Ruff03 - AW Middle Ages

[ruff_hi]

I saw your post recommending 1S before playing my turns. Unfortunately, I did not see the 1SW or the dotmap before my turns. Sorry about that.

Not to worry - I actually thought someone else would step in and do a dot map. Do rivers give health bonus? I must store that away for future reference.

I will have my report posted shortly. It didn't go too well. I ended up rushing through the last several turns. I lost a case fan while playing and was trying to get it finished before the temperature got too high. In hindsight, I should have just saved the game and corrected the problem.

When I saw your 'didn't go too well' comment I thought that we had lost a city or a settler with lots of support had got past into our back yard. Little did I realize that you had been out pillaging, finding the enemy (hopefully they are too busy to find us!) and generally making life difficult for EVERYONE ELSE!

I thought that they were great rounds. It is interesting but my rounds were setup and slightly defensive rounds while yours were offensive. I wonder how the next set will go.

Roster
Ruff
Conroe - played
colony - up
Munterpipe - on deck
Woobi

Good luck on fixing the fan.

 

[Woobi]

I would be willing to help out if you need one more...

 

[ruff_hi]

Woobi - great and thx. You will need to install the mod (search backwards) that is attached to one of my posts. You should put it in the MOD directory under the 'prog files' path. There is an excellant mod installation guide on the first or second page. Please download the save and fire it up once you have the mod installed to test that it works.

Remember, this is being played under v1.61

 

[Woobi]

Will test it tonight, I'm excited for this one...

 

[Conroe]

It is interesting but my rounds were setup and slightly defensive rounds while yours were offensive. I wonder how the next set will go.

Well, hopefully the next sets are all offensive. What's that old saying? The best defense is a great offense. If we are going to be fighting within our borders, then we will lose the game. If we wait for the AI to come to us, they will all come at once. And then they will overrun us and we will die. The only way we win is to fight them one at a time at the gates of thier cities. While we are doing that, we will need to suppress the others with sentry troops.

Other than longbows for new cities, we should be building nothing but offensive troops (and a Barracks, of course). We need Knights to pillage the iron and horses of every AI. Follow that up with City Raider Macemen to take out the cities.

Where I messed up was getting bogged down in Peter's territory. In 20 turns, I should have been able to uncover half the map. I didn't get that done. Peter is our doormat. I should have moved on to the next civ after pillaging his iron. Every Knight coming out of Bombay goes past Peter's iron. If he tries to hook it back up, well then, we just got us another Worker!

 

[colony]

Got it, I'll try to play tomorrow.

I agree with Conroe, fighting in someone elses territory is always better than defending your own, although at times I am overly aggressive in wars. I'll try to uncover some more of the map during my turnset as well as pillaging the AI. Once all any of them can build is Longbowmen we should be able to conquer them easily enough.

I'll keep Delhi and Bombay building Knights, but what about Madras? Use it as a Settler/Worker factory? Also how many turns should I take?

 

[Conroe]

I'll keep Delhi and Bombay building Knights, but what about Madras? Use it as a Settler/Worker factory?

Madras will make a good Settler factory. I would use it for both Settlers and Longbowmen. After that it can spam our Missionaries. Workers, I'm not sure about.

Ideally, in an AW game, your workers are being supplied by your opponents. However, this map layout may put a dampener on things. Since all captured Workers will have to traverse Peter's land, that will mean escorts all the way. Depending on how far of a trip it is, it may not be worth the bother. It would be great if each new city could produce their own Worker; but with all of that jungle, that may not be feasible. It'll be a tough call -- glad its not mine!

 

[colony]

I didn't manage to explore as much as I'd have liked, and overall it just wasn't a great turnset for me either (I only took 10 turns, the game seems to have got going now):

1300 - Turn 0:
IBT: Knight kills Longbow

1310 - Turn 1:
Rush the Knight in Bombay

1320 - Turn 2:
Set Bombay to build another Knight

1330 - Turn 3:
LB finished in Madras, set to build a Settler
IBT: Knight kills a barb Horse Archer

1340 - Turn 4:
Knight in Delhi completed, start another

1350 - Turn 5:
Knight kills Japanese Horse Archer
IBT: Same Knight kills a Japanese Macemen

1360 - Turn 6:
Our Knight patrolling the peninsula for barbs is killed attacking a barb Axeman
Knight kills Russian Catapult
I rush the Knight in Delhi, and next turn send him to deal with the barbs

1370 - Turn 7:
Knight kills Russian Longbowman, we capture a Worker
Knight kills Japanese Horse Archer
Knight kills Russian Catapult

1380 - Turn 8:
Knight kills barb Axeman
Knight kills Russian Longbowman
Knight kills Russian Catapult
IBT: Knight loses to Japanese Pikeman
(I was looking for their Iron and Horses, but only found their Horses)

1390 - Turn 9: Just some movement
IBT: Knight kills barb Longbowman

1400 - Turn 10: More movement
Settler completed in Madras, set to build a Knight for now, which might need changing

Total units killed: 12, Total lost: 2

Not a bad kill ratio, but I didn't achieve what I really wanted, which was to uncover some more of the map. The blue arrow in the screenshot is pointing to the Japanes source of Horses. All the other strategic resources have either been disconnected or are in our territory. Some of our units are injured, but I've tried to keep one pillager per city, which should be enough provided we can keep Iron out of the hands of the AI, and so far only Tokugawa seems to have any connected.



Sorry about the lack of detail in the turnlog, I forgot to install the autologger before I started and had to write everything down.

Roster
Ruff
Conroe -
colony - Just played
Munterpipe - Up
Woobi - On Deck

 

[Conroe]

Our Knight patrolling the peninsula for barbs is killed attacking a barb Axeman

These are the worst, aren't they? You had at least a 2:1 advantage over that axe and still lost. Oh, well. That's the RNG for ya'.

Settler completed in Madras, set to build a Knight for now, which might need changing

I would think about keeping Madras on Settler/Longbowman duty for the time being. Once we have all of our Settler's built, then switch over to Missionaries. Or do you feel that Bombay and Delhi are not supplying us with enough Knights at the moment?

Not a bad kill ratio, but I didn't achieve what I really wanted, which was to uncover some more of the map.

I thought it was a good set of turns, myself. You can't expect to uncover the whole map in 10 turns.

I think Bismark is located south of Capac's lands. I have no clue where Caesar is located. And we still need to locate and identify our 6th opponent. It's these three that are making me the most nervous. They are able to expand at their own leisure because we don't have any Knights around to harrass them.

Sorry about the lack of detail in the turnlog, I forgot to install the autologger before I started and had to write everything down.

I, for one, had no problem with your turnlog. I did not find it lacking in any detail. Keep up the good work!

 

[colony]

These are the worst, aren't they? You had at least a 2:1 advantage over that axe and still lost. Oh, well. That's the RNG for ya'.

It wasn't quite a 2:1 advantage, he was on a jungle tile, although I did still have 92% chance of winning

I would think about keeping Madras on Settler/Longbowman duty for the time being. Once we have all of our Settler's built, then switch over to Missionaries. Or do you feel that Bombay and Delhi are not supplying us with enough Knights at the moment?

I think we need more of everything ATM, so a Settler is probably a good idea. With all this jungle we will need more than 1 worker per city though I expect, so once we have a couple more cities we might have to build some workers, instead of relying on captured ones.

I thought it was a good set of turns, myself. You can't expect to uncover the whole map in 10 turns.

I think Bismark is located south of Capac's lands. I have no clue where Caesar is located. And we still need to locate and identify our 6th opponent. It's these three that are making me the most nervous. They are able to expand at their own leisure because we don't have any Knights around to harrass them.

Caeser's to the west, between Tokugawa and Huayna. His border's just visible in game.

I, for one, had no problem with your turnlog. I did not find it lacking in any detail. Keep up the good work!

Always good to know

 

[Munterpipe]

Ok i got it.
I'll see if I find time to play today. If not I'll have to wait until Saturday.
Could you post a quick set of goals I should have for the next ten turns?

As I see it, we should as you guys say, get some more knights out to make a mess of the AI infrastructure, capturing workers and settlers.
The ideal number would probably be something like 1 pr enemy city?

How about the next city? Settle the horses maybe? Or the corn fish Ivory?

I guess I'll figure out, just wanted some input to make sure I won't screw anything up.

 

[Conroe]

Could you post a quick set of goals I should have for the next ten turns?

As I see it, we should as you guys say, get some more knights out to make a mess of the AI infrastructure, capturing workers and settlers.
The ideal number would probably be something like 1 pr enemy city?

I see the immediate goals as getting Knights into Bismark's and Ceasar's lands. Prioritize pillaging of iron and copper so that they cannot build spears and pikes. Along with that, we need to find out who our 6th opponent is, as well as their location. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this is all doable in 10 turns.

Our ideal number would be 2 Knights per civ. Technically, one is satisfactory, but you want a backup in case the AI get a lucky roll on the RNG. But, the priority is still getting the other 3 civs located ...

If we have a steady stream of Knights going through Peter's land, then he probably doesn't need any at all. Besides, we might get lucky and he will send a Worker out to attempt reconnecting his iron.

How about the next city? Settle the horses maybe? Or the corn fish Ivory?

Good question. I'll repost ruff_hi's dotmap for discussion:

I think you are referring to the yellow dot in your post. That would be a good site. Then follow it up with white dot to push back the bulk of the fog. Those 2 cities should go a long way to reducing the barbarians in our backyard. Start the new cities building Workers? I'm not sure how many we have at the moment. What do you think?

 

[Munterpipe]

I checked out the save, and I think workers should be prioritized. There are lots of forests to chop.
Also we should build forges and the heroic epic asap, don't you think?

 

[Conroe]

I checked out the save, and I think workers should be prioritized. There are lots of forests to chop.
Also we should build forges and the heroic epic asap, don't you think?

Our number 1 priority is to get troops in every civ's territory. Right now we have 3 civs out there that are expanding at their leisure, building cities and troops. They have pikes and maces. If we allow them to continue growing unchecked, they will eventually send all of those troops into our lands. Imagine 3 different SOD's closing in on Bombay. It will fall. Eventually, it will be 6 different SOD's. Then we lose.

Once we've checked the growth of the AI, then we can start building forges and wonders. Until then, we need to keep Delhi and Bombay on troop duty.

 

[Munterpipe]

I did 10 turns.

O: We look quite good. I change build in Madras to Worker. And start the worker in the area on a chop on a forested hill in the FC.
Head the Settler towards the yellow dot.

1: We have quite many knights to play with, and I destroy some passing russian catapults. Knight done in Bombay, start another.

2: Mansa Musa is our last enemy, to the south.
Found Bangalore on yellow dot

IBT: A knight is killed by an Incan Pike

4: A knight is done in Dehli and I start Heroic Epic.
HE+Knight+Knight=8 turns
Knight+Knight= 8 turns
Seemed like a no-brainer.
But agree that we can't afford forges right now.

I kill a Japanese Knight

Japan is worrying me. Their knights are dangerous as hell.

Big problem about our knights is that they recieve no defensive bonuses, and therefore can easily be taken out by japan or other civs with equally strong units. I will try to vary troop building so that we can place pike-mace pairs on hills and in forests who will have an easier time defending themselves.

IBT: A barb city spawned at white dot! Free Settler

6: A knight kills Incan Mace
A knight kills russian catapult

7: Take Jute as a result of our inland knight killing the second defending longbow without a scratch.

8: Find Munich and Bismarck's lands.
Dehli Knight->Knight

9: Spot roman iron and kill the longbow defending it.
Kill a longbow defending german goldmine, but the Knight only has 1.5 hitpoints left. Might be killed IBT.

IBT: Knight is killed by japanese Knight
ANOTHER Knight is killed by a japanese Knight.
Knight is killed by german catapult

10: A knight is done in Dehli and I start a pike. Then I pillage Caesar's Iron



Whoa... This wasn't as easy as I thought.
I got up two more cities, that can soon churn out more units.
But the hard part was manouvering the units in enemy land and trying to as much damage a possible, without losing anyone.
It was difficult to measure how much risk to take in general. An example could be; How many knights are we willing to lose to raze an enemy city?
Here's the enemy lands:

Hopefully next up will do better
and sorry about the messed up post. Was in a slight hurry.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=124274&stc=1&d=1145573425

 

[Woobi]

I got it...

I might get one more city up, maybe not...

And I think it's a good idea to build a couple pikemen to put on our enemies iron and copper, that way we can have our knights do other things...

Other than that I will get the knights out and hammer their economy, and see what I can do about forges...

 

[Woobi]

Edit: For some reason the mod is not working, I'm really sorry...

I keep getting XML and runtime errors with it...

I should have checked this earlier...

 

[ruff_hi]

Edit: For some reason the mod is not working, I'm really sorry...

I keep getting XML and runtime errors with it...

I should have checked this earlier...

Questions

• upgraded to v1.61?
• installed mod as 'ruff03' under mods in 'prog files' directory?

If you have done both of those, then can you post the error message pls.

Edit: should have said - well done all. I like the way that Conroe things re AW games. The other AW SG versions that I have seen have concentrated on defense first and ended up being overwhelmed.

 

[Conroe]

Edit: For some reason the mod is not working, I'm really sorry...

I keep getting XML and runtime errors with it...

Sounds like you either have the wrong mod version or have installed it incorrectly. Check Ruff's post for the V1.61 version of the mod.

It should be installed in C:\Program Files\Civilization 4\MODS\ as a new subdirectory called Ruff03. The zip should create the new subdirectory for you.

Hope this helps. If it doesn't, note the exact error message and when you get.

And I think it's a good idea to build a couple pikemen to put on our enemies iron and copper, that way we can have our knights do other things...

Then they will attack our Pikeman with a Maceman or Longbowman rather than a Knight. One unit isn't going to be able to guard a resource. To really be safe, you need a stack consisting of a Maceman, a Crossbowman, and a Pikeman. Problem is, we really can't afford a 3-unit stack for every resource to be guarded.

I suggest sticking with Knights for the time being. They are fast. If they die, we replace them. Once the AI iron source is pillaged, they cannot produce any more Knights/Pikemen/etc. They will be limited to Longbowmen etc. We just need to keep the pressure on them until they lose all of the units that they have already built. This is why it is so important to get to every civ quickly. We are badly outnumbered, so our only hope is superiour units.

 

[Woobi]

I apologize, I apologzie...

Didn't see the 1.6 version...

Will have my ten in tonight...