Now THIS is a bad start!

[tR1cKy]

I like the pukemen!

Congrats on crushing Alex!

It would be fun to make a real pukeman unit, for some crazy mods...
Attacking with its and defending with the stink

Yeah, Greece and Egypt are still alive as city-states (1 town each). About Egypt, i had to leave 1 city to Cleo in order to sign peace and extort her everything. Then i had my "dealings" with Greece for a long time, and Pi-Ramesses was so crappy and far away that it wasn't worth conquering. And for Greece it's the same. That lousy island so far away isn't worth the effort.

Even now, i have no particular need to capture the last egyptian city. It has nothing of interest for me, and Egyptian culture is minimal. I'd better focus on Aztland, but if i find myself with some knights sitting idle, i'll send them to Cleo. It is obvious that, in the long run, i'll have to take over it anyway for domination purposes. But right now it's not at the top of my priorities.

Looking back, it took only 21 game turns to get rid of Greece and assimilate its core territory. In spite of some "too optimistic" valutations of the enemy military, some forced changes in the battle plans and a failed attack, the campaign against Alex has been led with a tremendous efficiency.

It's war time again... this game is really addictive to play!

 

[Drahkkael]

I can't wait for the war with America. (You know it is coming)

One great lesson (out of many) this game has taught me is the usefullness of catapults. I never used to bother with artillery units until Artillery could actually be made. Not even cannons usually, except in rare cases. I always found them a bother to drag around with me on my war path. Now I must be more patient. Skillfully done my friend.

 

[tR1cKy]

@Drahkkael: thanks! To be honest, i've always overlooked catapults until a few months ago. Then i realized how they can be useful in skirmishes. Since they're a little crappy, you need some of them in order to do some damage, or you'll be in the hands of the RNG whims. The good thing is that even if you do a 1hp damage to harassing troops, in almost all cases they'll retreat to heal, so you don't have to put in danger your precious troops.

Another unit that i've snubbed since recently (and i was wrong) is the horseman. Ok, it sucks, but it has a great prerogative: mobility. Used in team with catapults it can be quite effective when dealing with harassers. Catapults weaken them, horses finish them and then retreat to the safety of the city.

----------------------------------------------

750AD - Operation Hernan Cortes

Before defining the details of the battle plan, i'm doing some preliminary spying on Atzec towns. I need to have an estimate of defending forces, in order to deploy my troops with maximum efficience.

Texcoco is a size 3 town defended by 2 veteran pukemen. No barracks, no walls. One happy citizen, one content and a clown. Considering the supply of spices, they should be 1 happy and 2 content. It seems that war weariness is already having significant effects on the mood of those one-percenters. Aztec economy went badly broke: Texcoco, with 238 culture points, has no improvement at all. The reason may be only one: improvement existed, but were scrapped in order to get some money.

Monty, why don't you sign peace with Alex? The last greek town is half world away and totally unreachable until you discover Astronomy (i.e. never), so what's the point of staying at war? Well, if you really want war, wait a few turn and you'll have all the war you want...

An investigation on Tehotihuacan confirm my suspects. 5 content citizens and 2 clowns. No barracks. 2 veteran pukemen, 1 regular spear and 1 catapult. And Tlatelolco: size 3, barracks and walls, 2 veteran spears defending, currently training a longbow. All 3 towns on grasslands. Weak defences, my legions supported by catapults should deal with them easily.

At this moment i have 18 legionary companies, 9 catapults and 3 knights ready to cross the border. Other 3 knight companies are actually healing in Heliopolis, but should be able to reach the battle zone in time.

Due to the preliminary tasks that must be fulfilled, the invasion should start 5 turns for now. In the meantime, some cities are building musketmen, in order to free the garrisoned legions and send them to the battle zone.

The first phase of Operation Cortès should lead to the annexation of Tehotihuacan, Tlatelolco, Texcoco and Tenochtitlan. In phase 2, Rome will eat the remaining settlements of Tlaxcala and Calixtlahaca, and perhaps we will rename these cities into something more human... The northern settlement of Xochicalco will be left alone. As for the greek capital, it's not worth the effort to capture it, for now. Once disposed of America, we may come to knock at their doors.

The shot is an overview of the Aztec territory, with the battle plan i intend to use. The plan will follow those steps:

- A settler will found a fort on tile 1. The solid border in blue delimits the territory it will claim
- Workers will be sent to road the tile marked as 2. Acting this way, i'll have the conquered Aztec towns already connected with my road network.
- Once the road is completed, the whole mass of my legionary will invade Aztland and head for Tehotihuacan. A minor force will cross the border north of Delphi to capture Tlatelolco.
- Once captured the city, a small contingent of troops will be sent east to dispose of Texcoco, while the main force will head north for Tenochtitlan.
- After Tenochtitlan is captured, my forces should rejoin and proceed west to claim the rest of that crappy land.

---------------------------
I'm still playing... hopelessly addicted - stay tuned for more news from the front!

 

[Aleph-Null]

@kenScott: 30 shields will either get you three workers free of upkeep, or one foreign settler, which can found a flip-prone city. To me that's a no-brainer, YMMV.

why would you found a city? you build a worker in the city next and disband the settler to add to the shield production for the worker. We're trying to get rid of foreigners here. Going through the trouble of building 3 workers will require several more turns and the city could flip.

 

[tR1cKy]

820AD - Swords are drawn

In the previous turns, the mobilization has proceeded as it was planned. The only relevant event is the complete annexation of the Persian peninsula by Bob of the Iroquois. Pasagardae and Persepolis has fallen. Four small cities on the islands south of the New World are all what remain of the Persian Republic.

I'm popping workers from Forte Cucco. This fort has served its purpose, but now it's going to be abandoned and rebuilt 1 tile NW. This way, i'll have Athens connected to the grid. After built a temple, Delphi will produce a settler. It will be used to expand north the communication line. I fell i will need it a lot when i'll confront America.

In the 820AD, operation Cortes has officially begun. War with Aztecs is declared. 17 legion companies, 2 muskets and 6 catapults cross the border and invade the open plains south of Tehotihuacan. Next turn they'll be marching on the town.

At the same time, 6 slave workers, 1 legion, 2 longbow and 4 knights position themselves on the open plain south of Tlatelolco.

Amazingly, Monty and Alex are still at war. Do they like so much being in war weariness? Good for them. I hit enter and prepare for battle.

In the interturn, Bob of the Iroquois calls an audience. "You exist because the Iroquois allow you to exist. Now give us Gunpowder or else". Oh, my! Thank you Bob! You've been so kind to allow us to exist for such a long time. Now drop dead, i have a little war to win and i'm quite busy.

Bob declares. Fool. Do you suppose to cross the ocean with your lousy boats? Whatever. Nothing better than a few turns of war happiness to calm some unhappy citizens. And yours, probably, will be less than pleased.

Monty tries to skirmish with a longbow. It's been a good idea to delay the attack 1 turn so those musket companies could join the party. The longbow is killed, the musket is undamaged and promoted.

Now it's my turn. Catapults do little damage. Legionaries are more effective. In the first assault, 2 legions are lost and 2 damaged, but the 2 veteran pukemen are no more a nuisance. A legion falls against a regular spear. Another one kills a longbow and, finally, generates a leader. The 7th legion kills the spear and capture the city. On the other front, peasants build the road and knights attack. Tlatelolco is captured. Troops are amassed in the city to quickly quell resistance.

10 free legions south of Tehotihuacan. One kill a longbow to the east. Another one kill the 2nd longbow but is redlined. Another one is sent to defend. And six companies are sent on the plains NW or Texcoco. A bold move, but i feel that most of the harassers have already been killed.

In the interturn, nothing newsworthy. A pukeman, a longbow and a jag wander around. Preys for my troops.

840AD - My troops charges toward Texcoco. 2 legion companies are lost and one is damaged, but the city falls. I move a musket and a catapult to defend from harassers, then garrison my troops to quickly get rid of resistors.

The harassing pukeman is weakened with catapults and finished with a knight. The jag and the longbow are weakened. Some slaves are sent to establish a fast communication line between Texcoco and Corinth. On the other front, troops fortify in Tlatelolco, and the 6 slaves are sent around developing some unproductive tiles. Phase 1 of Operation Cortes has been quite successful. 3 Aztec settlements are already in my hands. Casualties were minimal. And their capital will be my next prey.

I rushbuild the University in Athens. Next turn the leader will be rushing Bach. I renounce building an army in favour of those 2 extra content citizen in every town. In my core territory unhappiness will never be a problem anymore, and some troops now used as MP will soon be available for the front. Newly conquered towns will benefit of it as well.

I hit enter. Resistance ends in all the conquered towns. Some harassers still wander around. A stinking aztec galley has dropped a pukeman next to Heliopolis. Those few extra troops left around the zone will finally have a chance to draw blood. Time to quit playing for now. Next session tonight.

In the shot: the Aztec area just conquered by my troops. 3 cities in 3 turns - a devastating blitzkrieg.

 

[Arachnaphobia]

Quality game, keep going. Agree with Drahkkael, never realised how good catapults are.

 

[Shadow Phoenix]

We should sticky this.
4000 views 0_o

 

[tR1cKy]

@Arachnaphobia: thanx! And don't worry, the game will go on, i'm firmly intent on beating the crap out of the AS as much as i can

We should sticky this.
4000 views 0_o

I'm surprised too!

------------------------------------------------

850AD - Preparing for the big hunt

The next target is the capital of Aztland, Tenochtitlan. But first my soldiers will clean the place from some aztec pesters that still harass my newly conquered territory. This way i can free some of my units from the duty of garrisoning the communication line. A jaguar, a spear and 2 longbow need to be disposed of. Some of them are already damaged. My catapults redline 2 of them and reduce the others at max 2hp. But before sending the legions to complete the task, i rush the Bach Cathedral in Athens with the leader. I hope to poop another leader using the elite legions. No luck. Harassers are sent to hell with minimal damage, but no leader this time.

Some slaves are sent north, protected by a musket, to build a road for a quick link between Tehotihuacan and Tlatelolco. Damn Monty, you could have spent some extra resources to rebuild a decent road network instead of fighting against windmills, you lazy moron.

Sparta has just finished a greek settler. It is sent to a hill 2 tiles north of Athens where, in the next turn, it will build another fort. Two knights have just been trained in Memphis and Remola. They are promptly sent north. An extra mobile force may be quite useful in case i run short of legionaries.

The harassing pukeman around Heliopolis is weakened by a catapults and killed by an elite longbow. Once again, no leader show up.

America is in Democracy now. Bad news. I need to spy on them ASAP, in order to collect Banking and Chemistry, but money is too tight to mention. No rushbuilding at least for a while, unless REALLY necessary.

After being badly beaten, Mario of the Persians has finally managed to deliver a pair of blows to Bob. He captured a small island settlement and destroyed an iroquois town on the same island where its new capital is. More war weariness for Bob, i suppose.

I end my turn, and nothing worth reporting happens, except for Monty and Alex regaining some mental sanity and signing a peace treaty. But at this point they are worthless.

Oops, wait... a stinky aztec galley has dropped 2 longbows next to Texaco. Redlined and killed. I gust gather my forces in Tihuacan and wait for some legions to heal. The fort is built. End of the turn.

Bob and Mario has finally signed peace. The war has been devastating for Persia. All its core territory is now in the hands of the Iroquois. Losers.


870AD - An unpleasant surprise

Phase 2 of Operation Cortes begins. 11 legions, 6 catapults and 1 musket head for Tenochtitlan. Next turn 4 knight companies will join the party. Another longbow is neutralized. The bad news are that those vermins have learned Gunpowder, and now their capital is defended by muskets. I don't know how much of their obsolete units has been upgraded.

Tenochtitlan has been founded on the only lousy hill around. Those damned muskets will defend at 9. Pikes at 6.75, longbow at 4.5. The mobilized soldiers won't be enough to conquer that city. Reinforcements will be needed.

Next turn my units advance. 2 legions and 4 catapults are all is available to go now. They cross the border and positions 1 tile behind of the main attacking force.

In 890AD the siege of Tenochtitlan begins. Catapult bombard, and their performance is abysmal. None of them hits the target, except for the last one that kills a population unit. Next turn i really hope to do something better.

Some muskets have just been trained. They are sent north through the new communication line. The Aztec settler has just been created in Tlatelolco. That crappy town is going to be relocated.

A legion is sent scouting on the golden mountain north of Tlatelolco, in aztec territory. Clalix... let's simplify that absurd name. Calixaca. Calixaca is defended only by pukemen. Good. The bad side is that it's on a hill. Some slaves are sent to build a road.

In the interturn, a longbow leaves Tenochtitlan, heading west. Thank you, Monty. I see you want to easen my attack a bit.


900AD - Tenochtitlan is bombarded again. After 6 failed attempts, the musket is finally weakened, and a pukeman show up. Good. Only one of those suckers. The pike is weakened, and another one takes its place. The last shots are unsuccessful.

My mounted units charge. The first knight fails miserably and dies. The second retreats redlined. The third finally manages to inflict some damage to that damned pike, but is killed and the pike is promoted. The 4th has to deal with the weakened musket. Knight redlined, musket at 2/4. A regular pike appears.

12 legion divisions are sent to charge. When the battle is over, 5 of them has been completely obliterated, and 2 are badly damaged, but the city falls. 1 vet musket, 2 vet pukemen and 1 regular were defending that pitiful excuse for a capital. All the remaining free troops are garrisoned inside. A catapult has been captured. No workers and, once again, no barracks. Damn.

On the golden mountain, 6 more slaves are sent to speed up the roadbuilding. More troops are available from Tenochtitlan, 3 legions, 1 musket, 1 catapult. They are sent north and stationed on the new border. Next turn a fair amount of "slow" troops will be available to invade again. Knights from Tlatelolco are sent north in the sight of a combined strike.

The "final" worker in Tlatelolco is pooped out. Next turn that rotten town will be moved. And my troops will be moving again.

In the interturn, Monty's troops try pathetically to skirmish. A longbow is sent attacking. A catapult tear off 1 hitpoint and the musketman dispose of the rest. No damage done. Abe continue to be wonder-crazy. He's finished Magellan in Philadelphia and just started Shakespeare in... bah. I don't remember where.

Tonight's shot: my territory in 900AD

 

[Drahkkael]

I think Abe is just sitting back and building, building, building while the rest of the world wars. You had no choice though. The coming battles should be interesting.

 

[777]

it's 4:00 am here and tomorrow (well, today) i'm at work. Ah, the power of Civ Addiction...

I tell you man, THE game is killing ya Anyway this is quite nice story, keep up good posting.

 

[Zelda's Man]

I was wondering if you could give us the scores, relative power, and relative culture at this point in the game just to see where you are and what you have to do. Obviously Bob and Abe will have higher scores, but I wonder how their power ranks against yours.

 

[Shadow Phoenix]

Kill the yellow city, since then their score is gonna "free fall" and you will gain a new city.

 

[Aleph-Null]

the suspense is killing me!!! Go Abe Go!!!!

 

[tR1cKy]

@Shadow: The yellow city (Egypt) is there from ages, since my assimilation of the egyptian core territory well before year zero. I overlooked it for a series of reasons: it's crappy, it would have been corrupted, and i had more pressing "matters" with the greeks and the aztecs. Even now my whole excess military is placed north in order to crush Aztland at full speed, so i haven't the necessary troops to eat it. But i will.

@Zelda's: i was waiting year 1000 to post some shots from the histograph. Stay tuned, just a few turns left.

@777: you're right... today, it was a real pain in the @## to wake up...

@Drahk: yes, that's exactly what he's doing from bloody ages. He was blessed by good territory and resources, so he's just sitting idle and developing... but soon my legions will knock at his door to, ehm, relieve him from the bore

@kenScott: HOW YOU DARE! My legions will come and... wait, this is real life. Uh, never mind then.

Leaving workplace right now, i've played 2 more turns last night but was too sleepy to post the log... i'll do it once at home. Don't miss the next update! More serious beating on Monty is on schedule Seeya later dudes!

 

[Aleph-Null]

Abe is just minding his business and those damn Romans are going to give him a Pearl Harbor sooner or later. You will awaken the sleeping giant.

 

[Drahkkael]

He will wake the giant then topple hhim like David and Goliath. America's puny soldiers will fall under the might of the Roman Empire.

 

[k-a-bob]

tR1cKy,

This thread is fantastic! I just found this site about a week ago and started playing the GOTM (we'll see how that goes ) and I love seeing these threads about someones games! I first read zerksees comeback with Japan in the War Academy and now this!

Thanks!

 

[Shadow Phoenix]

almost 4,500 views
500 views per day.
that gotta tell you something

 

[Chazbagel]

I scarcely post.. .but i read at least once every other day... Its an interesting story.

 

[tR1cKy]

Guys, once again i am glad to see all this positive feedback. And yes, the viewcount is skyrocketing I didn't imagine that my game log would have generated all this interest. Thanx to all!

@k-a-bob: welcome to CivFanatics!

(It's the first time i welcome someone)
And thanx once again! But if you want to see something just plain outstanding (and insane!), i suggest you Bamspeedy's Beyond Sid. You'll be amazed.

---------------------------------------------------------------

910AD - Things get complicated

Half of the eastern Roman army move toward Calixaca. 4 legions, 2 muskets and 6 catapults. The troops amassed north of Tlatelolco are going to join the party. 6 knights, 2 longbows and 1 legion will be available for a coordinated strike.

The rest of the eastern army is parked outside Tenochtitlan, except for a legion still healing. That lousy city is at high risk of flipping. Too close from the enemy capital, too far away from mine, too ridden with foreigners, for the most part resistors. I haven't enough troops to enact my "good rule", so parking my troops outside is the only option. The redlined knights are sent to Texoco, where a barracks is rushed. If they find themselves in enemy territory, they'll be stuck with 1 hp.

Aztecs harassers are long gone. Tlatelolco is abandoned and resettled on the tile NE of its previous position, with the new name of Augusta. Alas, the communication line is not finished yet. Some roading through jungles and mountains will be necessary to properly connect Tehotihuacan once relocated. Slaves continue to work some unproductive tiles. Monty seems to have caved in the idea to be wiped out quickly. He doesn't even try to skirmish.

I end my turn. Nothing important seems to happen. Then, the sight you never want to see:

Amazingly, during my whole campaign of Greece no conquered city flipped, and Greece had about 5x my culture. On the other hand, aztec culture is about the same as mine, and Tenochtitlan flipped just after the 1-turn grace period expired. I guess the relative distance of our capitals made the difference. The distance and some RNG gods in a bad mood.

Bad news aren't finished yet. The unit materialized into Tenochtitlan after the flip is a musketman. I was expecting a spear, since that saltpeter tile in aztec territory is still unconnected. Then, where does those lepers take saltpeter from? I guess the culprit is Xochicalco, that stinking aztec settlement on the far north. A quick look at the map and, yes, there's saltpeter on a hill SE of the town, the tile is connected and the town has a harbor. No other aztec cities have harbors, but America has plenty of them, and there's still a road connecting America with what remains of Aztland. Go figure.

Anyway, Tenochtitlan must be recaptured. I can do it right now, since when the grace period ends Calixaca will be already in my hands, or at least i hope so. The 6 catapults bombard. After 4 missed shots, the 5th destroy the marketplace and the last shot finally manage to weaken that pesky musketman. With the defender at 2/3, i send the legions. A veteran legionary dies charging, the musket is damaged but gets promoted. Now it's at 2/4. An elite legionary charge, it's redlined but wins! Tenochtitlan is mine again, and the victorious legion has popped a leader. Good news, at least. An army will be quite useful in the upcoming battles.

The leader is sent to Texoco, where it builds an army. Two legions still outside Tenochtitlan are sent into the town. The rest of my army move towards Calixaca. Next turn they'll be marching into the town. 18 slave workers are sent with the troops moving from south to build a road through the jungle.

A settler is rushed in Tehotihuacan, then i end my turn. In the interturn, Jason of Babylon offers his world maps in return of my world maps and gunpowder. Should i laugh or should i send a bunch of my legions to teach him some common sense? You'll be spared for the moment, Jason. You're already worthless enough to not being attacked.

In the shot: Aztecs' damn source of saltpeter. Next update coming later, i'm still playing...