AU 504 Glory of Culture DAR 5 - 50K Culture

[Modo44]

Originally posted by nbarclay

Try telling the Spanish that the Iroquois aren't a killer AI - if you can find any Spanish to tell. My Iroquois certainly aren't in the same league as yours, but they haven't exactly been sitting around peacefully either.

I was talking landmass here. That's what counts in the long run, considering the goal in this game. In your parallel universe, the Iroquis won't be able to keep up with the Indian culture. Good for you.

[punkbass2000]

I've been lucky in my game. No civs destroyed, though the Iroqs were clearly the strongest. So I allie the two who I felt could handle it (Ottos and Arabs) against them, and things have pretty well evened out, though now I'm a little worried about the Arabs. Culture-wise, the Iroqs are still second though.

[Arrian]

Screenshot from 1100AD:

[Arrian]

Hrm, dunno why the images won't display inside my posts...

Anyway, here is my F3 screen from the same date...

[Arrian]

Victory Conditions screen:

[Arrian]

I'm now up to 1210 AD. China is down to three mainland cities, and two island cities, one of which I'm about to capture.

I'm three techs from the Industrial Age (though I've chosen not to bother with MT yet, and may research that too at some point).

Still no leaders. I'm in one of those drouts one hits every so often.

The Germans picked a fight against the Iroquois, which will surely be their doom.

-Arrian, signing off for the night (because the dog is barking at me to take him out).

[Modo44]

What's with all the cash in your bank? Shouldn't you be rushing culture with it? That's at least 4 Universities, or 10 Libraries/Cathedrals in gold! And I mean with a 1-turn prebuild.

[Arrian]

Most of my cities have their cultural improvements already. I *am* rushing temples/cathedrals immediately in captured Chinese cities.

But you're right that I do have a little too much cashola. I'll make sure to rush libraries/universities/colosseums down there as well.

I also have Persia to deal with shortly, and will need some money for them too.

-Arrian

[Modo44]

Most cost effective order is: Temple, Library/Cathedral, University, Colosseum. Before anything else, naturally.

[Arrian]

The key thing I need to remember is to blow nearly all of my money before I switch over to communism (the plan right now is to switch to demo right before discovering Steam Power, and then over to communism a little later on).

I also need to pick my first overseas target. I guess that sorta depends on what happens in the Iroquois vs. Germany war. If for some odd reason Germany actually survives, I may hit them. Spain and Arabia are also options. I do *not* want to pick a fight with the Iroquois first. Foothold first, buildup and then a showdown if necessary.

-Arrian

[Modo44]

Your Iroquis look pretty weak compared to other formidable KAI breeds (BTW, what was their land percentage when you hit 50K culture?). You may well be able to win this even without trimming them - just keep on rushing those buildings. Of course, having more cities to put Temples in, is always good in this game.

If the cultural race is close, you really don't want Anarchy - not a single turn of it. Communism will hurt you as well, because with the loose city placement you will soon run out of easy pop-rushes for culture. Can you do without Universities and Colosseums in the soon-to-be-conquered regions?

[Arrian]

1) Yes, my Iroquois are comparatively weak, though given that the Germans just declared war on them they are likely to get stronger. The last time I checked, I had a 16k to 10k culture lead.

2) I haven't hit 50k culture yet. I'm only up to 1210 AD.

3) Switching governments is more of a "fun" thing than a "win ASAP" thing for me. I don't really care if I'm the first or last to win by culture in this AU game. I'm playing just to play. I haven't used democracy in I can't remember how long, because under stock rules there isn't a compelling reason to use it over republic, even if you're religious. I almost always use communism because I hate corruption and communism provides very low corruption for massive empires (once you've got courthouses, police stations and the secret police HQ). I love having all of my cities productive.

-Arrian

[nbarclay]

In the AU Mod, the SPHQ goes with Fascism instead of Communism. We felt like we needed to tone down Communism a bit, which was an interesting change from our desire to beef it up in the PtW version.

[Arrian]

More progress

Continued...

1210 AD - I give Germany 500 gold and iron, hoping to slow the Iroquois down a bit.

1255 AD - China destroyed. The Iroquois have taken Berlin. They demand contact with the Persians, I tell them to pound sand. They back down.

1275 AD - Newton complete.

1290 AD - We enter the Industrial Age (I haven't researched MT, though)

1300 AD - We declare war and attack Persia.

1315 AD - FINALLY!!! -

[Arrian]

Nathan - Oh, right, I remember that now. Hrm. Perhaps I'll just go with Demo. I still haven't switched... will do ~1 turn before I destroy Persia.

-Arrian