AU 202: Analysis, Solutions, and Stories (spoiler)

[Jawa Jocky]

Nice guess.

I doubt I'm the first person to devise this strategy, but I was the first to give it a really stupid name

[Aeson]

It's one of the most brilliant acronyms ever IMO!

Well done Dominae. Your screenshot of all the German units looks much like my map did right before my demise... Only Bismark had the Knights, and I didn't have all that many Horsemen.

[Dominae]

Originally posted by Aeson
Well done Dominae. Your screenshot of all the German units looks much like my map did right before my demise... Only Bismark had the Knights, and I didn't have all that many Horsemen.

Thanks Aeson. News of your demise makes me fear Deity even more...perhaps I will forever remain an Emperor player. Would you say Germany is the toughest civ on Deity, because of the aggressiveness?


Dominae

[Aeson]

The Germans are certainly the one most likely to ruin a Deity game. Like I said, that game should have been lost by 2000BC, it was just fantastic luck that I survived. The Zulu have the same aggressiveness, but don't seem as likely to go for the kill from the start. Of course I've ran into the Greeks and French sending their starting units from turn 1, not sure just why it happens. In Deity games, if you can make it past the early portion of the game it's almost always possible to win.

It really was the Greeks who did me in, I didn't expect them to come calling and so wasn't prepared. It was just a mistake on my part, spreading myself too thin by going after the Iroquois, then completely exposing myself by cutting off my Iron and building Horsemen.

[Catt]

I've been more pessimistic than need be -- perhaps due to the German rush in my first attempt (and the fact that I saw it coming and was fooled nonetheless).

Despite my trading (reputation) hell which prevents mixing and matching per-turn and upfront assets in the same trade deal, I was eventually able to buy Monotheism at about 700 gold, and, shortly after the Iroquois helpfully built Sun Tzu's just across the border, Feudalism for about 600 gold. Germany declared war on the Greeks. I have about 600 gold, 13 turns to Chivalry, and 25 horsemen waiting for upgrades just outside the Iroquois Sun Tzu city. An Ansar rush, with a GA, should cement my position (although it's been an awful long time since I didn't have a library in 500 AD (I haven't discovered Literature). A map, not much changed from the last I posted, is below.

Catt

[Catt]

Espionage Bug?

I was willing to spend the gold to investigate a few cities and get a sense on Sistine production -- as a Religious civ with a large continent, I want Sistine.

Countering my run of luck with this AU game, Salamanca will complete Sistine in 12 turns -- I will have Chivalry in 13 turns (and have a good-sized force ready for conquest). Greece's Sistine is 25+ turns away. But Germany just started Sistine as well, and I wanted to get a sense of completion date. Unfortunately, although Leipzig is working on Sistine, Leipzig doesn't show up in the German "investigate city" list?? I loaded the editor and confirmed that Leipzig should be the 2nd city in the German city list. Any guess as to why I shouldn't have access to Leipzig (keeping in mind that I have about 600 gold in the treasury)?

Catt

[Arrian]

Catt,

I think I've seen this too... can you see Leipzig on the map (do you have Bizzie's territory map)? If not, that may explain it. I've met civs from overseas and made an embassy but did not yet have their maps, and the only city available for investigation was the capitol.

-Arrian

[jshelr]

I'm sort of done

This AU mod is really, really an improvement. Kudos to all who put in the hard work.

The Arabs got all the wonders starting with US. Longevity is quite powerful and the pop grew nicely. ToE cemented a tech lead. We've ground down Germany and Japan to stubs and Greece is ours.

The improved perforance of the AI is visible, however, since the Babs are creeping back up in the tech race. We are about to finish the internet, which should finish that race as well.

As long as I'm having fun, let's go visit the Babs.

Questions: will I be able to land wheeled mechanized infantry armies on the Babs coastal mountains if they have built roads on those mountains? And, do you think a few carriers with jets parked in the first coastal square will protect the landing from aircraft bombardment under the new mod rules?

[Catt]

Originally posted by Arrian
Catt,

I think I've seen this too... can you see Leipzig on the map (do you have Bizzie's territory map)? If not, that may explain it. I've met civs from overseas and made an embassy but did not yet have their maps, and the only city available for investigation was the capitol.

-Arrian

Will have to check tonight when I get home (although, looking at the minimap in my screenshots, I'll bet Leipzig, as city #2, falls right in the little black hole in German territory on my map).

I've never noticed that quirk before but seems to be as good an explanation as I can imagine.

Catt

[ZargonX]

I haven't noticed anyone else mention this, but I was curious if anyone else was having the same issue. In my AU game (Reagent, Americans, AU Mod), the Greeks have been amazingly aggressive. I ignored them in the early game as I dealt with pushing the Iroquois off of what should clearly be my territory, but then around the age of feudalism, I was quite suprised to see an endless stream of light green med. inf. and horsemen, etc, come swarming up through my lands, past me, and onto the Germans. Since that point in the game, (I'm now in 1840), the Greeks have declared war on me twice, the Germans more times than I can count, and everyone else in the world a few times as well. They haven't built a single wonder, they have a laughable amount of culture, and they build nothing but military units.

In all the games I have played, I have never seen the Greeks act like this. Is this a change in the AI because of the mod, or something with the new PTW patch?

[Dominae]

In my game, the Greeks attacked the Germans relentlessly, even after I cancelled our Alliance. This wasn't surprising to me because I've encountered the Greek "mean streak" before. I think we're still trying to figure out the changes in 1.14, and playing with the AU mod doesn't make this easier.


Dominae

[alexman]

I don't believe there is anything in the AU mod that would cause such a behavior from the Greeks. In fact, I don't even think it's PTW either, since Aeson experinced it in standard 1.29f.

It might have something to do with their poor starting location. If that's the case, that's really good AI behavior.

[jshelr]

Yup

You will find quite a few stories about the apparent increase in warlike behavior of the PTW AI if you rummage around the boards in recent threads. I belive the human player will benefit from this on higher levels. It slows down research and makes it easier to pit one against the other.

[Robber Baron]

Genghis Fred, Part One

It took me a little while to get to this game, but it's been a fun one.
I decided to try out the mod, and so played at Monarchy level.

Early scouting a la Aeson netted a settler, an inconvinently distant city, and several techs. And of course (as you all know by now) uncovered the Germas to the north, the Iroquois and Greeks to the south. I tried to optimize production and growth and settle across the middle band of the continent.

Characteristically, Bismark declared war early. That first round was relatively easily staved off. Then he came again, in a horse rush that required some serious scrambling. I decided that the next time I was going to need some help, and set up embassies with the southern powers.

Meanwhile, I settled on a larger strategy. Managed to land the Great Library via pre-building, so I dialed science down to one beaker and began to amass gold, figuring I'd keep Bismark at bay via alliances and limited military efforts, and meanwhile accumulate a mass of horsemen in preperation for chivalry via the GL, and a Golden Age whomp.

Here's an early screenshot:

[Robber Baron]

Genghis Fred, Part Two

Things did not exactly go according to plan. I did get an early leader, built the Heroic Epic, and fished out a few number of leaders in the chronic warfare that ensued. And I did pull the Iroquois and the Greeks into a triple alliance against the Germans.
But I was surprised to see just how many purple swordsmen came marching up through my territory to give the Germans battle. The Iroquois even took several German cities along my northern border. At that point I decided I needed to slow the Iroquois down. Luckily, I had not signed an ROP, and was able to set up friendly blockades and long detours so that I could let the Germans retake cities, then take them myself. ("Oh, I'm sorry, Hiawatha. Are my workers in your way. Just let me finish this mining project, and then your swordsmen may pass." )

That much went well. But other parts of my strategy ran into problems. The Iroquois began to pull away technologically: the wars significantly slowed German and Greek research, apparently. Which made my Great Library rather unproductive.
Realizing I needed to make new contacts, I began building suicide galleys -- figuring the payoff would come in techs.
But the mod made deepwater sailing especially treacherous. After several tries, I realized I had made a mistake. Dialed research back up and began beelining for Chivalry.
Meanwhile, the Iroquois built Sistine's Chapel. I hate missing that one.

Here's a screenshot. Notice all the purple swordsmen working their way patiently and slowly around my blocking units. Also notice I'm building a galley, which of course is doomed to sinking.