Quartermaster

[Elear]

Well, exactly.

Everything Keldr says works like a charm when I try it on the lower levels, but I tend to be playing these 100k games at Demigod/Deity and on larger sized maps, too. So, there's no way to stop at Gunpowder; I just continue onto Military Tradition.

Otherwise, great advice.

I may end up just completing a Chieftain game for now; I can't rush a high-level 100k game because it is a bit like a histographic win, actually...a culmination of battle, strategy, research, and culture. Too complicated to get a quick win from.

So I've just swapped the level. Large/100k/Chieftain, in addition to the Deity game I'm already doing. I'll leave Demigod alone for now, along with Regent.

 

[keldr]

I really wouldn't know, but I'm thinking no
I haven't played a 100k game above emperor. I think it might work out on DG as well, if you get a fast conquest going, but I cannot say anything qualified about Deity or Sid.
The fast conquest might be problematic with gallics on a large or huge map on the harder difficulties.

I don't remember which difficulties you still need, but the large tables don't seem too crowded, as opposed to some of the standard tables. In your position I would definately go for chieftain or regent, which I know you have left out until now...

 

[Elear]

I seem to keep switching my mind on what the best combinations are to complete these requirements, but I seem to have settled on Standard/Deity/Conquest and Large/Regent/100k. Chieftain tables are too crowded; I don't see a way to fit in Demigod at the moment.

 

[Elear]

I should be playing games that count towards Quartermaster but somehow I get distracted.

I've been having a load of fun trying to replicate my Dutch run on Huge/Sid that ended in a Diplomatic victory, except actually get spaceship this time.

I knew a few things:

1) I had to have a bigger starting island to increase my chances for resources.
2) I had to get my 4 turn research actually going, this time using scientist farms when I'm ready to self-research.
3) I had to do better at island colonization. Last time, I was unable to beat China to most locations and thus China slowly just dominated.

It's not going badly! (see the attachment).

However, the tech pace WAS terribly slow...it was actually around 10 AD when the game hit Middle Ages and also Republic...now the AI is finally getting going with fast middle age research. Unlike last game, I don't have to steal everything since both Russia and America are getting the new techs. I've been able to mostly buy.

Russia and America are the only really relevant civilizations, but France is kind of in the mix, too. France has the Great Lighthouse but cannot really colonize anywhere, so it's just as well.

Note all the empty islands in the SW corner of the minimap. I have 16 settlers I've sent on caravels down there to ensure I have a strong stake before Navigation is online. I also have a few other islands in mind. I actually was able to colonize a medium sized jungle island with just galleys at hand.

 

[Spoonwood]

If the tech pace comes as so slow, why don't you do some research yourself?

 

[Elear]

Seriously?

I do a few techs: namely Writing, Philosophy, and Literature.

It's slow in the Ancient Age. It's just slow. Unless you just change the whole game settings by adding more land or switching to continents/pangaea....it's going to be relatively slow. It's hard to control.

Usually there are two or three ancient age tech leaders. If they know each other, you might get into the Medieval age by 500 or 600 BC. If not, it'll take closer to 10 AD like it was in this game. I mainly stuck with this game because my starting island was so good and the colonization opportunities offshore were so good.

And also, bear in mind, research takes a long, long, time on Huge/Sid until Universities. I can't come close to the 5/6 turn research the AI is doing without massive deficits. Now, I've found by the late medieval ages, it becomes practical to start researching, mostly because corrupt towns have grown and become ready to become science farms. Infrastructure is fully in place, most importantly Banks. I'm therefore going faster to just let the AI research and then buy / steal. Once I trade around IA starting techs, I'll go max research to Scientific Method (probably will take me about 12 turns to research both Electricity and Scientific Method). By then, I'll have pre-builds for ToE, and soon after that Hoover. If there's any time before ToE finishes, I'll shut off research. Once it does, I'll go maximum research up the other side all the way to Mass Production, usually letting the AIs pick up Flight if they're fast enough to keep up with me.

I doubt this game will turn into fascism in the IA. That should make up for the slow Ancient Age.

Also, by feeding the AIs GPT for more gold to buy/steal with, they are researching faster.

I haven't found a better way within the confines of 80 percent archipelago.

 

[Spoonwood]

On the *standrad* 80% archipelago Sid map I played for my 20k game, I know I lead in tech by the end of the ancient age and in the middle ages too. Have you used loans to pick up your science rate in the ealry/high middle ages? I know I've done that on 60%, 7 opponent, standard sized, pangea Deity and Demi-God maps lately and had good success with it.

 

[Elear]

I don't know what you mean about Standard size on 80 percent archipelago, but the AI is doing 4 turn techs so why should I research anything at 7-8 turns? I can afford it, of course, since I have 12000 gold, +400 GPT, and loaning out another +400 GPT. Can steal (usually) in 1-2 tries. Though my worst streak without a steal is 4 tries. I always use carefully steal.

At worst, I have to buy techs, but in the Industrial age, this is very expensive.

 

[Elear]

So, maybe this is borderline exploitative, but I had some bad GPT debt that I didn't feel like paying off. (see picture)

I did this at the risk of losing some remote island cities. I needed the GPT back. My homeland was pretty secure since the AI is bad at invading and I had a huge worker blockade around most of my island.

The premise is that Russia, being a fair distance from me, will spend about 10-15 turns trying to land troops and then we'll be able to be friends again. Sorry Cathy.

 

[Elear]

And when it's a tech race between America and Russia, the odd thing is, someone is always willing to fight!

 

[Elear]

Since it seems that the AIs are remaining in Democracy, the tech pace has sped up astonishingly since those early days. Despite how many turns later the Medieval Ages and my Republic started, Steam Power was online at 850 AD, compared to 810 AD last game. Since I have scientific civs in this game, I was able to get Steam Power and Medicine and start right away on Electricity instead of doing Medicine first.

I'm only frustrated at how long technologies still take to research. Despite 80 cities and putting most of them on 2-4 scientists, and my core at size 12 with a lot of commerce going into beakers, I can't get Electricity faster than 12 turns. Scientific Method will be no faster than 10. Part of the problem is that I wasn't able to get Copernicus or Newton. But it mostly just seems like technologies on Huge/Sid are very expensive, as I already said. Since I'm going for Space this time I will somehow need to get ToE + Hoover + SETI + Internet + United Nations......

 

[Spoonwood]

I hardly ever have a use for the Internet in a space game. I usually buy reserach labs before then easily.

 

[Calis]

I hardly ever have a use for the Internet in a space game. I usually buy reserach labs before then easily.

With a well timed prebuild you can have it immediately after researching Miniaturization, which you need anyway. The bigger the map the more it's worthwhile, I'd say.

 

[Elear]

With a well timed prebuild you can have it immediately after researching Miniaturization, which you need anyway. The bigger the map the more it's worthwhile, I'd say.

This is exactly what I'm trying to do, but I've had two difficulties.

The first is that without factories, the Hoover Dam, and railroads all up yet, my production is still on average under 20spt in major cities. Since I have iron nowhere whatsoever (yet all the AI seem to have multiple sources) I think I traded Medicine or something like that for Iron and a lot of Lincoln's gold. Finally starting to get rails up.

Also, I've been handbuilding a new Palace in a better location (initially intended to be a wonder but I couldn't get any of them in the Medieval Ages, and there's no way to delay the pre-build enough to use it for ToE). With this new core, my production should be slightly more efficient due to the way I placed my FP early on.

After that, I should have enough production to pre-build ToE and Hoover simultaneously, and after that, pre-build the Internet and SETI. I'm hoping the AI goes for Replaceable Parts and Industrialization so I can steal those after I research Scientific Method later to save time.

And I've yet to have my Golden Age. I will probably try to build a couple of swiss mercs and land them on Persia's coast just in time to build those critical Modern Age wonders and start on my spaceship (Persia is exporting no luxuries -- they have none).

p.s. - and considering my lack of native coal, iron, and saltpeter on my huge main island, I had better have some aluminum and uranium. I doubt I'll have rubber, but that's what colonies are for, just like coal and saltpeter. I probably have oil since I have a large strip of tundra, but that's not so critical to me.

 

[Spoonwood]

I usually don't really have the option of building ToE in the modern age. I buy (almost) all of the research labs the turn I land in the modern age. In my last SS game The Internet became a nice pre-build.

 

[Elear]

No no, not modern-age ToE. That doesn't seem to work at high levels, certainly not on Sid. I'll probably get ToE around 1000 AD using a Palace prebuild and Hoover shortly later with Universal Suffrage as my pre-build, perhaps. Modern Age won't come until around 1300 Ad and victory not until 1700 AD some (based on current projections, of course).

 

[Elear]

I was cruising along for a spaceship victory and about to trigger my Modern Age GA to spark research that would allow for a 1700s launch. Then I realized, wait, I am ahead of Sanabas' timing for a Diplomatic victory. Unsatisfied with my #2 spot, I decided to slip in ahead of Sanabas for Huge/Sid/Diplomatic.

I figure, if I can brave a Pangaea or Continents map, I can do a pre 1700s launch anyway next time.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Sid pangea or continents SS? good luck!!!

I honestly have no idea how easy it is to even win a SS on a Sid Pangea - the tech pace would be brutal, cause the AI's can meet each other and trade, plus they can fight each other and not choke on unit support.

 

[Elear]

Sid pangea or continents SS? good luck!!!

I honestly have no idea how easy it is to even win a SS on a Sid Pangea - the tech pace would be brutal, cause the AI's can meet each other and trade, plus they can fight each other and not choke on unit support.

This is exactly what I mean! I am dissatisfied with how slow the tech pace is on archipelago maps (might be better with more land, though). If it could be figured out, Sid pangaea is certainly the fastest way to obtain a spaceship victory besides the usual Chieftain/Warlord/Regent hut/slingshot methods. I think someone theorized a long time ago that Sid could come close to low levels in terms of victory speed, since 10 AD railroads were not uncommon in testing.

In terms of conquesting the world, no, I'm not capable of that, but in terms of peaceful victories, I feel it could be possible to move onto harder Sid perameters now that I pretty much have 80 percent archipelago wins down to a science. There is a marked difference between the two, but still, I am not so uncomfortable with Sid level itself now that the game would be uncontrollable.

I'll have to see what comes up in testing.

 

[Calis]

Of course a very fast tech pace would be likely on a pangea/continents map, but you have to survive the game. I think that's the main issue with a pangea map on SID.