The QoD I: Darius I, Earth Map

[Framesticker]

Round I - Gaining Ground (4000BC-1440BC)

Hello, fellow CivIVers. Despite having lurked around this forum for quite a while, I'm still playing at the Monarch level I started in. So this thread marks the beginning of my (and, hopefully, yours too) development. My quest, through these threads, is to someday be able to stand up there with TMIT, Neal, aelf and all those masters of Civ. We'll be playing all kinds of different maps, leaders and settings, too. It's a long, hard, painful and yet rewarding journey - but we'll do it together.

Thus, I present to you...

The Quest for Deity!
("That makes it QfD, doesn't it?" "Yeah, but that sucks, so we'll make it our little secret)

Well, talk only gets us so far. Let's get into the action. My 7 year-old brother picked out a number from 1 to 34, which got us...



Oh yes. Darius I of Persia. Organized makes running huge empires a lot cheaper, while Financial makes cottaging the heck out of any map much more profitable.

A quick look at what distinguishes Persia from any other minor nation: The Immortal Unique Unit and the Apothecary Unique Building.





The Immortal, IMHO, is the best rush unit in the game. Getting it soon enough to face garrison Archers is usually easy, and getting a 50% bonus against them just makes the job easier. The UB, on the other hand it pretty average though - unless you're just swamped in unhealthiness, it's generally not worth building in your non-commerce cities.

Oh, and the map, you ask?



Our very own, beloved planet Earth This is the Earth34 scenario. Here are the settings:



So, for a start, Persia gets a pretty nice capital spot. Plenty of food and production, 2 stategic resources (one of them a happiness resource, which is awesome). I'm thinking about settling 1N - I hate settling 1 of the coast and I we don't really need anything in the sea yet either. However, as far as expansion goes, we're blocked by Babylon to the west, India to the east, water to the south and useless desert to the north. So... what do we do? (more directly, who do we rush?)

Anyway, I attached the starting save below. Be sure to load the 34civs mod, here:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=7278

 

[Sidney Magal]

1st city on the ivory, 2nd on the desert hill between the horses and oasis. Might build a 3rd by the copper. Kill, in this order, Asoka (and settle a city to close India), Saladin (city near the dyes/sheep to block Alex from coming) and Hatshepsut. If done with Cyrus, India will have 1 city, Arabia 2 or 3 and Egypt 2. With Darius it may take a little longer, but after that, game will be won.

Don't bother with fishing. Animal Husbandry, Mining, BW, Pottery, Writing, game over.


Edit: 34 civs is a little different. Still start with India, but add Sumeria and Babylon before Arabia. You may want to get Suleiman too.

 

[Framesticker]

1st city on the ivory, 2nd on the desert hill between the horses and oasis. Might build a 3rd by the copper. Kill, in this order, Asoka (and settle a city to close India), Saladin (city near the dyes/sheep to block Alex from coming) and Hatshepsut. If done with Cyrus, India will have 1 city, Arabia 2 or 3 and Egypt 2. With Darius it may take a little longer, but after that, game will be won.

Don't bother with fishing. Animal Husbandry, Mining, BW, Pottery, Writing, game over.


Edit: 34 civs is a little different. Still start with India, but add Sumeria and Babylon before Arabia. You may want to get Suleiman too.

I have my doubts in settling 2 cities before attacking, as well as settling 2 cities on the Persian penisula at all. Seems like pushing for Immortals ASAP and taking out Babylon and Sumeria before they gain a true foothold in the region would be easier and more hammer efficient.

 

[shyuhe]

Settle in place or 1N. Worker--barracks--immortal*. Immortal rush all of your neighbors. On normal speed, you should be able to easily conquer India, Middle East, Northern Africa, and Russia. Then switch to horse archers and mop up the rest of the old world.

 

[Coffee Mug]

1N is good if you want immortals as soon as possible. I think 1W on the wine is the best all-around city spot in Persia.

 

[kaltorak]

Nice, always love to get new plaeyrs posting series. And even more if they host pics in servers not blocked by my works firewall ^^
good luck!

I vote 1N

 

[GreenShift84]

Settle 1N and go straight for immortals (no settlers), then for economic recovery techs

 

[Alki]

Settle in place or 1N. Worker--barracks--immortal*. Immortal rush all of your neighbors. On normal speed, you should be able to easily conquer India, Middle East, Northern Africa, and Russia. Then switch to horse archers and mop up the rest of the old world.

I don't understand why you would build a barracks when the immortal is a mounted unit. Can you explain that one?

 

[Framesticker]

King Darius I looked at the grand mountains of plain stone which circled him. 'It's like a cage,' he mused to himself as he and his advisors wandered throughout the Persian plain. "Men!" he suddenly shouted. His humble escort, made of a few advisors, a scouting unit made of the brightest of Persia and the citizens of the to-be Persian empire all turned to him. "We settle on the northern hill. The heart of the Persian Empire shall be found there."
"Umm, sir..." the military advisor stepped forward. "What do you mean by north?"
"Oh, it is a direction determined by the integral forces of the magnetic-" started the technology advisor, but Darius stopped him with a wave of his hand and sight. "I forgot we didn't have Compass yet. Well, just follow me."



Darius sent the scouting unit northward as the brains of the Empire were directed to find a way to tame the herds of animals around Persepolis. Meanwhile, arrays of leaders from foreign nations came to greet Darius, yet only his two particular neighbors bothered him:





Meanwhile, the capital produced a unit to tame the beasts outside it, while the brains were ordered to find a way to use Horses in combat. And after a while (a few hundred years, no biggie) they figured it out:



Once a Barracks to train troops was finished, the soon-to-be legendary Immortals were produced as fast as the population of the city could allow it.

Then in 2240BC:



Five Barracks-trained Immortal units, ready to make the proud Babylonian leader beg for his life.

Babylon was defended the local ceremonial guards and a single unit trained in archery:



However, the city was determined to hold and Darius sustained 2 casualties before the city fell (lost at 80% odds, %#$^). The Babylonian populace, while swearing loyalty to Darius (after they saw the head of their leader thrown into the streets) spoke of an ancient faith they named Hinduism. Speaking blasphemies of deities greater than Darius, the king was not ready yet to convert - however the diplomatic relations caused by adopting this strange faith might be worth in the future.

Meanwhile, a very disturbing pack of Sumerians were spotted eastern of Babylon:



Darius could not afford his borders pushed by the Creative Gilgamesh. To battle!



Sending wounded Immortals at the already Protective Gilgamesh would be suicide. The Immortals licked their wounds and pillaged the countryside while waiting for reinforcements.

Finally, 7 Immortal forces stood against 4 Archers. The battle was long hard, but finally, the city fell at 2 casualties:



And was renamed Jerusalem for historical purposes.

While the Immortals licked their wounds and tended to their horses, Darius was already eyeing his next target:



The Arabs (aside from the pesky Ottomans) were the only force stopping Persia from being the dominant power of the Middle East. They had to eliminated.

Then, in 1640BC:



Medina fell quickly - the population dispersed to the vast deserts of the Arabian pennisula as the Immortals torched it.

Mecca, however, was a different story:



The Immortals regarded the situation carefully. Finally they waited for a 2-unit reinforcement team, then striked. The city fell with heavy casualties:



So that's where we stand. We wiped Babylon, Summeria and Arabia of the map - but we're still surrounded by Ramsses, Suleiman and Gandhi. I will probably settle a city south of Babylon to help it all these Flood Plains, but the rest of the Arabian pennisula is useless desert. What we need (I think) is more war. But with who?

Here's Persia proper:



Darius turned to his advisors. "Persia needs a new direction to follow, my friends. What should we research? Who should we attack? How should we make our new cities profitable?"

 

[vranasm]

I think historically that Egypt should have good land around the Nile...

 

[Coffee Mug]

What shape is your army in? Your economy is good; Egypt has excellent land that won't be subjected to foreign culture, and no access to metal...

 

[huerfanista]

If India doesn't have IW yet they should be easy pickings, and rich land (you'll want calendar soon). Scout out egypt first to see if he has WCs up yet - they'll be tough. If not, his horses are in an easily pillagable location. I'd head for India first to keep your capital centralized and avoiding a long snaky high-maint empire. BTW, you might want to build a settler to grab the copper N of Babylon before Mehmed does (EDIT: never mind - he already has it).

 

[Framesticker]

Coffee Mug - I have 4 or 5 Immortals, all them wounded from the Arabian war. However, once I get Mecca up and running, it (along with Persepolis) get at least 1 Immortal/turn.

I think that India should be our next target. They're teching mad fast (no IW yet, though). Egypt's got WCs running, so they're off the market until they become obselete (typo?). It seems like I can take on India pretty easily with Immortals, then use their Jumbos to mount make a hybrid Sword/Phant/Catapult army to take over Europe and Egypt. What do you say? I can play another round today.

 

[Coffee Mug]

I suspect that you'll win either war, but I do think Egypt is a better target than India.

War chariots don't receive defensive bonuses, and if you wait for their UU to be obsolete, yours will be too. Let India worry about clearing all that jungle first. Gandhi doesn't build many units, and will be easy to take out at any point. He's also a nice guy to have on your border, since he's not much of a threat to invade. And Egypt will give you marble to possibly help with classical-age wonders.

 

[GreenShift84]

India looks ready for some stompage, I'd head that way. Leave egypt to hopefully build you some wonders and mature cottages around the nile, then annex it via elepults.

Plan expansion towards europe because you definitely want that land, probably elepult the ottomans towards that end as well.

 

[Sidney Magal]

Egypt's got WCs running, so they're off the market until they become obselete

Oh wait, you were serious.

 

[Quaczar]

I say wait till Egypt pours its resources into building you the pyramids or some other wonder then kindly send your immortals to accept the gift. In the mean time you probably could stomp all over India which would add negligible distance maintenance.

 

[Alki]

India is a stick on for vassalage if you leave it alone.
Egypt has room for 3 or 4 very nice cities but you'll be plagued by barabarians unless you get fogbusters out.
The Greek UU will be a serious impediment to your horses and it's land doesn't have that much going for it anyway.

Persoanlly I'd take egypt and vasal, Mali & India.

edit: and thanks for this thread I realised I've been playing with civ 3 or maybe civ 2 thinking that barracks don't improve mounted units. Bangs head off desk.

 

[Framesticker]

This really sucks, but my computed crashed yesterday as I was posting the next round. Not just crashed, but just destroyed my hard drive. I'm typing this from my laptop.

Anyways, I got a new hard drive today and I'll be reinstalling stuff for most of today. The save's unfortunately lost (WHY DIDN'T I POST IT ON THE FORUM %$#%@) but I'll certainly be looking forward to starting a different QoD game.

 

[Metzi]

Ouch. I know what you must be feeling. My 'acer work laptop' crashes on me after an hour.