Emperor games C3C: how to improve your skills

[vmxa1]

They do not give any information about a change to the double requirement. They did change the scale to fit the map size. At std size it is still 100k, so I would imagine you still need double. If that was a good idea before (and it was), then nothing changed.
Just that they scaled it to the map size, again that makes sense. The 20k in a city is still valid.

[Mountain Sage]

Hi everybody,

I'm back (and alive) and wish you all a Happy New Year and a Happy Civing.

It's good to see some new faces in this thread.

Some personal messages:
Nbarclay: were my statistics helpful? Any results?
bfg9000: I know the AI is particulary bad on an archipelago map, but it's not a reason for not having some fun. I'm planning to put all the seafaring civs together ang go for a domination win only.
Thrillers: a magic start? Well, it was the first start I got. I tend more and more to play the first (or maybe the second) spot, regardless of the 'magic'. It adds a bit more flavour to the game...

[Mountain Sage]

“Your brothers have proved their manhood; they have gone to sea in dragonships and brought back rich loot, but you still sit in the king’s hall, pretty and safe, a charcoal-chewer who never leaves the hearth.”

Morgan Llywelyn, Lion of Ireland


And you, brave civers, are you ready for a-viking?

Archipelago 90% water, standard map, temperate, 8 civs, all seafaring + Rome. 1.00
Victory: only Conquest and Domination allowed.

[Mountain Sage]

The starting point. I chose the first one with tundra tiles (the Viking used to live far north, after all). Well, this time, they lived in the far south...

Sorry Ducki, no 2/turns, 0,5/turn settler/worker pump this time.

[Aqualung71]

Aha, I've been waiting for you to get back!!!!

In the meantime I played my own Viking game as a warm-up....and what a ***** it was - 60% water archipelago, no bonus tiles anywhere, and no rivers on my side of the mountains. To say my growth was slow was an understatement!

Will download your start and have a go tonight.

Cheers!

[Aqualung71]

Only had time to play a few turns, so won't report yet. Suffice it to say - this one really sucks! Thank heavens we're seafaring. I'm expecting a long plod and much subservient arse-licking behaviour on my part!

[Mountain Sage]

[Aqualung71]

Well I've played until 1355AD. My early fears were confirmed - this is much more difficult than MS's first posted game. Starting position with a cow, and not much else closeby except some Silk. Worse still, we're on a skinny island full of mountains, with no rivers whatsoever. This has made for quite slow growth until Electricity, which of course limits overall research and gold producing ability.

Somehow I managed to get the early tech lead - probably because I researched techs the AI wasn't, and then kept trading......and also because a lack of irrigation makes no difference to growth under Despotism. I also built the early Curragh and so met more Civ's early than my opponents, which obviously helped keeped me ahead. Although I must have researched 5 or 6 ancient age techs first (including Philosophy), still no SGL’s for me….keeping my unbroken stretch intact since I bought the game!

Anyway, predictably I started falling behind at the end of the ancient era. I guess the AI civ’s had greater growth potential once they switched governments and were able to make use of irrigation. This disadvantage also prevented me from seriously challenging for any wonders, so I didn’t bother.

I managed to REX ok, by pushing an exploring warrior way up north and then plonking a settler down near a choke point almost two-thirds up this dog-tail of an island, effectively limiting Carthage’s ability to expand and ensuring that Hannibal would be the first target of the Vikings’ wrath once the awesome power of the Beserk was unleashed. I then took my time backfilling the land with towns – perhaps I should have done that more quickly, but I’m always tempted to build “just one more improvement” in each city, so as a strategist I’m probably not hard-headed enough.

I didn’t have to wait long. Though several techs behind in early middle ages, I somehow managed to score Theology first. Rather than chase Sistine alone, which was really a pipe dream at that stage given my limited production, I whored it off to several AI in return for other techs and gpt. This gave me Invention, and suddenly Beserks appeared on the build-lists. The days of Carthage on “my” island were numbered. I quickly accounted for most of Hannibal’s cities, starting with Theveste. In all I picked up 5 – unfortunately the pesky Dutch were also at war with him and they secured a foothold on my island before I could get there. Not wanting my Republic to experience war weariness (I had secured a total of only 3 luxuries), I offered peace to a grateful Hannibal (I think in return for a couple of techs).

I had fallen a fair way behind in techs again due to the war, but of course it triggered my GA which allowed me to catch up quite well, and by the end of the middle ages I was behind only Netherlands and Portugal. Unfortunately, as I was soon to discover, I had no connected coal source!!!

Eyeing the Netherlands’ quite small and sparsely populated island with envy, at the same time wondering how they could be so far in front, I recalled the excellent strategy thread “On the Utility and Use of Marines”, and the brilliant invasion that Hot_Enamel launched against Tiberius in their MP game. I just had to stop the Dutch, but they had Cavalry, while my Saltpeter trading arrangements with Lizzie had ended and Rome had cut off their extra supply so I couldn’t renew. I was therefore left with only about 4 Musketman and a couple of Cavalry, plus many legions of Beserks. With the Dutch close to Nationalism, any plan of establishing a beach-head on their island using available arms would have been wishful thinking. So I did the next best thing!

To my lasting shame (Theseus, you are not alone!), I loaded my fiery Beserks into 5 Galleons, and with an escort of Frigates (those damn Dutch Privateers were everywhere!) I raced over to Amsterdam and before old William knew what hit him, he had amphibious axe-wielding savages beating down the doors of his capital. His skillful Riflemen were woefully outnumbered and Amsterdam fell. I gambled on a one-turn occupation to return my battered Frigates and injured Beserks to fighting fitness, and luckily the 3 Musketmen I had brought along were able to fend off the few Cavalry sent in by the Dutch in response, although there were now about 20 Riflemen within striking range waiting to take back their beloved capital. So the glorious Viking raiders ransacked the city, raped the women, drank all the wine, and jumped back on their repaired Galleons to sail away, sparing enough time only to burn the city to the ground. Bye bye Colossus, Great Lighthouse, Magellan and Artemis. Somehow I don’t think William will be looking for peace any time soon. But anticipating that, I bought MPP’s with Portugal and Byzantine beforehand (they weren’t interested in MA’s for some reason). This could be a long and ultimately, disastrous war!

My Beserks are now sitting a little offshore and I’m wondering whether I can do the same thing to The Hague, which beat me to Newton’s University and I’m carrying a grudge! However I’m down to 11 Beserks in the Galleons, so I may build a couple of ships worth of reinforcements for one last try before the Beserks become obsolete. I’m hoping, if successful, that this will really nobble the Dutch.

My other priority is to link up my sole source of Coal, which is sitting outside my territory on a 2-town island I took from Carthage. Need more Galleons and to strengthen the flimsy defences – it is painfully close to another Dutch dominated island. Also need to build lots of workers for the RR – I didn’t build too many early on because of the slow growth rate I experienced.

Tech-wise I don’t yet have Nationalism, but I’m racing towards Electricity, with the plan being get a Factory/Coal plant up, then grab ToE. Unfortunately, Hoover won’t be possible.

That’s it for now…..looking for other’s posts now so I can see how I should have played this start better!!!

[Aqualung71]

Current save attached, for anyone with the time and inclination to give me a few pointers on how I could have played this better....

Cheers!

[Theseus]

Originally posted by Thriller
To my lasting shame (Theseus, you are not alone!), I loaded my fiery Beserks into 5 Galleons, and with an escort of Frigates (those damn Dutch Privateers were everywhere!) I raced over to Amsterdam and before old William knew what hit him, he had amphibious axe-wielding savages beating down the doors of his capital. His skillful Riflemen were woefully outnumbered and Amsterdam fell. I gambled on a one-turn occupation to return my battered Frigates and injured Beserks to fighting fitness, and luckily the 3 Musketmen I had brought along were able to fend off the few Cavalry sent in by the Dutch in response, although there were now about 20 Riflemen within striking range waiting to take back their beloved capital. So the glorious Viking raiders ransacked the city, raped the women, drank all the wine, and jumped back on their repaired Galleons to sail away, sparing enough time only to burn the city to the ground. Bye bye Colossus, Great Lighthouse, Magellan and Artemis.

NASTY!!

Seems like I've started a trend...

[vmxa1]

Sounds like you are having a fun game now. If the Hague isw coastal, you will probably find it under defended and could take it down.

[Aqualung71]

1510AD

Yes, The Hague was coastal. I filled 2 new Galleons with Berserks and rushed over to join the 5 others, then launched another amphibious Berserks assault....it was only defended by 3 Riflemen.

This time however the Dutch were already prepared to talk about peace, and my MP's with Byzantine and Portugal happened to expire on that very turn. So instead of razing The Hague I took it, along with the expired GL and Newtons. Amazingly corruption was only around 30%, thanks to existing factory and polics station, so I kept the city, started starving the pop and agreed to peace. It shouldn't flip as I have 12 units inside and am starving it down. I'm planning to make this the launch pad for the eventual annihilation of the Dutch. I also took the opportunity to nationalise the Dutch's single city on my own island, which generated a MGL and army for me.

Meanwhile, coal now connected, workers born and trained and RR's now spewing forth across my island. Now irrigating and growing - main objective: increase research rate and obtain a permanent tech lead. Prebuild for ToE commenced.

Cheers!

[Aqualung71]

Hmm, do I hear an echo? Mountain Sage - any status reports on your game so I can get a few comparisons and pointers?

[Mountain Sage]

I will prepare some screenshots and post them tomorrow. BTW, yes, this game is more difficult than the previous one, especially with respect of tthe 'crappy' terrain.
In fact, I wanted to do it this way. The Vikings, after all, came from a very inhospitable northern country (well, this time, they came from a very inhospitable southern country).
I also added some more 'spices' in my game by refusing to move my capital and by refusing to put my FP on another island. Finally, I conquered all other civs (except the Dutch) only with Berserkers (except some Cavs against Portugal). Domination victory (the only possible) by 1680AD (if I remember correctly).

[Mountain Sage]

Originally posted by Theseus

Seems like I've started a trend...

Do it again and I'll ban you from this thread....