GR12 - AWM vs 30 civs, Pangea

[Greebley]

Gozpel, please tell us if you can play this weekend. If you think you can then you got it otherwise the game will continue with NP.

If we don't here from Gozpel in 24 hours, we will assume this weekend is a skip for him and continue on to NP.

Roster:
Greebley
ThERat
Northern Pike - On Deck
Beorn-eL-Feared
markh
Gozpel - Up

 

[gozpel]

It's been a busy week and I forgot about this game.

After the granary in Hunt -> settler.

I've got it.

 

[gozpel]

Pre-turn - Drop science to 50%, Masonry still in 2t.

730BC - Chop goes towards Ugarit, another grassland.

710BC - We learn Masonry -> The Wheel

The Mongols completes the Pyramids.

Two spanish warriors shows up S of Washington.

Hunt granary -> settler.
Harran archer with help of a chop -> archer. Bg revealed.

690BC - The spanish warriors don't like the look of the defense in Washington and waddle outside the borders.

Hattusas archer -> settler.
Ugarit spear -> archer.

670BC - Washingtons cow is irrigated, workers move to chop forest for the barracks.

650BC - Harran got another archer from a chop -> archer.

Kill 2 spanish warriors, another is lurking nearby.

630BC - Nothing.

610BC- Archer kills the last spanish warrior in sight and he promotes to elite.

Scouting archer on the E side stumbles upon a Japanese warrior and we have another foe.

590BC - Hattusas settler -> archer.
Hunt settler -> archer.

Send the settlers to the assigned spots.

570BC - Inca completes SoZ.

Kill the japanese warrior.

550BC - 5 arab warriors shows up S of Washington. A couple of portuguese warriors is coming from the SE, where our scouting archer is.

Washington barracks -> spear.
Harran archer -> archer.

Capture an arabian scout.

6 turns left on the Wheel.

The settlers are in place.

 

[Northern Pike]

That sounds good. We've got enough enemies now that this really feels like AW.

I've got it.

 

[Northern Pike]

350 BC, end of turn

 

[Northern Pike]

550 (0): I automatically go to cut the lux rate because our people are too happy, and then realize it's just that we're playing monarch.

I switch Hattusas to a settler. I think we should always be building one.

Hattusha barracks --> archer.


530 (1): We found Tyrana in the SE. In the SW I take a slight risk and push our settler forward, because I want to start getting the benefit of the cow/game/fish site immediately.

Five warriors from the Arab stack commit suicide attacking Washington (5-0), although one does some pillaging.

Ugarit spearman --> spearman, Hattusha archer --> worker.


510 (2): Our captured scout spots a dark blue border. It's probably one of our present enemies, but I don't know, so I'll stay away from it.

We shoot down the two remaining Arabian warriors around Washington (7-0).


490 (3): We found Aleppo on the rich site to the SW.

Hattusas settler --> archer, Hunt Season worker --> settler, Hattusas archer --> archer.


470 (4): An Arabian spearman arrives to pillage. This could be quite a PITA when we only have archers, though we win in this case (8-0).

An Arabian archer attacks our archer on the mountain next to Washington, and dies (9-0).


450 (5): Washington spearman --> spearman, Harran archer --> archer.

We invent The Wheel, and can't see any horses. This leads me to choose IW over Mathematics, though it's a close call. IW is also likelier than Math to become cheaper while we research it.


430 (6): Not much.


410 (7): We lose an archer attacking an Arabian conscript warrior next to Washington, before we succeed in a second attack (10-1).

A Spanish archer falls attacking Ugarit (11-1), which it reached because it was stacked with another archer, and kept to forests.

Hattusas archer --> archer.


390 (8): We dispose of the other Spanish archer around Ugarit (12-1).

We found Ankuwa--slightly off the dotmap, to take in a game tile--and relieve Aleppo's isolation.

Ugarit spearman --> spearman, Harran archer --> pre-build.


370 (9): A Portuguese warrior perishes attacking Tyrana (13-1).

Hunt Season settler --> archer, Hattusha archer --> archer.


350 (10): Six elite victories this round, four defensive, didn't produce a Great Leader.

 

[Northern Pike]

Even with more contacts and more cities, our research is far too slow. We need the Great Library as quickly as possible, and we'll be researching Math --> Writing --> Literature or even just Writing --> Lit after IW. So it's time for the pre-build, and I've started one in Harran. That particular location is just a suggestion and can be changed, but we should definitely pre-build somewhere.

Given the unusual distribution of bonuses and pre-improved tiles, we should probably settle sites 1 and 2 on the screenshot next, even though they're CxC. The settlers will need substantial escorts, but we have the spare units. Site 3 is a spot I've left open for a semi-fishing village which can reach size seven without an aqueduct, but it's not a high priority.

There's not much to report in military terms--no new enemies, no serious threats--though roaming spearmen may be a problem until we get swordsmen or cats.

Washington is unusually micromanaged because it's about to grow, and should get the cow back from Tyrana next turn.

The worker next to Hunt Season can chop the forest it's on, and the shields will go to the city just after it completes its archer build.

We have several units stacked south of Hattusha just because it's a useful central location.

 

[Northern Pike]

New in the south:

 

[vmxa]

NP I doubt the GLB will bring you much in this game. I played one of these and build it, but after many many turns, I finally gave up and went back to researching.

It was on continents and I had maybe 11 known civs, but since they are at war all the time and the 650 cost, they take forever to learn anything.

I think I got one tech that I had skipped and that was all.

 

[Beorn-eL-Feared]

Last time I built GLB on a huge monarch map, I started research again after min research on Invention gave me the tech. I'm also against. My research plans would more likely be IW -> Math ->>> Monarchy. We can manage to research. I might have picked catapults first over the iron gamble, but cheapness is also a factor.

I am all with you for the city placement though, NP. And nice count

Unless we settle #1 and #2 really quick, I'd like to see walls in border towns.

And I'm ... UP?

 

[vmxa]

I think a huge map has a cost of 400, I suspect this one has been bumped to 650, much slower.

 

[Greebley]

Ya Beorn, you are up.

Roster:
Greebley
ThERat
Northern Pike - Just Played
Beorn-eL-Feared - Up
markh - On Deck
Gozpel

I am unsure if we will research faster or not. There are potentially 29 civs that can trade with one another which makes it unusual. Of course, we may not know thame all so even with the GLib we may not be getting first in tech. I would rather not contact all 29 until we have to.

My guess is we won't be ahead in tech.

 

[Beorn-eL-Feared]

Will try and bring back iron. Playing.

 

[ThERat]

I think the GL can help inititally to catch up. the AI research will be fast initially, but slow down a lot once they are involved in wars.

Thus, to build it might help us in the short term. I think it's ok and as pointed out, we should have a dedicated city for wonders. This city should get the FP and be somewhere in the south. I actually think that cow city would be good, it has access to 2 cows and 2 hills. If we would move the settlement 1 tile NE from NP suggested spot, that city would have 2 cows, 5 hills and 4 BG. This would be a killer production city, that could net us Sun Tzu and other important wonders.

what do you all think?

 

[ThERat]

this is what I mean

 

[Beorn-eL-Feared]

Pre-Turn:
Looks good, change one build to a curragh in Hattusas. Since we now know other civs, don't see why we wouldn't find out about the north. Hit it.

IT
The spears in Tyrana make a good case for themselves being elites.
Bella brings 2 archers and a spear for a ride.

T1.
I should have dismissed the scout ...


He will die anyways.


Archer promotes 5/5 finishing the porto siege on Tyrana [4-0]

IT
Lose the mountain archer to arabian assaults
Defend well against the spanishs [8-1]
Babs found Sippar on the W coast

T2.
Cycle the troops to give a heavy escort to the settlers headed south.

IT
Siege movement around Washington

T3.
Settler stalled at home

T4.
Attack some troops lying around
Lose an elite archer to the last spanish spear
Take back mount Rushmore [13-2]

IT
Babs found Izibiar near our #1 spot

T5.
Start moving towards #1

IT
2 spanish archers come knocking at our stack's neighborhood
An arab spear comes to itch us in the west coast.

T7.
Found Spite, work on walls
Dismiss the spanish envoy [15-2]

T9.
Messengers sent to Izibia


T10.
Our messenger dispatch is disturbed by news from the front


1- We 'have' iron



2- Near Ankuwa is a foothold situation. I cut the spearmen's way into the forests so next turn they have to move on grass to keep working on our dyes' pillage. We can take them there.
3- 2 archers were lost and 1 promoted to the spanishs. We need reinforcements bad, many underway.
4- A settler is under the worker NW Washington, fortified until we have the front under control
5- Do we suicide the curragh on the north pass?



>>> The Save <<<

X-post with Mr Rat:
That city would indeed be huge. A pity I played at this time and not 3 hours later. We have one settler ready to head there and motivation enough from the iron that's in there. Odds are there's one more BG in the marshes, too.

 

[vmxa]

Pre-Turn:

3- We need reinforcements bad, many underway.

This is what one can expect, from having so aggressive a stance on scouting. You meet too many civs, too soon and put a lot of stress on those early units that do not even have any bombardment support at this stage.

I was cringing as I saw more scouting, before NP said you found enough friends and still more scouting was done. Very brave indeed.

 

[ThERat]

well, the wonder city is now even more precious though I think we need another city short term NE of the iron to grab it faster. We need swords badly. And we do need an army to cut down the pesky invaders. Of course, we need to expand south to make sure the wonder city can actually work all those tiles without being pillaged...

unless people don't agree on that city. But in such a huge game, it will go a long way to have such a powerhouse (maybe we are lucky and have coals there as well) do mashes give coal?

 

[Sir Bugsy]

Well done so far gents, but you'll be walking a tightrope for a while.

Forget curraghs. You are on the main continent. It probably wraps around to the east and west. Perhaps it is in the shape of an "E" lying on its side.

Use your terrain, it is your best asset at the moment.

 

[Northern Pike]

Vmxa and Beorn, thanks for your thoughts on the Great Library. Certainly you've played more monarch/huge games than I have. I was influenced simply by the fact that two of our four contacts during my round were well ahead of us in tech (and now it's three of five).

I very much like the idea of founding Rat's Wonder city. Depending on circumstances, we could solve the problem of getting quick access to the iron with a colony rather than a second city in the area.

Are there any two Civ III players left on Earth who use the same graphics? Anyway, it was good of you to post all those screenshots, Beorn.