A story post. Please feel free to explain anything I bring up that you feel needs explaining. Plus a straight up question at the end.
In my first ever game I chose Elizabeth, Archipelago, High Sea Water, Warlord, Temperate, Ancient Start, Normal Game Speed and, as it was my first game, just go through the traditional civ motions and not care too much if I get squashed at some point.
The game went to 2050, no-one declared war on me once and I was leading in points for the period of about 1000BC to 1960AD. One of the civs must have settled a huge number of cities after discovering open sea travel and this must have gradually ebbed my lead away so that by 2050 I was about 1000 point behind, after being well over 1000 points in front most of the game. I tried for a diplomatic victory at the death, twice, but just failed by the tiniest of margins to get complete support. I got the 'puny' or whatever leader score at the end.
In my second game I tried exactly the same game (different map roll) but made more of an effort to secure extra territory in the ocean travelling stage. Once again no civs declared on me the entire game and I, once again lead in points from about 1000BC onwards. This time I won on points, having secured enough land to cope with the late-game points surge. I get the Ethelred the Unready leader score at the end.
In my third game I decide to try the Indians, Pangea, Temperate, Ancient Start, Warlord but this time go Marathon. Once again no-one declared war on me and I pretty much lead the game from the very early stages. This time I thought I'd have a crack at doing some wars and I conquered one civ per newly researched military tech era, leaving a gap between conquering to settle my finances, which seemed to get worse the more cities I conquered.
For some weird reason I was thinking that playing on Marathon disabled all the victory conditions, mainly because I couldn't find the 'current positions details screen' which I'm sure I remember from playing normal speed games. Anyway, I was taking it all quite leisurely as a result. No-one was declaring on me and I was basically walking over all the civs one-by-one. Suddenly, while just starting to munch into the 5th Civ with my new Tanks, the game blerts out that I've won a Domination Victory. I am awarded with the Caesar leader score.
I'm now thinking that maybe because Warlord is such a newb level that perhaps the AI is coded to simply not Declare on me no matter what.
So I decide to have a go at a peaceful victory and decide to experiment with how you get the three cities up to a whopping 50,000 Culture.
I load a new Pangea, again using India, same settings as before, but play on Normal Speed again, to keep the requirement at 50,000 Culture, still Warlord. I bee-line straight for all the Religions and have them all apart from Taoism and Islam before I realise I just have three Warriors as my entire Army and decide to do some catching up before grabbing the last two religions. The second I learn Horseback Riding an AI Declares on me. Hmmm, I think, so the AI can declare on me at Warlord level. Anyway, I couldn't be faffed with with all that from that position, so I reloaded, hoping to avoid the DoW somehow in the next try.
So I load up the same game, but go back to an Archipelago, High Sea Level. I repeat the Religion hog and then go back to fill in the Archers and Horse Archers etc. And the same turn I learn Horse Archers the neighbouring Island (who has the same religion and good relations) Declares war on me and a Galley appears from the mist. Clearly I am triggering something by Religion hogging and then going back for the military.
So I load up a new map, this time going back to Pangea (still with the Indians) and this time making sure I get the Horse Archers straight after securing the third Religion. This time no Declaration of War. But I do miss out on Taoism, but I did also get Confusions, Christianity and Islam. Missing out on Taoism by three turns did bug me though. Anyway, all seems good, I seem to be back in the routine of no-one declaring on me and the game trundles on.
I get to the point where I have three cities all pumping over 280 per turn and make a guess that I'll have victory somewhere in the next 100-150 turns or whatever and I'm just thinking, ah, yes, so this is how you do it... When all of a sudden, two turns before Riflemen, an AI declares on me. No probs, I defend easily and he's reduced to the occasional Knight incursion and Pillage. It's like gnat bites. Then, all of a sudden, another AI declares on me and I'm like... I'm trying to play peaceful culture and you all declare on me, I play normal or aggressive and no-one does a damn thing?
But anyway...
My question is: When Theocracy states "No Spread of Non-State Religion" does it mean that no external Religions will come into my lands? Or that none of my Religions will spread to other lands? Or that only my State Religion will spread to other lands? Or that all my Religions will spread to other lands, it's just that none will spread into me?
My amusing observation is: If I have two religions, one state and one just First Discovered but not state, and I build Temples and Monasteries of the State one first, why does my neighboring civ always seem to get the secondary Religion first. Just to be annoying? Or is there some known matrix. Also the Cathedral states "Spreads Religion" but I've rarely noticed it having any effect whatsoever - or is this all to do with this Theocracy thing? (but it can't be entirely, I was trading Theocracy well after I'd built all this crap with a lot of the civs).
In my first ever game I chose Elizabeth, Archipelago, High Sea Water, Warlord, Temperate, Ancient Start, Normal Game Speed and, as it was my first game, just go through the traditional civ motions and not care too much if I get squashed at some point.
The game went to 2050, no-one declared war on me once and I was leading in points for the period of about 1000BC to 1960AD. One of the civs must have settled a huge number of cities after discovering open sea travel and this must have gradually ebbed my lead away so that by 2050 I was about 1000 point behind, after being well over 1000 points in front most of the game. I tried for a diplomatic victory at the death, twice, but just failed by the tiniest of margins to get complete support. I got the 'puny' or whatever leader score at the end.
In my second game I tried exactly the same game (different map roll) but made more of an effort to secure extra territory in the ocean travelling stage. Once again no civs declared on me the entire game and I, once again lead in points from about 1000BC onwards. This time I won on points, having secured enough land to cope with the late-game points surge. I get the Ethelred the Unready leader score at the end.
In my third game I decide to try the Indians, Pangea, Temperate, Ancient Start, Warlord but this time go Marathon. Once again no-one declared war on me and I pretty much lead the game from the very early stages. This time I thought I'd have a crack at doing some wars and I conquered one civ per newly researched military tech era, leaving a gap between conquering to settle my finances, which seemed to get worse the more cities I conquered.
For some weird reason I was thinking that playing on Marathon disabled all the victory conditions, mainly because I couldn't find the 'current positions details screen' which I'm sure I remember from playing normal speed games. Anyway, I was taking it all quite leisurely as a result. No-one was declaring on me and I was basically walking over all the civs one-by-one. Suddenly, while just starting to munch into the 5th Civ with my new Tanks, the game blerts out that I've won a Domination Victory. I am awarded with the Caesar leader score.
I'm now thinking that maybe because Warlord is such a newb level that perhaps the AI is coded to simply not Declare on me no matter what.
So I decide to have a go at a peaceful victory and decide to experiment with how you get the three cities up to a whopping 50,000 Culture.
I load a new Pangea, again using India, same settings as before, but play on Normal Speed again, to keep the requirement at 50,000 Culture, still Warlord. I bee-line straight for all the Religions and have them all apart from Taoism and Islam before I realise I just have three Warriors as my entire Army and decide to do some catching up before grabbing the last two religions. The second I learn Horseback Riding an AI Declares on me. Hmmm, I think, so the AI can declare on me at Warlord level. Anyway, I couldn't be faffed with with all that from that position, so I reloaded, hoping to avoid the DoW somehow in the next try.
So I load up the same game, but go back to an Archipelago, High Sea Level. I repeat the Religion hog and then go back to fill in the Archers and Horse Archers etc. And the same turn I learn Horse Archers the neighbouring Island (who has the same religion and good relations) Declares war on me and a Galley appears from the mist. Clearly I am triggering something by Religion hogging and then going back for the military.
So I load up a new map, this time going back to Pangea (still with the Indians) and this time making sure I get the Horse Archers straight after securing the third Religion. This time no Declaration of War. But I do miss out on Taoism, but I did also get Confusions, Christianity and Islam. Missing out on Taoism by three turns did bug me though. Anyway, all seems good, I seem to be back in the routine of no-one declaring on me and the game trundles on.
I get to the point where I have three cities all pumping over 280 per turn and make a guess that I'll have victory somewhere in the next 100-150 turns or whatever and I'm just thinking, ah, yes, so this is how you do it... When all of a sudden, two turns before Riflemen, an AI declares on me. No probs, I defend easily and he's reduced to the occasional Knight incursion and Pillage. It's like gnat bites. Then, all of a sudden, another AI declares on me and I'm like... I'm trying to play peaceful culture and you all declare on me, I play normal or aggressive and no-one does a damn thing?
But anyway...
My question is: When Theocracy states "No Spread of Non-State Religion" does it mean that no external Religions will come into my lands? Or that none of my Religions will spread to other lands? Or that only my State Religion will spread to other lands? Or that all my Religions will spread to other lands, it's just that none will spread into me?
My amusing observation is: If I have two religions, one state and one just First Discovered but not state, and I build Temples and Monasteries of the State one first, why does my neighboring civ always seem to get the secondary Religion first. Just to be annoying? Or is there some known matrix. Also the Cathedral states "Spreads Religion" but I've rarely noticed it having any effect whatsoever - or is this all to do with this Theocracy thing? (but it can't be entirely, I was trading Theocracy well after I'd built all this crap with a lot of the civs).