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Nor Me
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The war against the Greeks started well. Losses in taking Athens and Sparta were too small. Upkeep meant that I did not have enough gold to upgrade all my warriors. Thermopylae and Corinth made up for this. Especially Thermopylae. Against hoplites on a hill, you really need Immortals. Even then it would have taken 3 days. For a long time I occupied the 3 productive squares around it with swordsmen to stop it building archers quickly. As a non-industrious civ, it's not worth pillaging developed hills. I was lucky to find Delphi on that island to the west. I've not seen any Militaristic civs here apart from the Vikings. Berserks would be so useful in this game that I won't apologise for this:
 Attachment: au4leader2.jpg
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Nor Me
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You see Barcelona in the right of that screen shot is producing the palace? It was obvious I was going to have enough warriors so I started the Great Lighthouse prebuild during my GA. In 370BC, Barcelona built the Great Lighthouse. On the same turn, Cordoba rushed the Great Library in Madrid. Meanwhile, I'd met Egypt and Japan. Germany is already dead. I took the opportuntity of settling near Berlin for free Dyes. At this stage, I was just building on 0% research. Built the Hanging Gardens just because I could. Suicide galleys eventually made contact with the French. The Chinese were reduced to 3 cities with both France and Babylon gaining.
There were a lot of wars at this stage of the game. Egypt and Japan were often at war as were the French and Babylonians. I had wars with Egypt, Japan and Babylon, generally started by them demanding contact. If there's no fighting and I'm not the agressor, war weariness always seems to be negative. I had several cities become unhappy due to peace. In the end, I lost the dyes city to the Egyptians. I'm surprised that those worrying about defense didn't mention the naval chokepoint. It eventually fell but meant I never had to face landings.
Attachment: au4rand.jpg
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Dominae
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Looks like you're doing well, Nor Me, keep it up. I believe you're game is a special case in that none of the "big four" (Egypt, Japan, France, Babylon) has pulled ahead into KAI status. Since you're all relatively the same size, there's no wonder your economy is better since you're not at war. "Laying low" seems like the thing to do in this game.
Predictable? Heh, I thought I was being funny. America was the only Industrious civ in the list, so I figured any that got it would feel it was a gift. Guess not...Babylon would have turned this game into a Culture race, and who wants that? However, Bowmen versus Hoplites would have been a very cruel (read: funny) joke.
Dominae
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Fosse
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U.S.A.
Mar 2002
time: 23:25
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I started another round of this game, but now I'm in crunch mode at school and don't think I'll be able to finish it up.
Sorry for the lack of screens, no internet in my room.
I drew the Russians once, and was wiped out when a Greek warrior attacked my spearman in Moscow....
I drew the Russians again and things worked out differently. I wiped the Greeks out with iron working, and had managed to deprive them of swords for themselves. This meant archers were the only counterattackers, and were easily defended against by my vet spears. In all, maybe ten swords and four spears took out Greece's three or four cities.
The Collossus was in Athens, and so I worked quickly to put the FP in the middle of the island (just east of the mountains... when just west was really the best place... city placement at the point of building it was dicated by speed and roaming Greek units). Once it was up and Athens was built up, I had a pretty useful commerce city up and running.
I managed to put a settler on the western Island, and push galleys to Babylon rather quickly. I also took the eastermost part of the Northeast island, which was shared with an Egyptian city and a stack of about six German units that wound up separating the island into Egyptian and Russian, with no way to cross from one to the other without boats (unless you're German, of course).
I was hoping to build up my libraries, then build a fleet of galleys, swords and horses to take out Germany. My hope was to secure Berlin's luxuries and generate a GL to build a palace on the bigger landscape.
Egypt had other plans.
They landed some units west of the German guard on the NE island, and took the city in a single turn. I tried to enlist Germany and Japan's aid. But Japan had only two cities (Egypt had taken the rest before I'd met them) and Germany was really marginalized. Both wanted more than I could afford for the little thelp they would have offered. I packed up my forces, originally intended for Germany, and sent them to the NE island to reclaim my land and take out Egypt's city in the hills.
I had left about six horses and a few swords on the mainland, in case Egypt made any landings... and did they ever. Galleys landed along the southern tundra, and I couldn't get forces down there in time to prevent their knights from capturing a city. I was able to quickly reclaim it... but the loss still stung (more my ego than anything).
I was soon amazed by the persistence with which Egypt landed units on my island, if not by the coordination. The best turn they ever had saw about six knights landing in one place in one turn with defenders. But normally I would get two or three units every two or three turns.
The attrition was killing me, and to make matters worse, they had sent a galley to the wester island and taken my city (guarded by a warrior).
I called for peace, which came as an even deal.
Angered by my off shore losses, I resigned myself to a slow buildup of military, and an eventual overseas invasion with cavalry. In the meantime, it was time to install those university' I had just discovered after trading contacts around and whoring all the techs I could...
More later... time to eat.
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Fosse
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U.S.A.
Mar 2002
time: 23:25
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Things progressed fairly well for me for a while. I was able to get a leg up on one tech and started brokering it out for gpt... even trading with the evil Egyptians.
Babylon and China were both weaker than France, and France finally wiped out Babylon. China is sitting with one city still in the middle ages with the rest of us in mid industrial.
Egypt wiped out Germany and Japan, which made tech trading a little harder for a while... but I managed to secure ToE, despite the Wonder bulding machine that Thebes has become (I don't have the game here right now, but I think Egypt has about 70 % of all wonders built in one or two cities).
Egypt attacked once or twice during the course of the game, and in the late middle ages they sank my entire navy, which was sitting in the coastal waters NE of Russia. They had frigates, and I still had mostly galleys and a few caravels. At the time they were a few techs ahead. After ToE I was ahead, built up a modern navy that I thought would be fairly strong, and am currently bombarding the old German cities and am trying to land enough forces to get a city. I took the Russian city that Egypt occupied on the NE island, and they took it back with a brutal marine assault! This was something the AI doesn't ever do!
Egypt's navy is still bigger than mine, and I'm losing my fleet. My hope is to land enough units to get my city before my transports are all sunk. Egypt has Magelleans, which is really giving them an edge.
If I ever have time to get back to the game, I'll finish up the story and add some screenies.
Other notes: What happened to the little animations showing enemy ships sinking when you take a city with them in it? I took the island city right after Egypt sent about six or eight frigats into it, and I was really hoping for the joys of watching their navy sink... can these animations get turned off?
Egypt is a huge KAI, and having one in the west, is great fun too. I know a lot of the development of KAIs has to do with game circumstances, but good work Dom in cooking up a situation where they really developed and give the player a fight.
Played at Emporer level.
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BigDork
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The biggest dork around.
Jan 2003
time: 05:25
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Hi everybody...
Well my game is going bad. I took out the Egyptians and the Germans within three turns. The same turn they died the revolution began. I made a quick switch to democracy and became a builder. I focused first on factories in cities that didn't have one and universities and banks in the other cities. I continued to build up until the modern time focusing on city improvements and only a little on my military.
Soon after I caught up in techs the French snuck attacked me. I was recieving 3 techs from them and when war struck I was forced to use the luxury slider. By diverting money to happiness I was losing footing in techs. Also the French were kicking my butt with bombers from aircraft carriers. I started making fighters in most of my cities and also subs and battleships in my coastal towns. Then something awful happened. My game froze.  And what's worse, for some unknown reason, my auto save was off.  
Well, with three hours thrown out the window I took a couple of days off. I actually considered not finishing but I've put too much time into this to quit now. Today I gave it another go. I focused more on building up my military this time. I think I appeared weak to the French and that is why they attacked. And for the most part this proved true. The French did attack me again but this time I was more prepared. I had tanks sitting off their coast. Carriers full of planes waiting to be unleased upon the French cities. I had subs positioned outside French cities waiting to pick off transports. Well, I once again had to divert funds to happiness but since I was expecting it it didn't hurt so bad. Well, it was a mainly defensive war at first. I landed my tanks on the northern island, bombarding with bombers, battleships, and destroyers. And then...yep...game froze again.
Well, I don't think there's any way I can win. There's less than 50 years left and I'm only now researching Ecology. I don't have nearly enough of an army to win by domination. The French have the UN and I don't think they'd vote for me anyway. My culture sucks. And France is exactly 300 points ahead of me. I think I'm gonna build up about 30 - 50 ICBM's and nuke the poop out of France a turn or two before 2050 just for spite.
This has been a true learning experience for me. This has been the most challenging game I've yet to play. Every other game I've ever played I've won by culture victory. This is the first I've ever lost. Well, not lost but come in second which is the same as losing to me. This game has given me a jump start to play Civ 3 more. I'm very looking forward to the next AU game. But hopefully next time my computer will co-operate a little more. I'm gonna reload when I get off work and we'll see if that works. Thanks to all for putting up with my ramblings. 
BigD
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Dominae
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Commendable persistence, BigD! Although I wish you could have won your game, I'm also happy the KAI gave you such a run for your money. You'll play better in your next game, guaranteed.
Dominae
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Dominae
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Looking at BigD's screen of France, is everyone thinking what I'm thinking? Look at the city placement!
We've got ~3-tile spacing along the coasts, and slightly more in the interior. That's pretty close to what most veteran players would do with that terrain! Wow!
Dominae
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Dominae
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True, but most of Babylon's cities look pretty good. France's spaced a bit further out, but nicely along the coast. You're right that it is probably due to the geography, but it's impressive when it happens...
Dominae
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Konquest02
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Somewhere up in the trees
Jun 2002
time: 00:25
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I finally got some time to finish this game... In my last update, I concluded with "More updates soon!" Well, it's not soon, but it's better now than never!
You can read the beginning of my game in the earlier part of this thread.
With the lead created by my GA, I was catapulted into the industrial times. I knew peace was the way to go, as I was not overwhelingly powerful enough to try a continental invasion of either Egypt, Babylon or France.
Japan, with two cities left, dumped a spearman and an swordman near my city on the northern island, which was only defended by an archer. The rifleman in production had 1 turn left. Quite miraculously, my archer survived the swordman attack (Newcastle is located on hills) and the next turn, defeated the spearman. This sent me in a war with Japan
Attachment: 25-sneak attack japan.jpg
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Konquest02
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Somewhere up in the trees
Jun 2002
time: 00:25
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I learned quite a few things in the AU course. Here is the summary:
1- Being all alone on a small island with the Greeks (especially being the English) is really evil, Dominae...
1a- While alone with the Greeks, try to destroy them before they can expand and get hoplites. They are really dangerous and only a good deal of luck allowed me to beat them as I did.
2- Expansionist may be good even on archipelago maps because Pottery is a prerequisite to Map Making, making it possible to reach MM faster than most others.
3- You have to be careful with the wearly wonders as the English as The Colossus (which I really like to build) and the Great Lighthouse immediately trigger a GA, typically a despotic GA (which is often not a good thing)
4- The AI is terrible at overseas invasions. The most I got is a swordman while defending with a spear and later a swordman and a spearman while defending with an archer (rifleman with 1 turn left...) Therefore, an island scenario is good for diplomatic and SS win because you can keep you military relatively low and not fear too much for an invasion.
5- Use your GA wisely, it can lead to great things and most of the time, win the game...
6- I got two killer AIs in my game Egypt and France. Babylon was a major power too, up to the end of the medieval times. France got 4 leaders in their wars against Babylon while the Babs only got 1. I think this is why my eastern continent is all pink.
7- China even took a city while they were fighting the Babs with the French. However, their lone horseman got killed by the Babylonian infantry and Cavalry the same turn...
8- No AI ever researched Espionnage, even well into the modern times. I guess they thought it was not worth it... Anyone got this result too?
9- I had fun and my score was not good, but I was a dominant force, so score can be totally forgotten (I think it was ~1450 points...)
--Kon--
Attachment: au204-11.jpg
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Nor Me
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quote:
Originally posted by Konquest02
Japan, with two cities left, dumped a spearman and an swordman near my city on the northern island, which was only defended by an archer. The rifleman in production had 1 turn left. Quite miraculously, my archer survived the swordman attack (Newcastle is located on hills) |
It's a size 7 city and you have Nationalism. Why didn't you draft? You were lucky this time.
quote:
1- Being all alone on a small island with the Greeks (especially being the English) is really evil, Dominae...
1a- While alone with the Greeks, try to destroy them before they can expand and get hoplites. They are really dangerous and only a good deal of luck allowed me to beat them as I did.
...
3- You have to be careful with the wearly wonders as the English as The Colossus (which I really like to build) and the Great Lighthouse immediately trigger a GA, typically a despotic GA (which is often not a good thing) |
As the Spanish, I thought it was best to take advantage of 3 to solve the problem of 1. The Colossus and a despotic GA enabled me to get the gold for a swordsmen rush without slowing down my research too much. So the Greeks weren't a problem. In fact, I was lucky and got a Leader which became the Great Library. All I needed for it was a few upgraded warriors and fewer swordsmen. So, overall, I gained in shelds and research from the war having used my GA for a large advantage over the Greeks.
Updates may be coming shortly but now I'm at the start of the industrial age with a tech lead. So there are alternative approaces to 5.
Anyway, you won easily and that's what counts  .
Last edited by Nor Me on 09-03-2003 at 00:40
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Dominae
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Well done Kon, and thanks for the "things I learned" section; those are always the best (ok, the screenshots are usually cool too). Sorry for being evil, but getting paired with the Greeks on a smallish island happens almost never with a random map. So I thought I would make the scenario even more "random" that it already was...!
Dominae
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Dominae
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Konquest, your web site provides quite a good AAR, but I'm glad you posted the important stuff here too (did I mention I'm originally from Québec, alors moi aussi je parle francais?!). Good stuff.
Dominae
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19-02-2003 07:18
France probably only had two or three more turns before they were gone too.
This was my first game where I went hard on screenshots. (when I take 3 or 4 I am happy) This game I took over 40 screens... I will eventually put them on my website at 
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