March 2020 HOF III Update: Coronatine Gauntlet

[superslug]

The Civilization III Hall of Fame has been updated. 7 games were accepted since the previous update.

Congratulations to templar_x for the highest Firaxis score of the update with a Standard Deity Domination game for 18997 points.

Takeo was the most active player during this update, submitting 4 games.

A number of players gained number one positions:

templar_x with a 410 BC Standard Deity Domination game for 18997 points.

Takeo with a 1600 BC Huge Chieftain Conquest game for 3711 points.
​

For those of you stuck at home during the Coronatine (Coronavirus Quarantine), we have a rare gauntlet:

Emperor
Small
Spaceship

As of this update, there are only 9 entries on the table, meaning the Gauntlet winner should be assured of a spot on the tables. Please have your submissions entered by August 1st.

If we have enough entries along the way, another update might happen before then, but the Gauntlet will continue until that date.

Good hunting!

 

[jarred!]

Congrats to those who submitted games!

For the gauntlet, Russians or Sumerians? Opponents as the Greeks, Koreans, Byzantines, Persians, and Ottomans, and research CB first for a chance at an SGL. What's the research strategy in the Industrial age? The bottom branch, getting atomic theory and electronics as freebees from Toe I assume, but the AI likes the government techs too much to be of any help.

 

[CKS]

Russians get you out of the ancient age very quickly by popping techs from huts. Sumerians help with growth. If you can focus on rapid expansion, pick the Russians. If growing quickly is a problem, like it is for me, Sumeria might be better for an individual player. I've ended up as a republic in the middle ages with 3 or 4 towns before, and this is not conducive to hitting 4 turn research. Overall, though, the Russians will get you there faster.

It is better to save ToE for modern techs if you can. The ideal situation is to hit the modern age, trade everyone else up and get their free techs, get your free tech, complete ToE and take two more modern techs for free, and then have prebuilds for SETI and the Internet complete. It makes for a really great IBT when everything is well-timed.

 

[jarred!]

Thanks for the tips! I have a decent try going now as Sumeria. I'm in the middle ages, but I got chivalry as my freebee. I got an SGL on CB and was able to rush the pyramids so my expansion was fast, and I have 6 luxes in my borders.

 

[jarred!]

1050AD:

Spoiler Some Screenies :

I got an SGL on CB and used them for the pyramids. I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to trade for Masonry, so I built granaries in my first two towns. The granary in Sumer was kind of a waste because I got Masonry the turn before it finished. I got a second SGL on Lit, I think, and a third early in the middle ages. I got chivalry as my freebee in the middle ages which I considered a waste; the AI never really helped with research except for communism for Police Stations in the Industrial. Originally, I was going to rush Cop's and prebuild for Newton's, but I ended up building Cop's with no prebuild and then rushing Newton's; I was still building universities and markets around this time. Research was straight to Astro and then to Gravity after that I got banking and then magnetism, and the Koreans got metallurgy for me before I finished magnetism. Got another worthless tech in the Industrial: ironclads. I researched to replaceable parts and then went down the main path, leaving flight in hopes the AI would research it for me.


What follows ruined my chances of beating chamnix. On my 0th/1st turn researching electronics the Koreans finished Universal Suffrage, my capital's prebuild for SETI. I decided to cascade to ToE (I think I should have burned a bunch of shields here so I could get modern techs for free instead). I got flight (which I was hoping an AI would research for me) and electronics for free and then traded everyone up to modern. My economy was shot and I was only able to trade for computers, but I rolled a 20 and got mini as my free tech. I rushed the Internet and traded mini for the other first tier techs. My capital then built SETI and my other factory cities prebuilt for Apollo and the first set of parts. My other big mistake was saving synth fibers for the end. I was hoping the AI would research it for me, but they were still researching optional industrial techs. My prebuild for the casing was off by 1 turn so I ended up finishing a turn after synth fibers was done. I was 5 turning the more expensive modern techs so I could have done better there too. The Koreans tried to sneak attack me 21/22 turns before the finish, so they were wiped out the turn my MAs expired, the turn before the finish. I didn't bother with UN because I would have won a vote so I figured whomever built it wouldn't hold one. Turns out the Koreans also finished that and never held a vote.

 

[jarred!]

Anyone submit any games for this? After the 1050ad finish I posted about, around a month later, I submitted a 970ad victory. I have some starts rolled and am hoping to get another good game in before the August 1 deadline.

 

[CKS]

Excellent job, jarred!

Well, every winner should have someone to beat. I zipped through a game and submitted one. It wasn't a great start and the AI spent most of the industrial and modern ages at war with each other instead of researching for me. However, I had pretty good luck at getting free techs, and at the last instant the AI researched the final tech I needed, allowing me to sneak in a win in 1610. This is excellent, because I already have 2 games on the table, and this beats out my second game by 1 turn. I probably won't have time to try again.