Small write-up for a future start time victory

[cabert]

All empty tables being time victories, and real time being short, I played a bunch of time games starting from future era.
The general strategy is very simple : kill'em all but one before they launch and keep the last one small, and under control. There is no risk of any other victory if I don't conquer or dominate myself (I won't vote myself into victory, because I didn't drink before playing ).
The best way to war is also very simple : highly promoted modern armors. A few 2 wheeled artilleries can help, but it's not necessary. Planes are only barely useful in the end game to advance faster.
So the challenge is to build as many modern armor as fast as possible and bring them to the victims as quick as possible.


The steps are totally linked to this objective.

Step 1 : the settings. I don't like water maps for this one (although it prevents most AIs from having any kind of production power, which can be a strong move, if you play Wilhelm). Thus pangea or any land map is good. Selecting a bunch of peaceniks makes the conquest easier, but they tech faster and build more spaceship parts. It still is easier to crush Gandhi than Genghis khan, so I take those who build less units. For myself, I take someone with an advantage right from the start. Shaka or charlie are good (less maintenance and better mechinfantries, ). Alexander is good too, with philo giving a good chance for a fast engineer. This time, it will be shaka.

Step 2 : the map. I want oil and aluminum in reasonably close range. Rivers are good too, for clean power and levees. I don't look any further, but of course food is always good and copper is nice to have. It's also better if I start somewhere near the middle of the map, but it's no big deal if it isn't so.

Step 3 : opening moves. First move is to get the cities going. I revolt to universal suffrage, bureaucracy, serfdom, mercantilism and org rel right away, then move the settlers in place. First builds are levees, power plants, barracks. I mix in grocers early for better use of universal suffrage, if health is bad. The 3 mechinfantries go on rampage, for an early land grab, while the cities build up. With a bit of luck, I catch a city before its borders pop. With aggressive mechinfantries it's a 25%+ odd to kill the defending enemy mech, so with 3 attackers, I have good odds grabbing another city. Spread of a religion is important too, this is the use of org rel!


Step 4 : internet, chrito redentor, pentagon. If I have copper, I go for the internet. It's always nice to tech for free . If I get an engineer before it's gone, I build christo redentor. It's better than a golden age for civic changes . If I'm late, I go for the pentagon. If I'm late for this one too, I go for a golden age, revolt to police state, vassalage, emancipation, state property, theocracy.

Step 5 : build the modern amors. I build infantry for each captured city. They are cheaper than modern armors and better defenders + I need a medic! The workers should now be building railroads to the next victim. As soon as I have 2 Mobile Artilleries, 1 mobile SAM, 1 spare Mechinfantry, 6 modern armors, it's time to kill!

Step 6 : you won't fly away! I look at the victory screen and go for the most advanced opponent. If the AI doesn't have fusion, I vassalize it after taking most of its cities. I ask it to tech stealth then genetics then future tech. Without fusion, no engine. Without engine, no space . rinse and repeat until there is only one AI left. This one gets attacked and reduced into non threat.
It's pretty rare that I have time to kill them all, but it's not really necessary.

A little story of large epic immortal time victory as an example.

Settings : I take Shaka, vs Gandhi, Asoka, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Ramses, Hatchepetsuh, Mansa Musa, de Gaulle on lakes.
The map : not great. I have oil 12 squares east and aluminum 10 tiles west.

I revolt (see above, step 3) and move my units. when I come close to the aluminum, Gandhi already has settled close to it. I still move my settler in place, and bring all the mechinfantries close by. No luck when I come close to the oil, Lincoln already settled nearby . I move my settler as close as possible to the oil, to try to culture grab it. the mechs attack gandhi. 1 loss and another city for me. No luck Gandhi settles his third city just north of the aluminum . With only 2 infantries I can't take him down. I fortify my infantries and wait for peace. I'll try to culture grab the aluminum too .
I have copper so I start on the internet in the bureaucratic capital. I have pushed the culture slider to 30% to keep the serfdom ridden cities happy and to push the american and indian borders. My first engineer comes when christo redentor is already gone, I use him on the pentagon.
After I've prepared my cities, I still have no aluminum nor oil. I build mechinfantires to get them. I also build a few artilleries to make it easier. I get the internet in the meantime. I'm already on the first place from the 4th city I took from gandhi, so I'm not too worried.
Luck strikes : I get a quest to capture the oil from the americans . Well; I was going to do it anyway, so that's good news . I move my troops towards amercia, and luck strikes again Gandhi vassalizes to me without another fight . I open the diplo screen to demand aluminum from him, but there is none :confuse:. I finally have culture grabbed it . I move my troops next to the painful american city (= DOW). Next turn, the oil is mine before I fight for it . My culture attack worked, but I'm at war now for I take the city by force. Next turn i get 5 modern armors for free and move them against Lincoln. After a few turns of war, he is a non threat and I vassalize him. I tell both my vassals to tech for stealth.
After that it's step 6 all the way. I let Roosevelt free after taking new york, to avoid a conquest.
I put spies into the most threatening cities and use a lot of espionage points on both american leaders.
et voila...

 

[The-Hawk]

My approach is similar, but I have been doing a few things different.

Been playing Cathy because of faster settlers and the early culture expansion from creative. With future, the settlers are very expensive so I think her trait is useful. I want creative because I do not want to waste a turn building culture. My early game is all about whipping and cash rushing workers and settlers.

Map is pangaea, I also look for a start with the critical resources for railroads and MAs. I play against minimum AI's so I have a little REX room. I settle my three cities to grab the critical resources. Turn 0, I revolt to Univ Suff for cash rushes, Vassalage for 2 exp points (with barracks, I get double promoted MAs), slavery, and state property. Usually the AI's vote me out of slavery and SP, but initially they are useful.

Research is set to 0 the whole game (until the end when I have nothing better to do but build research).

First builds are 2-3 workers in each city. With 5 pop per city from the start, I need extra workers to improve tiles. Then I build 2-3 settlers if there are high prod sites available. Since the settlers are expensive, the AI's are slow to go past their first 3 cities. I usually can get to 5 or 6 cities before REX is over. My workers improve resources where available. All other tiles are workshops and watermills (enough farms to support the pop). By the time I am done REX (which is very fast), my cities have many improved tiles and scale up very quickly.

One city runs three engineers to pop a GE. I use this to build Three Gorges for the prod boost. All other cities build a barracks then nothing but units. With Vassalage I do not need Pentagon (I was building it in earlier attempts). Stacks of 5-6 MA's, 3 Mobile Arties, 1 Mobile SAM (to discourage rampaging copters), and one Mech Inf promoted to medic go out and overrun AI's. First few cities are kept to fuel my war engine, but I eventually begin razing all cities. I choose one lone city to be the final resting place of my pet AI. All others are destroyed. Then I click through to the end.

Here is a screenie from my recent attempt. I am less than halfway to the time victory and there is one AI city left. I've parked 20 or so MA's to make sure he does not send out a settler (I stay at war to the end) and disband my other dozens of units. Build research to the end just for the score.