Chronicles of Rome under Nbarclius Caesar, Vol. IV

[nbarclay]

The glorious Roman Empire has conquered the Greeks, who were led by their great leader Theseus. This story follows the Empire's development in the modern era, picking up after the discovery of Rocketry as their second modern technology. The game is being played on Emperor level under the AU Mod rules.

Please do NOT read this thread if you are playing the game unless you have discovered both Rocketry and Fission.

My other DARs:

The Chronicles of Rome under the Leadership of Nbarclius Caesar, Volume I

The Chronicles of Rome under the Leadership of Nbarclius Caesar, Volume II

The Chronicles of Rome under the Leadership of Nbarclius Caesar, Volume III

Theseus's DARs:

Theseus's DAR1

Theseus's DAR2

[nbarclay]

In 1390, the Celts pulled a doublecross and used a Right of Passage agreement to send a band of guerillas all the way to the undefended city of Knossos. Rome promptly retook the city and killed every Celtic guerilla in sight, capturing a band of Celtic workers. More importantly, Rome allied the entire world against the Celts, aiming for their destruction (which, in turn, would provide access to furs, the last luxury that Rome did not yet have).

[I'm starting to seriously consider seeing whether a domination victory will be possible without ever capturing a single city from an AI except for retaking cities an AI took from me. With another city founded in 1395, I'm up to 40% of the world's land area. If I can get the AIs to kill each other off and slip in Roman cities in between, domination may be possible - although I may have to use a strange kind of ROP rape to plant the last cities I need.]

[Arrian]

Go for it. I wouldn't be surprised if you pulled it off.

-Arrian, still reading

[Solomwi]

An interesting idea. With several cities plopping down in their borders, each equally defended, would the AI concentrate its attack or dribble units at each one?

[nbarclay]

By the year 1430, Persia had taken four cities from the Celts, Babylon had taken three, and Egypt managed to take one. Roman settlers with a heavy Mechanized Infantry escort followed in the wake of the rival military forces and founded three cities in former Celtic lands. With the founding of the cities of New Troy and Fur Valley, the fur supplies that had once belonged to the Celts were in Roman hands. Rome now had domestic supplies of all eight luxuries.

In regard to the research situation, Computers took six turns, Rocketry five, and Miniaturization six. The Internet was completed using a palace prebuild the same turn Miniaturization was researched, and that put Rome on a four-turn research pace. The only real obstacle to maintaining that pace would be whether or not sufficient financing could be maintained from Rome's neighbors. Much of Rome's gold hoarde had been spent upgrading infantry and guerillas to Mechanized Infantry and TOW Infantry, so there was a limit to how long Rome could maintain its research pace without significant foreign income.

[nbarclay]

As the war dragged on, Rome became the beneficiary of two culture flips: one of the former Carthaginian city the Celts had captured in the south and one of the southernmost native Germanic city that Persia had captured in the Germanic War. Babylon and Egypt both signed peace treaties with the Celts, but Rome immediately bribed them to rejoin the war.

By 1465, Persia and Babylon had each captured four cities from the Celts and Egypt had captured two. Rome had built a total of eight cities in the war zone, in addition to the seven it settled in territory made available in the Germanic War. In that year, Persia razed the southernmost city of the Celts' homeland, consolidating a large patch of territory in Roman hands.

[nbarclay]

The war with the Celts dragged on for a long time after they were confined to their home peninsula, mostly because it was hard for Rome's allies to get infantry through the isthmus. But eventually, the Babylonians were able to capture the Celtic capital. From there, it didn't take long for the rest of the Celtic civilization to collapse. In the meantime, Rome benefitted from two more culture flips, adding a little more territory to its empire.

The war with the Celts ended in AD 1560. Rome then immediately allied with the Persians and Babylonians against Egypt, which was kind enough not to leave when ordered to. This screenshot shows what the former Celtic and Germanic lands looked like one turn into the war with Egypt.

By that point, Motorized Transportation was the only industrial technology that Rome's allies lacked. Rome finished researching its eleventh modern technology in 1565. Had Rome tried to win the space race as quickly as possible, it could have launched in 1585.

[vmxa1]

Wow 4 flips now.

[nbarclay]

Now it's up to five, not counting the Carthaginian city of Leptis Minor a lot earlier in the game. The recent flips have mostily involved cities where I had cities on more than one side of the AI city and at least one of my cities was built right next to the AI city with city-tile-city spacing. Add to that the fact that I've been keeping the AIs in constant warfare, so the AI offensive units are all out fighting instead of serving as extra anti-flip garrison forces.

[Arrian]

With that type of culture bombing against captured cities, I'm not surprised.

-Arrian

[vmxa1]

Yeah, I just don't see much of the intermingled city placement. I can see how it would lead to flips.

[nbarclay]

The First Law of Unit Support: No matter how much you have, it's not enough. By AD 1630, the fully developed Roman cities were given orders to build airports and then wealth rather than run up even more absurd unit totals than had already been reached. Unit production would resume once the support limit was higher.

Note that the unit support situation was a major part of how the culture flipping game worked. I routinely used garrisons of about eight units to help protect against having my own cities flip. The need for military police also explains why I'm relatively light on artillery.

[nbarclay]

I forgot the picture:

[Arrian]

First thought looking at that map:

"We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

-Arrian

[nbarclay]

Originally posted by Arrian
First thought looking at that map:

"We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."

I actually had thoughts of Borghood early in the game when I had such a strong REX, but I hadn't thought about that analogy lately. This is, indeed, turning out to be a game of assimilating.