GKC's BadGame PB13 Thread on RB (Now with Ladder Game Reports!)

[GeneralKilCavalry]

There is a real mathematical benefit to binary research: delay your gold-to-beakers conversion until after you've built a science multiplier.  Save up 100 gold, build a library, and then you can get 125 beakers out of it.  You effectively get the science multiplier on economy produced before the library was built.

Makes sense. I know the general reasons for why binary research is beneficial and I tend to use it, but thought it was overkill to use it on techs that I’m researching in 1 turn anyways.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

I remember this post in the war academy from way back when:

https://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strateg...-research/

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Printing press in 1 turn will give a major boost to the economy. After that, I detour to optics to start pumping privateers out of Tel Fyr in order to dominate the seas against gashbears or bingo or borsche. It might not do much overall, but it's an annoyance and means that they have to divert forces to defend the coast.

Hopefully, I get something other than a merchant, kick off a nice little golden age, and with 4 turns of income under the belt, rush thru some key techs. If I get a merchant,  I'll angrily bulb techs and flip shit.

So tech path:

optics/compass -> education -> gunpowder ->replaceable parts -> rifling -> nationalism -> mil sci.


Then probably rush for assembly line.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Screenshot dump over.

Borsche's insane GNP is not golden age, but he has sistene, a ton of culture, and is probably converting most of that MFG into gold. Unless he expands, he's hard capped, he's 5th in crops (TBW is not pictured in the demos).

TBW was surprise-attacked by Juri, so TBW had to pop a premature golden age, switch to nationalism and draft his moai city to save it from destruction. Apparently, CR3, combat 1 maces do well even in amphibious assults against longbows in cities.

My long MoM-induced golden age is quite nice, I have no chance of grabbing Taj, but my plan is to get a great scientist for a much-needed academy, education next turn to quickly get oxford, and otherwise rush to rifles - my main threats are on narrow land-bridges, so using 1-movers should be totally fine against them. My knights can conquer the softer targets like bingo/juri if necessary, but having to build wealth in some of my main production centers has been economically detrimental.

Right now, I'd say TBW has the best chance of winning, around 35%, Borsche at 30%, me at 30%, and boak at around 5% (only because he's the only financial leader of the top bunch, and therefore the only one with a persistent economic trait). When Borsche has to get scientific method, that's going to lose him so many key wonders. Gashbears is similarly screwed - astronomy makes his colossus obsolete, and he underexpanded and has boakl to the south and me to the north. Bingo overexpanded without a good dot map or worker micro, he could have been a top player but things just didn't work out.

I still have two cities I need to settle, I'll be pushing those out quite soon, one settler is in two turns, and will need around 4-5 to get to its location, and then another one in two turns again, with 3 turns to location.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Juri caused a lot of damage to TBW. He's had to draft a ton, and his cities aren't growing. I will be attacking Juri in 2-3 turns to snipe a few border cities, weakening his position, and giving me a foothold on the inner sea next to TBW. From there, a strike with privateers/caravels could do extensive damage.

The main worry right now is of course Gashbears, who is unlikely to attack Borsche, has numerous barriers with TBW, and has a truce with boak. However, his productive capability is very limited, and does not yet have rifles or cuirs, whereas I'm getting replaceable parts -> rifling by the end of this golden age (8 turns or something).

Overall, I've really enjoyed this pitboss, there aren't any complete pushovers, and despite bingo/juri pllaying suboptimally in dotmapping and micro, the game is far from being solved.

[superdeath]

Rough chances for everyone to win? Or what is your "must do this, and i win" plan?

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Rough chances for everyone to win? Or what is your "must do this, and i win" plan?

I think TBW’s have gone down a lot. It’s probably 35% between me and borsche, 25 for TBW, and the remaining between boat and gashbears. 

Borsche is screwed once PHI stops pumping great people fast enough and wonders go obsolete. 

I’m the only one with printing press right now, and I’m 3 turns from replaceable parts, which should boost my MFG significantly. 

My plan in the short term is to catch up on some basics that I don’t have - I haven’t been able to make an academy, I need to get oxford university. That will give me 350 or so beakers a turn alone, and will keep my post-golden age GNP on par. 

Long run - I need railroads. Defending this empire with two-movers is still a headache, and I have plenty of mines and lumber mills that would benefit from rails. Machine guns on chokepoints are very effective as well. Combine this defensive posture again gashbears and borsche with an offensive one against bingo and Juri. This should be a winning combination.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Enough gold-saving from this turn so that I will be able to directly go for replaceable parts and rifling. However, I think getting liberalism for the free religion swap is more important than shaving a turn off of rifling, so that will come first. I could do replaceable parts now to get an extra turn of really nice 1f/5h tiles, but I have 4 universities coming next turn, so better to save gold right now. Scientist in 3 turns will become an academy, further boosting the output from the capital.

Another argument is that getting representation/free religion is more important, but I want to have rifles to defend from borsch/gash.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Let's start counting.

I lost:
6 cats, 5 knights, 1 rifle
300+450+110 = 860 hammers

Gash lost:
13 grens, 4 muskets
1300 + 360 = 1660 hammers

2:1 trade basically, and I got 2 GG's and a bunch of promotions.

[GeneralKilCavalry]

Another 180 hammers reaped from Gashbears - 2 workers and a crossbow.

Also above are images of some of my best cities. Note the turn - 148.

Question - do the military academies that great generals build apply to ships?

edit:

Great wall? Totally worth it, I'm almost at my third great general with only a bit of combat having occurred. Settling one in heroic epic city, waiting on this bit of lurker input to determine what to do with the second.