GOTM121 - First Spoiler

[civ_steve]

GOTM 121 - First spoiler, Russia, the Ancient Age

Reading Requirements:

1. Must be able to research a Middle Ages Technology.

Posting restrictions

1. Feel free to discuss distant contacts and trades, but be discreet about locations or directions of any AI.
2. No discussion of middle-ages (or later) including resource locations.
3. AS ALWAYS, do not post Spoiler information for ANY other 'X'OTM contest.

Didn't mean to take so long for the spoilers to come out, but I was literally running out the door to catch our airplane to Hawaii (a major source of my Polynesia game setup) so time was very crunched. Back now, and here is the first spoiler.

This is a big game with lots of AI to interact with. What were your initial moves (capital placement, planning, first techs, etc) and why? How did contacts and exploring go? Any hostile AI? Expansion go OK, or did you run into problems? And how are you set up upon entering the Middle Ages?

 

[templar_x]

my computer restarted and i lost all of my detailled log

what i remember is that i moved the settler when i found a 4-turner, if a wasteful one, is possible. then i tried a no science-i-have-got-scouts-strategy on research. to make it short, it failed. i opened a few huts, but found few techs, and no worker or town at all.

well, self-research then. i believe i entered Republic around 1000bc (?) and the MA around 600bc (?). not sure though. i decided for a dense ring, and to move the capital later, so to rebuild the capital as the FP town. no idea if that was very smart, but the core did not offer any other too great location, so i needed to plan for a good use of the cow tiles in Republic.
happiness was scarce also, so i early started fishing for WH. it took a while though, and as always i was not concentrated enough to be very effective about it.

i remember my first war was against the Vikes. they were a walkover. the war was already half over when i entered Republic (i believe). Ottomans and Germans were next.

i planned for a new core in the Ottoman area, but this story was not so succesful. i started my prebuilds for the wonder-GA, but none for the FP... what i should have done. but i was very sure i would gain an MGL in the many wars i fought, but it took ages and the first MGL came when things did not matter any more. but i believe that must have been already later...

contacts were easy, just sent out a couple of scouts. the AIs even proved halfway useful, even though they are only Monarchs.

sorry there is not much more i remember. well, only that i had to replay that whole (quite boring) turn when the computer restarted... argh.

my qsc stats:
22 towns
48 pop
horses and furs connected
all contacts
1 settler, 12 workers, 4 scouts, 15 warriors, 1 archer, 12 horses, 10 slaves
1 turn to Rep, curr+const missing for MA
718 gold
all but 1 embassies opened
2 wars
4 grans, 4 rax

t_x

 

[silversheep]

QSC stats: 11 towns, 33 pop. (Lost my 3-cow city in the north to culture flip ) Have AA techs except for Lit, Poly, Currency, Republic, Monarchy, Construction. Still quite far from getting Republic (dunno how to get it fast when the slingshot doesn't exist). Score: 4933

Settled Moscow by the 3 cows. Made an awesome settler factory (1 turn warrior, 3 turns settler) before I relegated it to building the Pyramids.

Built Pyramids in Moscow 710BC.

Ottomans declared war on us a few turns before MA.

Entered MA 530BC.

Will post more detailed turn log later.

 

[Più Freddo]

Predator

I sent the Scout west, the Worker to the Cattle and the Settler one
tile to the west to found Moscow one turn delayed. Moscow built three
Scouts, a Warrior, a Granary without chopping, and then pretty soon
four-turn Warrior-Settler combos. The first research project was
Pottery, as I figured I would otherwise pop it before I met a
neighbour with which I could trade for it. Better pop something better
and be sure to get that Granary on time.

I don't think I had much luck with the Scouts, but I got to know some
people and saw some land.

3950 BC Pop Hut Scout1: Warrior
3750 BC Pop Hut Scout1: Nothing
3700 BC Pop Hut Warrior: Maps
3700 BC Pop Hut Scout2: Technology
3350 BC Pop Hut Scout3: Technology
3050 BC Pop Hut Scout4: Worker
3000 BC Pop Hut Scout1: Technology
2750 BC Pop Hut Scout1: Nothing
2510 BC Pop Hut Scout4: Maps
2390 BC Pop Hut Scout4: 25 gold​

In the early game I pretty much concentrated on building up a powerful
core, RCP3 and RCP6 with preparation for DCP5 around the FP city. I
count on moving the Palace to establish a second core.

3950 BC Found Moscow
2670 BC Found St. Petersburg
2550 BC Found Kiev
2270 BC Found Minsk FP City
2110 BC Found Smolensk
1870 BC Found Odessa Furs
1870 BC Connect Horses
1750 BC Found Sevastopol
1675 BC Connect Furs
1600 BC Found Tblisi
1550 BC Found Sverdlovsk
1450 BC Found Yakutsk
1400 BC Found Vladivostok
1300 BC Found Novgorod
1175 BC Found Krasnoyarsk
1125 BC Found Riga
1050 BC Found Rostov
1000 BC Found Astrakhan
_950 BC Found Kharkov
_875 BC Found Grozny
_650 BC Build Forbidden Palace
_590 BC Capture Nidaros with The Colossus​

I researched Iron Working hoping for popped Technologies, but got
little. Was then beaten to both Writing and Code of Laws. As my core
started getting together, research got faster, and I entered the
Middle Ages in 570 BC getting Monotheism as a bonus. Korea got
Engineering, the Ottomans Monotheism and Germany Engineering.

4000 BC Discover Bronze Working
3700 BC Learn Warrior Code
3700 BC Learn Ceremonial Burial
3350 BC Learn Masonry
3200 BC Discover Pottery
3000 BC Learn The Wheel
2850 BC Learn Alphabet
2630 BC Learn Mysticism
2230 BC Discover Iron Working
1870 BC Learn Writing
1675 BC Learn Horseback Riding
1500 BC Discover Literature
1325 BC Learn Code of Laws
1225 BC Discover Philosophy
1200 BC Learn Polytheism
1200 BC Learn Map Making
_900 BC Learn Mathematics
_825 BC Discover The Republic
_670 BC Discover Currency
_570 BC Discover Construction
_570 BC Discover Monotheism
_570 BC Learn Engineering​

It took some time to meet all contestants. I had to buy the last
contacts. I started phony wars and tied alliances with the distant
tribes hoping for War Happiness. I was lucky to have Korea on the
right side of this scheme at the time I entered the Middle Ages.

Before I started the attack on Scandinavia, I was able to extort
Göteborg, 19 gold and a World Map.

I had luck when discovering The Republic and didn't have to re-roll:
just two turns of Anarchy. In Republic, I used Moscow as a one-turn
Worker Factory.

3700 BC Meet Scandinavia
3300 BC Meet Germany
2850 BC Meet France
2800 BC Meet Ottomans
2670 BC Meet Mongols
2630 BC Meet Arabia
2430 BC Meet China
1870 BC Meet India
1870 BC Meet Japan
1870 BC Meet Korea
1870 BC Embassy China
1870 BC Embassy India
1870 BC Embassy Japan
1870 BC Embassy Korea
1870 BC War China
1870 BC War Japan
1870 BC PT/A India v. China
1870 BC PT/A Korea v. Japan
1325 BC PT/A India v. China
1325 BC PT/A Korea v. Japan
_850 BC War Scandinavia
_825 BC War India
_825 BC PT/A China v. India
_825 BC PT/A Korea v. Japan
_825 BC Establish Anarchy
_775 BC Establish Republic
_670 BC Embassy Ottomans
_670 BC Embassy Mongols
_670 BC Embassy Germany
_670 BC Embassy France
_670 BC Embassy Arabia
_610 BC Emerge Great Leader
_590 BC Peace Scandinavia
_570 BC Enter Middle Ages​

I have hand-built the Forbidden Palace, captured The Colossus and Ivan
the Terrible is heading towards Nidaros... Guess what he will rush
there? But that is for the next spoiler.

 

[Più Freddo]

16 Towns
39 Citizens
_3 Granaries
_3 Libraries
_4 Barracks
_1 Settler
10 Workers
_1 Scout
16 Warriors
_7 Horsemen
_9 Slaves
All contacts
_5 Embassies
Horses
Furs
Missing Mathematics, the Governments, C&C

 

[CKS]

I finally got started yesterday (I've been working on some 100k HOF games). We'll see if I can finish in time.

My hut luck was interesting. I got very few techs, but lots of workers. I think I got four workers in the first six huts. I guess I finally got a reward for slow expansion.

I thought about doing 100k here, but decided that that would take to long, so I'm doing 20k in Moscow. Unfortunately, I sent the worker to the cow and the scout east, so I settled in place. I picked up 4 AA wonders - Oracle, GLib, GWall, and HG, and things are moving along pretty well. A lot of civs are at war with me, but they are all far away, and units (almost exclusively archers) arrive slowly and pretty rarely.

 

[Lanzelot]

16 Warriors

The warrior/settler combo sure was powerful. But what do you do with so many warriors on Pangea?! Aren't horses the way to go, and swords much too slow? In Republic they will just eat your gold. Or are there any neighbors close enough to get any benefit out of the many warriors?

 

[Più Freddo]

The warrior/settler combo sure was powerful. But what do you do with so many warriors on Pangea?! Aren't horses the way to go, and swords much too slow? In Republic they will just eat your gold. Or are there any neighbors close enough to get any benefit out of the many warriors?

I didn't upgrade any of them and didn't use them for wars. They were military police in my cities and protection against barbarians. I usually disband them during anarchy and early republic.