The Great DoC UHV v 1.11 challenge

[Chep]

sorry, mate, but I just had to do this:

Mongolia, Monarch/Marathon, SVN609, Finish Date: 1294, normalized score: 10300
(600AD start)

I chose Marathon because it increases the overpoweredness of Mongolia even further.

I switched to Vasallage (+2 exp, yay!), guilds (it just seemed usefull at the time, but is not worth it in hindsight) and levy armies (for faster unit production & to controll population growth. and to allow my workers to connect my cities faster with roads)
I set research to 0% and converted all my beakers into money.

My initial army took China (one city at a time, heal your units so as to never attack with chances below 75-80%), you can also promote the 2 horse archers you start with to Keshiks, so use them wisely.

I didn't attack Korea but used them to buy cheap&useful techs (Sailing, Calendar, etc) and since I stayed in "Animism" without a state religion most civs liked me (untill I declared war upon them).
(I had hoped to be able to buy Music/Drama, but unfortunately that never happened, so I wasted about 1500gold on Aestethics and Literature)

From here my army turned towards Samarkand and then (since the Seljuks had about 15-20 units in Heraz) towards Russia.
After the last Chinese city came out of revolt I switched to Mercenaries and all my cities build either "Wealth" or Keshiks/Settlers.
the Mongolian core is huge and so I settled some 4-7 cities in my siberian core for stability and land.
Mercenaries coupled with 100% gold production gave me a surplus of ~100 gold (180 during golden age) per turn, which then allowed me to purchase Keshiks almost every other turn in my 2 great-general-barracks-ger-improved cities.

I razed 2 cities in China (since the culture from the others is enough to cover it anyway) and then built 2 galleys onto which I loaded my 11exp-Keshiks...well Japan never stood a chance and neither did the Khmer.
After the Seljuks collapsed (around 1260, I think) my reinforcements conquered Iran and then moved towards Babylon/Iraq

 

[citis]

I know that there are already good chinese strategies, there isn't any game yet. I'll make the start hoping that an other will do something better.

Score: 3800 (normalised)
Winning date: 1787AD
Difficulty: Viceroy
Gamespeed: Normal
Version: SVN 609
Scenario: 3000BC
Strategy:

The nothing to build era:

I found Changan on spot because I could. In the starting position you need to discover a lot of things, you have no imrpovements available, so you need just one or two cities at most. Do NOT found more cities at this point, else you will be stuck in a slow-research-I-am-forced-to-build-warriors situation. The tech queu is the following:

Hunting: Build one or two scouts. Send one to to crab the goody huts (South China->South India->Transoxiana->(Balkans)->Russia->Denmark->Norway->Portugal)
I sent the second to establish contact with the mediterraneans.
Writing: Build a taixue ASAP and convert three citizents to scientists
Sailing (before Greeks): At this point you can build Fuzhou (on the rock)
Mathematics (bulbed by the scientist)->Pottery: Build the teracotta army (before barb battle)
Calendar->Bronze working: After that you get into the plantation era:
Masonry->Construction (before Romans or Persians): The great wall

Trade or research for: Aestetics (before greeks/indians), Ironworking, Priesthood, Meditation and Monotheism
I din't trade with Indians, Tamils, Koreans, Tibetans and Japanese. These are the most dangerous tech opponenents, if you trade any technology with them you will get into a unpleasant tech competition.
The best option is to trade with meds. They will collapse for sure, so trade with them, even if the agreements are unjust.

Plantation era:
At this point you try to aquire as many plantations as possible, as quick as possible. This means a lot of workers and some settlers, it needs balancing, so that all worked tiles are improved. Adopt slavery ASAP it gives +1 per plantation. Good city spots are: Beijing (on silk), Haojing, Sanghai, Luoyang

You try to be the first to discover Machinary, your opponent on this is the Persians. I used the two scientists to bulb Alphabet and Compass. Then build the grand canal.

Academies and Pagodas era:
At this point you should be at 600AD or earlier and have built all the plantations, all the plantations should be worked, you should have built all the ancient confu wonders (teracotta army, great wall, grand canal) and you should know priesthood, monotheist, meditation and aesthetics. Found cities, so that you have a total of 8 cities. Good spots excpet the spots already refered are:
Qufu (horse), Kunming, Taibei (the hill should be mined to be productive)

Build a confu and a tao monastery in two productive cities, spread confucianism and taoism in every city (if you have more than 8, just make sure there are 8 confucian and 8 taoist). Build the 16 temples and by then I had discovered Music. I built the 2 academies and 2 pagodas in my most productive cities (2 in Changan, 1 in Luoyang and 1 in Beijing). Try to pop 2 great prohpets, this needs a lot of patience.

After that I discovered Paper through theology and gunpowder through education. Last I discovered Printing Press and entered my first golden age before 1000AD.

The war era:
After discovering gunpowder I switched to mercanaries and drop my research rate at zero, since I was two techs more advanced than any other civ. Then I was buying a musket/bombard army to defend against mongols.

After mongol spawn I crashed the first stack to attack me, then I sent an army to get Shenyang (it was Korean before, don't go to get, it will flip to mongols), then I razed Karakorum and captured Dumhuang. Then Mongols collapsed. This strategy is simple, but Mongols are too strong, so it took about 220 years to finish it (from 1180AD Mongol spawn to 1400AD).

After that, my neighbours, Tibet and Korea start collapsing too. I got my army and took them. Then I took Japan, who had declared war on my in the middle ages. Last I conquered Indochina.

The golden ages:

Techs: Military tradition (before, anyone), Banking, Philosophy Liberalism (before anyone), Economics

The first golden age was my triumph arc. I was recieved a great artist (four cathedrals, the chance is really big), I was the first to discover economics and begun my second golden era.
Meanwhile I switched to Republic and Scholasticism to double my rate.
I built the porcelain tower, it is best to be built in a coastal city.

Then I discovered nationalism and the olympic park gave me my third golden age. Discovered Physics, Communism and poped one more gp and got my last golden age.

Interestings:

The greek and roman empire made it this time. Greece controlled all Egypt, Levant, Mesopotamia and Persia and after some years Romans managed to build the Roman Empire with the only exception of Londinium! Romans didn't collapse finally, they "became" a conciderable Italy that controlled Hungary.

 

[ales_]

Thank you! The OP is updated to post #122.
Soul-breathing and Chep removed Bechamel from the OP in Mongolia 600 AD.

 

[Hojsimpson]

Vikings, monarch, normal, score 7548, finish date 1360
I used the 600AD start. I think the 3000bc start would be easier.

I also think that I could also win a conquest victory if not going vor UHV.
Uppsala as capitol, chop trees to get settlers. Mälmo on copper. Move the settler in the ship to land, will be used later.
Send a scout to Asia (goody huts may give you techs) for trade techs.
Send an army to raze Marseille and Bordeaux(sometimes there are only 1 crossbowmen in Bordeaux, 1 pikemen and 1 crossbowmen with garrison will be outside, kill them outside cause
it´s easier)
If lucky you won´t loose any unit.
Send 2 settlers to France, settle cities on Horse and Iron after French spawn.(this counts as the first UHV goal, controlling a foreign core)
Another 2 settlers will be in England, found Jorvik and a city on the north cow(You will need more culture if you build city on fur) Dublin is not productive.
Another 2 Settlers, one for Reyjavik another for America, put culture slider up if necessary.
Send a catapult and a Knight to capture Kiev.
Build Catapults in the 2 cities in France to take Rome with your initial units.
Then just build units and kill everybody.(Egypt is also good to have)
I built also a courthouse to get a Great Spy and steal Guilds, gunpowder and engineering from Turks, keep money to upgrade catapults to bombards. Mali will give you Paper and divine right if you wait. Mughals could give you also Guilds for feudalism and sometimes Gunpowder if you don´t convert to a religion and they don´t hate you, you just need to wait.

 

[ales_]

What SVN version is it?

 

[Hojsimpson]

Sorry I forgot, 615.

 

[Chep]

I don't know whether this still trumps V/M 1189 but I won Korea on Monarch/Normal by 1360 (yeah, I know, I actually wanted to try domination but then had to change my mind I think I sunk all 20 ships in the last 6-7 turns)...SVN615

 

[ales_]

Which scenario are you playing?

 

[Chep]

3000bc

 

[ales_]

Both of you will be mentioned in the OP.

 

[soul-breathing]

Holy Roma, Monarch, Epic, svn: Rev.620, score 9368, finish date: 1335

Scenerio 600AD, first rush and destroy France just by your initial units, it's not hard to destroy France with no unit lost, at the same time attack Buda(appear in 880AD) with spearmen. Then attack inde's Rome. At the same time, I build knights and catapults in almost all cities. When I have 10 catapults and 8 knights(in 1050AD, just before Seljuks appear in Minor Asia), I start to attack Arabia from Byzantine. Facing with the attack from Seljuks and me, Arabia collapsed quickly, then I attack Jerusalem, Mecca and Baghdad(Spiral Minaret), those are benefit to ecomomy. Then build Theatre and Rathaus in every city, build the Opera House in Paris, easy to generate 3 Great Artists. After you get the shrines of Cathiolic and Islam, it's easy to research Printing Press at the speed of 100%.

By the way, I settle my first city in Koln, on the Marble, second city in Magdeburg, it's better than settle in Frankfurt.

Pics:

Spoiler :

History:

Spoiler :

4 in the 5 Greatest cities:

Spoiler :

 

[NKN]

I think the HRE color needs to be changed. Its yellow is too similar to Spain's.

 

[The Diocletian]

Nice game, soul-breathing.

 

[Alhambram]

China, 3000 BC, Viceroy, Epic, no svn, score 12113, finish date: 976 AD.

My goal was to get UHV victory before 1000 AD.

I started by settling Luoyang (2E and 1S from starting position).
First research Bronze Working (many forests to chop), then beeline mathematics to get Confucianism. Then i researched Mysticism-->Masonry-->Polytheism-->Monotheism to found Zoroastrianism (do this before Persia spawn). The reason why i chose this research track: i want get Mausoleum of Maussollos, it can only be built in Zoroastrian city.

Building it contributed to early victory: the UHV condition was to start 4 golden ages. However the game mechanics register the condition by counting amount turns while player is experiencing a golden age. I played Epic, it means that a started golden age lasts 12 turns. To get 4 golden ages i need 48 turns. However with Mausoleum of Maussollos (50% bonus length of golden ages) i only need to start 3 golden ages to achieve UHV victory (12+6 12+6 12+6 = 54 turns golden age). And combined with extra long golden ages, i could research quicker (to get Patronage for free Great Artist to start another golden age and techs i need for UHV victory) and generate Great Peoples quicker to start another golden age quickly (a snowball effect). And when i got first two UHV goals, it netted me another golden age. So i needed 5 great people in total and the triumph arc to generate 3 golden ages.

I wonder whether people consider this as valid victory since UHV clearly said to experience four golden ages.

I played a conservative game with great focus upon research and skeleton defense. Only noteworthy military action was adding Seoul as 8th city for Confucian and Taoist UHV goal. (although Barbs started attack me when i discovered gunpowder with some horse/elephant stack which forced me whip some spears).

 

[Chep]

that's okay, Leoreth specifically stated that this is intended like that.

Nice game.

 

[NKN]

Byzantium
3000 BC: Bechamel: V/N, 2803, 1450 AD, V:1440 AD
600 AD
Japan
3000 BC
600 AD
1700 AD
Vikings
3000 BC: Barbuesque: M/N, 7553, 1425AD
600 AD: Hojsimpson: M/N, 7548, 1360AD

There was posted no victories as the following civs: Ethiopia, Russia, Italy, Aztec, Turkey, Iran, Netherlands, America, Colombia.

Am I missing something, or did someone complete a Japan victory without posting it?

 

[Chep]

UHV with them is pretty boring, it is faster to win a space-race, domination or religious victory

 

[ales_]

Thank you, corrected.

 

[soul-breathing]

Turkey, Monarch, Epic, svn: Rev.621, score 7727, finish date: 1800, virtual: 1736

I select Aztec at first, then turn to Turkey in 1280, first attack and capture Constantinopole straightly, then Balkan, Byzantine collapsed when I captured Belgrad, then Athens join my empire automatically. Build Topkapi in Istanbul, and bombards in other cities, attack Arab, then Egypt and Holy Rome. In my game, Mongolia was overpower, capture from Korea to Russia and vassalize China and Russia with the stability of solid till the end of the game, so I can't attack Russia, finally I completed UHV2(control Black Sea) by 100% culture and Great Artist.

The tech routes is Aesthetics-Music-Patronage, then any tech you like, but not Liberism, to keep Solomon Temple not obsolete.

After completed 2 UHVs, the game become easy, even a little boring, all you need is build enough military units to exceed Mongolia. I finish it in 1736, then I destroy France and Dutch, vassalize England, to make the game not too boring.

Pics:

Spoiler :

Capital in Baghdad, to make more core population

East to India, West to Italy, North to Ukraine, South to Yemen

You have 3 shrines(Istanbul, Jerusalem and Mecca) and Solomon Temple, never worry about money.

History:

Spoiler :

Demographs:

Spoiler :

 

[ales_]

You can't change your civ (unless you want to play as Iran, Mexico or Colombia), so, I can't accept this game.