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This next post will cover the period between ~1000 BC and ~1000 AD. Traditionally, this is a very interesting time in deity games; if the preceding 4000 BC - 1000 BC period is the one the player reacts to the harsh realities of the difficulty setting and the goal is to survive and even the scales a bit, and the post 1000 AD is the time to reap the benefits of long term strategy and win; this middle area is the time we are free to be inventive in our approaches to the game.
Probably a lot of small things happened while I played these turns. Via trial and error, and reading the Civilopedia (it finally began to make sense) I delved into the mechanics of the game. In no particular order, here are some musings:
Districts: initially reading their cost as 60, I thought "that's not so bad for the benefit." Then I saw it was only a base cost, and the actual cost was way higher. It seemed underwhelming but I built a science district (campus) at Uruk just to see Great People points generation in action.
But at further analysis, I came to the conclusion trade routes were really good especially when one nabbed more synergy for them, and set on building commerce and harbor districts. The other part of the analysis concluded production is really important, and while the basic industrial zone+workshop weren't so great, the factories and the powerplants were at 6 range. So I planned for them and also Ruhr wonder.
City placement: I put two cities on the coast (while on rivers) and that was probably an overkill, as ocean tiles are poor yield and a city center can be three tiles away and inland from its harbor district.
Wonders: some wonders are good, some not so much, some are peculiar (ie Potala palace gives its bonus as one time event, not as a constant boon to its owner), some aren't described up to date (Ruhr bonus is actually 20% only - still great in a hilly city). One thing is shocking though - failing a wonder yields absolutely no compensation - meanwhile disbanding a unit compensates 2 gold per hammer, or 4 gold per hammer with a 100% policy, or 8 gold per hammer with Scythia or Venetian Arsenal - honestly, I've never, ever, seen a Civilization game that so skewedly favors a warmonger thing (disbanding units to fight upkeep) against a peacemonger thing (building wonders and losing the competition from time to time).
Anyway, back to the game, apart from Ruhr this period saw Terracota Army and Great Zimbabwe constructed by the decree of mighty Gilgamesh, as well as the straggler Great Lighthouse. Colossus was failed, to be followed by a most embarrassing failure for Big Ben at Uruk itself. Gilgamesh was so distraught he threw away the glittery hoard he wanted to safeguard at Big Ben at infrastructure for the population and at the dubious projects of people most considered great.
Religion: Sumeria got none of the five (who comes up with these numbers anyway?). Phillip was doing well with his Catholicism. Eventually, an alien longship introduced Protestantism.
Diplomacy: The owners of the above-mentioned longship turned out to be very friendly. They told Gilgamesh all about their bloodthirsty quest to slay all infidels on a distant landmass. Gilgamesh nodded and made them best friends, he too knew what it is like to be hated by petty neighbors.
On another note, the hidden agendas do have a strong sway. Phillip, for instance, was focused on missionaries. Fair enough. But Medici was on army, and soon half of the continent Mu was covered in her primitive military formations to the point Sumerian workers couldn't even pass to our provinces there. Was it really needed for one city to support 50 units, while the four cities of Spain clearly supported too few to protect their wonders and lands from Gilgamesh?
Exploration: Overall, I liked it, but as one of the four X's, and probably my favorite one, it was slightly jarring some mechanics favored NOT exploring, most of all the DoW penalty system. Eventually I DoWed France and Spain again, and I purposely did it before meeting all of the other AIs because I (correctly) suspected they won't be mad if they didn't have contact with me at the time of the war declarations. As the Vikings were my allies, only China was annoyed. The wars were brief. Map:
With the entire continent secured and the only religiously powerful civilization (Spain) removed, Gilgamesh was ready to choose a victory. Culture? Nah, he didn't want to endure tacky tourists from all over the world. Domination? Nah, too easy. Science it is, then. On to Mars!
But was anyone out of the Vikings, the Chinese, Teddy's Americans, or the rumored Scythians powerful enough to oppose Sumeria? Certainly not.
But Japan just might be...
