Superslug Monarch #1 2B

[superslug]

Okay, I'm really kind of embarassed that I've been starting Monarch games, posting about them and then ditching them. My indecision has been obviously fierce and makes my game updates almost a running joke, but just in case I do achieve what I'm aiming to, then I should post notes for the sakes of possible posterity and at least to provide myself orderly thought clarity.

So, take this thread with a grain of salt...several maybe even.

Anyway, game 2A is still on hold, but here's a screenshot of game 2B at 780ad, which is when I entered the Industrial Ages:

 

[superslug]

And here's pertinent stats for what I've accomplished thus far:

Wonders: Pyramids, Temple of Artemis (now obsolete)
I lost out on Leonardo's to the Sumerians, but that's okay, I'll just hit them first as they're on my continent. Also, the Palace prebuild in 511 is going to be used for the Secret Police HQ.

Cities: 181 towns, mostly packed in ICS density along coastlines for the extra Seafaring commerce.

Resources: I have multiples of Wines, Furs, Gems, Spices and Horses networked. I occasionally trade for Incense. There are multiple sources of Iron and Saltpeter within my borders but not yet connected.

Military: 6 Settlers, 179 Workers, 14 Warriors, 3 Galleys, 4 Curraghs.

Diplomatic: I've met everyone and lead everyone in tech. Some of them are still in the Ancient Ages.

Culture: Not bad due to ToA. No flips either way.

Science: Even though I've entered the Industrial Age, I'm backtracking for Printing Press and Navigation. I'm planning on using contacts and maps as trade leverage once I the seven scientific civs up to IA.

Victory Screen: I have 23% of the territory and 47% of the population. Next closest are Korea and Greece, each with 9% respectively.

Current score: 2634
Points to go: 32291

 

[superslug]

Originally posted by superslug
Culture: Not bad due to ToA. No flips either way.

Spoke too soon. A town just culture flipped to the Sumerians. As if having Leonardo's wasn't enough reason to knock them up first...

 

[superslug]

860ad: After completing research of Navigation and Printing Press, I gifted the seven Scientifics up to the IA. In a stroke of good fortune, all three opening techs were to be found among them. By trading maps, communications and optional MA techs, I was able to trade for Steam Power, Nationalism and Medicine without having to pay any gold.

 

[superslug]

Same turn: I overthrew my republic. I then pulled all my citizens off their tiles and turned them into scientists so I can research communism in the meantime. Who says you can't get anything done during anarchy?

 

[Svar]

With the number of cities you have I suspect that you are paying way too much for communism. I did this once and only had to make a portion of my citizens scientists to get the research time down to 4 turns, not all. You have 192 beakers in your screenshot alone and that is only 9 cities.

 

[superslug]

You're probably right, but I didn't have to use but one or two on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th turns. I practically researched it in one turn and just had to deal with the minimum after that...

 

[superslug]

Svar, anyone: should I have used a calculator or formula or something to compute the tech cost? Starving my own cities down for no purpose is kind of stupid...

 

[superslug]

I booted the game earlier tonight and loaded my latest turn. I wound up spending an hour doing nothing with any of the units or cities, just sitting there on one turn scrolling across the map, looking at this, analyzing that, thinking about how I was going to proceed with the warfare.

I was mainly analyzing the AI and trying to decide how to start the warfare. The first target will definitely be the Sumerians, and I narrowed it down to three possibilities:
1) Go at them alone.
2) Sign Alliances and/or MPP's with everyone else on the continent against the Sumerians. After Sumeria this would have the advantage of having the next AI drawn and spread out where I can hit them faster/easier...maybe.
3) Sign Alliances and/or MPP's and also declare war against someone on the other continent to start softening it up.

I won't know for sure until I actually play it out, but I think I'm going to go with option #1 for Sumeria, go with #2 for the second AI (to be determined) and then #3 when I move on to the next one.

It seems like a logical progression that I can handle as my military forces build up...

 

[superslug]

960ad: As some of the towns have already cranked out a worker, production is slowly shifting over to Horsemen as well as a few more boats. Industrialization should be researched in four turns. Iron and Coal networked, construction of rail network in progress.

 

[superslug]

It just occured to me that I haven't updated my minimap in this thread since I traded with everyone. This image looks like crap, enlarged and defaced as it is, but I wanted to illustrate that my continent is not as large as appears:

 

[superslug]

In the turns leading up to 1140ad when the Sumerian ROP expired, I generated an SGL of off Industrialization. Having blitzed through both that tech and Espionage on 4 turns each, I sacked the dude to rush SPHQ and dropped my corruption the expected 50%.

I then backed the science slider way back and generated cash to updgrade my horsemen up to cavalry. At the end of the turn, I switched all towns one turn away from horsemen to swiss mercs.

Now I have a cigarette and then whoop some ass...

 

[superslug]

1150ad: MPP's signed with my continental neighbors of Germany, Greece, Byzantine and Babylon. Sumeria was told to get their units out of my territory or declare war. They caved in so I declared war on my own.

My 98 Cavalry and 31 Swiss Mercenaries head for the border!

 

[superslug]

And here's the border just before the first shots are fired:

 

[superslug]

I'm not going to do a before and after shot for every turn, (much less every war) but I wanted to illustrate a contrast. During the turn, one of my Swiss Mercs capped off a wounded Rifleman and triggered my Golden Age. I also Mobilized. As you can see, the results are impressive.

I was very disappointed to see the German roads blocked off as they are, staggering me for a turn in the forest. I really should have scoped things out and 'claimed' some tiles with workers or something beforehand. Sumeria's only source of Saltpeter is just east of Erech, and I was really hoping to cut it off the first turn.

Oh well, hopefully they'll counterattack with something and trigger my MPP's.

 

[superslug]

Heh heh, I must have forgotten something about MPP's. I was attacked on neutral soil and the alliances weren't triggered. Maybe the attacks have to be on my soil? Whoops...

 

[superslug]

Two hours, two turns and half of what was Sumeria is laying in smoking ruins with citizens enslaved building railroads...all so I can get to Leonardo's Workshop on the far coast in Umma.

It seems to be halftime and I need sleep, so I'm going to bed (instead of using the keyboard for a pillow like I did last night).

 

[superslug]

Railroad assisted combat definitely challenges all my conventions as a player. Before this game, I usually just swept across the continent with Cavalry as soon as I had them, taking out AI's in order. It's occured to me now that Germany doesn't have to be next. It could be anyone within access of my rails!

Despite the significant advance of my Cavalry, not all my workers are being used on the Sumerian front. It makes sense to pick the next combatant and start laying down rails in their territory while I still have an ROP in place...

 

[superslug]

I'm only at 1240ad, my GA isn't even half over. Turns are taking almost an hour a piece.

I wound up just destroying Sumeria outright, wiping them out of the game completely. There wasn't really a rational thought behind this decision, I just had an emtional impulse to do so.

I declared war on Germany in 1230 and took 2/3 of their towns in the first turn. The rails laid down beforehand really worked well.

The towns I took, I kept. Very few of the towns I've taken, German or Sumerian, yielded or would have yielded six workers for the automatic road, so by keeping, the occupying Cavalry units can get back to a barracks and heal a turn faster.

Acquisition of Leonardo's, Magellan's and JS Bach's have helped a number of categories, especially Leonardo's. Despite being able to upgrade Horsemen twice as fast, I'm still generating more horsemen than I can upgrade each turn.

With the exception of my island ports, all cities alternate between Horsemen and Settlers. Most of the Settlers are being dropped wherever there's room, just to make money. I'll reposition after the map is secure and I head up the tech tree.

Workers are primarily road building in Babylon...

 

[superslug]

After a moment with a calculator, I determined it'll likely take all the income of the rest of my GA to upgrade my surplus Horsemen to Cavalry. I've decided (for that duration at least) to leave the Iron and Salpeter connected all the time and just have my cities produce Cavalry directly.

Sun Tzu's Art of War isn't too far away from my current borders. That should likely be my next target as I could produce Veterans straight up rather than upgrade Horsemen to Regular Cavalry.

As STAoW is in Byzantine territory, it'll mean that Babylon's demise will need to wait (they were earmarked as next). Oh well, if they're defending their towns with Spearmen now, there's nothing that makes them an imminent threat or more problematic five turns down the road...