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Background
While all of you are having fun with 1.29, I’ve had to figure out something to do, apart from playing I the CFC Mac tourneys, which are on lower levels. I decided to balance that off by trying my hand at a deity game. After one full game, two pretty quick failures, and one ongoing game, I’m ready to post my first, tentative findings, and – more importantly – ask for feedback and advice.
In my first game I played the Zulus, and developed a strategy that worked well enough to enjoy the fantasy of eventually winning by domination. Unfortunately, the Aztecs launched a spaceship in 1500, and that was the end of that. In the three games I subsequently started, I turned off the spaceship option, and tried to verify the value of my strategy. My current game with the Aztecs is going according to plan, which is of interest mainly because it's so... achievable.
State of the Aztecs: 1000 AD
I chose the Aztecs because the JW could be about as much of an early nuisance as the impi, the hope for GLs is justified by the military trait, and being religious has the obvious benefits. I got a good start: fertile territory on one end of a five-civ continent, with plenty of room for expansion. After researching bronze working (thinking of sword upgrades) I set the research counter at zero, where it has remained all game.
I attacked the Romans to the south, and the cheapness of the JWs (with a GA) allowed me to stay even or ahead in numbers. As with the impis, I pretty much raided units and improvements. Once I quit making progress, I linked up my iron, upgraded the JWs to swordsmen, and took a city. Rome promptly gave me peace plus the last three ancient-era techs in 570BC.
By now the other civs were well into the middle ages, but I was able to pick off one Roman and two American cities behind my borders in later wars, because these cities typically aren’t well-defended (and AI research outpaces production – they often haven’t upgraded their units). I became a monarchy in 50BC, and made alliances with the Iroquois and Egypt that kept me from risking being overrun. Despite constant warfare, it took me until 300 AD to get my first GL, which became the FP, and I switched to republic one turn later.
At this point, the Aztecs were next to last in all categories and hoplessly behind in tech, but third in size. This is what I wanted. I now applied my ivory monopoly and solid income into buying techs, and reached my first goal – replacement parts – in 720. Soon after I switched to democracy, and am now building my rail system. I am still virtually defenseless, never built one mounted unit (!), but now have the tools to establish a credible defense, even against MI. I remain sixth or seventh in most categories, and have exactly zero great or small wonders, but am at least in the same age as everyone else. My long-range plan is very similar to what “Babylon and On” called for: buy myself up to military tech parity, build up my MA, and remind the AI that it’s no Big Blue with a domination win.
Here are the conclusions I’ve come to so far. Again, I look forward to different approaches and general advice.
Early expansion is everything
This is pretty true at emperor level, but essential at deity, where the AI swiftly pulls away in tech. If you don’t have enough cities to raise the funds to buy tech, you’ll never catch up. Equally relevant is that even as the AI pulls ahead in research, its units remain roughly contemporary for a surprisingly long time at the beginning. You have to take advantage of this, as the day will come when you have spears, and they have infantry.
Boosting the early war effort
A GA is well-spent at the start, since the ancient era is the most active one with my strategy, and any help producing units versus the AI production advantage is welcome. The Middle Ages and most of the industrial era is spent buying tech and building improvements, with GWs long since built by the AI. The only other time that a GA could help would be in accelerating the modern-era military buildup, but this doesn’t seem as crucial. (The Germans would be the obvious civ with which to opt for a late GA, since the panzer holds up well for a long time, and the early game could be focused on an early archer rush followed by swords.)
Units and tactics
The AI is pulling away rapidly from the first turn on, so it’s essential that you engage them as quickly as possible. Which approach works best against a civ that is even or ahead of you in weaponry, and outnumbers you to boot? Given these factors, it seems key to play with a civ that has an ancient-era UU, so that you have a chance in your early wars.
I’ve verified that early guerrilla harassment (Impi or JW) will lead to concessions; you could do the same with Japan’s chariots, except for the mountain-jungle handicap. WCs take longer to research, but have the advantage of moving fast and retreating – they pillage as well as attack decently.
A ten-archer rush ought to gain two quick cities via surprise, although large enemy numbers will likely end this slowmover offensive soon after. The Bowman is a good all-around early unit for a civ with low production, but slow and one research level away at the start.
JWs upgrade to swordsmen, and this transition clinched my first (and longest) war. On the other hand, I suspect that the Immortal and Legionnaire come too late, and are too expensive to build, to help me with early conquest.
Likewise, I’m not sure if the wait for horseback riding is justified, unless you upgrade chariots or go for broke with MWs; but the Iroquois need to gain three techs to build their UU. Horses work well as a second-stage unit, though, augmenting an early tech unit like the Impi. But speed doesn’t seem as important, because you’re not likely to have the manpower to sweep through an entire civ.
The best traits
The best ones here closely match the general consensus. The military trait gained me cheap barracks for those early wars, and a shot at more GLs, and thus GWs and a fast FP. Religious makes a lot of sense, in that it makes people happy cheaply even without happiness wonders, gives you some culture defense, and most importantly, maximizes output by making frequent government change painless.
I haven’t tried industrious yet, but early road building and later general efficiency would help my civ grow faster and be more productive in its primary historic goal: generating gold for tech. That said, it’s not going to be a decisive factor.
Scientific provides culture defense but no happiness, and the science benefit is worthless until late in the game. Three free techs are nice, but I’ll get them by staying in business with government changes while religious.
The expansionist trait gives you a shot at free tech from huts and, with luck, trading your original ones. But I fell way behind in tech very quickly anyway, and those eaerly techs meant nothing in either the short or the long run.
And then there’s commercial. It actually has value for a civ that’s trying to generate gold with a moderate number of cities… but not enough.
Learn to lay low for a millenium or so
By the time you leave the ancient era, the AI can kick your butt militarily. You can still pick off the odd city not connected to the enemy’s homeland, but your warring days are basically over for the next 1000 or 1500 years. What are you waiting for? Infantry on rails, which should make you feel safe again. This means two things. First, be careful in whom you choose to antagonize in the ancient era, as they will want revenge. Secondly, you will need alliances to keep you safe from those furious civs.
Geopolitical diplomacy
I’ve done well diplomatically in both my games, remaining miraculously war-free despite a small spear-and-pike defense force. I did this by doing regular business with everyone remotely dangerous, and paying shamelessly for MPPs, as well as joining alliances against far-off civs. That said, this is the part of the game where I am playing sim city while skating on thin ice… and it lasts a long time. It is essential not to break any treaties (which I inadvertently did with the Zulus) as I want the AI to trade me techs for luxuries and gpt.
Spend your money wisely
Once I’ve researched my first tech or two – whatever I need to go to war – I put the slider at zero and leave it there. Making money is what counts, and I build marketplaces after temples, with only the odd harbor as an exception. Libraries are important mainly as cultural bulwarks – you might be the least cultured civ on the planet, but you can’t have none.
Which techs to trade for? If I have a GL which could gain me a useful wonder, I’ll beeline for that (pursuing Bach’s with the Zulus, I went from late ancient era to music theory in one turn). Otherwise, the only meaningful milestones are theology and banking for infrastructure, steam power and replacement parts to provide the units for a credible defense, and then on to motorized transport. Once I’ve built a dozen tanks, I know I can’t lose a domination game. After that, it’s only a matter of time… or so I think.
While all of you are having fun with 1.29, I’ve had to figure out something to do, apart from playing I the CFC Mac tourneys, which are on lower levels. I decided to balance that off by trying my hand at a deity game. After one full game, two pretty quick failures, and one ongoing game, I’m ready to post my first, tentative findings, and – more importantly – ask for feedback and advice.
In my first game I played the Zulus, and developed a strategy that worked well enough to enjoy the fantasy of eventually winning by domination. Unfortunately, the Aztecs launched a spaceship in 1500, and that was the end of that. In the three games I subsequently started, I turned off the spaceship option, and tried to verify the value of my strategy. My current game with the Aztecs is going according to plan, which is of interest mainly because it's so... achievable.
State of the Aztecs: 1000 AD
I chose the Aztecs because the JW could be about as much of an early nuisance as the impi, the hope for GLs is justified by the military trait, and being religious has the obvious benefits. I got a good start: fertile territory on one end of a five-civ continent, with plenty of room for expansion. After researching bronze working (thinking of sword upgrades) I set the research counter at zero, where it has remained all game.
I attacked the Romans to the south, and the cheapness of the JWs (with a GA) allowed me to stay even or ahead in numbers. As with the impis, I pretty much raided units and improvements. Once I quit making progress, I linked up my iron, upgraded the JWs to swordsmen, and took a city. Rome promptly gave me peace plus the last three ancient-era techs in 570BC.
By now the other civs were well into the middle ages, but I was able to pick off one Roman and two American cities behind my borders in later wars, because these cities typically aren’t well-defended (and AI research outpaces production – they often haven’t upgraded their units). I became a monarchy in 50BC, and made alliances with the Iroquois and Egypt that kept me from risking being overrun. Despite constant warfare, it took me until 300 AD to get my first GL, which became the FP, and I switched to republic one turn later.
At this point, the Aztecs were next to last in all categories and hoplessly behind in tech, but third in size. This is what I wanted. I now applied my ivory monopoly and solid income into buying techs, and reached my first goal – replacement parts – in 720. Soon after I switched to democracy, and am now building my rail system. I am still virtually defenseless, never built one mounted unit (!), but now have the tools to establish a credible defense, even against MI. I remain sixth or seventh in most categories, and have exactly zero great or small wonders, but am at least in the same age as everyone else. My long-range plan is very similar to what “Babylon and On” called for: buy myself up to military tech parity, build up my MA, and remind the AI that it’s no Big Blue with a domination win.
Here are the conclusions I’ve come to so far. Again, I look forward to different approaches and general advice.
Early expansion is everything
This is pretty true at emperor level, but essential at deity, where the AI swiftly pulls away in tech. If you don’t have enough cities to raise the funds to buy tech, you’ll never catch up. Equally relevant is that even as the AI pulls ahead in research, its units remain roughly contemporary for a surprisingly long time at the beginning. You have to take advantage of this, as the day will come when you have spears, and they have infantry.
Boosting the early war effort
A GA is well-spent at the start, since the ancient era is the most active one with my strategy, and any help producing units versus the AI production advantage is welcome. The Middle Ages and most of the industrial era is spent buying tech and building improvements, with GWs long since built by the AI. The only other time that a GA could help would be in accelerating the modern-era military buildup, but this doesn’t seem as crucial. (The Germans would be the obvious civ with which to opt for a late GA, since the panzer holds up well for a long time, and the early game could be focused on an early archer rush followed by swords.)
Units and tactics
The AI is pulling away rapidly from the first turn on, so it’s essential that you engage them as quickly as possible. Which approach works best against a civ that is even or ahead of you in weaponry, and outnumbers you to boot? Given these factors, it seems key to play with a civ that has an ancient-era UU, so that you have a chance in your early wars.
I’ve verified that early guerrilla harassment (Impi or JW) will lead to concessions; you could do the same with Japan’s chariots, except for the mountain-jungle handicap. WCs take longer to research, but have the advantage of moving fast and retreating – they pillage as well as attack decently.
A ten-archer rush ought to gain two quick cities via surprise, although large enemy numbers will likely end this slowmover offensive soon after. The Bowman is a good all-around early unit for a civ with low production, but slow and one research level away at the start.
JWs upgrade to swordsmen, and this transition clinched my first (and longest) war. On the other hand, I suspect that the Immortal and Legionnaire come too late, and are too expensive to build, to help me with early conquest.
Likewise, I’m not sure if the wait for horseback riding is justified, unless you upgrade chariots or go for broke with MWs; but the Iroquois need to gain three techs to build their UU. Horses work well as a second-stage unit, though, augmenting an early tech unit like the Impi. But speed doesn’t seem as important, because you’re not likely to have the manpower to sweep through an entire civ.
The best traits
The best ones here closely match the general consensus. The military trait gained me cheap barracks for those early wars, and a shot at more GLs, and thus GWs and a fast FP. Religious makes a lot of sense, in that it makes people happy cheaply even without happiness wonders, gives you some culture defense, and most importantly, maximizes output by making frequent government change painless.
I haven’t tried industrious yet, but early road building and later general efficiency would help my civ grow faster and be more productive in its primary historic goal: generating gold for tech. That said, it’s not going to be a decisive factor.
Scientific provides culture defense but no happiness, and the science benefit is worthless until late in the game. Three free techs are nice, but I’ll get them by staying in business with government changes while religious.
The expansionist trait gives you a shot at free tech from huts and, with luck, trading your original ones. But I fell way behind in tech very quickly anyway, and those eaerly techs meant nothing in either the short or the long run.
And then there’s commercial. It actually has value for a civ that’s trying to generate gold with a moderate number of cities… but not enough.
Learn to lay low for a millenium or so
By the time you leave the ancient era, the AI can kick your butt militarily. You can still pick off the odd city not connected to the enemy’s homeland, but your warring days are basically over for the next 1000 or 1500 years. What are you waiting for? Infantry on rails, which should make you feel safe again. This means two things. First, be careful in whom you choose to antagonize in the ancient era, as they will want revenge. Secondly, you will need alliances to keep you safe from those furious civs.
Geopolitical diplomacy
I’ve done well diplomatically in both my games, remaining miraculously war-free despite a small spear-and-pike defense force. I did this by doing regular business with everyone remotely dangerous, and paying shamelessly for MPPs, as well as joining alliances against far-off civs. That said, this is the part of the game where I am playing sim city while skating on thin ice… and it lasts a long time. It is essential not to break any treaties (which I inadvertently did with the Zulus) as I want the AI to trade me techs for luxuries and gpt.
Spend your money wisely
Once I’ve researched my first tech or two – whatever I need to go to war – I put the slider at zero and leave it there. Making money is what counts, and I build marketplaces after temples, with only the odd harbor as an exception. Libraries are important mainly as cultural bulwarks – you might be the least cultured civ on the planet, but you can’t have none.
Which techs to trade for? If I have a GL which could gain me a useful wonder, I’ll beeline for that (pursuing Bach’s with the Zulus, I went from late ancient era to music theory in one turn). Otherwise, the only meaningful milestones are theology and banking for infrastructure, steam power and replacement parts to provide the units for a credible defense, and then on to motorized transport. Once I’ve built a dozen tanks, I know I can’t lose a domination game. After that, it’s only a matter of time… or so I think.
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