Adventure 1: The Quickening, by Carloz

[Carloz]

This is going up a little later than I had wanted. I kind of forgot that I had finished this game in the flury of the semester ending. After I post this, I will probably not be back that much(midterms) till around Feb 3 or 4th.

Notes on Format – If you have questions about the format, feel free to ask. What I’m doing with my format is noting the dates of major events, and occasionally interspersing my thought processes. For those of you who are familiar with reading Epics (I’ve been lurking around here since Epic 35 or so), you’ll note that there is a spectra between analysis (motives, logic) and logging (events, mostly). I think I’ve struck a nice balance, though I’m leaning more toward analysis, since I’m writing this more to be a bit of a beginner’s “companion,” as it were, to compare a mid-level (Prince) player to a total n00b. I think this game, in particular, was a great opportunity for said new players: it provides an excellent combination of hands-on experience (playing your own game) and being able to see theory (which, I think, is more critical than many players think). These two factors synergize and create a perfect situation for teaching, since the player has a much better grasp of the circumstances behind the choices made. I also think mine will be useful since I went with a somewhat atypical victory. And I will be less wordy with the rest of the report(until the conclusion) and I do realize that I made a pretty unnecessary Urugharak reference.

5000bc: Finish an earlier game. Patch CIV to 1.52. DL the save. Overclock my graphics card like crazy.

4000bc: PAIN! I don’t know if it was the patch or the fact that I directly launched the save, but the game starts up with High Graphics. I quickly prevent my computer from melting.
I decide on the tech path Farming => Animal Husbandry => Bronze Working. More chop-happy people will probably go Bronze Working => Farming => Animal Husbandry. I chose my path, not so much for the wheat tile, but so that I could use the wheat AND the pigs faster. The other logic here is that I wanted to do an axe rush, which is highly useful on Small Terra, which is incredibly cramped early on.

3960bc: Run into Isabella. I could just feel the groans from the collected Iz-haters, but I was more disappointed than anything else. I wasn’t going for an early religion, so my plan, diplomatically, was to convert to the most convenient religion. This would, normally, be whatever Spain is using, since you get ridiculous bonuses for being the same religion as her, and she goes from being a dangerous lunatic to a very stalwart ally. She’s close enough that she’ll be dead before that’s likely to happen, this time.

I decide RBCIV is a boring name. I switch it to Boadicea of the Britons.

Run into Peter. Good thing. I hate Catherine. She’s way too likely to backstab for my comfort.

3500bc: Find Freddy. That means one more AI. This is more cramped than the last Small Terra I played. High water level?

3280bc: I find the Shoker. I don’t find his pupils. And that closes the “find AI’s” stage of the game.

I decide on a plan: Kill, Kill, Kill! Iz MUST go in classical in order for me to expand, and I will hopefully have the momentum to take out Freddy before the middle ages dawn.

Iz founds Hindu(okay, I forgot to note the date) and Buddhism in Madrid. Nice.

Shimatta! No copper immediately available (well, there weren’t that many hills, so I’m not that surprised). Go hunting => Archery.

2520bc: Since getting a metal is prioridad uno, I decide to found York on a desert tile. I’ll explain some of my logic below:



York was founded on iGo ideas. The whole point of it was to capture one resource: copper. Everything else was a peripheral concern. That spot would get me the copper pretty much as fast as possible, but had some other, lesser goals. Those are fresh water tiles, which, with Financial, are pretty powerful. The Sheep would (eventually) be able to make up somewhat for the dearth of “green” (>1F) tiles of a desert/plains city. Now, if I had founded York on the green dot there, I would have gotten the sheep faster, making it productive faster, and eventually gotten the copper anyway. I chose the spot I did for two reasons: the I wanted that copper ASAP, and no chance of Iz stealing it under my nose; also, founding on the plains would have gotten me more tundra, which is marginally better than desert, but would have cost me a plains tile, whereas the pink redeems an otherwise useless desert tile. Slowing the growth slightly was worth it.

Indeterminate time later: get archery, go Mystic=>Sailing for Obelisks and Lighthouses (lighthouses and lake tiles are extremely lucrative). Not a lot of depth beyond that.

1840bc: At this point, I have a handful (3) axemen. Not a lot. Iz, however, has a vulnerable settler. BLOOD! It manages to outrun my axe(forgot about the 2 movement) and founds Barcelona. In the interest of saving the time on building a settler, I park the axe on the hill next to Barcelona and wait for it to go to size two. Send my other axes at Madrid. She founds Judaism in Barcelona during the interturn. Holy Eff.

Now, having 3 religions might sound intimidating, but what that means is that she’s gone Poly=>Meditation=>Masonry=>Mono. With her starting techs as Fishing and Mystic, she has not had enough time to research either Bronze or Archery. She’s a sitting duck, in short.

1640bc: Bold and daring! I attack Madrid with axe#2 without support. Note the total lack of damage. The combat calculator went pretty easy on me this whole game.

1600bc: Unsurprisingly capture Madrid. Axe #3 never even make it halfway there. THIS is why you should not try to go for a Hydra, though I doubt most comps would be this thoroughly aggressive (Alex has attacked me this early, but nobody else).

1560bc: Get iron, entering classical age. Time to rock & roll.

1440bc: I start Stonehenge in London for what basically amounts to getting the creative bonus. Will save me turns on getting culture expanding, keeping domination victory open.

1320bc: I like the odds


1280bc: The first of many.

1160bc: I freely admit that I should have had better things to do.


1040bc: I take a look at the power graph.


Zzz…

775bc: I take another look at the power graph. Not much has changed. I get impatient and charge.

750bc: Munich falls, I take 0 damage despite archers.

600bc: I start Great Lighthouse on “Eh, it’s Warlord” basis. This is not strategically sound!

Capture Berlin for the loss of one Sword. My first casualty.

575bc: Freddy makes a “major assault” on Berlin. His two axes die, causing negligible damage. To give you an idea of how pathetic that was, I had near ten units in Berlin. I would have held it for centuries even if he won every time.

480bc: Second combat loss – axe to a barbarian axe near Madrid.

425bc: I get Construction, the last tech of any importance to this game. Start Alphabet. Seize Hamburg easily.


Down to me, Pyodr, and the Shaker. Check the demographics. I’m #1 in everything but GNP(2nd), approval rate (54%, ahahaha), and life expectancy(2nd, and pointless). I have something like 50% of the world’s hammers, 66% of its soldiers, and about 75% of the population. I could do a backdoor domination as soon as I build the UN…

Check out the cities.


This is also the 1 hour mark in the game.

Also note the religions:

I do, indeed, have 4 of the 4 available holy cities.

200bc: Get Great Lighthouse. Good, but kind of pointless. I have only three coastal cities.

100bc: Die, Asoka!

50bc: Madras for 0 losses.

25bc: Bombay for 0 losses.
Both London Army (in Bombay, used-in-every-war-stack) and Munich Army (in Madras, heavily new recruits and swords, rather than Axes) are pretty exhausted. If I were really racing, I would just leave the wounded behind with an archer garrison, but I wait to heal up. Out of everything I did this game, I would argue this is the only truly daft maneuver I made. EITHER of the two armies would have been excessive to take out both Asoka and Peter. I’m still using Civ3 casualty estimates (thought it must be noted that in Civ3, I lost every battle I didn’t have an 85% chance or better, while CIV has been pretty kind to me). True, I did make other stupid maneuvers, but I did them intentionally, either out of amusement or example.

1ad: I connect furs. That is the first time I use a hunting camp, and the first luxury I
connect. Yes, that’s right. The first luxury. My approval rate ‘jumps’ from 53% to 55%. Just no pleasing some people. And since I have several priorities before I ever get around to Calendar, it might well be my last. Another note: I have not made a single civic or religion change. I haven’t been able to justify the anarchy (remember, this game has been what I call a “surf,” where your only concern is outrunning your own shortsightedness with more immediate benefits. This play style is successful if you can keep up momentum till you win, but otherwise will get sucked under. That is a very, very big ‘if.’).

I also take my first break from the game.
:: INTERMISSION ::
2ad:

That is all I know about Russia. My closest city is London. I don’t have “close borders” penalties for my immediate neighbor. How weird is that? Research, as can be seen, is obviously choking. I take a gander at the Fist for some guidance. I will need 68% of land to dominate. I have 24.41. Peter has 9.00%. Giving Asoka a generous 5%, and a more generous 3% for some of my borders that have yet to expand, that would put me at around 40%, which is still 28% short! The other factor for Domination vs. Conquest is my corruption:

I don’t even HAVE Code of Laws yet, so the chances of me turning that into a killer econ are pretty slight. If I assimilate all of Shoke’s lands, I could run 0 research and still be red. This is pretty bloody amazing. So, conquest it is. For cities that aren’t really amazing, I’ve got torches. I “crank” research to 30% (2gpt!) toward horsebackery. They’ll be useful, and let’s be honest, Peter will launch the spaceship by the time I would be able to make use of crossbows. I also think it’s worth looking at how lopsided my tech tree is:

I have construction, but between me and Peter, neither has Meditation or Polytheism.

Time for some actual important decisions: the London army will be totally unnecessary. The Munich group can easily handle Delhi. I also launched a much smaller army toward Calcutta in the northern jungles. Army of London is relocated to Barcelona in preparation for the final battle.

25ad: Scout from Madrid. This is actually important – it’s time to pull the veil off of Mother Russia. I realize that revolting to slavery will recoup 4GPT, and effect my first civics change.

50ad: The slavers rethink their contract, and 4GPT turns into 1 GPT.

75ad: Catapult easily razes Calcutta.

100ad: Scout enters Russia. Moscow is defended by two spears and an archer. Is he just not paying attention?

150ad: Moses pops from Stonehenge. I forgot these things existed! Research would net me the laughably useless meditation. I decide on building ToS with him, since Judaism is the most prevalent religion.

175ad: ToS nets me 5 GPT, bringing me to -10 GPT.

225ad: Whoot, 2 million souls. More power for the Astronomican!

Now for a little aside: I hate suicidapults. Just in general. The idea bothers me. I find it much better, over the course of a long campaign (as in, more than one city) to use City Raider for catapults (and, indeed, all artillery), since it means the pult stands a good chance to survive. But Delhi will eat my swords for breakfast and then ask for seconds. Siege crews, your sacrifice will not be in vain!

Or your sacrifice…won’t. The catapult wins, and causes enough collateral that my swords and other pults jump over 85% win rate. Raze Delhi.

Madrid group razes Bangalore (further north, jungle boogie).

Sokie is still alive, but I decide that I can, at this point, move the Munich stack from former Delhi to Barcelona.

325ad: Finish horseback. Choose currency, slide tech to 0%. Will take only 403 of my 351 turns.

450ad: Ugh, Peter is scavenging land


500ad: Bactrian (and India) are done.

560ad: I decide that Peter would look good on a pole.

620ad: *(&@!!

Since I merged the Munich and London armies, I have to come up with a new order (Madrid Stack is still independent). I divide it into a North Group and a South Group. Since St. Petersburg and Moscow are much better defended than Rostov and Novgorod, I favor the southern group slightly.

680ad: Take Novgorod. It’s close enough to capital that the corruption is insignificant.

720ad: Take Moscow. It’s the single closest city in the world to London.

760ad: Do suicide cats count if they live? Rostov in flames.
Burn Petersburg. Bloodiest battle for me yet (3 losses), despite good odds.
Making up for being so easy on me earlier, I guess.

780ad: Get Currency. Income goes from -44GPT @30% sci to -45GPT@30%sci...

820ad Start pyramids for no good reason. Burn Yaroslavl’. Hardly worth the effort. Move my armies back into my borders, taking income from -45GPT to -25GPT.

1000ad: Compass=>Drama

1010ad: Burn Yekaterinburg. Russia is dead. I’m all alone.


1020ad: Checkmate. 3 hours, 1 minute, including dinner. 8 cities razed, 2 built.


Concluding remarks: I did this mostly to run counter to the usual “civilized” image of the Brits. I was not Victoria of the British, I was Boadicea of the Britons, overrunning the world in a torrent of blood. I never chose a religion, I only adopted Slavery, I never even thought of getting to the New World. I didn’t even make it to the Middle ages.

Note that I managed to display flagrant disregard for what many people consider key concepts of the game: Religion, tech booming, chop rushing(okay, that would actually have been useful in this strat), and great people. By building a flame of war early on and vigorously fanning it for the rest of the game, my inferno never died. Of course, the Britons would likely fall into complete economic collapse, and would probably splinter into warring factions reminiscent of the old dividing lines in a short time due to the amazingly primitive and inefficient administration system. However, from a game perspective, this strategy was fairly effective, if not exactly orthodox.

Now, I can bet that some of the more experienced players are saying “this wouldn’t work on a higher difficulty.” I don’t expect that it would really. I never consolidated my gains, but then again, by the time I got to Berlin, if I had taken the time to consolidate, I would have simply been a large backward nation. If I had been playing on Prince or higher, I would have still invaded Spain, and probably Germany. At this point, my tech would be lagging remarkably. But that wouldn’t be the point. By taking Madrid and Barcelona, I was easily the largest nation, particularly in hammers. The key difference would have been that I would have invaded Russia at the same time as India, and that instead of trying to knockout punch, I would have gone for the hamstrings on both of them so that I could pull the idiot debate – drag them down to my level and beat them through experience. I would not have had the absurd numerical superiority I had, but I think that by taking out Iz so early, my production easily eclipsed Freddy’s, and with essentially three nations united, I could beat out the other two “fringe” nations through sheer hammer number, as long as I stagnated their tech.

Too bad the extremes are too hard for me, lol. I'll wait around for another epic or "low level" adventure. Seriously, no alphabet? What kind of madness is that!

[Kylearan]

Hi,

very nice report, an entertaining read!

Too bad the extremes are too hard for me, lol. I'll wait around for another epic or "low level" adventure.

Are you sure you have to wait for a "low level" adventure? I recommend trying out Adventure 4; maybe "Extreme Adventure" is only a label?

-Kylearan

[theGrimm]

I think "no alphabet" only locks out around five techs, mostly cultural. Think of it this way, you have less to research on your way to victory How hard can it be?

Yeah, yeah...big talk from the baby of Adventure II

[Carloz]

I tried out Epic 2, and totally could not keep up. I don't have the time for 3 at this point, and 4...man, no writing? I love tech brokering(okay, this game is a very bad example of that). I just hope for a "challenge" on Prince level (my current 'level') or a pretty non-extreme monarch(the highest I've won on). I'm in no rush, though. Senior year may be coasting for some kids, but not those of us who are relying on scholarships!