Milk Run

By my rules (how I tend to play the game; or at least, how I am playing it this game), I pre-decide how many map regenerations I will allow (in this case 25) and proceed to cycle through all the possible maps, picking the best. Thus, the above represents the best start (in my opinion) out of the 25 I allowed myself. The Seed is included in the Game Save Zip; and so (should any wish to play along at home) one could pick this or any of the other 24 maps, having the same choices as I did, as the later maps are inherently included in the first (i.e. the Random Number Generator is set); or so, is my experience and understanding.


Settings

Rome
Augustus Caesar

Marathon
Monarch

Map: Continents
Size: Standard
Climate: Tropical
Sea Level: Medium
Era: Ancient
Speed: Marathon
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Resources: Standard

Aggressive AI
Permanent Alliances
No Random Events

All Victories

Number of Opponents: 6

Beyond the Sword 3.19
BUG Mod 4.5 [Build 2221]
BULL 1.4 [Build 243]
BAT Mod 4.1


I'm hoping for a fairly typical game with a few Enemy Civilizations on my Home Continent and the remainder on another one or two.

I believe a War Mongering play style will allow me to control my Home Continent without any trouble. And thus, I wish to conquer my foes with style, extracting as much Tribute as possible. Normally, I race to the end of a war. But instead, I wish to linger, harvesting Great General Points and whatever else presents itself on the theory that a weak opponent is a boon in the long run.

Let's see how this theory pans out, shall we?

And I suppose at the same time, we shall see if I am ready for Monarch

Tokugawa won.

I lost.

Tokugawa started on a much larger continent with more adversaries, who by the time of Optics had for the most Capitulated to him. I think his land was better. And his situation more conducive to a War Mongering play-style. But that is so much Sour Grapes.

Besides, saying it was him or his land makes it harder to learn anything.

• Beelining Iron did me little good.
• Sure, I walked all over Pericles.
• But I was unable to take advantage of my Military Victories.
• I should have gone through Pottery.
  • And in my next game, I am already looking forward to founding one of those Old Time Religions.
• I did not whip.
• To be honest, I do not feel like whipping these days. But something's got to give.
• Thus, in the absence of Whipping, I need to settle my Cities better.
• Pericles hated me.
• I had fun getting Pericles mad at me.
• I had a -70 Diplomatic Modifier by the end.
  • This was from repeatedly Declaring War.
  • And more stupidly (from a game design standpoint), it was, also, from trying to negotiate a peace.
    • It can be less of a hit to Declare War and Sign a Treaty a few turns later than failing to reach an agreement prior to a War.
• It's sort of amazing how much of the game is front loaded.
• By the time I had met Tokugawa, he had won.
• Still, I should have played better.

I am already ready for the next game. And I will be a War Monger. But I don't think Praetorians are that important. I'll pick a different Civilization based upon their Starting Techs (I want Mysticism for an Early Religion), Traits (I'm sort of open about this), and Unique Building.

Axes are +50% vs Melee Units, which makes them 7.5 vs 8.0 when attacking (or defending against Praetorians). It's just not that much of an advantage. And a lot of early Research is sunk into Iron Working. So, Praetorians are not that big of a deal... and will not overcome poor play (the more likely explanation) or a bad toss of the dice.

My Economy was never strong. Certainly, I should have discovered Pottery sooner... along with a Religion. From there, I think better attention to where I settle my Cities is key.

Turns: 569
Combats: 128
Civilizations Destroyed: 1
Great Generals: 3

Max Combats in Turn: 10
Max Strength in Turn: 35

Yeah. That's yielding an Average Strength of 3.5 per Unit, which is not good, considering I was attacking with either Axes (STR:5) or Praetorians (STR:8).

Number of Combats

	Win	Lose
Attack	92	18
Defence	13	5

      

Combat Strength

	Win	Lose
Attack	402	26
Defence	46	15

{The key ratio (26 Total Strength / 18 Combats = 1.44 Average Strength per Combat) is not that different from my last game, so please refer to that write-up for a more comprehensive analysis on this subject. The short version being I frequently attack with compromised Units. And I should not.}

All those Attacks that I made with a crappy Strength rating (so, we are talking about that 26/18=1.44 calculation again) are in the log-file, so there is no arguing with them (and/or the numbers). I mean, sure. Some of those attacks are from Galleys (with their Strength of two). But it would appear I was more than happy to attack with weak units. I need to stop doing that.

And to do that, I need to bring more Units to the party.