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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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Monarch level, AU mod.
Now it's finally war. Well, in the next post it is. The period is quite long and eventful, so I might slip some details. I will focus on the most important events.
After finishing Literacy I waited for some time, then traded it to China for IW and all their gold. After that, I was the sole tech leader on my continent. Went for Philosophy and got it first, along with Code of Laws. Traded Philo for Polytheism, so I didn't have to research it myself. Kept researching all techs, leaving Monarchy for the AIs.
Yes, I went straight to Republic. The reason was, I didn't want to lag on technology, when I met the others. Normally I would go out to get the Great Library, then switch to Monarchy and finish off everybody on the continent, while dropping research to have cash for rushes. It turned out, that short-enough wars don't hurt a republic. I was able to research, build and conquer the Chinese - all in the same time.
What helped, was a strangely timed GA, which I didn't expect. The Colossus in Calcutta ended up as it was (that's commercial). The GLib was snatched by the Chinese (while I was already amassing my armies on their border...), so my Ancient Cavalry would get a great education  . SoZ is religious, so GA started, while still in despotism. Luckily it took only a few turns to get to Republic, as I was already researching it at max speed. Good or bad timing? I don't know yet. We'll see how this will hurt when I'll be building Universities...
Now I could have finished REXing, but I figured the Chinese had better land and just as close to my capital as the unclaimed territories north. Also, I wanted the Great Library. So, Delhi went for 2-turn Swords and other cities added a couple. Also some vet Warriors were upgraded. The other cities still had things to build and it was Golden Age, so Delhi and SoZ would provide all reinforcements. The first Ancient Cavalry joined the army just in time to start the war.
Ready were: 4 Swords, 2 Archers, 1 Spearman, 1 Ancient Cavalry soon to come, more swords from Delhi every 2 turns. Only objective was Beijing - dedicated to crippling the Chinese with minimum effort. Before the Chinese War I:
 Attachment: before the war 310bc.jpg
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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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The first war went pretty good. Unexpected, the Chinese forces were somewhere in their tundra territories when I attacked, so resistance was very weak (some cities with only 1 regular Spear to defend them). I only made peace with them when most of their good land (not tundra) was mine, I attacked the Persians, and war weariness started to show. One elite Swordsman gave me a leader, immediately turned into an army. [edit]Come to think of it, it was probably the Great Library in Beijing that killed the Chinese. By this time they have built many, many Archers and Swordsmen to fight India.[/edit]
During the war, I stopped producing swords in Delhi and started the Mausoleum of Mausollos (9 turns only - still in my GA). Not a normal thing to do, but I'm after culture, so...
Because of the GA, I was able to rush temples in the former Chinese territories. In general, this land prooved productive right from the start - the commercial trait probably helped here. Many Chinese slaves started to improve the land. I also added a couple new workers to get it done fast.
The first war with the Persians ended very quickly after taking one city and killing some Immortals. They gave 2 crap cities for peace, but I gladly took them. The reason was, I had trouble dispatching those Immortals on the rough terrain. Also, I was still mostly in heavy builder mode, with only Delhi and SoZ providing any offensive units.
After the war with the Chinese, I was the tech leader of the continent. First, only by Republic, then it was more and more over both the Chinese and the Persians. Here it became Currency and Republic. It was war with Persians (again), while in Republic, researching at a reasonably fast pace and buying culture (GA over by now). Go commercial trait. 
[edit] Note that i closed both chokepoints with cities, so no land route between China and Persia existed. Also, this would allow any Indian ships to cross to the other side of the continent with ease. Not that I had many at the time.
Attachment: wartime 260ad.jpg
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Last edited by Modo44 on 30-09-2004 at 13:02
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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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From then on I continued to fight while building and researching, with an emphasis on the second two. My armies had many bad experiences with the friggin Immortals. It was only with War Elephants that I was able to finally crack the Persians - taking Persepolis.
The Chinese also had their fun with me, leaving them with only two continental cities in the early medieval times. They managed to get to and island just to the east.
For some time I was researching at 10% and making a 300+ surpulus that was immediately turned into Libraries and then Cathedrals. I'm certain that I was first to Monotheism, because the Iroquis (the biggest AI in my game) didn't have it when I first met them. What they did have first was Feudalism - and they built Sun Tzu's 3 turns before I did. After gunpowder I'll research Education and start on some Universities. I still have only a couple Colosseums built - they just don't want to fit in the build queue. Which reminds me; for new cities it is: Temple (rushed), Library (rushed), Cathedral (rushed), other buildings.
The Ottomans were destroyed somewhere around this time. Probably the Iroquis' doing.
I just got my first Crusader from The Knights Templar. With the Ancient Cavalry still strong on my continent (nobody else has Feudalism around here), I'll be soon finishing the sweep. Right now I'm having a short break to buy things in peace. The plan is to test the Cavalry on the other continent only. 
Here's 810 AD. It's shortly after the cracking of Persia, when I made peace (war weariness was the reason). Still running a big surpulus for culture rushes around the place. I'm up Theology and Chivalry on the guys from across the ocean. In 3 turns I'm finally taking off the 10% from the lux slider, as Sistine Chapel will be built. 13693 culture at this point, about 3 times more than the Iroquis - the biggest AI culture. Still many cultural buildings to rush.
Attachment: contact 810ad.jpg
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Risa
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950bc: The first wonder of the world, Statue of Zeus, completed in Bombay. Following library and granary building catch up, another prebuild started.
Other wonder cities aren't that lucky. Madras failed on Colossus due to the war in DAR2, and Bangalore failed Great Library/Temple of Artemis because of cascade: 850bc Chinese got Pyramids, 630bc Persian got Great Library, and Iroquis built ToA in 510bc.
610bc: Polytheism was researched. By this time Chinese had already developed sophisticated philosophy and map making skills. Yet I didn't feel the urge of tech exchange. Why should I feed up Persian leecher? The next object is monarchy and Hanging Garden.
450bc: Persian developed their own philosophy at last. We happily introduced ideas of Polytheism to them to learn their discovery, while Chinese were willing to taught us how to ride. They would regret that, I'm sure, for my cities were running out of buildings and needed something to do. Training horsemen was absolutely ideal. Choosing horses over swords is for their speed and retreat, together with the ability of upgrade to war elephants.
270bc: The war preparation worked well. Now even Chinese gave me a pretext: two of their archers entered my territory. The second Indo-China war broke out. In 170bc we capture Tsingtao, cut off the route of reinforcement to Hangchow and Tientsin. The latter two fell in 130bc and 50ad. China did offer hard counter attacks of swordsmen, tying up my large half of attacking force in defending Tsingtao. But it paid off well. In 90bc, the first great leader of Indian arose from battlefield! He was appointed to lead an ancient cavalry army.
70bc: Monarchy was mastered by us. Prebuild in Bombay was converted to Hanging Garden. And timing is almost perfect: only 2 turns to wait! However, I didn't encourage the revolution that time, even we are religious. I needed more free unit support of despotism.
30ad: Not all the things went well. Persia demanded monarchy and declared war once I refused. Their imfamous immortals were really impressive. My spearmen were slaughtered, my horsemen didn't do much good against immortals in jungle in counter attack as well. The north line was nearly collapsed, and in 70ad they even captured our city of Punjab. But at this time, as Tientsin was in our hand, and the peace treaty with China was signed, my main force marched directly to the north line from Tsingtao, recapturing Punjab in the following turn. Panic of surprise attack passed, we had gained steady foot. By 230ad, Bactra, the front base of action of Persian, met their Indian ruler.
130ad: Chinese had completed the Great Lighthouse. They had no competitor of that wonder.
310ad: Construction was researched. Right the time Persia and China have all ancient techs except code of law, while I was still lack of currency and map making. The front line of Indo-Persia war stayed there, as it is never easy to wage war in jungle and on mountain. So time for peace. As the result of tech trading, all three countries entered middle age. Persian got the free tech of engineering. Revolution to monarchy began.
320ad: From the other side of the world, we heard that Germany was destroyed. It seemed that the other continent was not haven, either.
330ad: I was King of India from the year on.
In all, this period is satisfying. Fought two sucessful wars, got 2 important wonders, built the first army. The only thing I don't like is the tech pace. It's a bit slow.
Further plans: catch up building marketplace, courthouse and harbor, followed by cathedral. Regrouping forces and take control of Beijing.
Attachment: 310ad.jpg
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nbarclay
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Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 1999
time: 23:22
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India's bid for the Pyramids failed in 610 BC when China completed that wonder. When news reached Delhi, Gandhi called in his advisors and asked them what his nation should do next. One of the nation's leading mystics, a man whose words were noted for being as cryptic as they were few, said, "Culture comes from the tusks of an elephant." Those strange words would change the course of the nation's history.
The Statue of Zeus was completed in 590 BC at a very small loss of shields, the first great connection between elephant tusks and culture. Persia completed the Great Library that same turn, and Spain had recently completed the Oracle in Madrid.
About that time, a Chinese warrior started moving into India in a move that was potentially ominous. When additonal warrors and archers started following, the danger signs became clear. India started what few preparations for war were possible in light of its other important activities. The screenshot below shows the danger zone as of 530 BC, with a Chinese archer on the border and a second archer accompanied by two warriors just south of the border.
On the technological side of things, India completed its research into Currency and started work on Construction, having traded Mathematics to acquire Literature, Iron Working, and Horseback Riding. China had Code of Laws and Mysticism and Persia had Code of Laws, but India was not ready to trade quite yet.
Attachment: bc 530 china threatening.jpg
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nbarclay
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Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 1999
time: 23:22
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India managed to get an adequate defense - barely - ready in time - also barely. Unfortunately, the Statue of Zeus seemed to misfire and not produce the first Ancient Cavalry it should have. With how badly I needed every available unit at the time, that hurt. But even so, China's attacks on Bombay failed, costing only the pillaging of India's ivory source.
When China attacked, India enlisted Persia in an alliance, bringing the weight of immortals to bear on the situation. It took a few turns for Persia's Immortals to reach Chinese soil, but once they did, they took the pressure off. India had time to prepare swordsmen and catapults, and finally pushed the attack forward to a Chinese settlement along the southwestern border. The result was the autorazing of the city.
But when New Calcutta was built adjacent to the former Chinese city, it became a lightning rod for Chinese swordsmen. With the alliance with Persia over, Gandhi decided that it was time to make peace and let Persia and China slug it out for however long they wanted to.
As of 50 BC, Persia was the continent's technological leader with Philosophy, but the three civilizations were otherwise even. India would enter the medieval era with the discovery of Polytheism in three more turns.
Attachment: bc 50 peace with china.jpg
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nbarclay
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Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 1999
time: 23:22
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After India made peace with China, the war between China and Persia continued. For a while, China got the upper hand, advancing through Indian territory and reaching a Persian jungle city. But the city held, and China's reserve of offensive forces perished.
In AD 360, the time came for a second war between India and China, this time with India having the advantage of being the nation better prepared for hostilities. India's great (albeit only recently appointed) feudal lords had sent forth their levies of swordsmen to be upgraded to medieval infantry and of spearmen to be reequipped with pikes, and a trade of Feudalism to Persia for Engineering ensured that river crossings would not be an obstacle against sending in reinforcements. Nine units equipped with catapults and six with the newer trebuchets would weaken the resistance before offensive units mounted their attacks.
With the bombardment support, Gandhi actually felt confident that his just over a dozen medieval infantry with ancient cavalry support could conquer at least a large part of China without a need to keep building reinforcements. So even before the war started, India had shifted its military production to horsemen for military police duty and eventual upgrade to war elephants. (With the speed of the advance limited by bombardment units, and with ancient cavalry available for what fast-mover duties were needed, there was little point in using horsemen offensively. But using them as military police could free other units for offensive use.)
With the beginning of the war, ancient cavalry assassinated the Chinese swordsmen that had been traveling through Indian territory without permission on their way to Persia. Tsingtao fell almost immediately, and Beijing shortly after. [Ironically, I didn't even realize it was Beijing I was attacking. Even though I'd set up the scenario, I was thinking the Chinese starting location was a bit farther southeast.] At long last, India's ancient dream of owning the Pyramids was fulfilled.
With China's existing offensive forces destroyed on their way to Persia and its new offensive construction kept busy fending off Indian attacks, Persia was able to go on the offensive again (helped by a preexisting Right of Passage agreement with India). Two Chinese cities on what turned out to be the eastern coast fell to Persian troops while India was busy conquering central and western China. War weariness eventually became a minor problem, but with India very close to researching Chivalry, it made sense to keep pushing forward the attack until a War Elephant could arrive to trigger a golden age. [The logic of researching Chivalry myself was that the sooner I triggered my GA, the sooner I could use it to help build cultural buildings in the territory I already had and/or to build military forces to attack Persia. An earlier GA would also help in the medieval wonder races.]
In AD 590, India's first and so far only War Elephant unit arrived to participate in an attack on Xinjian (from which it only barely emerged victorious thanks to its bonus hit point). With India's golden age triggered, Gandhi obtained two of China's three remaining cities in a peace treaty and turned his nation back to peaceful pursuits - for the moment.
Attachment: ad 590 china defeated.jpg
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Arrian
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Kneel before Grog!
Jul 2001
time: 00:22
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Picking up my notes where I left off from DARII...
775 bc - Philo discovered, Republic for free, revolt. Attack new Persian city in the eastern jungle (too close), fail miserably. Lose vet archer, regular archer and regular warrior. Promote defending spear to elite.
730 bc - China demands CoL, and declares war when rebuffed. Uh-oh.
670 bc - Having counterattacked and nailed the city I was after, I make peace with Persia for pottery (!) and the city of Sidon (settled in the desert, on the coast, west of Persopolis).
The war with China gets ugly fast. I have warriors stockpiled for sword upgrade, but haven't yet hooked up the iron. This I do once I see how many swordsmen are sent my way. My archers/spears and a few horsemen hold off the invaders, and then we counterattack once our swords & catapults can be brought to bear.
250 bc - Germany finishes the Colossus.
110 bc - HBR + 1gpt + 34 g to Persia for Mysticism.
Here my notes read HORRIBLE COMBAT LUCK. The attrition is getting to me.
70 AD - Philo to Persia for worker + 46 gold. Statue of Zeus complete. Peace with China. We get Polytheism + 32 gold from them in exchange for Map Making. We have taken two Chinese cities - one settled on the eastern chokepoint, and one to the south of that. We settled south of the western chokepoint ourselves.
Shortly thereafter, the entire Chinese army marches right at me again. I demand they leave, and once again we're at war.
230AD - Forbidden Palace complete. I built it right next to my palace, once I realized I wasn't gonna get a MGL to rush it further out.
260 AD - Peace with China again for their treasury (~40g). Iroquois complete the Great Library.
270 AD - Iroquois complete Hanging Gardens. Oh my. At this point I realize then Chinese are trying to hit Persia (they were marching into my land again). I move 1 unit to block the western chokepoint and the Chinese march away, seeking galleys. Excellent.
On to DAR IV, since by this point I'm sure I was in the middle ages.
-Arrian
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nbarclay
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Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 1999
time: 23:22
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With the victory of its first and thus far only War Elephant unit, the Indian people began a twp-century-long celebration of superior wealth and production. Cities built cultural improvements one after another, once again proving the foresiight of the words, "Culture comes from the tusks of an elephant."
In AD 720, an Iroquois galley (helped by the Great Lighthouse) arrived off the Indian coast. After selling the Iroquois Chivalry for 42 gpt, India was ahead by two technologies: Education and Invention.
Shortly after, India started preparing for war with Persia, upgrading its sixteen horse units to War Elephants to join the one left over from the Chinese campaign. The plan was to trigger the war just as soon as India built an additional city along the Persian border.
But as it turned out, Xerxes had plans of his own. In AD 750, Persia launched a surprise attack on India and captured four bands of workers who were roading a marshland just on the Persian side of the current border. Potentially worse, some Immortals that had stayed in Indian terrotory in southern China after Persia and China made peace started attacking and could have taken a city or two if it were not for the defenders' valiant efforts.
The war with Persia ended in AD 920 after war weariness started to become an issue. Only four of Persia's core cities had fallen, but they included the nation's capital (thus taking the Great Library out of play before Persia met the Iroquois). In addition, Persia's two captured Chinese towns were now in Indian hands, and Persia ceded three island towns as part of the peace negotiations.
In the meantime, in a strange twist of events, India acquired a world map from the Iroquois in AD 810 as a prerequisite for trading for Iroquois luxuries. So India actually knew the shape and condition of the far continent before it knew what the northern part of its own continent looked like! It wasn't until the peace negotiations with Persia were complete, with a map included as part of the negotiations, that India finally learned the shape of Persia's remaining part of the continent.
In the screenshot below, I show only a small part of the minimap in order to avoid showing information about the other continent that more properly belongs in the next DAR.
Attachment: ad 920 end of first persian war.jpg
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nbarclay
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Huntsville, Alabama
Dec 1999
time: 23:22
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A couple other notes:
1) The Arabs were conquered very early in the game.
2) The Spanish were conquered sometime around the late AD 700's. With the Oracle and Hanging Gardens, Madrid had been second only to Persepolis as a center of culture. The conquest of those two cities, one by my India and one by someone on the other continent, left Delhi as the world's leading center of culture.
3)Thanks to a disparity in city production, the Iroquois actually finished Sistine before Sun Tsu's. Sistine was completed in AD 760, and I managed to get Sun Tsu's myself a century later. I also built the Knights Templar in AD 780.
Here's the culture race as of AD 810. Thanks to the explorations of the Iroquois galley, the Iroquois are included. (If I went with the 920 culture picture, it would include all the civs; I actually satisfied the conditions for the end of DAR 4 before I satisfied those for DAR 3!  )
Attachment: ad 810 culture race.jpg
This has been downloaded 146 time(s).
Last edited by nbarclay on 22-09-2004 at 20:29
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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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Your culture graph looks extremly good, especially the recent growth. Did the Iroquis end up weak in your game? Was the recent war the reason for the additional culture growth, or was there something else?
[edit: Just found my question about Iroquis answered in another DAR thread.]
Last edited by Modo44 on 22-09-2004 at 21:42
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cracky
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First my pic, then the post.....
Attachment: cracky-dar3-au504.jpg
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cracky
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Monarch, AU mod...
General: Not all that many turns have passed since DAR 2. I'm currently at 70 ad. I inadvertently started my golden age by completing the Colossus, with the SoZ already built. Luckily I had just recently transitioned into a Republic, so I'm not all that worried about having my golden age this early. Almost all tiles have been improved (at least in cities that are more than a handful of turns old.) This allowed me to finish the Great Library as well. I'm not turning off research until I finish Chivalry however, since I have some conquering to do I've stopped building workers in Bombay finally. I'll actually put it back on workers once some culture buildings are finished. I'll definitely need more workers once I take over China... One thing I've improved on so far is my worker management. Usually once I have about 8-10 workers I start setting them on auto-improve. I've managed to avoid this this time, but I've run into another small problem. I have too many mines  I need to start some of those workers irrigating.
Culture: Libraries and Temples are completed in most cities, with courthouses and marketplaces on the way. The early Pyramids from a Writing SGL was a huge boon. You can see I'm building The Great Wall in Bangalore. Normally I don't go for this wonder, but most other wonders are built and I didn't want to waste the shields (I'm hoping someone else will discover Monarchy and let me switch to Hanging Gardens). As for wonders, I have the Pyramids, SoZ, Colossus, and the Great Library. Sun Tzu's will be started in Dheli once it's current build is finished. So, I think I'm doing pretty well on my culture score. It might be time for some suicide galleys to see how the other continent is doing...
I normally don't go for the Great Library. But since we're going for the culture win, all the extra cash from turning off research seems like it will pay off quickly. I certainly need cash being in a Republic with so many size 6 and smaller cities. I wasn't quite ready for either Republic or my Golden Age, but somehow I think I'll manage.
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cracky
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Quick question...
If I capture a wonder I don't get the culture it produces, right?
Or do I get any culture it produces AFTER I capture it?
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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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I think you don't get any culture from captured wonders, ever.
Last edited by Modo44 on 24-09-2004 at 10:59
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Aqualung71
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Lord Desolator of the Desolation Row, C3CDG
Oct 2002
time: 12:22
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A Great Hosannah – The Saga of the Guru Ravi Shankar, Chapter III
Emperor Level, AU Mod
Ravi was extremely happy with the progress of his developing society. Many citizens had been trained as Workers, and the population growth rate was climbing, possibly due to the nation’s women adopting Ravi’s own policy of reckless hedonism. Indeed, should his own seed be fertile, there would be many more Indians running around the world……alas (or perhaps, fortunately), the Cup of Life also destroyed his fertility. Well, at least he doesn’t need to wear condoms!
With the secrets of Map Making and Literature now possessed by Indian scientists, Ravi began to feel the pressures of administering a growing and prosperous empire. His people demanded more land, so the birth rate had to be maintained. Training programmes for developing Workers must be redoubled, as more developable land comes under Indian dominion. Ravi’s own lust for culture could now be fed, with plans for Libraries having been completed by his architects.
The Temple building programme was continuing and surprisingly was ahead of target, as Ravi did not trust his Minister of Religion, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
“That charlatan Maharishi has been duping me for too long”, Ravi confided to his Minister of Music, Keith Richards. “I know he is pocketing vast sums of money from the state Religion budget, yet he still manages to build the required quota of Temples”. Keith responded “Yeh man, I don’t trust that dude either. My mate Mick told me the Maharishi put a spell on his hot chick Marianne Faithfull and had his way with her”. Ravi made a mental note to have Miss Faithfull brought to his bed-chamber for an “interview”.
Keith’s ramblings interrupted his fantasies…… “Hey man, I need a hit…..pass me some of that Incense will ya?”. Keith had “hit” on a pertinent point. One short term objective for Ravi was to settle the Incense rich peninsular in the distant north, a wild area apparently characterised by its rough hilly terrain and offshore Whales  . This would bring further stocks of tradeable goods to Indian warehouses. As for Keith, his only job for the time being will be to teach Ravi how to play this frustrating Sitar that George left to him. At least until a Theory of Music can be learned, at which time he will be in charge of building the JS Bach Cathedral. The thought made Ravi shudder, and he quickly turned his mind to more pressing matters.
As Keith departed from the Guru’s presence, his chanting slowly grew more faint
“Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream, it is not dying, it is not dying
lay down all thought surrender to the void, it is shining, it is shining
Then you may see the meaning of within, it is speaking, it is speaking
That love is all and love is everyone, it is knowing, it is knowing
When ignorance and haste may mourn the dead, it is believing, it is believing
But listen the colour of your dreams, it is not living, it is not living
Or play the game existence to the end, of the beginning, of the beginning……”
Ravi shook his head in bewilderment….. “that guy needs a detox clinic”
“India must develop a sarong military!”, Ravi demanded of his military advisor, Field-Marshal Montgomery. ”Surely you mean a strong military, old chap?”, replied Monty. “Yes, well they should be strong too….I guess”, was Ravi’s response. And thus through a typo was the dress-code of the Indian military established. Ravi was no military strategist, as you can guess. But with the loyal and capable (albeit somewhat eccentric) Monty in charge of developing India’s armies, Ravi felt confident that his India would soon become a strong and mighty nation.
Ravi had also recently appointed a new “Admiral of the Non-Existent Fleet”, Lord Nelson (a strange Christian name, thought Ravi, though it’s better than Horatio). Nelson’s task was to change his title to “Admiral of the Fleet”, and he needed to build lots of ships for that! Another task of Nelson’s was to start exploring the oceans for other peoples of the world for Ravi to dominate.
Ravi also had a secret desire to start developing more Wondrous buildings, in order to firmly place Indian culture at the forefront of the world. His prophets had foretold that if he erected a Statue in honour of the Greek god Zeus, Ancient Cavalry would start pouring from it as if by magic. Ravi secretly thought this was a ridiculous idea, but he loved the plans! His main project though would be to drag his civilisation into the Middle-Ages, and he needed his scientists to work particularly hard for that. Ravi wanted to be the technology leader of the world!
Meanwhile, time goes on…..
975BC: The wretched Chinese demanded Map Making from Indian scientists. Unfortunately the cowardly fools gave it away before Ravi rose for the day. India is now looking for new scientists, and Ravi has begun plotting against those upstart Barbarian Chinese.
The town of Forest Chop is founded amongst Forests (duh!) east of the capital near the border with Persia. There is very little available land further east.
825BC: Mathematics researched. China has Code of Laws, but won’t trade it. Ravi is no longer sure that he wants to trade techs anyway
800BC: The town of Hsung-Nu is founded west of the canals, named in honour after the tribe of savages who gave us the secrets of Code of Laws in return for their lands. They will surely live to regret such a deal, but Ravi decided that when they start complaining he will build them a few casinos  Anyway, this was a most fortuitous discovery and has saved India’s scientists a lot of time and effort.
750BC: We reach a milestone for Indian culture, as the foundation stones for the Statue of Zeus are laid in the town of Mountain Bay, belatedly the first Wonder the Indian civilisation has attempted to construct  However, this town is now well set up as a wonder city, with Temple and Granary and no need for an Aqueduct.
The town of Eastern Oasis was also founded, stealing land from the Chinese who will not be impressed. Monty plans to use this town together with Marlboro Country (with Yul Brynner and Steve McQueen at the head of a Horseman army of course!), as the launchpad for the initial invasion of China using 2 stacks of units in a pincer movement. The Persian Spearman and Warrior perched on the choke point within Ravi’s lands are now becoming tiresome, but Monty has been slow to develop India’s military and dares not ask them to leave! The last thing India needs right now is more Immortals….one is enough!
730BC: The first Library in the Indian civilisation is completed in Gold Mountain. Ravi congratulates his Minister of Education, Harvard, who immediately began a tradition that would continue until modern times. He asked for more funding 
710BC: Mysticism is researched, and Polytheism is next. Ravi is now firmly convinced that a Monarchical system of Government is preferable for the Indian peoples, for the time being. He had considered dabbling with a Feudal system, but felt that with a war with China not too far away, Monarchy was a safer choice. Being of a Commercial disposition helps with corruption and waste, and Ravi also fully intended to move to a Democratic system as soon as he possibly could.
650BC: The town of Windbreak is established, behind a row of 3 mountains on the Northwest peninsula.
590BC: Greenfields founded in the middle of…..you guessed it – grasslands!....on the western peninsular.
530BC: The town of Poly-poll founded amongst all the Bananas on the border of Persia.
490BC: Polytheism discovered. Monarchy next.
430BC: Meanwhile, Nelson has managed to make an important breakthrough on the Naval front, with his state-of-the-art Galleys (well, we are still in the Anicent-Age after all). India has now met the Ottomans after a very lucky Galley trip across the eastern ocean…..and traded them Philosophy and Code of Laws for Construction. Ravi hopes this fortuitous crossing of the oceans will allow his envoys to meet more civilisations.
410BC: Nelson’s Galley comes across Spain, and Ravi agrees to trade them Philosophy for 84g. He is rather taken with Isabella.
390BC: Arabia has now walked into view, but have nothing to offer Ravi. We’ve also met the Iroquois, who appear to be rather war like. Monty was not happy to learn of their existence!
290BC: War may be approaching! China demands Mathematics, backs off, but moves an Archer into Indian territory. Oh well, it’s almost time to start fighting for more territory anyway Ravi was proud that Monty had been able to develop enough Swordsmen with the recently acquired Iron, to call China’s bluff.
70BC: The first Indian Wonder, the Statue of Zeus, is completed in Mountain Bay, and Ravi immediately calls on his people to make him their supreme Monarch…..which he already kind of was anyway, so I don’t know what the fuss is all about! Something about better control over the state treasury and better food harvests.
30BC: The streets of Holy Grail resound with the sound of fanfare….trumpets blare and the world’s first crowd-control officers - snake-charmers - wander in the streets playing tunes to their slithering companions, effectively ensuring that the crowd turnout for the celebrations of Ravi's new Monarchy is kept at a minimum as the citizens prefer the safety of their own hovels.
10AD: As the years grind onwards and a new millennium is declared, Holy Grail finally develops birth control and stops producing Settlers. As an indication of what is to come, the city starts work on a Barracks. Meanwhile, the much anticipated “Year Zero” passes without the Armageddon predicted by the Prophets….nor is any messiah born in any part of the world. It turns out it was all an elaborate hoax dreamed up by the permanently stoned Maharishi.
30AD: Finally Currency is discovered, and India enters the Middle-Ages, thus ending volume III of A Great Hosannah – The Saga of the Guru Ravi Shankar
Overall, Ravi is happy with his progress. The lack of any high-culture Wonders concerns him a little, but he has plans to rectify that in the medium term. In particular, he somewhat regrets his decision not to pursue the Great Library which was finally built by Persia in 570BC, as this would have provided extra cash and substantial culture.
The military build-up is in full swing, with Swords and Horses being produced for the first assault on China. It is vitally important to cripple China before they are able to build their Riders in any quantity. The Horses will later be upgraded to War Elephants for the Persian war to follow.
Indian scientists have a slight edge over the rest of the world, with all 5 of the 6 civs discovered so far all trailing by only Currency, but possessing the useless (to India) Republic tech. Arabia is 4 techs behind and looks to have a limited future. It is rather notable that 5 civs are all exactly equal in tech, probably due partly to Indian trading. We may have one more round of trading to bankrupt them all, or we may decide not to trade further.
Not having played for a Culture win before, my 2000-odd culture points at this stage looks rather paltry, but there will be a fair bit of doubling up in the coming years plus Cathedrals and Universities, so maybe it’s not so bad.
The state of Ravi’s Empire at 30AD:
Towns: 20
Settlers: 3
Workers: 21 – worker pump still operating
Warriors: 8
Spears: 5
Swords: 11
Horsies: 4
AC: 1
Galleys: 2 – both rebuilt after the Curraghs sunk
Temples: 18
Libraries: 8
Colosseums: 0 – should build some, but currently building military
Last edited by Aqualung71 on 26-09-2004 at 18:24
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Krill
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On a cold wet rock, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Dec 2003
time: 05:22
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AU 504, DAR 3: Emperor and AU mod.
825BC, China declares war, stockpile the choke points with my Vet spears. I get one every 2 turns from Bangalore, and one every 4 turns from Kolhapur. I also produce 2 reg spears from Karachi. I garrison the mountains south of the western CP with 2 spears/mountain, and shove everything else in Jaipur (Eastern CP). It pays off, with China taking the long route to Jaipur, and losing about 8 swords to a hill town with walls and (forted) vet Spears.
670BC, China surrenders Tientsin and 13 gold for peace. I plan on shipping some units over there to launch diversionary attacks while my main SoDs travel through Jaipur.
610BC, build GL. 90% tax, 10% lux. time to start on those suicide galleys and that new SoD...and that switch to Monarchy...
470BC, The Arabs have been destroyed. oh, crap...
270BC, finish MoM in Bombay, so that monster is going to be on non stop wonders. I'm ai ming a prebuild at the Hanging gardens, since I will be needing all the happiness I can get, and then at Leos.
190BC, I am now earning 100gpt, and have 1850g in the bank. Time to start building the warriors, me thinks...
150BC, last Settler built in Dehli before the Palace jump, which moves the Palace to Bombay (Please note that I set it to build a palace before the jump, so I still have that nice and big 316 shield prebuild for something). Build New Dehli on the ruins of Old Delhi, and start to set up the new worker pump.
70BC, Finish the SoZ. Go to one turn warriors, so I am now at about 2.5 warriors/turn.
50BC, build FP in Bengal (No where else to build it that would benefit)
50AD, I have got board of researching Poly @ 50 turns, so I up the rate to 80% and research it in 4 turns. I have 1845g, enough for alot more upgrades. On reflection it seems that the GL was a complete waste, since the only techs it has given me are MM and HBR. My new plan is to research Monarchy ASAP, switch and build the hanging gardens, lower the slider and then rush a ton of cats and horsies.
130AD, Turns out that Monarchy wil take 9 turns to research @ 80% tax, but the prebuild will be done in 6...So I swap all the BG for normal Grasslands I can, and prey
230AD, get CoL from the GL (this is one slow tech pace, but on the plus side I have 34 swords...and I am paying for them. 1gpt...best add in those workers then.)
(Unfortunatly, my computer crashed and I lost all my data until 300AD. The basics are that I built HG, after losing 97 shields on the prebuild due to forgetting the size of the palace (400 shields) and HG (300 shields). I also start to kill persia with my 34 swords Researching Currency in 4 turns and raking in 23 gpt as of 300AD, although I really need aquaducts to pump up the size of my cities. I am building toons of cats, and Bombay is going to be churning out wonders for most of the game, but ATM the largest prebuild there is in that city is a lib...)
320AD, cut the southern Persian iron supply, and my swords are kiling tons of immortals. My only problem is that I am losing tons of spears to Persia  .
400AD, I finish researching Construction, and enter the MA. I set research to 80%, and Fued, and it turns out that I will have it in 9 turns. I despotism. Is this normal?? (btw, Persia also landed a lone regular immortal in my core. My fastmovers deal with him).
You may find it amusing that I am still in despotism, and have a greatest GNP (311), MFG (121), Productivity (387), and Annual income (9/capita) in the whole world.
Attachment: au 504, dar 3, misc.jpg
This has been downloaded 109 time(s).
Last edited by Krill on 27-09-2004 at 00:55
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Aqualung71
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Lord Desolator of the Desolation Row, C3CDG
Oct 2002
time: 12:22
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quote:
Originally posted by Modo44
Yes, I went straight to Republic. The reason was, I didn't want to lag on technology, when I met the others. |
Modo, I would guess that you were saved by the fact that your switch to Republic coincided pretty closely with the activation of your GA. Otherwise, with a smallish empire and using the AU Mod, you may have been a lot worse off under Republic then Monarchy due to support costs, which can effectively cripple your research capacity if you switch before you have significant numbers of Libraries/Marketplaces (which would have been unlikely given the early stage of your game).
Since you were also going through a military build-up, how did things look when your GA ended? I would guess that thsi is where the Commercial trait really helped (assuming you had a decent number of cities by then)
Last edited by Aqualung71 on 30-09-2004 at 08:19
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Modo44
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in western Poland
Jul 2004
time: 06:22
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I think you are overestimating the size of my military. I'm usually keeping a very smallish offensive force ("non existent" is what many a player would call it ). Like I said in my DAR, I had just enough units for my first strike against Beijing and only luck made me fare better in that war. Anyway, I'm used to having so few units, not even the AU-modded Republic can hurt me.
[edit]I did have Temples and Libraries nearly everywhere before going to war. Final Libraries were finished in the core during my GA, but they were up for rushing anyway... Currency wasn't there for some time after the GA.[/edit]
True, it might have done minor damage, and that's what it does usually in my games. But not with the great start we had available here. Add to that the commercial trait I seldom play with. Thanks to those two things I barely even noticed the switch. The GA was nice, but it was not nearly as crucial to my surviving as you might think.
Most important thing: I never experienced a large scale military buildup, not until the endgame. I let Delhi grow to size 12 very fast, so it could churn out units with the occasional up-to-date building thrown inbetween. Also, I had the SOZ, which is the builders dream (Bangalore was building wonders and still adding some units to the rooster - what more do you need?). This made other cities go 100% pure builder through most of the first half of the game. Later Bombay and then Karachi joined in the building fun. Also, Knights Templar was added to the SOZ in Bangalore. And believe me, you only need a couple of those monsters of cities (Again - great starting location!) to have the upper hand over the AI.
To proove my point, here's the "grand" Indian "army" in ancient times. Note that the surpulus is still healthy after the GA ended (I was still rushing buildings in China at that time.). The first shot is during the first Chinese war, with many units en-route to the battlefield. The second one is after that, during initial skirmishes with Persians:
Attachment: army_rooster_ ancient.jpg
This has been downloaded 89 time(s).
Last edited by Modo44 on 30-09-2004 at 12:57
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Mountain Sage
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Our bright culture. Arabia already looks like our most important rivals.
Attachment: 310ad2.jpg
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21-09-2004 07:19
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