My Huge Sid Milk Run

Moonsinger's 88k game also had all the luxuries traded for/hooked up by 10 AD (as far as I recall). She did keep at least some cities (even if she starved them down to size 1, she didn't have to plant a settler for them), and she probably had faster growth later on... I suspect earlier on as well.

Who cares? Your game is good Chamnix.
 
I really like it too ;) Keep it up. :)

Off-hand, I'd say that Chamnix had it even tougher, because his game has gone headlong against two of my old theories: strong early expansion is bad for quick domination on Huge/Sid, it's ideal to fight a weak civ, then a strong civ, then the superpower (best progression for top domination speed). And: the Ottomans are no weak civ! Hence why I think it's a bit hard to draw parallels to other games, because all of the other Huge/Sid/Histographic HoF entries had FAR easier first wars -- and certainly, a better time farming leaders in the first turns of their wars.

It's very hard to break 80k without reaching the domination limit by 1200 AD, and I don't see that as likely, but I think it's very possible that if TGL can be obtained, the score will be in the 70k-75k range assuming no real problems arise.

-Elear
 
Love snowy Saturdays where I can get lots of turns in...

IBT – The Ottomans bomb my coastline a few times, but most of their boats just sail on by. The Aztecs have a LOT of units – one visible stack (the one on the gold mountain S-S of Intombe) has 124 units. They also have cavalry, so I’ll have to be much more careful with my workers and settlers near them. Fortunately, I’ve almost cleared out the Ottoman south, so I have plenty of room there for now. The Russians bombard my coast with all of their boats.


790 AD – Babylon’s incense is available for trade! They must have picked up Astronomy. I don’t think my spare luxuries are that secure, and paying in gold would cost me 142 gpt, so I just give them Chemistry for their incense. I believe I will now have 100% happy people everywhere :). All my obsolete units that had just made it back to the core to MP, turn around and head back to the front in case there are opportunities to pick off redlined units, or just to help against the shear quantity of enemy units. Some of them also line up on the coast to draw frigate fire and try to save my terrain.

The Ottoman city of New Edrine is autorazed. How many times have I destroyed a city named New Edrine so far?



My armies reach the edge of Russian territory and start pillaging their way toward Moscow.



In the north, I kill a bunch of Aztec cavalry and all units that are actually threatening something but avoid the big stacks. As it is, I run out of units just before the Aztecs do, so they have 2 spearmen remaining to pillage 1 of my ivories and force my workers to move.



We have improved to strong vs. the Ottomans.

IBT – Aztecs and Incans sign peace. Hopefully that means the Incans got a map of the Aztec territory that they will sell to me so I can plan my city placement. The Ottoman frigates have returned to bombing my coast full time. The Aztecs choose not to pillage my ivory and move both spearmen instead. The Russians have a lot of Cossacks and knights that could be headed my way. I figure I will try to raze those last 2-3 Ottoman cities in the south and then I will sign peace with the Ottomans and make the Russians fight their way through to me while I deal with the Aztecs.

800 AD - I guess I didn’t write anything down for this turn but here are some pictures I took:







Before I end 800 AD, I do buy an updated map from the Incans for my world map and 10 gpt. The Aztecs have quite a bit of territory, and they have silks not too far away.



IBT – The annoying frigate bombarding continues. The Aztecs move a stack of 11 spears into my territory where they will most likely be ignored. They will probably pillage a few tiles, but I have to concentrate on killing the Aztec cavalry first.




The Russians move many units, some of them may be heading my way. Their lead stack near New Ulaanbaatar is about 40 units. The stack north of Tes is another 40, and west of Tes is about 100 units.



810 AD - The Aztecs provide me with lots of units to redline and kill with the elites I have in the area (7 total elite wins). I kill a couple dozen Aztec units culminating in the capture of Tugela.



I think it is worth trying to keep some Aztec cities. According to MapStat, they have about 2.5 times my culture, but they are not the cultural monsters the Ottomans were, and my culture is growing at least as fast as the Aztec’s. I’m sure I’ll have a couple flips, but I’m hoping the immediate gain of territory helps my score and also helps keep my units moving forward quickly. The city is defended for the short-term by 3 cavalry armies.



I notice that I am already average to the Aztecs so this war should be easy :). It’s very nice to find a weak tribe with lots of territory for me.

In the southland, the Ottomans have 3 cities remaining at the beginning of this turn. Not Constantinople and Tokat are both leveled by cavalry armies.





Next turn, I should be able to raze New Bursa and capture the Ottoman capital of Bolu with SunTzu’s, and then I think I will sign peace with the Ottomans and leave them as a speed bump for the Russians while I take out the Aztecs.

Speaking of the Russians, it appears they don’t have a great road system even before I start pillaging so hopefully their reinforcements following their first 200 or so units will be slow.





IBT – The Ottoman frigates completely ignore my coastline again :confused:. The Aztecs choose not to attack the city guarded by armies. The Russians offer me peace for 20 gold. I spend a quality 10 minutes or so watching the Russians move their stacks around. One resister in JS Bachs is quelled, and both the resisters in Tugela give up.

820 AD - Versus the Ottomans, I raze New Bursa without any trouble, but I lose one of my cavalry armies capturing Bolu – I attacked a conscript rifle with an 8/18 army. I guess it was a little aggressive, but I wanted Bolu this turn so I could sign peace with the Ottomans before Russia advanced too much more.

I wanted to leave units for the Ottomans to use against the Russians, but I can’t resist redlining units and killing with elites where possible. I pick up 4 elite wins but nothing to show for them.

Over to the Russians. I pillage what I can and continue south, but their roads really are pretty weak. Unfortunately, I also have to kill a couple units on my way because they are blocking the path – hopefully none of my armies will lose enough to make them attackable.



I pick up another 3 elite victories vs. the Aztecs but don’t raze any towns as I worry more about killing cavalry than hitting towns right now.

Time for peace with the Ottomans. They will give me 2520 gold for peace. However, we definitely want them to be at war with the Russians. I don’t really care if they fight anyone else, but I do want the peace deal to break soon since I will be borrowing as much of their money as I can get my hands on, so I would like a few more alliances.

An alliance vs. the Russians costs about 300 gold; the Zulu are about 250; they will give me about 300 for an alliance against the Aztecs; the Americans are close to 0; the Mongols are about another 100. We definitely don’t want war against the Incans or Babylonians since they are providing luxuries, but all the others seem doable. The final deal – peace and alliances vs. the Russians, Americans, Aztecs, Zulu, and Mongols; they give all 10112 of their gold (just for safekeeping so the Russians don’t get it when they capture Ottoman cities), and I give 449 gpt. Next I sell them ivory and saltpeter (the Ottomans don’t have horses) for 28 gpt back.

Now, what do I do with all this gold? I will certainly rush a wormy per turn until it runs out. I also decide to upgrade veteran and elite* mounted warriors to cavalry because they really are useless now. I decide not to upgrade catapults or trebuchets – artillery is just not necessary anymore when I have dozens of cavalry armies.

The only bad possibility I see from this deal is that if one of my Ottoman wonder towns flips, then I can’t take it back right away, but Pyramids is less than 0.5%. JS Bachs is somewhere between 2% and 4%, but that is with 4 Ottomans including 1 resister so that will quickly be under 1%. Bolu will probably flip, but I can live without Sun Tzu’s for a bit – I’m not selling my barracks yet.

IBT – Aztecs and Ottomans sign peace :rotfl:. The Ottomans declare on me letting me keep all of their gold. The Ottomans and Russians each sink a bunch of the other’s frigates off my southern coast :D. We only manage to quell 1 of the 6 resisters in Bolu. The Ottomans start Magellan’s Voyage – being at war with the Russians and Iroquois seems like a good time to start a wonder :rolleyes:.

830 AD - Aztecs – 4 elite victories, 1 leader. Even after slaughtering a couple dozen cavalry, I still have armies with movement left, so I capture Intombe.



I leave Bolu empty as it is not worth the risk.

In Russia, I have an army on top of a source of saltpeter to disconnect next turn – the Russians have more than 1, but they may be trading some.



 
IBT – America and Babylon sign peace. We quell 4 resisters in Intombe. Bolu and the Art of War flip to the Ottomans.







840 AD – I have to figure out where all my units are since I haven’t played in a couple days.

Aztecs - I start by bombarding and killing a lone spear with an elite mounted warrior. Next bombard and kill a stack of 3 cavalry and a musket closest to my territory with cavalry (2 with elites). I move a cavalry army to scout a bit:



The stack SW-SW of my active army has over 120 units in it including a couple cavalry. I can’t kill them, so I chop a road so they can’t get anywhere significant this turn.

There are 13 vulnerable Aztec cavalry so I should easily be able to kill them all. First I bombard what I can reach, then try to find elites to take out the redlined ones. Total body count – all 13 Aztec cavalry dead, 3 killed with elites, 1 leader, 3 new elites promoted at the cost of 2 vet cavalry.

Since I didn’t need my armies for those loose units, I use my healthy armies to attack Bapedi. Three dead muskets later, and Bapedi is mine along with the obsolete Statue of Zeus. For good measure, I kill another 3 Aztec cavalry to give myself a little room.

Russia – continue pillaging and heading toward Moscow. I cut their saltpeter, and they don’t have any more for themselves. Next turn I can cut one source of iron.

Ottomans – redline a few units, and get 2 elite wins, but if I don’t have any elites nearby, then I leave them alone hoping they will go fight Russia and leave me alone. I recapture Bolu from 2 rifles without loss, and my one elite win there results in another leader.







 
I am still rushing a wormy per turn - just forgot to mention it. A lot of my cash has also been going to rushing settlers. I've got a bunch of corrupt towns in the former Ottoman empire that grow every 2 turns. Whenever 1 one them reaches size 6, I rush a settler to try to keep a continuous stream of settlers headed toward the land I'm freeing up.
 
Oh... that's right, you have extra cash from Ottoman towns you've captured... I forgot about that.
 
IBT – Inca and Babylon sign peace. Babylon and Mongols sign an alliance against Ottomans – Babylon declares.

The Ottoman rifles continue to pay too much attention to me and ignore the real threat which is clearly the Russians. The Aztecs continue to move their 3 digit stack closer and show some more cavalry. And the Russians continue to move unit after unit after unit after unit.





850 AD – The Incans now have no saltpeter, so they must have been the recipients of some of Russia’s extra. I have extra saltpeter, but the Incans have nothing to offer me.

Ottomans – redline all their units outside Bolu, but I only have 3 elites in the area. I kill 1 rifle with a vet then another 3 rifles and a longbow with elites. I don’t have any more elites, so I let the others live in the hopes that they will kill some Russians before they die. Next turn I will use my armies to raze Cankiri to relieve some cultural pressure.

Near my aptly-named city of A Trash 009, I kill a musket with an elite MDI and kill a couple of redlined longbows with elites.



Aztecs – Kill 17 cavalry, 4 muskets, 1 pike, 1 spear without a single casualty; had 1 elite win.



Russia – more pillaging including a source of iron. The Russians currently have no iron for themselves, but I know there is at least one more source connected in their territory. My generals report that the advance units expect to be within Moscow’s outer limits in about 30 years.

 
IBT – Ottoman frigates bombard my coastline again, but they all miss. Healthy Ottoman rifles continue toward me. The Aztecs come up with more cavalry, and their triple digit stack of defensive units reaches the tile SW of Intombe. There was nothing particularly noteworthy about the Russian moves. We quell 3 resisters in Bapedi. Bolu flips to the Ottomans again.



860 AD – The Russians have iron again.

Ottomans – Capture Bolu and Sun Tzu’s one more time using 2 elites against the 2 Ottoman rifles. With it being down to size 2 and Cankiri about to be razed, hopefully I can finally keep it. Cankiri is better defended than I expected – it had 7 veteran rifles. I almost lost a 12 hp cavalry army against a ¾ rifle, but my army retreated, and eventually my cavalry armies did the job without any losses:



The Ottomans had a few workers in there, so I end up with 10 new slaves when I raze it pushing my worker count over 400 (about ½ slaves and ½ natives). I have 5 more elites who need victories, so I kill 4 redlined Ottoman rifles and a longbow gaining 1 leader. The leader can’t get to a city to build an army this turn, so I guess that will be all for elite victories.

Aztecs - We kill 20 cavalry, 4 muskets, and 1 pike at a cost of 2 cavalry. We capture Ulundi with the hopefully soon-to-be-obsolete Hanging Gardens.



Russia – The armies continue their way south. I also send another cavalry army west into Ottoman territory to head toward Russia. It will be way too late to help capture the Great Library, but Russia has a lot of territory that needs pillaging while I conquer the Aztecs.

I rush a wormy, but I think this will be my last rushed one for a while. I’ve got so many settlers to rush every 4 turns which are getting expensive, and I might want to rush a few aqueducts soon because I’ll probably want to mobilize once I get Nationalism.



 
All I can say is: Can I be Russia??

Seriously, I'm impressed by how powerful looking their core is, no wonder they've become so dominant. :cool: I'm unsure whether to consider them a "KAI" or not. Do they have a clear lead in tech over the other civs (or are you not sure??).

As a side note, from recent observations in Huge/Sid/Spaceship attempts, I think KAI develop more easily on Huge 70 and 80 percent archipelago, as you get a bunch of AI on small islands or splitting larger islands, and then one random AI somewhere in there who gets a bigger island all to themselves, just by chance. Usually it is difficult for the human to catch them. At least in 60 percent archipelago, the land masses usually are divided in a decently fair way such that KAI don't develop in every single game, at least not manifesting clearly.
 
<double/repeated post, please delete>
 
I'm not that sure of the tech situation. The Russians are definitely ahead by themselves, but I'm not sure how far ahead they are, especially in front of the Ottomans. The Russians are in Communism and have rails, but they have no cities greater than size 12 except Moscow with Shakespeare's, they don't have infantry, and they have not started Universal Suffrage.

The Ottomans are in Fascism and have rails but also seem to lack Sanitation, Replaceable Parts and Industrialization, and their research has definitely been hammered by now.

The Mongols and the Incans are the only other ones to reach the Industrial Age so far, and neither has Nationalism yet.
 
I'm not deliberately taking a break - just haven't found the time this week.

A wormy is what I cash-rush when I have no shields in the bin.
 
Chamnix said:
I'm not deliberately taking a break - just haven't found the time this week.

A wormy is what I cash-rush when I have no shields in the bin.
Click to expand...

What is a "wormy"? :confused:
 
worker+army=wormy Good to know Chamnix (at least seems to) have his life priorities straight.
 
:D I like that, clever.
 
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