Monarchists' Cookbook I

@vale
Spoiler :
2575 BC: The tile directly NW of Berlin grows a forest. Very nice.
Very nice.

What process led you to choose that site for Hamburg? I think slobberin or Bley's mentioned settling there as well.


Thought I'd offer a save as well.
 
Ok , here we go.....

Started by moving the scout......( no S man stuff here ;) )
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0042.jpg

Obviously settling in place and fishing first .....

Soon I realized the size of the island.... M&S or archipelago, most surely
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0043.jpg


I became somewhat surprised with this.... a sure sign of the proximity of the hindu founder. At least we're not isolated....
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0044.jpg


BW is in, cooper in our island, but not on the best of the possible positions...
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0045.jpg

Useless info...
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0046.jpg

And a random screenie
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0047.jpg

Border pop and got a scout :gripe: At least I can explore the southern island faster...
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0048.jpg

Our first neighbour comes by... and he's not far.
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0049.jpg


Civ4ScreenShot0050.jpg

Priesthood comes by.... I'm preparing for the classic Oracle MC stuff to get both Collosus and the Great Lighthouse.
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0051.jpg

First naval unit....
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0052.jpg

And things in the end of the turnset. Will make Oracle after the settler and Pottery is running for MC. Next turnset will be surely of wonderous stuff :lol:
Spoiler :
Civ4ScreenShot0055.jpg

Log ( courtesy of BUG )
Spoiler :
Logging by BUG Mod 2.22 [Revision 600] (BtS 3.13)
------------------------------------------------
Turn 0/750 (4000 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:38:51]
Berlin founded
Berlin begins: Warrior (11 turns)
Research begun: Fishing (9 Turns)

After End Turn:

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Turn 1/750 (3975 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:40:48]

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Turn 2/750 (3950 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:40:54]

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Turn 3/750 (3925 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:03]

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Turn 4/750 (3900 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:09]

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Turn 5/750 (3875 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:19]

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Turn 6/750 (3850 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:31]

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Turn 7/750 (3825 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:39]

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Berlin's borders expand

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Turn 8/750 (3800 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:45]

After End Turn:
Tech learned: Fishing

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Turn 9/750 (3775 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:41:52]
Research begun: Sailing (19 Turns)

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Turn 10/750 (3750 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:42:11]

After End Turn:
Berlin finishes: Warrior

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Turn 11/750 (3725 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:42:17]
Berlin begins: Work Boat (23 turns)

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Turn 12/750 (3700 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:42:29]

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Turn 13/750 (3675 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:42:57]

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Turn 14/750 (3650 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:01]

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Turn 15/750 (3625 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:05]

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Turn 16/750 (3600 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:12]

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Berlin grows to size 2

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Hinduism founded in a distant land

Turn 17/750 (3575 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:18]

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Turn 18/750 (3550 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:37]

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Turn 19/750 (3525 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:40]

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Turn 20/750 (3500 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:44]

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Turn 21/750 (3475 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:48]

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Turn 22/750 (3450 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:43:52]

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Buddhism founded in a distant land

Turn 23/750 (3425 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:00]

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Turn 24/750 (3400 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:04]

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Turn 25/750 (3375 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:07]

After End Turn:
Tech learned: Sailing

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Turn 26/750 (3350 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:11]
Research begun: Bronze Working (20 Turns)

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Turn 27/750 (3325 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:20]

After End Turn:
Berlin finishes: Work Boat

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Turn 28/750 (3300 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:44:24]
Berlin begins: Work Boat (15 turns)
A Fishing Boats was built near Berlin

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Turn 29/750 (3275 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:45:32]

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Turn 30/750 (3250 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:45:38]

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Turn 31/750 (3225 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:45:56]

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Turn 32/750 (3200 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:01]

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Turn 33/750 (3175 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:06]

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Turn 34/750 (3150 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:11]

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Turn 35/750 (3125 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:17]

After End Turn:
Berlin grows to size 3

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Turn 36/750 (3100 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:22]
Berlin begins: Galley (15 turns)

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Turn 37/750 (3075 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:37]

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Turn 38/750 (3050 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:42]

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Turn 39/750 (3025 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:46]

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Turn 40/750 (3000 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:50]

After End Turn:
Berlin finishes: Work Boat

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Turn 41/750 (2975 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:46:55]
Berlin begins: Worker (12 turns)
A Fishing Boats was built near Berlin

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Turn 42/750 (2950 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:47:30]

After End Turn:
Hinduism has spread: Berlin

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Turn 43/750 (2925 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:47:36]

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Turn 44/750 (2900 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:47:58]

After End Turn:
Tech learned: Bronze Working

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Turn 45/750 (2875 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:48:02]
Research begun: Mysticism (8 Turns)

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Turn 46/750 (2850 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:48:32]

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Turn 47/750 (2825 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:48:39]

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Turn 48/750 (2800 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:48:51]

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Turn 49/750 (2775 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:48:56]

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Turn 50/750 (2750 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:49:03]

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Turn 51/750 (2725 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:49:07]

After End Turn:
Berlin finishes: Worker

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Turn 52/750 (2700 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:49:36]
Berlin begins: Galley (25 turns)

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Tech learned: Mysticism

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Turn 53/750 (2675 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:49:58]
Research begun: Meditation (11 Turns)

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Turn 54/750 (2650 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:50:14]

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Turn 55/750 (2625 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:50:29]

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Turn 56/750 (2600 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:50:36]

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Turn 57/750 (2575 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:50:41]

After End Turn:
Berlin grows to size 4

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Turn 58/750 (2550 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:50:45]

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Turn 59/750 (2525 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:05]

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Turn 60/750 (2500 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:11]

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Turn 61/750 (2475 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:17]

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Turn 62/750 (2450 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:21]

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Turn 63/750 (2425 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:26]
A Mine was built near Berlin
Berlin begins: Lighthouse (15 turns)

After End Turn:
Tech learned: Meditation

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Turn 64/750 (2400 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:51:46]
Research begun: Priesthood (8 Turns)

After End Turn:
Berlin's borders expand
Tribal village results: scout

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Turn 65/750 (2375 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:52:07]

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Turn 66/750 (2350 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:52:31]
Contact made: Arabian Empire

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Turn 67/750 (2325 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:53:05]

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Turn 68/750 (2300 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:53:20]

After End Turn:
Berlin grows to size 5

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Turn 69/750 (2275 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:53:33]
Berlin begins: Settler (14 turns)

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Turn 70/750 (2250 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:53:59]

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Turn 71/750 (2225 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:54:11]

After End Turn:
Tech learned: Priesthood
Berlin finishes: Lighthouse

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Turn 72/750 (2200 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:58:05]
Research begun: The Wheel (8 Turns)

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Turn 73/750 (2175 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:58:43]

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Turn 74/750 (2150 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:59:04]

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Turn 75/750 (2125 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:59:22]

After End Turn:
Berlin finishes: Galley

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Turn 76/750 (2100 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:59:34]

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Turn 77/750 (2075 BC) [25-Apr-2008 18:59:54]

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Turn 78/750 (2050 BC) [25-Apr-2008 19:00:13]

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Turn 79/750 (2025 BC) [25-Apr-2008 19:00:28]

After End Turn:
Tech learned: The Wheel

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Turn 80/750 (2000 BC) [25-Apr-2008 19:00:41]
Research begun: Pottery (10 Turns)
 

Attachments

Okay, nice to see so many people in. I have corrected the OP to reflect that, as stated in the bullpen, saves should be turned in by tuesday, and not thursday, latest. Also, the save attached in Reply #2, by OTAKUjbski, is the right one. He generated this save and sent me a temporary link, which I then posted, so it got faulty after 24 hrs. Please use OTAKU's save in the reply mentioned.

@Whoevercomplainedtherealreadyisaroster:
The roster players are dedicated to playing as many rounds as possible. this is not to prevent that shadows are picked as best saves, but rather that we are sure to have a pool of games to choose from. So your game is more than welcome.

I, myself, will probably have to wait to sunday to play. I'm kinda busy, unfortunately :crazyeye:
 
MAJOR PROBLEM: I have tried to play my round twice and both times about 10-20 turns in my game crashes in a really strange way. The first time the screen froze up and turned into a series of coloured vertical lines. The second time the screen froze up and went black and the music went all buzzing.

This has never happened to me before in civ4 or any other game I play so I'm not sure what's going on. My only sense is that maybe it has to do with one of the mods the save was generated with and that I don't have???

I'm not sure what to do.

It's too bad because I have a really good plan in place that I think would also be of reasonable educational value.
 
Did it happened after you clicked the Log button, hermit? BUG has a known issue about that ( it sometimes crashes non BUG instalements due to a problem with the colours :crazyeye: )
 
Problem Resolved: I tried a new game and it crashed as well, so I figured the problem was on my end. I took out my disc and cleaned it and tried again and now it worked. I've played a LOT of civ on that disc, lol, so maybe that was all the problem was. I am working on posting my round now. Not a lot happened, but my plan is headed in the right direction.
 
Some observations:

Spoiler :
It seems as though there were basically three strategies happening here:

1. Get out the Great Lighthouse ASAP;
2. Settle a second city near the copper ASAP; and
3. Develop Berlin as much as possible.

I chose option 2, though in retrospect, Berlin's border pop grabs the copper as can be seen on one of the screenies. While my choice is good for an early rush, I remain convinced that a better alternative (assuming no rush of Saladin) for the second city would be on the southern island working the floodplains.

I was particularly impressed with the early GLH, though as another poster said, I'm not sure how that can be maximized at this stage in the game.

Lastly, this may be a good map for a cultural win. There's enough land for three cities to pump out the marble wonders and enough food to feed artist specialists. Just keep Saladin happy.
 
Spoiler :
Ok, here are my thoughts on how I would proceed with this game:

Bismarck is Industrious and Expansive and we have a coastal start with basically two main islands to work with. All of our early cities are going to be coastal. The Great Lighthouse is thus a large priority. With cheap forges The Colossus is also going to be a boon to our empire. We don't have very many good cities though so we are going to be relying heavily on our subpar capital. How do we get the most out of our capital???

My plan is as follows:

1) Make heavy use of trade routes. The GLH is a start, but my plan is to put the ToA in the capital to boost trade routes.

2) After ToA I plan to hit the Oracle-->MC but will delay the Colossus slightly.

3) 3rd wonder will be the GLH

4) Ok, with GLH and ToA in place we need a few more things to get the most out of our trade route-focused capital. We need a large capital (HR + health). We need more cities. We need currency. We need a (cheap) harbor. We need a (cheap) granary. We also need the colossus and I also plan to put Moai in our capital for +1 commerce and +1 hammer for each of our many coastal tiles. Once all of this is done our capital will be quite respectable and will also generate gp for us. I would like to add the pyramids too, but I don't think it is going to happen in this game. Our capital is low production and our other priorities are high. If the AI delays it we could still nab it later. If we get a GM with our first gp I would plan to use him to bulb currency so we can focus on self-researching monarchy and compass. If we get a GP I would settle him for the hammers, which we desperately need more of.

Anyway, that is a summary of my "plan" that takes advantage of the synergy between industrious and expansive by focusing on a large, vertical growth, trade-route focused, wonder-spammed capital. I think we need to rely heavily on such a capital because of the subpar territory we have. We won't be able to expand horizontally much early so we should focus instead on getting our capital as good as possible imo.

So, here is how my round went to 2000BC:

I teched fishing-myst-polyth-bw-priest-wheel-pottery-sailing

I got a negative random event that I could do nothing about:

BismarckRandomEvent0000.jpg


I timed the build of my/our first worker as follows:

BismarckTimingofFirstWorker0000.jpg


I put my focus into the ToA, but it did not complete before 2000BC.

Here is my/our capital at 2000BC:

BismarckCapital2000BC0000.jpg


And here is my/our empire at 2000BC (I popped a scout in the hut on the other island):

BismarckEmpire2000BC0000.jpg


So, so far so good. Once ToA comes in I'll focus on the Oracle. I plan to whip the ToA and put the overflow into the 3rd workboat to help with future whipping and regrowth.

That's all I've got so far. Looking forward to now reviewing the other entries.



EDIT: Forgot the save (I tend to do that a lot :lol: )

EDIT2: Thoughts on city placement:

Spoiler :
Basically, our surrounding land sucks. I would put one city 2E of the copper. Its low food puts me off big time, but it will be ok as a commerce city once the colossus is in. On the southern island there are only 2 food tiles, the 2 floodplains. My inclination thus is to split the two flood plains into 2 cities farming each for growth.
 

Attachments

@slobberinbear
Spoiler :
I think this is a good map for a Combustion conquest win... AI is still very weak in naval warfare and if this is M&S as I suspect, 2 or 3 decent task forces can clean the board with some ease....

Your options look pretty much what the map offers.... This kind of watery maps favour the Great Lighthouse and the Collosus big time. I think that cooper city is a subpar option though: ancient naval invasions are a PITA and Saladin is PRO and has a capital holy city, so no early rush. Why bother with a early cooper hooking with a cramped and not so good city when you have much better spots in the south? Besides that ( as you pointed ) cooper will be in Berlin cultural borders far before of anyone can do the Collosus ;)
 
@Whoevercomplainedtherealreadyisaroster:
The roster players are dedicated to playing as many rounds as possible. this is not to prevent that shadows are picked as best saves, but rather that we are sure to have a pool of games to choose from. So your game is more than welcome.
I think it was me, but I didn't complain at all. My first round was lame anyway so I'm not even bothering to put it up here, but I'll be happy to offer my attempts at later rounds. Having said that I'd be perfectly happy to be a passive observer here, even so far it has been very informative and entertaining for me already.

I took out my disc and cleaned it and tried again and now it worked. I've played a LOT of civ on that disc, lol, so maybe that was all the problem was.
You might consider to download a crack for the game from one of the various sources there are for these kinds of things. I don't see anything wrong with that, given that you own a licensed copy of the product anyway.
 
@OTAKU
Why did you want to get the Great Lighthouse out so early? As you said, you felt you weren't threatened on time. You don't get any effect when you found your second city, as that first trade route is already provided. You can't sign open borders yet, and so don't have the option for foreign trade.

Because the AI loves the GLH and tends to build it around or before 1000 BC in my games.

EDIT: Oh yeah ... and also because two of my hills are Forested, so I have to chop them to mine them. I'd rather those chopping :hammers: go to the Great Lighthouse instead of something less "time sensitive" like a building or a unit of some sort -- I can whip those!

On water maps like this appears to be, I think the GLH is the most important wonder. It obsoletes very late and synergizes well with playing nice.

Colossus is very helpful but obsoletes with Astronomy -- a very strong water map tech and one which synergizes well with the GLH.

ToA is also great but isn't as profitable as either GLH or Colossus and is obsoleted by Chemistry -- a strong tech which synergizes well with Astronomy and a tech lead. ;)

In summary: I want the GLH at all costs ... giving it to the AI is just bad all around, IMO.

And why Agriculture after Pottery?

For the reason you stated above. The Great Lighthouse doesn't have any benefit until you have 3 domestic cities or Open Borders with the AI.

... so there's no real rush on Writing until that point.

Agriculture makes AH cheaper, and AH makes Writing cheaper. I can research Writing whenever I want. So, until I think it's vital, I'll research it the 'slow' way to shave off a couple turns here and there.

Plus, I see quite a few hills on the southern island, which might require Farms on the Floodplains to work them.

(I need to switch to Mysticism soon.)
 
@OTAKU:

Spoiler :
Yes, but although Colossus and ToA obsolete at Astronomy and Chemistry, they can both help a lot on this map to get us to both of those techs in a very timely manner. By the time I get to Astro/Chemistry I feel the game is pretty much in good shape or bad shape with the make-or-break point coming earlier. As a result, I tend to place much greater emphasis on the phase of the game where the economy gets established and I think that ToA and Colossus will both go a long way to helping us do that in this case.

My 2 cents

 
@ All:

1) What is the typical order in which GLH, Oracle, ToA & Colossus are built in your games by the AI?

2) Of the three (GLH, ToA & Colossus), which do you think will yield the best benefit on a water map [like this]?

My answers:

1) Oracle and GLH are typically built about the same time between 1000 BC & 500 BC. ToA & Colossus seem to also be built at about the same time just before 1AD.

2) I like the GLH because of its longevity and because it allows me to focus more on working high production tiles (since most of my commerce is from 'passive' trade routes). Colossus is #2, but I particularly don't like how it 'forces' me to work low production coastal tiles.
 
I won't be able to play the next turnset, but I thought I'd play out the first one for the sake of comparison.

Spoiler :

Turn 1
Settle in place.
Work grassland forest.
Tech Fishing.
Build Warrior.

Turn 2
Island revealed.

Turn 5
Switch to forest hill so Warrior finishes with Fishing.

Turn 9
Fishing and Warrior complete.
Tech Bronze Working.
Build Workboat.

Turn 17
Hinduism FIADL

Turn 23
Buddhism FIADL

Turn 24
Workboat complete.
Switch to working improved clams.

Turn 28
Berlin grows to size 2.
Work 2 clams (one improved).

Turn 30
Bronze Working complete.
Tech Sailing.

Turn 33
Switch to Slavery.

Turn 34
Whip workboat for 1 pop (1 turn to growth).

Turn 35
Berlin grows back to size 2.
Work 2 clams (both improved).

Turn 41
Berlin grows to size 3.
Work 2 clams and 1 forest hill.

Turn 45
Sailing complete.
Tech Archery.

Turn 48
Whip workboat for 1 pop (1 turn to growth).

Turn 49
Work 3 clams (all improved).
Dump overflow into worker.

Turn 51
Hinduism spreads in Berlin.

Turn 53
Archery complete.
Tech Agriculture.

Turn 54
Worker complete.
Build Galley.

Turn 55
Worker starts chop on forest hill.

Turn 58
Berlin grows to size 4.
Work 3 clams and 1 forest hill.

Turn 59
Forest chopped.
Dump hammers in Settler.

Turn 60
Switch back to Galley.
Worker starts chop on grassland forest.

Turn 61
Agriculture complete.
Tech The Wheel.

Turn 64
Whip Galley for 2 pop (1 turn to growth).

Turn 65
Berlin grows to size 3.
Build settler.
Forest chopped.
Galley takes scout to southern island.

Turn 66
Scout pops hut (30 gold).

Turn 67
Worker starts building mine on deforested hill.
Scout and galley explore southern island.

Turn 70
The Wheel complete.
Settler on galley.

Turn 71
Scout finds marble.

Turn 72
Hamburg founded on plains hill 3SE of Berlin.
Hamburg builds warrior.
Hamburg works floodplain.
Mine complete.

Turn 73
Worker to galley.

Turn 74
Worker dropped off at floodplain.
Berlin grows to size 4.
Berlin works three clams and one grassland hill mine.

Turn 75
Scout onto galley.
Galley heads north.
Worker farms floodplain.

Turn 76
Pottery complete.
Tech Mysticism.
Galley meets Saladin.

Turn 78
Stonehenge BIAFAL.
Galley heads south.

Turn 80
Berlin grows to size 5.
Berlin works 3 clams, 1 mine, 1 forest hill.
Berlin switches to worker.

The State of Play
Cities: 2
Total Population: 6
Research: 22bpt at 100% (-1gpt)
Gold: 22
Units: 1 worker, 1 warrior, 1 galley, 1 scout.
Techs: Fishing, Sailing, The Wheel, Pottery, Agriculture, (Hunting), Archery, (Mining), Bronze Working
Improvements: 3 clams, 1 mine
Current Research: Mysticism in 1 turn

Berlin
Size 5 (no food stored)
Worker in 7 turns (plus queued archer with 2 turns remaining)

Hamburg
Size 1 (24 stored food).
Growth in 3 turns.
Warrior in 3 turns.

Plan
Look at using archer(s) to choke Saladin.
Oracle for MC in Berlin.
GLh in Hamburg if possible.
Explore south with a view to settlement.

Comments
I chose my second city with one thought in mind: food! Thanks to the river, the floodplains and the grassland, it has the potential for growth and whipping which the copper or marble cities lack. I thought a lot about the spot 2S of Berlin, which could share the capital's clams, but in the end went for the site with better production.

I wish I'd met Saladin earlier, as that would've opened up the option of an axerush. As it is, my start could be switched to that purpose, but others are in a much better position if that's the plan. However, my save is set up quite nicely for a wonder grab and REX (if there's anywhere to expand, that is). By the time the wonders (and, possibly, a few archers to choke Saladin) are complete, both Hamburg and Berlin should be able to pump out settlers and workers quite effectively.
 

Attachments

@OTAKU
Spoiler :
Because the AI loves the GLH and tends to build it around or before 1000 BC in my games.
Sounds like my games. I saw it fall around 1500BC in both the Nobles Club: Hannibal and the Immortal Challenege: Louis games.
I'd rather those chopping :hammers: go to the Great Lighthouse instead of something less "time sensitive" like a building or a unit of some sort -- I can whip those!
I can appreciate that. I pre-chopped my forests so that I can save them for that same purpose.

I agree that the Great Lighthouse is more important than the Temple of Artemis. Without the GL, the ToA has limited return.

But is the ToA worth pursuing? It, too, falls early. Not too bad, given that you only need to research Polytheism. But there's hardly the production on this map to build much. I think you've seen it as the choice of GL or ToA, and chose the GL.

I suppose we'll see from futurehermit how the ToA will pay off. He prioritized it before the GL; hopefully he doesn't miss the more important wonder.
The Great Lighthouse doesn't have any benefit until you have 3 domestic cities or Open Borders with the AI.

... so there's no real rush on Writing until that point.
Writing would allow for the open borders.

I may have gotten lucky in my game, popping Animal Husbandry from the hut, but I my tech path would remain the same with or without it. I just don't see a point in researching Agriculture (or Animal Husbandry) at this point; there's nothing to pasture, and there are very few tiles to farm.
 
1) Oracle and TGL and ToA , depending of the games... Most of the times TGL first.

2) ToA only is useful for one city, but works well in a capital with TGL. collosus is good for water maps with lots of coastal/lakes tiles and where there aren't good land tiles to work ( collosus is very anti cottages, for a quick example ). In here I would bet in TGL + Collosus.
 
The game speed may be a factor.

In my games on normal speed the oracle is usually gone around 1200BC. I've had the GLH kicking around well after 1AD only occasionally getting built early. Colossus sometimes is still around in my games close to 1000AD and if I take MC off the oracle I can usually get the colossus at my leisure.

Spoiler :
Obviously GLH is most important to us in this game. However, being an industrious civ and having no good city spots besides the capital I think it is highly prudent to plan to get all of these wonders. For example, why rush to build the copper city asap? It has no food resource and Saladin is protective and we'd have to use galleys. We're not going to be able to invade him early and I think the wonders are more valuable overall. My plan is to go ToA-->Oracle-->GLH-->Colossus. I only see 3 viable city locations, none of them great, and we can get them when we want. My preference is to get the wonders done, expand to those cities, and then hit Saladin.
 
1) What is the typical order in which GLH, Oracle, ToA & Colossus are built in your games by the AI?
GLH, Oracle and ToA all fall between 1500BC and 1000BC. The AI really seems to love ToA for some reason. I've seen the first two fall even earlier, between 2000BC and 1500BC, and ToA go as late as 1000BC to 500BC.

2) Of the three (GLH, ToA & Colossus), which do you think will yield the best benefit on a water map [like this]?
Hands down the Great Lighthouse. Colossus is late, expensive, and only of benefit when you're working water tiles. Even with this little land, I prefer to work as many cottages as possible. They'll eventually be worth more than even FIN-backed Colossus-blessed coastal tiles.

GL also grants its benefit instantly. It's hard to gauge the value of the trade routes, as they fluctuate throughout the game, but I'd put them at 2-5 commerce per turn, which makes them competitive with dedicated coastal-working Colossus cities, I feel.

ToA seems to be of more benefit to allow an AI to build, and use it as a Great Merchant destination, rather than build it yourself. I've found it to be competitive with the Great Lighthouse and the Oracle in terms of when its built, and I'm not a fan of the mixed GPP.
 
If you want to see ToA + TGH in action and how powerful it can be I recommend checking out one of Aelf's earlier EMC games, pretty sure it was the Roosevelt one...
 
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