Semi-blind C2C Playthrough

[kemill]

This is my first complete playthrough of Civilization IV: Caveman 2 Cosmos. I've played a little bit of the early Prehistoric era just to get a sense of what I'm getting myself into, but nothing beyond that, which is why I'm calling this a "semi-blind" playthrough.

When setting up my game, I chose the settings that, in my estimation, would make the game as "realistic" as possible. They are as follows:

Spoiler :

Noble difficulty, 50 civs (all random, including myself)
C2C_Shuffle map, Cylindrical wrap, Gigantic size, Random climate, Random sea level
Prehistoric era, Eternity speed
All victories enabled
City Flipping after Conquest
Unrestricted Leaders
Require Complete Kills
Start as minor civs
Multiple Production and Research
Usable Mountains
Surround and Destroy
Advanced Diplomacy, Economy, Espionage, and Nukes
Unlimited Wonders and National Units
Barbarian Generals
No Zones of Control
Assimilation
Great Commanders
Personalized Map
Realistic Corporations, Culture Spread
Religion Decay
United Nations
Expanded Castles
Arctic and City Parks
Meteorology
Civic and Early Buildings
Historical Wonders
Modern Corporations
Divine Prophets
Infinite XP
Developing Leaders
Start without Positive Traits
Scale City Limits
Focused Traits
C2C Combat Mod - Fight or Flight
Assigned Specialists XP

And here is my start:

Spoiler :

I am Sejong of the Dutch Tribe. Here is a screenshot of my starting location:

 

[kemill]

Here is what happened between 50000BC and 48680BC (turns 1-33):

Spoiler :

I settled in place, because there doesn't seem to be much point in aimlessly wandering around when you don't know where the resources are. I have decided to emphasize research over everything else, at least for now.

I researched Nomadic Lifestyle and Language.

I trained 2 Brutes and am currently training a Wanderer.

I received the following from tribal villages: a map, Nomadic Lifestyle, Cave Dwelling, 240 gold, and XP for my Brute 2 (to whom I gave the Combat I and II promotions).

Someone else has gotten the free Gatherer for being first to research Gathering.

I used my units to explore my immediate surroundings, and they are now kind of like sentries who will be taking out any animals that happen to come by. They defeated 2 Dholes and a Lizard.

I also met my first rival: Cleopatra of the Babylonian Tribe.

Here is a screenshot of my more expanded surroundings.

Btw, both times I took a screenshot using [PRT SCR], my game froze. Hopefully, one of you might know an alternate method for taking screenshots.

Also, should I post a save file every time, or just do it occasionally?

One last thing, do you want me to continue putting my game notes in spoiler tags, or do you prefer me not to?

 

[Yudishtira]

Welcome to CFC. Good luck with your game and story.

If you enabled all victory types, mastery victory disables all the others. If you didn't know that, then I apologize on behalf of the mod that it isn't stated more clearly. You will still "have fun".

Saves are not necessary (unless you really want us to play your save too, which seems unlikely), and in my opinion spoilers aren't either.

 

[JosEPh_II]

Hello kemill,

In your test of the prehistoric era did you have similar settings for starting AI, map type & map size (ms) and game speed (gs) that you set up for this game?

There is a reason I ask. On Eternity, 50 players, and Gigantic unless you have a x64 OS and can utilize a full 4GB of ram (BtS is a single core engine game) with at least 1GB DDR5 vid ram or 2GB DDR3 (more is better here) you probably will start experiencing Crashes to desktop (CTDs) by early/mid Classical Era. Sorry to be a bearer of bad news but C2C with all its content is not suited for a 50 Player start, even moreso on an Eternity gs and Gigantic ms. In fact 50 Player start is not recommended at all for any gs and ms. And because of eternity's length (# of turns) it has an affinity to skew your commerce/gold among other things.

Now you might get farther than that as I don't see Revolutions, Barb World or Barb Civ in your list of set up options. If any of those 3 are active then you definitely won't make it to medieval era. If the game can weed out, thru conquering, 20+ AI while you progress thru Preh, Ancient, and Classical your odds go up for making it further.

Realistically your best chance to get to modern era would've been with 20 AI (or less, + on the less) on Marathon or Epic on Huge.

Now much improvement has been made since the release of v35. And that brings up another question: are you using the SVN for the lastest updates? Or are you using the last official release, ie. v35?

Any way don't let my warnings impede your play (just be aware of the possibilities). Go as far as you can (if you wish to continue this game) and we'll see how far you do make it. (the prt scrn freeze is not a good sign by the way).

Have Fun.

JosEPh

 

[kemill]

Welcome to CFC. Good luck with your game and story.

Thank you, I'm sure it will be both fun and challenging.

If you enabled all victory types, mastery victory disables all the others. If you didn't know that, then I apologize on behalf of the mod that it isn't stated more clearly. You will still "have fun".

I did not know that, but thanks for the heads up.

Saves are not necessary (unless you really want us to play your save too, which seems unlikely), and in my opinion spoilers aren't either.

In that case, I will not post a save with every update (although I might on rare occasions). I will also stop putting everything in spoilers.

In your test of the prehistoric era did you have similar settings for starting AI, map type & map size (ms) and game speed (gs) that you set up for this game?

Yes, I did use the same settings for the test game.

There is a reason I ask. On Eternity, 50 players, and Gigantic unless you have a x64 OS and can utilize a full 4GB of ram (BtS is a single core engine game) with at least 1GB DDR5 vid ram or 2GB DDR3 (more is better here) you probably will start experiencing Crashes to desktop (CTDs) by early/mid Classical Era. Sorry to be a bearer of bad news but C2C with all its content is not suited for a 50 Player start, even moreso on an Eternity gs and Gigantic ms. In fact 50 Player start is not recommended at all for any gs and ms. And because of eternity's length (# of turns) it has an affinity to skew your commerce/gold among other things.

I have 64-bit Windows 8.1, and 6GB of ram, so I should be fine for at least a while. If the game does crash, then so be it, but I will still get many hours of gameplay out of it.

Now much improvement has been made since the release of v35. And that brings up another question: are you using the SVN for the lastest updates? Or are you using the last official release, ie. v35?

I believe this is the latest official release (v35).

Any way don't let my warnings impede your play (just be aware of the possibilities). Go as far as you can (if you wish to continue this game) and we'll see how far you do make it. (the prt scrn freeze is not a good sign by the way).

I found a rather simple solution to the screenshot problem. I'm just simply using the Snipping Tool that comes with Windows, and that seems to work just fine. Anyway, thanks for all of your help!

 

[kemill]

This is what happened between 48680BC and 47640BC (turns 33-59):

I started by adopting the Native Language civic, and then researched Gathering (which was literally the only tech available to me, but it's what I wanted to research anyway).

I finished training my Wanderer and started building an Alpha Male.

I met my 2nd and 3rd rivals: De Gaulle of the Viking Tribe, and Frederick of the Maya Tribe. The Maya capital is north-northeast of me and pretty close.

My units killed a Nile Monitor, an Eagle, a Maya Gatherer, a Maya Stonethrower, and a Viper. Unfortunately, I also lost the Wanderer I had just trained. Still, that's not a bad tradeoff.

I also got the chance to pick my first trait, and I chose Nomad because, although it's probably not useful later in the game, right now it does seem quite useful.

Upon getting gathering, no resources appeared within my borders, and only a few appeared in my vicinity, as you can see by the screenshot below.

 

[kemill]

47640BC-41240BC (turns 59-219):

I got pretty unlucky this time around, because any time I tried to send a unit outside my borders, it would almost immediately be killed by some animal. I kept making more units to replace the ones I had lost, which kept me from building other things. In total, I lost 7 Brutes, a Stone Thrower, and a Clubman. Eventually, I decided to just keep all of my units within my borders, at least for now.

Also, my gold reserves ran out, which forced me to lower my research rate by a lot.

I researched Weaving and Scavenging (which revealed an Elephant within my borders), adopted the Banditry civic, and researched Controlled Fire, Herbalism, and Cooperation. I have decided that, since I'm new to this mod, I will just research everything. I'm hoping that will help in the long run.

I finishing building my Alpha Male, and built a Stick Gatherer, a Myth-Fire, and Lichen Gatherer. I also trained a total of 7 Brutes (5 of which were killed), a Wanderer, a Stone Thrower (which I had to delete due to lack of funds), and am currently training a Gatherer. I have decided not to build any Food buildings until after my capital's Health improves.

At first, I was using my free Gatherer (from researching Gathering) to build a Gather Grains, but once the Elephant appeared, I instead made it build a Scavenging Camp there.

I met my 4th rival: Margrete I of the Roman Tribe.

Also, my borders expanded due to my capital getting Fledgling culture status.

 

[JosEPh_II]

Since you have Herbalism researched look for and build the buildings that give +1 even if they also have a +1 . Most of these will also add +1 food which is not a bad thing. Avoiding food producing buildings because of bad is not a good beginning strategy.

JosEPh

 

[kemill]

41240BC-31640BC (turns 219-459):

I was more lucky this time around in terms of kill/loss ratio, mainly because I was more careful about when I sent my units away to hunt animals. I was also able to slightly improve my research rate, which is always good.

I researched Persistence Hunting, Shelter Building, Basketry, Tool Making (after which I deleted my Brutes since they had become obsolete), Oral Tradition (after which I adopted the Oral Tradition civic), and Cooking.

I finished training my Gatherer and trained 2 more Gatherers, a Stone Thrower, a Chaser, and a Clubman. I used my Gatherers to build Gather Grains sites (one of which was destroyed by barbarians).

I also built a Bandit's Hideout (mainly for the economy boost), Wild Herbs, Hunting Instruction, Captured Fire (which started a Golden Age that I'm still in now), Seed Camp, Root Tubers, Grass Gatherer, Wild Mushrooms, Bug Catcher, Alpha Female, Myth-Stone, Termite Mound, and Nut Cracking Stone, and I'm currently building a Storage Pit.

I got the "We have discovered a new healing plant" event. I decided to use the "Run full tests" option, because in my situation, the pros far outweighed the cons, especially since my population was still at 1. I did get the +2 Health boost, which helped get my capital to a positive health ratio.

I was also able to choose new traits. I chose Agricultural for my positive trait, and Hunter-Gatherer for my negative trait.

Not much changed in terms of my surroundings, but I'll provide a screenshot anyway.

Since you have Herbalism researched look for and build the buildings that give +1 even if they also have a +1 . Most of these will also add +1 food which is not a bad thing. Avoiding food producing buildings because of bad is not a good beginning strategy.

JosEPh

Thanks for the advice, I have built those now.

 

[JosEPh_II]

I got the "We have discovered a new healing plant" event. I decided to use the "Run full tests" option, because in my situation, the pros far outweighed the cons, especially since my population was still at 1. I did get the +2 Health boost, which helped get my capital to a positive health ratio.

Always run the full test.

JosEPh

 

[Yudishtira]

Spoilered for if you want to learn it all for yourself...

Spoiler :

Gatherers can build 'roads' (Trail Paths) without being consumed. Trail paths let your two-move units get two moves in borders even through forest, hills etc., so they're not worthless. You can even build them beyond borders if you feel like it. Building them feels like you're getting better value for hammers out of your gatherer...

1-strength units seem like mostly a waste of time to me (the chaser with its huge bonuses against animals is almost an exception). Exploring with anything less than scouts and trackers is pretty much a suicide mission. I also advise to keep your clubmen within borders, because otherwise in my experience, Murphy's Law applies.

Does your scoreboard show your power ratio with other civs? You can use that to tell you when you're building too few units. Try not to let anyone's ratio get down to 0.7 or so.

 

[kemill]

31460BC-29210BC (turns 459-526):

This time, I researched Tracking (after which I sold my Wanderer), Trapping, Hard-Hammer Percussion, Prehistoric Music, Prehistoric Dance, and Ground Stone.

I finished building my Storage Pit and also built a Basketweaver's Hut, Lookout Post, Storyteller's Hut, Rock Gatherer, Creation Myth, Harems, and Knowledge Inheritance. In addition, I trained a Scout and a Clubman, and am currently training another Scout.

I received a Great General and used it to give experience to all of my units. I captured a Siberian Tiger and used it to build Myth of the Tiger. I also managed to explore a little more of my surroundings with my Scout, but it was eventually killed.

I met my 5th, 6th, and 7th rivals: Ramkhamhaeng of the City State of Mali, Genghis Khan of the City State of Neanderthals, and Charles V of the Carthaginian City State.

I discovered the Pravcicka Brana landmark, although I haven't yet determined whether discovering landmarks is actually beneficial or not.

Also, someone founded the Druidic Traditions religion.

Gatherers can build 'roads' (Trail Paths) without being consumed. Trail paths let your two-move units get two moves in borders even through forest, hills etc., so they're not worthless. You can even build them beyond borders if you feel like it. Building them feels like you're getting better value for hammers out of your gatherer...

Thank you, I've already built a trail path to my Elephant tile, and will start building more soon. I don't think I'll build any outside my borders though, it's just too big a risk with all the animals around.

1-strength units seem like mostly a waste of time to me (the chaser with its huge bonuses against animals is almost an exception). Exploring with anything less than scouts and trackers is pretty much a suicide mission. I also advise to keep your clubmen within borders, because otherwise in my experience, Murphy's Law applies.

Yes, I'm starting to figure out that sending 1 or even 2 strength units out is basically suicide.

Does your scoreboard show your power ratio with other civs? You can use that to tell you when you're building too few units. Try not to let anyone's ratio get down to 0.7 or so.

Yes it does. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately my economy can't support a huge military right now, but I'll do the best I can.

 

[Dancing Hoskuld]

I discovered the Pravcicka Brana landmark, although I haven't yet determined whether discovering landmarks is actually beneficial or not.

If you are the first to discover it, then it is. There are benefits from settling a city near them. The idea comes from Civ V. It is a mod written by Platyping and is used in a number other mods. C2C uses them slightly differently to the way Platyping implemented them.

 

[kemill]

29210BC-27770BC (turns 526-574):

Honestly, not much happened this time around.

I researched Hunting and Ritualism, enabled the Folklore religion civic, and researched Soft-Hammer Percussion and Natural Pigments.

I finished training my Scout that I had started last time, built Animal Snare Traps and a Hunter's Camp, and am currently building an Elephant Hunter's Camp.

Also, my capital gained Developing culture status, giving me Fine Clay within my borders.

Anyway, I'm sorry for not updating this sooner; I'll try to be more diligent in the future.

 

[JosEPh_II]

@kemill,

Nothing to be sorry for, it's your thread and your game. When you do post we'll be watching and maybe even reply.

JosEPh