OCC games for fun and, well...FUN!

[Dominae]

Very well done DaveMcW! Some points/questions:

I think playing Pangea maps is an advantage with OCC because the AI civs will eventually lock themselves into war, a fact that the human player can exploit. It also means that you GL techs rather early; in my game I was stuck on my continent so I had to research Map Making myself and go out looking for friends.

Do you usually make a point of creating a small offensive force? Once I reach the Modern age, I can usually just focus on the SS and beat the AI to it since they are incapable of "focus".

What is your research strategy after the GL expires? I find that part of the game the most difficult, because you know you're going to lose tech parity (there are just so many techs available for the AI to whore), and you're really wanting to get to Theory of Gravity ASAP. In some games I've researched Printing Press before the AI; it seems to be the tech that AI "avoids" the most post-Education.

Do you really get discounts for buying techs that you've already begun researching?

Again, good game.


Dominae

[DaveMcW]

Yes, playing on a pangea map is a definite exploit. But so is playing on a small map, playing without other scientific civs, etc... The value of OCC is it forces you to examine aspects of the game you would miss while smashing everything in your path.

This is the first game a civ (zulu) has really focused on the SS. I think it might have something to do with expansionist attribute - they even went for space flight over sythetic fibers!

From past experience I know the most effective way to deal with island civs is take out their capitol in an ROP rape. There are a few time periods where you have nothing to build except a useless wonder (sun tzu, hoover), those are great times to build an army. But I generally don't build extra units until the industrial age, since the extra upkeep might ruin my go-for-broke jump into that age. If the global research rate is slower you can build an even bigger army than I did - the large map forced me to take out an easier target than the capitol.

Techs definitely get cheaper the more you research. They also get cheaper as more civs learn them, so a sudden drop in research time from 10 to 5 turns is very depressing. But at least you can buy it for less than full price and try again one level higher.

I don't go for printing press because I want Astronomy ASAP. I often prebuild Sistine Chapel to 75%, then switch most of my shield producers to the ocean to hold it until I finish or buy Astronomy (error-proofing wonder races is another way to waste shields when you have nothing to build). So my middle age goals are astronomy, metallurgy, military tradition. I have not failed to get military tradition on a standard map, and I can get metallurgy if I'm lucky. I was shocked at how fast they were grabbed up on the large map.

The industrial ages are easy, Medicine and Scientific Method for sure. Electricity and Sanitation are often possible too, then radio. The modern ages seem to vary with the attributes of the top civs, I will need a lot more games to figure out a general strategy. But if you played the industrial well you have a large treasury to bail you out.

Edit: If you want to build a serious army, look for a start position with very little ocean and some hills. Your goal is 41 total shields with mines/railroad. When you add factory/hydro you can build artillery in 1 turn, tanks in 1 turn mobilized, and MA in 1 turn mobilized with nuke plant.

[metalhead]

Great game, Dave! I must say, my own OCC exploits are currently focused on continents. You mentioned that playing on pangaea is an exploit because of constant war, etc. I will say that continents can be exploited by suicide galleys and contact trading, and withholding making any inter-continental contact until as late as possible. This will often catch you up completely in tech by the late middle ages. The point is, any situation can (and usually must) be exploited for OCC purposes.

One peculiarity I noticed in your game - I am amazed that no other civ demanded contact with the Zulu between your meeting them in 30 BC, and trading the contact to China in 400 AD. I got royally screwed once by trying to withhold contacts for trading purposes, and was consequently slaughtered when I refused to give them away (yes, I do realize how stupid it was to refuse!) Did you refuse up until then, or was the demand never made?

By the way, this slaughtering has led me to wait to make contact with the other continent until after Astronomy is discovered. Because you always have the Lighthouse in OCC, this is always possible, and often proves to be quite lucrative in gold and/or in catching up in tech, depending on your current standing in the game.

I must say I am intrigued by the decision to pass up Printing Press. I believe it is a fairly cheap tech, and I am usually able to get it after I get Theology from the GL, AND have finished my current research project. Trading it usually leads to some good profit. But, as your game proves, it obviously works!

[DaveMcW]

I didn't realize how lucky I was holding on to contact with the Zulu. Maybe all my GL tech gifts kept them happy? Maybe knowing the poor, backwards Zulu was not worth the 100 gold they could have demanded?

I never considered how easy Printing Press is. If I could trade it for Astronomy that would definitely be worth it.

[metalhead]

It's been my experience that Printing Press can be shared around to all of the Civs, and while you may end up trading it + some gold for Astronomy, in the end, you will make out better because you can make loads of money trading it to the rest, plus fill in any middle ages techs you've missed up until that point.

[nbarclay]

Since we're talking OCC as a possibility for our next AU game, Bump.