AU207: Big Planet - Strategy, Spoilers and Comments

[vulture]

1790 BC proved to be another good year for the French nation, as we discovere the Zulu hanging around by the NE chokepoint. A quick flurry of trading gave us contact with everyone, all techs and lots of gold. The order of trading was (for those who care):

Zulu: Contact with America ** France: Alphabet, 30 gold
America: Iron working, contact with Germans ** France: Writing, 8 gold
Germany: Contact with Japan, Mongols ** France: Alphabet
Mongols: 26 gold ** France: Contact with Zulu
Zulu: The wheel, 33 gold ** France: Iron working
Germans: 28 gold ** France: Masonry
Mongols: Horseback riding ** France: Writing, 10 gold
Japan: 16 gold ** France: Alphabet
Zulu: 20 gold ** France: Mysticism
Mongols: 87 gold ** France: Contact with Babylonians
America: 45 gold ** France: Contact with Babylonians
Babylon: 198 gold ** France: The wheel, contact with Zulu, Germans, Japan

Net result: France gains 372 gold, Iron working, The wheel and Horseback riding, while most other countries are broke (Babylon has 1 gold, America 11, Mongols 62 - the rest are all broke and lacking a few techs). The joys of succesful trading...

France promptly built embassies with all the other nations, and still had about 300 gold left over.

Next task was to find out where our local strategic resources were hiding. Horses to the west and iron to the north were immediately visible and nearby, and we also discovered the furs between us and Babylon. The next three cities, planted shortly after this, were all located next to one of these resources, and jammed us hard up against Babylonian borders. There was a single tile between my fur town and the northern-most Babylonian town.

The first of the new towns, next to the horses and lots of bonus grassland, was immediately set to work on the colossus, in anticipation of a switch to the great library once literature was researched (and that's only town number 4 overall - if you can get a wonder with a town starting that early, then when can you get one?).

Since we were getting close to literature, I knew this was the first danger area of the tech race. I kept contacting everyone each turn to make sure that I knew what the situation was and so as not to miss out on the trading windows of opportunity. Philosophy appeared two turns before literature, but only for one civ, so it was too expensive to buy. Then three of us got literature the same turn. Since I couldn't get the monopoly bonus from being the only civ with the tech, I couldn't trade it for philosophy (without giving away a huge amount of gold), so I waited. One turn later all the literature civs had philosophy, but the philosophy civ didn't have literature. Easy trade for me, saving a lot of cash.

I decided to use my cash reserves to research maths at 100% science, knowing that the time of 40 turn techs was past. I upgraded all my warriors to swordsmen first. Somewhere along the line, map making and code of laws appeared and were traded for. Map making as usual provided a cash cow with judicious trading of world maps. I ended up with more cash and a complete map of the continent. Maths was completed, although one civ beat me to it by a turn. Fortunately I was still ablle to trade it profitably.

[vulture]

The first Babylonian anti-climax^H war

With my new pile of swordsmen and horsemen, thanks to our new resources, I decided to go for a quick pruning of Babylon, especially since they had had the cheek to sneak one settler through my land and towards Zulu territory. They had to be stopped, since I could see two more settler teams on the move. I targetted two small towns on the border - the one next to my fur town, and one on the west coast. One got a small force of 2 swordsmen and 2 horsemen, the other got 4 swordsmen and 2 horsemen, since it looked to be more heavily defended. It seems I miscalculated.

The first attack, expecting to find one spearmen, but armed for two, found two very tough spearmen. Although one defender was killed (and the victorious swordsman became elite), the rest of the attack died, and out wounded survivor fled from the elite spearmen left in the town.

the second attack expected two spearmen, but it seems that the two settler teams took refuge there, as we actually found 4 spearmen. Two surviving swordsmen, on 1 hp, beat an inglorious retreat back to safety. After brief healing episode, the now woefully inadequate troops went back to the front to discover that the elite spearman was in between towns. He was pounced on and killed, and the elite swordsman went back to his objective and killed the lone defender there - the elite had been replaced with a regular. When this town fell, Babylon was prepared to give up the other town we'd attacked in return for peace. Since we were in no position to continue the war, this was fine for France, and we managed to proclaim victory depsite almost complete disaster and the death of 80% of our attack force.

Now we are in a building phase. Libraries are being produced as we research currency, and we are trying to rebuild a military presence, whilst continuing to fill out the land between our two chokepoints. If we get the great library, now nearing completion, then a supply of horsemen upgraded to knights may be the best way forwards now to wipe out Babylon.

[Konquest02]

Originally posted by badams52

Kon: Hmmm, you're in cavs and you have a long way to go till you conquer your continent. But I'm sure soon you will rule the roost. BUt how did you get contact with the other nations? I don't see a path across the ocean that made it to the other continent. Did they find you first? You're farther behind than I thought.

Well... I beelined for cavalry and just got it. I usually don't war much and our continent is large enough for my needs. I'll conquer Germany (done yesterday...) and Mongolia (I NEED to beat them up! I might go for them with Cavs too...) then I might go for Zulus, but the game should be won by then. I think that any city above that will just get too corrupt and won't do anything. Well see by then...

I assume Korea met Mongolia as they are nearer than everyone else. Then Mongolia sold contact with me. I then bought all possible contacts and sold them to the civs on my continent... As for the map, I traded for Korea's WM, so I think that Mongolia went and contacted the other continent themselves and not traded their world map. That way, I was able to pull the WM vs. Contacts trade and the passage would not show on my minimap...

I think I'm up-to-date, according to my plans. This is my first real monarch game so I might be a little confused with the timing. I'm fairly confident to win by spaceship or diplomatically. We'll see...

--Kon--

[badams52]

Originally posted by Konquest02
I think I'm up-to-date, according to my plans. This is my first real monarch game so I might be a little confused with the timing. I'm fairly confident to win by spaceship or diplomatically. We'll see...

Very interesting. Looks like you're doing fine. You should have no problem winning your first monarch game. I have yet to see a game where someone makes it into the Modern Era then loses by spaceship. Diplomacy...well...that's another matter, but being peaceful certainly helps you.

[Mountain Sage]

875
Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.

Another drawing called ‘The Calm Before the Tempest’ by the great painter Marquis d’Aureillac. It shows our military laying siege to the Babylonian capital, which will soon fall into our hands. As you all are aware, the few survivors fled towards the frozen wastes of our continent to found a new city. However, since then, the Babylonian civilization was but a footnote in history, before being utterly destroyed later on by the Chinese.

(Excerpts from the personal diary of MS: as I am looking at this drawing, I sense a dark and forbidding presence behind me. It is a flitting shape, one moment like a man holding a spear sitting on a warhorse, the other like a man all clad in black wearing a mask. I tried to dispel this ghost with garlic and making the sign of the Holy Joan, but to no avail.)

875BC

[Mountain Sage]

Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.
This fresco is a copy of the one adorning the south wall of the Great temple of Joan in Erin. It depicts our lush CoreLand and the barbarian wastes encircling it. Thanks to our Milady’s policy of ‘one baby a year’ (per family of course, Editor’s Note), we will soon be able to reclaim this land and make it a Garden of Joan.

[Mountain Sage]

450 BC
Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.
Another fresco, this time from our Milady’s Great Library in Roxane. See how we expanded far and fast! If you pay attention to the details, you can see the look of utter dismay and horror in the face of the barbarian in the west, whose camp will be soon overrun by our valiant troops.

[Mountain Sage]

190 BC
Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.

A rare glimpse of a military map dated 3805 showing our Central Command’s strategic planning. You see N-W, near the German border, some wild Spices groves. Our Seabees (Conquest Battalions) are already laying down a military road network, as to enable our settler caravans to rush to the spot and to move military units to face the ever-present threat of barbarian tribes.
(Excerpts from MS’s personal diary: ‘how the military came up calling basically a road-building worker team a marine bee, when we are scores of miles from the sea and don’t even have a navy, it’s really beyond me’).

[Mountain Sage]

400 AD
Excerpts from: ‘ Chapter 29: An Economic Survey through the Ages of our Forbidden Palace, by Prof. Laurent De L’Argentière, University of Erin:

‘As you are well aware, our blessed country has roughly the shape of a ‘Y’, with our capital Erin in the middle of the two ‘arms’. Our Milady (may she be blessed every day) decided in her great wisdom to build the Forbidden Palace south of her capital instead of in a town situated in one of the two ‘arms’. With this genial move, she created in fact what we call our CoreLand, the heart of our most productive cities and….

[Mountain Sage]

740 AD
Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.

The frescoes adorning the Great temple of Joan in Erin are a vivid illustration of the evolution of our beloved country over the years. This one illustrates our CoreLand in 4740 FR, just a few years before our Golden Age. Our productivity is so high that we can afford building two World Wonders simultaneously. Also note building of our first specialized military unit, the Musketeer, which will shortly inspire shock and awe in our enemies’ hearts.

[Mountain Sage]

860 AD
Military Academy of Tours, First Year Strategy Exam, Question B29:

Please analyse the following military map describing the treacherous attack of the Zulus upon our homeland. Special attention should be given to the following topics:

a) Zulus: number of attacking units, composition of these units, technology employed.
b) French: number and disposition of defensive units, technology employed.
c) Strategy: effectiveness of luring enemy troops deep into one’s territory.

Question B29 should be linked to question B52: ‘The wisdom of NOT going to war footing during an invasion. Political and Economical consequences’.

[Mountain Sage]

860 AD
Excerpts from Monseigneur de Richelieu’s speech at the 860 FR promotion day of the Royal Diplomats’ High School:
‘The whole concept of MAR, Massive Allied Retaliation, as some of you might remember, is to punish anybody who has the gall of declaring war on us by forming an international coalition of the willing against said offender. The beauty of this concept, which incidentally was developed by myself, your most humble servant, is threefold: first of all, the invasion, if such should occur, will be small, since the enemy has to fight on several fronts simultaneously. Then, the disruption of our economy will be minimal, since we won’t have to go on war footing and build many military units. Finally, it should teach all potential enemies the foolishness of declaring war on the glorious French…’

[Mountain Sage]

950 AD
Excerpts from: ‘An Illustrated History of the Rise of the French Empire’ by Mountain Sage, Keeper of the Records and Official Historian, AC 935.
The discovery of Navigation and Magnetism enabled our Marine Royale to explore our wide oceans, which led to the stunning discovery of many previous unknown civilisations.
Marquis de Sade painting ‘Alinghi races the unknown’ perfectly illustrates the spirit and boldness our captains and crews.

[Mountain Sage]

1080 AD
‘It was so good to be young then
In the season of plenty…

Folk ballad (translated in French from the original American version)

[Mountain Sage]

1250 AD
‘… when the cattle was jumping
as high as the sky’

Folk ballad (translated in French from the original American version)