News: BOTM 15 Final Spoiler: Game Submitted or Abandoned
- Thread starter DynamicSpirit
- Start date
adrianj
Deity
Contender Save - Cultural victory, 1857 AD.
As was discussed in the pregame thread, I moved the scout east first. I liked the look of all those rivers and wheat, so moved the settler to the eastern plains hill, founding on turn 1.
I'm a peace loving guy, so I'd hoped that I could stay out of KK's sights this game. I claimed the stone and built the pyramids.
In 750BC kublai DoWs on me! All I have are chariots and he has a few spears... Ghandi doesn't like me enough to help out - so I gift him some health resources hoping to make him pleased. Didn't really work. Overall I had the better of KK, him losing at least twice as many units as me (things got better for me once I had Ballista Elephants while he persisted with Keshiks), but I wasn't really on the offensive - trying to establish an economy while being at war, and quietly hoping for peace.
No matter what techs or cash I had, KK wouldn't take peace without me giving up Hariharalaya - my GP Farm! The war didn't end until I eventually sent a stack of Ballista elephants, cats and maces to his closest city in 1520AD. I didn't actually take the city - I didn't want it, and just the threat was enough for KK to take peace. He was peaceful for the rest of the game.
In the meantime I was about 2 turns short of founding Confu. This was pretty poor for a cultural game, since I only had 2 religions - Judaism from Ghandi and Taoism through a GS bulb of Philo.
I was first to Liberalism in 1375AD, taking Nationalism for free. I switched off the research after Printing Press.
I was also only a few turns short of being first to Music, beaten by Ghandi. At least I managed to trade for it after not too long, and built Sistine's with the GE popped from the Pyramids.
Oh yeah, and I lost a city to barbs... I was busy watching KK and let a barb swordsman take a city defended by only 1 warrior. Very stupid.
Not much else interesting from here - just MM to squeeze out some more GArtists and improve my date by a few turns. I had absolutely nothing to do with the other continent. I had a defensive pact with Ghandi for a little while, which he gave up when he declared on HC. There was plenty of warring going on in the world, but I was never involved.
I think places where I can improve are:
1) Commit myself to a war. I should have devoted more energy to finishing off KK, it would have paid off in the long run no doubt.
2) Don't expect to be peaceful when next to Kublai Khan (or Genghis, Monty, etc.). Even in a cultural game, there is still room for commited early warring.
3) Don't ignore barbs - fog bust better. Don't be a dumbass.
4) Identify the lack of religions on my continent, and try harder to found some if necessary, eg, I probably could have had CoL, and even though I don't particularly like Divine Right, I probably could have given the prereqs to Ghandi to get it for me.
As was discussed in the pregame thread, I moved the scout east first. I liked the look of all those rivers and wheat, so moved the settler to the eastern plains hill, founding on turn 1.
I'm a peace loving guy, so I'd hoped that I could stay out of KK's sights this game. I claimed the stone and built the pyramids.
In 750BC kublai DoWs on me! All I have are chariots and he has a few spears... Ghandi doesn't like me enough to help out - so I gift him some health resources hoping to make him pleased. Didn't really work. Overall I had the better of KK, him losing at least twice as many units as me (things got better for me once I had Ballista Elephants while he persisted with Keshiks), but I wasn't really on the offensive - trying to establish an economy while being at war, and quietly hoping for peace.
No matter what techs or cash I had, KK wouldn't take peace without me giving up Hariharalaya - my GP Farm! The war didn't end until I eventually sent a stack of Ballista elephants, cats and maces to his closest city in 1520AD. I didn't actually take the city - I didn't want it, and just the threat was enough for KK to take peace. He was peaceful for the rest of the game.
In the meantime I was about 2 turns short of founding Confu. This was pretty poor for a cultural game, since I only had 2 religions - Judaism from Ghandi and Taoism through a GS bulb of Philo.
I was first to Liberalism in 1375AD, taking Nationalism for free. I switched off the research after Printing Press.
I was also only a few turns short of being first to Music, beaten by Ghandi. At least I managed to trade for it after not too long, and built Sistine's with the GE popped from the Pyramids.
Oh yeah, and I lost a city to barbs... I was busy watching KK and let a barb swordsman take a city defended by only 1 warrior. Very stupid.
Not much else interesting from here - just MM to squeeze out some more GArtists and improve my date by a few turns. I had absolutely nothing to do with the other continent. I had a defensive pact with Ghandi for a little while, which he gave up when he declared on HC. There was plenty of warring going on in the world, but I was never involved.
I think places where I can improve are:
1) Commit myself to a war. I should have devoted more energy to finishing off KK, it would have paid off in the long run no doubt.
2) Don't expect to be peaceful when next to Kublai Khan (or Genghis, Monty, etc.). Even in a cultural game, there is still room for commited early warring.
3) Don't ignore barbs - fog bust better. Don't be a dumbass.
4) Identify the lack of religions on my continent, and try harder to found some if necessary, eg, I probably could have had CoL, and even though I don't particularly like Divine Right, I probably could have given the prereqs to Ghandi to get it for me.
I've forgotten how most of the game went. Perhaps next time I will take some notes. 
So I loaded up a couple of save games and took a couple of screenshots. Edit. I've put them in a spoiler because of the room they take. Didn't realise till I'd posted.
So I loaded up a couple of save games and took a couple of screenshots. Edit. I've put them in a spoiler because of the room they take. Didn't realise till I'd posted.
Spoiler :
Annoyingly this was the year KK took a barb city in the North so I couldn't get access to the phants. 
I was tempted to abandon the game now but thought I would persevere. 
smitsk00
plainlyfullofit
Settle West Hill - BIG mistake, sacrificed land and a great GP factory location. Also, I would have liked to have more cottagable in my Capital (i.e. the FP to the east). I had terrible luck with barbs - lost 3 settlers and 2 defended workers! I DoWed Kublai because he was busy with Ghandi...took one city (South of Karakorum by the corn), then Ghandi got vassalized and they came at me with an insane stack (~40 units!) that I had no chance of stopping. Abandoned circa 1200 AD.
[EDIT: Have decided to tell it all in thrilling detail, and don't want to give away the ending in this post. 
]
Sloppy play. Exciting, though.
Preview: Units Lost
10 other (1 each)
2 fighter
3 horse archer
3 machine gun
4 bunber [EDIT: Those are bombers. But I like the sound of "bunber".]
4 spearman
4 maceman
4 jet fighter
5 archer
7 battleship
7 longbow
7 mechanized infantry
8 trebuchet
9 ballista elephant
11 transport
11 tank
12 swordsman
15 axeman
22 catapult
22 infantry
23 artillery
24 destroyer
total dead: 217
Cheers,
Jason
]Sloppy play. Exciting, though.
Preview: Units Lost
10 other (1 each)
2 fighter
3 horse archer
3 machine gun
4 bunber [EDIT: Those are bombers. But I like the sound of "bunber".]
4 spearman
4 maceman
4 jet fighter
5 archer
7 battleship
7 longbow
7 mechanized infantry
8 trebuchet
9 ballista elephant
11 transport
11 tank
12 swordsman
15 axeman
22 catapult
22 infantry
23 artillery
24 destroyer
total dead: 217
Cheers,
Jason
mabraham
Deity
So I was wandering along just fine, finished taking land from KK (leaving him half a dozen cities down the SW coast of our continent) and DOWed Gandhi with trebs, maces and 'phants. I took the Tao holy city up to my north, and then eliminated him down south. I'd have vassalized him but his Confucian holy city was the one furthest south, so it was just as easy to take it all.
By now I'd circumnavigated and met the other continent, who were all independent, but there'd clearly been a lot of religious wars and HC wonder-building.
I had this plan to go for a fast space, but this had all taken so long that I wasn't going to be competitive on score. So I wandered along aimlessly, torn between space and domination. HC had a city go legendary, so I built an army and headed over, vassalizing Brennus and HC for a Dom win before I'd done teching for space. I even misclicked on a diplomacy screen to accept peace with HC when I hadn't intended to... so I had to wait 10 turns, and then some more after DOWing for a few more cities before he'd capitulate. How tedious!
In retrospect, I'd have been faster if I'd left Gandhi alone for a tech-partner, and invaded the other mob with cannons and rifles. Vassalizing the whole of the other continent, and owning almost half of my own should have been an easy dom win.
By now I'd circumnavigated and met the other continent, who were all independent, but there'd clearly been a lot of religious wars and HC wonder-building.
I had this plan to go for a fast space, but this had all taken so long that I wasn't going to be competitive on score. So I wandered along aimlessly, torn between space and domination. HC had a city go legendary, so I built an army and headed over, vassalizing Brennus and HC for a Dom win before I'd done teching for space. I even misclicked on a diplomacy screen to accept peace with HC when I hadn't intended to... so I had to wait 10 turns, and then some more after DOWing for a few more cities before he'd capitulate. How tedious!
In retrospect, I'd have been faster if I'd left Gandhi alone for a tech-partner, and invaded the other mob with cannons and rifles. Vassalizing the whole of the other continent, and owning almost half of my own should have been an easy dom win.
pnp_dredd
civ junkie
Peaceful cultural game.
Captial on the plains hill to the E of starting position with wheat and lotsa rivers.
Second cultural city to NW on the river (not enough hills here)
Third cultural city a GPP farm to the West with fish and pigs and horsies (would have been better ON the horses, taking the extra fish)
Three additional cities: 1) far N with marble, 2) E with hills pigs and stone 3) Barb city on the coast to the N. Didn't expand fast enough and most land taken so no chance of 9 cities. Flipped some of KK's city too late to do any good (disbanded them).
KK beat up on Ghandi a bit in the early game. At one stage I think Ghandi even declared on KK! I gave in to all requests and did everything to keep KK happy, which worked. Also the whole continent was Confucian which helped.
On the second continent Justinian had vassalised everyone, so there was clearly going to be a war. After contact I gave away huge amounts of tech and Ghandi became their worst enemy, and was eventually invaded with around 10 turns left to go.
I founded Confucianism, Taoism and Islam. Got an annoying GP and built Confucian Shrine which meant I could stay at 100% culture throughout endgame.
Had around 14 GAs and bombed something like 0-6-8
Cultural victory in 1716AD, which is a good 100 years earlier than my previous best.
Fairly new to BtS and loving it. Feeling the dreadful pull of Civ-addiction yet again.
Captial on the plains hill to the E of starting position with wheat and lotsa rivers.
Second cultural city to NW on the river (not enough hills here)
Third cultural city a GPP farm to the West with fish and pigs and horsies (would have been better ON the horses, taking the extra fish)
Three additional cities: 1) far N with marble, 2) E with hills pigs and stone 3) Barb city on the coast to the N. Didn't expand fast enough and most land taken so no chance of 9 cities. Flipped some of KK's city too late to do any good (disbanded them).
KK beat up on Ghandi a bit in the early game. At one stage I think Ghandi even declared on KK! I gave in to all requests and did everything to keep KK happy, which worked. Also the whole continent was Confucian which helped.
On the second continent Justinian had vassalised everyone, so there was clearly going to be a war. After contact I gave away huge amounts of tech and Ghandi became their worst enemy, and was eventually invaded with around 10 turns left to go.
I founded Confucianism, Taoism and Islam. Got an annoying GP and built Confucian Shrine which meant I could stay at 100% culture throughout endgame.
Had around 14 GAs and bombed something like 0-6-8
Cultural victory in 1716AD, which is a good 100 years earlier than my previous best.
Fairly new to BtS and loving it. Feeling the dreadful pull of Civ-addiction yet again.
oldcivaddict
Chieftain
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2008
- Messages
- 6
Contender start. Settled SW of start pos to get pig and corn with 3 hills for production as well as plenty of river tile bonus.
Stole KK worker. He wouldn't make peace until I was luckily able to kill his scout. Moved warrior far from his territory because if you hang around he will stay in war mode and make only archers. Best to clear out and let him replace the worker.
Second city on coast for 2 fish GP farm.
Third city - stone - builds Great Wall and Pyramids.
Capital builds barracks and whips/builds chariots.
Chariot rush on Kublai - have another worker and his capital. Peace again.
Chariot rush on Gandhi. Got 2 workers. Destroyed one city and kept Delhi, then peace. Even though it had high distance maintenance it paid for itself soon since it had cottages already. He has one city left.
Now back to Kublai to take his sole remaining city (marble) and worker then back to finish off India.
Have whole continent 950 BC.
Built/chopped Great Lighthouse.
Goal now to get population as high as possible and have lots of techs to give away. Aiming for UN diplo victory.
Built Oxford asap. No religions at all. Best way to make no enemies.
Started gifting techs to the 2 smallest civs as soon as I met them.
Tech rate: By end of game producing over 1500 beakers per turn. Was never below 50% research thoughout.
Expansion: By 1700 had filled out continent.
Built UN 1728. 3 short on first vote. Diplo vic on second in 1764.
Very nicely designed map DS and thank you very much for all your efforts to make these.
Stole KK worker. He wouldn't make peace until I was luckily able to kill his scout. Moved warrior far from his territory because if you hang around he will stay in war mode and make only archers. Best to clear out and let him replace the worker.
Second city on coast for 2 fish GP farm.
Third city - stone - builds Great Wall and Pyramids.
Capital builds barracks and whips/builds chariots.
Chariot rush on Kublai - have another worker and his capital. Peace again.
Chariot rush on Gandhi. Got 2 workers. Destroyed one city and kept Delhi, then peace. Even though it had high distance maintenance it paid for itself soon since it had cottages already. He has one city left.
Now back to Kublai to take his sole remaining city (marble) and worker then back to finish off India.
Have whole continent 950 BC.
Built/chopped Great Lighthouse.
Goal now to get population as high as possible and have lots of techs to give away. Aiming for UN diplo victory.
Built Oxford asap. No religions at all. Best way to make no enemies.
Started gifting techs to the 2 smallest civs as soon as I met them.
Tech rate: By end of game producing over 1500 beakers per turn. Was never below 50% research thoughout.
Expansion: By 1700 had filled out continent.
Built UN 1728. 3 short on first vote. Diplo vic on second in 1764.
Very nicely designed map DS and thank you very much for all your efforts to make these.
Ronnie1
Deity
I used this one to test my Dom/Conquest skills as Emperor is generally a good level for me.
I sent the scout East as planned, and even with the view from the hill, I decided to send the settler West to the other plains hill, as planned. I founded the next turn and when the borders popped I wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. My starting scout started east as I said, then went E again, then started a big circle counter clockwise that got me to the northern forest and the western tip. Then he headed SE past KK and eventually got trapped behind Gandhi's borders and was stuck for a long time.
I built warrior>worker>warrior and researched AH 1st.
I DOW on KK in 3475BC to steal his worker, and map his territory. I figured sooner or later we would butt heads, or spears or something, so why not slow him down a little early on. Later, after meeting Gandhi, I came up with my best plan for a GOTM in a long time(mostly because I fail to plan much at all
). It occurred to me that Gandhi techs pretty well, not Musa necessarily but well enough, and unlike Musa, won't trade as the only trading partner. So KK had to LIVE, just not quite in the fashion to which he was normally accustomed.
I don't even remember how many workers I stole from him....8-10 maybe in total. Every time he left them uncovered on the border they were mine. I razed his city in the east (didn't like the spot) and made peace. Once he founded a city N between us, I marched on Karakorum with about 6 Chariots and kept it. Now KK had the one city sandwiched between us and I just picked up the workers every now and then. Karakorum built some culture buildings because KK was pushing the boundaries from the N, it also had more food than any other city I had so it got the NE and farms most everywhere. It also had forests, and I chopped a few of those into the GLibrary, culture problems solved for the rest of the game.
Gandhi got ALL EP directed at him...I new what he was researching, and I picked things I could trade. He spread Judaism to me and I adopted ofc, eventually I made a deal that was pretty favorable to him and he got to friendly...trade away!!!
I had chopped the Oracle in city #2(S of the Iron), and took Metal Casting from it. This city got watermilled after Machinery, got the HE, and was the main unit builder. It got to 40 base h/t eventually. I also built the Parthenon here to speed the GPP.
Yaso got mostly cottaged after chopping the forests into various projects...it built Statue of Zeus, Sankore, Taj, and OxU.
Liberalism got me Military Tradition.
The 4 GS's got me Machinery>Optics>Astro in the same turn and I went to meet the neighbors.
KK founded a city on the little island west so I was able to take his last mainland city and still keep trading with Gandhi.
The other continent was kinda interesting....Charley had Justin as a friendly Vassal when I arrived, and Brennus was fighting Capac. Brennus asked me to join, so I did...and eventually took Capac's coastal city so I had a place to call home. I set up a galleon chain and started dumping units in very heavily. I eventually took 2 more Capac cities, then he was willing to Vassal. Immediately upon healing my units we Dow on Brennus and raze a city or 2 and he Vassals almost instantly.
My only concern with my Conquest plan was the AP. It was owned by Charley in his cap at the N end of the Continent. I was stock piling units in anticipation of razing it by sea....but he got Grenadiers so I wasn't sure how well this would work, besides the fact that there were about 25 units total sitting there. I voted for Justin at the next AP election vote and immediately DOW on him...razed a couple cities before he could call for a "stop the war" vote and he Vassaled! Now that he was "on my side", we DOW Charley and he folds easily also.
I was late to attacking Gandhi because I was trying to figure out the whole AP thing.... eventually he also Vassaled,
And the Khmer were Conquest winners in 1620AD
I sent the scout East as planned, and even with the view from the hill, I decided to send the settler West to the other plains hill, as planned. I founded the next turn and when the borders popped I wondered if I had just made a huge mistake. My starting scout started east as I said, then went E again, then started a big circle counter clockwise that got me to the northern forest and the western tip. Then he headed SE past KK and eventually got trapped behind Gandhi's borders and was stuck for a long time.
I built warrior>worker>warrior and researched AH 1st.
I DOW on KK in 3475BC to steal his worker, and map his territory. I figured sooner or later we would butt heads, or spears or something, so why not slow him down a little early on. Later, after meeting Gandhi, I came up with my best plan for a GOTM in a long time(mostly because I fail to plan much at all
). It occurred to me that Gandhi techs pretty well, not Musa necessarily but well enough, and unlike Musa, won't trade as the only trading partner. So KK had to LIVE, just not quite in the fashion to which he was normally accustomed. I don't even remember how many workers I stole from him....8-10 maybe in total. Every time he left them uncovered on the border they were mine. I razed his city in the east (didn't like the spot) and made peace. Once he founded a city N between us, I marched on Karakorum with about 6 Chariots and kept it. Now KK had the one city sandwiched between us and I just picked up the workers every now and then. Karakorum built some culture buildings because KK was pushing the boundaries from the N, it also had more food than any other city I had so it got the NE and farms most everywhere. It also had forests, and I chopped a few of those into the GLibrary, culture problems solved for the rest of the game.
Gandhi got ALL EP directed at him...I new what he was researching, and I picked things I could trade. He spread Judaism to me and I adopted ofc, eventually I made a deal that was pretty favorable to him and he got to friendly...trade away!!!
I had chopped the Oracle in city #2(S of the Iron), and took Metal Casting from it. This city got watermilled after Machinery, got the HE, and was the main unit builder. It got to 40 base h/t eventually. I also built the Parthenon here to speed the GPP.
Yaso got mostly cottaged after chopping the forests into various projects...it built Statue of Zeus, Sankore, Taj, and OxU.
Liberalism got me Military Tradition.
The 4 GS's got me Machinery>Optics>Astro in the same turn and I went to meet the neighbors.
KK founded a city on the little island west so I was able to take his last mainland city and still keep trading with Gandhi.
The other continent was kinda interesting....Charley had Justin as a friendly Vassal when I arrived, and Brennus was fighting Capac. Brennus asked me to join, so I did...and eventually took Capac's coastal city so I had a place to call home. I set up a galleon chain and started dumping units in very heavily. I eventually took 2 more Capac cities, then he was willing to Vassal. Immediately upon healing my units we Dow on Brennus and raze a city or 2 and he Vassals almost instantly.
My only concern with my Conquest plan was the AP. It was owned by Charley in his cap at the N end of the Continent. I was stock piling units in anticipation of razing it by sea....but he got Grenadiers so I wasn't sure how well this would work, besides the fact that there were about 25 units total sitting there. I voted for Justin at the next AP election vote and immediately DOW on him...razed a couple cities before he could call for a "stop the war" vote and he Vassaled! Now that he was "on my side", we DOW Charley and he folds easily also.
I was late to attacking Gandhi because I was trying to figure out the whole AP thing.... eventually he also Vassaled,
And the Khmer were Conquest winners in 1620AD
This is a looooong write-up. But it was a long and exciting game.
4000 BC: The hill and the lion
Chief Suryavarman (later "the zeroth" after the discovery of Mathematics) settled the Khmer tribe on a rocky hill betwtixt the rivers Yaso and Pura. Legend states that Suryavarman thought he was on the river, and was much surprised when townsfolk complained about the lack of fresh water.
Chief Suryavarman was reluctant to send out poorly-armed scouting parties. He encouraged the scouts to stay in the forests, where they could climb a tree if attacked by predators. But alas, the first scouting party had barely set out when they were ambushed by a tree-climbing, Woodsman III-promoted pride of lions.
Thus Suryavarman instituted the famous Lion Rule: "Nobody goes wandering the wild unless they've got what it takes to beat up a lion."
Thus the Khmer were among the first to develop Archery, and almost certainly the only civilization to never train a club-swinging Warrior.
Nonetheless, Chief Suryavarman made plans for a new settlement:
When workers and settlers asked how they were supposed to get about in accordance with the 'Lion Rule', Suryavarman reportedly said, "Well... just try and be careful. And cut down those trees!"
1025 BC: Suryavarman's Folly
Suryavarman 0 was erratic, prone to violence, and a bit crazy. Based on knowledge of 'past lives', he insisted that the Khmer's peaceful Mongolian neighbors would eventually declare war. The dubious nature of this claim is underscored by the fact that Suryavarman also believed that the Mongols had somehow arranged the lion attack.
In 1025 BC, the fledgling Khmer made a pre-emptive strike against Mongolia. A half dozen legions of axemen made a disastrous assault on Karakorum. Despite inflicting significant casualties, they all perished.
470 BC: Gustavus and the Battle for Karakorum
Many skirmishes in the jungle followed. In 470 BC, this action gave rise to the great general Gustavus II Adolphus, who settled in Angkor Wat to train new recruits.
With the development of Catapults, a new assault caputred Karakorum in 125 BC. Resistance was light, but hope of an easy victory faded when swarms of fresh Mongolian troops surrounded the city. This resulted in an action known as "Gustav's Retreat": even as Chief Suryavarman sent word to hold the city at all costs, General Gustavus (communicating by pigeon from Angkor Wat) ordered his badly-wounded City Raiders to evacuate and make for the hills.
By keeping his troops alive, Gustavus was able to retake Karakorum in 100 AD. The Mongols couterattacked, but were repeatedly beaten back:
In retrospect, Chief Suryavarman's early war was reckless. But in the long run, it caused more damage to the Mongols and kept the fighting far away from developing Khmer cities.
In 595 AD, with firm control of Karakorum, the Khmer offered peace. But it was not to be:
145 AD - 775 AD: Suryavarman's Decline
Suryavarman the Zeroth then became even more erratic. He ignored the northern barbarians and the Mongols, despite a continuing state of war. He became obsessed with cementing his legacy and ordered the construction of a (mostly useless) Hanging Gardens.
In 775 AD, the Gardens were on the verge of completion. Tragically, Chief Suryavarman was inspecting the project when a loose block of stone slipped from a scoffold and killed him.
790 AD: Transition to Kingdom
At the time, there was an ambitious young army officer named Doophus Adolphus (a nephew of the famed general). Doophus had been frustrated by the lack of established procedure for changing his name. So when Chief Suryavarman died, Doophus siezed power and declared himself Suryavarman I, first King of Khmer.
The brief period of anarchy proved costly. When workers went out to put the finishing touches on the Hanging Gardens, they were met by a fearsome squad of patent lawyers representing an unnamed civilization. These patent lawyers would accept no licensing fee, but demanded that the Gardens be dismantled.
Suspiciously, although they claimed to represent the original Garden's creator, the lawyers cheerfully purchased all of the building materials. Historians now believe that the whole thing was a scam.
950 AD: Elephants, Economy and Expansion
Suryavarman I was at best a mediocre administrator, and might have bankrupted the Kingdom if not for two things: First was the windfall of gold from the patent lawyers. Second, after the King's mother-in-law moved to Angkor Thom, His Majesty avoided the city at all costs and left it free to develop a robust cottage economy.
Despite financial shortcomings, King Suryavarman's military campaigns were highly effective. He marched north and captured the barbarian city of Carib in 950 AD, thus securing a supply of elephants. Recognizing the beasts' combat potential, the King dispatched a herd to the training grounds in Angkor Wat.
By the time the elephants arrived, their tusks had already been removed by ambitious ivory merchants. The King was furious and had several merchants hauled before him for execution, prompting this exchange (of dubious authenticity):
Unnamed Merchant: "Silly way to use elephants, anyway."
Suryavarman I: "Beg pardon?"
Unnamed Merchant: "Animals make bad soldiers, Your Majesty."
Suryavarman I: "My cousin was killed by a Keshik."
Unnamed Merchant: "Er... yeah, but technically speaking, it was the guy on the horse firing arrows that did it. I mean, you wouldn't expect a horse to charge into battle head-butting the enemy, right? It'd just get skewered."
Suryavarman I: "So what do you propose?"
Unnamed Merchant: "Use the elephants to carry giant bows."
Suryavarman I: "Sounds awful heavy."
Unnamed Merchant: "Cut off the tusks to make up the difference."
Suryavarman I: "Excellent. Your life is spared, but I'm putting you in charge of de-tusking the elephants."
Unnamed Merchant: "As Your Majesty commands."
1050 - 1300: Mongolia in retreat
The Khmer's unique elephants proved decisive. Ning-hsia was taken in 1210, Beshbalik was captured in 1275, and Turfan fell in 1300.
1300: Triumvurate in Yasodharapura
After the fall of Turfan, Suryavarman I received a peace offering from Kublai Khan. The King planned to reject this, thinking the Mongols were on the verge of total collapse. But before making a decision he agreed to meet with a party of nobles who wanted to end the war.
On March 15, 1300, the King hosted a formal banquet following a day-long conference. It was here that the nobles executed a daring plan. Knives were not allowed in the King's presence, but no such rule had been established for the newly-invented fork. The treacherous nobles gang-rushed the King and forked him to death.
The conspiracy leaders-- Hashovarman, Dharanindravarman, and Wally-- formed a ruling council and made peace with Mongolia. They rubbed their greedy hands together and made plans to squander the Mongolian reparations.
But word from the capital soon reached Prince Ksitindrashmi, who had been leading the campaign in Turfan. Ksitindrashmi immediately set out for Yasodharapura, leaving much of his army behind to recover from injuries.
The Triumvurate held Yasodharapura with an equal-sized force, but Hashovarman, Dharanindravarman and Wally were pathetic generals. Furthermore, they were all-a-panicked after hearing that Ksitindrashmi planned to execute them "by such horrific method, that they shall beg for death by lions ere I have finished."
It is likely that the Prince was bluffing, but the Triumvurate all perished in the ensuing battle, so we'll never know.
Suryavarman II
Ksitindrashmi was crowned as Emperor Suryavarman II, and proved to be the greatest leader in Khmer history. He was so good he made Suryavarman I look bad.
During the civil war, Kublai Khan had sought protection as a vassal of the Indians, and most Khmerians felt that this spelled the end of war. The Khmer were dreadfully lagging in technology, and their newly-conquered cities lacked infrastructure. But by sheer force of will, the Emperor set out a different path. In 1380, he wrote:
It is unwise to neglect the development of machines and ideas, but far more perilous to neglect justice and our Manifest Destiny. By the blood of Khmer has India been kept safe. Secure against the Mongolians, they have languished for centuries, piddling with Aesthetics and Liberalism. But does India proffer thanks? Do they share their discoveries with us in gratitude?
Know ye this: The Indian has fallen into philosophical decadence. He has no national agenda; he does not seek the unfication of Jewish lands; and he offers protection to the vile Khan. For this, we will make war.
1380 - 1680: War with India
Suryavarman II launched a highly efficient army against India. Against conventional wisdom, he emphasized a pivotal role for Crossbows, stating that "Raw strength is noteworthy, but rarely decisive. There exists no counter to a proper formation of Crossbows."
Along with their elephants and newly-developed Trebuchet, Suryavarman's Crossbows were devastating. The Holy City of Bombay was taken in 1415, and Delhi in 1465.
Suryavarman II was also a shrewd negotiator. He traded peace for Indian discoveries in 1465. He attacked again in 1515, extracting Mongolian discoveries in 1620 and more Indian technologies in 1625. By the end of war with India in 1680, the Khmer had acquired Aesthetics, Compass, Literature, Music and Theology all at the negotiating table.
1680: The Indian-Mongolian Question
Some of the Emperor's viceroys complained that residual Indian culture was causing discontent in the cities they governed:
In addition, India had declared some kind of 'Emancipation', a dangerous idea to the slavery-dependent cities of Khmer. The viceroys argued that finishing off Ghandi would solve both problems, and that the uncultured Mongolians could be preserved as a trading partner instead.
But ultimately, the Indians had too many secrets still to trade, and the Khan would never share his. So in 1710, the useless Mongolians were wiped out.
1712 - 1814: Pax Khmera
Despite the knowledge extracted from defeated rivals, Khmer technology was still centuries behind:
Fortunately, the Emperor proved even more capable as a peacetime leader. He oversaw the transition to a Constitutional Republic and surrendered extraordinary power to the Senate. But there was a lot of winking and nudging in that: the Senate showered him with titles and Suryavarman retained de facto control of the Empire.
His reign saw development of the Printing Press, transcontinental trade routes, freedom of speech, and that whole sort of golden age thingy that great empires love to talk about.
Across one span of 66 years, the Empire's commerce quardrupled:
Near the end of his life, Suryavarman II laid out the conditions by which the Khmer Empire might achieve Ultimate Greatness, be it through culture, conquest, or the development of space travel. He also warned that the military must not be neglected, for if another civilization reached these goals first it would mean the end of the world.
Really.
1814 - 1862: The Aimless, Muddled Years
Following the death of Emperor Suryavarman in 1814, the Khmer Republic was governed by Sury the Incompetent.
Sury's first act as Prime Minister was to accept vassal status from the Indian nation. His next act was to pay a massive sum of gold to India for the secrets of "Democracy". As if the Indians wouldn't have handed it over for free in the face of 3 or 4 Riflemen. As if those people demanding Emancipation didn't even know what it was.
Prime Minister Sury increased espionage spending, then couldn't figure out what to do with it and scaled back.
He built up a massive treasury (at the expense of research) and then did nothing with it.
Sury half-heartedly authorized the building of 4 or 5 factories, believing that they were generally more trouble than they were worth. On the other hand, he was all gung-ho for a Liberty Statue Project which was never more than half completed. He also built many forest preserves in the wilderness north of Yasodharapura, thinking they would go great with a National Park that did not yet exist.
Yeah, he was pretty bad.
The Evil OtherContinent
Meanwhile, there was stuff happening on another continent. To be brief: They were a bunch of rotten heathens. Although they traded with the Khmer, they looked on all Jewish people with contempt. Worse, they made frequent demands for the Khmer to join in their barbaric wars.
Most Khmerians felt that it was only a matter of time before the Incans or Byzantines made trouble. Even if they did not start a war, the Incans were getting frighteningly close to the sort of 'Manifest Destiny' (culture version) that Suryavarman II had warned about.
But Sury the Incompetent felt that there was no point in doing anything about it, and anyway nothing could be done because the Incans were too powerful, so let's just tech some more and produce some Hit Musicals.
1862: Huyana Capac Tears Off the Mask
Less than a century before he would achieve cultural dominance, the Inca dictator cast aside the peaceful facade and made an unprovoked attack at Tiflis. The city was recaptured immediately, but a second Inca landing (Samarqand, 1864) showed just how unprepared the Khmer were. Although Khmer Infantry were superior to the Inca forces, they were so few in number that ancient elephant troops had to be called upon to join the fight:
Despite the technology gap in ground forces, the Incan's modern Destroyers were equal to the Khmer fleet. So at the outbreak of war, Sury the Incompetent ordered all the spies who where stationed in Inca to sabotage the oil wells.
The decision proved disastrous. Sury hoped new spies could be slipped into Inca by way of the Celtic or Byzantine territories on the opposite side of OtherContinent. But the Byzantine Empire (and their Celtic vassal) also declared war on Khmer in 1868. Without active spies, the Khmer were now completely blind to OtherContinent.
The Byzantine navy was small, but Justinian commanded modern Infantry. The Khmer rapidly built up their armed forces and beat off several attacks in the years that followed:
1871 - 1908: Operation Screw
Prime Minister Sury believed that superior technology would overwhelm the Incans, and he was convinced that Justinian had only joined the war after being bribed by Huyana Capac. Sury therefore planned to make peace with the Byzantine Empire and then launch an assault on the Inca's culture-crazy heartland.
Thus was conceived "Operation Screw." It was decided that a minimal number of transports should cross the ocean as soon as possible so Khmer troops could begin wearing down the Incans. The transports would then return for a second wave.
Five Transports would carry a total of 40 divisions (20 per trip) to carry out the offensive. Additional troops, as well as large numbers of aircraft and a few guided missles, would be transferred by air into a captured city.
Operation Screw was designed to allow for maximum improvisation. The first wave did not have to capture Ollantaytambo, but could simply hold position until the second wave arrived, at which time they could join up in Ollantaytambo or Vilcabamba. Once the airlift was operational, Cuzco was the primary target; but if it proved too heavily defended, the cultural threshhold could be averted by capturing Vilcas.
1893: Screwed
In 1885, Sury accepted a peace offering from the Byzantines. He then launched Operation Screw, which arrived in 1893:
Huyana Capac immediately attacked the Khmer 2nd Corps with wave after wave of Cavalry. Some Cavalry divisions were destroyed, but many were able to retreat before being wiped out. Thus, before the Khmer armies could make a move, the entire 2nd Corps was eliminated.
1898: Really Screwed
The 1st Corps dug in, couterattacked skillfully, and held out as long as possible. But only two divisions remained by the time the second wave arrived.
Other news was worse: In 1898, Justinian re-joined the war. It had become obvious to the Khmer people, if not their Prime Minister, that the promises of Justinian and Huyana were utterly worthless.
In 1904, the 3rd & 4th Corps arrived with 20 fresh divisions. They assaulted a lightly-defended Vilcabamba and took the city without loss. The last two divisions of the 1st Corps, unfortunately, did not reach the city alive.
The Khmer Expeditionary Force planned to hold fast in Vilcabamba while squadrons of bombers and carrier-based fighters pounded enemy forces in the area.
But the lack of spies on OtherContinent came back to haunt the Khmer. In 1908, some 50 Byzantine divisions (no one survived to give an exact count), most of them modern Infantry, came zipping across the continent by rail. In a single battle, they wiped out the entire garrison of Vilcabamba and destroyed its air forces on the ground.
After the disaster, there were no Khmer forces outside the home continent except for naval units. So in 1908, Prime Minister Sury made peace with Inca for a pittance and ordered the navy to withdraw from the Eastern Sea.
Sury was also on the verge of negotiating peace with the Byzantines, but then an outraged party of Senators decided to lynch him.
1908: The Darkest Hour
Altogether, 41 divisions, 4 squadrons of aircraft, and 3 great generals had been destroyed in Operation Screw. Things were bleak. The Khmer had only 35 divisions of modern units, and even that number counted a dozen siege. This was barely enough for defense of the home continent.
The Byzantines and Incans had suffered some casualties, but either army alone still outnumbered the Khmer. Worst of all, Khmer intelligence calculated 41 "turns" (as they reckoned things) until Inca achieved cultural destiny, and all three of the great culture cities were within the interior of OtherContinent.
Things were so bad in 1909 that no Senator was willing to replace Sury as Prime Minister. With some reservations, they turned to Lord Paramavishnuloka, Secretary of the Navy and one-time governor of Angkor Wat.
Paramavishnuloka was certainly brilliant, perhaps the equal of Suryavarman II, but he lacked his ancient predecessor's enlightened qualities. In short, he was brutal and efficient. He declined the title of Prime Minister and insisted that the Senate name him 'The Leader'.
1909: The Conference at Angkor Wat
Leader Paramavishnuloka gathered his allies and generals for an historic meeting at the Angkor Wat military academy.
The Leader wasted no time in issuing the Angkor Declaration, which called for continued war against Inca and Byzantium until they surrendered unconditionally. These were shocking words to those who thought the Khmer had already lost the war!
"Do not ask, can we do it," said Paramavishnuloka, "But rather, how can it be done."
Time was the third enemy, with no more than 41 "turns" until Inca victory. Allied planners calculated some 21 turns would be required to travel from the Khmer coast to an interior Inca city (speed would be limited by Artillery), and at least 5 more turns to fight off counterattacks.
The technology for Mechanized Infantry, considered vital, would not be available for 7 further turns. This left a mere 8 turns to build an army.
A number of strategies were adopted at the conference:
* You're with me or you're my enemy: Henceforth, all plans would assume that Incans and Byzantines would both be fighting. Furthermore, the Celts would not be spared the ravages of war.
* One crossing: Transports were cheap, so the Khmer would build however many it took to carry the entire army in one trip.
* Western Ocean route: The west coast cities could build transports more rapidly; the Western Ocean was the most likely route for a counter-invasion by sea, which meant warships could do double-duty; and by landing on the east of OtherContinent, the Khmer army could expect to fight the stronger enemy (Byzantines) before suffering any losses to the weaker enemy.
* Celtic landing: This offered the best chance to take a lightly-defended coastal city. Some rookie officers worried that Byzantine forces from the north would "flank" the west-moving Khmer columns, but that was silly. In fact, the distance and angle would cause the Byzantines to arrive in smaller groups. Most importantly, the Celts did not have railroads that might have sped up the approaching Byzantines.
* No Civic Unrest: Any reorganization which might allow production to be "rushed", or to reduce war whining, would be postponed until the invasion landed.
* Spiritualization of Wall Street: Paramavishnuloka dismissed an entire cadre of merchants on Wall Street and forced them to take up Priesthood. He thought this balance was necessary to usher in a golden age, because "we've already got one Great Merchant sitting around on his butt." The Age would not come in time to aid the landing, but The Leader felt it would be critical to success in the action that followed.
* Deficit Research Spending: Get to Robotics first, then produce the cash for upgrades.
* Military Production in Strict Order: Troops and Transports would come first; supplemental naval forces (a new East Sea fleet) would come next; additional troops for airlift, warplanes, and missles would follow.
* Naval Diversion: To delay counterattacks, the main body of carriers would raid the Byzantine coastline. However, it was decided that the carriers must stay within range of the Celtic targets in case they were needed to support ground troops.
* Immediate Training of Infantry in every possible city. The troops would be upgraded as Mechanized technology became available. This was the core of Paramavishnuloka's plan, and it was carried out with great success:
1924: Operation Get-It-Right-This-Time
With 14 of 16 transports filled, The Leader ordered a launch in 1924, several turns ahead of schedule. He personally attended the launch, and addressed the troops regarding the Inca threat: "Whenever you hear culture, reach for your gun."
Under heavy naval escort, the transports crossed the ocean, shaving another turn off schedule thanks to new Refrigeration technology (captains steered better when they had cool, refreshing energy drinks).
In 1927, the Celtic city of Vienne was overwhelmed by Khmer troops. Byzantine counterattacks by infantry, siege and tanks were heavy, but not unexpected. This time, the garrison was too large and too well-promoted to suffer any losses.
By 1936, the disciplined commanders of Operation Get-It-Right-This-Time had worn down the Byzantine army and moved their main body to the Inca border:
Also in 1936, Paramavishnuloka succeeded in declaring a "golden age". He took advantage of the public optimism to pay lip service to "universal suffrage" and thus complete an airport in Vienne. Now, new troops could be airlifted to OtherContinent with astonishing speed.
1940: Disaster Averted
After destroying huge numbers of Inca cannon and cavalry in the countryside, the battle for Vilcas was brief. The city fell to Khmer in January of 1940, ending the threat of Inca culture. Peacemongers called this "the beginning of the end", but Paramavishnuloka called it the end of the beginning. He also declared a police state and had the peacemongers arrested.
With the enemy in retreat on all fronts, The Leader pressed his advantage ruthlessly. He knew the Incans would resume their cultural goal if allowed, and he suspected the Byzantines were developing a nuclear superbomb. So Operation GIRTT evolved, as The Leader had secretly planned, into Operation Kick-The-Crap-Out-Of-Those-Guys:
Paramavishnuloka escalated the pressure on Huyana by razing several Inca cities. Entire communities were slaughtered in some of history's worst atrocities. But the tactic was effective: In 1952, Huyana surrendered unconditionally.
Brennus of the Celts, who had previously transferred allegiance to the Incans, also saw this as a good time to throw in the towel.
Paramavishnuloka immediately called the Inca railroads into service, allowing dozens of Modern Armor and Mechanized Infantry to fall upon Byzantine cities that would have otherwise been unaccessible. More atrocities followed, and Byzantium surrendered immediately.
Huyana Capac and Justinian were then taken to Yasodharapura and subjected to a ceremony which some pundits described as "vulgar." Stripped of their entourages, the one-time belligerents were forced to crawl on their bellies across the throne room and swear eternal allegiance to Khmer:
And the Khmer had lordship and dominion over all the world, yea, even unto the end of days.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Some final statistics:
67938 = Demands from OtherContinent that I stop trading with Ghandi (estimated)
1893 = First year in which I completed construction of a World Wonder (Broadway)
1025 = Units killed in battle (157 Cavalry, 87 Infantry, 73 Destroyers, 58 Cannon, 52 Tanks, etc.)
217 = Units lost in battle (24 Destroyers, 23 Artillery, 22 Infantry, 22 Catapults, etc.)
91 = Percentage of world population at time of victory
73.5 = Stupid Mistakes
34 = Hours of playing time
11 = Great Generals
9 = Cities built
6 = Cities razed (all in the last few turns)
5 = Undamaged Battleships sunk in one-to-one combat with Destroyers
1 = Technologies acquired via espionage (Replaceable Parts)
1 = Technologies acquired via espionage in all games that I've ever played
1 = Paratroopers built
0 = Uses found for aforementioned Paratrooper
-14 = Typical war unhappies (with Jail and Mount Rushmore) prior to Police State
Cheerio,
Jason
4000 BC: The hill and the lion
Chief Suryavarman (later "the zeroth" after the discovery of Mathematics) settled the Khmer tribe on a rocky hill betwtixt the rivers Yaso and Pura. Legend states that Suryavarman thought he was on the river, and was much surprised when townsfolk complained about the lack of fresh water.
Spoiler :
Chief Suryavarman was reluctant to send out poorly-armed scouting parties. He encouraged the scouts to stay in the forests, where they could climb a tree if attacked by predators. But alas, the first scouting party had barely set out when they were ambushed by a tree-climbing, Woodsman III-promoted pride of lions.
Thus Suryavarman instituted the famous Lion Rule: "Nobody goes wandering the wild unless they've got what it takes to beat up a lion."
Thus the Khmer were among the first to develop Archery, and almost certainly the only civilization to never train a club-swinging Warrior.
Nonetheless, Chief Suryavarman made plans for a new settlement:
Spoiler :
When workers and settlers asked how they were supposed to get about in accordance with the 'Lion Rule', Suryavarman reportedly said, "Well... just try and be careful. And cut down those trees!"
1025 BC: Suryavarman's Folly
Suryavarman 0 was erratic, prone to violence, and a bit crazy. Based on knowledge of 'past lives', he insisted that the Khmer's peaceful Mongolian neighbors would eventually declare war. The dubious nature of this claim is underscored by the fact that Suryavarman also believed that the Mongols had somehow arranged the lion attack.
In 1025 BC, the fledgling Khmer made a pre-emptive strike against Mongolia. A half dozen legions of axemen made a disastrous assault on Karakorum. Despite inflicting significant casualties, they all perished.
470 BC: Gustavus and the Battle for Karakorum
Many skirmishes in the jungle followed. In 470 BC, this action gave rise to the great general Gustavus II Adolphus, who settled in Angkor Wat to train new recruits.
With the development of Catapults, a new assault caputred Karakorum in 125 BC. Resistance was light, but hope of an easy victory faded when swarms of fresh Mongolian troops surrounded the city. This resulted in an action known as "Gustav's Retreat": even as Chief Suryavarman sent word to hold the city at all costs, General Gustavus (communicating by pigeon from Angkor Wat) ordered his badly-wounded City Raiders to evacuate and make for the hills.
By keeping his troops alive, Gustavus was able to retake Karakorum in 100 AD. The Mongols couterattacked, but were repeatedly beaten back:
Spoiler :
In retrospect, Chief Suryavarman's early war was reckless. But in the long run, it caused more damage to the Mongols and kept the fighting far away from developing Khmer cities.
In 595 AD, with firm control of Karakorum, the Khmer offered peace. But it was not to be:
Spoiler :
145 AD - 775 AD: Suryavarman's Decline
Suryavarman the Zeroth then became even more erratic. He ignored the northern barbarians and the Mongols, despite a continuing state of war. He became obsessed with cementing his legacy and ordered the construction of a (mostly useless) Hanging Gardens.
In 775 AD, the Gardens were on the verge of completion. Tragically, Chief Suryavarman was inspecting the project when a loose block of stone slipped from a scoffold and killed him.
790 AD: Transition to Kingdom
At the time, there was an ambitious young army officer named Doophus Adolphus (a nephew of the famed general). Doophus had been frustrated by the lack of established procedure for changing his name. So when Chief Suryavarman died, Doophus siezed power and declared himself Suryavarman I, first King of Khmer.
Spoiler :
The brief period of anarchy proved costly. When workers went out to put the finishing touches on the Hanging Gardens, they were met by a fearsome squad of patent lawyers representing an unnamed civilization. These patent lawyers would accept no licensing fee, but demanded that the Gardens be dismantled.
Suspiciously, although they claimed to represent the original Garden's creator, the lawyers cheerfully purchased all of the building materials. Historians now believe that the whole thing was a scam.
950 AD: Elephants, Economy and Expansion
Suryavarman I was at best a mediocre administrator, and might have bankrupted the Kingdom if not for two things: First was the windfall of gold from the patent lawyers. Second, after the King's mother-in-law moved to Angkor Thom, His Majesty avoided the city at all costs and left it free to develop a robust cottage economy.
Spoiler :
Despite financial shortcomings, King Suryavarman's military campaigns were highly effective. He marched north and captured the barbarian city of Carib in 950 AD, thus securing a supply of elephants. Recognizing the beasts' combat potential, the King dispatched a herd to the training grounds in Angkor Wat.
Spoiler :
By the time the elephants arrived, their tusks had already been removed by ambitious ivory merchants. The King was furious and had several merchants hauled before him for execution, prompting this exchange (of dubious authenticity):
Unnamed Merchant: "Silly way to use elephants, anyway."
Suryavarman I: "Beg pardon?"
Unnamed Merchant: "Animals make bad soldiers, Your Majesty."
Suryavarman I: "My cousin was killed by a Keshik."
Unnamed Merchant: "Er... yeah, but technically speaking, it was the guy on the horse firing arrows that did it. I mean, you wouldn't expect a horse to charge into battle head-butting the enemy, right? It'd just get skewered."
Suryavarman I: "So what do you propose?"
Unnamed Merchant: "Use the elephants to carry giant bows."
Suryavarman I: "Sounds awful heavy."
Unnamed Merchant: "Cut off the tusks to make up the difference."
Suryavarman I: "Excellent. Your life is spared, but I'm putting you in charge of de-tusking the elephants."
Unnamed Merchant: "As Your Majesty commands."
1050 - 1300: Mongolia in retreat
The Khmer's unique elephants proved decisive. Ning-hsia was taken in 1210, Beshbalik was captured in 1275, and Turfan fell in 1300.
Spoiler :
1300: Triumvurate in Yasodharapura
After the fall of Turfan, Suryavarman I received a peace offering from Kublai Khan. The King planned to reject this, thinking the Mongols were on the verge of total collapse. But before making a decision he agreed to meet with a party of nobles who wanted to end the war.
On March 15, 1300, the King hosted a formal banquet following a day-long conference. It was here that the nobles executed a daring plan. Knives were not allowed in the King's presence, but no such rule had been established for the newly-invented fork. The treacherous nobles gang-rushed the King and forked him to death.
The conspiracy leaders-- Hashovarman, Dharanindravarman, and Wally-- formed a ruling council and made peace with Mongolia. They rubbed their greedy hands together and made plans to squander the Mongolian reparations.
But word from the capital soon reached Prince Ksitindrashmi, who had been leading the campaign in Turfan. Ksitindrashmi immediately set out for Yasodharapura, leaving much of his army behind to recover from injuries.
The Triumvurate held Yasodharapura with an equal-sized force, but Hashovarman, Dharanindravarman and Wally were pathetic generals. Furthermore, they were all-a-panicked after hearing that Ksitindrashmi planned to execute them "by such horrific method, that they shall beg for death by lions ere I have finished."
It is likely that the Prince was bluffing, but the Triumvurate all perished in the ensuing battle, so we'll never know.
Suryavarman II
Spoiler :
Ksitindrashmi was crowned as Emperor Suryavarman II, and proved to be the greatest leader in Khmer history. He was so good he made Suryavarman I look bad.
During the civil war, Kublai Khan had sought protection as a vassal of the Indians, and most Khmerians felt that this spelled the end of war. The Khmer were dreadfully lagging in technology, and their newly-conquered cities lacked infrastructure. But by sheer force of will, the Emperor set out a different path. In 1380, he wrote:
It is unwise to neglect the development of machines and ideas, but far more perilous to neglect justice and our Manifest Destiny. By the blood of Khmer has India been kept safe. Secure against the Mongolians, they have languished for centuries, piddling with Aesthetics and Liberalism. But does India proffer thanks? Do they share their discoveries with us in gratitude?
Know ye this: The Indian has fallen into philosophical decadence. He has no national agenda; he does not seek the unfication of Jewish lands; and he offers protection to the vile Khan. For this, we will make war.
1380 - 1680: War with India
Suryavarman II launched a highly efficient army against India. Against conventional wisdom, he emphasized a pivotal role for Crossbows, stating that "Raw strength is noteworthy, but rarely decisive. There exists no counter to a proper formation of Crossbows."
Along with their elephants and newly-developed Trebuchet, Suryavarman's Crossbows were devastating. The Holy City of Bombay was taken in 1415, and Delhi in 1465.
Spoiler :
Suryavarman II was also a shrewd negotiator. He traded peace for Indian discoveries in 1465. He attacked again in 1515, extracting Mongolian discoveries in 1620 and more Indian technologies in 1625. By the end of war with India in 1680, the Khmer had acquired Aesthetics, Compass, Literature, Music and Theology all at the negotiating table.
1680: The Indian-Mongolian Question
Some of the Emperor's viceroys complained that residual Indian culture was causing discontent in the cities they governed:
Spoiler :
In addition, India had declared some kind of 'Emancipation', a dangerous idea to the slavery-dependent cities of Khmer. The viceroys argued that finishing off Ghandi would solve both problems, and that the uncultured Mongolians could be preserved as a trading partner instead.
But ultimately, the Indians had too many secrets still to trade, and the Khan would never share his. So in 1710, the useless Mongolians were wiped out.
1712 - 1814: Pax Khmera
Despite the knowledge extracted from defeated rivals, Khmer technology was still centuries behind:
Spoiler :
Fortunately, the Emperor proved even more capable as a peacetime leader. He oversaw the transition to a Constitutional Republic and surrendered extraordinary power to the Senate. But there was a lot of winking and nudging in that: the Senate showered him with titles and Suryavarman retained de facto control of the Empire.
His reign saw development of the Printing Press, transcontinental trade routes, freedom of speech, and that whole sort of golden age thingy that great empires love to talk about.
Across one span of 66 years, the Empire's commerce quardrupled:
Spoiler :
Near the end of his life, Suryavarman II laid out the conditions by which the Khmer Empire might achieve Ultimate Greatness, be it through culture, conquest, or the development of space travel. He also warned that the military must not be neglected, for if another civilization reached these goals first it would mean the end of the world.
Really.
1814 - 1862: The Aimless, Muddled Years
Following the death of Emperor Suryavarman in 1814, the Khmer Republic was governed by Sury the Incompetent.
Spoiler :
Sury's first act as Prime Minister was to accept vassal status from the Indian nation. His next act was to pay a massive sum of gold to India for the secrets of "Democracy". As if the Indians wouldn't have handed it over for free in the face of 3 or 4 Riflemen. As if those people demanding Emancipation didn't even know what it was.
Prime Minister Sury increased espionage spending, then couldn't figure out what to do with it and scaled back.
He built up a massive treasury (at the expense of research) and then did nothing with it.
Sury half-heartedly authorized the building of 4 or 5 factories, believing that they were generally more trouble than they were worth. On the other hand, he was all gung-ho for a Liberty Statue Project which was never more than half completed. He also built many forest preserves in the wilderness north of Yasodharapura, thinking they would go great with a National Park that did not yet exist.
Yeah, he was pretty bad.
The Evil OtherContinent
Meanwhile, there was stuff happening on another continent. To be brief: They were a bunch of rotten heathens. Although they traded with the Khmer, they looked on all Jewish people with contempt. Worse, they made frequent demands for the Khmer to join in their barbaric wars.
Most Khmerians felt that it was only a matter of time before the Incans or Byzantines made trouble. Even if they did not start a war, the Incans were getting frighteningly close to the sort of 'Manifest Destiny' (culture version) that Suryavarman II had warned about.
But Sury the Incompetent felt that there was no point in doing anything about it, and anyway nothing could be done because the Incans were too powerful, so let's just tech some more and produce some Hit Musicals.
Spoiler :
1862: Huyana Capac Tears Off the Mask
Less than a century before he would achieve cultural dominance, the Inca dictator cast aside the peaceful facade and made an unprovoked attack at Tiflis. The city was recaptured immediately, but a second Inca landing (Samarqand, 1864) showed just how unprepared the Khmer were. Although Khmer Infantry were superior to the Inca forces, they were so few in number that ancient elephant troops had to be called upon to join the fight:
Spoiler :
Despite the technology gap in ground forces, the Incan's modern Destroyers were equal to the Khmer fleet. So at the outbreak of war, Sury the Incompetent ordered all the spies who where stationed in Inca to sabotage the oil wells.
The decision proved disastrous. Sury hoped new spies could be slipped into Inca by way of the Celtic or Byzantine territories on the opposite side of OtherContinent. But the Byzantine Empire (and their Celtic vassal) also declared war on Khmer in 1868. Without active spies, the Khmer were now completely blind to OtherContinent.
The Byzantine navy was small, but Justinian commanded modern Infantry. The Khmer rapidly built up their armed forces and beat off several attacks in the years that followed:
Spoiler :
1871 - 1908: Operation Screw
Prime Minister Sury believed that superior technology would overwhelm the Incans, and he was convinced that Justinian had only joined the war after being bribed by Huyana Capac. Sury therefore planned to make peace with the Byzantine Empire and then launch an assault on the Inca's culture-crazy heartland.
Thus was conceived "Operation Screw." It was decided that a minimal number of transports should cross the ocean as soon as possible so Khmer troops could begin wearing down the Incans. The transports would then return for a second wave.
Spoiler :
Five Transports would carry a total of 40 divisions (20 per trip) to carry out the offensive. Additional troops, as well as large numbers of aircraft and a few guided missles, would be transferred by air into a captured city.
Operation Screw was designed to allow for maximum improvisation. The first wave did not have to capture Ollantaytambo, but could simply hold position until the second wave arrived, at which time they could join up in Ollantaytambo or Vilcabamba. Once the airlift was operational, Cuzco was the primary target; but if it proved too heavily defended, the cultural threshhold could be averted by capturing Vilcas.
1893: Screwed
In 1885, Sury accepted a peace offering from the Byzantines. He then launched Operation Screw, which arrived in 1893:
Spoiler :
Huyana Capac immediately attacked the Khmer 2nd Corps with wave after wave of Cavalry. Some Cavalry divisions were destroyed, but many were able to retreat before being wiped out. Thus, before the Khmer armies could make a move, the entire 2nd Corps was eliminated.
1898: Really Screwed
The 1st Corps dug in, couterattacked skillfully, and held out as long as possible. But only two divisions remained by the time the second wave arrived.
Other news was worse: In 1898, Justinian re-joined the war. It had become obvious to the Khmer people, if not their Prime Minister, that the promises of Justinian and Huyana were utterly worthless.
In 1904, the 3rd & 4th Corps arrived with 20 fresh divisions. They assaulted a lightly-defended Vilcabamba and took the city without loss. The last two divisions of the 1st Corps, unfortunately, did not reach the city alive.
Spoiler :
The Khmer Expeditionary Force planned to hold fast in Vilcabamba while squadrons of bombers and carrier-based fighters pounded enemy forces in the area.
But the lack of spies on OtherContinent came back to haunt the Khmer. In 1908, some 50 Byzantine divisions (no one survived to give an exact count), most of them modern Infantry, came zipping across the continent by rail. In a single battle, they wiped out the entire garrison of Vilcabamba and destroyed its air forces on the ground.
After the disaster, there were no Khmer forces outside the home continent except for naval units. So in 1908, Prime Minister Sury made peace with Inca for a pittance and ordered the navy to withdraw from the Eastern Sea.
Spoiler :
Sury was also on the verge of negotiating peace with the Byzantines, but then an outraged party of Senators decided to lynch him.
1908: The Darkest Hour
Altogether, 41 divisions, 4 squadrons of aircraft, and 3 great generals had been destroyed in Operation Screw. Things were bleak. The Khmer had only 35 divisions of modern units, and even that number counted a dozen siege. This was barely enough for defense of the home continent.
The Byzantines and Incans had suffered some casualties, but either army alone still outnumbered the Khmer. Worst of all, Khmer intelligence calculated 41 "turns" (as they reckoned things) until Inca achieved cultural destiny, and all three of the great culture cities were within the interior of OtherContinent.
Spoiler :
Things were so bad in 1909 that no Senator was willing to replace Sury as Prime Minister. With some reservations, they turned to Lord Paramavishnuloka, Secretary of the Navy and one-time governor of Angkor Wat.
Paramavishnuloka was certainly brilliant, perhaps the equal of Suryavarman II, but he lacked his ancient predecessor's enlightened qualities. In short, he was brutal and efficient. He declined the title of Prime Minister and insisted that the Senate name him 'The Leader'.
1909: The Conference at Angkor Wat
Leader Paramavishnuloka gathered his allies and generals for an historic meeting at the Angkor Wat military academy.
Spoiler :
The Leader wasted no time in issuing the Angkor Declaration, which called for continued war against Inca and Byzantium until they surrendered unconditionally. These were shocking words to those who thought the Khmer had already lost the war!
"Do not ask, can we do it," said Paramavishnuloka, "But rather, how can it be done."
Time was the third enemy, with no more than 41 "turns" until Inca victory. Allied planners calculated some 21 turns would be required to travel from the Khmer coast to an interior Inca city (speed would be limited by Artillery), and at least 5 more turns to fight off counterattacks.
Spoiler :
The technology for Mechanized Infantry, considered vital, would not be available for 7 further turns. This left a mere 8 turns to build an army.
A number of strategies were adopted at the conference:
* You're with me or you're my enemy: Henceforth, all plans would assume that Incans and Byzantines would both be fighting. Furthermore, the Celts would not be spared the ravages of war.
* One crossing: Transports were cheap, so the Khmer would build however many it took to carry the entire army in one trip.
* Western Ocean route: The west coast cities could build transports more rapidly; the Western Ocean was the most likely route for a counter-invasion by sea, which meant warships could do double-duty; and by landing on the east of OtherContinent, the Khmer army could expect to fight the stronger enemy (Byzantines) before suffering any losses to the weaker enemy.
* Celtic landing: This offered the best chance to take a lightly-defended coastal city. Some rookie officers worried that Byzantine forces from the north would "flank" the west-moving Khmer columns, but that was silly. In fact, the distance and angle would cause the Byzantines to arrive in smaller groups. Most importantly, the Celts did not have railroads that might have sped up the approaching Byzantines.
* No Civic Unrest: Any reorganization which might allow production to be "rushed", or to reduce war whining, would be postponed until the invasion landed.
* Spiritualization of Wall Street: Paramavishnuloka dismissed an entire cadre of merchants on Wall Street and forced them to take up Priesthood. He thought this balance was necessary to usher in a golden age, because "we've already got one Great Merchant sitting around on his butt." The Age would not come in time to aid the landing, but The Leader felt it would be critical to success in the action that followed.
* Deficit Research Spending: Get to Robotics first, then produce the cash for upgrades.
* Military Production in Strict Order: Troops and Transports would come first; supplemental naval forces (a new East Sea fleet) would come next; additional troops for airlift, warplanes, and missles would follow.
* Naval Diversion: To delay counterattacks, the main body of carriers would raid the Byzantine coastline. However, it was decided that the carriers must stay within range of the Celtic targets in case they were needed to support ground troops.
Spoiler :
* Immediate Training of Infantry in every possible city. The troops would be upgraded as Mechanized technology became available. This was the core of Paramavishnuloka's plan, and it was carried out with great success:
Spoiler :
1924: Operation Get-It-Right-This-Time
With 14 of 16 transports filled, The Leader ordered a launch in 1924, several turns ahead of schedule. He personally attended the launch, and addressed the troops regarding the Inca threat: "Whenever you hear culture, reach for your gun."
Under heavy naval escort, the transports crossed the ocean, shaving another turn off schedule thanks to new Refrigeration technology (captains steered better when they had cool, refreshing energy drinks).
In 1927, the Celtic city of Vienne was overwhelmed by Khmer troops. Byzantine counterattacks by infantry, siege and tanks were heavy, but not unexpected. This time, the garrison was too large and too well-promoted to suffer any losses.
By 1936, the disciplined commanders of Operation Get-It-Right-This-Time had worn down the Byzantine army and moved their main body to the Inca border:
Spoiler :
Also in 1936, Paramavishnuloka succeeded in declaring a "golden age". He took advantage of the public optimism to pay lip service to "universal suffrage" and thus complete an airport in Vienne. Now, new troops could be airlifted to OtherContinent with astonishing speed.
1940: Disaster Averted
After destroying huge numbers of Inca cannon and cavalry in the countryside, the battle for Vilcas was brief. The city fell to Khmer in January of 1940, ending the threat of Inca culture. Peacemongers called this "the beginning of the end", but Paramavishnuloka called it the end of the beginning. He also declared a police state and had the peacemongers arrested.
With the enemy in retreat on all fronts, The Leader pressed his advantage ruthlessly. He knew the Incans would resume their cultural goal if allowed, and he suspected the Byzantines were developing a nuclear superbomb. So Operation GIRTT evolved, as The Leader had secretly planned, into Operation Kick-The-Crap-Out-Of-Those-Guys:
Spoiler :
Paramavishnuloka escalated the pressure on Huyana by razing several Inca cities. Entire communities were slaughtered in some of history's worst atrocities. But the tactic was effective: In 1952, Huyana surrendered unconditionally.
Brennus of the Celts, who had previously transferred allegiance to the Incans, also saw this as a good time to throw in the towel.
Paramavishnuloka immediately called the Inca railroads into service, allowing dozens of Modern Armor and Mechanized Infantry to fall upon Byzantine cities that would have otherwise been unaccessible. More atrocities followed, and Byzantium surrendered immediately.
Huyana Capac and Justinian were then taken to Yasodharapura and subjected to a ceremony which some pundits described as "vulgar." Stripped of their entourages, the one-time belligerents were forced to crawl on their bellies across the throne room and swear eternal allegiance to Khmer:
Spoiler :
And the Khmer had lordship and dominion over all the world, yea, even unto the end of days.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Some final statistics:
67938 = Demands from OtherContinent that I stop trading with Ghandi (estimated)
1893 = First year in which I completed construction of a World Wonder (Broadway)
1025 = Units killed in battle (157 Cavalry, 87 Infantry, 73 Destroyers, 58 Cannon, 52 Tanks, etc.)
217 = Units lost in battle (24 Destroyers, 23 Artillery, 22 Infantry, 22 Catapults, etc.)
91 = Percentage of world population at time of victory
73.5 = Stupid Mistakes
34 = Hours of playing time
11 = Great Generals
9 = Cities built
6 = Cities razed (all in the last few turns)
5 = Undamaged Battleships sunk in one-to-one combat with Destroyers
1 = Technologies acquired via espionage (Replaceable Parts)
1 = Technologies acquired via espionage in all games that I've ever played
1 = Paratroopers built
0 = Uses found for aforementioned Paratrooper
-14 = Typical war unhappies (with Jail and Mount Rushmore) prior to Police State
Cheerio,
Jason
Adama
Warlord
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2007
- Messages
- 137
Wow! One thing you have to love about Civ, regardless of your involvement level, is the totally consuming and awe-inspiring inspiration that it can bestow upon you when you have an interesting interchange with the type of enjoyment that you obviously must have gained from this experience !!
This write-up is quite the labor of love.
{I enjoyed the wit throughout I might add
} One statistic you might want to edit into this post is the number of scribes it took to compile the write-up and the number of clay tablets consumed in the first few thousand years until paper and computer processors were invented ...
I.e., hours played 15, compiling notes and write-up 19 ...And they say CIV is "just a game."
Adama
ChrisShaffer
Board gamer
Holy smokes SirDrake. You've outdone yourself. I bow down to your excellence in writing game reports!
At 500AD I had just managed to get break-even treasury at 0% research. But the long-term prospect of all those cottages built during the bailout are making long-term prospects somehwat less dire. Fortunately, Pyramids and GLib kept my research going reasonably ok even at 0%. I have tech trading with Ghandi and KK, and when I finally get to the other continent find that we are very competitive in terms of scientific advancement.
However, my best shot at a victory here is by Relig/diplo. And its already getting late for Relig. I built the Apostalic Palace in Judaism. Tried to spread it to the far continent, but too much Theocracy, closed borders, and such made it hard. After one missionary finally tried and failed to spread Judiasm, I gave up. However, the AP remained very useful to stop Ghandi/KK wars, force borders open, and such which enabled me to get Friendly with both with +14 and +15 in diplo. Amazing since I'd had to join wars (without fighting) against Ghandi in the BC years. AP meant I no longer had to worry about that or have to keep denying "stop trade" or "join war" kind of demands, which was very useful.
Beeline Mass Media. Calculate the INca's will be my opponent - and they aren't particularly loved by anyone. I'll get KK and Ghandis votes easy, but need one more. (I've uncharacteristically figured this out in about 1200AD, long before Mass Media). I'll go for Justinian since he hates me least. Joining wars against Brennus is easy... he's everyone's worst enemy. But I have no army, so no fighting.
I beat Ghandi to Mass Media by maybe 10 turns. Universal Suffrage used to buy the half-built UN at cost of 15000 gold, 3 turns after Ghandi has Mass Media (and Ghandi was wonder-spamming, so I'm sure it was a very close call!). I dropped Judaism to avoid the -4 hit from Justinian, and Ghandi is now at only +10 and KK at +11 but both still friendly. Defense Pact with KK (the most powerful civ) keeps me (the weakest civ) safe, and keeps my diplo hopes alive.
On first victory vote, Justinian abstains at +9. Crap. Ghandi and KK are in my pocket, as long as I don't get unlucky in the next 10 turns. Change civics to theocracy (yeah... this really makes sense when running "no state religion
), slavery and Hered Rule or some other such useless combination that Justinian happens to be using.
Textbook diplo win 1830AD.
Units attacked = 0
Units defeated = 2 (Brennus found a couple of auto-exploring caravels)
Final score = 34000+
Time played = 6 hrs.
All in all a very quiet and peaceful game at emperor. I felt good that I was able to overcome my early failures and get a pretty good diplo victory date (for me) at emperor level.
I'd like to see the difficulty level go up again because now I'm getting cocky.
However, my best shot at a victory here is by Relig/diplo. And its already getting late for Relig. I built the Apostalic Palace in Judaism. Tried to spread it to the far continent, but too much Theocracy, closed borders, and such made it hard. After one missionary finally tried and failed to spread Judiasm, I gave up. However, the AP remained very useful to stop Ghandi/KK wars, force borders open, and such which enabled me to get Friendly with both with +14 and +15 in diplo. Amazing since I'd had to join wars (without fighting) against Ghandi in the BC years. AP meant I no longer had to worry about that or have to keep denying "stop trade" or "join war" kind of demands, which was very useful.
Beeline Mass Media. Calculate the INca's will be my opponent - and they aren't particularly loved by anyone. I'll get KK and Ghandis votes easy, but need one more. (I've uncharacteristically figured this out in about 1200AD, long before Mass Media). I'll go for Justinian since he hates me least. Joining wars against Brennus is easy... he's everyone's worst enemy. But I have no army, so no fighting.
I beat Ghandi to Mass Media by maybe 10 turns. Universal Suffrage used to buy the half-built UN at cost of 15000 gold, 3 turns after Ghandi has Mass Media (and Ghandi was wonder-spamming, so I'm sure it was a very close call!). I dropped Judaism to avoid the -4 hit from Justinian, and Ghandi is now at only +10 and KK at +11 but both still friendly. Defense Pact with KK (the most powerful civ) keeps me (the weakest civ) safe, and keeps my diplo hopes alive.
On first victory vote, Justinian abstains at +9. Crap. Ghandi and KK are in my pocket, as long as I don't get unlucky in the next 10 turns. Change civics to theocracy (yeah... this really makes sense when running "no state religion
), slavery and Hered Rule or some other such useless combination that Justinian happens to be using.Textbook diplo win 1830AD.
Units attacked = 0
Units defeated = 2 (Brennus found a couple of auto-exploring caravels)
Final score = 34000+
Time played = 6 hrs.
All in all a very quiet and peaceful game at emperor. I felt good that I was able to overcome my early failures and get a pretty good diplo victory date (for me) at emperor level.
I'd like to see the difficulty level go up again because now I'm getting cocky.
TheMeInTeam
If A implies B...
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2008
- Messages
- 27,995
Just so you know, only the favorite civic matters for diplo (and only if you're both in that favorite civic), in this case theocracy.
Lord Jimbob
Lord of the flies
Great write-up Sir Drake =)
Thanks for making that clear. I had a feeling, an inkling, an intuition... that this must be true, but didn't want to risk being wrong (and didn't want to risk crashing my game by coming to the Strategy & Tips section to make sure - plus I do tend to follow TMIT's guidelines for fast play when possible
, and most of the "game time" in my submissions is due to leaving computer unattended, rather than actual thinking or researching).
Even though I have much better knowledge of how to secure diplomatic votes than I did several months ago when I started GOTM's... I still feel mostly "lucky" when I pull it off -- as if they were truly fickle humans controlling the votes rather than complicated but inevitable computer algorithms.
On a slightly philisophical note...
I wonder if I ever get good enough to see most of the game mechanics as algorithms to be taken advantage of if then the game loses most of its joy. Perhaps greater success in the competitions would compensate and maintain the interest. OTOH... that's still a long way's off for me, no need to worry about it now. Just have fun!
I second that! As for SirDrake's gameplay... a bit eratic start but a truly remarkable recovery.
Must have been a really fun win.This write-up is quite the labor of love.
{I enjoyed the wit throughout I might add
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. As for it being a "labor"... Really, Civilization is my second hobby and writing is my first, so the write-up was just more playing after playing.
I figured there would be enough history buffs to recognize that particular shot.
As for SirDrake's gameplay... a bit eratic start but a truly remarkable recovery.
You're too kind. It was downright awful at times (especially the split landing on non-defensible terrain). But that's what's great about GotM, you stick with something and have a different sort of playing experience whereas otherwise you might (I might) call it off and start over.
Now that is mightily impressive.
Cheers,
Jason
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