GOTM XI Cheated score challenge

[Airness]

I wanted to see how much score I could get if I did everything "right" for this GOTM. So I played a "reload" game.

It was fun cause being militaristic, i kept my units "healthy" and most hit elite and got 5 leaders in the whole game(only 1 after i built the Heroric Epic). So I was able to get the key wonders at the right time(pyrimid, light house, forbidden city, Sun Zi)

Here is my cheated score:

conquest: 150AD
score: 10470

My only problem was with Roman Legions, I had to wait until i got the Samurais to finish them off. I did built an army with 3 elite horseman and tried to take them early, but went very slow.

Just curious how well you could do if you were to play a "reload" game, I had a lot of fun playing it.

obviously i would not submit my game. I could attach a copy of my save if anyone interested.

Airness

 

[Yndy]

I have one comment:

There are people who got better scores from their first tries (not me though).

It's important to re-play a game if you have learned a strategic option in the first game and want to try enhance it.

I have listed some of my mistakes and bad luck in the spoiler thread.

COme to think of it I should have started the building of my fleet earlier on. It was the bottleneck in my offensive until I got 15 galleys ( I lost about 10 also).

 

[thefrenchzulu]

In my second AllCiv Gotm, replayed the game 6 times after submitting. It was a similar kind of game, two islands. Too far apart for galleys though.

I learned alot about early conquest doing that. What to build, what to research etc. As they say practice makes perfect!

I had less galleys than you Yndy and still feel I had to many! 6 might have been enough!

I would like to see your game Airness. I'm busy with the super deity challenge and don't have time to replay the game. Couldn't get to your score! I recon the Pyramids helped. Didn't have it early!

 

[Yndy]

It might have been a mistake from my part but I took the third island (roman, persian, german) before the second who belonged to the french (in the late part of game).

I had golden age and couldn't keep up ferrying samurays (cost me lots of them too).

 

[Airness]

Ok, I did not mean "re-playing" the game, but I reloaded previous turns during the game if something went terribly wrong (especially during combats). Reloading saved games is the "ultimating cheat" without using a trainer or hack program

Yndy, i am not sure when you said someone scored higher then my cheated score "on their first try". I found it hard to believe some one could actually achieve a earlier conquest then 150AD without any form of cheating for this GOTM

Airness

 

[thefrenchzulu]

Airness, 150AD very much possible!

In the spoilers thread, Serg mentioned launching his final assualt in 10AD!

This sounds to good to be true, but trust me it is. You play the game planning on taking heavy losses! You never, never build anything but military, you pop rush when reaching growth limit, you rush the right wonders, you place your FB in the right place etc. In the spoiler thread you will read some ingenious strats that can make a hell of a difference. Don't want ot post it here.

Yndy, I actually had nine I galleys in the end. I used the one island as a land bridge after building road. Rushed the lighthouse once I had a leader without a cause! Dropped 4-8 units every 2 turns. Mostly hosemen. Took some serious losses, but that's part of the game. I still ended up with a massive army!

 

[Airness]

Zulu, tell me how many horseman you can produce in 1 turn? Pop rushing not very viable in 1.29f cause of extreme unhappiness caused and reduced shields for pops.

Unless Rome was taken out early by some other civ, its not very possible to take out Rome without Samurai. No matter how many horseman/swords you send you might lose your whole army against one veteran Legion lol(without reloading). In the ancient ages, it does not matter about how much preparation you have, or how big a invasion force, this is how the game is.

If you tell me someone had Chiviry before 10AD and launch a final assault, then my hats off to who ever he is.

I switched to republic in like 700 BC and had techs every 4 turns, still took me until the ADs to get Chiviry.

I am very experienced with this game, Civ2 and 3, I have very good knowledge about what is possible (without reload/cheat) and what is not.

Airness

 

[Barker]

I got Chivalry in my GOTM game at around 1300 AD. I got to attack with only 2 of my upgraded Samurai before I triggered dominataion. I never had a huge force of horsemen, due to losses in battle, but I was always able to attack with stacks of 5-10 for each battle.

I think the key for me was to curb my tendencies to wait to attack until I had overwhelming force. The wear 'em down with constant attacks strategy works very well. The key to this strat is obviously a good infrastructure of roads and galleys for ferrying troops.

 

[Yndy]

Airness, in this game you didn't necessarily have to take out Rome to win. One could get a domination victory with the starting island, the two smaller to the east, and maybe two or three cities on the roman/persian/german island.

Somone said in the spoiler that he won before researching samurai... so that solves your quiz regarding samurai in 10 AD.

I don't presume that I could have reached 10,000 points this game but had a shot at 8,000.

Suggest we close the *spoilering* on this thread.

 

[Airness]

Domination by 10AD.

You mean while you are building units from your (size 1 to 5) cities, building galleys, ferrying the troops, conquering the world; you are building settlers/workers and ferrying them to the other 4 islands and settle new lands, and rushing cultual improvements in all faraway cities, gaining 67% of the land area and 67% of the world pop... All before 10AD (or about 130 turns)

AND all this is done without any form of cheating(especially reload during combat). Man just think about what you are talking about here and what'ss involved to win at 10AD for this map, before you quote someone else's claim. At least u should ask how they won so early.

Many players have played this game for a long time, they know all aspect of the game, and build orders and etc, you really think if all played a non-cheating conquest game, some can achieve victory so much earlier then other? Very doubtful.

 

[Airness]

Domination by 10AD.

You mean while you are building units from your (size 1 to 5) cities, building galleys, ferrying the troops, conquering the world; you are building settlers/workers and ferrying them to the other 4 islands and settle new lands, and rushing cultual improvements in all faraway cities, gaining 67% of the land area and 67% of the world pop... All before 10AD (or about 130 turns)

AND all this is done without any form of cheating(especially reload during combat). Man just think about what you are talking about here and what'ss involved to win at 10AD for this map, before you quote someone else's claim. At least u should ask how they won so early.

Many players have played this game for a long time, they know all aspect of the game, and build orders and etc, you really think if all played a non-cheating conquest game, some can achieve victory so much earlier then other? Very doubtful.

 

[thefrenchzulu]

I took the Romans easily with horsemen and some swordsmen. Landed on mountain next to them. About 6 legionaries died trying to take it. Took first city with four sworsmen and then disconnected their iron! Game over for them. Got Germs and Persians to ally with me!

I built my whole empire only for combat. Only produced horsemen and had one city producing warriors. Kept on updrading them. Had about 8 cities producing horses every three turns! Never build any infrastructure apart from barracks! Had no defenders at home!

Horses, horses and more horses! Used most worker to build the land bridge in the north, Cities on ends to get faster upload and unload.

I have played and practive this exact type of game and it helped, though I have done it some time ago. If Serge could do it by 10AD, I believe it was possible. I took to long to get horses!

(I only had to take 4 Romans cities)

 

[thefrenchzulu]

In addition:

1. Never attack if you can't afford to lose. Play the simple odds of attack and then add a few units just for in case! Don't neglect defense when conquering. I use swordsmen for that.

2. Rushing in CIV3 has some simularities to rushing in AOK/AOE2. Hit them when they don't expect and where they don't want to be hit and keep applying the pressure. Unlike AOK you can't set way points on your stables and keep them on full light cavalry production. You need desent supply routes and steady military production. Hitting the AI with 2 additional horses every turn kills them even though you are taking losses!

 

[Airness]

You are lucky Frenchzulu, I used a ROP with the Romans, pilliged their only iron the first turn when we started war. But he still had like 15 legions which I could not handle. Roman never attacked my units fortified on mountains, guess my AI is smarter then yours lol. So I waited until like 1 AD when i got Samurais to finish them off.

Well, 150AD is only 7 turns more than 10AD, had i make more swordman, i could definitely finish earlier. ( I had mostly horseman in my game).

I played AOK/AOC for 3 years(mostly multiplayer on the zone, I am 1800+ rated), and man CIV3 is just not AOC. AOC is real time strategy, required quick thinking and reflex and kown all the hotkeys hehe..

 

[thefrenchzulu]

Maybe I had some luck, maybe it was good planning

I only come of that mountain once the Germs and Persians lauched their attack. The AI always go for the softest targets. Trying to kill my swordsmen on the mountain I recon was the last effort to attack. I imagine the Persians and Germans really had a go at those legionaries. Once I took a city next to the mountain, disconnected the iron, I also saw one four more legionaries. They fell quickly to horsemen attack. Kept the swordsmen in conquered cities. Had one elite which I use to take some inland city sitting on a hill. Once I finished the Romans, the Persians and Germans had no more military. Only had two more immortals in the game! The Germs only defended their three cities with 2 spearmen. Two spearmen in a city never stands up to 10 horsemen. (My normal force hitting a city)

Having that kind of attack force, you don't even notice losses.

AOK, yep different type of game, but the thinking player normally wins!

 

[Serg]

I used only horsemens to capture Rome and Germans. Combat reloading is difficult because isn't randomased.