That One Perfect Game: A theory crafting LP Series (Game 1: GOTM 93)

[hitretz]

MODS: Although this is not GOTM Official - I would appreciate it if you let me complete the starter article and gauge for interest (leaving it in the GOTM Thread for at least two weeks). I believe the immediate audience of interest will come from this group. Much appreciated.

Synopsis:
A collaborative playthrough striving for the fastest victory possible. The format welcomes players of all skill levels to participate so that everyone can learn in a group setting. Unlike GOTM, replaying turns is not only encouraged but essential. This sandbox should in theory allow players to unveil a number of "gotcha" moments by theorycrafting virtually over every move. Players are rewarded to be as verbose as possible when creating Snapshots, allowing feedback, sharing their thought process, and helping others learn for the sole purpose of becoming a better player.

Terminology:
Host: A player that nominates and opens the map.

Opening the map: Playing x number of turns, from turn 0, until a significant milestone is reached at which point a Snapshot is created.

Snapshot: A game can have any number of snapshots. A snapshot is a period of time, to which a game is played until it is open for challenger submissions. When the map is opened (i.e. Snapshot 1 is created) players can then challenge the opening and submit their saves. The community then votes for the most optimal proposed play for that stage. The Snapshot is then "committed" and the game continues to the next "Snapshot", in other words until the next major milestone. This process is repeated until the game is eventually completed.

Ruleset:
- All games are Deity level.
- For the initial few games, the best place to start is with already completed GOTM Deity games.

Additional Information:
- To minimize map bias, every decision must be rationalized and justified. You cannot perform action 'x' without justification for it at that point in time; with the forward knowledge of the map.
- Important decision trees should be explored/played-out and documented for analysis. This becomes the key takeaway information that everyone can learn from. With enough engagement, we can start to mine patterns and recognize more optimized moves.
- It is critical to document failed attempts because this data is just as useful as the successful choices.

The Game:
The first game to the series will be the GOTM 93 game, with a Culture Victory condition.
Although this game is with the Secret Societies mod, and it will throw off our textbook timings due to the 4 additional GT's we get. Regardless, I think CV games are extremely tactical and most of the core game mechanics can still be discussed and showcased.

 

[hitretz]

Disclosure:

Spoiler :

I haven't played this map during GOTM, nor have I loaded completed saves. I have briefly looked at the AA Report section, and wanted to start this series for a long time now and figured this game could be a good one. My LP submission below is the 4th or 5th attempt after restarting in the early game fiddling with different openers. My idea is to also post the less favorable playthroughs, to add contrast to the chosen Snapshot, and to set the direction of how I envisioned this series to evolve.

Lets Play:

T1
Hello World. I don't believe there's much discussion to be had about the start; SIP is the best choice here. Both Advisor tooltips indicators give us that preview. Great 1-ring tiles and plenty of forests to chop.

I am personally a huge advocate or Scout first. The worker first can be well-argued, especially in this game with Ethiopia. However, it just feels wrong that I don't see any of the map come T10 with only the warrior to scout. We have a choice of 5|6 or 8|5 for production focus. I prefer the fastest Scout for a better chance of not losing a goody hut to the AI. We will catch up with growth with 3F tiles.

T4
We discovered Tsingy De Bemaraha! And, more importantly, we meet the Hermetic Order tribe. With such an early GT at our disposal, we need to craft an SS-themed strategy as we expect 2-3 more GTs as we discover the other tribes. Going Pingala is my choice here. Culture is often the hardest to come by in the early game, so this helps to close the gap. It is too early for Amani/Mag to come out. If we do end up getting 4 GT's relatively early, my thought process is: 2 GT goes towards Pingala (promoted to Culture bonus). Third GT can go to Amani for the maximum greed, otherwise a toss-up between establishing a presence with Voidsingers (4th GT). This is the ideal setup, without delaying Magnus timing that we would get with the first GT point from the Culture tree.

Spoiler :

T6
Our scout is out and begins his journey. We now begin the production of a builder. Warrior pleasantly finds a barb encampment (potential GP), but it wiser to explore for longer with the warrior and take the camp once we get Discipline (+5 CS).

Spoiler :

T8
We are often using the Settler lens for potential settlements. Here we see there's a CS/Civ over the hill.

Spoiler :

T9
We meet La Venta and get ourselves another GT. In perfect time actually, as Pingala just got established. We rush to promote him, giving our empire additional culture.

Spoiler :

T11
We've got another scout from a hut our scout popped. We are lucky, but it goes to show how rewarding Scout openings are. Deity AI will settle 3 cities quickly and finding goody huts later becomes an exponential loss with time.
Here we are using the lens again to guide our scout's direction. With the culture boost from Pingala, and rough terrain leading south, we're going to unlock the next Policy soon so our warrior heads back in position to attack the camp.
It is a good idea to check City production tiles every turn to spot an opportunity for taking advantage of overflows. Here we can gain back 1T of growth.

Spoiler :

 

[hitretz]

Snapshot 1 (T45):

Spoiler :

It is at this point, I'd like to complete opening the map. T45 and 21S/23C. We hit PP T38 and first GA T44. Cap is ready for Settler production & 2 HS + Sh & 2 Obelisks completed. No Relics, unfortunately, but a decent start with City State relations.

Next Steps:

Spoiler :

Perhpas you think rush building 2 Settlers was the better play? Or a different priority order with Governor Titles? I welcome folks to submit challenger snapshots and the community together will vote for which game save will continue to the next Checkpoint.

 

[hitretz]

***RESERVED 2***

 

[hitretz]

***RESERVED 3***

 

[hitretz]

***RESERVED 4***

 

[Eyswein]

This is a really cool concept. I'll try to recreate how I started it the first time I played this map for comparison. Great to compare and learn from others! Hopefully will have up by Sunday. A few differences off the top of my head: destroyed barb camp as soon as I found it; Liang was my first governor; 2d city settled 4W on jade.

 

[sethryclaus]

Love this concept. I'll have a go if I find time.

I am personally a huge advocate or Scout first. The worker first can be well-argued, especially in this game with Ethiopia.

Scout first for the era score, worker first if you want to go dark age into heroic? Not sure what is best here. I often buy my first scout.

Warrior pleasantly finds a barb encampment (potential GP), but it wiser to explore for longer with the warrior and take the camp once we get Discipline (+5 CS).

What about getting into a position to block the scout, attacking once with the warrior, fortifying until Discipline (+5 combat VS barbs) then finishing the camp, yielding a promotion to heal?

We are often using the Settler lens for potential settlements.

Thanks for the tip!

We meet La Venta and get ourselves another GT. In perfect time actually, as Pingala just got established. We rush to promote him, giving our empire additional culture.

Does anyone feel like it is prohibitive to choose an early secret society because it can potentially provoke an early war with the AI? I always get friendship with my neighbours before choosing a SS, even though Obelisks are great. Also, does anyone know if Monuments auto-upgrade to Obelisks?

 

[hitretz]

This is a really cool concept. I'll try to recreate how I started it the first time I played this map for comparison. Great to compare and learn from others! Hopefully will have up by Sunday. A few differences off the top of my head: destroyed barb camp as soon as I found it; Liang was my first governor; 2d city settled 4W on jade.

Cheers Eyswein. You participating would greatly help the series. Any particular reason you chose that spot for your 2nd settlement?

I had a busy week and hoping to finalize the write-up this weekend. Also will roll-back the Snapshot to turn of PP for a richer decision tree.

 

[hitretz]

Hi sethryclaus, thank you for your input and suggestions.

What about getting into a position to block the scout, attacking once with the warrior, fortifying until Discipline (+5 combat VS barbs) then finishing the camp, yielding a promotion to heal?

In this case, the scout prioritizes the 1mp tiles and will head north. You will get a healing promo regardless after killing camp. Beating AI to meet CS first, revealing the map, and hunting for goody huts is the top priority because it allows us to snowball.

Also, does anyone know if Monuments auto-upgrade to Obelisks?

Great question, I know that the hammers you generate towards Monument will not transfer upon unlocking Obelisks like unit promotions. Do they auto-upgrade? Not sure, someone needs to test.