GOTM66 - second spoiler

[civ_steve]

GOTM 66 - second spoiler

Reading Requirements:

1. Must have contact with All remaining Civs.
2. Must be able to research an Industrial Age Technology.

Posting restrictions

1. No maps showing Industrial or Modern resources.
2. No discussion of Industrial Age (or later).
3. Absolutely NO Discussion of any other active 'X'OTM contest!

So by now you should know the map thoroughly. Most of the civs are on the other continent. How and when did you contact them? Did they offer you any problem? And our buddy Alex, was he a nice neighbor, or did you have to put him in his place?

 

[Midgardsormr]

In 270 A.D., a suicide galley finally made it across the ocean to the other continent. I met Rome and made a series of trades, giving up Monarchy and contact with Greece in exchange for contact with every other civilization, several world maps, and enough gold to build embassies with everyone. I found I had tech parity with both Russia and Carthage and was from 1 - 4 techs ahead of everyone else.

All the luxuries on the other continent had already been claimed, so I thought there was little point in trying to force a beachhead over there at this time. Instead, I decided to fill up my own continent with ICS cities and go for a 100k victory. I still had my isthmus chokepoint, so I had quite a bit of land to expand into, but I needed to get my golden age started in order to get lots of culture quickly.

I attacked and took Mycenae, launching the Golden Age. Unfortunately, Alexander had Chivalry, so I had to war quickly and sue for peace as soon as he would let me. Instead of wearing myself out sieging more cities, I decided to see how much I could set him back by pillaging as much terrain as I could. My Gallic Swordsmen managed to take away Greece's iron, horses and spices. They also cut Greece into pieces, disconnecting much of the road network and laying waste to many fertile fields.

I did manage to take one more city before Alexander agreed to a treaty. After that, I spent my time expanding peacefully until 1200 AD, when I traded my way into the Industrial Age. At this point, I have 51 cities and 12,549 culture. It will take some work to reach victory, and it will certainly require fighting another war with Greece soon, but I think I can make it.

 

[klarius]

Predator - conquest

The AA went without much action (and I somehow lost some CA2 autosaves and cannot find exact dates for several events).
Settle in place -> warrior -> settler factory. Research pottery then republic bee line (with diversion to literature).
Met Greece too late for alphabet and then Alex researched writing first and got it one turn before my research completed . So I couldn't catch up there.
Republic researched in 1100BC -> revolt.
I saved a late goody hut for the last expensive techs and got currency.
GLight completed in 750BC from a prebuild. Only then I started suicide missions.

Alex got monotheism when I gifted him into MA (around 690BC) and I could buy it for republic and a few coins.

A galley made it to Russia in 670BC. I got all contacts, maps, money and Russia's free tech feudalism.
From the maps I found a Lighthouse driven save galley path, so research beyond chivalry isn't urgent.
I also started some wars on the other continent.
550BC we research chivalry and stop research for now.

The first real war action was against Greece. I didn't build a road through all these mountains, but shuttled the troops over with galleys. First cities taken in 310BC.
In 250BC we started our golden age. This is also the year we captured the first Roman city.
We also got some cities on the other continent in peace treaties (w/o war action).

30BC Vercingetorix appeared and soon after jumped the palace to Athens (FP build in first ring long before).

I left Greece as OCC for some time, to look if they still complete a 40 turn research project.
Troops shipped to the other continent. Rome was the first civ to leave the scene in 10AD.
Next will be RoP rape on Iroquois.

I had restarted science and reached navigation in 90AD to make it easier to reach all the other continent from the core. As usual for regent AI there weren't exactly highways through the continent.

In 170AD Greece really finished a research project. They got engineering, which I got for Theology and then I destroyed them. I again did a 4-turn research push to invention, so I could build Leonardo's, if I should get a leader.

And in fact I got two leaders in 270AD (in Carthage and Russia). They build Leonardo's and Sun Tsu's. It didn't matter much by then, the problem was transport, not troop building by then.

My knights then crawled through all the unroaded terrain for conquest victory in 380AD.

 

[Tone]

Predator-my original aim was 20K but a lack of accessable victims meant a switch to Space or Diplo! (link to first post)

I had a very quiet Middle Ages. My suicide galleys kept sinking until I finally got one across the seas in 30BC, meeting Carthage and then trading for contact with the others. This gave me some cash so that I could run at negative gpt for a while. It took 12 turns to get Monotheism but with some foreign investment my research gained a valuable boost. Theology and Education took 5 turns each, Astro took 6, Banking took 7 but then it was 4 turn research all the way. I traded for Feudalism, Chivalry and Navigation, entering the IA in 710AD. I had also taken a detour to Military Tradition as the Industrial Age was not going to be as peaceful. Greece and Russia got different free techs and didn't know each other so I was able to pick up Medicine and Nationalism and start research on Steam Power.

My people were not too happy though. I could not trade with the new world as not one single civ had built a harbour so I had been building cathederals in my core. I needed a second core and some more luxes; Carthage looked like a good place to start. They had a two luxes, some fertile land and no saltpeter. I was soon to land a few cavs and start to establish myself in the new continent.

Meanwhile Greece was still my buddy, even though there was no sign of him using all that territory to help me research something useful...

I'll post the conquest details in the final spoiler but attached is a pic of my empire in more peaceful times.

 

[PrinceMyshkin]

Predator class still undecided on vc but still going to push towards dom. for increase in score. I finished this game some time ago and didn't take many notes so this spoiler is from my saves and memory.

Upon entering the MA in 470BC, I had traded for feudalism with Greece after gifting them up with poly. The short war with Greece had diverted my fog-busters north in case they had any idea of sending my units my way, so the age change saw a ton of barb horsemen coming my way. It took a fairly long time to eradicate them with warriors and a few horsemen in the mountains, but I only lost production in two cities in their attacks. As usual, disbanding their camps brought in some gold and I continued to farm this source until settlers filled this half of the continent.

I researced somewhat slowly towards education for universities. TGLHouse completed in 250BC and contact with the other continent came two turns later from my lone galley. I didn't trade contact with the Greeks, but after meeting Carthage, the Iroquois, and Rome I had all their WM's, gold and contacts with all civs. Gifting Russia up to the MA provided engineering, the last tech I would get from the ai save a few optionals. The Pyramids completed in 150BC, and as always provided a nice boost.

Research times started picking up while I slowly settled through the hills, upgraded about 15 warriors to GS and sent them towards Greece. I researched navigation to be able to trade for more luxuries with the other continent, but it would be a long time before any of them had a harbor. This cost me some turns as I had magnetism before I was able to trade. Upon learning astornomy I switched Entremont to Cope's for a modest boost in science. From invention onwards, tech came in four-turns each. I made another research detour to MT and upgraded my horsemen to cavs. I sent my forces towards Greece, which had just completed Sun-Tzu's, slowy through the hills, hoping to time my GA at the start of the IA which I entered in 760AD. Trading with the other continent gave me five luxuries as some civs were still not on the trade network. It appeared by now, I would be going for either a science or cultural victory.

Here's a screenshot of my empire one turn before the IA, the FP is in Lapurdum: