A great end game

[zeace]

My most recent game (with the 208 patch) has taken a dramatic turn towards interesting. Last night I finished a war with Qin and found myself near the end of the tech tree with a reasonable lead in everything on my opponents:

Alex w/ vassal Capac
Qin

I am Russian with Gandhi as a vassal. Qin was the tech leader until I "liberated" Bejing last night, and now I'm solidly in the lead. Everyone is on fairly good terms and there's lots of trading going on. Qin was my best friend until a backstab to start the last war, so even we're on good terms.

This morning I decided to play for 20 minutes before I had to go to work. Boring... I started building the spaceship parts and all the other late game wonders, and I was finishing off the tech tree. I figure it'll be about 50 end-turn-clicks and then I'll be done.

The last turn before I HAVE to go leave for work I made the potential mistake of completing the UN and found that the 3 opponents together not only elected Alex to lead the UN, but potentially had the votes to elect him diplomatic winner. But before I had a chance to evaluate this, all three declared war on me at once. WOW! I have a quick look at their tech trading, and it seems that Alex and Qin traded about 4 techs back and forth and then gave a bunch to Capac. Suddenly there's tanks flowing into mine and Gandhi's borders.

The only military I've built since the war was a few Nukes. I've got about 10 stocked up. Most of my cities are just finishing spaceship parts except for a few core cities building the big parts. I've got 2 techs left until I can build all the parts, although I may need composites first to win this war.

Qin has focused on retaking a city he lost to me. Unfortunately for me, it was the only city I had on a river so I just spent 38000 gold to rush buy the Three Gorges Dam there. I really can't afford to lose that. About half of my infantry/cossak army is in that city, but there's a fighter/tank/sam inf battalion coming to smack it.

And then the time came, and I had to leave for work so I wouldn't miss my meeting. It's going to be a long day at work until I can return to finish this one off. Will I use Nukes to reduce their UN votes and destroy their armies? Will I tactically retreat, and lose the dam, until I can get a new army built? Will I try to defend Gandhi's land, or use him as a buffer?

I've never had an end game be actually interesting before. The new AI is great, and I hope this becomes a typical game

[jbp26]

this used to happen to me at the end of the game, the part about the UN. but i noticed that an AI would get elected to be the head, and hten would win the votes for a diplomatic victory and... nothing would happen. before, id massacre as many people as i could to reduce the percentage of votes my opponents got, but the AI could consistently win enough votes for a diplomatic victory and the game would continue on as normal.

[fed1943]

So, you are under two independent threats:

a) Enemy population: as they defeat you right now, reduce their pop

until they cannot pass the victory resolution, that is, necessary

missils;

b) Enemy troops: hold your ground if you can; remaining missiles

to weaken/delay the first invaders; that cossacks in the front can

they become gunships? if yes, well they like tanks;

and build some troops of yours (all you can, actualy)

if a counterattack looks impossible (why?) may be one more

missile to reduce their pop when needed.

Then, please, tell me about.

Best regards,

[Senethro]

38000?

[MasterDave]

Let them eat the Vassal. Better them than you.

[Virdrago]

Originally posted by Senethro
38000?

Yeah, I was wondering about that as well.

[Jaybe]

38000.
3 Gorges Dam costs 1750 (normal speed), 3500 (epic), 5250 (marathon) hammers.
Wonder rush price = 6g/h, or 9g/h if no hammers are already invested.
If zeace was Stalin, he'd get +50% wonder production.

At marathon the rush price would be less than 31500 (or 47250 with no hammers invested). I would conclude that either the 38000 was not accurate or he is operating on custom speed factors.

[zeace]

Well, I did end up winning this game, but it was a struggle. I immediately lost both Beijing and the Three Gorges Dam city (which I though was for 38000, but might have been 28000 come to think of it).

I got lucky and Alex wasted a bunch of votes on Free religion and Free speech and stuff. Beijing switched hands 5 times. I retreated from the city except for one infantry. The Chinese took the city, and then I nuked it and retook it. Then I retreated again and repeated. It was remarkably effective.

Poor Gandhi lost half his empire to Alex and Capac before I had the Chinese wrapped up. He could have pulled out of the vassalage but didn't. I guess this is one of the new changes in 208 because in previously I've found that they would leave and then come running back the next turn. Anyway, after a few turns I got to helping Gandhi and managed to reclaim all his cities and push forward into Alex's homeland. I only had a one nuke left, but I had some tanks ready so I nuked the biggest city near the border and took it, and razed it. Every turn afterwards I took my ever expanding army to the next biggest city I could reach and razed it. Alex eventually voted for the diplo win, but just failed. I was obviously never going to have any friends again, so when I finally researched genetics I started the last piece of the spacecraft in my best city, and launched a few turns later.

Alex should have voted for the diplo victory as soon as he could, but he didn't so I managed to win. It was very close though. Certainly not the builders win I was expecting.

[fed1943]

Congratulations