I have been accumulating some emperor level starts with mapfinder. In the meantime, I started wondering just how strong the best diplo dates posted on the in-between difficulty levels were. Intuitively you would expect the best dates achieveable on a difficulty level to form some sort of bell curve as you move from the advantages of chieftain in very chep techs to higher difficulty levels eventually the AI start being useful so as to help reduce the date on later levels.
Looking at Warlord and Regent, after the most recent update, Chamnix stills holds both these positions with a 660AD and a 610AD finish respectively. If my bell curve theory is correct, then it stands to reason that the regent date is somewhat stronger than the warlord date. I decided to test out the warlord date in a trial game.
I reasoned that my best chance would lie in adapting the fast tech strategy from cheiftain to warlord. Of course, you are immediately faced with two issues from the difficulty transition - slightly less useful goodie huts, and a massive 66% increase in self research tech costs.
To me the tech cost rate was the big killer. Especially combined with the fact that negative gpt research will cost valuable buildings, so this isn't really an option on warlord! I also totally agree with SirPleb's comment that an ultra early MA entry is self-correcting. That is due to the time your undeveloped empire takes to research MA techs, you give most of the advantage back.
The answer: Tiny maps. Yes, you will lose a lot on the AA, but a powerful start should ensure that much of this time is caught up in the MA/IA. As this was just a trial, and my first Tiny map game ever, I didn't even run mapfinder for it, but instead manually checked through about half a dozen maps, until a suitable food+river start emerged:
Wheat plus flood plain and enough BGs for a four turn settler factory. No cows, so weak by HOF standards, but sufficient for my trial game.
The AI I played against were Greece, Persia and Babylon to maximise trade opportunities, and I also turned down AI aggressiveness to least aggressive (ok, I was scared of the nasty warlord AI!). Huts did not yield a free settler or a free city, but the first tech (the wheel) did cough up an SGL in 3350BC. At that point I decided to play the game out.
Owing to the lack of GHs in total on a Tiny world, I considered that every tech trade I could do was vital. I therefore held off building the Pyramids while my scouts searched for contact with Persia. Naturally they were the last tribe met, and so the Pyramids were not built until 2710BC. Here's the shortened timeline of key events:
2710BC – Pyramids from SGL, all three tribes met
2470BC – Pop writing
1870BC – Complete the jump to pick up republic, revolt – 5 turn anarchy
1750BC – Pop poly
1700BC – Become republic
1275BC – Learn construction to enter MA
Get full first tier in trade
Theology was our free tech
370BC – SGL from chemistry
230BC – Colossus built, GA kicked off
210BC – Copernicus built
170BC – Newton’s Uni built with SGL
30BC – learn metallurgy to enter IA. Pick up Nationalism and medicine from AI
Free tech = fascism
150AD – Forbidden Palace built
290AD – Declared war on Bab
300AD – Conquered Babylon
320AD – Take Elippi and get gems
370AD – Peace to the Babs
420AD – Get Steel and SGL
470AD – Complete ToE
630AD – Lose Babylon Library
640AD – Lose Moscow marketplace
AI get rocketry and computers, we get fission
660AD – UN victory
A few additional points of note:
1) I learnt code of laws, and deliberately held off popping huts until starting philosophy research.
2) In the AA, I only had to pop one first tier tech, and I was also able to trade for IW.
3) Fantastic luck on entry to MA, getting all the way to Theology for free!
4) Major Doh! moment number one - I forgot to construct the forbidden palace until almost the end of the MA!!
5) War with Babylon was fought because they had the closest coal, and two additional luxes to boot. Also they hadn't even built the infrastructure to connect these all up!! 5 longbows were sufficient to conquer Babylon (coal), and the two lux cities, then peace secured two more cities. The massive defences consisted of two spears in Babylon, and only one elsewhere! I also got them back to gracious by the time the game ended.
6) I wasn't sure whether you would get second tier optional techs as your free scientific tech, until this game!
7) The last two city losses were the last two turns of researching flight when for the first and only time in the game we researched into negative gold - tough penalty. The rest of the time I avoided this by trading with the AI when they had resources (Usually just techs), and converting scientist specialists to tax collectors on the last turn of a tech, until the tech rate climbs to more than one turn, etc.
In addition to the FP, I actually made some iother bungles in this game, such as not building tight enough around the capital (I blame newb on Tiny for that), originally choosing a poor colossus site etc. Overall, while I doubt these selctions will challenge SirPleb's 210AD game, I am convinced that 400AD is achieveable on a properly played map with reasonable luck.
I look forward to your full writeup when finished.
I'll do a writeup in a day or two.
