2018-09-08 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler Incan War God Gameplay Notes ############################ 2018-09-08 T0 4000BC I spent a lot of time rolling starts... and I do not think the final start I accepted is all that great. In other words, I don't think it is too terribly unbalanced. It's got nine flood plains (maybe more) in the fat cross, stone (as wonders are likely), along with cow and pig. So, three resources, which since I was thinking I'd want four (maybe five) is on the low side. But flood plains are like half resources. They are very nice. Anyhow, the main goal here is to go very slow and deliberately: make the good moves. So, although I rolled the start three days ago, I still have yet to make the first move. # # # The early game goal is to put out a bunch of Quechuas and see if there is someone whose capital I can take over; so, six or so Quechuas. After that, I want to be in a position to pound out a few of the early stone wonders. Thus, I'm thinking Quechuas until I can start on Stone Bonus Pyramids or the like. Researching: Animal Husbandry (I have cows and pigs) - > Mining (for the research bonus to Masonry) -> Wheel (to connect stone) -> Masonry (the wonders) 1 worker -> Quechuas (until Wonders) # # # 2018-09-08 T42 2320BC Montezuma is dead! Unsurprisingly, the Quechua Rush worked. Though, I did not need as many as I thought. Well, I got lucky. I needed three units (maybe four). Brought four. And used two. Tenochtitlan is mine! It's located on the other side of a small continent. And I do not believe we (or I) have any other neighbours. Kingdom Come is going to crank out the wonders, while Aztec Capital will work on more prosaic concerns. Even though I am building the Great Wall, I am sure I will get a Barbarian City or two {on the continent to keep me company}. Anyhow, looking good. A nice, clean, start. # # # I needed stone in my second (or first circle) {back when I settled my capitol}. I was thinking about possibly settling so that it was in my third circle, but that would have put the connection of stone out by, well, too many more turns: call it a dozen {so, good thing I put it in the second circle}. Both Stonehenge and The Great Wall will be in (assuming I get The Great Wall), before stone would have been connected {if it had been in my third circle: i.e. cultural border pop}. As it stands, with Monty out of the game and the continent to myself, I don't, actually, know how I'll proceed. Psycho Warrior Mode doesn't make that much sense without an opponent. # # # 2018-09-08 T42 2320BC After Bronze Working, the choice is to go after the last early religion (Judaism) or Sailing for the Great Lighthouse (and to connect my cities via the sea). I'll probably go after the Great Lighthouse. # # # 2018-09-08 T116 25AD I've missed out on a few wonders. I lost the race for three of the early wonders and got cash in lieu, which wasn't so bad. The Barbarians did settle a city, which shall not be a problem. I'll send a bunch of troops and knock it out. I don't think it's exactly where I want it. But it might not matter by that point. The big news is that I have decided on a Monk Economy... or what I am calling a Monk Economy. I heard someone else in a forum call it this and it seems accurate, so I am running with the name. Anyhow, my interpretation of the Monk Economy relies on the three religious wonders that multiply the effects of a temple. Paper -> University of Sankore = +2 research from all state religion buildings. Music -> The Sistine Chapel = +5 culture from all state religion buildings. Divine Right -> The Spiral Minaret = +2 gold from all state religion buildings. I shall be researching in the order of Paper -> Music -> Divine Right and when I am done with that I shall look up and re-evaluate where I stand. I have three settlers in production, so I will have to be careful not to over-expand. I mean, I really am lucky (or good on me for killing Monty), as I have room to double my size, easy. It looks to be sort of mediocre land. But my eyesight on such things has been jaded by playing Snake River (and/or a Garden of Eden map) just recently. And that's a wrap on the day. # # # 2018-09-09 T139 580AD 23 turns later... and it seems like I've made no progress. Things are going slow. Though, the man says this, having researched Paper and built the University of Sankore in the meantime. I am now going down the Music branch, but I wonder if I would not be better off going for Islam first, as the Spiral Minaret with its +2 gold is way more important than the culture. Also, a forge or two might be nice. The Optics branch is my plan (at this point) after the Monk Economy is up and running (or at least, researched). Oh, one of the reasons I feel so... um, struggling is because my research has been waving between thirty and forty percent: lower than I would like. # # # 2018-09-09 T173 1130AD At this point, I would say the win is a sure thing. I founded all four of the later religions... and none of the earlier ones, meaning I also have my Monk Economy up and running, at 50-60% Research on the slider. On top of that, I am cranking out the Wonders, my top two cities being more or less dedicated to building wonders at the moment. Presently, Optics is the next big milestone; at which point, I build a bunch of Caravels, circle the world, and see who else is out there. Since, Caravels can carry Great People and Missionaries, I will load them up this time {as in, this game} before sending them out, something I have never done before... well, certainly not with a Great Spy or a Missionary. After Optics, I should probably back fill on some infrastructure technologies: Civil Service and Printing Press coming rapidly to mind. Then, maybe I should look into either banking or some Military Techs. I suppose it matters how the competition looks. I'm fifth in military right now, according to the demographic screen. Eh, we'll see. I've got a few (four or five) powerhouse cities coming on line (building up nicely). But many of my cities are quite mediocre (on mediocre land) and will never amount to much. # # # 2018-09-10 T182 1220AD Versailles is in, so there are no more current wonders to build. Having researched Optics, I am building a slew of Caravels (three in production at the moment, more to come). And as follows is my current research queue. But if I find unsettled land masses, I will switch to Astronomy. I do not expect anyone else to have Optics before I circle the world. Researching: Banking (for Wall Street in Aztec Warrior) -> Economics (for free Great Merchant, possibly for Sushi) -> Liberalism (for free tech) -> Printing Press (for pluses to villages, etc, as I have cottage spammed) -> Civil Service (Bureaucracy, kicks up the power of the capital, my number one city) I am of the opinion I am playing the game's game. Killing Monty right out of the bat allowed my to transcend the normal narrative flow (and concentrate on wonders). But I haven't pulled out of the game since then. Nor am I convinced I am developing my cities with any degree of skill. Oh, well. One of the nice thing about automated missionaries is that I just keep on building them. When there is nothing for them to do, they stack up, and I can no longer build new ones. As such, having just settled a trio of new cities, they got Confucianism (the state religion) right away {as the missionaries were already ready to go}. # # # 2018-09-10 T198 1380AD There are some nice unsettled islands. I question how much of them I will be able to settle, as in lieu of bee-lining Astronomy, I went for Economics and Liberalism. Actually, I have not quite gotten Liberalism and am counting on that to pop Astronomy. I have Settlers and War Units in production (maces, mostly). And I anticipate gearing up for war... maybe from here on out. I had to reload this turn. It's one of those slip of the fingers. I was backing out of the Civics screen and hit Revolt instead of Exit. Or I believe, Exit turns into Revolt if something is selected. And it was and I wanted that option... or wanted to double check that option, but Revolted instead of blanking it out, first. Anyhow (after the reload), I started a Golden Age and revolted into: Representation (+3 beaker per specialist) Bureaucracy (better capital) Caste System (for more specialists if I want, as I've not been availing myself of slavery, as of late) Mercantilism (for the free specialist, which provides a nice synergy with Representation) Free Religion (for the diplomatic bonuses, but also +1 happy ain't bad, the typical city has three religions in it) {Switching into Free Religion was a mistake. It cancels the Monk Economy, as there is no State Religion. And as the Tech Leader, I had no reason to care about the AI's feelings towards me. I probably could have survived an all out war with every other AI at this point... well, maybe not. I would not have scored as high. Anyhow, better to find another way to appease the AI than loose 50-100 gold and 50-100 research per turn.} Anyhow, gearing up for a race with Charlemagne for territory. I will not be able to settle as much as I would have liked... nor would I likely be able to keep it if I did. # # # 2018-09-11 T214 1520AD I got about half of the city sites I might have wanted, losing the race to at least two prime planting sites. Two competitors planted one city each on foreign soil, I planted one island, an isolated city (with one competing civilizations and two barbarian states), and I am in process of settling three cities (I expect to get all three) on a last island where there is one barbarian city and one competing civilization. I am provincial enough, I don't know their names without looking. I am at war with the Vikings, because Charlemagne requested my assistance. But the war doesn't make a difference. {It's a non-starter.} Ragnar is on the other side of the world and is way to busy to launch an offensive against me. But I may put together a landing party before long... more so he capitulates to me than anything else. I believe his days are numbered. However, it may be more critical to take over the barbarian cities first. They are easy pickings. We'll see. Two hours to play sixteen turns was a bit longer than I would like {or at least, expect}. I am no longer in slavery, so things should move faster. I mostly just look at the cities when the build queue is empty. I'm going towards War Tech when it comes to research. Currently, the Statue of Liberty is under construction. Charlemagne is five turns out from Democracy (the needed tech) and I am nine turns out on the Statue of Liberty, so I should get it. Currently, I am teching through Steel to Rifles to Infantry, which should give me a decided advantage against someone. We'll see. Barbarians (Ragnar, included) are the next tension point. Speaking of which, the colony race was fun... though, probably too close. Oh, I also lost the race to one of the small islands (a single hill islands with fish) as I forgot about it. So, the hated Indian's are there. # # # I am getting better, slowly but surely. It's the little things. I am setting the slider so I research a tech as fast as possible... but overflowing the extra tech into gold. Now, this might not be ideal, but I need the gold (for unit upgrades). And since one can only tech one discovery per turn, there is a game imposed limitation. Also, I've been checking the Espionage Screen more often. I'm not running any missions. But it is very helpful to know that Charlemagne (the closest runner up tech wise) is five turns out on Democracy, so I do not have as much tension about building the Statue of Liberty as I might otherwise have. Completing it before anyone else seems fairly safe. I believe Charlemagne would have to dump two Great Engineers into the Wonder to beat me, which seems unlikely, to say the least. # # # 2018-09-12 T215 1525AD Literally, the first thing I did today was launch another Golden Age. Um, I messed up. Opting for Free Religion killed my Monk Economy. So, the War Monger is now in Pacifism for the Great Person birth rate bonus... and Nationalism in lieu of Bureaucracy. I am hoping to convert the two Barbarian Cities on what I shall call Rock Island by culture. We'll see how that goes. Oh, and Ragnar is winning the war. Go Ragnar! # # # 2018-09-12 T226 1580AD I declared peace with Ragnar. I think he gave me his maps and 20gold. Not a single shot was fired. I declared war on Sumeria this turn to take over one of their island cities that had no garrison. I am now launching an expeditionary force to look into capturing a wayward city or two. Sumeria is still at war with the Vikings. My tech lead is not as dominant as I would like. I attribute this to trading among the AI's. I got the Statue of Liberty. I suppose the most interesting thing is that my lead is not so great {i.e. I am not dominant}, so I sort of expect one of the AI's to try and drop a stack on my shores. So, I am installing a screen of frigates. Thus, if oppositional galleys {from any AI} head my way, I am declaring war and sinking them. Steam Power is two turns away and Assembly line is eight. So, maybe I'll stop off somewhere on my way to Sumeria and upgrade my units to infantry. Yeah, I fully expect to do some stomping with those upgraded units. The cash flow is good. Sooner or later, I will have upgraded all of my Monarchy Happiness Garrison Troops to Infantry. So, yeah. When I look at it that way, things are looking promising. Finally, I expect to found Sid's Sushi before the game is over. All those island continents that I settled come with additional sea food. So, maybe I should figure out who has the rice and target them, as well. Not a lot of rice on the board. But handily, Gilgamesh (of Sumerian fame) is sitting on a few more sea resources. OK. It's settled. After Infantry comes in, I beeline Medicine for Sushi. I have the Great Merchant waiting. # # # 2018-09-14 T246 1680AD Ragnar has capitulated. It was a short war. Maybe three turns. Well, a few more than that, as I declared war prior to landing my troops. But... well, let's see... 1-2: I declared war while out at sea (one or two turns out). 3: Landed. 4: Captured first city and moved towards capital. 5: Moved next to capitol. 6: Captured capital. So, a minimum of four turns plus however many when I was out at sea. Ragnar capitulated and I declared war on Charlemagne right away. Since Ragnar was taking over Charlemagne's cities by himself, this war should not take long either. I have enough espionage that I have Research Visibility on everyone. And because of that I landed the Great Spy from Communism and the Great Scientist from Physics. {I knew what to research when.} Having visibility is nice... as is the tech lead. Medicine is three turns out. At which time, I shall found Sid's Sushi in Aztec Warrior (the old Aztec capital). With two religions founded there and both having full coverage on my main continent, it is a gold powerhouse. So, I shall found Sid's Sushi, crank out a few Executives and build Wall Street. After that, I may be able to run research at 100% for the rest of the game... which won't be that long. But probably a good 30-50 turns and two complete play sessions. {Note: the game ended fifteen turns later.} I have a score of 50,000 if I win this turn. So, after a few more cities (and vassal states) along with the growth from Sushi, I may crack 75,000 this game. My research path will be: Medicine (for Sushi) -> Fascism (for the Great General) -> Electricity (for the Happiness Wonders path) -> Combustion (for oil and the tanks that will bring me to the end of the game) As much as anything, I think the trick will be to play full steam ahead... as if control of the planet is just the first step to a greater challenge... and not just coast in {you know, phone the last turns in, as I might have done in the past, wondering why the win is taking so long). # # # 2018-09-16 T254 1720AD I am at war with everyone! Gilgamesh capitulated to Charlemagne, which is annoying. Maybe I did not pay enough attention. But more likely, he was unwilling to capitulate to me, as that would give me the game. No worries. It is war until the end. Ragnar is a wonderful war ally. He basically decimated Gilgamesh on his own. And I am sure he will rail against Justina. I've brought him (more or less) up to speed on techs. All the war techs, less Infantry, which he will get once my land percentage {over him} gets a bit higher that 46%. It's basically a run to the end, but I'm trying to do it with finesse. As such, Plan Sushi is under way! # # # 2018-09-17 T262 1760AD 5,963: Points 90,369: Score All four of my remaining foes Capitulated in the final turn, one after the other, which was fun. I might have been able to nurse the score a little if I had held out, but likely not by much. Sushi was ramping up... but not that much. The most interesting thing of note was as I was ending the turn, flipping it, so the win would be official, I was automating a Work Boat... and the Work Boat proceeded to give itself orders on the other side of the world and across the ocean. Um, so work boats can cross the ocean. No more building work boats in the colonies for me. And in fact, it might make sense to dedicate one city to Work Boats, always having one automated in reserve. And if it is called up, build another... and another... until one {to three work boats) is eventually sitting idle, again. Just a thought. I killed it this game! Of course, I have a pile of false starts, so one never knows just how lucky I got. # # # 2018-09-17 (c) Copyright Brett Paufler