Gr5 - Persian AW Demigod, Standard Continents

[Northern Pike]

Well, we have two knight armies out on the attack, so if we can't pull this one out we'll at least go down fighting.

As soon as we hit Enter we'll complete some infrastructure--a university in Persepolis, aqueducts in Gordium and Arbela.

The rate at which AI units arrive on the battlefield seems to have held steady during my round. The main new development is that the AI has started sending slow attack units, and not just pillagers, down the western mountain chain.

We have one settler, in Hamadan.

 

[Northern Pike]

On the attack:

 

[bed_head7]

Ugh, I can't believe I was building units in cities without barracks. At least none were ever built. But, what was I thinking?

Very nice looking turns, NP.

 

[Northern Pike]

BTW, your decision to use your GL for a fourth army rather than the Pentagon was the correct one. We could never have sent two armies out while keeping only one back for defense.

 

[bed_head7]

That was how I felt. Glad to see some comment on that decision finally, with all the posts about MapStat and such. I figured even without Heroic Epic, we'd get another leader soon enough to rush Pentagon, but it might be awhile before we'd get to sixteen cities again for the fourth army (with the one virtually indefensible spot and the other being the one I let be razed). Of course, I had a handful of elite wins with a couple immortals (which I don't think made it to the handoff, unfortunately) and NP had a good number, but no leader. In time, I suppose.

 

[handy900]

I wonder if we create a pike line running from Samaria NW to the Ocean if the AI would move off the mountains to attack Samaria. Spare units are hard to find but diverting the AI off the mountains would funnel them toward cats in Samaria

 

[Northern Pike]

Certainly the AI isn't attacking veteran pikes on mountains with its four-attack-factor units, although the Crusaders might be a wild card.

 

[LKendter]

Greebley (on deck)
Handy900
ThERat (skip May 5th to May 22nd)
Bead_head7
Northern Pike
LKendter (currently playing)

 

[barbslinger]

/delurking:
Are you taking full advantage of the 5-tile in pillaging restriction? Is that Delft Iron out of commission? Greebley put a restriction but I would take full advantage.

 

[LKendter]

I just started playing, but it is pretty clear the fat lady is about to step on the stage. The tech hole worse then I realized. However, this is worse as we are in no position to fight these.

 

[LKendter]

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads9/GR5-530AD.zip


450 AD
I wake up a sleeping knight to kill the musket behind our lines. (1-0)

We are at 20% science and bleeding cash. This game is in deep trouble.

The number one problem is the front is TOO wide. I have got to get some workers to the mountains to build forts manned with pikes.
(IT) We are really frelled as I see AI cavalry arrive.

I kill one AC, and lost 1 pike. (2-1)


460 AD
I killed 1 pikeman, 1 knight and 1 longbow. (5-1)

Konya is razed. I simply disband the workers. I don't like abandoning cities as the misery goes to another city.
(IT) A longbow kills a pike on the mountains. (5-2)
We lost several workers during the kill.

The Celts are building Shakespeare.
The Netherlands is also sending cavalry our way.


470 AD
I stare at the map and can't ever figure out what to do. There are to many fast units between Samaria and Ergili and we STILL have the same lack of roads that I complained about last turn. I am forced to abandon my plans to get the army to the mountains with workers to build a fort line to shortly the front.

I killed 1 merc, 2 longbows, and 6 knights. (14-2)
(IT) Both sides lost 1 knight. (15-3)


480 AD
I killed 5 knights, 1 cavalry , 1 impi, 2 spearmen, 1 archer, and 1 longbow. (25-2)
(IT) I killed 1 cavalry, and 1 knight. (27-2)
However, the cavalry attacked our yellow-lined immortal army.
Things just got worse.


490 AD
I killed 1 mounted warrior, and 1 longbow that landed behind our lines. I lost 1 knight. I am not surprised as the ONLY attacked available were injured. I still felt the odds were better to attack. (30-3)

Outside of the landing I killed 3 knights. (33-3)
(IT) One MDI is killed. (34-3)


500 AD
I killed 1 archer, 3 knights, 1 musket, 1 impi and 1 cavalry. (41-3)

Ngome is razed.
(IT) We survive the stack of 5 cavalry. 3 are dead, and 1 injured. We lose 1 pike. (44-4)

The AI lands a stack of 3 longbows by undefended Sardis.


510 AD
I killed 3 longbows, 1 impi, 2 cavalry, and 4 knights. I lost 1 immortal and 1 knight. (53-6)
The bad news is one of the invading longbows is still alive.

We have NO saltpeter, and no visible sources on the map anywhere.
(IT) I lost 1 injured immortal, and this one made me happy. That longbow behind the lines ignored the city and I keep the core safe now. (53-7)
However, the cavalry onslaught is getting brutal. I lost 1 immortal and 2 pikeman for nothing back. (53-10)


520 AD
I killed 2 merc, 1 longbow, and 3 cavalry. (59-10)
(IT) The meltdown has begun.

I lost 1 pikeman, and some catapults.

==========================

Summary:
I am posting this with nothing move in 530 AD. With the lost of the luxury we can't raise the luxury tax high enough to keep our citizens working with 0% science. IMHO this is a lost cause. The tech hole is too severe and to many AIs have fast units. We are screwed on the critical saltpeter.

I have NO clue how to win this at this point.


Signed up:
Greebley (currently playing)
Handy900 (on deck)
ThERat (skip May 5th to May 22nd)
Bead_head7
Northern Pike
LKendter

 

[handy900]

I agree with LK with respect to the lost cause. If "felt" lost on my turns also based on AW wins and losses in the past.

This looked like a good map early on, but then became a tough map to advance on.

AWDG is a tough game. If you can't knock out a foe early in the game as we did in GR04 it gets tough to get a good push going. If you are not gaining ground in AW you are losing. Just holding onto real estate is usually a bad sign.

 

[LKendter]

The holding pattern is another thing that bothered me. We had 10% world pop in 1000 BC and that is where we are still at.

 

[Greebley]

I agree. I am not at all suprised this is the case - we have been stalled too long as others have stated. We are not going to suddenly be able to make progress now that things have gotten harder.

Do people want to try again? I still want a Demigod win without a free settler.

 

[bed_head7]

This may come as a surprise, but I don't think I can commit to another SG at the moment. Unfortunate result here, but not a big surprise.

 

[LKendter]

I will give it one more try. I hope this time the empire can keep expanding.

 

[Northern Pike]

If you are not gaining ground in AW you are losing.

Yes, that sums it up. I have no objection to our abandoning this one.

I'd be glad to give it another try. Clearly Persia is an excellent AW civ, despite this result.

 

[ThERat]

too bad on the loss, there were too many Civ's on our continent I feel. And, again I think it's better to meet AI earlier rather than later. War mode slows them down a lot.

I would be game for another one once I am back.

 

[handy900]

I need a pass on the next one. I'm trying to stay at 1 to 2 SG's for the summer and SGOTM is starting soon. Good Luck.

 

[Northern Pike]

Is it possible that we've been placing too much importance on the Great Library in some of these recent games? Normally I consider the "400 shields will buy a lot of Immortals" argument to be superficial, but since getting stalled seems to be fatal in AW with or without the GL, perhaps there's something to be said for it.

Thinking it through, the only unambiguous benefit we derived from the GL in this game was access to pikemen. The transition from despotism to monarchy wasn't a huge immediate improvement, and knights may not have been cost-effective at two and a third Immortals each.