LK173, Civ=Scandinavia, CCM3, Island Hopping

[Elephantium]

I'll go with the original yellow dot.

I'm about halfway through my set. Arabia and Zululand just signed peace!

Thoughts on accelerating the war? We have 16 Berserks and 9 Spears near Linkoping with more coming every turn.

 

[LKendter]

Thoughts on accelerating the war? We have 16 Berserks and 9 Spears near Linkoping with more coming every turn.

With those guys at peace, I agree to start the war.
Don't forget the stack online just outside South African borders.

 

[Elephantium]

Pre-turn:

Wow, Stockholm is huge! We've really taken off in some ways since my last turnset.

I change a geek to a taxman in Goteborg since we have 10% science.

I MM Norrkoping for growth, still getting 1-turn Berserks. How is it getting shields from coastal tiles?

IBT:

Indians are building Worldreligion Hinduism

1025 AD:

We meet Oceania. They're broke and backwards, but they have Coffee. Unfortunately, they won't trade it straight-up for Tobacco, they want tech.

No other deals are possible -- Egypt wants 150gpt (plus everything else) for Religion, far beyond what we can afford.

IBT:

Oceania complains. We apologize.

1050 AD:

Enslaver retreats
Enslaver dies
Enslaver kills Impi and captures Zulu Settler

IBT: Enslaver kills a Spear I left covering our Enslaver

Maghreb complete Great Mosque of Cordoba

Hebrews complete Solomon's Temple

1075 AD:

Zulus learned Republic.

I re-up our Tobacco deal with Rome. They're sending us 10gpt + 27 gold now.

IBT:

Indo-China DEMANDS Elephant training. They don't even have Iron Working, so I tell 'em to get lost. They back down.

Arabia and Zulus sign peace.

Machu Picchu completes Golden Age of the Incas

Wine deal ends.

1100 AD:

We meet Portugal! They're broke and backwards

We lose 2 Enslavers attacking a Missionary next to our stack -- yuck, should have been easy pickings

After seeing a reply in the thread, I dial up Zulus and declare war.

Chariot kills Monk
Chariot kills Missionary

Attack on Johannesburg:
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary...AND TAKES THE CITY!

I send Maths to Indo-China for Wine and 2 gold.


IBT: No counterattacks.

Johannesburg riots as resistance ends.

Gold mine completes

1125 AD:

Chariot kills Numidian Mercenary
I reposition a lot of troops just in case the city flips. Based on the roads in the area, we should be safe from counterattacks for 1 turn.

I send Philosophy to Oceania for Coffee.

Lowlands has Religion and lacks Construction and Seafaring. Still, it'll cost all our gold plus gpt. I'm going to hold off for a bit.

IBT:

Japan complains about one of our ships. We apologize.

1150 AD:

Still no troops visible around Johannesburg. We evacuate most of the troops from the western desert -- one wounded Chariot doesn't make it to the boats.

IBT: As expected, the one Chariot gets ganked.

1175 AD:

Chariot dies
Chariot kills invisible unit - sounds like an Enslaver
Chariot kills Zulu Chariot

A misclick of sorts -- I moved a Berserk before realizing that he was on an unroaded tile

Raid on Cape Town:
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary
Berserk dies, no damage
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary.
City is ours.

I send Camel Training to Korea for Silks

IBT: Japan demands 72 gold. I remember what happened last time we defied them; I'm going to cave.

Zulu ship sinks one of our Catapult ships on picket duty
Zulu Archer wins a duel with one of ours
Zulu Chariot kills our Spear
Siege-Bow retreats
Archer kills our Spear
Camel kills our Spear

Carthage established an embassy with us.

We lose Gems.

1200 AD:

Egypt just got Construction. I'm hoping they'd value The Republic highly enough to help make a deal for Religion, but "it can't be done".

I go ahead and make the deal with Lowlands before they learn another tech: Religion for Construction, Seafaring, 11gpt, and 1018 gold.

Near Johannesburg:
Berserk dies attacking Numidian Mercenary from a Longship
Berserk kills African Archer
Berserk kills Chariot

Enslaver kills African Archer


We trade Trade to China for 20 gold and Gems.

IBT:

Nubia ends our Silver/Tobacco deal. They'll re-up it if we throw in 3gpt.

Zulu Trireme sinks our Catapult ship in the west (another picket ship)
Some units move next to Cape Town.
Camel retreats from our Spear near Johannesburg.

1225 AD:

We meet Persia! They're up Feudalism and World Religions, have Camels and Dyes, but they're kinda broke -- 89 gold.
They sell us the Dyes for Tobacco + 1gpt.

We also meet the super backwards Britain. They lack Mysticism, Code of Laws, Construction, etc.

Catapult ship sinks attacking Trireme in the east.

Near Cape Town:
Berserk dies
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary
Berserk kills Impi
Berserk kills African Archer
Chariot kills African Archer, clearing the stack

Longship sinks that Trireme in the east.

We send Camel Training to Arabia for Spices, 2gpt, and 19 gold.
We send The Republic to Lowlands for 61gpt and 945 gold.

IBT:

Zulu/South Africa wants peace, but they're not willing to pay for it. OK, the war continues.

Jerusalem builds Jewish Worldreligion

Two Zulu ships sink attacking our western ships
A third Trireme sinks one of our Catapult ships

Outside Cape Town, it's a bloodbath.
African Archer kills our Spear
Impi kills our Spear
African Archer dies to our Spear, promoting him
African Archer dies to the elite Spear
Another African Archer dies
Impi kills our elite Spear
Impi kills a Berserk

1250 AD:

At Cape Town:
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary
Berserk dies
Berserk dies
Berserk kills Numidian Mercenary

Longship sinks enemy Catapult ship and withdraws to the north.

Handoff notes:

I met several new civs although they weren't the greatest trading partners. I think we'll have some good luck heading west from Oceania.

The war is going pretty well. The advisor rates us as Strong relative to Zulu, so I think we can keep pushing. At the same time, we need more Spears. Losses on the defense have been high.

They have a number of ships lurking off the coast of their western desert. It's quiet after the last battle, but I'm not sure how long that will last. They do still have another coastal city.

The stack in Zulu territory moved to better support both cities. They've seemingly moved focus to Cape Town. I think we can advance again once that threat is cleared.


The kingdom:

The Zulu front:

The eastern coast is clear. I only saw one Zulu ship that way.

Oceania's coast and Portugal's mountain borders.

Persia and Britain on the left side here. Note how close we were to discovering them with the ship that contacted the Chinese!

 

[Greebley]

Ok, I got it. Will continue to pursue the war.

 

[LKendter]

Can we get world religions from Egypt for The Republic and tobacco? If not, I see feudalism is due in one turn. I hope that will get the tech.

Once again MapStat shows that most of the backwards civs broke. The only possible trade I see is Korea getting a tech if they have some GPT.

This game is really horrid for enslavers and getting workers. 3 enslavers lost is very painful.
Based on the casualty rate I would like to see a second city produce spears for at least a little while.

Once the Zulu are dead, I want Arabia shortly afterwards. The break will be one or two turns to get the stacks to heal.

The contact missions are going well. I can’t believe how many backwards civs this game. I’m glad to see the Dutch continue to be a decent source of revenue. We need to find another civ or two like that.

If none of the Zulu cities have spices connected, please save the next clan for a city claiming spices.


ROSTER:
LKendter
Elephantium
Greebley (up) Already got it
Jersey Joe (on deck)

 

[LKendter]

Looking at the map closer Durban looks very useful to us. It gives a place to build desert fort. Camels will at least give us some fast units with camel riders.

I hope the loss ratio gets better. It was almost even losses.

 

[Elephantium]

Ya, losses were brutal, especially on that last IBT. I wish I'd placed that stack NW of the city instead of on the wheat.

On the bright side, most of the losses were Spears, cheap to replace. Also, Zulus seem to be down to mostly ground units which will help.

Speaking of which, I agree about making more Spears. Stockholm can produce 1-turn Spears. Maybe make a few more Spears in Linkoping, too. IIRC Uppsala is perfect for 1-turn Catapult ships or 2-turn Berserks, otherwise that would be nicely placed.

 

[Jersey Joe]

It looks like amphibious assaults work well. There are 3 towns in the south we could assault amphibiously; Damaskus (Zulu), Babylon (Arab), and Alcard (Arab).

I MM Norrkoping for growth, still getting 1-turn Berserks. How is it getting shields from coastal tiles?

The Jomsvikings wonder gives it the shields in the sea tiles.

Are the catapult ships worth the shields? Why not just build long ships?

 

[LKendter]

Are the catapult ships worth the shields? Why not just build long ships?

Lethal sea bombardments. Get enough, and we can kill AI ships at no risk.

 

[Greebley]

Preturn:
We can buy Feudalism for 92 gold from India.
Doesn't make World religion cheaper as you need republic first. World religion is only wonders so I don't pay the
66 gpt for it from Egypt. Instead I buy Chivalry - mostly to get to the next age and keep an eye out for 2-fers as we can't build the knights yet. Start on Alchemy, one of the ones not known yet.
Also added a Spear or two to the exposed stack

IBT: Lose attacks against Camels. Also Johannesburg deposed us.

1275 AD: Attack and kill Camel stack losing a Catapult.
Amphibiously reclaim Johannesburg
Started Stockholm on the Royal Tournement so we will have a few knight type units.
Also School of Divinity. in Uppsala. I think we have sufficient boats.
I trade religion for a Worker from Arabia Also picked up a Worker from an Enslaver attack.

IBT: No attacks

1300 AD: Mostly advance as Zulu units are fewer in number.
IBT: Johannesburg deposes us AGAIN and we lose 2 more units.
I didn't realize regular archers could pick targets - our Enslavers fortunately retreat rather than die.

1310 AD: Some losses but we kill most of the Zulu.
Captured Zimbabwe.

1320 AD: Some more losses but we capture Durban with the Camels and start the Desert Fort.
Durban gives us 4 Workers which were hiding in the city.

IBT: Islamic Art and Christianity now exist.

1330 AD: Trade for Navigation for 150 gpt and 356 gold from India who is cheaper. We can then trade Navigation for Engineering, 51 gpt and 112 gold from Persia and rivers are now less annoying. Upgrade many Berserkers to the 5/2 Nordic Axemen
Lost a Berserker to a Camel.

1340 AD: Only minor Zulu units. Advance on Pretoria

1350 AD: Capture Pretoria losing 2 units. Captured 2 Workers.

1360 AD: Advance on Bagdad

Notes:
Bagdad and Arabia both have two cities on their island for us to take. We are not yet at war with Arabia though.
We got a bunch of Workers - 9 I think total.
AI has Alchemy but the cost is still fairly high so I am not sure a 2-fer would work (India doesn't have Alchemy). One danger is if they are researching Alchemy we would get very little for it. If another civ has Theology but not Alchemy, it would make trading safer.
We have switched between Science and Income so Alchemy is cheaper than Theology for us to buy.

 

[LKendter]

2 flips were absurd from Johannesburg. I’m glad to South Africa is cracking despite that.

Hopefully the upgraded Berserks still have amphibious abilities.

The one disappointment with that set was no new contacts. I’d still like to find a backwards, but cash heavy, civ out there.

Once South Africa is gone, on to Arabia. After that we can pause to get some buildings done. The GA let us get a good start for military to take out South Africa. However, it failed on the goal to get the economy going. I’m wondering how bad our GPT will drop after GA is done

If none of the Zulu cities have spices connected, please save the next clan for a city claiming spices.


ROSTER:
LKendter (on deck)
Elephantium
Greebley
Jersey Joe (up)

 

[Civinator]

Hopefully the upgraded Berserks still have amphibious abilities.

Yes, the axemen are amphibious, too.

If none of the Zulu cities have spices connected, please save the next clan for a city claiming spices.

Several pages before, I showed you a place for a supercity on that island.

Spoiler :

 

[Greebley]

We did meet Canada but no deals were possible. We can now cross oceans with our Medieval explorer. I just upgraded recently so make sure it is used appropriately

 

[Jersey Joe]

I got it. Traded for Alchemy, Theology, Bodkin Arrows, and Medieval Combat. Now studying Gunpowder.
Bagdad has spices so we will have them next turn. Do we want to build a city to get Horses or build a colony on the Horses and build elsewhere?
Zulu's only have 2 cities left, I figure to capture Bagdad this coming turn then it will take several turns to walk to Damaskus which works out well since we have a Trade deal with Arabia that expires in 10 turns.

Last item for now, I think we should go after backward Indo-China next. Their city of Saigon is connected to Iron and is the closest source of Iron I can see. It is about 6 turns of sailing away from Damaskus.

 

[LKendter]

Do we want to build a city to get Horses or build a colony on the Horses and build elsewhere?

I vote colony, but make sure to start getting those culture buildings into Damascus

which works out well since we have a Trade deal with Arabia that expires in 10 turns.

UGG, why do we have a trade deal with Arabia? We knew they were the next war target.

Last item for now, I think we should go after backward Indo-China next. Their city of Saigon is connected to Iron and is the closest source of Iron I can see. It is about 6 turns of sailing away from Damascus.

I'll agree with the provision that can we do it without tying up most cities on military. Getting the South Africa / Arabia island came with a high and painful price of ignore buildings during our GA. We need to work on our economy.

 

[Elephantium]

UGG, why do we have a trade deal with Arabia? We knew they were the next war target.

My bad, I wanted the spices for happy faces

I didn't think the Zulus would fold this quickly. Sorry, guys.

 

[Jersey Joe]

Very early tease:
First attack and I get a Great Leader. Should I build an Army or a building. If it is an Army I would use 2 Axemen so it could fit on a Longship.

Also, I got a Clan. Any suggestions for where to build the next city?

 

[LKendter]

Very early tease:
First attack and I get a Great Leader. Should I build an Army or a building. If it is an Army I would use 2 Axemen so it could fit on a Longship.

This one can be a double axe army. After the rush expensive building, preferrrably in Damascus.

Also, I got a Clan. Any suggestions for where to build the next city?

The yellow dot from you old post:

I like yellow the best, it has great production potential and would be another “troop a turn” build center.

 

[Elephantium]

WDYT about delaying Yellow Dot in favor of Civinator's "powerhouse" dot? Do we have the worker turns on the second island to make it work?

 

[LKendter]

WDYT about delaying Yellow Dot in favor of Civinator's "powerhouse" dot? Do we have the worker turns on the second island to make it work?

Hard to say. That photo is to small to count the shields and food that city will get