Another "I need help" thread- Emperor

[Theben]

A fan favorite, of course. I can't seem to get the hang of Emperor level. Now normally I don't re-play old games- feels like cheating- but this one is different. One, I didn't like how sloppy I played the 1st time around and two, I wanna refine my game and decided this one is the tester. Considering my starting location, I felt I should've done a lot better. I didn't do poorly, mind you... but from what I've seen others do I think I should've mopped up the AI at some point.

Anyways, here's the saves. The later save is actually better than the 1st one b/c I relocated my capital and wound up with FOUR free techs from huts(!):

[trev]

I played without looking at your 2nd save and therefore with no prior map knowledge. Moving scout to hill I decided to move settler within range of sheep and wheat while retaining some floods, this being the best apparent location for city without exploration past that first scout move.
No techs from huts, slowish start after founding 2nd city due to major barb excursions, but manged with the protective archers to protect improved squares. After learning iron and finding it within 2nd city borders made a lot more progress and got about 7 cities from settling and capturing barb cities.
Used a sumarai buildup to capture Gilgamesh capital plus another city, temporary peacd while I sorted out other attackers from further away, made peace with them. Resumed war with Gilgamesh with cavalry and riflemen, many with CR3. Vassalized him, now attacking Brennus because his tech is out of date, paused game for a few days, but got 1 city already and rest of his empire will be easy pickings.
After that things will get more difficult, teching just quick enough to stay competitive, about 6th on GDP only, much better on hammers, military 5th supposedly, but with advanced highly promoted units, my ability to wage war much better than that.
No holy cities or any easy to capture, so GDP will struggle for a long time, hopefully I can overcome that by prioritising Assembly line and trying to keep my CR3 Rifles for upgrading.

[Hauptman]

Emporer is not easy, unless...

Gold start. If I dont start with gold (or gems) in my first or second city, it's going to be a tough game. Gold allows you to at least keep up with early tech rates. 1 gold square doubles begining tech rates, 2 or 3 and it's going to be easy. My first few emporer games, I used gold as a crutch every game (redraw maps til I got it, or even entering world builder to add it.)

Early rush. Rushing an early UU or ironworking and knocking out a neighbor to double your size (thus doubling tech rates) works wonders if you can make use of a holy city to pay for it...

Ive been playing no tech trading recently to make each era last longer, and to see how well I can keep up without my usual abuse of trading away techs to keep up with and/or pass everyone else by. Generally there will be 1 or 2 civs who keep me on my toes no matter how good I think I'm doing. (asoka )

[rah]

If who's keeping up is near by, take then down a notch.

[trev]

Played a few hours more of the game last night, relatively disastrous unfortunately. Took a few more cities off Brennus before he capitulated to Justinian leaving me with culture choked cities. Well Kublai is losing a war, I will take advantage of that. One city captured, then a vassalization to another AI leaving captured city culture choked again. Was moving units ready to attack that AI when out of the blue 2 AI's attacked me , one was Brennus Master so I had 3 to fight. Lost all cities I took from Brennus and Kublai, plus my vassal Gilgamesh lost all but 1 city too. I lost about 9 in total. While war was on I was upgrading Rifles to Infantry with 100% tax. Most were CR3 from earlier times. I was hoping to attack some captured cities from my culture border with these CR3, but could not as Justinian kept liberating the cities back to original owners leading me to lose the culture wars. He done it too many times because his vassal got too big and liberated himself. Made peace with exvassal and Hannibal, continued war with Justinian.
When he took a city I captured ages earlier from my vassal, I had about 10 CR3 Infantry with another dozen a turn away waiting on forest next to city protected by many C4 infantry. His fifty units that entered the city soon fell with no losses on my part. With his stack gone finally I began advancing through his cities capturing 4 so far with little resistance. So the major work is done with him, hopefully he does not capituale to someone else before I capture his shrine.

[Hauptman]

If who's keeping up is near by, take then down a notch.

One of my last games, I planned it to be a PURE CE. Something i NEVER do. Cottages, I hate em... But I decided that i was gonna just cottage every damn square and rush democracy...

Mansa Musa beat me to every wonder I tried for... was ok though, he was my neighbor.

After democracy it was on to rifling then he was toast.

However it was a zero gold start, so poor montezuma payed the price for that one. Chopped out swords and rushed him early on. Asoka was still beating me on tech rates before i got to the point where the game was won...

Usually once I know a game is won, i move on to the next... I did save that game in case I fealt the need to finish it...


EDIT, just realised the "asoka" game was the very next where i tried zero cottages. farms and mines. He was really giving me a run for my money... I figured production alone would put me ahead (and it was working) but asoka had tanks before me... and that NEVER happenes... Usually. I did however build almost every wonder on the list... Lighhouse made up for no cottages, and pyramids + huge wonder GP farm made some pretty good tech rates... I kinda stopped playin after environmentalism + windmills made my research just explode. I would have been the first to a spaceship vicory, or could have invaded and beat the only opposition i had with a single amphibiouse invasion.

[Crossfire]

I was trying to play this but I get a version error. It says this is version 302 and my Civ is version 301. How do I get on this version because Civ thinks it's on the most current version? Thanks.

[Vyarloq]

How the hell do you win this god forsaken game at Emperor level?? I have tried to play this scenario three tiems. I either get swamped by Barb Archers, almost before I have any archers to defend, or Gilgamesh arrives with a swarm of 7 attackers. I don't get the iron in time to counter and he wins the central Barb town before I can get there. It stinks, like every other Emperor scenario I have played for months! I call BS on anyone that claims they can win at this level. Without para-trooping in armor, I can't even be competitive.

Yes I am extraordinarily frustrated.

Later!!!

OK. Now I am 0 for 4! Every time I get my starting warrior killed by a wolf, lion, bear, or hostile barb in a village!

I like to play Carthaginian in a highland with seas, huge, and quick. I can get the Pyramids and up to about 6 towns. But the swarms of Barbs keep me from doing much but defending myself after that. Once the swarm is stemmed, I am a solid 11th and never get higher than #8 in score, until a computer player comes and takes me out. I started one game with three crabs, three fish, a pig and a wheat in town #1. The next six towns were all good with resources, including iron in the 6th town. I quit when my score was only 67% of the leader and I had no stat higher than #7!!! Pericles came after me with more troops in his attack stack than I had in my entire army! Anytime I have enough troops to rank above #11, I am broke and go bankrupt.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

This just gets better and better. It is 3100, I started closer to the known iron so I can get to it with my second town. I have 1 warrior in my #1 town, building a worker. Vedic Aryans invasion of 5 barbarian archers just spawned at the nw corner of town #1. Any bets on how long I last?

BTW, I play with the Blue Earth and BUG mods installed on BTS version 3.19.

[Hauptman]

If barbs are giving you such trouble, might I suggest The Great Wall? Chop that bad dog out and giggle as you watch the hoards of barbars pass you by and harass your rivals.

I'm about ready to try the jump up to immortal.

[Theben]

I think I built the Great Wall also, but mainly for the G Spy so I can steal techs. 4-5 warriors/archers placed on hills will stop nearby spawning, and putting a city north with good defenses will stop any others from getting into your interior.

Your 2nd or 3rd city should be the one up by the horses. That will stop barbs as well as Gils encroachment. It's later in the game, when the AIs pass me in tech that I have problems.

[Vyarloq]

Thanks for the followup games. I just played another 5 starts and lost every one before 1000 AD.

I tried the last one as the Romans, in my usual Huge Highlands, at Epic, seas, and emperor level. I have killed 53 Barbs (13 archers, 12 Axemen, 9 warriors, 8 swordsmen, 7 Spearmen, and 4 lions) by 910 AD. I have lost 4 archers, 3 scouts and 3 Praetorians. My army consists of 5 Archers, 5 praetorians, a warrior and a scout. I can;t produce the troops that the computer has even if I devote 100% of production to troops! I just captured a decent size barb city (6). Right after capture, I was hit with 3 spy based disuptions, even before I got it under control. My neighbors are Big Cathy, Gilgamesh, Justinian, Mansa, and Tokugowa. I have 140,000 troops, for last place. The worst opponent has 204,000. I have 7 Cities. But the Civs I have encountered all have 11-18 cities. 12 Wonders have been completed, none by me. I have 35 squares currently improved, plus the barbs torched 10 others that I had to refurb. I have 21 buildings. Japan is about 4 turns from attacking me. He will bring two stacks of 7 swordsmen, etc. The 14 units are more than I have available after my garison and worker needs.What the hell am I doing so wrong that I can't even last into the 1500's without using the Worldbuilder to cheat?

It seems like every game the barbs swarm me. I spent all my time trying to push the barbs back. About the time the barbs are under control, I am so wimpy, the weakest neighbor attacks me and comes with more troops in the attack than I have, total in the game!

The Great Wall looks good, except that one of the AI build it so early that it only encompasses about 5 towns. I even saw one game with only two AI towns inside the GW! Sheesh. On a more positive note, I tried the Romance of the Tree Kingdoms Mod at emperor level, on my usual preferred map. I seem to be within striking distance of the other players for a change! More later.

[rah]

That encompassing thing is just the graphic at the time you build it. It doesn't update the graphic when you expand but it still protects your whole civ.

[Theben]

The Great Wall looks good, except that one of the AI build it so early that it only encompasses about 5 towns. I even saw one game with only two AI towns inside the GW! Sheesh. On a more positive note, I tried the Romance of the Tree Kingdoms Mod at emperor level, on my usual preferred map. I seem to be within striking distance of the other players for a change! More later.

For starters try building the Wall right after you pop out your 1st settler. You may even want to build it before any settlers, and as soon as you finish it pop out an archer and then a settler. Repeat 2-4 more times as your situation and economy permit. Have each new city build a worker and then designate 1 or 2 to building solely units. The others build up infrastructure: libarary, courthouses, markets, with cottaged tiles, while 1 city (usually your capital) has farms and mines and builds wonders while setting some people aside as specialists to be your GP farm. Target Code of Laws and Currency so you can expand further. If you get the Wall you'll almost certainly get a Great Spy so settle him in the civ most likely to be a tech leader... after Alphabet you can steal many techs from him. Start with that and good luck!

[Theben]

That encompassing thing is just the graphic at the time you build it. It doesn't update the graphic when you expand but it still protects your whole civ.

Close... only the cities on the continent it was built.

[Vyarloq]

rah & Theben, Thanks for the great advice. You're right about the Great Wall. I dropped my first settler on top of my warrior on a stone outcrop. The first goodieville gave me Masonry, so I did the Memorial, then the GW. My second town was midway between the first two and gave me cooper. Before the third Settler was finished, I had the GW. My Copper town started on the Great Pyramid and I got that too, then grabbed the Colossus too! I was a solid first place until about 1000 AD. I missed the only 2 iron deposits, so I got into a bit of a bind later and in 1700's I had fallen to a middle of the pack 3rd position. I am enthused again, which is all to your credits. Thanks a million.

My midgame strategy needs work. But I can work on that, now that the Barbs don't crunch me to death early.