Fortnight OCC - First Edition! - Results & Logs

[Paul]

As the name says, it's a fortnight competition, so the next one will be two weeks after the first one which I received on the 13th. That means that the next one should start at or around the 27th of januari.

[SandMonkey]

Paul -

What's your web pages URL?

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SandMonkey

"Shut up brain or I'll stab you with a qtip"
-Homer Simpson

[Smash]

http://home.planet.nl/~belt0018/occ.htm

an excellent site

[Scouse Gits]

Summary - Scouse Griks OCC Comp #1

A.C. in 1911
Luck: Outstanding
Strategy: Fair
Tactics: Good
Operational: Poor
Had our micromanagement been better we could have shaved 20 years off this figure. I guess that if any really good players have the luck that we did a date around 1850 should be possible.

Commentary

For finbar's benefit: I, SG1, started on Friday afternoon and then persuaded SG2 to join in on Friday and Sunday nights. I finally wrapped it up Monday small hours. No fighting over the keyboard.
We were as lucky as h*ll. The Barbars took out the Vikings early and in the middle game captured both Toledo and St Louis. The AIs had their hands full keeping them out of their hair and so we got ignored.
Our strategy seemed quite good - only a few small tech tree wobblies (I think) and I mined the wheat before the wine - idiot!
Considering that it is my third OCC game and SG2's first ever - we didn't do too badly.

Questions
We have never seen a "Major Barbarian Horde lands near Liverpool" before - comments?
Or, for that matter, "Religious Fanatics in Arms"
What is the (undocumented) extra that Democracy has over Republic? We could never get more than 10 happy people under Republic, but felt that we could not afford the anarchy of a late change - wrong! very short period when we eventually bit the bullet and then had thirteen smilies!
Perpetual shortage of trade caravans - every single trade caravan is documented below except for two that sacrificed themselves in the mad rush for Darwin all the others were Food without the option!

No more wittering - herewith The Log

4000 - Start
3900 - hut Horseman
3850 - hut Chariot
3750 - build Liverpool
3600 - hut Pottery - was this a mistake?
3500 - hut 25 gold
3200 - Ceremonial Burial
3150 - my continent fully mapped - start on N Pole
2750 - hut Map Making - rotten damn huts ...
2550 - Code of Laws
2550 - hut Currency
2100 - Americans Washington - Masonry, Warrior Code, Peace - no alliance, no maps
2000 - Viking civilisation destroyed by Barbarians
1950 - Wheat changed to Silk
1650 - Monarchy - change to Monarchy
1650 - Americans - Writing, no alliance, maps
1150 - hut Construction
1150 - Spanish Horseman - Mysticism, Horseback Riding, Peace - no alliance, no maps
0975 - Americans - Trade!!! Yippee
0725 - Literacy
0700 - German Catapult - declares WAR
0650 - German Catapult - peace
0625 - COLOSSUS
0575 - American Chariot - Alliance - war with Spain - 100 Gold
0400 - American - war with Germany - Republic
0250 - Library
0225 - Philosophy, Medicine - revolution
0200 - Americans - Seafaring, 50 gold
0125 - Temple, Republic go for celebrations
0075 - hut NONE Chariot
0050 - Americans - 100 gold
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A020 - Marketplace - Spaniards Ceasefire
A020 - hut Feudalism
A020 - Americans - Banking, 100 gold
A060 - Americans - 50 gold
A060 - Spanish - gifted Philosophy; acquired Mathematics, The Wheel
A080 - Trade route Hides to Barcelona(2) required - 232 gold + 4 route
A100 - Astronomy
A160 - hut 25 gold - why didn't I reload!!!
A180 - Americans - 50 gold
A200 - hut Iron Working
A260 - Spanish break cease fire kill NONE Chariot
A260 - Americans - 50 gold
A300 - Hides & Gems to Uppsala (Barbarian) for 138 + 138 & 5 + 5
A340 - University (tech)
A380 - Barbarians kill NONE Chariot - boo hoo
A380 - Copernicus' Observatory - ya hoo (built with 6 caravans - thanks jpk)
A420 - Coliseum
A460 - Spanish - took a fistful of techs and gave NOTHING!
A460 - Americans - 50 gold
A460 - going for celebrations
A480 - Aqueduct
A480 - Warrior disbanded to make Archer
A560 - Liverpool now size 12 - 10:20:70 = 9:19:132
A580 - SG2 wants to rush build another 50 cities!! and sort the Spaniards out!
A580 - theory of Gravity
A620 - Germans - Polytheism
A620 - Americans - 50 gold
A640 - University (for real)
A760 - Americans - 100 gold
A860 - Americans - 100 gold
A860 - Spanish - We had to STEAL Bridge Building - rotten sods wouldn't give us a thing!!
A860 - SG2 wants to build howitzers for the Spanish
A940 - Trade route Dye to Kaupang (American) for 364 & 6
A940 - SG2 changes name of capital to Liverpool (BMP) - not enough characters for building Manhatten Project - in order to frighten the AI. SG1 remains sceptical!
A960 - Invention
1060 - Major Barbarian Horde lands near Liverpool - has anyone else ever seen this message? We haven't! "Build City Walls" - SG2 again!!!
1060 - Navigation
1080 - Trade route - Silk to Atlanta required - 171 + 7
1120 - City Walls - SG2 is pleased.
1160 - Gunpowder
1160 - Trade route - Gold to Philadelphia 267 + 9 - v. nice!!
1220 - Americans - Chemistry + 25 Gold
1240 - BIZARRE - during this year whatever we did with our tax rate the city celebrated and discveries came every 912 turns.
1280 - Barbar king leaps into our hands - 150 Gp
1320 - Steam Engine
1360 - Sewer System
1360 - Americans - Chivalry, 100 gold
1380 - Cathedral - going for wltcd
1460 - Americans - Economics, 100 gold
1460 - Trade route - Coal to Uppsala (not required) 106 + (not enough)
1480 - Railroad
1530 - Isaac Newton's College
1550 - Industrialisation
1610 - Germans - Maps
1610 - Americans - 100 gold
1620 - Magnetism
1640 - Americans - 100 gold
1660 - Establish embassy with America
1700 - Americans - maps
1710 - Metallurgy
1710 - Coal caravan into Uppsala (unwanted - noone wants coal) 71 gold
1720 - Enthusiastic American ?allies? (with 440 gold) tell us where to put our request for a gift
1740 - Darwin (just ahead of the Yanks) Electricity, Refrigeration
1752 - Spanish build Great Wall!!!! already defunct!
1752 - Supermarket
1754 - Conscription
1762 - Electronics
1764 - Americans gave Conscription got 100 gold
1768 - Steel
1770 - Germans alliance for Demo & war with Spain (our pleasure!) - got 50 gold
1772 - Americans 100 gold
1776 - Bank, Refining
1778 - Spice to Boston 332 gold + 8
1778 - Coal to Boston 277 gold
1780 - Combustion
1782 - both enthusiastic allies refuse us gifts! the cads!
1788 - Automobile
1794 - Superhighways
1794 - Mass Production
1798 - Silk to Washington 614 gold + 19 trade
1798 - Americans 50 gold
1798 - Germans - gave Conscription got 50 gold
1800 - Leadership
1806 - Tactics
1808 - Factory
1810 - Hydro Plant
1810 - Machine Tools
1812 - Coal to Boston 602 gold + 18 trade
1814 - Miniaturisation & Barracks
1822 - Computers
1822 - Spice caravan to Washington 642 gold + 19 trade
1824 - Research Lab
1824 - Atomic Theory
1828 - Theology
1834 - Mobile Warfare
1836 - Coal to Boston 617 gold
1836 - Granary!! are we insane? Can we afford to change to Demo at this stage??
1836 - Robotics
1840 - JSB's Cathedral
1840 - Nuclear Fission
1842 - Revolution
1844 - Democracy
1846 - Nuclear Power
1850 - Rotten game unilaterally decided I wanted no luxuries and threw me into discontent!!
1850 - The Laser
1852 - Recycling
1854 - flight
1856 - Dye to Philadelphia 256 gold
1856 - Coal to Philadelphia - 202 gold
1856 - Radio
1857 - Recycling Centre
1858 - Advanced Flight
1861 - Manufacturing Plant
1861 - Rocketry
1862 - Spice to Boston 462 gold
1863 - Offshore Platform
1864 - Space Flight
1867 - Plastics
1870 - Superconductor
1871 - Apollo
1875 - Fusion Power
1880 - Environmentalism
1894 - Stealth
1896 - Launch 15 - 3*3 - 3*1
1898 - Solar Plant
1900 - SDI Defence
1901 - Combined Arms
1905 - Coastal Fortress
1905 - Amphibious Warfare
1907 - Religious Fanatics in Arms - serious Barbar invasion
1909 - Communism
1911 - A.C. Markos Apolyton the Forkbeard

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor

[Scouse Gits]

Just read the thread.
Grigor, ROTFLMAO - outstanding
Sten, I forgot to thank you for the map - truly devious - I too had grigor like thoughts about extended periods of extreme pain for you and yours.
Everyone else - I shall print off the thread and see how much I can learn from your excellent logs - thank you all

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor

[Carolus Rex]

A tie!

Just curious, why JSB and not Shake's?

And didn't your people love you?

Carolus

[Carolus Rex]

And democracy that late in the game (1800s)?!

Was this at deity?

If so, 1911 is impressive!

Carolus

[Scouse Gits]

Thank you kindly, Sir

I lost Shakes to the Yanks after the undignified rush for Darwin - I must admit that I was in two minds whether or not to get it at all - is it really a must for OCC - I see it as such for the SSC, but my lack of experience with OCC does get in the way...

As for Democracy - everything was going so well in Republic (apart from not being able to get bigger than 21) and I scoured the civilopaedia for any extra mileage from Demo and other than unbribability and the extra happy from a courthouse there does not appear to be any (documented) advantage. So... I (wrongly) thought that the time I would be forced into anarchy when I changed government would outweigh the marginal advantages of the change itself.
What a fool I am!!
Yes, it was deity.

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor

[Caesar the Great]

You missed Shakes ouch... I had horrible luck in the begginning of the game. But when I got going I did really well... also barbs gave me some trouble and thrice I didn't get 1 turn structurals. Oh well... thats just part of the game.

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CtG

[Grigor]

Wow!
This is a boatload of fascinating strategic info.
We know Paul is the legend, but the way he wins is spooky. Despite a terrible start, he was behind Redbaron by only 2 techs when they both got Newton's in 1360. How Paul ended up 9 turns ahead at Space Flight and then 30 ahead by Launch -- whoa!.

The research paths were the same, except that Redbaron did not build Darwin's. I noted the following differences:

player _ # techs disc. _ # turns of tech >2 _ # caravans sent _ #techs 1/adv _ #techs traded

Paul _______ 24 _________ 2 _____________ 5 ___________ 2 ________ 4
Redbaron __ 26 _________ 5 _____________ 1 ___________ 0 ________ 0

Comparing Paul versus Smash's first game from 1100 when Paul was 1 teech ahead:

Paul ______ 30 _________ 5 _____________ 5 ____________ 2 _________ 5
Smash #1 __ 33 ________ 16 ____________ 4 _____________ 0 _________ 2

In conclusion:

1. Build Darwin's!
2. Send caravans whenever possible
2. Time arrival of caravans so that the science box is empty for maximum turn benefit.
3. Trade Techs, even after Railroad
4. Endure hunger if necessary to maximize the number of turns in which Science arrives every 2 turns

[Paul]

Irrigate those forests to plains and mine new forests on those rivers.

[Scouse Gits]

So simple, So obvious, So elegant, So d**n annoying!

Thanks Paul - just an operational question we don't get a corps of engineers at OCC so when and in what order?

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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor

[Scouse Gits]

Please let me know if this is of any value - in which case I may do more - or not - to shut me up!

Analysis of OCC logs

Arrival at A.C.

1859 Paul
1871 Smash#2 (out of competition)
1888 Smash#1
1891 Caesar the Great
1893 redbaron
1911 Carolus Rex
1911 Scouse Gits
xxxx crowatbitmedotcom
xxxx Grigor
xxxx SandMonkey

Time to build SS
Launch date - Apollo date : years = turns

24 Carolus Rex
25 Scouse Gits
32 Caesar the Great
41 Smash#1
53 redbaron
54 Smash#2
60 Paul

Time to build Apollo
Apollo date - Space Flight date : converted to turns

2 : 1 Smash#1
2 : 1 Smash#2
1 : 1 Grigor
2 : 1 Carolus Rex
2 : 1 Caesar the Great
4 : 2 Paul
7 : 7 Scouse Gits
16 : 8 redbaron

Time for Modern Science
Space Flight - Industrialisation : converted to turns

220 : 32 Smash#2
260 : 36 Paul
298 : 37 redbaron
79 : 41 SandMonkey
211 : 50 Carolus Rex
142 : 51 Caesar the Great
200 : 52 Smash#1
214 : 54 Scouse Gits
114 : 67 Grigor (approx)
73 : 73 crowatbitmedotcom

Time to build Darwin
Darwin - Railroad : converted to turns

10 : 01 (1650) Caesar the Great
40 : 04 (1670) Carolus Rex
50 : 05 (1590) Smash#2
140 : 13 (1640) Paul
30 : 15 (1796) Grigor
150 : 15 (1740) Smash#1
260 : xx (1740) Scouse Gits ( it seemed a good idea at the time!)

Time to build Isaac Newton
Isaac - ToG : converted to turns

34 : 09 (1764) Grigor
220 : 11 (1100) Smash#1
220 : 11 ( 800) Smash#2
260 : 13 (1480) Caesar the Great
660 : 33 (1360) Paul
720 : 36 (1260) Carolus Rex
800 : 40 (1200) SandMonkey
840 : 42 (1360) redbaron
678 : xx (1818) crowatbitmedotcom
960 : xx (1530) Scouse Gits (were we trying?)

Time to build Shakespeare's Theatre
Shake's - Medicine : converted to turns

200 : 10 ( 400) Smash#2
315 : 14 ( 140) Carolus Rex
360 : 18 ( 980) Caesar the Great
400 : 20 ( 580) Smash#1
210 : 21 (1630) SandMonkey
500 : 25 ( 820) Paul
705 : 35 ( 680) redbaron
790 : 40 (1530) Grigor
1000 : 50 (1740) crowatbitmedotcom

Time to build Copernicus
Copernicus - Astronomy : converted to turns

80 : 04 ( 140) Smash#2
160 : 08 ( 740) Caesar the Great
160 : 09 ( 220) Smash#1
100 : 10 ( 320) Paul
280 : 14 ( 380) Scouse Gits
300 : 15 ( 740) crowatbitmedotcom
360 : 18 ( 740) Carolus Rex
400 : 19 ( 300) redbaron
525 : 21 (400B) SandMonkey

Date of Collossus

2100BC SandMonkey
1550BC redbaron
1550BC Caesar the Great
1450BC Smash#1
1350BC crowatbitmedotcom
1250BC Paul
1250BC Smash#2
1050BC Carolus Rex
625BC Scouse Gits
600BC Grigor


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Scouse Git[1]

"CARTAGO DELENDA EST" - Cato the Censor

[vik]

I'm not sure if this is already been said, but I feel compelled to say this...

Let me thank you OCC folks for posting your logs here. They are (or can be) an invaluable tool for us OCC beginners.

And the details of the logs you keep seem to be getting better and better. I realize keeping a detailed log of your OCC game isn't the most exciting thing in the world, but keep your collective chin(s) up, because you are appreciated.

[redbaron]

Actually, keeping a log has probably made the biggest impact on my game (after Paul's strategy guide of course). Having to spend the time recording what's going on makes me less likely to pile into the next turn without checking things up first. (Admittedly it doesn't always work , like when I forget to sell redundant improvements)