Civ6 Adv1 - Imperator Caledornus Toastmasterus of Rome (completed :))

[Caledorn]

Okay, so I am not really so good at reporting games. I figured I'd do some random reports at certain points of the game, so that's how it's going to be. The first report is from turn 65 (arbitrarily chosen number of course - it just seemed like a good time to make the report based on the state of my empire  ).

A few thoughts on my civ, start, etc:

- Rome is a very powerful civ in Civ6 because of the ability to get free roads and tradeposts, and also the free monument that gives 2 culture is an absolutely amazing ability, seeing as the monument is one of the buildings I usually build first in cities except for my capital, due to the need for culture to "research" civics. I've already played Rome earlier, and won a culture victory (I was aiming for science, but the culture victory decided it wanted to step in before that...).
- The start for Rome (I decided to SIP) is not a particularly good one. In Civ6 I have noted that production is king, whereas science was king in Civ5 - and Rome is an atrociously bad production location. On the other side though it's an amazing food production center.
- The starting area around Rome is also definitely not among the best starting areas I've seen! I'm boxed in inside a peninsula-like area, with lots of mountains and jungle to my north, and tundra and snow in the south - and some city states "handily" placed in such a manner that I am seriously contemplating conquering at least one of them. Yay. The mountains will net me two quite good science cities though, so that's not SO bad - but I am very limited in terms of settling new cities without my settlers having to drudge through 1-move tiles in the north. I think I've done a moderately good job at getting things up and running though.
- The barbs are annoying - and they were a real nuiscance in the first 30 or so turns. I even lost my initial warrior and a slinger, that I built early, to them. My city state neighbours saved me though, so Caledornus Toastmasterus did not repeat history and fall to barbarians!
- One goodie hut was nice enough to provide me with a free builder. Yay goodie hut!

My initial build order for Rome, after SIP, was: Scout, Slinger, Settler, Builder
My research order was: Mining (that stone tile is vital for Rome since it provides production), Pottery, Animal Husbandry, Writing, Archery (I got an Eureka thanks to some luck in killing off a barb with my initial slinger - but that cost me the slinger)
My civic order was: Foreign Trade, Craftsmanship, Early Empire, State Workforce, Political Philosophy (to get the first tier governments asap)

As soon as I got Political Philosophy, I decided to go with Autocracy, because of a lot of barb camps that was annoying me.

Screenshots from T65 (Achtung! 2560x1440 resolution )

[Caledorn]

So, the current turn is 126 - another arbitrary number, but seems like a good point to make a report of what's going on. I may play this game to the end today, as I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Noteworthy things that happened since turn 65:

T69: Met Egypt, quite a bit north of me. She wasn't very happy with me because I had a weak military, and she's remained unfriendly throughout the game, although my army is now quite different for reasons you will learn from the rest of this post.
T71: Founded my pantheon (I am not bothering with religion in this game at all, so the pantheon was just a handy bonus really). I went with the "God of the open sky" which gives all pastures +1 culture.
T72: I completed The Pyramids in Rome. Handy wonder with the extra action for all builders, and it also gives me a builder included in the cost.
T77: Met Japan, who is quite a bit west of me. He was quite happy with me, and we sent envoys to eachother.
T78: A barbarian settler that decided to show up on my border a few turns earlier, for reasons unbeknownst to me, had an eureka moment as it was convinced by one of my units that Rome is a great thing to be a part of.
T84: Met Arabia, who is even further west of Japan again. He was also quite happy with me, and envoys were sent yet again to eachother.
T85 (775BC): Medieval Age was reached... I completed the civic Feudalism. I rearranged my government a bit at this point, and chose Feudal Contract (+50% Prod to Med/Ren Ranged units), Limes (+100% Prod to Defensive Buildings), Colonialism (+50% Prod to Settlers) and Serfdom (+2 actions to Builders)
T92: Egypt apparently killed off the city state of Mohenjo-Daro, a city state I hadn't (and still haven't) met. I assume it was north of Egypt in an area I haven't scouted.
T95: A bug (?) shows up as Rome declares war on me (I haven't met another Rome player) - but that war declaration is quickly followed up by a war declaration from Arabia (who was also at war with Japan at the time).
T99: I finish the civic needed to change my government into a Monarchy. My civics are changed quite a bit around, but I didn't write down the exact ones. I have included a screenshot of my current civics below though.
T115: At some point between T99 and T115 Arabia and Japan signs a peace treaty. Yet again Rome shows up to declare war on me (I still haven't met Rome, if there is an additional copy of it in the game) - followed up by a war declaration from Japan.
T126: I got my first Great Scientist. Screenshot attached.

From T115 and outwards I've been killing off both Arabian and Japanese units near my westernmost city, as there are some handy chokepoints there. One of my legions built a Roman Fort, and is fortified inside that, barely taking damage at all from the various attacks from warriors, war chariots, etc. Meanwhile I have another legion, and an archer behind the two legions, picking off units.

I am not making much money at this point, since I needed to use my internal trade route to build a road. I am working on commercial districts (have got one up, and am working on getting my second trade route up which will probably go to one of my city state allies for 10 gold per turn) to get more trade going. But money isn't really an issue.

You'll probably also note that I decided not to chop the forests in Rome, and instead built lumber mills there, because there are (in my opinion) too few production tiles in the capital. I have also built Industrial Districts in several of my cities already, as those districts seem to be the most important district in the game. A small note here is that Germany is an incredibly powerful civilization to play, since their unique building is Hansa, that replaces the Industrial District, and as far as I could tell the build cost of Hansa did not increase every time I built another one, so it was dirt cheap for me to build them in all my cities.

Screenshots from T126 in spoilers

[Caledorn]

Turn 159 (960 AD) - New update

I chose this turn as my next report, since I just advanced to the Industrial Era.

Highlights from the turns since the last turn report:

T127: Japan offered me a peace deal, where they offered me flat 16g and 1 gpt/30 turns. I accepted.
T128: Met Kongo, with whom I was already at war. I suspect this is part of the reason for why I was declared war upon by myself, and that it was in reality Kongo that declared war on me on one of the previous war declarations. I find it a bit funny that a civ I haven't met declared war on me earlier, but I guess this is something that Firaxis will patch at some point. I also used my Great Scientist, who triggered Eurekas for Cartography and Gunpowder (yay!).
T130: I got a Great Engineer - this one was the one that grants 2 uses of 215 production to a wonder. I used these two grants into the Forbidden City a bit later.
T132: Kongo offered a peace deal, where they gave me the Shroud of Turin. Obviously I accepted.  Also Arabia offered a peace deal, offering 9gpt and jade for 30 turns, and flat 3g. I accepted this one too.
T135: 475AD, and I completed my research on Gunpowder. Also found a source of Niter just outside Antium. Gunpowder units incoming!
T142: Both Japan and Kongo decided that it was time to declare war again. These AIs are a bit heavy on the warmongering. It's rather silly to declare war on a civ that has musketmen and crossbowmen, when you're fielding warriors, war chariots, slingers, and so forth in your army.... I hope higher difficulty levels alleviates this.
T146: New Great Engineer. This one triggers an Eureka for the Printing technology, and also allows an extra district in the city I use it in. I chose to use it in Rome 2 turns later.
T153: Japan comes begging for peace, offering me 17gpt/30 turns. I accepted. Next time they declare I am going to retaliate heavily, and conquer Kyoto, so for their sake, let's hope they're wise enough to stop this silliness now.
T154: Another Great Scientist - this one the one that triggers 3 Eurekas for random Ren/Ind Eras. I use it, and it triggered Eurekas for respectively the Siege Tactics, Sanitation and Economics technologies. Handy these GS guys!
T159: Industrial Era entered because I completed the Civil Engineering civic on the previous turn. I also complete the Astronomy tech in the current turn.

It's worth mentioning that I have seen that one of the other civs have enterred the renaissance era, but I don't remember who it was. Probably Egypt, since they've been keeping mostly to themselves up in the north. Somehow, I don't feel very threatened. I know I have already won this game, but I will complete it - probably through a cultural victory, if I don't decide to go all out war on all other civs (even though there are several I haven't even met yet, so I somehow doubt it'll end up with that).

Screenshots (only of my Empire this time - nothing much of note in the research or civic trees, nor is my current government very exciting at the moment)

[Caledorn]

Turn 191 (1300 AD) - Advancement to Modern Era

T172: Kongo asked me for peace, and decided to offer two great works of writing. I accepted, but sadly lost one of them to the great void, as I only had space for one. I also started building Alhambra in Rome.
T173: I finished The Forbidden Palace in Durocortorum. Also got 2 GP. One GE, that grants 2 charges of 315 production to a wonder - and one GM that grants 200 gold and 2 envoys. I followed up The Forbidden Palace by starting Chichen Itza in Durocortorum, as I have a lot of rainforest tiles south of the city, and decide that the GE will be spent on completing that.
T176: Chichen Itza completes in Durocortorum. Also another GS, this time the one that grants 250 sci per mountain tile.
T177: Spend the GS to get 1000 sci. Also met China, and established an embassy with them. He will probably hate me though, as I have built quite a few wonders.
T179: Finished The Great Lighthouse ..... (no comments on this - what on earth is the AI doing?)
T184: Met America
T189: Japan again decides to declare war on me, after I turn down a ridiculous trade agreement from him where he demands 4 of my luxuries in return for 1 of his, open borders and 4 GPT. This time Kyoto falls, as I've had enough of him. Also China randomly declares war. No idea where China even is. I also complete Alhambra in Rome.
T191: Current turn - just entered the Modern Era.

Screenshots

[Caledorn]

Turn 222 (1555 AD) - Advancement to Atomic Era

T192: Got a Great General - this one I rejected, because it gave bonuses to renaissance units, or would make a knight for me. Meh when I am running around with infantry and cavalries.
T193: Completed The Potola Palace in Arpinum. Also got a GE - 2 charges +1 amenity, +1 housing to a city. Used it twice in Rome (T194 and T195).
T194: Captured Kyoto, which incidentally also eliminated Japan. Apparently Hojo Tokimune thought settling more cities was a bad idea? (Added comment on this: It seems that Egypt too hasn't bothered with settling more cities, and feels content with her capital and the city state she conquered early on)
T196: Got a GS - Instantly build a library and university in a campus, and also all universities +2 science. Moved it to Kyoto and promptly used it there on T197.
T205: Got a Great Admiral - affects renaissance and industrial units (a bit meh), but also can convert a naval unit into an armada, so this one I took and will save for a battleship.
T208: Got a GE - Gives 1 eureka to a random modern tech, and all workshops +1 culture. The eureka went to Combustion - not a bad tech to get an eureka for.
T211: Completed the Suffrage civic, and changed the government to a Democracy.
T216: Started building the Venetian Arsenal in Ravenna (Will take 18 turns). This wonder isn't amazing on this particular map, as it is a pangaea map - but this wonder is seriously on my list of potential overpowered wonders. Get 1 free naval unit every time you build a naval unit, in any city, and not just the city with the wonder? That's potentially completely ridiculous on an island map! (Mind you: It doesn't apply if you buy the unit - it needs to be built manually - but still?)
T219: Completed The Terracotta Army in Durocortorum (Yeah, these ancient wonders... In this case though it is a bit handy, because it allows archaeologists to ignore closed borders, which might come in handy as I think I'm going for a culture victory here).
T222: Completed the Cold War civic, and entered the Atomic Era.

Screenshots

[Caledorn]

Turn 252 (1705 AD) - Advancement to Information Era

This will be the final report before the game end report.

T222: Founded Lugdunum in the snow and tundra south of Rome, mainly to avoid having to keep a unit around, and to get some more people in an area that at least has some food resources. Turns out there's oil right outside the city, so that wasn't a bad choice at all! Also got a Great Merchant that gives me +1 Economic Policy Slot in any government.
T226: Founded Cumae west of Kyoto.
T229: Got a Great Scientist that gives eureka for Chemistry and 1 random industrial tech. I apparently had eurekas for all other industrial techs, since he only gave me the eureka for Chemistry - but that's okay.
T230: Got a Great Writer (Margaret Cavendish).
T231: Founded Mediolanum in the north west area.
T234: Finished the Venetian Arsenal in Ravenna. Also got a Great Engineer - instantly complete a factory, and +2 production from all factories. Used it in the industrial district of Ostia that didn't have a factory.
T236: Got a Great Admiral (renaissance era) that I just skipped. No benefits. Also founded Arretium in the north west.
T239: Got a Great Artist (1 religious, 2 sculture works). Also, funnily enough, Roosevelt denounced me for having different governments this turn. Note that I am still in democracy, while America is in theocracy. The irony
T249: Got a Great Engineer that gives 2 uses of 480 production to a wonder.
T251: Completed Oxford University in Caesaraugusta. Also got 2 Great Generals in one turn. Both affect Industrial/Modern units. One of them forms an army out of one unit. The other one gives 2 envoys. I retired the latter for the envoys, since I'm not that interested in war.
T252: Advancement to the Information Era, after researching Telecommunications. Also gained a Great Merchant that gives 500 gold and 2 envoys.

Screenshots

Victory condition status screenshot

[Caledorn]

Turn 291 (1842 AD) - Culture victory achieved - 852 points (Screenshot says 857, because I had to click "Just one more turn")

T253: Ruhr Valley complete in Rome. Also got a Great Scientist that gives 500 sci per adjacent natural wonder tile.
T254: Cristo Redentor complete in Durocortorum.
T256: Egypt declares surprise war on me.
T257: Colosseum complete in Rome (affects Rome, Arpinum, Ravenna and Brundisium). Also Broadway complete in Arpinium.
T258: I got a funny achievement. Apparently the Great Scientist I got in T253 was Charles Darwin, and activating him near the Galapagos Islands gives the achievement "Origin of the Species".
T261: Got a Great Engineer that gave a Eureka for the Computers tech (useless to me since I researched that ages ago), and also +1 district in the city it's used in. Because of the latter, I didn't skip.
T252: Got a Great Writer (Goethe)
T263: Got a Great Admiral that I skipped. I then captured Egypt's capital Râ-Kedet, which also handily contained a settler.
T265: Got a Great General that I skipped.
T269: Captured Mohenjo-Daro from Egypt, which I liberated to again become a city state (it gives culture), and which also resulted in the elimination of Egypt. Also got a Great Artist (van Rijn)

After this, I got a whole bunch of Great People from Turn 274 and outwards. I also founded Hispalis in the north. From T274 to T291, I got 3 Great Musicians, 2 Great Artists, 2 Great Writers, 1 Great Admiral and 1 Great Engineer. I was just doing my turns quickly while letting my culture and tourism do it's work to my way to the culture victory.

Something I noticed during my exploration was that London was an American city, so it would appear that Mr. Oh-so-peaceful-on-his-own-continent Roosevelt wasn't so peaceful after all, and eliminated Victoria from the game. Also it was quite funny to ignore religion, and see all the hordes of apostles and missionaries running amok around the map. My cities were regularly converted from one religion to another, except for Rome, which it didn't seem as if they wanted to bother too much with for some reason.

Final Screenshots (Note that the screenshots state turn 292, but that's because I had to click "Just one more turn" to get screenshots)

Also screenshots of my government, my trade routes, and my city state envoys.

Thanks for setting up this adventure! I had a lot of fun, and I hope there will be more - perhaps at higher difficulties. :

Sorry about my rather informational and boring reports - I hope they were of some interest. Any comments, thoughts, questions, etc are more than welcome!