Qwack until 1000 AD

[Qwack]

I have only played until 1000 AD so far and will have to post a shadow game up later on since I didn't have time to finish. I will try to have a report up by next week on my website, if anyone wants to read it.

Once I saw the start, my basic strategy was to chop the pyramids and run a massive specialist economy, with a no-cottage variant. I wasn't too happy with the leader darreljs picked for this as I was actually in the middle of a game with pericles where I was running a similiar specialist economy.

Initial tech path was Agriculture -> Mining -> Bronze Working. Capital builds were warrior -> worker at size 2. Once I found stone in 3520, my chop pyramids plan was further reinforced. The land around us was also nice for SE's, as it had high food and ability to put alot of cities into a small amount of land and still running 3+ specialists per city.

After BW, tech path was wheel -> Archery -> Animal Husbandry -> Masonry. I got pyramids in 775 BC, then met Darius soon after. Darrelljs apparently picked all techwhore AI's it seems. I found this to be a very nice game design, trying to outtech the techwhores with as much land as them.

Situation at 25 AD:



At this point, the tech brokering bug came in. I tried to research things nobody else had to trade, but could not figure out who had what and that kind of hurt my situation. First tech I went after to trade was Aesthetics, but suddenly on the turn I finished it, both mansa musa nad darius magically had the tech.. . Met hatty in 760 AD, and was finally able to pull off a trade, as somehow she didnt have currency up until that point. My first trade of the game was Iron working, meditation and preisthood from hatty for currency from me.

Anyways, founded a few more cities, met asoka in 860 AD, who had run away in every aspect. He was tech leader by a mile, and had 28% of world population, but less land than hatty. After I met Asoka, I figured out that I could not outtech these AI's without trading and with no cottages, so I decided that the easiest way to win the game would be beeline to mass media and diplomatic. I was trying to do a liberalism -> Astronomy slingshot, but had bad luck with great people, as I popped 1 great merchant and 1 great engineer when I needed a GS to lightbulb education.

1000 AD situation:


I dont even know if any of the AI's have researched liberalism because I was not paying attention to the announcements and its impossible to figure it out from the tech trade screen.. Not sure if I would even win this game (The question isnt my relations with the AI's, but the AI's relations with eachother). Oh yeah, Mansa Musa had Astronomy and galleons at this point



Overall, I must say this was a great scenario design. First time I have been outteched by the AI on emperor in a while when playing a peaceful game. The tech brokering bug was annoying for me, but otherwise nice scenario darrell.

[sooooo]

Get out of my head! You had the same initial build order, tech order, and city placement for your first 3 cities. Looks like I was lucky to get a backwards Asoka if yours was so strong. Will be interested to read the finished report.

[darrelljs]

Qwack,

Did you have to pace your expansion as a result of the variant rule? From reading sooooo's report I got the impression he was right up to the edge the whole time, and I think that was a key component to his win (although I am very curious to know the tech situation at the end of his game). Your pace was a bit more measured and I wonder if that was a factor. Also, from the last fly over I saw what looked like a lot of cottages, do you go with a hybrid economy?

It looks like an interesting situation you are in, without the recourse of war I'm curious to see how you will fare. I will definitely read your full report if you put one up.

Darrell

[Qwack]

Qwack,

Did you have to pace your expansion as a result of the variant rule? From reading sooooo's report I got the impression he was right up to the edge the whole time, and I think that was a key component to his win (although I am very curious to know the tech situation at the end of his game). Your pace was a bit more measured and I wonder if that was a factor. Also, from the last fly over I saw what looked like a lot of cottages, do you go with a hybrid economy?

Darrell

I actually did not really have to pace my expansion because Hatty quickly expanded in my game and had alot of land very early, however I was concentrating on other things so much that I really could not expand as quickly as I wanted. (I kept trying to get technologies nobody had to trade around, but whenever I got those tech's, everyone had them.. ).

Also, I had 0 cottages, which was a variant I set for myself at the start of the game. All of those are actually farms, they just look like cottages from the level of zoom. The tech situation in my game was not great for me. Mansa Musa already had Astronomy at 1000 AD, and Asoka had 30% of the world population and like a 10 tech lead on me. I will get liberalism around 1140 AD, however there is no guarantee that I will be the first to get to it anyways.. If I do get to it first, ill probably be taking astronomy for free..