SGOTM3 Rome - Team Bugsy

[RowAndLive]

Here's the SE map:

 

[grahamiam]

nice play R&L looks like we're slowly turning the corner. are we doing min. research? if so, we need to figure out a way to stop that or we'll never get to cav. anybody have suggestions?

 

[Bede]

Breakout at last!! Thanks R&L.

 

[alerum68]

Nice R&L. Looks like Bugsy's turn to play.

 

[RowAndLive]

I neglected to mention that there's a pair of legions on a hill just S of Corinth that I had started to use for pillaging, and that they have not moved yet, IIRC. One of them is forted, and as I found out the hard way in my last turn set, don't move 1 without the other.

Definitely doing min research with 1 scientist, no $. Money growth is slow, however - note my comments above on possible spending. We definitely need more than we have, but at the same time, could probably do with less money and more research. Unit support is our main issue, but we're still short of what we need. Perhaps we should turn those inefficient southern cities (the game, not RL... ) into mostly taxmen and forget trying to build there as long as they're kept fed.

@Bugsy - I put a lot of comments through the move, esp at the end, so please take time to read it fully.

 

[denyd]

Nice Work R&L

It looks like we finally got our own little corner of the world secure. Time to start expanding a little. I agree with G-Man that we need to speed up the research somehow (libraries) and to cavalry before the AI get infantry.

Have we managed to get most of the horses pillaged?

Just an aside on pillaging, if possible we should probably pillage all hill, mountain & desert roads to disconnect saltpeter (since we can't see it yet).

 

[RowAndLive]

Just France's horses, who's been heavy on the LB. I didn't do a production versus wonders & research analysis, but it looks like France is spending elsewhere (caravels & galleons?). She's also likely taking a huge hit on no luxes since Paris is isolated - can't help her rep too much either.

English are sending sparce cavs, but not much total, Russia a very paltry few cossacks, slightly more German knights, massive cavs from Babylon, nothing from America / India / Japan / Iroquois (1 galley on W), and only 1-2 so far from Azteca. Greece is sending the occasional hoplite/settler pair, but has many galleys on the E & S.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I have it.

Goals for my ten:
Keep building settlers
Consolidate front in the east
Figure out how we can research more.
Wipe out all civs and win. OK I got a little carried away.

 

[denyd]

I like #5 the best

Bugsy, you might want to add defending the southern coastal towns while you're at it. It looks like there's a few galleys milling about looking for a easy city to capture.

Just curious, but are we saving Greece for last???

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I think the two Greek cities on our continent will become a pile of rubble soon, but I think their two cities offshore may have to wait. That would be interesting to leave them for last.

 

[grahamiam]

Wipe out all civs and win. OK I got a little carried away.

I'll buy this option! actually, how's this for a little challenge... R&L razed 2 cities, so you need to raze 3

then denyd would need 4 (France), and i'll need to do 5

 

[Sir Bugsy]

These turns take a long time as you need to consider all the various moves. It is very much like a chess match.

Pre-flight – Check to make sure the game is in . Double check. Nice set of forces. 53 cats, 8 armies. We’re strong compared to everyone but the Aztecs and Japan. We’re average to them. We don’t have any settlers.

Rome is at 15 spt building 70 shield knights with no growth. MM to get some growth and to get it to 16. Change Cumae to a settler. Change Hispalis from a Galley to a cat. I understand why we’re building galleys, but we’re already building one. A lot of our cities are set up very nicely.

Spend 184G rushing the temple at Arretium. Maybe that will gain us some room on Samarra.

Start a Legion Army (I named it the 7th) northward. I’ll join a knight up with it soon.

IBT – We lose a redlined legion to a Bab cav. Retreat a second Bab cav.

1. 1210 AD – Kill a Greek horse. Lose a legion to a hoplite, but kill him with a second. Bombard and kill a Bab cav outside Arretium, which has already grabbed the northern tiles it shares with Samarra. The Red Machine kills a Yank Cav. A knight kills a French LB. Kill a Bab musket with a Legion. The 7th kills a French LB. (7-2)

IBT – At Tarentum, lose a pike to an English cav. Produce two settlers and start two libraries.

2. 1220 AD – Lose a legion to a Russian musket then kill him with a second. Kill a Greek LB with a knight. Load a fourth knight into the Blue Bolts, then kill an English cav. The Red machine kills a French LB, as does the 7th Legions. (13-4)

IBT - @ Tarentum, Lose a knight to an English Cav. We have some Cossacks on the way. Russians build Magellan’s.

3. 1230 AD – The Blue Bolts kill an English cav. Kill a Greek archer. Begin the march on Corinth. The 7th kills another French LB. (16-4)

IBT – Retreat a Bab cav at the Gate. Joanie wants to talk. Sorry.

4. 1240 AD – Lose a legion to a redlined English cav outside Arretium. Kill it with a second.
@ Amiens – The Eagles kill a defending musketter. Then a knight can’t polish off the defending spear.
The 7th kills a musketeer. Move two armies into the mountains around Samarra. The siege of Corinth starts next turn. Spend 8G hurrying Nicomedia’s rax. (18-6)

IBT – Lose the 7th Legion Army to three Yank Cavs. It was on a mountain with 7 hp. Lose a legion at the gate, but he kills two Bab cavs and retreats a third. Kill a Bab cav attacking our knight on a mountain. The French drop off a Musketeer in our rear. Alex wants to talk, no. A LB out of Corinth is killed by our legion. (24-8)

5. 1250 AD – Germanicus builds an army. Approaching Rome, we lose a knight to a Bab musket and kill it with a legion. A knight kills a redlined Bab cav. The Red Machine kills a Bab cav that was bombarded to red.
Our two armies, the Blue Bolts and Tarquinas both defeat a musket at Samarra and the city is razed. Death in the South (DoS) kills a German pike.

@ Corinth – our cats go 2 for 4. The Savages kill a hoplite, but are down to 5 hp.. We lose two legions and a knight, then a third kills a hoplite.

We lose a legion to the Musketeer in our backyard (2hp left), then kill it with a legion out of Pisae.
Decide that a dead Cossack is better than razing Amiens so the Eagles kill it. Two more on the way. (33-11)

IBT – Lose a knight to a Yank cav. Build two more settlers.

To be continued…

 

[RowAndLive]

Real quick, the galleys (building 2, not 1) was to assemble a group of 3 to try and fend off any Aztec troop carriers coming in from the West, as they've done once. Split up, they wouldn't be worth much, but in a squadron, hopefully they can take out a galleon.

Good job getting Samarra, and getting amiens ready. It's nice to see France foundering with an unconnected capital. Just don't raze it in the heat of the moment, and get them moving again.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I sent the army that was in France north towards Babylon to pillage their horses. I intended the 7th Legion to move into France to keep the workers at bay. I need to get a second army up there. I got turn six complete, but this is difficult. The Greeks are proving a tough nut to crack.

I have two galleys now. I'll restart the third. I just experienced the Aztec troop carrier.

 

[RowAndLive]

Unless either Team Akots or Team Handy lose in the next 30 turns, then Team Sesn has a lock on the spoons... Just from looking at their graph, they've had a rough game of it.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

6. 1255 AD – Found Mediolanum, just north of the Gap. The Eagles raze Amiens. A horse in the Gate kills a redlined Cossack. (35-12)

IBT – No Attacks but Tarentum and the Gate will be the focus next IBT. There are three English cavs, three Bab cavs, and two Yankee cavs within range. The Aztecs dropped off a pair of knights in our rear. Oh, BTW the English now have rifles.

6. 1260 AD – @ The Gate – There are two Cossacks and two Bab cavs. Redline and kill one Bab cav. Lose a horse. Pull some workers back to Antium. Attack a French LB in the mountains and…

Claudius goes back to Rome.
We lose two legions to the Aztec knights. Our core is in extremis. (37-15)

IBT – Outside Corinth we kill a German knight and lose a legion to a German Knight. At the Gate retreat a Cossack and lose a legion to a Cossack. The English move three cavs next to Taretum. We lose a legion to a Aztec knight.

7. 1265 AD - @ Corinth – kill two citizens. There are at least three defenders. Destroy the rax and market.

In the core. A newly minted knight kills one Aztec, and a legion kills the other. Both promote.

Things are desperate at Tarentum, as our cats only wound one English cav. One legion dies to a cav and redlines him. The Blue Bolts come through and kill two English cavs., but are down to 6hp. A knight kills a remaining Englishman. (43-19)

IBT – We kill an English cav at Tarentum, but the Babs are swarming there. The Gate is pretty busy as well. Outside of Corinth a German knight attacks our legion Army and retreats.

8. 1270 AD - @ Corinth our 10 cats go hitless. I hope they haven’t started playing like the Mariners.
The French have planted a new city just north of where Samarra was.
Found Treveri in the ruins of Lagash.
@ Tarentum – Kill a Bab Cav with a legion,
Continue the Babylonian pillaging campaign. (45-19)

IBT – Lose a legion to a Bab cav. @ Tarentum kill an English cav. @ Caesarea kill a Bab cav then lose a pike to a Bab cav. At our new city, retreat a German knight.

9. 1275 AD – @ Corinth – Destroy the library and wound one hoplite.
Sirmium is founded on the ruins of Besancon.
Kill a Bab cav at Tarentum.
The Eagles kill a German knight outside Corinth but are down to 5 hp. (49-21)

IBT – We lose a worker to a Bab cav. And Trajan’s Eagles are destroyed by a German knight.

10. 1280 AD – Wake Claudius and form another army. Load some knights into the 2nd Knight Army
@ Corinth our cats go 0 for 13. Press home the attack and lose one knight while killing the three hoplites and archer defending. Raze the city.
@ Caesarea a knight kills a Bab cav.
Bombard and kill a Bab cav outside Tarentum. (55-23)
Pillage the Bab horses.

After Action – I think we are stuck with lone scientist until we get to invention. By then we may have some libraries on line and enough cash to go more than minimum.

I am feeling less confident about our chances. I really encourage the next player to take their time and think about the consequences of every move. Like on the last turn, I thought I had everything at Tarentum covered and lost a worker to a Bab cav and the Eagles to a German knight. If you’re tired take a break. Right now every move is critical and even then it may not be good enough. I may have shifted too much of our forces to the eastern front.

Slightly better kill ratio than my last time. 2.5:1 But still not good enough. Tarentum, Caesarea and the Gate continue to be focal points, Although we now have units starting to slip through the Gap between Caesarea and Verona. We may want to build a city either between Verona and Caesarea or between Arretium and Caesarea.

There are settlers available to settle in the east as well.

Looking at the screen shots. There is a ¾ German knight at the blue dot.

Here’s the western front. I have been bombarding units but not finishing them off since I didn’t want to leave cities poorly defended.

Save: http://gotm.civfanatics.net/saves/sgotm3/bugsy_SG003_AD1280_01.SAV

Back to the top of the order.
Denyd – Up
G-Man – On Deck
Alerum
Bede
R&L
Bugs – Just Played

 

[grahamiam]

rifles now i'm gonna start getting sick to my stomach.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I think the tile the two English rifles are standing on would make a good location for a city. There is one just east of Veii that could clog that hole.

There are two settlers to the east to help fill up some of those now empty eastern lands.

 

[denyd]

This looks like it's going to be a very challenging turn set.

I'll try to stabilize the northern front, keep on pillaging, and settle a couple new cities to the east. I'm don't think I'll be starting any major offensives.

Not to bring up a bad thought, but is there a point where we just say banzai and throw everything at the AI and hope for the best (the suicide charge maneuver) or do we keep holding on until someone launches.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I think there is a possiblity that we can start to stem the tide. I'm hoping that the consolidation of the eastern front will help immensely. Before we were seeing almost a constant stream of units coming down the east coast. Except for the Germans that has stopped. I think tightening up our city spacing to the north will allow our cats to be able to hit everything coming through. That was our basic problem during the last three turns of my set. I didn't realize it until the last turn, that's why I have a settler nearby.

In hindsight, the same thing is happening between the Gate and Tarentum. If we could get a city on that hill just north of Antium then we would be able to bombard any units that are trying to get to our core.