PYL VI: Same Start Showdown!

[huerfanista]

@cripp7

Spoiler :

Thanks. Mao was a huge help in that game. I'm a wonderspammer at heart, so i love playing Rameses. I probably should have move the capital to Rome, though. It was a much better city than Thebes.

 

[SlipperyJim]

I call upon the unholy arts of Thread Necromancy. Arise!

I saw this thread referenced in a TMIT post, and it looked like a lot of fun. So I downloaded the WB save, and I'm making a go at it. I'm also stepping up my game to Prince, because I dominated the last two NC games at Noble.

So ... Prince/Epic/Tokugawa, 4000 BC - 1000 BC:

Spoiler :

I wasn't planning this game to be public, so I didn't take any screenshots for the first five thousand years. Therefore, the beginning of this report will be text-only. Sorry about that. There will be screenshots next time, I promise!

Founded Kyoto in place at 4000 BC and popped the nearby hut for a map. Yawn. Started research on Mining in order to exploit our gold. Build: Warrior First (TM)!

My starting warrior smacked around some animals and became a Woodsman. Yay! Meanwhile, Kyoto finished training a second warrior and started to train a worker.

Met Jules in 3475 BC. Wow, Rome is close. Do they have Iron? Will I allow them to survive long enough to find out?

Mining was old news by now, and the Japanese Brain Trust was working on Animal Husbandry. They finished that research in 3375 BC to reveal ... Horses in Kyoto's BFC! Game over, Jules. Let's crank out some chariots and ... wait, what? I need the Wheel in order to build chariots, but Toku is supposed to start with the Wheel. Um, okay. Figure out the Wheel for me, Wise Japanese Guys.

Kyoto started a Barracks in 3200 BC. Flanking Chariots are always good.

Popped Writing from a hut in 3025 BC. Sweet!

Met Mao, then Stalin. Both around 2900 BC. Such lovely neighbors! Met Joao and Pacal immediately afterward. Nice, two REXers! Yes, I'm going to be doing a lot of fighting.

Finished Bronze Working in 2625 BC, then started to research Sailing. That Gold mine is handy for the early game!

Kyoto cranks out a Collection of Chariots (five of them, to be exact) until 2175 BC. Let's see what happens! I declared war on Rome in 2100 BC, and my chariot squad was in striking range fifty years later. Rome was defended by two archers. I lost one chariot and gained the Eternal City.

More chariots rolled out of the Kyoto Horse & Buggy dealership, and Antium fell in 1675 BC. Sayonara, Caesar.

Meanwhile, Japanese Sages have learned Sailing > Pottery > Mysticism > Iron Working. Look, we have Iron nearby. Cool!

Cranked out a Settler and found Osaka in 1175 BC. Nice city on the end of a peninsula: hills, fish, metal, yummy!

Whoops, not enough workers! Kyoto started Serious Worker-Spam in 1125 BC. Must. Develop. Land!

Traded Mysticism to Joao for Hunting in 1025 BC. We need Japanese Spearmen, just in case someone else thinks like me. Chariots-B-Gone!

Next stop: Maya!

I've actually played through the Renaissance, but I don't have time to post it all now. More tomorrow!

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Of all the PYL games, this one was the hardest to create. This is because to mimic the starts, I had to swap the techs and leader/civ while retaining start location etc. A quick look at the first couple posts shows I screwed it up initially .

Note that the 1.1 version has a "no traits" version...this is our first look @ sid in PYL. I'm doing a little custom asset work so that the minors show up as a playable civ and sid can make appearances in games I host (and note that no mods are required for his use!). If you want "mastery" of a difficulty level, blasting it w/o traits, a UU, or UB is a good run!

 

[_Germanicus_]

Izzy, Emp/Epic, to 10 AD:

Spoiler :

Episode I: 4000 BC - 10 AD. "I rushed Rome and all I got was this lousy T-shirt!"

I find JC very close to me.

I also find copper very close to me. 1+1=2...

We're going to rush Rome!

Fast forward to 1750 BC: 10 axemen ready to kick Roman butt.

Unfortunately, he had his praetorians by now. At the cost of several axemen, Rome fell nonetheless, its gem mines now redirected to the Spanish treasury.

Cumae was taken as well, but I lacked the strength to finish him off at Antium (thanks a lot f-ing RNG). I decided to let him off the hook - he would never play a role in international politics again.

Not content with his status as punching bag, Julius decided to apply for court jester instead. Evidently he had not heard he was no longer significant in world politics.

This just cracked me up. 10 turns ago, I was kicking his ass and he was reduced to one pathetic city. And now he's already got the balls to threaten me? I laughed it off - and sure, he did not go into WHEOOH. He was evidently bluffing.

Some peaceful teching-expansion later... and the irst segment ends at 10 AD. So far, everything looks good. Joao has a lot of land that I'll be looking to relieve him from later on. Caesar is insignificant and will likely die the next round.

Religionwise I've taken Pacal's side because he spread Hinduism all throughout Spain. This keeps one flank safe, and it even warmed Julius up. Both Stalin and Mao have their own religion (never seen commies so religious!), Joao's along with Uncle Joe.

Techwise, I'm ahead because I keep trading with Pacal. Goals: finish off Julius, then we start on the next target. Izzy loves holy war.

Could someone tell me the mods you are using please? I been looking over the mods but can't find them in the fast selection.

 

[SeptimusOctopus]

woo hoo, I get to be helpful. I think the mod you're talking about is BUG. I started using that a few months back. It's super helpful if you don't want to search through every submenu every turn to get all the info you need. It available in the download section here. I'll post a link in a minute if i can find it.

Here it is : http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=274636

 

[Sian]

yeah ... it looks like BUG from a few versions ago

 

[_Germanicus_]

woo hoo, I get to be helpful. I think the mod you're talking about is BUG. I started using that a few months back. It's super helpful if you don't want to search through every submenu every turn to get all the info you need. It available in the download section here. I'll post a link in a minute if i can find it.

Here it is : http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=274636

Thanks mate

 

[Ai Shizuka]

I remember moving up to Prince after this terrible game.
I'll probably replay this when I'm done with Cyrus NC.

 

[SlipperyJim]

Prince/Epic/Tokugawa, 1000 BC through 1050 AD:

Spoiler :

Okay, so Julius Caesar was dead, and Tokugawa was the new Shogun of Rome. Yay! Pacal had kindly volunteered to be next on the hit list by building a couple of tasty Wonders and founding a religion. But first, I needed to stabilize Japan's faltering economy. I don't need to be a research powerhouse, but getting some science would be a good idea.

My research target was Currency. I have learned a trick from Crusher1: Build Wealth to boost a sagging science rate. Wealth requires Currency, so Japanese Wise Guys (JWG) were tasked to figure out how to make money. Their first idea was giant ingots of Iron, but those were rejected as being too heavy. Besides, could you imagine trying to stuff an Iron ingot into a vending machine? Not practical! Eventually, the JWG took a look at the output from Kyoto's Gold mine, and they designed a practical system of coinage. Needless to say (but I'll say it anyway), the coins all had the Shogun's face on them. It's good to be the Shogun!

For some reason rolleyes, the JWG took 500 years to figure out how to make coins. During that period, the Japanese empire was pretty quiet. Workers worked, cities grew, Rome built a Library.... The only "exciting" happening was a message from Joao: Give us Cows, or die! A war with Portugal would really screw up the Shogun's plans for Mayan conquest, so he agreed to the extortionist with the oversized hat. But he will rue the day that he threatened mighty Japan!

Now that we had coins, we needed a way to count them. So the JWG started working on the secrets of Mathematics. Better tree chops, forts, and the road to Construction were all side benefits. I really wanted to be able to do my taxes!

By 400 BC, the infrastructure phase was complete, and Japan shifted back into military production. We're getting ready, Pacal! Japan is going to go all Classical on your skinny backside!

The JWG figured out Math in 305 BC and started work on Archery. Might as well have some cheap defenders for the cities I'll be capturing....

Somewhere back in 2000-something BC, China had founded Confucianism. (How apropos.) Joao had converted in 800 BC. Meanwhile, Pacal had founded Islam and converted to it. So when the teachings of Confucius spread into Kyoto and Rome in 305 BC, I decided it was an auspicious event. Joining the Confucian bloc would allow me to gain some popularity with the two strongest AIs (Joao and Mao) while I conquered the Muslim "heathen" (Pacal). Win-win, baby! Japan converted to Confucianism right away.

The JWG figured out how to shoot people full of arrows in 260 BC, then started on Construction. Gotta have catapults if I'm gonna storm a Holy City.

In 185 BC, Stalin also converted to Confucianism. Excellent. My faithful buddies will (hopefully) stay off of my back while I beat up on poor Pacal.

Finally, in 110 BC, I had a big enough stack to start the war. The JWG were closing in on the secrets of Construction. However, there were a few newer (and smaller) Mayan cities to conquer before the glorious Japanese army would reach Mutal. Those cities would have weaker cultural defenses, so Flanking chariots could serve to weaken the defenders. Let's go, Pacal!

The first "battle" of the war was a Worker Steal (TM), followed by a Japanese chariot running over a Mayan chariot. Then my forces closed in on Chichen Itza:

Turn 168/750 (80 BC)
Rome begins: Axeman (5 turns)
Swordsman promoted: City Raider I
While attacking, Chariot decimates Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 22.1%)
While attacking, Chariot decimates Maya Chariot (Prob Victory: 68.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Chichen Itza, Chariot (0.20/4) defeats Maya Chariot (Prob Victory: 68.1%)
Pachacuti (Great General) born in Osaka
While attacking, Chariot decimates Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 87.8%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Chichen Itza, Chariot (2.08/4) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 87.8%)
While attacking, Swordsman decimates Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Chichen Itza, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has spread: Chichen Itza
Captured Chichen Itza (Pacal II)

An auspicious beginning! Pacahcuti settled in Rome as a military instructor, and the troops paused to heal.

Construction finished in 25 AD, and every Japanese city became an instant catapult factory. Meanwhile, Pacal had a junk city that needed to go:

Turn 176/750 (40 AD)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mayapan, Swordsman (3.24/6) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 22.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mayapan, Swordsman loses to Maya Axeman (4.15/5) (Prob Victory: 22.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mayapan, Swordsman loses to Maya Archer (0.60/3) (Prob Victory: 59.2%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mayapan, Chariot (3.32/4) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 87.9%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mayapan, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has spread: Mayapan
Captured Mayapan (Pacal II)
Razed Mayapan

I also sent a couple of swordsmen and a chariot down to stomp a Barbarian city to the south of Kyoto. Khoisan joined the Japanese empire, and my swordsmen gained some combat experience. Win-win! The swordsmen paused to heal, then marched north to join the Mayan conquest.

The siege engines slowly trudged north toward Mutal. The Japanese army kept the Mayans busy with some field maneuvers for about 200 years. Finally, the catapults arrived and started to bash down Mutal's defenses. By 340 AD, the walls came tumblin' down:

Turn 196/750 (340 AD)
While attacking, Swordsman decimates Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 86.3%)
While attacking in Maya territory near Chichen Itza, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 86.3%)
While attacking, Catapult decimates Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 98.4%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Chariot (2.16/4) defeats Maya Holkan (Prob Victory: 81.4%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Chariot (4.00/4) defeats Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 99.8%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Chariot (4.00/4) defeats Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 99.9%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Mutal, Swordsman (5.28/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has spread: Mutal
Taoism has spread: Mutal
Captured Mutal (Pacal II)

Don't let that "spread" message fool you; Mutal is the Muslim Holy City. It has a shrine and the Great Lighthouse. Instant economy boost!

A little rest & recovery, and the Japanese army was ready to move onwards:

Turn 203/750 (445 AD)
While attacking, Catapult escapes from Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 54.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Lakamha, Chariot (0.80/4) defeats Maya Catapult (Prob Victory: 35.3%)
While attacking, Chariot decimates Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 85.2%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Lakamha, Chariot (2.48/4) defeats Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 85.2%)
Oliver Cromwell (Great General) born in Osaka
While attacking in Maya territory at Lakamha, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 94.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Lakamha, Swordsman (5.28/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has been removed: Lakamha (Maya Empire)
Islam has spread: Lakamha
Taoism has spread: Lakamha
Captured Lakamha (Pacal II)

The Imperial finances were becoming strained (even with Mutal's help), so the core Japanese cities all paused the military recruiting to build/whip some Markets. Meanwhile, I decided that the war could take a break for some pointy-stick research.

Japan signed a peace treaty with the Mayans in 505 AD, and captured Mayan priests agreed to teach the Japanese about Meditation and Polytheism. These advances were followed by Priesthood and Monotheism (more trades, can't remember with whom) in 520 AD, and Japan revolted into Organized Religion. The JWG immediately started research on Code of Laws, a key tech to control the expenses in the growing Japanese empire.

By 565 AD, Japan had learned about the Laws. Mao was eager to share our knowledge, so we traded for his knowledge of Monarchy. Japan revolted (again) into Hereditary Rule.

In 655 AD -- with the economy (somewhat) stabilized -- I started Round Two with Pacal. More conquest:

Turn 220/750 (700 AD)
While attacking in Maya territory at Uxmal, Catapult loses to Maya Swordsman (2.58/6) (Prob Victory: 59.0%)
While attacking, Catapult escapes from Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 99.7%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Uxmal, Chariot (3.40/4) defeats Maya Chariot (Prob Victory: 99.3%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Uxmal, Chariot (2.72/4) defeats Maya Chariot (Prob Victory: 99.1%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Uxmal, Chariot (4.00/4) defeats Maya Swordsman (Prob Victory: 99.0%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Uxmal, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has been removed: Uxmal (Maya Empire)
Islam has spread: Uxmal
Taoism has spread: Uxmal
Captured Uxmal (Pacal II)

And more:

Turn 224/750 (760 AD)
While attacking, Catapult escapes from Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 92.7%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Calakmul, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Calakmul, Swordsman (6.00/6) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 100.0%)
Islam has been removed: Calakmul (Maya Empire)
Islam has spread: Calakmul
Taoism has spread: Calakmul
Captured Calakmul (Pacal II)

Calakmul is not a throat disease, but rather the Taoist Holy City. Silly Pacal was chasing religions instead of preparing for war!

By this point, Pacal had only one tundra city left. He would have capitulated, but the JWG were still in the dark about Feudalism! So this happened:

Other Player Actions:
Mao Zedong (China) declares war on Tokugawa (Japan)
Pacal II becomes a Vassal State of Mao Zedong

Danger: Dogpile Alert! Fortunately, Mao was on the other side of the continent from me, so I figured I'd have a little bit of time to finish off Pacal before the Chinese troops would arrive.

Sure enough:

Turn 227/750 (805 AD)
While attacking in Maya territory at Oxhuitza, Chariot (1.36/4) defeats Maya Archer (Prob Victory: 25.5%)
While attacking in Maya territory at Oxhuitza, Chariot (3.40/4) defeats Maya Axeman (Prob Victory: 95.9%)
Islam has been removed: Oxhuitza (Maya Empire)
Islam has spread: Oxhuitza
Captured Oxhuitza (Pacal II)
Maya Empire has been eliminated

Now ... when would Mao be willing to talk about peace?

...

In about 65 years, as it happened. Japan and China signed a peace treaty in 870 AD. During that time, the only hostile action was when a Japanese axeman slaughtered a Chinese scout. Whew!

Mutal built the Forbidden Palace in 1030 AD. Other ex-Mayan cities were working on courthouses and other infrastructure builds. Workers were doing their thing.

Next plans:

1. Develop captured Mayan land
2. Develop captured Mayan cities
3. Beeline to Samurai
4. Beat the heck out of Stalin (who unwisely converted to Islam, thereby losing support from the other AIs)

State of Japan: 1050 AD

First, the Empire itself:

Well, it seems that the world is a doughnut, and Japan controls about half of it. Good progress!

Japanese demographics:

Number One in every area that matters, except for Soldiers. Joao had slightly more troops than the Shogun. All the more reason to stay on his good side until it's time to ....

Assorted graphs to show Japanese progress:

The huge lead in Production is going to win this game. Even if I can't have the tech lead, I can bury the AIs in a big pile of hammers.

The technology window:

I'm not the tech leader, but I'm not behind either. That's okay with me.

Finally, the victory conditions:

Looking good! China might be gunning for a Cultural victory, but I'll kill them long before they can get to it.

Thoughts? Comments? Aside from a brief stab at the Lonely Huyana Capac game (the save crashed my Civ4 installation), this game is my first real attempt at Prince. I think I'm gonna win, which is exciting! I haven't built any Wonders, although I did pick up some Wonder-failure cash a few times. (Helped with the deficit.) I didn't found any religions, either. (Didn't need religion until it spread to me.)

Japanese Conquest! I'm almost wishing that I could re-play this game as Always War!

 

[TheMeInTeam]

you're in a winning position. Keep it up...possibly backfill more cities too.

I also backstabbed Joao to close this game .