GOTM86 - First Spoiler

[civ_steve]

GOTM 86 - first spoiler, 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.

Lots of plains do not make a very exciting location (although the Cattle do help!). Did you settle in place? Or did you make another spot your capital? How did your initial expansion go - any issues? How about resources? Any off-continent cities yet?

 

[choxorn]

I settled in Place, sent the worker to road and irrigate cattle, started a min run on Writing, and, as I was playing Conquest-class, fortified my two bonus spearmen.

Largely uneventful for a while, I got Warrior Code from a Goody Hut, and that was it, until one of my warriors ran into my only neighbors on the same island, the Vikings. On the same turn, their scout ran into me.

Traded techs, expanded, fought barbs. I noticed the lack of Iron anywhere. I forget when, but I ran into another island that had spices on it. I soon discovered Babylon. I planned to send a settler to grab the spices, but Babylon and the Vikings beat me to all of the sources. Sooner or later, I'm fighting over the Vikings' Spices.

But before I got a chance to fight them, a city suddenly popped up on the Wines to the East, belonging to China. Needless to say, I wasn't going to let this city last very long. I contacted them, got their world map and contacts, turned out they knew everyone. I soon sent some Horsemen to the city they built, and it was burned. I also got an MGL from it. It was used to rush the FP.

In 110 AD, I hit the Middle Ages by researching Polytheism, which happened to be a monopoly tech. I sold it around for gold and a tech (The Republic). I haven't yet revolted, but plan to as soon as I can get those Wines connected and a few more cities built in the East to stop the AI from settling there. A turn later, ... Moved to Spoiler2

 

[axehaxe]

Best start ever. Settled in place and cranked out 1 billion settlers without using the granary settler factory. I settled all the cow spots on the map first and got an empire sized settler factory running and hemmed in the vikings at 4cities. Declared and destroyed most of their units and a few slave workers from the war. Made them sign an ROP for 120gold

20 turns later they declared on me when i gave them the boot and finished them off. Next, I was planning to attack the Persians for putting 4 cities on the east coast of my continent. Suddenly the backwards Babalonians below attacked by sending a spearman and swordsman on a city I put on North Korea. The swordsman took out one of the defenders so I gifted the city to Ottomans. Sent all my galleys and units back to drop off on the babalonians. They had way fewer units than I thought and SNIP - let's keep the discussion to just Ancient Age events!!

(Game's too easy at monarch)

 

[Quintillus]

Good start here; vying for a Cultural 20K victory in Madrid. Settled in place (glad I did) and built a Temple, then a Settler, and, having researched Bronze Working first, then The Colossus. Figured its bonus commerce would be very useful. Settled Barcelona 3 NW + 1 N near two more cows and made it a settler factory. Built a bunch of temples in my other cities too in case I had to go 100K instead of 20K for some reason. By the end of the Ancient Age I also had built the Great Library in Madrid and was going for The Hanging Gardens, for which I was researching Monarchy. Unfortunately, the same turn the Great Library gave me Construction to get me into the Middle Ages, the Ottomans finished The Great Lighthouse, my Hanging Gardens pre-build. That wouldn't be too much of a problem, except that no one has Monarchy. Or Republic for that matter. So I'm left considering teching the Persians/Koreans into the Middle Ages to get Sun Tzu's in Madrid, or at least a Cathedral. I don't really want to help the AI techwise on Monarch (my standard playing level), but for 20K I need the culture. Probably will do it, and hope they both draw Feudalism so I get it for free. Knowing Murphy's Law, they'll probably both draw Engineering.

The only downsides are that I still haven't connected any luxuries (working on the silks - the Hittites settled the wines), and that I got a bit trigger-happy with the Vikings and started a war that their Horsemen reminded me I wasn't ready for. The idea was keeping them out of the southern/eastern part of the island with their infernal settlers, but I couldn't stop them from settling anyway. Did make peace before losing a city, though. And overall I'm not too worried about the Vikings. Might even manage to culture-flip a couple of their cities.

The Colossus, somewhat unfortunately, did trigger my Golden Age. Made the best of it and it did help the settler boom and Madrid.

Just checked the Civilopedia and realized the Berserker doesn't actually require Iron. Rats. I'd been thinking it did, which made me happy about the lack of iron. I knew it was too good to be true with civ_steve!

Oh yeah, in 70 BC right now.

 

[choxorn]

Hittites? The teal guys? That's Persia.