MELIKILLER1 - The AI Cattle Farmers

[Aggie]

Sir Eric, I understand that you feel bad about your turn after reading DrA's remarks. I recognise it from my first SG.

To me SG's are about fun and learning a thing or two. The fun is that you are part of a team and that as a team you try to achieve certain goals. Learning usually comes in from discussion before and after someone's turn.

The moment that I saw the sign ups for this one, I knew that it was a nice mix of civ-skills. I'm sure that the rest of the team understands that as well. So that's why I asked for a bit more discussion. Especially at the start of the game this is very important.

I can understand that you offer your position. But please don't feel discouraged. SG's are a great way to learn a lot about playing civ (if that's your goal - you could also be perfectly happy on your own level). You could join -or organise- a regent or monarch level game. Then you have a team of people with about the same level. I am happy to have you in this SG though.

Playing CIV on higher levels is NOT rocket science. We merely know more basic rules than you do. You could improve your knowledge by reading a couple of articles in the war academy. A very good one is the 'improve your opening skills' by Cracker. Another valuable one is 'Babylon's deity settlers' by Bamspeedy.

 

[carlosMM]

Sir Eric, please stay in! If only the very best experts play togaether it will be boring for them, if the teams are mixed, all can have fun and learn (and you won't believe what screups even the most experienced players are capable of fabricating!!!!!)

Please stay!

 

[Aggie]

CarlosMM's remark is - in essence- what I mean as well.

 

[jack merchant]

Got it & playing.

I second the request you stay in, Sir Eric .

 

[Melifluous]

Sir Eric?

You cannot leave and that is an order

I second all the others said...

In fact I think I made a slight miscalculation in my turns when I left a citizen on Berlin on Forest for 6 turns when we were size 3.

Also my first SG I got roasted nicely numerous times for what I know now are basic errors.

Melifluous

 

[carlosMM]

I also gave him a good verbal licking on MSN and he agreed to see this as bootcamp!

 

[Mark Young]

Ok It looks like I have no choice but to stay in and keep playing
Thanks for being understanding fellas.

If I can second Aggie's suggestion of discussing upcoming strategies, goals etc that would be very helpful.

 

[ControlFreak]

Originally posted by carlosMM
Sir Eric, please stay in! If only the very best experts play togaether it will be boring for them, if the teams are mixed, all can have fun and learn (and you won't believe what screups even the most experienced players are capable of fabricating!!!!!)

Please stay!

Originally posted by Sir Eric
If I can second Aggie's suggestion of discussing upcoming strategies, goals etc that would be very helpful.

The resulting added discussion is more fun for lurkers too. And always helps others learn along with you Sir Eric. Good luck. It sounds like you've found a good group to play with on your first Emporer SG.

 

[jack merchant]

Inherited turn: We are researching Horseback Riding ? OK......... Wake up the warrior in Leipzig and send him to Berlin to accompany the settler. Swap Konigsberg to barracks.

1870 BC (1) Leipzig produces archer, starts another. Archer will go barb-hunting. Lizzie kicks out our warrior, she's annoyed. The Vikings found Reykjavik close to where our Western dot would be.

1830 BC (2) Berlin builds settler - after some consideration, I decide to sneak out a worker . We're running a 1 gold deficit now so some extra roads should come in handy. I don't want to provoke the Vikes until we're ready to the settler goes NE.

1790 BC (3) 2 barb warriors show up - our archer goes elite killing one of them. Incense comes online so lux rate can go down to 10%.

1750 BC (4) Berlin builds worker, starts barracks.

1725 BC (5) I'm sure something happened here but it wasn't very memorable or else I might have remembered it .

1700 BC (6) Leipzig archer - worker (growth in 3, worker in 3). Konigsberg barracks - archer. Frankfurt founded as per DrA's dotmap next to the wheats.

1675 BC (7) Berlin barracks - settler (the cycle is a bit off here now, sorry). We meet the Aztecs to the south. They have masonry & lack pottery, but are unwilling to trade anything more than 40 gold for pottery and masonry is no deal, ever. I take the 40 gold.

1650 BC (8) Hamburg completes settler but I forgot to set food surplus to zero - should disband next turn. Berlin MM'd to get settler in 3, growth in 3.

1625 BC (9) Hamburg disbanded - after some consideration, I decide to move it 1 E onto the hill as per the dotmap, which will give it at least the wheat and a BG to work with (Königsberg is working the game now). Leipzig builds worker, starts chariot. Königsberg also set to chariot (for later horsey upgrade, obviously).

1600 BC (10) Found Hamburger Neubau (it would have been named München but moving Hamburg only one tile only to get a city about 700kms away seemed a bit much). It starts on a barracks.

Berlin will build a settler next turn- it can go either for an agressive settlement next to the dyes or fill in the last spot to the east and then go for military % worker farming - it can hit 10spt which eventually means archers in 2 and horses in 3 turns. I think a settlement near the dyes first is probably best, and may also be a good FP site eventually.
Don't skimp on the workers - fresh water is a long way away and south of the English lands there is a currently impenetrable range of mountains and jungles, which will need lots of worker attention eventually. We have 4 workers and a slave now, but will need more. The forest game between Hamburger Neubau and Königsberg can be cleared still but I'd do some more mining next to Leipzig first.
There may be a 2fer available with mysticism and masonry, but I didn't like the prices. My suggestion would be to just grab the missing techs with pointy stick.

Our lands:

and .the save

 

[carlosMM]

Jack, nice play!


excerpt from or chat:

Jack Merchant: we *will* have our work cut out for is with the way this continent looks.
Henry: I agree on pointy stick, we need writing (to open the door to all the follows), but not much else!
Henry: oh, FP slightly to the west of Palace (Neubau)
Henry: then palace jump(s) to whereever needed
Jack Merchant: yep !
Jack Merchant: that would be my suggestion
Henry: that should do nively! we will not have two front wars after all



then, we can build up troops, take some land south, go to peace again and build infra.
rinse and repeat.
Jack rightly says Vikings first, then south.

I would suggest doing a bit of alternating war between Viks and one civ south to enhance our pointy stick chances.

 

[Aggie]

Got it.

Sir Eric, as you see it is not that difficult to correct things. We replaced Hamburg and there's not THAT much harm done. We simply lost a couple of turns of production with that city.

 

[Skyfish]

Seems you guys got a dry start : do you have line of sight on an irrigation line ?

 

[jack merchant]

Our core is actually completely sealed off from irrigation by the line of hills - good thing it's all grass ! The closest river is about 10 tiles removed from the lower left-hand corner of the map above.

 

[Skyfish]

There is ONE tile through which irrigation can pass totally to the South, right above the fish.
You'll need to get rid of the Vikes first though

 

[Aggie]

We can also settle on a hill and then the water can flow form west to east. Right?

 

[Dr Alimentado]

Aggie's right, if we settle a hill we can get irrigation through to our core;

 

[ControlFreak]

I've tried to irrigate through a hill city. It doesn't work.

 

[Aggie]

I believe it was patched somewhere and I also remember that we did it in LK54. I'll re-read it to see if I'm wrong though.

EDIT: It was confirmed by Sirian there. We never had to try though.

 

[carlosMM]

I testede it, must have been poatched as it does work now !

 

[Dr Alimentado]

goddam server just ate my reply I'll try again...

Sir Eric, I'm glad your staying in My comments weren't meant to discourage, just to point out what I thought could be improved on.

We could all do with discussing strats and moves, I intend to learn from others in this game and that can only happen when we discuss beforehand and critique afterwards. This is my first SG too, so I am keen to get into the team spirit thing rather than just do my thing as I would in a normal game.

Jack - nice moves. I would have held off building a racks in berlin until we want to pump mil from it though, just seems like a waste to build it before then.

I'm not worried about the viks and lizzie, they seem to have crappy starts compared to us. I just hope the other AI really are boosted! Not to say it will be a walk over but I expect us to crush the 2 of them if we do things sensibly

xploits and stuff... do we need palace jump? I have never used it myself, just seems wrong somehow...