Holy crap how did I get here and and NOW what?

[AnaNg]

So I played my first game on Prince... and I ended up in uncharted (for me) waters.

I fully expected to flail and get crushed early on yet here I am mid-game in the middle of the pack power-wise (though with a very small "empire" - I keep grabbing tendrils as my friends ask me to go to war - most of my cities not exceptionally positioned).

I'm running the research slider at 50% (SO strange) and still manage to be ahead of many though in a different direction. Which leads us to...

I'm at communism. Never really got here before others. Never really had spies! So here I am in this middling position with quite a few civs who are pleased with me (that I'd like to knock out and have been, oddly, successfully manouvering them into wars) in the middle of the power pack and on my own tech track.

There has GOT to be a way to take advantage of this position... but how? Granted, in general I get lost in mid to late game techs and this is no different but for a change it seems like there might be a way to leverage this but I can't see it.

I've disabled space race like I normally do (I tell myself it's because I think it's a chitntzy way to win but really I just can't figure out how to put the techs together) and time victory (because that really *is* arbitrary). In fairness I didn't set anything up as I never thought I'd GET this far I sort of just planned to play around with cause and effect - yet I feel like I'm better positioned on Prince than I ever seemed to be on Noble...???

As for an end game strat well, as mentioned I hadn't really figured too much on it - I vaguely imagined hanging on until I got ahead enough on an odd tech track to trade for the ones to put the pieces together for strong late-game military or could finagle a diplomatic victory.

Maybe I'm not in a decent position at all - maybe I am. But I'm sort of flummoxed as to where to go. Thoughts?

Be gentle, I've always been nervous about posting my fumblings.

 

[Warspite2]

Are you playing a vanilla CIV4 or warlords and maybe perhaps BtS? I have not took a look at your save yet. To me, it sounds like you are playing through without being sure what type of victory your going for. I used to play this way alot and I would not win, in fact very rarely would I win. Now the last several games I have played of Civ4 w/warlords and now BtS, I know from the start I am going for a 3 city cultural victory. It definitely helps, and I doubt I would have ever won a cultural vic without going for it with a plan from the very start. Although sometimes even a perfect plan will end up a failure due to many reasons. Maybe I can answer better after seeing your save.

 

[PurpleTurtle]

As Warspite said, it depends on what victory you want to go for. I have to say myself that I set no stock by the score. It has been my experience that a determined and well organized and executed war effort can have a small relatively weak civ topple a giant. If you are playing BTS, I would say pick someone you want to kill that is near your nation, prepare to defend your cities and resources, build a fortress or two on the border you share with them if possible, get everyone you can to declare war on them(without paying with decent techs, if you can't go it alone), and then start a war and wait for their army to come to yours. It is far easier to defend than attack, they roll our what they got, you make sure your stacks don't get hit with siege units, and you slaughter their boys in the open field. It is pretty easy to take down cities after that, they may hit you with a few counterattacks, but once their standing army is caput, its all over.

 

[slobberinbear]

I understand Ana's dilemma. Once you have explored and expanded, and the borders are somewhat "fixed," you have entered midgame and have some decisions to make.

Warmongering in midgame: The problem is that your economy will suffer. In BtS, you need a lot of units to conquer a rival civ. These units are expensive, especially while operating in enemy territory. If you war, you must be willing to face that consequence, particularly if you decide to capture and not raze enemy cities. If your research starts dropping hard and you're still running a deficit, you need to sue for peace and get your economy back in order.

If you're going to war, make sure you have enough units to do the job. A reasonable stack o' doom in medieval times would have 8-12 macemen, 2-3 pikemen, 3-5 crossbows, 1-3 longbows, 3-4 knights, and 8-12 trebuchets/catapults, with continuous replacement and reinforcement of these units throughout your offensive. Be prepared to lose a lot of siege units.

Turtling: If on the other hand you just turtle up and make buildings, you will have to specialize your economy and create key wonders to try to maintain a tech lead. Since you have disabled the time and space victories, the turtle approach will require a cultural or diplomatic victory. Without a lot of voting power (because your empire isn't large from warmongering), I don't see you winning the UN or AP elections unless you start warring. If you go for cultural, focus on wonders and great artists.

 

[AnaNg]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Yeah I realized part of my problem was not having a clear plan from the get go.

I'd war, but the problem is that just about everyone is more powerful than me... and they generall seem to like each other (except Roosevelt - and even though they're annoyed, I can't bribe anyone enough to declare on him).

So even if I did go for a suicidal war, who do you picK when all the powerhouses are going to give you the "You declared war on our friend".

Is gifting a spy to someone and hoping it fails a strategy? I'd do espionage myself but it's a choice between research/units and paying for the spy mission. Well that and if it fails I'm... weak.

 

[futurehermit]

Beeline mass media and build the UN. See if a diplo victory is possible. If not, prioritize teching as quickly as possible to modern-era military units (modern armor, mech infantry, stealth/bombers, jet/fighters, etc.) and start conquering, starting with the least powerful.

 

[Phrederick]

Choose a super-powerful military unit and beeline for it. Either Infantry, Artillery, Tanks, Bombers, or Modern Armor. If you have a crucial unit that no one else does, you can mass a bunch of them and take someone on. Geting a -1 from everyone isn't a huge deal, and after you take someone else out, you'll have a much larger empire, and hopefully will have enough power to handle a declaration of war.

 

[AnaNg]

Beeline mass media and build the UN. See if a diplo victory is possible.

I did try that later - turn out Isabells is stingy with her voting. Bismark abstained too but his numbers were negligible.

I'll try the military beeline - but I think Roosevelt is WAY ahead of me on that... Maybe a defensive pact until I get strong enough then the two of us can take over the world (and then he can turn on me, like he always does)

 

[futurehermit]

If diplo isn't possible then a military beeline is your only hope with space turned off. Watch your diplo with the powerful nations and attack the weakest nations in order until you win dom.