[Spoilers] Molach, Napoleon and the Incas

[Molach]

Opening my starting save now.

Fingers crossed.

(More to come tomorrow).

[BRickAstley]

How's life in New Inca?

[Molach]

Sorry been to busy to even check my own thread

Playing turn by turn. Employing a lot of workers.
I seem to be score leader as well, I'll have to rectify this.

(Will do some historcal picture update sometime 'soon')

[Molach]

Okay, slightly late but here is turn 1 report. (While waiting for a save that failed to appear)

The land:


Nice and green, and cities doing some nice things. Seems I let my northern neighbour settle behind my lines....
no wait, that is not my northern neighbour, that is Ragnar, from the far side of the world. Sure, there was probably nothing important there anyway.

Overview with resources:


Yeah, those Oliphaunts in Jute were not important, who needs happy or war elephants.

(Fix this


He accepted on his turn. This deal is still running, 13 turns after I made it, but that is another story....

Tech situation at start:


I'm...in the lead? Haven't done a real analysis here. Mr. turban on the bottom can also research "compass".

Civics:


Buddhism is spread far and wide, and from last pic we see that our AI is building a lot of buildings. There must be some reason why we aren't in org.rel, perhaps I shouldn't mess with civics and follow mr AI's master plan? However we also have bureaucracy available, so I decide to make my first intervention here: Revolt to Organized religion and Bureaucracy. This has the added advantage of putting us into anarchy, which means I can delay my build- and tech choices another day.

My military:


The cities, overview:


Not shown: Great library has a (34) turn build time.

City by city:

Decent city...no wait no food. I have NO way to get irrigation through here, so those plains are -1 food unless some friendly neighbour chain-irrigates his own land up to my border. +2 food from city center and +2 food from dry wheat is as good as it gets for now. And heroic epic is here. Hanging gardens too, I'm actually glad for extra culture up here, as this is a very exposed city. Built forge then units here.



Hm. Long-term I'll get this irrigated for some +food. For now I used it to very slowly grow, and working the gold when commerce was low. Forge, then a few catapults.



Ah, my capital. Hurmph. Yes, it is tempting to get another 2 hammers out of those costal tiles, especially since I'm going into bureau - but no. I built some missionaries from here, then forge, then a wonder. Not moai stones, sorry mr. AI.



Another okay city. One might ask mr. know-it-all AI if THIS is not a slightly better location for Moai. Or not. Perhaps best not to know such things. There is stone for +100% build speed, and there are some forests here. And okay potential for mines. So...yeah. In the end I went worker then forge, then christian missionary for capital. And in about 20 turns I'll get that dry wheat irrigated, yay.



Ah, a bit better on food.

In fact, so good that I designated this as my NE city – built a forge then NE. Sent one worker here to chop forests and irrigate grasslands.



Okay city. I had to farm over one of the plains cottages to the west, to bring some needed water to a needy city. Otherwise this is a typical “city”. Nice cottages, enough food to grow as big as it wants. Possible late-game IW site – watermill and levee all around. Who knows?



The crown jewel of the Mincan empire. Claims an all-important stone...no wait I already had stone. And the potential for growth, yes staggering. Staggered growth. I'm getting the 5 plains to the South-East of the hills irrigated, then it can be size 6 and work 5 plains, city centre and iron mine. 11 hammers per turn. Plains to the North-West can't be irrigated unless my neighbours chain water closer. Or I capture that land and do it myself.



Another food-rich utopia. I'll bring some water to this region, let the city grow to size 10 or so.



I started with a settler, and this is where I sent him. Ice prevents work boats from reaching the clams, but in a move of considerable foresight my predecessor has sent a work boat halfway around the world. It will enjoy open borders with my neighbours, and arrive in about 15 turns, great timing there.



Second plan I decided to pursue - the great irrigation. Once completed several cities will be able to grow into usefulness again.

For builds, cities without buddhism produced workers, those with did forges (had to research it first, naturally). Then a few courthouses - both for maintenance as well as espionage points because my predecessor had sent almost every covert operative against the Creator's soon-to-be-dead civ.

This concludes my report of the starting position of Inca, renamed Minca after I took it over. My predecessor did an awesome job, there was little to correct. He put me in what can only be described as the #1 position, even though some other guy has a lot of wonders.

TL;DR -
Revolt into bureau & OR.
Set a lot of cities to build workers.
Bought a city from Ruff (not a neighbour) for 200 gold and loan of stone over 10 turns.
Researched forges. Or metal casting.

I finally got a save 15 minutes ago, so will play that now.

Soon to come - quick pictorial of turns leading up to present.

[Molach]

Turn 1:
Shaka offered me elephants for silk (accepted, even though I already got spices for silk from him)
Shaka also offered copper for copper (accepted)
America offered open borders (accepted)

Started building 3 courthouses, 2 catapults, 1 buddhist missionary and 3 workers.
(In hindsight I think 2 more workers would have been good)

Suleiman went org. rel. too.
---
Turn 2:
Demographics at start:


---
Turn 3:
Ruffnar completed collossus.
I completed Metal forging, err casting and went music, to chase the free artist. Builds were set to forge in a lot of cities.

By the way, Kuro had some funny messages when he sent my save along. He is my northern neighbour, playing america. Named himself Stephen Colbert in the game.
"All American PBEM 60 save! All praise the founting fathers"
"Savilization - beyond the save"
(after I switched name to Mapoleon)
"The save. IT CONTAINS A MAP MAPOLEON WE ALL KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LIKE MAPS YOU MAP MAN"
"CRY HAVOC AND LET SLIP SNOOP DOGG OF WAR"
"YEEEHAH - WE WILL SAVE YOU FROM YOUR FORUM FREE SPEECH OPPRESSION GOOD NON-AMERICAN CITIZEN"
"Gondor calls for help. Caw caw"
Then Whosit took over the emailing and he just calls it the save.

---
Turn 5:
Commodore revolted into serfdom and vassalage. He also demanded corn from me. I gave it to him.
Quict building going on. I'm spreading buddhism to my 4 non-buddhist cities, to speed up their forges and courthouses from Org. Rel. My military has finished moving about, mostly.

Here's my national epic city shaping up:

Still nice GPP generation even though no NE. My first plan was to either get a GP for buddhist shrine, or a scientist for academy in capital. Academy would give about 27 beakers at my current break-even science, while shrine gives (15*1,25) 19. It also gives some GPP in NE city (I ended up getting the GP)

Kuro/Whosit completed the great library
Ruffnar completed Hagia Sofia

I hit end of turn, and got the music free great artist. I'm saving him for a golden age.
I still have no graphs, except on Kuro.

---
Turn 6:
Nothing much. Demographics are showing that one player is gathering up quite an army, but still no graphs so I don't know who. (Captain Hindsight tells us it is Commodore, of course)

Research set to Paper.
---
Turn 7:
zzz. Shakinator (Hashoosh) starts a golden age.
---
Turn 8:
Paper researched, started University of Sankore. HE city finished with forge, so expect all units for the rest of the game.
Commodore war/peace-d Kuro.
---
Turn 11:


As Commodore and Shakinator's graphs come in, we see that one civ is about to hurt.



Techs and such. Commodore can research Guilds. And Shakinator seems ready to work in Liberalism.

---
Turn 14:


Ruff is under attack.

My plan from here - is to use my superior tech advantage to get my too-small stack catapulted and old-unit'd to death. I'm researching guilds, and built about 4 stables. Gonna produce knights in all my mediocre cities.
---

I think that about covers it. No recent turn - and they tend to come in late at night, so I either play in a hurry and have no time to report, or I stall the game for a day.

A slight bonus, my bonus plan:

I also got an unexpected great engineer from NE city, so I'll use that to get the Taj. I'll pop my own GA soon, probably do some pacifism like all the cool guys, research Nationalism and pop the Taj, then get cuirassers. Never used them much, bonus effect is making my music reseach non-wasted too.
So philosophy, nat, gunpowder, military science, with a side order of engineering and banking.

I'm great at planning, right?

My target - should probably be commodore, but I might do well to overrun Kuro/Whosit's america to my north, get a little more land, relieve Ruffnar of pressure and get ready for the final showdown with Commodore.

Not sure if I can build fast enough army though.

[Molach]

Okay okay.

I got Philosophy, revolted to caste + pacifism. Am researching full speed towards nationalism, but ....


Shaka (retep) got a great engineer. Terrible news, he can now take the Taj mahal - he will probably get libaralism in a few turns, take nationalism and pop the Taj. I'll get nationalism myself in 3 turns, but he will most likely get it first.

Tech situation now:


Still no research visibility on anyone, so no idea who are collecting gold and who are researching. My rival for the game is Shaka, I think. Commodore will have a huge army, but will also fall behind in tech. Perhaps huge army is all Commodore needs to rule?

Graphs:








Demos while I'm in golden age are nice:


My forces:


Still haven't gone to town on unit building. Many cities have just received water thru farms to start growing. But I'm steadily building some knights and catapults. I can also save up some gold and upgrade my old chariots to knights.

And I will strike at Stephen Colbert. Here is why:


...he is being very careful to not irrigate near to my border, letting my poor HE city stay at middle size and working cottages instead of utilizing those nice hills.

One might say the same for commodore, but
a. He has a larger army
b. He is Commodore, I'm terrified of warring with him
c. His forces will (hopefully) be obsolete enough in 25 turns' time that I can take him with more advanced units without too much problems.

[Molach]

Instructions for a lurker:

* password: rohan
* research: printing press (I'll select this on friday sometime) at 100 % gold.
* builds: catapults and cuirassiers, keep building whichever the city built last turn.
* movement: no need to move them, war is still a few turns off

* target: Undecided, commodore or stephen colbert, west or north.
* plan: Cash in great merchant, as well as gathering up lots of gold. Upgrade army to all macemen, pikemen and cuirassers. Kill a neighbouring civ. Then get rifles, hopefully draft my (new) empire into the ground and conquer another round of cities. Win by submission.

[Molach]

News since last update:
Stayed in nationalism, drafted a little bit here and there, but mostly build cuirassers.
RuffHi declared on Commodore, took back a city and caused some losses.

Poor Commodore has been forced to keep forces defending against possible attack from me - my buildup was no secret, had open borders all around. However I placed them where they could either hit Whosit to the north or strike due east at Commodore.

Whosit's forces are out of reach, he has 30 catapults and lost of oliphaunts I can't hit - I could take a city but then be destroyed in a counterattack. So I went west.

I declared war on Commodore this turn, invaded with cuirassers against his two border cities.


I sent all the cuirs I could until the city SW was taken, which opened up a roaded tile so I could reinforce with my slow-movers. Then I hit the city NW but was 1 mounted unit short of taking it. Maybe just as well. Sent half a stack of slowmovers there too. Also sent a miniscule stack to border city far south, not sure if they can carry that place but ties up his troops. Rest of Commodoria is lightly defended, he can whip a lot but not draft for another turn or two. And luckily he will draft macemen and not pikes, which would have hurt more.

I have a slight stack ready to defend the north if Whosit jumps in, muskets and some cats, he will hurt me if he attacks but should be turned back with whips and drafts. And I could spare 20 cuirs from the western front now, which will kill his nice catapult stack.

My next techs are rep. parts and then rifling.

I lost about 10 cuirs, killed 30 units. Many of my new cuirs are damaged, but should have promotions so they could keep going.

[Molach]

Apologies for poor reporting, but it was a fun enough variant to play.

Commodore hurt me as much (or more) as he could, taking out quite a few cuirassiers in a counterattack. But with Shakinator closing from the west his empire was very doomed.

My plan was...probably... to get rifling, then go to war against Shakinator with rifles and cavalry. So in hindsight going west through Commodore to challenge my rival was the only sensible course there, not sure what I was thinking about going north.

But it would have been a pretty long slog, so am pleased enough we ended here. Point proven, either Napoleon was the best AI here with cottages (a lot near capital) and teching (had bureaucracy ready from turn 0) or the lay of the land was just the best for me. Guess I had the most room.

Preventing the back-door religious win was my only way to lose (after not getting dogpiled early on) and it was preventable, so no excuses here.

Thanks to the mapmaker and AI-weed-watcher.

[Molach]

Total losses/kills in Commodore war:
Swordman - 1 lost 2 killed
Axeman - 2 lost 4 killed
Maceman - 4 killed
Spearman - 5 killed
Pikeman - 1 lost 17 killed
Musketman - 1 lost
Archer - 6 killed
Longbowman - 8 killed
Knight - 4 killed
Cuirassiers - 21 lost (had 32 left when game over)
War elephant - 1 killed
Catapult - 14 lost 15 killed

Rather heavy considering tech advantage.