LotR 2 - Zealous Zulus (Monarch variant)
- Thread starter Arathorn
- Start date
cpp1
Warlord
Here's the world map after Arathorn's last turn, ending at 550BC.
The Romans and Russians are invading from the north. The Iroquois and Chinese are invading from the south. The Greeks are assualting Isandhlwana, our colony way to the SE. This is going to be one heck of a battle the rest of the way.
The Romans and Russians are invading from the north. The Iroquois and Chinese are invading from the south. The Greeks are assualting Isandhlwana, our colony way to the SE. This is going to be one heck of a battle the rest of the way.
Jester, sorry to hear about the AWOL CD. We'll skip you this time around and hope you're back in full action by next time. As I recall, you were rather in feast mode anyway.
Sirian, you're up!
cpp1, on deck!
Arathorn
P.S. Second instance of me telling Sirian he's up when he already knew it? Only time will tell....
Sirian, you're up!
cpp1, on deck!
Arathorn
P.S. Second instance of me telling Sirian he's up when he already knew it? Only time will tell....
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
Well, this situation is quite different than my last turn. Now the AI's clearly have production, and are clearly spending some or most of it on training units to attack us.
Early turns: Fought off the AIs.
Middle turns: Fought off the AIs.
Late turns: Guess.
* Lost 2 or 3 horsemen on the south front (which is rather large, and the AI's mostly trying to pillage). Of course I also trained more horsies, so that was status quo, essentially.
* No losses on north front, but Romans built a city there, after which they shifted strategy more toward pillage than attack.
* Founded yellow and green dots and garrisoned those cities with impis.
* Rushed temples in Mpondo, Swazi and Ngome.
* Killed multiple units every turn. I didn't keep track, but the numbers were comparable to or higher than those during Arathorn's turn. Also, at Bapedi, some units got wounded with the catapult and would pull back, only to come again at us later.
* Positioned some impis to occupy mountainous entry points. In particular, two are just arriving on my final turn to CLOSE OUT the darn mountain trails by which Russians keep trying to pillage at Ulundi. I don't know how much stationing troops there will actually help, but figured it was worth a try.
* Added third impi to our army, and on my final turn, even attacked with the army and got one of the impi promoted to elite, so that the stack now has 14 hps. Needs rest now, though.
* Isand held out just fine. The Greeks did mount one combined forces attack, which reduced our army from 13 hps down to 6, but they ran out of steam and it was fully healed two or three turns later.
* Northern front is solid, but could falter if those horsies bite it. I trained a second archer up there and got him promoted. They are good for killing off wounded units or thinning enemy stacks that are next to the city, while horsies can go chase stuff that is two tiles away from the city. Having a rounded mix of units worked really well on my turn, that was the one area where Nothing Went Wrong.
* Our front line cities are all suffering for lack of land improvements. I have come to the conclusion that is ALWAYS going to be the case (at least for the foreseeable future) and so we are going to have to build enough spare forces to escort a settler out and push the front back. Then the new front line cities will be stuck with little improvements, but roads and territorial controls will allow us to fend off raiders and start improving the lands, say, at Bapedi, Intombe, even Ngome eventually.
* We need more workers for jungle clearing duty, but we also need more units to protect them. AND we need more cleared and improved land to afford more workers and units. What a tangled web we weave!
* I also built a temple in Zimbabwe.
* The Great Library was finished early in my turn. We got Maps, Laws, Philosophy and Construction on the turn it was built, and nothing else on my turn. We finished researching Monarchy on our own and then I shut down research... until Education comes along, I think it should stay shut down now.
* The very LAST attack I made on my turn produced a great leader. I used him to rush the Hanging Gardens in Ulundi, which will complete when the next player clicks end turn. I also queued up the Great Wall in that city -- nobody we know has started it, and it would be huge boon to us to improve our city defenses through the next era -- especially in helping us to hold on to Isand. If we get another leader, use him to rush the Great Wall in a DIFFERENT core city, and swap Ulundi over to Heroic Epic. Either way, it's our best candidate now for building the next wonder, large or small, and with all the heavy action happening nonstop, for this to be our first leader since the one at Isand a buncha turns ago... I wouldn't want to miss the Great Wall if we have bad luck on getting our next leader soon.
* There are two workers clearing a jungle tile behind Ulundi, but there are a couple wandering enemy spears south of there that I have no idea what they are doing, just know it's annoying.
* Ngome was completely ignored by all enemies during my entire turn.
- Sirian
Early turns: Fought off the AIs.
Middle turns: Fought off the AIs.
Late turns: Guess.
* Lost 2 or 3 horsemen on the south front (which is rather large, and the AI's mostly trying to pillage). Of course I also trained more horsies, so that was status quo, essentially.
* No losses on north front, but Romans built a city there, after which they shifted strategy more toward pillage than attack.
* Founded yellow and green dots and garrisoned those cities with impis.
* Rushed temples in Mpondo, Swazi and Ngome.
* Killed multiple units every turn. I didn't keep track, but the numbers were comparable to or higher than those during Arathorn's turn. Also, at Bapedi, some units got wounded with the catapult and would pull back, only to come again at us later.
* Positioned some impis to occupy mountainous entry points. In particular, two are just arriving on my final turn to CLOSE OUT the darn mountain trails by which Russians keep trying to pillage at Ulundi. I don't know how much stationing troops there will actually help, but figured it was worth a try.
* Added third impi to our army, and on my final turn, even attacked with the army and got one of the impi promoted to elite, so that the stack now has 14 hps. Needs rest now, though.
* Isand held out just fine. The Greeks did mount one combined forces attack, which reduced our army from 13 hps down to 6, but they ran out of steam and it was fully healed two or three turns later.
* Northern front is solid, but could falter if those horsies bite it. I trained a second archer up there and got him promoted. They are good for killing off wounded units or thinning enemy stacks that are next to the city, while horsies can go chase stuff that is two tiles away from the city. Having a rounded mix of units worked really well on my turn, that was the one area where Nothing Went Wrong.
* Our front line cities are all suffering for lack of land improvements. I have come to the conclusion that is ALWAYS going to be the case (at least for the foreseeable future) and so we are going to have to build enough spare forces to escort a settler out and push the front back. Then the new front line cities will be stuck with little improvements, but roads and territorial controls will allow us to fend off raiders and start improving the lands, say, at Bapedi, Intombe, even Ngome eventually.
* We need more workers for jungle clearing duty, but we also need more units to protect them. AND we need more cleared and improved land to afford more workers and units. What a tangled web we weave!
* I also built a temple in Zimbabwe.
* The Great Library was finished early in my turn. We got Maps, Laws, Philosophy and Construction on the turn it was built, and nothing else on my turn. We finished researching Monarchy on our own and then I shut down research... until Education comes along, I think it should stay shut down now.
* The very LAST attack I made on my turn produced a great leader. I used him to rush the Hanging Gardens in Ulundi, which will complete when the next player clicks end turn. I also queued up the Great Wall in that city -- nobody we know has started it, and it would be huge boon to us to improve our city defenses through the next era -- especially in helping us to hold on to Isand. If we get another leader, use him to rush the Great Wall in a DIFFERENT core city, and swap Ulundi over to Heroic Epic. Either way, it's our best candidate now for building the next wonder, large or small, and with all the heavy action happening nonstop, for this to be our first leader since the one at Isand a buncha turns ago... I wouldn't want to miss the Great Wall if we have bad luck on getting our next leader soon.
* There are two workers clearing a jungle tile behind Ulundi, but there are a couple wandering enemy spears south of there that I have no idea what they are doing, just know it's annoying.
* Ngome was completely ignored by all enemies during my entire turn.
- Sirian
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
We're going to have to do our own research (after the Great Library expires, of course), but since we cannot benefit from brokering to recoup costs of first-civ research, I recommend we run on low gear, let the AI's make the breakthroughs (for the most part) and use some of our economic strength to rushbuy a few basic improvements in newer, distant/corrupt cities.
Which reminds me, Grand River now has 3 range influence (over 100 culture) and is now actually pressuring Isand. Isand needs a temple out there asap, so I have it started on one. That will correct the pressure.
Oh, and there was a barb explosion out there. IF a stack of 20 barb horsies run at Isand, it could mean some trouble.
Here's a shot of our new archer unit on the north front:
Here's the wondrous event of the leader at the end of my shift.
I expect that any of the 600 shield wonders we get (starting with SunTzu, I presume) will come from leaders. By then I hope we have the Epic built somewhere, so the leaders come more often.
LOTR2 - 350BC Save File
- Sirian
Which reminds me, Grand River now has 3 range influence (over 100 culture) and is now actually pressuring Isand. Isand needs a temple out there asap, so I have it started on one. That will correct the pressure.
Oh, and there was a barb explosion out there. IF a stack of 20 barb horsies run at Isand, it could mean some trouble.
Here's a shot of our new archer unit on the north front:
Here's the wondrous event of the leader at the end of my shift.
I expect that any of the 600 shield wonders we get (starting with SunTzu, I presume) will come from leaders. By then I hope we have the Epic built somewhere, so the leaders come more often.
LOTR2 - 350BC Save File
- Sirian
cpp1
Warlord
I am always amazed at how much the infrastructure is improved after Sirian's turn. Founding 2 cities during your turn is remarkable, we need to keep moving the front back. Also it expands the "no heal" zone so when their units retreat it takes them longer to get back into combat.
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
Actually I founded three. However, Arathorn handed me two settlers, one almost already in position. The one settler I did build moved into Green Dot position the same turn, so that was more of "fill in the gaps" than any kind of bold maneuver. I'll take the credit for the infra push, but credit on the new cities goes to Arathorn, I just followed through on what he started.
That's what I enjoy most about ten turns per player, though: it requires more cooperation between players to get anywhere, and no one player's stamp gets put on a whole era.
- Sirian
However, Arathorn handed me two settlers, one almost already in position. The one settler I did build moved into Green Dot position the same turn, so that was more of "fill in the gaps" than any kind of bold maneuver. I'll take the credit for the infra push, but credit on the new cities goes to Arathorn, I just followed through on what he started.That's what I enjoy most about ten turns per player, though: it requires more cooperation between players to get anywhere, and no one player's stamp gets put on a whole era.
- Sirian
cpp1
Warlord
350BC Preturn - I change Bapedi and Ngome to build catapults. Also decide to send an impi to pillage Roman land and another to pillage Chinese lands. One thing about this game is you don't have to worry about diplomacy!
Casualty List - killed units
Zulus (us) - 6
Russians - 3
Romans - 7
Chinese - 9
Iroquois - 3
330BC Got currency from the GL. We enter the Middle Ages! Hanging Garden is complete in Ulundi, start the Great Wall. Send an impi to Roman lands and another to Chinese lands. Lost an archer, but killed a Russian swordsman, and Roman archer, and a Chinese horseman.
310BC Spotted Roman galley of Umfolozi. Lost an elite horseman attacking a Chinese horseman wounded down to 2 hp by a catapult. Defeated 2 Russian archers, and 2 Chinese horseman this turn.
290BC Roman galley moves near Swazi. Fought tough Roman archer this turn. Two catapult shots missed him. Vet horseman attacked and did no damage, then retreated. Elite impi finally finished him off. Also lost vet horseman and impi while defeating a Chinese spearman. Sometimes those random numbers don't go your way.
270BC Got monotheism from the GL. Roman galley drops off archer near Swazi, first amphibious assault of the game that I know of. No horses in range, so attack with impi. First impi loses but the second defeats the archer. Twelve barb horseman move next to Isand! Our army there has 12/14 hit points after the usual assault by the Greeks this turn (the Greeks assault every turn but its so common I don't report it anymore). Three Russian swordsman appear out of the fog, looking like the're going to Intombe.
250BC Isand fights off the entire stack of 12 barb horseman! Out impi near Rome pillages a ivory tile with irrigation and a road. Kill Roman horse at Intombe and 2 Chinese horse at Ngome.
230BC Get republic from the GL. Pillage tile near Canton with road and irrigation. Our pillager near Rome is destroyed by a Roman horse. Kill two Roman archers near Intombe. Kill Iroquois spear near Ulundi.
210BC Kill Chinese horse near Ngome, kill Iroquois spear near Bapedi. Start thinking that we need a source of iron in the middle ages or we're going to be history when knights come along. Start assembling a settler and 2 impi near Bapdi.
190BC Spotted Chinese galley near Umtata. Kill Iroquois archer near Bapedi. More pillaging near Canton, they must love us down there!
170BC First turn in which there is nothing to kill! Almost finished assembling iron expedition. Which iron source to head for, the jungles east of Bapedi, or the mountains south of Ngome? This is a tough call.
150BC Kill chinese spear near Ulundi, and Roman archer near Intombe. Expedition sets off for iron south of Ngome, but next leader can veto. Also need to assemble workers needed to build the road to the iron. Russian swordsman finally declare their intention and head for Zimbabwe. I start assembling a greeting party of catapults and horseman near Zimbabwe. Probable battle there next turn.
Notes
The iron situation is becoming critical. We need a source right away, and both our choices are bad. I started heading for the iron south of Ngome but next leader can veto and head for iron east of Bapedi instead. Not only do we need a protecting city, but also a large number of workers to build the road.
Build a settler and a couple of workers, but founded no new cities.
Great Wall due in 8 turns.
No great leaders in spite of numerous chances.
Be careful of the happiness situation at Zimbabwe and Hlobane, they are on the edge now, might need to increase lux tax one step.
Isand needs a temple, probably can whip one when it reaches 39 shields to go. I had to put a citizen in Isand on science because of unhappiness.
The worker south of Intombe should finish the road next turn. This can help get horseman to help Zimbabwe fight the swordsman if needed.
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/lotr2-150bc.zip
Casualty List - killed units
Zulus (us) - 6
Russians - 3
Romans - 7
Chinese - 9
Iroquois - 3
330BC Got currency from the GL. We enter the Middle Ages! Hanging Garden is complete in Ulundi, start the Great Wall. Send an impi to Roman lands and another to Chinese lands. Lost an archer, but killed a Russian swordsman, and Roman archer, and a Chinese horseman.
310BC Spotted Roman galley of Umfolozi. Lost an elite horseman attacking a Chinese horseman wounded down to 2 hp by a catapult. Defeated 2 Russian archers, and 2 Chinese horseman this turn.
290BC Roman galley moves near Swazi. Fought tough Roman archer this turn. Two catapult shots missed him. Vet horseman attacked and did no damage, then retreated. Elite impi finally finished him off. Also lost vet horseman and impi while defeating a Chinese spearman. Sometimes those random numbers don't go your way.
270BC Got monotheism from the GL. Roman galley drops off archer near Swazi, first amphibious assault of the game that I know of. No horses in range, so attack with impi. First impi loses but the second defeats the archer. Twelve barb horseman move next to Isand! Our army there has 12/14 hit points after the usual assault by the Greeks this turn (the Greeks assault every turn but its so common I don't report it anymore). Three Russian swordsman appear out of the fog, looking like the're going to Intombe.
250BC Isand fights off the entire stack of 12 barb horseman! Out impi near Rome pillages a ivory tile with irrigation and a road. Kill Roman horse at Intombe and 2 Chinese horse at Ngome.
230BC Get republic from the GL. Pillage tile near Canton with road and irrigation. Our pillager near Rome is destroyed by a Roman horse. Kill two Roman archers near Intombe. Kill Iroquois spear near Ulundi.
210BC Kill Chinese horse near Ngome, kill Iroquois spear near Bapedi. Start thinking that we need a source of iron in the middle ages or we're going to be history when knights come along. Start assembling a settler and 2 impi near Bapdi.
190BC Spotted Chinese galley near Umtata. Kill Iroquois archer near Bapedi. More pillaging near Canton, they must love us down there!
170BC First turn in which there is nothing to kill! Almost finished assembling iron expedition. Which iron source to head for, the jungles east of Bapedi, or the mountains south of Ngome? This is a tough call.
150BC Kill chinese spear near Ulundi, and Roman archer near Intombe. Expedition sets off for iron south of Ngome, but next leader can veto. Also need to assemble workers needed to build the road to the iron. Russian swordsman finally declare their intention and head for Zimbabwe. I start assembling a greeting party of catapults and horseman near Zimbabwe. Probable battle there next turn.
Notes
The iron situation is becoming critical. We need a source right away, and both our choices are bad. I started heading for the iron south of Ngome but next leader can veto and head for iron east of Bapedi instead. Not only do we need a protecting city, but also a large number of workers to build the road.
Build a settler and a couple of workers, but founded no new cities.
Great Wall due in 8 turns.
No great leaders in spite of numerous chances.
Be careful of the happiness situation at Zimbabwe and Hlobane, they are on the edge now, might need to increase lux tax one step.
Isand needs a temple, probably can whip one when it reaches 39 shields to go. I had to put a citizen in Isand on science because of unhappiness.
The worker south of Intombe should finish the road next turn. This can help get horseman to help Zimbabwe fight the swordsman if needed.
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/lotr2-150bc.zip
Charis
Realms Beyond
Have been into democracy game and haven't peeked here in a while. Wow! Lotsa good stuff --
And yes, you're right, I would have liked this one alot!
Was secretly hoping not enough folks and my 'if not enough folks' clause would have been invoked.
(But, sigh, it was best not to get in another one just yet)
Good luck!!
Charis
And yes, you're right, I would have liked this one alot!
Was secretly hoping not enough folks and my 'if not enough folks' clause would have been invoked.
(But, sigh, it was best not to get in another one just yet)
Good luck!!
Charis
cpp1
Warlord
Here was my plan for the iron expedition, just so the next leader can tell whether to follow through or not. South of Ngome, next to the iron, is a hill surrounded by 3 mountains. The hill is also next to a river. Being on a hill, with walls, and the Great Wall, it would be hard to take. With some culture, it might be able to put pressure on the surrounding Chinese cities also.
I was going to plant a city there to control the iron and then get city walls and a temple there ASAP and put an impi directly on the iron. It has a 4 tile overlap with Ngome, but it could also be supported by Ngome with a road between them.
We would also need a small army of workers to complete the road from Bapedi to Ngome, but that should be done anyway.
The other alternative is out in the jungle where the going is tough, and I'm a little scared of the Russian swordsman that keep coming from that direction.
We also need a city either just south of the spices, which are SW of Ulundi, or else on the hill in the corner of the river just SE of that spot.
I was going to plant a city there to control the iron and then get city walls and a temple there ASAP and put an impi directly on the iron. It has a 4 tile overlap with Ngome, but it could also be supported by Ngome with a road between them.
We would also need a small army of workers to complete the road from Bapedi to Ngome, but that should be done anyway.
The other alternative is out in the jungle where the going is tough, and I'm a little scared of the Russian swordsman that keep coming from that direction.
We also need a city either just south of the spices, which are SW of Ulundi, or else on the hill in the corner of the river just SE of that spot.
Toecheese3
Stinky Feet
.
Another issue to consider is when (if?) to change governments to Monarchy. Being able to buy city improvements/units might be very nice, especially since the library means we should get some gold for a while. Very weak recommendation from me is to change when the Great Wall finishes.
Toecheese -- you're up again. This game is FLYING along. I'm on deck. A little slower pace for the next day or two to ensure that Jester can find his CD might be beneficial.
Hopefully we can get a few workers by razing cities. I keep think/hoping SOMEBODY is going to be able to go on the offensive, but it appears to be hard to do.
On the Ngome/Bapedi issue, I have little opinion. Iron would be very nice -- even necessary, but I have no idea which one is "better".
Fun and exciting, though!!!
Arathorn
Toecheese -- you're up again. This game is FLYING along. I'm on deck. A little slower pace for the next day or two to ensure that Jester can find his CD might be beneficial.
Hopefully we can get a few workers by razing cities. I keep think/hoping SOMEBODY is going to be able to go on the offensive, but it appears to be hard to do.
On the Ngome/Bapedi issue, I have little opinion. Iron would be very nice -- even necessary, but I have no idea which one is "better".
Fun and exciting, though!!!
Arathorn
Toecheese3
Stinky Feet
Unbelievable - I just lost everything I spent 2 hours typing 
I'm not typing it again - here's the Cliff notes.
Didn't get to change governments - needed production. We lost a total of 4 troops. Combined enemy losses near 35 troops.
Great Wall completed. (about five turns before the Great Leader arrived)
Heroic Epic due next turn via a great leader. Wanted to use right away since I had lots of wounded enemies and elite attackers that turn, maybe we could get another. Wasn't fruitful, however.
Focused on the Road to Ngome for the iron nearby. Decided this would be better in the long run instead of spending the time to run a road into nowhere. Better to run a road that we can use to move troops to Ngome/China.
No new cities founded.
Settler stuck in Ngome for several turns, too many troops in the area. Should be better off now that the worker/impi cavalcade has arrived.
Russians moving in from East toward capital/Intombe- about 7 or 8 swords total.
I recommend the yellow dot closer to Ngome and maybe easier to position troops - green is better defensively, however.
Again, sorry for the short report. I'm really pissed off about losing everything and if you have specific questions about the past 200 years, post and I'll answer.
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/lotr2-50ad.zip
I'm not typing it again - here's the Cliff notes.
Didn't get to change governments - needed production. We lost a total of 4 troops. Combined enemy losses near 35 troops.
Great Wall completed. (about five turns before the Great Leader arrived)
Heroic Epic due next turn via a great leader. Wanted to use right away since I had lots of wounded enemies and elite attackers that turn, maybe we could get another. Wasn't fruitful, however.
Focused on the Road to Ngome for the iron nearby. Decided this would be better in the long run instead of spending the time to run a road into nowhere. Better to run a road that we can use to move troops to Ngome/China.
No new cities founded.
Settler stuck in Ngome for several turns, too many troops in the area. Should be better off now that the worker/impi cavalcade has arrived.
Russians moving in from East toward capital/Intombe- about 7 or 8 swords total.
I recommend the yellow dot closer to Ngome and maybe easier to position troops - green is better defensively, however.
Again, sorry for the short report. I'm really pissed off about losing everything and if you have specific questions about the past 200 years, post and I'll answer.
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads/lotr2-50ad.zip
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
I end up saying this every couple weeks, in some thread or other: copy your post to a file or at least the clipboard, before pressing submit. Especially if you use smilies (arrgh, that limit) or the post is really long (I've exceeded the 15k char limit a few times), or even just to prevent a net hiccup from eating your time and effort.
- Sirian
- Sirian
smegged
Psi Cop
or even better, do what I do, open notepad when you are playing and alt+tab out to it when significant events occur. This way you will save it to a file, and can reload the file if something goes wrong. It also removes the need for excess pages lying around, and also removes the oops factor in leaving your notes at someone elses house (my first SG blunder 
)
EDIT: How many smileys are there before it won't let you post?
)EDIT: How many smileys are there before it won't let you post?
Soliciting opinions on govt. change, yellow dot vs. green dot, opponent, or anything else people would like to recommend.
Won't be able to play until tonight -- at best, maybe even tomorrow night. I hate to break up the fast pace of this game but I'm at work for the next several hours.
Arathorn
Won't be able to play until tonight -- at best, maybe even tomorrow night. I hate to break up the fast pace of this game but I'm at work for the next several hours.
Arathorn
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
My opinion? Make this a temporary city, invest NOTHING in its infrastructure, settle on the Yellow dot. The main point here is to get secure access to iron, so let's forget all other concerns. Found on the yellow dot and otherwise stick to sound dotmap plans, IE, build permanent cities in the optimal locations for production, etc. We can, at a future date "pick this city up" and move it somewhere else, so long as we do not whip it ever (as the whips would transfer to Ngome). Yet we need swords, and eventually pikes and knights, in order to prosecute any kind of offensive action, thus it's worth whatever we have to do to get the iron.
As for government switch... the only reason not to switch would be to whip some more. Maybe our coastal towns settled on my last turn could use temples if they don't have them yet, but other than that, it's probably a no-brainer. Whipping ain't what it used to be, and the sooner we get to Monarchy, the sooner we reduce corruption and get rid of the resource cap.
Well, there is one more down side to the switch: we'll lose some gpt from having to pay maintenance. But... we should also gain some of that back from less corruption, so that shouldn't halt us. By the time we have to start doing our own research, however, we need some libraries already in place or we will flounder. So many competing priorities. The pressure here on us at this point is definitely stronger than I expected, and the AI's are showing signs of speeding up, not slowing down. It's... grueling.
- Sirian
As for government switch... the only reason not to switch would be to whip some more. Maybe our coastal towns settled on my last turn could use temples if they don't have them yet, but other than that, it's probably a no-brainer. Whipping ain't what it used to be, and the sooner we get to Monarchy, the sooner we reduce corruption and get rid of the resource cap.
Well, there is one more down side to the switch: we'll lose some gpt from having to pay maintenance. But... we should also gain some of that back from less corruption, so that shouldn't halt us. By the time we have to start doing our own research, however, we need some libraries already in place or we will flounder. So many competing priorities. The pressure here on us at this point is definitely stronger than I expected, and the AI's are showing signs of speeding up, not slowing down. It's... grueling.
- Sirian
cpp1
Warlord
Here's one thing I noticed about colonies and cities. If we colonize the iron on the mountain first, then build a city on the yellow dot, the colony automatically converts into a road. You get an immediate road in the mountain at the cost of a worker, but its probably worth it.
The yellow dot city should build walls, IMHO, but nothing else. If we then fortify impis on the iron mountain and a walled yellow dot city, then the only thing left is the road from yellow dot to Ngome, which the catapults and horses will have to keep clear of pillagers.
When I played, I never felt there was any time I could go a possible 8 turns without production for a switch to monarchy. That's going to be tough.
One thing I noticed about the AI is that you can "herd" it to some extent. Once when units were bypassing Bapedi, I pulled all units out of it except for a catapult for tactical reasons. The AI turned the units around and headed to Bapedi where I defeated them, so it does take defence strength into account. At other times I put up a wall of impis to direct the enemy units into catapult range.
If our frontline cities are too strong, it bypasses them. If they're weaker, but with reinforcements nearby, it seems to head for them.
The yellow dot city should build walls, IMHO, but nothing else. If we then fortify impis on the iron mountain and a walled yellow dot city, then the only thing left is the road from yellow dot to Ngome, which the catapults and horses will have to keep clear of pillagers.
When I played, I never felt there was any time I could go a possible 8 turns without production for a switch to monarchy. That's going to be tough.
One thing I noticed about the AI is that you can "herd" it to some extent. Once when units were bypassing Bapedi, I pulled all units out of it except for a catapult for tactical reasons. The AI turned the units around and headed to Bapedi where I defeated them, so it does take defence strength into account. At other times I put up a wall of impis to direct the enemy units into catapult range.
If our frontline cities are too strong, it bypasses them. If they're weaker, but with reinforcements nearby, it seems to head for them.
Sirian
Designer, Mohawk Games
I'm not sure that spending a population point is worth eight (or fewer) extra turns of iron access. We've got a major work shortage as it is (and lots and lots of jungles to clear).
Some creative management of troop positions may be in order, and I don't mind besting the AI with outright manipulations of its priorities -- by all means do it, especially if an AI SOD sneaks up on us unprepared somewhere, but I should hope that not become our primary tactic.
- Sirian
Some creative management of troop positions may be in order, and I don't mind besting the AI with outright manipulations of its priorities -- by all means do it, especially if an AI SOD sneaks up on us unprepared somewhere, but I should hope that not become our primary tactic.
- Sirian
cpp1
Warlord
My concern about iron arose because during my turn I got 3 advances from the GL which meant the other civs are researching pretty fast. One or more civs got monotheism with the new era, so only 2 more advances are needed for knights, feudalism and chivalry. Anybody know how much research slows down per advance in the middle ages compared to the ancient times?
If the other civs got those 2 advances and we still didn't have iron, we'd have a very bad time fighting off knights. So it was a race between AI research and our getting iron. It looks like we're not very far from getting iron and feudalism hasn't popped out of the GL yet, so I guess the 8 turns aren't a big deal.
I'm not too worried about swords (in small quantities) because they're not that much better than our impis and horses, but knights would be a different ballgame. Also, swords don't upgrade but knights do.
On the creative troop management: I wasn't trying to fool the AI when I did it, just getting troops in position to attack next turn, but it meant leaving Bapedi with just a catapult. That was OK because nothing could attack it next turn.
However, much to my surprise, some AI troops turned around and headed to Bapedi. I haven't tried doing it intentionally. Most of the time I'm just moving troops where I think they'll do the most good in a few turns, judging by where enemy troops are headed.
If the other civs got those 2 advances and we still didn't have iron, we'd have a very bad time fighting off knights. So it was a race between AI research and our getting iron. It looks like we're not very far from getting iron and feudalism hasn't popped out of the GL yet, so I guess the 8 turns aren't a big deal.
I'm not too worried about swords (in small quantities) because they're not that much better than our impis and horses, but knights would be a different ballgame. Also, swords don't upgrade but knights do.
On the creative troop management: I wasn't trying to fool the AI when I did it, just getting troops in position to attack next turn, but it meant leaving Bapedi with just a catapult. That was OK because nothing could attack it next turn.
However, much to my surprise, some AI troops turned around and headed to Bapedi. I haven't tried doing it intentionally. Most of the time I'm just moving troops where I think they'll do the most good in a few turns, judging by where enemy troops are headed.
