TSG 274 Opening Actions

[vadalaz]

This thread is used to discuss the game's opening decisions and strategies through the first 100 or so turns. Here you can post questions related to the game and share your achievements/anger/frustration/victories while you play.

Quick links: Announcement thread | After actions

- What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game?
- What tech path did you follow and why?
- What Social Policies did you choose?
- Did you get a religion? What religious beliefs did you pick?

 

[Turtleoutofwater]

I decided to risk it and settle on the river which turned out well, much better city besides losing a few good early tiles, I went for Great library into national college to get some sort of science lead, think I should have maybe taken some cities so I can send food ships instead of going for Colossus but owell, probably get taken out by barbs on the really annoying acapellago south of Venice anyway.

 

[zxcvbob]

Turn 105. I captured Rome about 2 turns ago and I just made peace with Caesar. I did a composite bow rush starting out with 4 bows and a spear, then quickly build 2 more bows and another spear for reinforcements (one of the spears died right before I took the city). As soon as I declared war before I was even in range of the city he built/bought walls and an archer; the city went from 12 to 22 strength, so it wasn't easy to capture. At least my composite bows could take one hit from the city and then fall back to heal while the second rank stepped forward.

I might play peacefully now until I get great galleasses; I haven't decided yet. But right now I need to build a road from Venice to Rome and finish improving tiles and keep exploring. Neither Venice or Rome has any iron, which is annoying. I'm getting iron from Florence.

Social policies were Tradition and the Patronage opener (I opened Patronage before finishing Tradition because I wanted to stay allied with Florence). Next I was planning to go Exploration, but Rome had the Great Lighthouse so I might do Commerce instead. The only wonder I have built so far is the Mausoleum.

I did get a religion: God-King, Tithe, and Religious Community. I haven't enhanced it yet.

 

[zxcvbob]

I have a question about Venice (I don't play the doge very often): If I capture and puppet a city that I don't really want long-term, am I stuck with it? I don't know if Enrico can raze a puppet city. I imagine capturing a really crappy city and using it as an operating base until I can take the nearby capital or holy city.

I assume I have to just keep it as a useless puppet, and if happiness becomes a problem I can gift it to my next victim. (capture it again and raze it this time)

 

[Megalou]

I have a question about Venice (I don't play the doge very often): If I capture and puppet a city that I don't really want long-term, am I stuck with it? I don't know if Enrico can raze a puppet city. I imagine capturing a really crappy city and using it as an operating base until I can take the nearby capital or holy city.

I assume I have to just keep it as a useless puppet, and if happiness becomes a problem I can gift it to my next victim. (capture it again and raze it this time)

Iirc if you don’t raze straight away you do not get a second chance unless you recapture at a later stage.

 

[Rhodro]

Yeah that's because Venice cannot annex. If you stop razing, the city turns into a puppet. But a puppet cannot be annexed anymore and that is stopping you from razing it again.

 

[lerrocco]

I wasnt going to play this game, I am still wrestling with last month's science game. I have never played Venice before and was curious how it works. So I thought I would have a look..

Anyway, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, which I think is instructive and wanted to share. I took Rome on turn 37 with 3 archers..

It has to be said, I am a one trick pony, but the trick is a good one.

Also I think I would open Tradition and then into Honor, but in this game I opened Liberty, then the worker policy and now Honor, but, and I repeat myself, I am not playing with any strategy! I just got carried away in one long session.

Anyway, I wanted workers so I went looking for Rome's to steal. I met a settler and a warrior and my 2 archers and upgraded spearman killed the warrior and captured the settler, now a worker. I chopped a forest to rush another archer and bought a warrior and set off to Rome. I left the worker 2 squares out and a warrior came for it, so I killed the warrior and reset the trap. The city's archer came out for its settler back and that died. Rome fell swiftly after.

I played on more to explore the game concepts rather than mount a serious game challenge. (I cant puppet and later raze a city, thats a blow). I dont like these puppets spending all my gold on poor buildings, but that's another story..

Anyway, I am 110 turns in, this screenshot below is essentially my T104 as my troops have been healing and I have been exploring. I was running negative gold income, thanks to my high spending puppets (I am not working tiles, I am ignoring the cities I captured). I just found all the other civs and made contact.

I wont say more about my plan from here, as it will be a big spoiler.. I never thought I would make it this far, I was only curious for some game mechanics,. It would be most amusing if I could win from here.. but I doubt it at the moment, if this was a Pangaea I would expect to win within another 20 turns.. but its not, there is much water between me and the remaining civs.

I cut the image below as I know all capital locations now.

 

[sebtanic]

I ended up taking liberty after all. Built bare minimum infrastructure, then archers.

Early BO: Scout, monument, archer, archer, granary, archers

Rome fell t45, I think I had 4 archers and a spearman from ruins.

Greece was harder due to the terrain. They didn't have much of an army, but I had to march 2 comp bows all the way around the mountain range NW of Athens before I could take their capital in t98.

Also waged war on Iroquois to enslave a settler they sent my way.

Unfortunately, another settler somehow got through (probably swimming) while I was busy with Athens. They plopped down Goshute, cutting of my city connections and ruining my gold supply.

I'll be forced to send a few units back before I proceed to take Moson Kahni.

Got NC t96, religion t100 with Tithe and +2 from Temples. My pantheon was Stone Circles (built a shrine relatively late, after the archers).

 

[raider980]

Before the game I decided to try for early war; something I don't normally do. Moved the starting warrior SW and didn't see anything interesting so moved the settler to the river and founded Venice. Turned out to be a good move because it brought a 3rd lux in range (Cocoa) as well as a fish and horses and another Sugar.

Tech path was Pottery, Archery, then to Spearmen, then Sailing for a Trireme and Cargo Ships, Construction, then Philosophy for NC, which I'm building at the moment. Didn't even try for religion, didn't want to waste time building a shrine and could only get one in the Capital; figured Theodora would be spreading hers to me relentlessly anyway.

Went Scout, Monument, Granary, Archer, Archer, Archer, Spear. Debated doing my usual habit of taking the Tradition opener and then going Honor; but threw caution to the wind and just went straight for Honor. Got lucky with CS quests for Florence and allied them pretty early for extra culture so didn't miss the Tradition opener really.

Once I got the Spearman I headed my army for Rome with my army of 3 archers, a warrior and a spearman. It fell surprisingly easily around turn 60-something although I did lose the warrior. Still at war with Rome, getting XP off Antium. I have CB now and am not sure who I want to go for next. I was going to keep Pocatello around as a trading partner but then he decided to build a city between Venice and Rome and cut off my road so he's got to go sooner rather than later. I think I'll head for Great Galleas' and use those to take Goshute and Moson Kahni. Then on to Greece because I'm friends with Theodora.

 

[The_Black_Vegetable]

Only a short report from me this time. I usually struggle to balance war and sim with domination games, and this time the scales were even further towards simming than usual. The game started out well enough. I was warring Rome for workers, and suddenly I found he had lost all of his units trying to defend his settlers, and being baited by the workers I had just stolen. Although I had not planned to go after Rome as early as archers, I managed to take his capital with two archers and two chariots.

After that I perhaps ought to have kept going, but the terrain around Moson Kahni and Athens discouraged me, plus the fact both cities were on hills. So instead I focused on getting my cities up, plus I spammed some wonders: Mausoleum, Hanging Gardens, Temple of Artemis. Probably all not necessary, but at least it gave me a nice capital.

With a late shrine I went God King, and with the Merchant of Venice I took over Florence (though not very early). I had completely forgotten about the extra trade routes Venice gets, and as the screen shot I was doing a bang up job making use of that UA. What the screenshot doesn't show is that I just researched workshops, and am now heading towards civil service.

 

[ForkOfSpite]

Let's see if I remember how to do this - post to the forum (already know I don't remember how to play the game). Also, let's see if I can avoid reading other posts in this thread. A T100 post from someone else might give me ideas about how to continue - want to keep it clean.

Let's start with the prompts (responses inline):

- What did you think about before starting the game, what was your approach to this game? Didn't think much and not much of a plan - hope frigates work.
- What tech path did you follow and why? Basics and then work towards Navigation. Somewhat early Bronze Working to look for iron (before getting the Optics merchant).
- What Social Policies did you choose? Honor because why not? Saw posts in announcement thread questioning Tradition. Went right-side first because I didn't want to use an early general so why pay the upkeep?
- Did you get a religion? What religious beliefs did you pick? Accidental pantheon on Turn 99 (due to puppet builds). Took the quarries pantheon (Stone Circles).

Mini recap:
- Early game scouting seemed poor. I only built one initial scout - it upgraded so I wanted to return it home before being closed off by the AI. A late second scout made it East before being cutoff by Rome, but it was caught between Rome/Greece/Shohone before too long.
- Pleased to verify that all AI capitals were coastal. Found the last AI (Indonesia) on Turn 64.
- Wasted production into a cargo ship. It felt late, and even though I knew it wasn't 100% safe, I thought it would be. I'm probably about to do the same thing soon (sending a cargo from Florence to Rome next turn - hope the trireme SW of Florence can get there and protect).
- National College on Turn 80 or so. I forgot that I had Stone Works in the queue after, and that completed in the mid-80s.
- Wasted one turn of production into the Mausoleum. Was a quick build, but someone completed it the very next turn (so I didn't even get any gold).

Short term plan:
Build a navy after researching compass, and I might DOW Caesar after that. It might be too late, but even if it isn't, I might not do it anyway. I don't want to leave him with an expansion on my border, but if I want Rome now, the only other option would be to eliminate him from the game and suffer the diplo hit. The diplo hit might not matter though - currently friends with Theodora and Hiawatha, but that's not doing anything for me.

Turn 100 Screenshot:

Spoiler :

 

[Megalou]

I used the optics MoV for money rather than puppet to upgrade archers to cs. Rome was taken a few turns before the cutoff and by the looks of it the other continental civs will be a pushover, Machinery being pretty close at hand.

I also went honor, simply because I need to try it more often. But the Tradition opener came first. Don’t know what else to say. It’s been slow but at least NC is unproblematic with just one city. The AI being weak a pre 200 victory would be nice.

Oh, yes, I’ve built Statue of Zeus and Oracle.