RLC#4 Sitting Bull.

[pomthom]

Damn peace vassalling, changes a lot. It's bad news but I reckon Fred will eventually unvassal, and probably not long after a truce is signed with Japan. Until then...

What to do next ? You could spam some units to go sucker-punch some XPs in Japan but I wonder if it wouldn't be a waste of hammers considering you have no immediate clear military objective (I agree with you on the fact that Zara and Izzy are best left alone right now, and probably for quite a while ; be nice ). You have the Protective trait and you have a huge buddhist protective cushion, I'd say you're safe from harm for the time being.

I would be a bit more enclined to momentarily stop research, chop/whip relevant infra in all cities that need it (factories, AP monastaries, courthouses and whatnot) and then go for the right Lib slingshot. I also think that the slingshot should be Astronomy for the following reasons:

(i) Compass is good trade bait​

(ii) Optics can be considered as a short-term goal because, being a bit behind, you need to meet the 2 remaining civs sooner rather than later. They have been isolated from the start (and at war if I'm not mistaken), so they should be way behind in tech, making them perfect targets​

(iii) Astro is very good trade bait especially if you don't have to bother self-teching it ​

(iv) Astro should be an average but always interesting improvement in your trade route economy (only 3 costal cities, yeah ok not the best argument...)​

Once Astro is in, reconsider diplomatic situation and aim for a military objective or UN victory.

 

[pigswill]

Played a few more turns up to 1070ad.

I decided that lib>astro was the least unprofitable approach. Went for compass (840) and traded it round picking up lit, HbR and machinery in the process. I was kind of hoping that someone would research optics for me but no such luck. With one turn left on lib I ended up researching it myself, this obviously delayed lib but my neighbours typically researched guilds, eng, nat etc instead of education. Optics 1050. Lib 1060, Astro 1070. Upgraded a couple of triremes to caravels which are heading off into the unknown.

In the meantime, as also recommended, I invested in some infrastructure: a few forges and 6 unis for Oxford. Bay of Pigs has started on Nat Epic, still no level 4 unit for HE.

We got ourselves a GS in 1040 which could part bulb PP or else found an academy.

Japan's captured a couple of cities and lost a couple of cities, few GGS are cropping up but nothing major has happened except Zara/Fred peacing out in 940 leaving us and Izzy against Toku.

Friendships have deepened:


Tech trades looking slightly interesting:


We've even found an island off our coast:


More exploring, maybe even an overseas colony or two, see what happens when we find the missing civs.

Techwise I'm thinking about heading towards steel though scimeth>communism is also slightly appealing if miltrad appears as a trade item.

 

[pomthom]

Techwise I'm thinking :

(i) Maintain monopoly on Optics for now so that you get to make the first tech deals with the 2 remaining unknown wildlings​

(ii) Put a couple turns of beakers in Guilds for a Philo VS Guilds trade before Izzy trades Philo to Fred'n'Zara​

(iii) Going for Steel is always a good idea. Try and get Nationalism in a deal somewhere (Vs Education ? you could even pull that off now, but you may be better off keeping monopoly on Edu for the time being...) and then go for MilTrad and a Cuir/Canon spam. If that works out quick enough you can pull-off some capitulations on your continent (even Fred/Zara if diplo with Izzy is handled right)​

 

[pigswill]

Its always tempting to go for economics, free GM and an extra trade route is nice with overseas trade. It would involve using optics in tech trading instead of education. I'm a couple of turns ahead in exploration but that doesn't mean I'll find overseas AIs first.

Maybe I'll just wait a few turns before trading anything.

 

[pomthom]

Maybe I'll just wait a few turns before trading anything.

Sounds reasonable

 

[pomthom]

I'm sensing someone doesn't want to play anymore

 

[pigswill]

Perish the thought.

 

[pigswill]

After an even longer than previously gap I played another 10 turns.....

Wall of Text.

Started with some tech trades. Our friends and neighbours would clearly benefit from a university education:
Education to Izzy for engineering, 200g.
Education to Fred for guilds, 100g.

1090. Meet Sal. Open borders. Trade dye for corn. Giving him aesthetics makes him pleased enough to sell his map for 70g. Decide to use GS to part bulb PP, switch to PP to finish it off.
AP declare on Toku.

1100. Fred and Zara duly declare on Toku.

1110. Meet Asterix De Gaulle. He's surprisingly advanced . Whip Oxford in Capital. Isabella gets peace with Toku, we also go for peace with Toku (costs meditation) for reasons that seemed good at the time but I really don't know why in retrospect.

1130. PP>Gunpowder.

1160. Lonesome Fish is founded.
Philo+35g to Fred for banking.

1170. Gunpowder is in. Pick chemistry, economics is still available.

Picture Gallery..

Terra semicognito:


Lonesome Fish:


Trade Options:


Incoherent ramblings.

Well, that was a bit disappointing. Asterix and Sal are Confucian buddies. Asterix is a bit too advanced and Sal a bit big for easy conquest.

Looks like it will have to be Toku after all. At least we don't have to worry about him becoming too advanced. Maybe steel for cannon to give us a decent edge against his LBs, given my luck so far he'll probably suffer catastophic losses and vassalise to Zara before I get there.

One tiny speck of island ain't great either so peaceful expansion ain't going to happen unless I find something decent in the remaining fog.

 

[pomthom]

Hm yep that is a bit disappointing... But I wouldn't cast away the idea of going for Sal so quickly. Ok: he is big and he is Protective but your tech advantage is tremendous. What can he do against Cannons? Intercontinental wars are tedious but he's not that far after all.

Going for Toku is much simpler, that's a given. But I'm not really seeing what it does for you long term.

 

[pigswill]

Got a bit discouraged (maybe more than a bit) by the poor payback on lib>astronomy and it looks like being another long slog with victory certainly not assured but time to press on regardless.

 

[pigswill]

Played on up to 1360ad.

Nothing major has happened.

France beat us to economics.

Toku's at peace with Zara/Fred.

Isabella signed a DP with Zara.

She then swopped to FR/FS. (I thought she was meant to be a fanatic with a penchant for theocracy? Maybe with four religions of her own she'd rather go for a multicultural victory).

We've picked up chemistry and steel, leaving tech trades looking something like this:



It also means we've added some steel to our rather medieval stackette:



Time to head for milsci and try to stomp Toku. Saladin's certainly a bigger target but a bit high risk at the moment. I'd settle for doubling our cities:

 

[yena]

You can probably declare already and just wait for his stack to appear before blasting it and destroying it. There is nothing he has that can stand up against cannons, so no need to wait for MT.

 

[pigswill]

Sound advice (hopefully).

So off we march in a decade spanning Long March that's enlived only by the news that a Great Engineer completes Ironworks in Flying Fish in 1400. We arrive at the borders of the Forbidden Land in 1430.

First we celebrate by selling Milsci to Izzy the Bella for a paltry 920g, then we strike a deal with Tokugawa:



Much toing and froing, massive kamikaze raids etc etc. It looks like Tok's thrown away most of his free units (35 kills for the loss of 3 cannon) before Nagoya is finally ours....



That's a pretty battered looking stack there. Let's hope Toku doesn't have half a dozen knights stashed somewhere .

Techwise we've finished Milsci and just finished RP (traded lib to Zara to finish it earlier). I'm thinking of going for steampower>railroads and hopefully pick up some trades in the process.

We've also picked up our first GG who's heading east to help heal our hapless heroes. Unsurprisingly we've also got a lvl 4 unit so Flying Fish has started on Heroic Epic to commemorate the Seige of Nagoya.

Our citizens meanwhile are betraying their stoical heritage and are getting upset because of 'war weariness' or some such self pitying nonsense. Maybe we could build a few theatres and stage a few westerns to distract them.

 

[pomthom]

Is Freddy still Zara's vassal?

 

[pigswill]

Fred is still Zara's vassal.

Lib>Astro is still disappointing.

But maybe just maybe things are starting to look up.

Our stackette didn't get annihilated but was allowed to heal up helped by Geronimo. Kagoshima fell without loss in 1525 and Geronimo's Apache Division is heading north:



We're almost ready to launch a second front:



Once Steampower was invented in we discovered coal and started a bunch of tech trades. Started in 1545: DR and educ to Sal for Scimeth.





Tech table now looks more like this:



A resource deal!



Diplomacy is getting slightly complicated:
Zara is wheoorn....
De Gaulle is wheoorn...



In an ideal world they'd fight each other. In this game Zara will dogpile Toku while Asterix tries to stomp us.

 

[pigswill]

The game continues its headlong plunge into obscurity...

Geronimo's Apache Division are proving that you can dress a dog in a fancy uniform and give it a grenade but its still a sunovabiscuit. Osaka falls in 1555, no losses on our side. Te other side, well , they're destined for annihilation anyway.

Back home things are a bit more refined, a Great Artist is born in 1580, I haven't got a clue what to do with him so he rots in a garret for the time being. Isabella builds the Kremlin! Darned commies.

Continued fighting produces a Great General, maybe its time to bring Three Panthers out of retirement.

More mayhem and destruction . Tokyo falls in 1585 closely followed by Kyoto in 1590. Five down, two to go.

Another civilised interlude: trade steampower to Sal for constiution and change in 1605.

What's this? Its 1610 and Frederick has built the Statue of Genocide (Liberty? I don't think so ). It gets worse: we've lost a cannon ! The capture of Satsuma is scant recompense....

The rampage is temporarily concluded. Nara falls in 1615 and with it the last vestiges of the Empire Formerly Known As Japan.

While this has been going on our Medicine People have been zoning out on mescal and somehow discovered Railroad.

It enables this trade:



Even more importantly it opens up The Anvil. (The Anvil is of course a trick used by protective civs: you promote some grenadiers to CG3, upgrade them to CG3 MGs, capture a city then leave the CG3 MGs to defend the city (the Anvil) against the enemy's SoD (the Hammer) and hope the Anvil breaks the Hammer).

Now we've got corporation for an extra trade route we can swop from free market to state property (durned commies) which sorts out the distance maintenance of our eastern provinces.

We've whipped Moia into Red Herring (formerly known as Lonesome Fish).

Ironworks and HE and drydocks are turning Flying Fish into a decent dockyard, a few railroads and irrigating the workshops will help a bit more.



A quick glance at our new improved hunting grounds:



However Asterix de Gaulle still has enough on his hands.....

Our tech lead is slipping away.....



and Isabella is still going all cultured....

 

[yena]

Good update. So you got Japan for the total loss of three canons? Not bad. Hope your next update showcases the anvil. Are you strong enough to take on Zara?

 

[pigswill]

It was actually four cannon, that's why I got so mad.

I'm reluctant to take on Zara, not only is he the biggest and meanest AI he's also our only real friend (+25 diplo, Fred+15 diplo). He's also a way from winning the game.

I'm thinking about annexing France then capping Arabia and Spain, either domination or basis for diplomatic victory with UN.

I'm also interested in finding out if the Anvil actually works .

edit: next move will be researching artillery, getting CG3 MGs and heading towards the other continent. Asterix or Sal? Asterix is smaller but generally a bit more aggressive.

 

[pomthom]

Would Zara stop trading with Izzy for Railroad?

If so it might be very interesting to Dow Isabella once Arties are in, using Zara's territory as cushion

 

[pigswill]

These diplomatic shennanigans are too clever for me, maybe that's why its taken me years to work up to immortal (that and general stupidity). Went for somethng more straightforwards:

Played quite a few turns...

1615. Create some CG3 MGs then revolt to State Property. Flying Pig knocked out some missionaries to convert the no longer japanese cities to the worship of Budweiser (Bud is Budweiser isn't it?). Flying Fish knocked out some units.

At some point Bella got a new coalman and cancelled our deal.

In 1645 Task Force Geronimo sets sail:



In 1660 they near the borders of France:





Three longbows offer little resistance and the Anvil is born!



Somewhat coincidentally we get artillery the same year and start on combustion (Zara knows it already, he's a smartypants (and our good friend)).

In 1675 we get this deal:



With combustion in we start on biology, currently undiscovered by anyone.

Task Force Geronimo (minus MGs) has headed south and land next to Rheims in 1680.

Oops. Asterix has discovered railroad and Rheims has a shiny new machine gun. Lose a cannon (first of several casualties) but capture the city in 1685.

1690. The French Hammer breaks against the Anvil (hardly surprising as it consisted of 4 rifles, 4 trebs and 2 HAs).

Lots of nothing then we capture Lyons in 1705. Our newest Great General sets up a military academy in Black Dog (lots of hammers and lots of Ethiopain culture pressure).

Bay of Pigs produces a Great Merchant in 1710. He shacks up with our Great Artist (still languishing in a garret) and somehow their union ushers in a Golden Age . Maybe not by complete coincidence biology is discovered and we join the stampede towards democracy (researched rather than trade).

In 1730 Zara completes half the Decahedron and is now willing to trade Assembly Line. Not that we have anything to swop it for.

After several turns of trading shots we finally capture Orleans in 1735, losing a cannon and a grenadier! The action is heating up....

1740. Paris falls!



Two artillery for Sankore and Notre Dame? Was it worth it?

On the other hand we've discovered democracy and the Age of Enlightened Despotism begins! Lets learn to make some fireworks! (start rocketry).



1750. Marsailles falls. Vive La France! Too late ....

We sell democracy to Bella for peanuts (580g does buy a lot of peanuts however).

So here we are. Its 1750, we've annexed Japan and France. We're top of the scoreboard but not in anything that counts. Still quite a way from winning...



The technology race is heating up:



In an ideal world we'd have a monopoly on bio and rocketry and trade them to Zara and Fred for AL and elec, we'll see what happens.

Who's next? We're nearer Sal but Bella's nearer winning. I'm tempted to go for Sal to save some time (maybe before he gets to AL and artillery).