Occ Conquest

[rah]

I tried OCC and built the space ship blah blah blah.
It was hard to overcome my usual aggressive tendencies. So I thought I'd try a conquest win. Of course you have to start out on a shore. I did it on a small pag world. I was able to do it at warlord and noble level but have considerable difficulty at prince.
Using fully patched warlords version, so I turned off tech trading.

Has anyone else tried this and if so, at what difficulty level did you use?

[Diadem]

I love OCC conquest. It's probably my all time favorite type of game.

I like to call them Genocide Victories

The key to OCC conquests is not starting too early. If you kill opponents too early in the game, the vacant space they leave on the map will just be filled up by others, making those a lot stronger. You have to play peacefully for the first 5800-5900 years.

Diplomacy is another very important part of the game. Play the diplomatic game well. Make friends, sign defensive pacts when you're not ready for war yet, and above all try to instigate wars between AIs without getting dragged into them yourself.

The goal here is not to kill off opponents, but to keep them all equally weak. For example it can be dangerous to get a friendly be weaker AI to declare war on the #1 hotshot. If he looses badly you will have given the #1 hotshot another vassal, and a lot of new land. Not good.

Once you've reached a sufficient tech level, and if all went well a tech lead ... Unleash your genocide upon the world!

[Diadem]

It's quite possible to do this at monarch with a normal map size and number of opponents. You need a good start though (a very good one...)

It's possible at deity level as well, but I don't think it's possible on a more conventional map. On a duel sized map with 18 civs though, it's possible. Completely insane gameplay, such a setting. Lots of fun

[rah]

I do attack early, When my culture expands and I want to claim the territory.

I'm doing another one on prince now and it looks like it's going to work despite no oil or coal. I'm down to one last opponent and I doubt he'll give me any.

I have real problems keeping up tech wise on the higher levels.

[Diadem]

Well your city's culture is usually quite strong on OCC. Quite a few wonders, all the good national wonders, it adds up. I usually have no problem pushing opponents culture away. Even cities usually get flipped (=autorazed) pretty quickly.

If there's a strong cultured city in what would normally be your cultural area, and it holds an important strategic resource, then that is certainly a casus belli.

But in that case you aren't giving enemies more territory anyway - you are expanding your own.


Late age resources can be a problem. Especially oil because it's so essentional. That's where friends who can trade it to you come in handily. But if you want to kill them all, you can't rely on trade forever.

Within legendary culture radius there usually IS oil though. If you play balanced and make sure you start either on the coast, or very far away from it. It can still fail, an annoying bug in the balanced script generates them too far away sometimes, but usually you will have oil.

If you really lack oil, get uranium for your navy, and conquer the world with mechinfs. They are pretty awesome anyway. They can attack every turn because of march, they never have to heal, and the only counter against them are modern armors. So make sure you're at least slightly ahead in techs, so you won't face those. And take out your enemy's aluminum or oil asap in the war.

Keeping up in techs can be very hard late age. The key to solving that problem is by ignoring it. Don't bother trying to outtech the AI late age. You will fail. Instead beeline for the internet and build that. Ignore AI-prioritized techs along the way towards the internet.

There are two routes to Fiber Optics. Via rocketry -> satellites and industrialism -> plastics. Take the latter route if you're not planning a space ship victory. This gives you aluminum, tanks, offshore platforms, etc. More importantly it allows for the research of robotics immidiately after you get fiber optics, which is your escape if you don't have oil. Or you can let the internet give you rocketry and perhaps even satellites, and research composites.

The early and middle part of the game keeping up in techs is never as big a problem. Make sure your starting position is very rich in food, and get your specialists sorted out. And get the pyramids. It's a very high priority. At the very highest levels you won't get it though. In that case pick up monarchy and use h.rule to solve any happiness problems. Not as good at representation, but it saves you from building the globe theatre.

Most of your research must come from specialists. Both normal ones and settled super specialists. Most of your hammers come from them as well. Get as many as you can, philosophical is highly recommended, pacifism and national epic are mandatory. Try to avoid those accursed great artists. Scientists and Engineers are the best. Priests and Merchants are acceptable. So don't build wonders giving artist points, except the national epic and globe theatre if you have to.

[Krill]

Medic 3 explorers with march mech inf are awesome

[rah]

Yes, in both games I had oil at the legendary range. This game my coal was on an island just off shore so I couldn't connect it.

I do find myself blowing a GA for that initial boost to over 5000 (Music) to claim additional resources.

I must admit that This has taught me the power of culture. The AI tries to pin you in but unless they get an early city right up on you with good culture, they just disolve away to your superior culture.

These game have been quite amusing.

I'm looking forward to upper difficulty level games.
So far I've handicapped the AI with no tech trading.

[Krill]

NO tech trading just means thehuman can't trade teachs; the AI can still trade...You're jsut handicapping yourself...

[Nacht]

Originally posted by Krill
NO tech trading just means thehuman can't trade teachs; the AI can still trade...You're jsut handicapping yourself...

Why would you think that?

[rah]

Experience tells me that it applies to both. I'd hate to think i've been wrong about this all along.

[Krill]

Wow, I can really need to brush up on my typing...

Basically because that is how I recall it being implemented when Civ was first released and I can't recall any changes to it. More than possible I missed a change, what with me just skimming through the changelogs nowadays.

[Nacht]

I've played almost every game from the beginning with tech trading disabled and I'm pretty sure that that means the AI's don't trade techs either.

[Diadem]

I think no tech trading does apply to the AI.

But I disagree that it makes things easier for you. On the lower levels, allright, but not at the highest difficulties. At deity the AI techs so fast at the start it'll make your head spin. Often I have to trade dozens of techs just to catch up.

Once you've catched up, you can often level with the rest by only moderate trading. And by the time I enter the industrial, I'm usually ahead of the pack again. Of course, late age AIs are unstoppable again, but by that time I hopefully have The Internet

Deity only works on very small maps with lots and lots of civs anyway. That means lots and lots of trading partners

[rah]

I'm doing one at Immortal now. Small pag with 8 civs. I was placed on the only larger island while the other 7 were on the main land. With no tech trading I've stayed way ahead of the other civs.
Looks like a winner to me but there's still time for the AI to out produce me.

[rah]

Well I beat one at Deity, (I did trick up my starting position to make sure i'd have oil)

Trying another using the vikings that looks like a winner because I did an island game and was able to go to town using the berserker. I've learned a lot that should really improve my MP play. Maybe I'll be able to beat a normal game at deity now. Maybe.