Fun with Tokugawa

[Hauptman]

So I've started another Tokagawa game. Monarch, Huge fractal map, 18 civs. My goal is of course world domination at the earliest possible time. Ive done early wins on large maps, but never huge. lets see how this goes.

The first start didnt look very promising, so I hit the regenerate map, Cheating? well yeh but I have to to pull this off. Second map was Incredible for a start, 2 gold and a jungle covered gem with a river and lots of hills. Well if it had seafood maybe then it could be better. But we wont pass this up.

Settle the city and begin construction on a worker. Tech Mining and then agriculture. after the worker was done, I built a second. I really need to get these mines into play asap. My warrior scouts the imediate area. I have cows and marble to the north, and another gem sight to the south... very nice indead. Marble makes this alot easier with the oracle and all that raw comerce will speed things along well.

Animal husbandry, Mysticysm, and masonry to give my two workers a job, then meditation to priesthood. Begin writing and the oracle, aiming to finish them at close to the same time for a free code of laws. Settle my two planned cities as soon as reasonable, as this is already a crowded map. Cyrus to the south and Saladin to the west, borders already touching. Lots of jungle to the east begins spawning quite a steady stream of barbars wich give my lowly warriors a workout. One of wich finally ends up with cover and march. I went to bronze working and Iron working after writing so the warriors didnt have to hold out for too long once I had an iron pop In my cap radius. A couple more workers cranked out to help clear the jungle around my southern city and get its gems into play. 3 elephant squares make nice production early, and will be nice later.

After Iron working I do mathematics then Civil service, I consider using scientists, but i have so many preciouse metals that it doesnt really help. so i just keep working the squares. Sometime during my CS run Mansa Musa comes at me with tech trades. Wow that was fast. alphabet already? well of course i take all i can and once alphabet is mine i check to see what everyone else has... After CS its straight to machinery and soon the fun begins.

I start a couple wonders I know I wont get because I need the $$. Chitzen itza however I know I'll need so the capital builds that.






more to come as time alows.

[Fleme]

Oo I love action reports. I'll be away from my playing computer for the holidays so it'll be refreshing to atleast read about someone's game

Also, since I've NEVER played Togugawa it'll be even more fun to watch.

So, what was the year you got your first Samurai out? Is it Marathon?

[Hauptman]

Originally posted by Fleme
Oo I love action reports. I'll be away from my playing computer for the holidays so it'll be refreshing to atleast read about someone's game

Also, since I've NEVER played Togugawa it'll be even more fun to watch.

So, what was the year you got your first Samurai out? Is it Marathon?

Screenshot was taken the turn I got machinery, 20ad.

Yes marathon speed of course, it is in fact the only speed.


Well as it happened, I made my first big mistake almost Immediatly (sp). I had gotten the 'greed' quest for the persian horses just before i had my own hooked up, so that pretty much set my first target. That and also Cyrus had access to elephants and i was hoping to beat him down before he could bring those to use. Saladin had few, if any military resources. I should have taken the time to recce both of them as i had open borders and a patrol promoted chariot.






So I invaded Persia with my few units, I was overconfident as it was still very early game and my samurai are supermen. I took his first city with no trouble and nabbed a couple workers right away, removed thier turbans and gave em some rice hats and kept them workin. A quick turn to heal and my stack moves south towards the next target. Thats when i realized my mistake. Apparently Cyrus was busy preparing for his own early rush with Immortals and had built quite a few of them. My smallish stack attacked a couple then had to pull back for safety. I wasted almost 10 turns retreating to heal then advancing back. I had also sent a spear and a crossbow down the mountain pass to protect the 2 captured workers and defend the city i Thought i was going to capture. I parked them in a jungle adjacent to the city and he lost 4 or 5 Immortals killing them.

My newly refreshed and reinforced stack then was able to take his city. By the way, March promoted units really shine on an attack like this, You can attack turn after turn without waiting to heal, combine that with the first strikes and weak units do little to no damage. I was Immediatly able to advance on his 3rd city.

About this time I had finished Construction and had cats enroute. I needed them because he had put up walls. If i didnt have a 90+% chance i wouldnt attack. Cant waste any units. As the cats where battering down his walls, I saw them. Elephants. Just one and it passed by towards his capital. But i was worried non the less.

After the 3rd city fell i had 1 more in the way of his capital. An easy fight then move forward. He had garrisoned 4 elephants and 3 horse archers with the usual axe/archer defense. During the wall battering he had attacked with a cat and more Immortals but the next turn no units had damage. Persopolis fell after i used a couple cats to soften the 'phants. 2 other cities culture blocked the horses that where the quest target so I advanced on them, leaving a single city further south. When my artists finally popped the culture and broght the horses under control i was awarded with 6 horse archers. Very nice indeed. I used 3 of them to soften up a city (instead of blasting his walls) and lost 2.

After his capital fell it was purely a mop up, I moved back towards the north towards my own lands (and Saladin) and with a few tech trades (Civil service to Mansa) i was able to Vasalize Cyrus's last city with my units in possition for saladin.

Cyrus had so many units for me to kill, It took 500+ years total, and gave me 2 great generals. The first went to my upgraded cover/march warrior and another I attached to a city attack sammy.

[Theben]

Cool. I've been thinking I would like to fight more often in my games and I think Tokugawa would be the perfect one to try. Either him or Brennan.

btw, 20 AD and you STILL don't have that Marble attached?!? For shame!

[Lancer]

Excellent Hauptman, this is asskicking 101 for Civ IV.

[LzPrst]

cool. though you're powerful now, when you start getting gunpowder units... go conquer the world for us!

[Hauptman]

Bah that marble was on a barbar held island, and i had my own already. Doubt i even had sailing though it was likely after trades.


Well now my super stack is ready to keep the steamroll going.



And after a few minor possition switches to defend the border cities I attack.



And as I figured, and as Cyrus SHOULD have been, its an easy walk through. few units and none of any import pose zero threat to my now WELL promoted sammies.

I finally used my combat worthless chariots to scout, find Korea to the east and Mansa was a little closer than I liked (he was well advanced with Fuedalism and even Civil service that i gave him, Hoping he was far far away.) He does however have a nice capital, fish starts are GREAT tech factories.



I sweep around, capturing each of Saladins cities and secure my position along the west coast.




My new empire, and the continent upon wich I live.

[Quillan]

I won a domination victory on a huge map once. As I recall, it was in Warlords playing as Augustus Caesar, and it took until the mid 1800s to win. Good luck.

[Hauptman]

I move my stack south through my vassal and line them up on the Mali border, this time sending a scout to have a look and I realize something I hadnt before. Mansa is Wang's vassal. Well darn. A war on 2 fronts is exactly what I DONT want. Cyrus is in perfect possition to defend against mansa, so I waste more time to repossition on Wang Kon.





Wang (heheh, I said wang) has all the modern units but he is spread thin. I am a little worried about a counter attack from the south so I send a few defensive units and move my main attack force to the northeast.

His northern cities are small and weakly defended, I'm able to split my stack and take both in a single turn. Then I head south. He sends a smallish attack of 'phants and a maceman at my south cities wich fail to do any damage. I send some fresh Sammies in from the west while my main attack heads south along the coast.

Poor Wang never had a chance. Even his 'modern' units couldnt stop the steamroll. Trebuches are cheap enough to blow 1 or 2 on a well defended city.



My new empire is sizing up well. And the Korean capital falls to my might, finishing off another hapless civ.



Now as you can Imagine Money is starting to be a problem. I had Built the confucian capital building with my first GP prophet, and that helped until now, But things are getting tight. The Forbidan pallace completes and its effects prove to be marginal at best.



It looks like I'm going to have to rely on tech trades to keep up, 20% beakers is harsh, but not unmanagable.

After I took a few of wang's cities Mansa broke off and i ended the war with him while I finished Wang. Couple of turns later Mansa asked if he could be my vassal. Hmmmm. this was a hard decision, I loved his cities, he had some nice wonders, But as I'm going to need trading partners, I accept and peacably add his lands to my empire.

[Theben]

I don't think I've ever had a unit with more than 26 XP.

[Blaupanzer]

Doing good. Keep it up. However you still have 13 civs (or some subset thereof) to go.

[Hauptman]

A quick look at Bizmark shows few units. So i figure i can split my forces and come from both ends. I figured wrong.




With fewer trebs it takes longer to beat down the castles... too long. He moves units up, whips out population and pretty much makes an attack at either end to risky. So again more wasted turns as I bring my units together as a single stack. But once combined, the steamroll proves unstoppable once again.



Even those shiney new musketmen pose no threat.



During the fall of his 3rd city my superhealer finally promotes to full.



Then the Unthinkable happens. Bizmark the sniveling little girl begs my friend and tech trading partner Yacob to save him and now I have war with Zara, Hanibal, Pacal and Bizmark.





I quickly give up the attack on germany and head east to block the assault that will come. Zara's attack falls to my power But hanibal has a super stack aimed at me. So I accept peace with Zara, figuring Ill redeclare in 10 turns more prepared for both fronts. But Currasais make their appearance and my sammies are just too vulnerable to them.







So my primary goal, of a super early domination on a huge map is now out of the question. I lag behind in techs, I'm quite a ways away from grenadiers and rifles. I'm left with a Very nice sized empire and its decision time.






So here, why dont you try and make it yourself.



Try this

[Hauptman]

Now dont go paniking everyone, I'm playing this through But i want to see someone else try something different than what I am. And see how it works out.

So someone give it a shot, Hope the save link works. No unoficial mods or patches on the savegame so hopefully everyone can use it.

[Theben]

It looks like an antarctic gale is about to slam into Timbuktu and Gao.

[Fleme]

Aww don't be like that! You know I don't have my gaming cpu here and your action report is what's keeping me entertained (good entertainment, too). What I'd do is capture that barb island, tech to Rifles and Cannons and go for the rest of your continent. If you get an empire that size up to speed there's nothing to stop you even if they're ahead of you a few techs.

Go for it, I'm rooting for you and anxiously awaiting for more reports!