Is this AWDG winnable?

[ZzarkLinux]

Conquests 1.22 Always-War

Civ:
Vikings (8+ cities)

Map:
Large Pangea 80% land MAX civs

Armies:
I had 1 archer army that died attacking an ACAV.
I just got another leader.
(Yes I know archer armies are terrible, in previous game my archer-army went to 1hp vs. vJaguar)

Current contacts:
Maya (early contact)
Carthage (early contact)
Aztecs (late contact w/ few units)
Russia (late contact w/ settler pair)

Resources / enemy units:
Me: none
Maya: none / SOZ / just built KT / just started Longbows
Carthage: horses, attack with NM
Aztecs: couple swords
Russia: Settler pair

Tech:
Construction, Wheel, Maths, MapMaking

Luxuries:
1 Silk (Why haven't I put a fort on it yet?)

Great Library:
Built by Maya.

How big is the front line?
2 cities hold the front. One city is the silks city, and it's the main focus

Positive side:
I settled a 1 tile island in case things go bad...
I think there were early AI wars, as my early contacts sent less than 3 units for like 20-30 turns

Pictures:
Will come tomorrow (don't have CD now)

Thank you for your input.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/133568/AWDG-Vikings.zip

 

[vmxa]

I can take a peek at this tomorrow, if no else gets to it sooner.

 

[vmxa]

ZzarkLinux;

"I had 1 archer army that died attacking an ACAV.
I just got another leader.
(Yes I know archer armies are terrible, in previous game my archer-army went to 1hp vs. vJaguar)"

That is a hard position for sure, not sure what is the best move. I would consider my chance of getting another leader soon and what I could do with the leader. If I had something I could rush with it, I may do that, else I would consider a spear army as it could at least take down some units on defense. All bad options at that point.

"Maya (early contact)
Carthage (early contact)
Aztecs (late contact w/ few units)
Russia (late contact w/ settler pair)"

I get into disagreements with team members on these types of games, but I am a big fan of not going out more than just a couple of tiles, unless I am sure there is plenty of room. You just do not want early contacts at this level of AW, it can be fatal. If you had one civ or two to face, you would be alright with this many and no iron or even horses, you are probably doomed.

"Resources / enemy units:
Me: none
Maya: none / SOZ / just built KT / just started Longbows
Carthage: horses, attack with NM
Aztecs: couple swords
Russia: Settler pair"

Wow Crusaders will hurt at this point.

"Tech:
Construction, Wheel, Maths, MapMaking"

I am not sure what was researched and what order. It is a very tough call as to how to proceed in research on these games. You want Iron, you want spears, but in an AW of Emp or DG you may have a shot at the GLB and that is a big help. In std Emp/DG it is not a real bargain, but it is huge in AW. So I always have a hard time to make the call, it is usually dictate by the game as it unfolds.

I have no idea what you wanted with Map Making, you do not have any use for that in the near future. Monarchy is much more important, after you give up on the GLB.


"Positive side:
I settled a 1 tile island in case things go bad...
I think there were early AI wars, as my early contacts sent less than 3 units for like 20-30 turns"

Like I said that is not a positive, it is a loss, if things go bad, you lose anyway. Early contacts are the bane of AW.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

I have taken some screenies in case other people want to look.

The pictures, in no particular order:

The kill zone at Silks City
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/133568/zone.JPG

My whole empire (start was really good too)
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/133568/empire.JPG

Thanks vxma for your input. I was just kidding about the 1 tile island, I did it for flavor mostly

About Monarchy:
I am always unsure when to revolt to Monarchy.

About Leader:
I'm thinking of planting a spear army on the Silks. Or maybe rush Heroic Epic in Silks City.

About Horses:
I'm beginning to think that horse armies are as bad as archer armies...

About Temples:
I know I built / chopped 3 temples in cities that probably didn't need it (I can only produce 20 shield units, so 8 spt isn't needed compared to 7 spt). Is that a HUGE mistake at Demigod AW? I'm guessing so, but I wanted to push the front too.

About Great Library:
I was going for it, but Writing the Maya started early. Luckily Maya are my next-door neighbors.

Would this have been winnable at Emporer difficulty?

 

[vmxa]

True horses attack is the same as archers, but they can cover more ground and kill that red lined unit and get back to safety. AW is about kill ratio and letting units get back and heal is painful at this level.

I doubt the temples are significant here, but the shields may have speed up a better build later.

it is always hard to get to the Monarchy and I do not get to it for some time as a rule.

The GLB is hard to get in AWDG, unless you start with Alphabet and good location. It is still a problem, if you draw a civ that starts with Alpha. At AWE, it is not real hard.

I think the big killer is having that many civs at war with you so early. You will not have the means to get a high kill ratio for some time and getting up enough troops is a killer.

I would think it could be won on Emperor, but it will be a long haul, unless you can get Iron soon. Fighting with archers and spears it nasty.

One of the aspects of DG is the starting with an extra settler. Now they spread out so much faster and you get contacts sooner. They can pop out units from any towns so those extra towns hurt you.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

Well, I had to abandon the game. Even though I wasn't losing anything, I wasn't gaining any ground at all.

I attribute my loss to:
- Considering I had a lot of elite wins, my leader luck was terrible.
- My first army should have been a spear army. I knew my neighbors built the Great Library for me, AND they have no iron. I should have marched a stack of archers to the GLib city under army cover and stolen TGL, defended by probably 3 spearmen.
- I didn't fortress my luxury, which was in the kill zone. Would have increased kill ratio.

 

[vmxa]

Better luck next time. AWDG is no easy run.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

I found a much better game. The Capitol's start itself was only average, but the whole area is great.

Turn 80:
1 Contact
1 Horse army
1 Available leader
1 Gems to hook up
1 Silks to take from China soon
1 Iron to take from China soon
1 GLB not built yet. I plan a long march to steal it with my armies.

Techs:
Bronze -> Pottery -> Wheel -> HBR -> Masonry (1 turn left) -> Maths -> Iron -> ???

I think I'll blog about this one in Stories and Tales.

All feedback is welcome

Whole empire:

Left side:

 

[vmxa]

Well post a link to the new thread here so we may take a peek. Did you consider placing IBM on the coast on the river to get the whale or are you going to drop another town between it and Redhat er Linux?

 

[ZzarkLinux]

Okay, here's the story of my new game.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=264633

 

[vmxa]

It will be very hard to handle defense with CxxxC spacing on those early town, if you come under attack at DG. I try to get to the story later, but watching basketball right now.

 

[Mike Hussey]

Does AWDG stand for 'Always War Demigod'?

 

[Aabraxan]

Yes (10 chars)