Warlords 2 - Imhotep's shadow²

[Imhotep]

Hello guys,

I finally decided to play Warlords 2, as I thought that it would be a nice game. The game deadline was some time ago, but I didn't care. So this is a shadow game, and strangely the very first report on Warlords 2. Maybe some other players are inspired by this report to try the game themselves. Though I have to admit that it won't poise any great challenge to players who win on Monarch+ regularly. But this is as it should be because it was labeled as Gentle Adventure. If you need more information about the setup or even the savefile, then this is the place to click...

The settings in short:

Sponsor: Sirian
Opening Date: Monday, November 20
Duration: Four Weeks
Game Speed: Normal

Difficulty: Noble
Civilization: England
Leader: Churchill
World Size: Standard
Map: Shuffle, Random Climate
Victory: Any
Rules: Standard
Version: Warlords v208

Variant Rules: You MUST adopt Universal Suffrage the turn you are enabled to do so.

Scenario: This is a Gentle Adventure.

Scoring: None.

Closing Day: Monday, December 18. Reports due by Dec 19.

This report will contain 74 (!) screenshots. This is the reason why the thread is so long, AFAIK only 5 images per postimng are allowed.

And now... on to "Warlords 2 - the worst form of government" !

The Beginnings

I opned up the starting save and founded London right on the spot. As this game was only on Noble I thought it would be a good idea to go for Hinduism. So the first research went into Mysticism. I also started with a Worker build at London since England starts with Mining and there were some hills around London. After 6 turns I had researched Mysticism, and then tried to get Hinduism. And after another 10 turns...



Okay, that worked. I like having a religion not only for the happiness and production boost (when running Organized Religion) but also for those nice shiney $$$ if you can build the shrine. Naturally I would try for Stonehenge and the Great Proghet Points - a decision that was made a lot easier by this:



This was the second city I founded. Its main purpose is to grab that stone, but it was not too bad in other senses too.

I then made contact with Mehmed II of the Ottomans. He did settle quite boldly towards me, so I had to ensure that I could grab some good spots. This was my third choice:



Remember that I mentioned Stonhenge ? Well, even as non-industrial Civ those wonders fall easy if you have modifier resources. And so it was no surprise that this happened...



Still grabbing land is in most cases more important than getting wonders, and so I decided on my 4th city.



continues with Part II...

[Imhotep]

Well, grabbing land sure is more important than getting wonders. But I'm quite addicted about the latter, and so I had to try with all of them of course :D . But I had forgotten my neighbors seemingly...



On the other hand it was quite nice for Mehmed to build the Great Wall for me. Target 1: Istanbul. Noted.

A must have in most games for me is the Pyramids. Well, here it is:



You remember the variant rules, right ? Well, it said that Universal Suffrage had to be adopted for good at the very first possible time. And I did the following...



This is why I played a shadow² - I even broke that simple variant rule ! It was unintentional of course because adopting Representation is a standard move for me. Maybe this is the reason I play not too many Adventures/Epics - I'm quite overwhelmed by following even simple rules...

Apart from government issues there was still more land to grab:



And I discovered I had another neighbor. Hello my friend ! Doesn't he look cute ?



continues with Part III...

[Imhotep]

I was quite lucky with Great Persons during the game, but this one was especially cool. Although I was hoping for a Great Prophet I got a Great Scientist. Well, early Academy here we come...



And here is another city that was founded only because of the marble resource nearby. Not too great, but hey, it can grow to size 8 !



Meanwhile Mehmed had not stopped settling in what was rightfully MY land, and so it was time to teach him a lesson:





Those wars are fun - if you're on the winning side. Target 1 was Istanbul, right ? Could I capture it ?



continues with Part IV...

[Imhotep]

I could :D .



I then made peace with Mehmed, not only because I lacked the forces to drive him out entirely, but because those peace techs did really help me.



I then noticed I had broken the variant rules. Okay, time for punishment:



Swap to Universal Suffrage...



...with immediate 3 red shirts while building the Great Library. Of course those red shirts didn't stay too long :D :



continues with Part V...

[Imhotep]

I was so sorry I couldn't run Representation. But hey, I guess that was the goal of this game.

I then remembered Mehmed had not suffered enough yet, and so I prepared for war a second time.



But I don't want to seem like I could only rob what others have built - no no, here is my 6th city, founded all alone just after the war horns sounded.



Those cities fell like flies...





continues with part VI...

[Imhotep]

Well, after so much blood the cuiltured and civilized man needs some distraction. Don't you think ?



Peace talks were again needed, as my forces needed 7 turns anyway to reach the East were Mehmed had his last hideout. I know this is cheap cheating, and even on Noble level, but hey...he wanted to give me Monarchy, why shouldn't I take it ?



The destruction of some minor cities of Mehmed did free some space that I could claim. There goes Settler #7:



And then it was the final curtain for my nice friend I had so much fun with.





continues with Part VII...

[Imhotep]

Compared to the others I was seemingly in good shape. Especially the production did make me feel pleasant, it is always a good sign if you're stronger there than your opponents.



After some time I then met the first inhabitant of the other continent. I would give anything for such a nice golden hat...



He was quite ahead of me in tech, which was kind of surprising. Well, Universal Suffrage isn't that useful if you have no towns yet...



I was so annoyed at that that I needed some more distraction .



Technologically I was trying to rush for Liberalism and the free tech, but Huayna was there before me (which you can see in that tiny little message I should have cut out )



continues with Part VIII...

[Imhotep]

Well, wonders are some kind of distraction. But always looking at matrble and stone buildings the whole time isn't that satisfying. Maybe some blood will do, eh ?



The first city fell quickly, but Saladin was no easy prey. Those protective CGII Longbows can sure hold their ground...



Still being not top in this unimportant category is a thing worth mentioning...



The war went quite good for me. This is the fall of Medina, Saladin's second best city.



Being a general of war doesn't mean you're not educated. And so I built me my own University...



continues with Part IX...

[Imhotep]

A little later on I met JC. Yeah, I like salad !



He was doing quite bad. I dunno what happened, but maybe he had no Iron. He never was a major player in the game, which was quite unusual.

Still there were more Arab cities to capture.



Call me Cheater. I like that.



Things now really became interesting when this guy appeared on the scene.



He did hate me, as all of the newcomers from the other continent. And you know what those religion driven nuts can do. But we were still miles away from Astronomy, so I wasn't too frightened.

I then captured Mecca, the once proud capital of the Arabs. 2 more crap cities, and the continent is mine !



continues with part X...

[Imhotep]

Mecca came with some nice wonders. Thank you for building 'em, Sally !



Then he pulled the last straw too. Now that continent was mine.



The problem now was that the population and land did not suffice for domination yet, and I still lacked Astronomy. S I went into builder mode and improved my continent. I had captured it wholly by 1580. I guess with a little more concentration I could have won the game earlier, but who cares...

Then I met the last Civ, which was #1 in power too:



A barb city had survived the turmiols of 5600 years. Obviously neither Saladin nor Mehmed had success in capturing it, but my Redcoats made a short story of it.



And yet another wonder. Well, you know.



continues with part XI...