be Rome anyway. All cities switch to archer production, we'll need lots of them to take over Rome. City 4 (Philadelphia) is founded 3 tiles N of Washington, at equal distance between Rome and the American capital. The RCP pattern is broken, but the odd position should easen up the capture of Rome, that is going to grow rank 3.

Good news come later, as a successive espionage shows only 1 legionary in Rome! It's now or never, and our scarce archer force will need all the advantage it can have. A RoP is signed with Rome, a worker team is sent to road the jungle to connect the it. 7 archers + 1 spear move there, then move NW to avoid the river crossing penalty.

In 1325, Map Making and Mathematics are learnt. Next turn, a RoP is signed with Carthage and Rome is raped. The city falls, but the return of the 2 legionaries costs us the majority of our archer force. The expected advance to Antium is cancelled, and peace is signed without extorting any city. But we have iron now, and Rome has not. Swords for us and no more legions for them. The 2nd luxury (furs) is also seized.

Two more cities are built at RCP 3 from Washington. The army is growing again, this time with swords, waiting for Carthage to finish the Colossus. The wonder is complete in 1075 BC. Next turn, we rape Carthage and capture it. Golden age for them too, but their main productive city is lost. There are also spare troops to continue the offensive and take over at least another Carthaginian city.

We hit the 1000BC mark with 8 cities, 2 of which are captured. Here are the logs so far.

Techs:

3400BC: Pottery (self research); Alphabet, Warrior Code (trade, China); Bronze Working (trade, Carthage); Masonry (trade, Rome);
3000BC: Ceremonial Burial (barbarian hut);
2900BC: Wheel (trade, Japan);
2270BC: Mysticism (trade, Japan); Iron Working (trade, Rome);
1950BC: Horse Riding (hut); Writing (research + trade, Carthage);
1475BC: Polytheism (research);
1325BC: Map Making, Mathematics (trade, Japan); Code of Laws (trade, Carthage);
1200BC: Philosophy (trade, Greece);

Meetings:

3600BC: Carthage;
3500BC: Rome;
3450BC: China;
3200BC: Greece;
2900BC: Japan;

Cities:

3900BC: Washington;
2710BC: New York;
2030BC: Boston;
1550BC: Philadelphia;
1350BC: Rome (captured);
1200BC: Atlanta;
1150BC: Chicago;
1050BC: Carthage (captured);

---------------
stay tuned for part 2!

 

[Kulko]

Wow good luck on your part. In my game greece attacked Carthago, and then ran about a million horseman in single file against the Numidians on the hill. I tried to join in on the war, and profit, from them weakening the defense, but all they managed was promoting 2 of the mercs to Elite, and prompting Carthago to build only more defensive forces. That way I lost first 10 and then 15 Archer to that hill always leaving one redlined defender standing.

Guess I should use spying techniques more.

 

[tR1cKy]

Spoiler part 2

The 1st part of the spoiler ends with the conquest of Carthage and the capture of the Colossus. At this point it's difficult to believe in a victory in 270 BC, but the situation is actually better than the map suggests.

In the 975BC interturn Monarchy is researched. We revolt immediately, draw 4 turns of anarchy and decide not to reroll. America falls under an anarchic government.

Far from being a disorganized mob, the anarchs gather the surviving troops into Carthage to heal and be ready to attack the next target. The remaining Carthaginian cities are all size 1 and rank 1, so the wise anarchs decide to wait for some town to grow. Soon after Utica becomes size 2. Two archer units stay to guard Carthage, the rest are moved outside the target. At the cost of some casualties, Utica is captured in 900BC and an important great leader emerges. The clever anarchs send it immediately into Carthage where it rushes the Pyramids. They also sign peace with Carthage, is a situation where it would be unconvenient to prosecute the war.

In 875BC, the American Kingdom is established, in coincidence with the beginning of a prosperous Golden Age. From here, the American History is essentially a sequence of war reports.

850BC: End of a phony war with Japan, that was declares eons ago only to capture a settler.

750BC: First Greek war. The near greek city of Corinth grows size 2. Monarchy is sold to Greece, then war is declared. Two stacks are sent outside the cities of Corinth and Sparta.

730BC: Corinth and Sparta captured, with little resistance from the natives. 3rd luxury secured (dyes);

670BC: Founded the 1st city on the western island, still deserted.

670BC: Second Roman war. We gift Monarchy to Rome, then declare war. Troops from Corinth move outside Antium, the new capital.

650BC: Antium is captured. Signed peace with Greece, extorting 2 undeveloped cities that would have been autorazed if taken with the military. They will be important space fillers.

610BC: Second Punic war. Troops move outside Theveste, the new Carthaginian capital, that is still size 1 but has grown to rank 2.

590BC: Theveste captured. Heavy casualties reported, that city was on a hill and had 3 damned mercs defending.

570BC: Second Japanese war. Japanese troops are wandering from a while into American lends. It is time to lure them into a war. They are asked to leave or declare and they declare. The intruders, archers and warriors, are easily dispatched.

530BC: Captured the Japanese city of Edo.

510BC: Peace with Carthage. Extorted the city of Hippo, another important space filler. Carthage plays OCC in Leptis Magna.

490BC: Third Punic war. Razed a Roman city, land resettled immediately. Rome playing OCC in Cumae. In the same turn we infamously redeclare on Carthage and move outside their last city.

470BC: Carthage is destroyed. Leptis Magna is captured and Carthage is out of the game. 2nd leader generated. After some consideration, it is sent into Rome to rush the FP there. A rush in Carthage would have earned more money (Colossus), but this other option will speed up the training of new units.

In retrospective, i can't tell what of the 2 choices was the better one

Things looks much better now. The ex Carthaginian space (SE peninsula) is going to be filled with 2 settlers. Carthage will grow rank 3 and the city of Hippo will rush a temple. Those 2 cultural growths will fill further useful tiles. Cumae (Rome) is going to grow rank 2 and will be assimilated, claiming more extra space. In the NW area, troops are amassing to strike at China. A combat settler will found a city inside the Chinese borders and troops will be sent quickly to the capital.

The offensive on Japan continues, and Greece won't be difficult to assimilate once a settler has placed a city between Antium and Athens.

430BC: The Romans are history. Completed the Forbidden Palace in the city of Rome. In the same turn, Cumae is captured and Rome is no more. In the northern front, the Japanese city of Osaka is captured.

Peace is signed with Japan. We extort the city of Satsuma on the western island. Important acquisition for space filling purposes.

In the core area, we're rushing settlers to colonize the western island before the AS reach it. China manages to snatch a city, but it won't be a problem.

390BC: RoP with Japan.

370BC: Chinese war. The stack of troops splits in 2: one goes for the city of Shangai, the other with the settler goes for Beijing;

350BC: Shangai captured. Combat fort founded. Troops outside Beijing.

330BC: Beijing captured. Troops outside Nanking, that will be spared until growth. Stack moving for the new capital. A quick and dirty job:

The turning point is here. The image shows two escorted settlers moving to their locations. The 2 cities founded there will be essential space fillers.

In the western island, the city of Tsingtao has been captured. It had only 1 warrior garrisoned. A sword + settler pair was landed from a boat. The sword killed the warrior and captured the city, while the settler moved west to found another important space filler city.

330BC: Second Greek war. A combat fort is founded between Athens and Antium, and troops from 2 directions are outside Athens.

310BC: Greece is destroyed. Athens is captured. Thermopylae is autorazed and Greece is no more. Settlers are already moving to reclaim the open space. Failed attack at Nanking, but reinforcement will be ready to strike next turn.

290BC: China is destroyed. Captured Nanking and Canton. Japan is raped and the 2 remaining cities are both captured. The Japanese are still in the game, they must have some boat people around. A chinese settler wandering in the mountains is captured and China is gone.

Three space-filler cities are also founded this turn. In the interturn, a cultural growth brings the amount of controlled land 5 tiles beyond the domination limit.

Domination is finally achieved in 270 BC.

 

[Paul#42]

@tR1cKy: Great game and even greater write-up!