This short builder's game was a very fun break between Epics 4 and 6.
Unrestricted Prince game is below my usual playing level, so when I saw that the game was going too well, I added extra challenges: in VIIth century I decided that I would have to win by space race with only 7 initial cities; in XIth century I added a restriction that I could never start a war either directly or by bribing somebody else into it. This second restriction meant that I couldn't bring in war allies, which presented a difficulty later.
So my goal for this game became to win by space race with just 7 initial cities and no wars to disrupt leading AIs.
Part 1 - Economic Recovery
The first thing I look at when opening the save is diplomatic situation. Things look good on that front. We have Open Borders with everybody except Quin, and, since Quin had good relations with all other AIs, signing OB with him is my first action.
Technology screen shows that all tech trading is still disabled, which means that nobody knows Alphabet. This makes Alphabet the obvious first target for research. Not only will it unlock the tech trading game, there is a good chance of being able to sell it right away, because most AIs don't prioritize it.
For city management I maximize growth and commerce in large cities and configure smaller ones to complete Granaries before growth. As soon as large cities reach size 6, I configure them for max food+production (sacrificing commerce) and start pumping out workers. While the cities are growing with max commerce I can run 40% research at -5gpt, but that drops nearly to 0 as I reconfigure for worker production.
Finally, I look at the balance sheet to see where all the money is going. I canât do anything about maintenance costs, but I can definitely remove Unit Support cost. I start by disbanding 2 warriors, but then I notice a barb city on the south-eastern border. Itâs protected by only 2 warriors and has a worker! Who needs disbanding units when I can suicide them with a chance of getting a free worker. So I send all available units in the area (leaving 1 archer in size 5 city to prevent riots) towards this barbarian town. The extra units from western part of my empire are redistributed to the east, to maintain some MP happiness cushion for all cities.
The barbs manage to produce an archer before the last of my units get there, but the archer suicides against a woodsman warrior I left as bait. 3 archers and 2 warriors (one of them wounded by barb archer) are barely enough to kill the two warriors, razing the city with the last archer on the second turn of combat. (I lost a battle at 95% and a couple other battles with good odds.) This accomplishes 3 goals: gets rid of unit support costs for a long time to come; gives me a worker in 125AD, a couple turns before first of home-made workers is trained; and gives me over 100$. The cash infusion turns out to be the greatest benefit, because it allows me to finish Alphabet several turns faster.
The priority for worker actions is:
1) improving resources for faster training of more workers
2) building cottages
3) building roads and mining hills
I also try to avoid wasting worker turns, building roads when workers have more than 1 step to go before next target, and improving closest cities before moving on.
On diplomatic front, Mali demands we cancel deals with Saladin, but I refuse, because Saladin is our strongest neighbor and I don't even know where Mali is located. Saladin demands we convert to Jewdaism and I agree, converting back to atheism as soon as possible to avoid angering Hatty. However, the conversion triggers Hatty's demands to cancel deals with Saladin, so my overall modifiers remain neutral. 2 of Saladin's workers are helpfully building a road through my territory, while another one is working near the border. However, I resist the temptation to capture them, because a war would require a lot more resources than training 3 workers myself.
In 640AD we finally discover our first tech: Alphabet. So the tech trading game can finally start. Mali and Egypt recently got this tech themselves, but the rest are still missing it. Meanwhile JC declares war on Eliz. The two are at the bottom of score graph and are evenly matched on power. However, Eliz is slightly better liked overall, so my first deal is with her: Alphabet for Math, Mining, and 50$. I set research to CoL, because it and Drama are the only available techs that are neither widely known nor too expensive or too cheap. And it's a very useful tech on a path to Beurocracy.
I also hire 2 scientists in Cordoba, something I should have done long ago. This not only helps me generate GPPs, but also noticeably increases my research rate.
Next turn I sell Alphabet to JC for Bronze Working, Monotheism, and 160$. Realizing that Alphabet is about to become obsolete, I sell it to Quin for all his cash(100$). Quin is in Saladin and Eliz's Jewish alliance and is disliked only by Mansa, so this sale shouldn't cause any diplomatic problems. This allows me to buy Currency from Saladin for Alphabet and 270$. Supporting lead AI might not be a good idea, but he had no cash left, so this deal couldn't have worked any other way. (I needed to get more cash to afford Currency and only Quin had a lot of money, which left Saladin as the last customer for Alphabet.)
Currency gives massive boost to my economy (a 2cpt trade route in every city), cutting my CoL research from 14 down to 7 turns. Research is up to 50% at -1gpt. I can now switch research to Metal Casting, because it will have better trade value, is less likely to be researched by other AIs, and I need all production boosts I can get because I have a lot of infra to build. The reason I initially started CoL was that MC was supposed to take over 20 turns, but current 11 turns isn't too prohibitive.
At this time I adapt Jewdaism and switch to Organized Religion and Slavery. Considering small size of my empire, OrgRel costs only 3gpt and will give a good production boost. New state religion gives more happiness and improves relations with Saladin, Quin, and Eliz, worsening relations with Mali (too far away to matter), Caesar (too weak and far away), and Hatty (is a pacifist, so hopefully will not attack until I am ready).
In 800AD, as more and more cottages are completed and newfound happiness allows my cities to grow, I work up the courage to start resource for gpt deals with my 3 Jewish allies. (This will give diplo bonuses with them, but penalties with their enemies.) This lets me increase research to 70% at -9gpt. Around this time I also start a couple resource-for-resource deals with Egypt. I already have Open Borders with them, so there is no extra diplomatic damage from these fair deals, and I need the happiness resources. I also want to start working on the "years supplied with resources" modifier for Egypt, because my main relations bonus with them at the time is from running their favorite civics.
In 840AD we discover Metal Casting and start second round of trading. We are still #4 in GNP and #5 in production, but are competative on GNP with everybody except Mali and Egypt. For some reason, only Caesar wants Metal Casting! I don't understand what happened. 3 AIs were missing this tech last turn. I have to sell it for IW and 20$ and go back to CoL. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen there.
In 920 we discover CoL and are finally able to make another massive set of trades. Almost everybody has most techs, but Caesar is falling behind, so he will be the one from whom I'll buy Feudalism. CoL for Construction to Hatty; CoL for HBR and 70$ to Lizzy. Caesar is still refusing to sell Feudalism even next turn, so I'll have to stay behind technologically a little longer. Meanwhile, research goes into Civil Service.
In 1010 AD we construct our first Academy at the capital. Demographics situation is looking more encouraging, with only Hatty significantly ahead. I sell CoL and Construction to Caesar for Calendar and 20$, finally getting a chance to start that Sugar plantation. At this point I consider myself to be fully caught up in technology. I am still missing some techs, but nothing immediately useful.
Part 2 â Getting Tech Lead and Keeping It
We enter Medieval Era in 1050AD with discovery of Civil Service. (Saladin discovered it a turn earlier.) I hold off on selling Civil Service, because only Saladin has a prerequisite for Paper and the fact that his GNP is significantly lower than mine might give me a shot at Liberalism.
Talking about GNP, I haven't built any courthouses yet, because the maintenance costs that had been killing me initially are too small to worry about now. I haven't built any markets either, because I am running 70% science, so other buildings are higher priority.
After I switch to Beurocracy I feel brave enough to try building aqueduct and Hanging Gardens in the capital. Replacing last of Madrid's hill forests with a mine finishes Aqueduct and leaves only 11 turns on the Hanging Gardens.
In 1080 Quin demands Civil Service. I refuse and get a -2 penalty. This reminds me to stop neglecting my military, so I start building barracks in a couple of cities. Next turn Hatty offers to buy Civil Service for Feudalism and 250$. The cash is very tempting, but strengthening lead AI is probably not a good idea. I notice that I am first in GNP and production, so I might be able to start enjoying benefits of tech lead soon. Next turn the premium drops to 170$, so Hatty is probably researching it herself. I'll let her do that, while I work on Education.
I sell Civil Service to Hatty for Machinery and 170$ in 1110, because Mansa already has it and Hatty could start researching Paper herself anyway. (She has Theology.) This allows me to start training Macemen in Salamanica, which is done with all other necessary builds.
We complete Hanging Gardens in 1180.
We enter Renessance in 1200 with discovery of Education. Nobody is ready to buy Education yet, so I take a risk of researching Printing Press, before going on to Philosophy and Liberalism. Caesar and Lizzy recently made peace, and they are the only two AIs missing Civil Service, so I buy Feudalism from Lizzy for Civil Service and 10$. Caesar thinks that we are too advanced, so he'll be the last guy left without Civil Service.
The cities go into high-production configuration, building Universities. (Most cities completed their previous builds this turn.) The only exception is Santiago, a production poor fishing village. I'll be able to start Oxford in Madrid in about 12 turns, depending on the number of hammers a chop will give to Barcelona.
Next turn, after Seville grows to size 14, I hire 2 scientists, halting its growth. I'll also hire an engineer, instead of working plains hill mine later, but I need the production to complete university in 11 turns. The scientists in Cordoba were fired after construction of first academy, so Seville will be my new great person city.
By 1230AD our resource for gpt deal finally makes Saladin friendly, so he is willing to sell anything. However, he wants to buy only Paper, and I don't want to break my Paper monopoly yet. In other news, Caesar recently demanded Civil Service and I laughed in his face: he is far away, diplomatically isolated, and weak. Next turn Lizzy also asked for Paper, with the same result. Saladin discovers Paper on his own a turn before I discover Printing Press.
In 1280 I discover Printing Press and start the next era of deal-making: Paper to Quin for Compass, Literature; Paper to Lizzy for Theology; Printing Press to Saladin for Philosophy, Drama, his map, and some cash. I decided to buy Philosophy for Printing Press, because I want an extra insurance for my Liberalism bid. Next turn Caesar cancels our Open Borders treaty. We sell Paper to Hatty for Optics and 20$ (this fair deal doesn't anger anybody). This sets up the Astronomy grab with Liberalism, which will give access to yet another science-improving building. Research is at 80% at -7gpt. Printing Press to Lizzy for Guilds. Next turn I sell Printing Press to Hatty for Engineering, map, and 140$. This almost catches me up on techs I've been missing. I still need Banking, buy I can buy that for Liberalism later.
In 1320 we discover Liberalism and take Astronomy as the free tech. Several cities immediately start building Observatories, while Madrid begins work on Oxford University. I sell Education for Music and Banking to Eliz, making her Friendly and giving me the last techs I've been missing. Research goes into Economics for the free merchant.
We learn Economics in 1360 and start researching Replaceable Parts to give workers something to do. I've chopped down a lot of my forests in this game, which is causing my production to suffer, but there are still some forests around. Meanwhile, my archer is following Caesar's strike force consising of 2 maces and a longbow through Saladin's lands in the direction of my borders. This force makes me nervous enough to train a couple more maces of my own just in case.
JC attacks in 1400AD, killing the exploring archer that got to my territory just ahead of him. I guess I'll have to waste more time training units now. While my self-imposed variant rule prevents me from bringing allies into the war, I can negotiate trade embargoes. So I sell Economics to Saladin for trade embargo against Caesar. Caesar no longer has any way of sending reinforcements towards my territory. If I had thought about this move earlier, perhaps I would have been able to completely avoid the war. Another benefit of selling Economics is that it should encourage Saladin to get out of Mercantilism. I also sell Economics to Lizzy to get a bit more cash. All 3 Jewish AIs are Friendly with me right now.
After Replaceable Parts I go for Nationalism to go for Constitution and Corporation.
In 1420 I suffer another setback: Hatty succeeds in converting Quin to Buddhism. He is still Pleased, but no longer Friendly. At least Caesar's expeditionary force is easily destroyed this turn.
After discovering Constitution in 1500 I decide to go for Democracy, instead of Corporation. I want to get a head start on Statue of Liberty.
By 1515 Quin's "hethen religion" penalty grew to -2, so I decided to try to fix the situation by selling around Liberalism. Saladin's favorite civic is Theocracy, so he is unlikely to switch. And hopefully Hatty and Quin will switch to Free Religion.
First I sell Education to Quin for 20$.
Next turn I donate Liberalism to Quin; sell Nationalism to Saladin for Gunpowder and 100$ (he wasn't willing to sell Gunpowder for Liberalism and Nationalism might encourage him to research Military Tradition for Defensive Pacts); sell Liberalism to Hatty for 200$ and her map; sell Liberalism to Eliz for 140$; sell Liberalism to Mali for 460$. Quin will sell it around next turn anyway, so I had to sell it to everybody myself. With 918$ in the bank I can go up from 80% to 90% research at -37gpt.
Unfortunately the only effect of the worldwide spread of Liberalism is that Mali adapts Free Speech. (Several others will adapt Free Speech later, but only Lizzy will eventually go into Free Religion.)
In 1525 I discover Democracy and start researching Corporation. I also buy Rifling from Saladin for Liberalism and Constitution. I switch to Universal Suffrage and Free Market. Yes, I've forgotten to switch to Free Market back when I discovered Economics. :weed: To be able to get rid of MP happiness I have to renegotiate some trade deals to buy all available happiness resources. I also notice that Caesar is ready to not just make peace, but to pay us for it, so I do it. Finally, I start building Statue of Liberty in Seville. It's a 27 turn project even with Universal Suffrage and city configured for max production, but I need this wonder, because with my 2nd production city being so weak, I need every advantage I can get.
In 1535 Quin completed Taj Mahal while we had only 9 turns left on it. So much for using Golden Age to speed up Statue of Liberty.
My research goes into Chemistry->Steam Power->Assembly Line. Since Saladin wasn't annoyed by my trades with Mansa, I decide to stop boycotting Mali and Open Borders and start a resource for gpt deal.
I switch to Emancipation shortly afterwards, because I decide that vague fear of encouraging AIs to research Democracy and steal SoL isn't worth not getting benefits of Emancipation.
In 1560 I notice that Saladin discovered Military Tradition and sign Defensive Pact. This guarantees my safety for the rest of the game, because Saladin is one
of the leaders on the power graph, so nobody will attack us. His love of Theology will keep the +7 shared religion bonus in effect as long as I need it, and my technological help will keep him one of the power leaders despite low GNP. That low GNP also means I donât have to fear his competition in a space race. From this point on, I train almost no units. (I wasn't training more than a couple before either, but I at least kept a few most advanced units available on hand for emergencies.)
We enter Industrial Era in 1570 with discovery of Steam Power. I sell Chemistry to all AIs to see if some of them will discover Steel for me. This also gives me enough cash for many years of deficit rsearch. (I can run 100% research at -79gpt.) I am researching so quickly that it's unlikely I'll be doing much trading in the future.
After discovering Assembly Line in 1600 I direct research straight towards Computers to build Labs. I also revolt to Universal Suffrage, because research rate is almost same and I need the help to fight cultural battles on Egyptian border.
In 1625 Eliz begs for Astronomy and I give it to her, putting her back towards Friendly. (She dropped to Pleased after adopting Free Religion.) Saladin discovers Steel that year and I buy it for Astronomy and Scientific Method. Then I sell Scientific Method to everybody, hoping they'll discover Biology for me.
The great scientist from Physics is used for the 3rd Academy in Seville. I also donate Steam Power to Saladin. He is my main shield and best friend, so I want to make him tech leader among AIs. This gift gives him a chance to discover Railroads for me. He also has low GNP, so I am not afraid of him as competitor in space race.
Statue of Liberty is completed in 1650. I notice that my cities don't have much to build, so I take advantage of Spiritual trait, switching to Representation for a few turns. The switch gives only about 5% improvement in research rate (from 1176 to 1235), while significantly damaging my production so it wasn't worth it. I switch back as soon as 5 turns are over.
The construction of factories and coal plants causes health problems, so I have to cancel a corn-for-gpt deal. I might also have to renegotiate some other deals later.
We enter Modern Era in 1685 with discovery of Radio. I notice that Saladin finally discovered Railroads for me, and buy it for Assembly Line.
One time I notice that Mali has over 700$ for some reason. I take this opportunity to sell him Steel, an old tech known by many others.
In 1720 we discover Computer and complete Broadway. Broadway allows me to renegotiate a lot of trade deals. Research goes into Artillery->Rocketry. Saladin discovered Combustion for me, so I donate him Physics, to be able to buy Combustion for Electricity next turn. I also switch to Representation, because my cities are running out of stuff to build again.
In 1760 we discover Rocketry and start researching Biology->Refrigeration to stop starvation in the Ironworks city and in the city that just lost a farm to Egyptian culture. This is the first time Iâve had to research this branch so early in the Space Race for food/health reasons. Apollo Program is started in Cordoba(16). Revolting to Universal Suffrage and replacing scientist with Engineer cuts the time down to 12 turns. Meanwhile cities are finishing up labs and starting to build research. (Except Barcelona, which is building Culture to avoid losing rice farm.) This would be good time to switch to Free Religion, but that would cause Saladin to drop from Friendly to Pleased, possibly breaking Defensive Pact. That defensive pact is my only protection, so I don't want to do that.
Next research target is Industrialism->Plastics->Robotics. It seems Saladin went straight for Artillery->Rocketry when I gave him Physics, so I am not expecting to buy anything else from him.
In 1806 I got my second Great Engineer from Madrid, so I'll be able to rush Space Elevator in a single turn. Next turn we complete Rock'n'Roll, which was started mainly because there was nothing else useful to build.
Apollo Program is complete in 1810, just as Aluminum is connected and I start work on Casings. There is a lot of research ahead, so it looks like my balance of research v. production was off in favor of production again, so I leave the 3 cities with Academies building research.
In 1822 I hear the sound of war horns... Elizabeth attacks Caesar. I guess she decided to take revenge for the earlier war.
In 1830 we discover Robotics and I start Space Elevator in Toledo, using one of the Engineers to rush it. The other engineer is saved for a possible Golden Age. During this time, I am periodically selling techs to AIs. There is no way they'll catch up to me in the space race, so I want them busily building spaceships, instead of starting various wars involving Saladin and me.
Space Elevator is complete in 1848, just as we finish Genetics and start researching towards Fusion, which will be followed by my traditional closing tech, Ecology. This is the first time I've had to prioritize Genetics branch because of health problems in my cities. I also check the trades screen and see that I can make 1 more trade: Saladin discovered Fission, which I buy for Radio and Refrigeration. I also sell Radio to everybody else, gathering some more cash. (I've been running 100% science at -69gpt for a long time by selling outdated techs to AIs. Once a solid enough tech lead is established and territory is protected by a Defensive Pact, old techs can be sold without fear.)
The Golden Age of Spain starts in 1848, to speed up research of the 3 final techs.
In 1852 we get a great scientist in Seville and use hit to cut a turn off our research into Fiber Optics.
Saladin completes his Apollo Program in 1856. I don't think I have to worry about Space Race. And with +7 for shared religion and half a dozen other bonuses, I don't have to worry about Defensive Pact being broken either.
In 1864 Saladin demands we cancel deals with Mali. I thought Friends weren't supposed to make these kinds of demands.
In 1866, I discover Fusion and start work on last tech, Ecology, while the Engine is scheduled to complete in 10 turns.
In this game I finally learn the value of post-biology farms: Barcelona ended up with 4 farms (including one on rice) and it grew at least 2 sizes in the last few turns, while the rest of my cities are stuck because of lack of food.
Space Race victory in 1884, with just 7 original cities and without starting any wars!
Score 17085 - Augustus Caesar (almost same as my Epic 4 score). Ingame score - 3154.
Unrestricted Prince game is below my usual playing level, so when I saw that the game was going too well, I added extra challenges: in VIIth century I decided that I would have to win by space race with only 7 initial cities; in XIth century I added a restriction that I could never start a war either directly or by bribing somebody else into it. This second restriction meant that I couldn't bring in war allies, which presented a difficulty later.
So my goal for this game became to win by space race with just 7 initial cities and no wars to disrupt leading AIs.
Part 1 - Economic Recovery
The first thing I look at when opening the save is diplomatic situation. Things look good on that front. We have Open Borders with everybody except Quin, and, since Quin had good relations with all other AIs, signing OB with him is my first action.
Technology screen shows that all tech trading is still disabled, which means that nobody knows Alphabet. This makes Alphabet the obvious first target for research. Not only will it unlock the tech trading game, there is a good chance of being able to sell it right away, because most AIs don't prioritize it.
For city management I maximize growth and commerce in large cities and configure smaller ones to complete Granaries before growth. As soon as large cities reach size 6, I configure them for max food+production (sacrificing commerce) and start pumping out workers. While the cities are growing with max commerce I can run 40% research at -5gpt, but that drops nearly to 0 as I reconfigure for worker production.
Finally, I look at the balance sheet to see where all the money is going. I canât do anything about maintenance costs, but I can definitely remove Unit Support cost. I start by disbanding 2 warriors, but then I notice a barb city on the south-eastern border. Itâs protected by only 2 warriors and has a worker! Who needs disbanding units when I can suicide them with a chance of getting a free worker. So I send all available units in the area (leaving 1 archer in size 5 city to prevent riots) towards this barbarian town. The extra units from western part of my empire are redistributed to the east, to maintain some MP happiness cushion for all cities.
The barbs manage to produce an archer before the last of my units get there, but the archer suicides against a woodsman warrior I left as bait. 3 archers and 2 warriors (one of them wounded by barb archer) are barely enough to kill the two warriors, razing the city with the last archer on the second turn of combat. (I lost a battle at 95% and a couple other battles with good odds.) This accomplishes 3 goals: gets rid of unit support costs for a long time to come; gives me a worker in 125AD, a couple turns before first of home-made workers is trained; and gives me over 100$. The cash infusion turns out to be the greatest benefit, because it allows me to finish Alphabet several turns faster.
The priority for worker actions is:
1) improving resources for faster training of more workers
2) building cottages
3) building roads and mining hills
I also try to avoid wasting worker turns, building roads when workers have more than 1 step to go before next target, and improving closest cities before moving on.
On diplomatic front, Mali demands we cancel deals with Saladin, but I refuse, because Saladin is our strongest neighbor and I don't even know where Mali is located. Saladin demands we convert to Jewdaism and I agree, converting back to atheism as soon as possible to avoid angering Hatty. However, the conversion triggers Hatty's demands to cancel deals with Saladin, so my overall modifiers remain neutral. 2 of Saladin's workers are helpfully building a road through my territory, while another one is working near the border. However, I resist the temptation to capture them, because a war would require a lot more resources than training 3 workers myself.
In 640AD we finally discover our first tech: Alphabet. So the tech trading game can finally start. Mali and Egypt recently got this tech themselves, but the rest are still missing it. Meanwhile JC declares war on Eliz. The two are at the bottom of score graph and are evenly matched on power. However, Eliz is slightly better liked overall, so my first deal is with her: Alphabet for Math, Mining, and 50$. I set research to CoL, because it and Drama are the only available techs that are neither widely known nor too expensive or too cheap. And it's a very useful tech on a path to Beurocracy.
I also hire 2 scientists in Cordoba, something I should have done long ago. This not only helps me generate GPPs, but also noticeably increases my research rate.
Next turn I sell Alphabet to JC for Bronze Working, Monotheism, and 160$. Realizing that Alphabet is about to become obsolete, I sell it to Quin for all his cash(100$). Quin is in Saladin and Eliz's Jewish alliance and is disliked only by Mansa, so this sale shouldn't cause any diplomatic problems. This allows me to buy Currency from Saladin for Alphabet and 270$. Supporting lead AI might not be a good idea, but he had no cash left, so this deal couldn't have worked any other way. (I needed to get more cash to afford Currency and only Quin had a lot of money, which left Saladin as the last customer for Alphabet.)
Currency gives massive boost to my economy (a 2cpt trade route in every city), cutting my CoL research from 14 down to 7 turns. Research is up to 50% at -1gpt. I can now switch research to Metal Casting, because it will have better trade value, is less likely to be researched by other AIs, and I need all production boosts I can get because I have a lot of infra to build. The reason I initially started CoL was that MC was supposed to take over 20 turns, but current 11 turns isn't too prohibitive.
At this time I adapt Jewdaism and switch to Organized Religion and Slavery. Considering small size of my empire, OrgRel costs only 3gpt and will give a good production boost. New state religion gives more happiness and improves relations with Saladin, Quin, and Eliz, worsening relations with Mali (too far away to matter), Caesar (too weak and far away), and Hatty (is a pacifist, so hopefully will not attack until I am ready).
In 800AD, as more and more cottages are completed and newfound happiness allows my cities to grow, I work up the courage to start resource for gpt deals with my 3 Jewish allies. (This will give diplo bonuses with them, but penalties with their enemies.) This lets me increase research to 70% at -9gpt. Around this time I also start a couple resource-for-resource deals with Egypt. I already have Open Borders with them, so there is no extra diplomatic damage from these fair deals, and I need the happiness resources. I also want to start working on the "years supplied with resources" modifier for Egypt, because my main relations bonus with them at the time is from running their favorite civics.
In 840AD we discover Metal Casting and start second round of trading. We are still #4 in GNP and #5 in production, but are competative on GNP with everybody except Mali and Egypt. For some reason, only Caesar wants Metal Casting! I don't understand what happened. 3 AIs were missing this tech last turn. I have to sell it for IW and 20$ and go back to CoL. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen there.
In 920 we discover CoL and are finally able to make another massive set of trades. Almost everybody has most techs, but Caesar is falling behind, so he will be the one from whom I'll buy Feudalism. CoL for Construction to Hatty; CoL for HBR and 70$ to Lizzy. Caesar is still refusing to sell Feudalism even next turn, so I'll have to stay behind technologically a little longer. Meanwhile, research goes into Civil Service.
In 1010 AD we construct our first Academy at the capital. Demographics situation is looking more encouraging, with only Hatty significantly ahead. I sell CoL and Construction to Caesar for Calendar and 20$, finally getting a chance to start that Sugar plantation. At this point I consider myself to be fully caught up in technology. I am still missing some techs, but nothing immediately useful.
Part 2 â Getting Tech Lead and Keeping It
We enter Medieval Era in 1050AD with discovery of Civil Service. (Saladin discovered it a turn earlier.) I hold off on selling Civil Service, because only Saladin has a prerequisite for Paper and the fact that his GNP is significantly lower than mine might give me a shot at Liberalism.
Talking about GNP, I haven't built any courthouses yet, because the maintenance costs that had been killing me initially are too small to worry about now. I haven't built any markets either, because I am running 70% science, so other buildings are higher priority.
After I switch to Beurocracy I feel brave enough to try building aqueduct and Hanging Gardens in the capital. Replacing last of Madrid's hill forests with a mine finishes Aqueduct and leaves only 11 turns on the Hanging Gardens.
In 1080 Quin demands Civil Service. I refuse and get a -2 penalty. This reminds me to stop neglecting my military, so I start building barracks in a couple of cities. Next turn Hatty offers to buy Civil Service for Feudalism and 250$. The cash is very tempting, but strengthening lead AI is probably not a good idea. I notice that I am first in GNP and production, so I might be able to start enjoying benefits of tech lead soon. Next turn the premium drops to 170$, so Hatty is probably researching it herself. I'll let her do that, while I work on Education.
I sell Civil Service to Hatty for Machinery and 170$ in 1110, because Mansa already has it and Hatty could start researching Paper herself anyway. (She has Theology.) This allows me to start training Macemen in Salamanica, which is done with all other necessary builds.
We complete Hanging Gardens in 1180.
We enter Renessance in 1200 with discovery of Education. Nobody is ready to buy Education yet, so I take a risk of researching Printing Press, before going on to Philosophy and Liberalism. Caesar and Lizzy recently made peace, and they are the only two AIs missing Civil Service, so I buy Feudalism from Lizzy for Civil Service and 10$. Caesar thinks that we are too advanced, so he'll be the last guy left without Civil Service.
The cities go into high-production configuration, building Universities. (Most cities completed their previous builds this turn.) The only exception is Santiago, a production poor fishing village. I'll be able to start Oxford in Madrid in about 12 turns, depending on the number of hammers a chop will give to Barcelona.
Next turn, after Seville grows to size 14, I hire 2 scientists, halting its growth. I'll also hire an engineer, instead of working plains hill mine later, but I need the production to complete university in 11 turns. The scientists in Cordoba were fired after construction of first academy, so Seville will be my new great person city.
By 1230AD our resource for gpt deal finally makes Saladin friendly, so he is willing to sell anything. However, he wants to buy only Paper, and I don't want to break my Paper monopoly yet. In other news, Caesar recently demanded Civil Service and I laughed in his face: he is far away, diplomatically isolated, and weak. Next turn Lizzy also asked for Paper, with the same result. Saladin discovers Paper on his own a turn before I discover Printing Press.
In 1280 I discover Printing Press and start the next era of deal-making: Paper to Quin for Compass, Literature; Paper to Lizzy for Theology; Printing Press to Saladin for Philosophy, Drama, his map, and some cash. I decided to buy Philosophy for Printing Press, because I want an extra insurance for my Liberalism bid. Next turn Caesar cancels our Open Borders treaty. We sell Paper to Hatty for Optics and 20$ (this fair deal doesn't anger anybody). This sets up the Astronomy grab with Liberalism, which will give access to yet another science-improving building. Research is at 80% at -7gpt. Printing Press to Lizzy for Guilds. Next turn I sell Printing Press to Hatty for Engineering, map, and 140$. This almost catches me up on techs I've been missing. I still need Banking, buy I can buy that for Liberalism later.
In 1320 we discover Liberalism and take Astronomy as the free tech. Several cities immediately start building Observatories, while Madrid begins work on Oxford University. I sell Education for Music and Banking to Eliz, making her Friendly and giving me the last techs I've been missing. Research goes into Economics for the free merchant.
We learn Economics in 1360 and start researching Replaceable Parts to give workers something to do. I've chopped down a lot of my forests in this game, which is causing my production to suffer, but there are still some forests around. Meanwhile, my archer is following Caesar's strike force consising of 2 maces and a longbow through Saladin's lands in the direction of my borders. This force makes me nervous enough to train a couple more maces of my own just in case.
JC attacks in 1400AD, killing the exploring archer that got to my territory just ahead of him. I guess I'll have to waste more time training units now. While my self-imposed variant rule prevents me from bringing allies into the war, I can negotiate trade embargoes. So I sell Economics to Saladin for trade embargo against Caesar. Caesar no longer has any way of sending reinforcements towards my territory. If I had thought about this move earlier, perhaps I would have been able to completely avoid the war. Another benefit of selling Economics is that it should encourage Saladin to get out of Mercantilism. I also sell Economics to Lizzy to get a bit more cash. All 3 Jewish AIs are Friendly with me right now.
After Replaceable Parts I go for Nationalism to go for Constitution and Corporation.
In 1420 I suffer another setback: Hatty succeeds in converting Quin to Buddhism. He is still Pleased, but no longer Friendly. At least Caesar's expeditionary force is easily destroyed this turn.
After discovering Constitution in 1500 I decide to go for Democracy, instead of Corporation. I want to get a head start on Statue of Liberty.
By 1515 Quin's "hethen religion" penalty grew to -2, so I decided to try to fix the situation by selling around Liberalism. Saladin's favorite civic is Theocracy, so he is unlikely to switch. And hopefully Hatty and Quin will switch to Free Religion.
First I sell Education to Quin for 20$.
Next turn I donate Liberalism to Quin; sell Nationalism to Saladin for Gunpowder and 100$ (he wasn't willing to sell Gunpowder for Liberalism and Nationalism might encourage him to research Military Tradition for Defensive Pacts); sell Liberalism to Hatty for 200$ and her map; sell Liberalism to Eliz for 140$; sell Liberalism to Mali for 460$. Quin will sell it around next turn anyway, so I had to sell it to everybody myself. With 918$ in the bank I can go up from 80% to 90% research at -37gpt.
Unfortunately the only effect of the worldwide spread of Liberalism is that Mali adapts Free Speech. (Several others will adapt Free Speech later, but only Lizzy will eventually go into Free Religion.)
In 1525 I discover Democracy and start researching Corporation. I also buy Rifling from Saladin for Liberalism and Constitution. I switch to Universal Suffrage and Free Market. Yes, I've forgotten to switch to Free Market back when I discovered Economics. :weed: To be able to get rid of MP happiness I have to renegotiate some trade deals to buy all available happiness resources. I also notice that Caesar is ready to not just make peace, but to pay us for it, so I do it. Finally, I start building Statue of Liberty in Seville. It's a 27 turn project even with Universal Suffrage and city configured for max production, but I need this wonder, because with my 2nd production city being so weak, I need every advantage I can get.
In 1535 Quin completed Taj Mahal while we had only 9 turns left on it. So much for using Golden Age to speed up Statue of Liberty.
My research goes into Chemistry->Steam Power->Assembly Line. Since Saladin wasn't annoyed by my trades with Mansa, I decide to stop boycotting Mali and Open Borders and start a resource for gpt deal.
I switch to Emancipation shortly afterwards, because I decide that vague fear of encouraging AIs to research Democracy and steal SoL isn't worth not getting benefits of Emancipation.
In 1560 I notice that Saladin discovered Military Tradition and sign Defensive Pact. This guarantees my safety for the rest of the game, because Saladin is one
of the leaders on the power graph, so nobody will attack us. His love of Theology will keep the +7 shared religion bonus in effect as long as I need it, and my technological help will keep him one of the power leaders despite low GNP. That low GNP also means I donât have to fear his competition in a space race. From this point on, I train almost no units. (I wasn't training more than a couple before either, but I at least kept a few most advanced units available on hand for emergencies.)
We enter Industrial Era in 1570 with discovery of Steam Power. I sell Chemistry to all AIs to see if some of them will discover Steel for me. This also gives me enough cash for many years of deficit rsearch. (I can run 100% research at -79gpt.) I am researching so quickly that it's unlikely I'll be doing much trading in the future.
After discovering Assembly Line in 1600 I direct research straight towards Computers to build Labs. I also revolt to Universal Suffrage, because research rate is almost same and I need the help to fight cultural battles on Egyptian border.
In 1625 Eliz begs for Astronomy and I give it to her, putting her back towards Friendly. (She dropped to Pleased after adopting Free Religion.) Saladin discovers Steel that year and I buy it for Astronomy and Scientific Method. Then I sell Scientific Method to everybody, hoping they'll discover Biology for me.
The great scientist from Physics is used for the 3rd Academy in Seville. I also donate Steam Power to Saladin. He is my main shield and best friend, so I want to make him tech leader among AIs. This gift gives him a chance to discover Railroads for me. He also has low GNP, so I am not afraid of him as competitor in space race.
Statue of Liberty is completed in 1650. I notice that my cities don't have much to build, so I take advantage of Spiritual trait, switching to Representation for a few turns. The switch gives only about 5% improvement in research rate (from 1176 to 1235), while significantly damaging my production so it wasn't worth it. I switch back as soon as 5 turns are over.
The construction of factories and coal plants causes health problems, so I have to cancel a corn-for-gpt deal. I might also have to renegotiate some other deals later.
We enter Modern Era in 1685 with discovery of Radio. I notice that Saladin finally discovered Railroads for me, and buy it for Assembly Line.
One time I notice that Mali has over 700$ for some reason. I take this opportunity to sell him Steel, an old tech known by many others.
In 1720 we discover Computer and complete Broadway. Broadway allows me to renegotiate a lot of trade deals. Research goes into Artillery->Rocketry. Saladin discovered Combustion for me, so I donate him Physics, to be able to buy Combustion for Electricity next turn. I also switch to Representation, because my cities are running out of stuff to build again.
In 1760 we discover Rocketry and start researching Biology->Refrigeration to stop starvation in the Ironworks city and in the city that just lost a farm to Egyptian culture. This is the first time Iâve had to research this branch so early in the Space Race for food/health reasons. Apollo Program is started in Cordoba(16). Revolting to Universal Suffrage and replacing scientist with Engineer cuts the time down to 12 turns. Meanwhile cities are finishing up labs and starting to build research. (Except Barcelona, which is building Culture to avoid losing rice farm.) This would be good time to switch to Free Religion, but that would cause Saladin to drop from Friendly to Pleased, possibly breaking Defensive Pact. That defensive pact is my only protection, so I don't want to do that.
Next research target is Industrialism->Plastics->Robotics. It seems Saladin went straight for Artillery->Rocketry when I gave him Physics, so I am not expecting to buy anything else from him.
In 1806 I got my second Great Engineer from Madrid, so I'll be able to rush Space Elevator in a single turn. Next turn we complete Rock'n'Roll, which was started mainly because there was nothing else useful to build.
Apollo Program is complete in 1810, just as Aluminum is connected and I start work on Casings. There is a lot of research ahead, so it looks like my balance of research v. production was off in favor of production again, so I leave the 3 cities with Academies building research.
In 1822 I hear the sound of war horns... Elizabeth attacks Caesar. I guess she decided to take revenge for the earlier war.
In 1830 we discover Robotics and I start Space Elevator in Toledo, using one of the Engineers to rush it. The other engineer is saved for a possible Golden Age. During this time, I am periodically selling techs to AIs. There is no way they'll catch up to me in the space race, so I want them busily building spaceships, instead of starting various wars involving Saladin and me.
Space Elevator is complete in 1848, just as we finish Genetics and start researching towards Fusion, which will be followed by my traditional closing tech, Ecology. This is the first time I've had to prioritize Genetics branch because of health problems in my cities. I also check the trades screen and see that I can make 1 more trade: Saladin discovered Fission, which I buy for Radio and Refrigeration. I also sell Radio to everybody else, gathering some more cash. (I've been running 100% science at -69gpt for a long time by selling outdated techs to AIs. Once a solid enough tech lead is established and territory is protected by a Defensive Pact, old techs can be sold without fear.)
The Golden Age of Spain starts in 1848, to speed up research of the 3 final techs.
In 1852 we get a great scientist in Seville and use hit to cut a turn off our research into Fiber Optics.
Saladin completes his Apollo Program in 1856. I don't think I have to worry about Space Race. And with +7 for shared religion and half a dozen other bonuses, I don't have to worry about Defensive Pact being broken either.
In 1864 Saladin demands we cancel deals with Mali. I thought Friends weren't supposed to make these kinds of demands.
In 1866, I discover Fusion and start work on last tech, Ecology, while the Engine is scheduled to complete in 10 turns.
In this game I finally learn the value of post-biology farms: Barcelona ended up with 4 farms (including one on rice) and it grew at least 2 sizes in the last few turns, while the rest of my cities are stuck because of lack of food.
Space Race victory in 1884, with just 7 original cities and without starting any wars!
Score 17085 - Augustus Caesar (almost same as my Epic 4 score). Ingame score - 3154.
