seeking advice

[Leowind]

Prince, raging, large random map consisting of two large continents and several medium sized islands, 1550 AD. I completely control one continent except for Romans. They are on a peninsula far from the rest of my civ (large desert between us), but I have successfully built a city on either side of them at choke points so they cannot expand further. I would like to take them over to gain undisputed control of my continent, and their location would be a good staging ground for exploring the back side of the other continent which I have not yet explored. The problem is this: I have metallurgy (cannon), but they have gunpowder (musketeers) and at least some of their cities (including the capital) have walls. I had hoped to take out their capital first (they foolishly expanded in only one direction, leaving their capital on the edge rather than the center of their "empire") and then buy up the rest of the cities for cheap (they have less than 1000gold), but a frontal assault seems unlikely to succeed, and expensive in troops if it does. Do I wait around for Artillery and hope they don't get conscription before then, or just build a butt-load of cannons and hack away? They are Republic at moment, and I have Statue, so could be anything. I welcome any advice.

 

[Håkan Eriksson]

When I was reading your text I was thinking, don't you have Diplomats? That wath I would try out. Besides that, isn't it better to start I war right now. I would say, blow them off with the cannons. It also depends how much mony you got to ruch buy an army.

I would sugest you save the game and test both way in different games, that ofcorse if you have the energy to do it.

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This is my cool book:
John Valdez, vladmir_illych_lenin, Thunderfall, shadowdale, stormerne, Stellar Converter

 

[Leowind]

Yes, I have diplomats. As I said, my plan was to take out the capital, then buy the rest of the cities with dips. (no capital makes them much cheaper). I'm assuming you can't incite revolt in the capital of a Republic. Perhaps I'm mistaken? Would be very expensive, I'm sure. Don't really have the time to test different strategies, and sooner or later they will fall, its just a matter of when is most efficient to do it.

 

[Håkan Eriksson]

Well, you can destry the city walls you were mention with dimplomats.

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This is my cool book:
John Valdez, vladmir_illych_lenin, Thunderfall, shadowdale, stormerne, Stellar Converter

 

[Leowind]

I always get warnings about how difficult it is to destroy city walls in a capital, so I've never really tried. How many dips should I have around to attempt this? My blocking cities are brand new, and it takes awhile to transport troops by ship to the area, so I have to make very careful use of my resources at the moment.

 

[Håkan Eriksson]

Well, just remember that it has to be a veteran!!!

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This is my cool book:
John Valdez, vladmir_illych_lenin, Thunderfall, shadowdale, stormerne, Stellar Converter

 

[stormerne]

I agree with Håkan. Roll over them now. If you have metallurgy, could it be you also have Explosives? If so, use engineers to build a path across the desert to their door. If you also have railroad, you need three engineers per tile over desert to do it all in a single turn. That way you can take your cannons and dips right to their door with no move loss and without their being vulnerable. If you don't have railroad, build roads straight to their door in step of three (three engineers per three tiles), and if it's a long way build fortress staging posts en route. Kill the city walls first with diplomats - you may have to throw a lot of dips at the city because I don't think they're selective like spies can be - then roll in with cannon. You should also keep a cash reserve of (I think) 320 gold to rush-rebuild the city walls!

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"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" - Anais Nin

 

[Leowind]

How do you make a vet diplomat? As soon as they do anything they disappear!

 

[Håkan Eriksson]

I think it chould be a vet if they were attacked. Just put it in a fort ao it wont get killed.


Or is it just spies that can be veterans?

 

[stormerne]

Dips don't normally survive attack so they can't become veteran. They don't survive their mission either. I don't think they can be built veteran.

Spies can be promoted to veteran after successful missions. But the best I think is to switch to Communism and all spies built are vetaran. They're really cool!

However you need espionage. I guess Leowind you don't have espionage yet?

 

[Leowind]

Am currently researching explosives, so by the time the settler on my boat gets there he will be an engineer. I do not yet have railroad. Need Steam Engine first, then RR, so its a little ways away. Even with 6 engineers, it would take a looong time to cross the desert with rails, or even road. would be faster to throw dips at the walls 'til they come down. I'll try to rush build as many as I can, but want to have enough cash left to buy the rest of the cities, too. I just don't want to get all my resources bogged down in conquering a small, backward nation when I could be focusing on exploring the remainder of the world and further increasing my science advantage.

 

[stormerne]

Fair enough about the engineers. I usually have at least 20, preferably lots more, on hand for these escapades, building railroads as far as I can right through the enemy civ in a single turn and so trying to take a minimum of three cities or more on that one turn.

Let us know how you get on. Don't forget, if you're going for the capital, you'll probably get a reasonable cash capture when you move in, maybe enough to rush build the walls again.

 

[Leowind]

Maybe I'll wait for RR. Give me time to build up some dips and army and engineers around the Romans. I'll post results in Stories and Tales forum when I get around to playing again (it will be a few days)

 

[PinkyGen]

I hate to be the peace guy, but why not wait and try to gain a tech dge over him. You could switch to democracy and dump all things minus luxories into tech, maybe get those needed railroads.

(Or if you are very patient, howitzers. but that seems too long.)

 

[SunTzu]

turn communist and get veterans dips / spies and destroy their walls and then go crazy on them

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Civilization God of War & Economic Prosperity
http://www.civfanatics.com Staff and forum moderator

<IMG SRC="http://www.homestead.com/house_of_lux/files/suntzu1.gif" border=0>

Well, it must be close to the Armageddon. Lord, you know that I won’t fly by that lesson you taught me, to pull out my Wesson you brought me, and i’m not stressin’ it softly. Get ‘em up off me, ‘cause all we wanted harmony, been bombin’ ‘em. Yell up outta my ghetto, “I won’t settle,” get on my level.

 

[Leowind]

I've been throwing dips and veteran spies (switched to communism) at the walls forever to no avail. Finally said what the h*** and attacked their 5 fortified Musketeers with my two cannons. Amazingly, the cannons survived the first assault, and have now been joined by a third. Guess their Musketeers weren't veteran. That was my fear. Even a vet cannon (8+4=12) is no match for a vet Musk fortified behind walls (3+1.5+1.5=6*3=18 ). Should have the capital in a turn or two and then buy up the rest, so I can focus on my war with the Sioux on the other side of the world.

[This message has been edited by Leowind (edited February 28, 2001).]

 

[stormerne]

Thanks for posting the results of his skirmish! Very bizarre the vet spies didn't take the city walls.

I presume you said go for a particular improvement to sabotage and then it warned you about how difficult it was. (Never give a spy the choice.) Still... three or four spies should have done that at the very outside. But there's always the luck element - as you found with your cannon! And if the musketeers weren't veteran, that probably means no barracks, and no repair between turns.

Good luck with the rest of the game.

 

[MrLeN]

Leowind, when you finish, if you haven't already finished, could you tell us how many more cities they had and how many turns it took you to take them? <IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/smile.gif" border=0>
MrLeN <IMG SRC="http://forums.civfanatics.com/ubb/smile.gif" border=0>
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Where there is money, there are liars!



[This message has been edited by MrLeN (edited February 27, 2001).]

 

[Leowind]

See in Stories and Tales Forum

 

[MrLeN]

OKies, I'm off to have a look

MrLeN

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Where there is money, there are liars!