Emperor Games: how to improve your skills

[vmxa1]

In truth they do not put all that much about it either, but they do attempt to put all of their moves. Looking at Dom's DAR in the AUSG101 opportunistic thread here.
I would think some of the clutter could be skipped, such as moving scouts/warriors about, in favor of just any event that they triggered. This would make it so you may list what you are doing with the Ai and why. Some of the detail being done there is for a reason, but this run could be about diplomacy, not the ins and outs of playing at a given level. Althought the more oyu are willing to do the more valuable it will be. Maybe it will have to become a special AU course.

I am not sure what those items are, but it could be what is your requirement to make contact to see what is open. Is it when a new tech is learned, is it a new wonder is started, what are the triggers. Do oyu contact them every turn after a certain point, do you just have a sense of when?

[Mountain Sage]

This thread was meant as a help to new Emperor players by some more experienced players at that level.
Now, how can we improve things? I agree with vmxa1 that we should do things differently, especially if one day this would become a specific Au course.

The current approach is a DAR-style: explaining turn-by-turn what we do it and why we do it. For me , this makes long DARs (long to write and long to read). I am in favor of skipping the 'I sent my worker NE and he starts on a mine on the hill' style and focus more on strategy.

Another one would be more strategy-oriented, meaning:
1. the broad picture: what do I want to achieve, once I see the land and my neighbours? A PP game, a conquest game, some 'pruning', what else?
2. the 20-turn strategy: 'I want to block the Ottomans, therefore I will build a city NE; for this, I need a settler...'
3. the micro-management strategy: 'I want to have a 5-food city, herefore I...'
4. the techs startegy: which techs do I research and why.
5. the diplomacy strategy: how do I trade, with whom, why, why not?

When I read the AUSG101 DAR's, I have a feeling like 'damn, I didn't build a granary right away as xxx, now I missed an opportunity and my game is not as good as xxx'

This is wrong: here are no 'only best' way of doing things. But I have the impression, correct me if I am wrong, that for this thread, DARs which are too specific can discourage new players "Hey, by 1500BC xxxx and currency and 9 cities, I have only 6 and I am still researching mathematics, therefore I am already too ways behind, I quit'.

So why not try to do some strategy DARs? As long as the new player follows his startegy and can compare it with our posts, he's doing fine. After all, ToeTruck won his game almost 200 years before me, so what?

Your input? Why don't we (you, that is) start the French game and make your DAR differently? By the end of the game, I believe we'll all have a better grasp of our 'mentor's DARs'.
Of course, if somebody else wants to post another game...

[vmxa1]

I personally have no problem with as much detail as anyones to put in, I was just thinking of saving work for ToeTruck. The readers can skip over things. In GOTM, they are detailed enough that you could replicate it. This only works for the first 100 turns or there abouts. After that it would be a monsterous task to log actions.

Now one of the things that the current AU game does is to have a save periodically. This means that if a student see they have not managed to get the results they wanted, they do not have to fall farther behind, but can use the best ball method and load up the next break point.

[ToeTruck]

I’m trying something a little different with this log. With the last game in this thread, I posted fairly traditional DAR’s going into detail whenever I was in the mood. This game, I’m trying to take the “20,000” foot view so to speak.

Next game, I’ll drill down on one aspect of my builder game. Vmxa1 has suggested the Foreign Advisor screen which I think is an excellent idea.

The builder game as I play it has five distinct phases which always appear in the same order:
- Laying the Groundwork
- Claiming What Is Rightfully Yours
- Wiping the Slate Clean
- Railroads and Hospitals
- The Space Race

Here are my reports for the first two phases playing Mountain Sage's French start. Sorry that this is lumped together like this. I had intended something a bit more organized, but I got playing a little too quickly last night.

Next game I'd like to do something a bit more educational.

****************************************
Laying the Groundwork:
****************************************

Goals:
1) Establish a core of 4-6 cities with low corruption and high shield production to fuel my military.

DAR 3500BC: (Contact with Mongols)

Very seldom if ever do I hold on to techs. I like to have the AI researching for me as much as possible. In this case, I traded Alphabet and Masonry for Pottery, Warrior Code, Ceremonial Burial, and 10 gold. That gives me what I need to REX and prepare for the Archer Rush while also allowing me to start researching Bronze Working.

****************************************
Claiming What Is Rightfully Yours:
****************************************

It’s 1200BC and my core cities are well developed; I’m ready to take on the Mongols. I’m looking for 15 – 20 good city sites.

Sometimes this phase of the game consists entirely of REXing. With this map, however, a little war is essential.

Goals:
1) Hit the Mongols hard
2) Negotiate a lucrative Peace Treaty
3) Break the Peace
4) Eliminate the Mongols

DAR 850BC: (Make Peace)

I like to make peace partly through the assault to pick up a couple of techs. In this case, I got Horseback Riding, Writing, Ulaanbaatar, and 19 gold.

DAR 730BC: (Mongols Build Pyramids)

Time to end this. Right before my final assault, I made peace with the Mongols one last time which snagged me Code of Laws.

DAR 650BC: (End of the Mongols)

The Mongols have been eliminated so it’s time to settle the rest of the island and begin the building. I snagged a leader towards the end of the war which will become my Forbidden Palace.

****************************************
Wiping the Slate Clean:
****************************************

This is the start of the building process. I will build a bunch of Workers as quickly as I can and beeline to Literature and Republic.

Goals:
1) Clear all Forests and Jungles.
2) Mine all Hills and Mountains.
3) Grow every city to size 12 as quickly as possible.

DAR 610BC: (Contact with India)

India landed a Warrior and a Settler in the southern end of my island. Hmm…

This is an excellent example of how I use diplomacy. Obviously, I want this island to myself so I must attack the Indians, but first I will trade for a map and whatever techs I can swing.

Step 1: Trade Mathematics and Code of Laws for Contact with Carthage, World Map, Map Making, and 21 gold.

Excellent. The map shows me that Carthage and India share an Island with two luxuries but not much else. I want one of them to be eliminated so the survivor can be a good trade partner and help me with research.

Step 2: Trade Horseback Riding to Carthage for World Map and 96 gold.

Step 3: Establish an Embassy in Carthage for 36 gold.

Step 4: Attack the Indian Warrior.

Step 5: Arrange a Military Alliance and a Right of Passage agreement with Carthage.

Step 6: Give Carthage Code of Laws and Mathematics to make him Gracious.

DAR 150BC: (The Discovery of Literature)

Traded Literature to Carthaginians for a piddling. But…switched all my cities over to building Library.

Here is the zoom map as of 150BC:


From here on in, my game will be almost identical to the Greece game. I have 25 Workers and enough military units to garrison each city.

Please forgive this monstrously long post. Next time I will be more concise.

- TT

[Mountain Sage]

TT,

Thanks again for your posting. I agree with you. You have now two choices: either you play it as a builder, or you go on a conquest spree. I finished it as a builder, with a few short wars in between to keep me occupied....
As stated above, I will post below another game (France again, archipelago, standard, Barbs random, PTW) and only comment on strategy. This should give some people a better feeling how to develop a strategy in relation to the geography and your neighbours. I will start my comments next Monday (I hope somebody finds the time to play a few rounds) in 1870BC and 1450BC.
Good luck to everybody.

[vmxa1]

One thing I have always fought myself over is the tech trade/gift issue. I just hate to get techs to them even one turn sooner. I will do it, but I loath it. So I was interested in your comment about not holding them much.

[WackenOpenAir]

I'll do so after i have finished my current deity game

(I'll post a report of the deity game as well, but it'l take a while, i didn't play civ3 in more than a year, so now i take several minutes per turn to think, and sometimes when i need to make important decisions, i just quit and think a day about it at work before deciding

[ToeTruck]

MS,

The French game you posted seems to be the same you posted before. Did you mean to post another?

- TT

[Mountain Sage]

TT,

You are right. I don't have the original archipelago save in 4000BC any more. I'll post my 3750BC save. This should do.
My apologies to everybody.

[Mountain Sage]

And the starting point (just change the name of the capital to 'Paris' or whatever).

[ChrisiusMaximus]

Thats very good of you but I notice from your screenshot you havent got any great leaders yet !

[jkelly]

Worker in screenshot

Mountain Sage,

What's up with that Worker unit? Why are they off building a road to the east? It's not improving a square that you'll be labouring on anytime soon, nor is it speeding up an expansion route.

[ToeTruck]

Well, it's been a very busy week in which I finished up the first French game but didn't have a chance to post any results. RL got in the way of Civ.

The first French game ended for me with a 1680AD Spaceship launch. I have several game saves and a couple of notes if anyone is interested. Let me know and I will post what I did when and why.

- TT

[Theseus]

I haven't gotten much further with this...

[Mountain Sage]

Originally posted by ChrisiusMaximus
Thats very good of you but I notice from your screenshot you havent got any great leaders yet !

Wrong: I have a stack of 11 GL waiting in the goodie-hut (but don't tell the others!).