Try1 - The Newbies!

[LordKoros]

Unfortunately I had to knock our tech slider down to 40% just to support our troops in the field - we would have gone broke far too quick if I kept Susa...report incoming, once I get it assembled

You said "if I kept Susa"...
I guess that means our armies were victorious again!!!!

 

[Rince]

Unfortunately I had to knock our tech slider down to 40% just to support our troops in the field - we would have gone broke far too quick if I kept Susa...report incoming, once I get it assembled

I guess courthouses are top priority now. We should maybe also reconsider our open border agreements to make sure that the void Cyrus' empire will leave is not filled out by our neighbours. That's assuming that you were successful with the war (fingers crossed)!

Rince

 

[Trynthlas]

350 BC to 125 BC

The no0b armies had cut their teeth against the foul Vikings, and had come away victorious. The "cities" of Nidaros and Uppsala were now in the hands of a real civilization, and though the cost to maintain the empire would be great, the no0bs had decided to let the cities stand, and would turn them into true beacons of civilization! The great settlements of Paris and Lyons had built magnificent wonders, proving that the no0bs were no slackers when it came to construction and cultural achievements.

Segments of the defeated Viking armies had taken to the frozen wastes to the south, attempting to raid and pillage in some kind of desperate act of revenge against their rightful conquerors. They were all put down easily.

More mighty soldiers were trained, and sent to the western border, where the arrogant and foolish Persians had built many weakling settlements encroaching on land that rightfully belonged to the no0bs. Their mighty "immortals" roamed the border, daring and defying us to do anything against them. Hah.

The Persian fools would learn better soon enough...

Turn 151
Some idiot decides to compile which civilization has the biggest pile of gold:

Spoiler :

We do not draw a mention, as our funds are spent supporting our empire and army, thus we do not have much of a stockpile.

Turn 154
By now we have amassed a large force on the border near the Persian cities of Susa and Gordium.

Spoiler :

The time had come to teach the Persians a lesson.

Spoiler :

War was declared, the troop of immortals near the border was slaughtered by no0b spearmen, and the undefended city of Gordium was put to the torch all in one swift act. The main body of troops approached Susa...

Turn 155
Another troop of Immortals rode swiftly to the aid of Susa...and swiftly died.

Spoiler :

The Persians had set two squads of archers to guard the city of Susa and its vital copper, the battle here was tough, and some no0b soldiers gave their all in taking the city (lost 1 swordsman, 1 axe).

Spoiler :

Barbarians near Uppsala were put down by a swift strike from a chariot:

Spoiler :

Turn 156
We meet another civilization:

Spoiler :

...and discover that some Persian forces had made it across our border! They now approached from the east, near Orleans. Unfortunately for them, our chariots awaited...

Spoiler :

And our battle-hardened and relentless troops approached yet another Persian city...

Spoiler :

Turn 157
The Ottomans make a ridiculous demand:

Spoiler :

Our forces approach Ecbatana, and a Persian swordsman tries to sneak past our troops:

Spoiler :

(more in next post due to image limit)

 

[Trynthlas]

Turn 158
The Germans want open borders: (no thank you)

Spoiler :

Our chariot impales the warrior that had tried to sneak in on our eastern border:

Spoiler :

And produces a Great General: Michiel de Ruyter!

Spoiler :

Our defenders on the southern border put down another barbarian incursion, and the Persian swordsmen make a tactical error by leaving the protection of the forests, leaving them vulnerable - and dead.

Spoiler :

Maps reveal that the Greeks are now intruding on our lands, and have settled below the border drawn between the bodies of water near Nidaros and Uppsala. This requires urgent attention! (mostly to block them from getting in any further!)

Spoiler :

Our forces stand ready to assault the hillside fortress of Ecbatana, guarded by two archers and a squad of immortals:

Spoiler :

Turn 160
After a fierce battle (lost 3 axemen in weakening the city defenders), all of Ecbatana's troops are put to the sword, and the city is razed to the ground.

Spoiler :

Turn 161
Our Great General is assigned to a squad of axemen, giving them many advantages in the coming battles:

Spoiler :

Turn 162
Troops near Lyons deal with even more barbarians, and a great merchant is born in Paris!

Spoiler :

**note**: I struggled for a long while on whether to end my round there, or to make the call on what to do with the merchant. My analysis was this: A trade caravan is unfeasible at this stage in the game, he could have bulbed Currency, which is good, but would not have benefited us much until we could build markets. Thus, the only reasonable course (given our loss-per-turn of 7 gold at only 40% science) was to settle him, and so I did that immediately in Paris (+1 food, +6 gold)

Turn 165
We finish researching Code of Laws, and have founded a religion!

Spoiler :

Our troops are assembled on a strongly-defensible position near the Persian capitol, and our axes led by the general are waiting for the foolish Persian axes to leave the forest. A spy is in the midst of our troops, ready to undermine the Persian defenses and open the way for our forces to take the city.

Spoiler :

A brief overview of the state of the other side of the empire:

Spoiler :

(I will make a followup post with some more info (such as buildings, whipping needed in Nidaros, etc) in about 45 mins)

 

[endymion]

got it will read ur post now

 

[Trynthlas]

Ok, more info now that I'm sitting down for a while (at work )

I built a few archers for our main cities, as I felt they were woefully under-defended. Lyons is building a granary now, since its production is still too low to really contribute to the war effort. Paris and Orleans have been building various units (archers, swords, spears, and a spy) as I sensed they were needed. Nidaros grew quite a bit and got unhappy, so I whipped the last turn on the barracks and got most of the production for a jewish temple done in the same stroke - still mad, so I whipped again to finish the temple (not really needed) and the overflow will go to a courthouse. Uppsala (was/is? don't remember) building a barracks. Orleans is now building a settler to build our next city (block the greeks!) and Paris is still building units.

The GG axeman is grouped with a spearman for protection against immortals, and should kill the persian axe when it moves out of the forest. More units are also en-route to Persepolis to join the SoD - I would send the spy into the city and wait until the rest of the troops have joined (cross your fingers that he doesn't get caught!): that will give us a discount on the EP cost to incite a revolt for being 'stationary'. Once that's all ready - send in the swordsmen, then the chariots, then the axes/spears as appropriate to finish the job.

On research, I have it set to Meditation, but as no turns have gone into it yet we can change it at will. I think Meditation will be a good tech to grab while we are finishing the war against Cyrus, as we can spread our own religion to our cities (and foreign ones) for an economic boost (work it so we get a great prophet from Orleans). I wouldn't bother to spread Judaism - either the AI will do it, or it won't. Either way we don't need to give them more gold than we have to.

We need to keep a CLOSE eye out for settlers approaching our borders once we get the area blocked off with our new city, and any civ that tries to send one through, cancel the OB agreement with them instantly.

Roster:
----------
Trynthlas - just played
endymion - up next
Darth Meanie - on deck
Rince
Mitchifer
Carneios - (will be inserted whenever he's able to play)
LordKoros

 

[Darth Meanie]

Sounds good

Looks like you did a good job. Endy, go for the kill! I probably will end up with a builder turn set, cause its looking good. Whats our holy city, and shouldn't the GG be used to make a Medic III unit? I think that this will be relatively straightforward though.

Also, I broke my toe. ah well

 

[Trynthlas]

Sounds good

Looks like you did a good job. Endy, go for the kill! I probably will end up with a builder turn set, cause its looking good. Whats our holy city, and shouldn't the GG be used to make a Medic III unit? I think that this will be relatively straightforward though.

Also, I broke my toe. ah well

Thanks

As for the Medic III - yeah maybe, but I figure he needs to be able to survive an attack, and with the 100% xp bonus (on top of our leader-trait xp bonus) he'll get enough promotions to get there quickly enough.

Holy city is Uppsala.

What did your toe ever do to deserve that kind of treatment?! You're a cruel cruel man, Darth Meanie.

 

[endymion]

nice turnset i will play it this evening or in the morning.

I think the first gg always should make a medic 3 its essential to have one fast.

i didnt look at the save yet but do u think we have enouf units to take the capital? or should a get a few more. or do we have enouf spy point to make a revolt?

 

[Trynthlas]

Medic III essential? Nah. Useful? Sure.

I think we have enough units to take the capitol, assuming the following:
- Once you kill the persian axe up there, the GG axeman (& spear with him) as well as the chariot up there are all moved into the SoD
- We have enough EP to incite a revolt, and it happens successfully.

If not (esp. the 2nd one), it may be a good idea to play tag and try to lure some of the persian troops out of the city by moving away (1 tile NW there is another forested hill we can stack on for super defense). Also realize that Cyrus still has 3 cities (Persepolis, Pasargade, and one other) so we can always delay the attack on the capitol if needed. Use your best judgement there.

 

[LordKoros]

Few other things to consider -
I just checked the foreign tech screen and we have a couple of leaders that are willing to trade with us: Pacal and Pericles both have Monarchy (hook up wineries for some happiness and gold) and Monothesism (missionaries) which would be nice additions to our techs.

I checked out our city production and found that we're not using the cows in Lyons (better than the mine) and I would switch from the forest to a mine plot in Uppsala.

There seem to be an awful lot of troops in Cyrus' capital so I would try and lure a few outside as mentioned in the above post. If that doesnt get any results then you can send the SoD stack over to his iron mine and do a little pillaging while waiting for the GG to join up. You may want to bypass the capital for the moment and instead try to locate his horse pasture to stop the Immortals also. He probably has one more city nearby that should be razed.

 

[LordKoros]

One last item.

Wishing a Happy Thanksgiving holiday to all my fellow american teammates. I will be out of town starting Wed night thru Tuesday evening of next week. I'll try and check in from time to time, but if by chance everyone finishes their next turnset before I'm back - go ahead and skip me.

 

[Darth Meanie]

Where's endymion

He's late; really late

It's not too long until the 48 hour limit is it? If it runs out there will be



Not because he's gonna get a beating, mind you; we will. I am a terrible warrior. Also I noticed he has a lot of cities left via diplomatic screen.

 

[endymion]

im sorry guys i became sick yesterday night so i really havnt been able too play cause of al the puking(nice and grapich ) so if somebody could take over i should be fine again in a day or 2

 

[Trynthlas]

Ooh boy, guess that means the war is in your hands, Darth.

 

[Darth Meanie]

crud. Hope you guys dont mind losing all of our cities! I can build an army, but for the life of me I can't use it.

I'm still gonna do it though...

 

[Darth Meanie]

We lost

Good Game everybody
(Sorry, I am still having trouble puttiing up screenshots):

They thought thhat Darth Meanie was dead. But as prospects on the Persian front grew dim, the nation of n00bia fell into turmoil. Then, a mysterious figure walked up to the palace. He sat down on the throne, and Behold! It was Darth Meanie. All the people rejoiced.

Turn 2:

Spoiler :

There is a settler her to block. No idea where he goes. Sleep in Orleans until there is a dotmap.

Turn 4:

Spoiler :

"The City of Persepolis is well guarded, but their spirits have been broken. We shall overthrow their government with secret operatives, and then attack while they lose their ability to defend themselves"

"But sire, we do not have enough knowledge of the Persians to rile up the people"

"What the %*@$? We need to RESEARCH them?? Fine, put all money into hiring Mexican infiltrators. Some hair gel, some silk shirts, they'll blend right in.

"Understood sire"

Turn 7:

Spoiler :

"Sire, the mexicans have collected enough knowledge that we may overthrow Persepolis at will.

"Muy Bueno"

Turn 9:

Spoiler :

"Sire, Nidaros is out of ideas of things to build. They want the Great Lighthouse"

"On an inland sea!?!? Have them build the Colossus"

Turn 10:

Spoiler :

Darth Meanie has collected a million minions!



"Hello?"
"It's me, Pericles!"
"Oh, I'm kind of busy being the most powerful man in the worl-"
"Wanna trade?"
"Not particularl-"
"Monarchy for CoL?"
"Oh Goodie! Its a deal"

Turn 14:

Spoiler :

"Our armies are prepared to attack: Darth Meanie"

"Good, I shall lead the assault!"

"Oh please don't..."

"Spies, prepare for a day for the history books! Overthrow the nation!!!"

"Victory is MINE!"

"wait, we won?"

"Of course we did, and with plenty of troops remaining"

Dials Number

"Cyrus, are you ready to surrender??"

"Are you?"

"What will you tribute?"

"Nothing sucker!!"

"Then you shall burn with your golden curtain rods and blue carpets"

Turn 18:

Spoiler :

"The Colossus is complete!"

"Our spies have found the Persian city of Bactra. Shall we strike now?"

"Patience, another army must be built before we war again."

Things that need to be adressed:

Our economy sucks:
Cyrus has another settler; I wounded its escort, but I didn't catch it.
Do we continue on, or rest and build up our economy? Our infrastructure is decent.
Barb hunting has gotten difficult, they've been ignoring the fogbusters lately. Other nations are nearing.
Also: DONT CHOP IN NIDAROS!! This city will make a great National Epic and National Park city!!

 

[Trynthlas]

Hokay, well I looked at the save and here are my comments/thoughts:

- Settler should have stuck a city on our southeast border, to block Pericles (or anyone else) from settling inside our 'territory'.
- Nidaros and Uppsala are both -> They should have whipped something several turns ago to avoid being in that state as much as possible.
- Swordsman is down south near barbs??? Axes/chariots are what should be used for fog-busters and barb killers, swordsmen need to be fighting in the war.
- Considering how much we've expanded this early, our economy is actually decent. In that vein, I would not have started researching currency -> instead I would have done Aesthetics, to build ourselves the Statue of Zeus (double war-weariness for opponents)
- I see Paris is building a Library, and Lyons a courthouse. Paris should be building troops nonstop, as its our best production city. Lyons doesn't need a courthouse just yet, as it's close enough to not have big maintenance penalties, and there's other more useful buildings that can be done more quickly (or troops)
- If you "ran out of stuff" in Nidaros, build troops - lots and lots of troops. However, seeing as it can still build a library, two monasteries, walls, aqueduct, and a temple, I think the colossus was a poor choice (nifty as it is).
- On the war, we continue on - raze everything Cyrus has, and take him out of the game.


edit: Also, I think you played a few too many turns We're doing 15 turns each, now.

another edit: I just re-read my post, and I think it sounds a bit too critical - overall it looks like you handled the turnset fairly well. My comments just point out the things I would have done differently, otherwise

 

[Darth Meanie]

no offense taken; we're here to grow.

 

[Rince]

Didn't have time to look at the save yet but looks like you had an interesting turnset, Darth Meanie.

If in doubt about court houses, just look at the city info screen and check how high maintenance is. If it is only -4 for example, a court house is certainly not the top priority.

This is part of city specialization: Only build the buildings that serve the purpose of a specific city. Only cities with a lot of production need barracks, only unhealthy cities need aqueducts, only unhappy cities need colosseae (sp?) and so on. If you don't know what to build, build units.

Btw, this is my "got it"

Roster:
----------
Trynthlas
endymion -
Darth Meanie - just played
Rince - up next
Mitchifer - on deck
Carneios - (will be inserted whenever he's able to play)
LordKoros

Rince