Poland: Alternative Difficulty, Alternative Approach?

[Closed Sky]

Settings: Immortal, Milae's Alternative Difficulty, Milae's Map, Standard Pace, Standard Size, No Events
Photojournals subforum seems dead, let's try to change it.

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I spawned next to dyes and didn’t think twice about going east as soon as I saw the atoll and some plains which looked like a possible resource tile. I settled on turn 2 and decided to go for fishing. God of the sea is a safe choice if going coastal and having some atolls and fish, calendar path is too weak on production and I want to grab another pathfinder and hunt some island ruins. Shrine first and let’s try to do what I can with this suboptimal position. I wanted to try Poland authority, as I was always playing my country as tradition, but progress is clearly the only choice here, let’s roll with it. Two strong natural wonders on defensive locations that also block my enemies expansion, and a weak capital means abandoning early wonders and producing settler after settler there. Nothing I need anyway. Horses revealed from ruins.
Plan was to go for two wonders cities, then block Mongolia on some defensive spot along the mountains. It didn’t work.

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That's why fishing first is so strong even without any actual work boat to be made. Ruins upon ruins upon free techs.

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A little excessive focus on capital to have only one city on turn 59 but alright.

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Great Library went one turn after, I was surprised but fair enough. Ability to go well first in your cities is great, furthermore Lodz is able to postpone building monument thanks to culture from natural wonder and start working specialist due to lakes.

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Free camp, wow. Krakow is a disaster after tiles with resources are locked and borders avoid fish for whatever reason. Will make it my academies' city for now.

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I decided to get some cities three tiles apart to get some roads and three science in them. No real use for the lighthouses and villages will actually be quite important as a source of production and gold, which is convertible production, for my cities.

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Genghis declares, not unexpectedly, let's see what will happen. I have to switch production to comp bows.

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So far, I think the unorthodox decision were correct moves. I went for goddess of wisdom pantheon, which I never normally take, I was going for libraries to work them anyway, I had faith from natural wonders and was expecting at least one 145 faith ruin which I got. It’s solid if you have many early cities that don’t have any good tiles to work anyway. Then, I decided to abandon my usual progress tech route which involves Parthenon and Hagia Sophia. I haven’t gone for the Great Wall in ages, I don’t stand a chance at wonders from the top of tech tree, I want Colossus for another production trade route and I don’t like Mongolian skirmishes entering my territory with six movement. And I really desire a free great general to bolster my defense and hasten taking of Hsia with a citadel. I have twenty five percent bonus for wonders and no wonder penalty, let’s go.

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Wroclaw was the only city with wonder potential and decent production. The city has amusing yields at:
4
4
2
2
35.31
Splitting your early stone works tiles is usually a mistake. I will redirect one stone for Poznan temporarily in Industrial only, to get 40 and from Progress and Industry, respectively.

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There’s a quote about settling your cities in VP properly in The Art of War apparently.

 

[Closed Sky]

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Due to suboptimal tiles I'm losing money and science with it. Markets are constructed throughout my empire to remedy that. Production is not stellar but I doubt there is any better building to get right now, especially in cities that don't have libraries yet.
Merchants in cities without libraries are still 5 2 2 so let’s go with them. As I have no chance to get top tech tree wonders, let’s commit to those bottom ones. Collosus for yet another production trade route. All trade routes go internal production.
I still think abandoning that +3 gold monopoly on weak plantation was right decision even if I'm losing science due to lack of money at the moment. I would like to hear your opinions.

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Noose of my cities is tightening around Genghis neck. Russia offensive operations are a big yawn. Stables, then armouries, then armies.

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Actually I feel very safe, and rather strong. Fealty was the only sensible thing here and quite strong, doubling down on development.
Russia has brutalised her own diplomatic standing by backstabbing me and got denounced by nearly everyone, but I always sensed a masochistic passion within her. If I ever need that, I will keep opportunity to easily invade Russia by placing a citadel on a narrow isthmus that leads into her heartland. Her wonders are mostly useless but land goes along my plans for industry.
Carthage does not pose a coherent late game threat now, her diplomatic advantage could be easily denied, but she may become one if she will be the first to go rationalism and build on top of science advantage. I’m guessing she will go imperialism though.
Germany is sitting sad in the corner, only having Sankore, if I ever build navy I might consider taking Berlin specifically for that if it will not destroy my alliances.

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As long as I'm leading or close second in production, Poland is not yet lost.

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Khan with 5 movement eliminated in his own territory, that’s why local great generals is not the best idea.

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Bottom, bottom, bottom of the tech tree is my game plan for now. Chemistry is the plan for Renaissane, I will really appreciate another great general from Leaning Tower. I couldn't care less about GPP modifer, it's strangely separated for two categories, competes with artistry opener, I would get rid of it entirely, free GP of choice is strong enough to me. Notre Dame may not be amazing in a total wonder tier list but when you have no substantial GAP source it becomes situationally strong. Hanging Gardens are similarly weak long term and no one complains about them. Honestly 25% modifier is less than one GPP before renaissance anyway. Garden can safely wait, even in tradition capital, until you work two or three specialist of the same type and more than enough food is easily given by internal trade routes, policies and apostolic anyway.

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I don't know but I wouldn't mess with a head of Judaism.

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Let’s get a settler before Russia does something stupid in north east, I’m going consistently bottom of the tech tree, so no sense in waiting for a pioneer. I will have all the cities I need built, not including conquests, so this will be sorted out.

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First Genghis' loss. I will aim to befriend him after I take Turfan probably.

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This is one of those games capital is beyond saving. Krakow is getting academies, national college and I will aim for Porcelain Tower there. Lodz, Poznan, Bydgoszcz, Wroclaw will be me top production and strongest cities in the future.

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After chemistry, a giant switch in my research priorities, bottom of tech tree is no longer sexy nor I don’t stand a chance in getting top wonders any longer. Let’s try to get porcelain and a free GA from Taj Mahal if possible by beelining architecture when everyone is entering Renaissance through gunpowder

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Dido was hostile for one turn because I was taking a city state from Russia, she was back to friendly when she learned I liberated it the next turn. I’m not actively competing for her city states and try to avoid completing mission given by them. Even one flipped city state can mean Hannibal ad portas with twenty caravels in Warsaw.
I constantly reject Siam offers of friendship, I want to not to have my hands tied, his northernmost city has Petra which in contrast to any of the Russian would be useful to me but a little too open position from a sea to be defensible makes my aggression unlikely. Carthage is already fed up with Siam’s existence too and diverting Carthage attention from me, and building a silent block against her that may come to fruition after she attacks Siam, are my priorities.

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Now the saddest part: I forgot to buy the tile NE of snow at the bottom of the map from Szczecin. What it means is I can’t get Civilised Jewellers, the strongest corporation in this game in my opinion, as there is six gold tiles in the world. By buying that tiles from Szczecin specifically I would be able to citadel it from a city state and build East India Company in Szczecin, leading to having four gold. Only possession of tile count, indicated by resource list and orange area when hovering over a city, so I can’t simply reassign a citizen to work eastern gold tile from Bydgoszcz and doubling resources there as reassigning citizens doesn’t change tile ownership.

No replies saddly, but I actually enjoyed writing that.