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solo
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Lowell, MA USA
Jan 2001
time: 05:25
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In the games without huts, I had estimated it would take about 25 more turns to get things going, and that once the SSC, helpers, and colonies were set up, the remainder of the games would go very much like those where huts had been used. It took longer than this in the first two attempts, because it took much longer to found cities, especially the colonies, which required home grown settlers.
So in my third attempt I made some changes:
1. I used only four instead of five helpers in the early game, to save some time, and to get the SSC growing more quickly. Later on, I only had time to found two colonies, rather than the usual 3 or 4. Fewer helpers and colonies really changed how the game played out.
2. Lack of gold was such a big problem that I did more trading early on, using helper caravans as well as SSC ones in trades to the Romans, the first overseas AI contacted. Good commodities that were in demand were traded, while those that were not in demand were left behind until enough were accumulated to start building SSC wonders.
3. I gave preference to helper locations that maximized shields, in order to produce caravans more quickly.
4. I did not build Darwin’s, but instead used caravans allotted for this in small trades that provided just enough extra beakers to supplement the SSC’s science to earn an advance per turn.
5. Colonies were founded so late, and the SSC had grown so quickly, that I never increased the size of helpers and colonies, but left them at size 3 while building the SSC up to size 35. Thus, there were only two turns where I managed two advances, but 1 turn advances started very early in the game and were sustained for almost every turn afterwards.
6. The colonies and trading partners selected were closer to the SSC and helpers than in previous games. This saved time in making trades, but reduced the delivery payoffs. I was scrounging for gold even when trading was fully up to speed, but I simply did not have the time or resources to set up for more profitable trades farther away from home.
Some of these changes were dictated by the unique situation presented by this start, but most were due to the lack of income, quick techs and free cities ordinarily expected from huts.
I did find out that there are actually some advantages when not tipping huts. All out exploration to locate them is no longer a priority and more trading can take place instead. Many early advances came in many fewer turns because of early trades. Leaving huts for the AI also strengthened them and increased the number of their cities, making them better learners and trading partners. There were no problems with unwanted tribes, unwanted techs or unwanted barbarians results, either.
The start is actually one that I had tried earlier when tipping huts. Bad luck from tips caused me to abandon that game very early, since I was on a small island, which I shared with the Mongols. However, for a game without huts, the start looked pretty good. It came with 8 free techs, including Monarchy, and the purple civ was close by, providing a great opportunity to establish a lucrative road/rail SSC connection. Since I had only played a few turns before abandoning that first game with huts, playing this start again was almost like starting from scratch. Following is a detailed log of the game:
BC years
4000 Washington founded
The site wasn’t ideal, but was adequate. The best time to save turns of research is early in the game. If I had wandered a turn or two first, looking for a better site, my launch would have been delayed the same number of turns.
3900 revolution
3850 government to Monarchy
3750 New York founded
This city was right next to a rivered pheasant, the most that can be asked for in a helper special. Pheasants are great already, with 3 food and 3 shields. The trade from the river was a great bonus.
3700 Mysticism
3600 Was – warrior
3550 NY – warrior
3500 Map Making
3150 Was, NY – settlers
3100 Mathematics
3000 Boston founded
Boston was the SSC, having 3 fish and a buffalo for specials. This may not seem so great, but there were four river tiles and Boston had mostly grassland, a few plains, a few ocean and two forests. No bad tiles meant every one in the city could be used to maximize trade later. Early on, the two forests and the Buffalo gave Boston 8 shields with only three workers! It also had enough potential food to feed an army of Einsteins.
2900 Philadelphia founded, contact Mongols - peace, give tech, share maps
Philadelphia had a buffalo which meant a temple could be built in 8 turns, the time it would take to grow to size two. As with Boston, no warriors were needed first for martial law.
2750 NY – temple
2600 Was – settlers
2500 Bos – temple
2400 Phi – temple
2350 Atlanta founded
The last of the original group of cities. Atlanta had a pheasant, so it could grow very quickly, too.
2300 NY – wine, Construction
2250 Atl – warrior
2000 NY – settlers
1900 Astronomy, Was – temple
1850 Bos – dye
1800 Phi – trireme
1600 Atl – temple, NY – hides
1500 Bos – beads, Was – settlers
1450 Bridge Building, contact Romans - trade for Writing and Literacy, share maps, dye(d) to Rome, 96g
1400 Phi – gems
1300 Atl – settlers, Was – dye, Philosophy, Republic as freebie, wine(d) to Rome, 150g, revolution
1250 NY – hides, government to Republic
1200 Medicine
These early trades were a great boost to early research and provided much needed gold to prepare for SSC growth.
1150 Bos – hides
975 Atl – hides, Phi – settlers
950 NY – silk
925 Bos – hides
875 Bos – Shakespeare’s Theater, Seafaring, gems(d) to Antium, 206g, we love starts in Boston
ST had come in 725, many turns later, in the first game without huts. This was because more time was needed to build that extra helper city.
850 University, Bos – marketplace, Was – beads, beads(d) to Antium, 204g
That single trireme was wearing itself out shuttling commodities to Roman cities!
825 Theory of Gravity
800 Bos – harbor
775 Atl – hides
750 Bos – aqueduct
725 NY – hides
675 Phi – dye, Boston – size 11, we love stopped
600 Bos – salt, size 12, Chemistry
575 Atl – hides, Colossus
550 Was – dye, contact Spanish - trade for The Wheel, peace, share maps
525 NY – coal
475 Bos – salt
450 Banking
375 Atl – hides, Phi –dye, Bos –food
325 NY – silk
300 Bos – food, hides(d) to Cumae, 208g
275 Engineering, Bos – Copernicus, beads(d) to Cumae, 150g
250 Was – salt
225 Bos – library, Sanitation, Chicago founded, first colony
Chicago was on a separate continent very close to the one occupied by the Romans. It had 2 whales to work with. I was quite late getting the first colony established, but had decided to prioritize early trade and earlier SSC growth and development.
200 Bos – we love resumes, dye(d) to Veii, 184g
175 Atl – hides, Bos – sewer system
150 Invention
125 NY – silk
75 Phi – beads
50 Bos – salt, Romans – trade for Economics
25 Democracy, switch made, Was – coal
When the switch was made to AD years Boston was fully roaded and irrigated. It was now size 20, but still had 18 extra food, enough to grow to size 29! It didn’t have any good trade specials, but made up for this by eventually reaching size 35, near the end of the game.
1 Bos – courthouse
20 Atl – hides
40 Chi – temple
60 Navigation, NY – coal
80 contact Germans – peace, give tech, share maps, Bos – food
100 Bos – Isaac Newton’s
120 Phi – cloth
140 Physics, Was – coal, salt to Rome, 232g
160 Chi – beads, Bos – university, size 29, Atomic Theory, San Francisco founded, the second colony
Now Boston had all the scientific wonders and improvements, and at size 29, was able to produce 1 turn advances using only 80% science. Scientists were adding 18 beakers each. In the previous game, where I landed in 1116 AD, my SSC took longer to develop fully, just reaching size 21 on this turn and not finishing Newton’s College until much later, 280 AD. In that game I had dallied too long establishing extra helpers and colonies.
180 Atl – hides, Steam Engine
200 Railroad
No need for Darwin’s when getting an advance per turn.
220 Industrialization, NY – dye
240 Magnetism
260 Corporation
280 Bos – bank, Gunpowder, Was, Phi – transports
300 Refining, beads to Bos – 70g
This beads trade was used to unblock supplies in Boston.
320 Chi – copper, Bos – cloth, Explosives, Atl- transport, dye(d) to Pisae, 40g
This is when the tech costs starting surpassing the SSC’s beaker production, and when caravans not used for Darwin’s were used instead to help sustain 1 turn advances. Not much gold was made from these trades, but they were one key to a pre-1000 landing.
340 Combustion, dye(d) to Chi, 48g
360 Bos – oil, Metallurgy, hides(d) to Rome, 118g, Mongols – trade for Horseback Riding
380 SF – temple, NY – engineers, Conscription, Buffalo founded, cloth to Karokorum, 181g, cloth to Veii, 38g, contact Japanese – peace, give tech, share maps
Buffalo was founded next to Karokorum and served as a station to boost payments from freights being delivered from Boston. New York was the other station, next to Boston, that provided the trade route bonus. I wanted two Karokorum routes to help boost Boston’s beakers, and used up one of the old settlers when founding Buffalo.
400 Bos – stock exchange, Electricity, copper(d) to Bos, 216g
Finally, all economic improvements are in place in Boston, too. I usually try to finish them first, to increase income, but had needed to prioritize science this game to get those 1 turn advances started earlier. The copper to Boston came from a colony. Both colonies were located so as to become copper producers, a commodity in demand in Boston. These trades from the two colonies were another key in being able to afford a space ship in time to launch before 1000 AD.
420 Steel, SF – copper, oil to Karokorum, 181g, St. Louis founded,
St. Louis was used as the eastern most port to shorten sea travel to the Romans and other trading partners. It was also used to start pre-building the Apollo wonder using “wonder bread” from the SSC. All 3 Boston trade routes were with AI cities having more base trade than I could displace with trades from any of my smaller size three cities. Because of this, I had to keep using the “wonder bread” ploy to unblock Boston’s supplies. I also used another technique later in the game, using food caravans delivered from the colonies to Boston in order to unblock their own supplies of copper. Since copper deliveries from the colonies to Boston were not creating new Boston routes, it never tired of receiving copper, which was good. On the down side was the fact that Boston needed to use wonder bread every other turn to unblock its own supplies.
440 Bos – dye, Automobile, Chi – transport, copper(d) to Boston, 216g
460 Atl – engineers, Phi – hides, Bos – superhighways, Mass Production, Was – salt
Automobile permitted superhighways, which boosted Boston’s beaker capacity to 1200. One turn advances were now possible at 90% science. In games where huts were used, I knew that if Automobile were discovered around 1 AD, that a landing before 500 AD was likely, so when I got Automobile before 500 AD in this game, this gave me high hopes of landing before 1000 AD. Learning Space Flight in time was no longer a problem, but making enough to build Apollo and a space ship in time became quite a challenge, since I did not have as many cities, nor were my trading opportunities as lucrative as they were in games using huts. I decided I was not making enough extra cash from trades to afford the harbors and colosseums that would be needed for bigger helpers and colonies, nor could I sustain 1 turn advances while celebrating these cities, so I altered my strategy again by researching Refrigeration and using farmland to grow my SSC up to size 35 to gain the extra beakers I would be needing later on.
480 Electronics, dye(d) to Rome, 780g, Mongols – trade for Warrior Code
500 SF – silk, Chi – spice, Bos – silver, Refrigeration, silver(d) to Rome, 752g
520 StL – temple, Buf – temple, Atl – beads, Phi – engineers, Bos – dye, Nuclear Fission, NY – coal
540 SF – salt, Chi – superhighways, Bos – Mass Transit, Feudalism, dye(d) to Antium, 849g, salt to Chicago, 60g, hides to Chicago, 48g
With so many citizens Boston required mass transit to avoid big time pollution. The two trades to the colony Chicago, were used to cycle back to another re-supply of copper, a commodity in demand in the SSC.
560 StL – oil, Chivalry, Atl – spice, Bos – supermarket, NY – superhighways, Was – engineers, Leadership, oil(d) to Boston, 245g
Boston is ready now for its final growth. Only 10% luxuries and a few entertainers were needed to sustain “we love” during these turns. All established helpers and colonies got superhighways to get the most out of freights they were trading.
580 Buf – oil, SF – superhighways, Chi – copper, Bos – food, we love begins, Nuclear Power, copper(d) to Boston, 520g
The first loaf of “wonder bread” is ready, and when added to Apollo being built in St. Louis, Boston‘s supply of dye was renewed.
600 Atl – superhighways, Bos – dye, Laser, beads(d) to Veii, 246g, silk(d) to Buffalo, 146g, salt to Boston, 260g
620 SF – food, Chi – salt, Bos – food, Tactics, NY – gold, Was – superhighways, dye(d) to Hastings, 864g
640 Buf – diplomat, Atl – dye, Phi – superhighways, Bos – dye, Machine Tools, coal(d) to Veii, 205g, salt to Boston, 256g, food to Boston
The food delivery to Boston from San Francisco served two purposes. It freed up another supply of copper in the colony and it kept Boston’s growth going, since new citizens were now consuming food faster than the engineers could make more farmland.
660 SF – copper, Chi, Bos, NY – food, Mobile Warfare, Was – copper, dye(d) to Osaka, 546g
680 Atl – food, Phi – dye, Bos – dye, Miniaturization, Chi – transport, contact English – peace, give tech, share maps, gold(d) to Kyoto, 206g, copper(d) to Boston, 520g, coal(d) to Karokorum, 145g
I almost completed the game without meeting the remote English, but London was the only spice demander, and a spice caravan finally located this civ, using Hastings (captured by the Romans from the English) as a clue as to where to go.
700 Buf – beads, SF – silk, Chi – copper, Bos – food, Computers, NY – dye, Was – food, dye(d) to Veii, 918g, copper(d) to Boston, 520g, oil(d) to Bos, 514g, food to Boston, dye to Chicago, 66g
All freights with nothing better to do were delivered before the discovery of Flight cut payoffs by 1/3. Enough beakers were generated for the first of two advances on the next turn.
720 Flight, Chi – copper, Atl – food, Phi – beads, Bos – research lab, size 35, we love ends, Radio, NY – gold
Just as Boston reached its prime, it assets were being sold off, starting with the sewer system. Gold had to be scrounged from any and all sources to make a ship in time. Boston was now capable of 1448 beakers, more than needed for the next few advances. This is not too bad for a city with just 3 fish as its trade specials!
740 Buf – cloth, SF – food, Bos – dye, Advanced Flight, Was – food, dye(d) to Rome, 448g, Detroit founded
Detroit brought the city total to 10, and was used as another caravan and space ship parts producer.
760 Chi – airport, Atl, Phi – food, Bos – airport, Communism, NY – food, copper(d) to Boston, 400g, silk(d) to Karokorum, 402g, dye(d) to Cumae, 160g
780 Det – copper, Buf – food, SF – cloth, Bos – silver, Rocketry, Was – food, silver(d) to Rome, 560g, spice(d) to New York, 150g, gold to Chicago, 56g
800 Chi – copper, Atl, Phi – food, Bos – dye, Space Flight, NY – food, copper(d) to Boston, 400g, dye(d) to Pisae, 312g, beads to Chicago, 56g
820 Det – silk, St. Louis – Apollo Program, Buf, SF – food, Chi – copper, Bos – dye, Plastics, Was – food, dye(d) to Pompeii, 436g, copper(d) to Boston, 400g
840 SF, Bos, Was – SS structurals, Atl, Phi, NY – food, Combined Arms
860 Det, StL, Buf, Chi – food, SF, Atl, Phi – SS structurals, Bos – SS component
880 SF, Chi – SS structurals, Bos – SS component, Superconductor, NY, Was – food
900 Det, StL, Buf, Atl – food, SF, Chi, NY, Was – SS structurals
920 Det, StL, Atl – SS structurals, Buf, Phi, Bos – SS modules, Fusion Power, launch 15-1-1-1-1-1, ETA 956 AD
Mission accomplished, a landing before 1000 AD without using huts. In the next post, I will give a few illustrations on the use of “wonder bread” and the use of food deliveries to unblock commodity supplies. A zip file will be attached containing a selection of saves made at different stages of this game, plus two saves having examples of unblocking techniques.
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15-02-2003 05:38
I'd like to think i can do better than i did yearwise than i did in the OCC games if i can get myself to look analyze each turn before moving on to the next(something i think a few demo game citizens probably wish i would do less of over there 
).
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