Realms Beyond Civilization - Adventure 43 report
by spaceman(mf)
Background
Some firsts. Whilst I have played Civilization 4 oh so many times, and have played a few of the Realms Beyond games in the past, I have never submitted any of my results (although I submitted plenty on CivFanatics), nor have I ever reported my experiences in ANY game. So this is definitely a first.
What is also a first is playing a game of Civilization where the basics are all topsy-turvy. To recap the underlying game rules, hammers are food, commerce is hammers, and food is commerce. Got that?
Settling in place seemed to offer a selection of everything - food, hammers and commerce - and would give the ideal opportunity to be flexible. So here is the city screen (apologies if it is too big - I can't be bothered editing):
Hmm, ok, so a quick play-around suggests that the best opening tile configuration is working the forested plains hill for maximum hammers and therefore maximum growth. The sooner I can work more tiles the better, as is the case with standard Civ 4. With only one hammer on the base tile, anything less than 2 hammers resulted in stagnation, and working the 1 food-2 hammer tiles only upped beaker production from 10 to 11 whilst halving growth. So the forested plains hill it was.
So let's take a step back. In the early game, commerce (apart from the palace) is a bit of a struggle (as can be seen from the above picture), which means that production is going to be limited, but that can be mitigated by slavery (presumably - this is untested at this stage!). Forest chops can be used to accelerate growth. Food has no such boost, and so commerce might be limited. Hmm, I've not really got anywhere. I need to play more turns...
First up, a workboat. No, scratch that - a worker. I can build that in 20 turns, whilst working the fish for 2 food (=commerce) and 2 commerce(=hammers). Having insufficient hammers(=food) is not penalised, so that's a freebie! Mining first, targeting Bronze Working for slavery/chopping, before moving on to Hunting (for the furs) and Animal Husbandry (for the sheep).
A short excursion for the warrior and a hut was located. 77 gold is not to be sniffed at. Well, not in 3840BC anyway.
On turn 8, I meet the Elizabeth of the English, not far SSE of the initial location. Close! Although, tt is a small map after all. Next up (turn 14), one of Montezuma's Aztec scouts waves hello from a nearby hill. The scout is heading NE so they are presumably located to the west. They are way ahead in score - how has that happened so quickly?
Turn 16 and Bronze Working comes in - no-brainer to switch to Slavery straight off, especially given the Isabella's Spiritual trait. So what do I do with the worker first. Forest chop for an instant pop boost? Work the fur for greater production? Mine the hill for the food? Man, this is messed up. Actually, working the fish tile with stagnated growth enables a 10 turn workboat, although all that does is boost commerce. Still, while I am doing that, I can camp the furs, mine the hill and then pasture the sheep so that growth is suitably rewarded.
Right, time for some growth. Working the mined hill gives the warrior in 8 turns and growth in 11. I think I will chop then mine the forested plains hill next for max growth, before pasturing the sheep (which would become a 3-2-1, i.e. 2-1-3 tile).
With the fur and mined hill being worked, I built a couple of quick warriors to go to potential city sites, before moving on to a settler. In fact, I decide to mine the second plains hill before moving to pasture the sheep since I don't value the commerce as much at this stage. And I squeeze out a third warrior just so I can get to size 3 and work an extra tile before moving on to the settler.
Hmm, seems like I didn't get the party invite. The English, Aztecs, and Carthaginians all within shot and it turns out that everyone is south rather than west. I'm a fair bit behind in score still. Plenty of time, though.
I'm indecisive enough with city sites as it is, but this time it's even more confusing with this set-up, so I aim for tiles that pick up as many resources as possible. Given that the principles of the normal game are to seek out locations with sufficient food to grow, this time I should be looking for sites with sufficient hammers.
A day to think on it and I realise that coast/ocean tiles are not helpful as there is no food. However, workshops will be very useful. Looking at the above picture, I might slip a filler city on the desert hill below the western incense. I may well settle the western city one NE to utilise the plains hill - settling on the ivory (obscured by the random Incense mouseover) can grab gold, wheat, clam and other ivory. Assuming that the English don't get there first.
After Writing (for investigating AI land and maybe a library in the capital), I head for The Wheel and then Pottery, before moving on to Iron Working since there is no copper around. Elizabeth gets her second city settled before me, founding it two south of the corn. Hmm, we'll have close borders. No matter.
Ooh that fooled me. Chopping the forest filled the food box, despite me building a settler. Whilst waiting for a settler, Hinduism is founded in York. Those pesky AIs. And a barb city appears south of the western corn.
Trekking through Aztec and Carthaginian territory, I finally meet the Germans on turn 57. I found Barcelona near to York. It's going to lose the cultural battle with York but I am attempting to shut the English out of the western territory and make my way towards that barb city.
Lots of iron around! No worries about metal then. Aztecs are sandwiched, Germans are miles away. Interesting.
Next to Alphabet, for a small selection of trades. Writing to Bismarck for Archery and Agriculture. Pottery and Mysticism to Hannibal for Sailing. That's all that is available. Meanwhile I settle two more cities.
I am slow to the barb cities. The Aztecs snaffle the western city with some archers, whilst the English sneak the eastern city whilst my lone axe is healing. I have a healthy enough tech lead, though, as no-one yet has Alphabet (at turn 102!). It turns out, and I probably should have figured this out, but hammers are easy to come by on this map so growth is not a problem, so slavery is proving worthwhile after all (I had had my doubts).
In 25 BC, the Buddhist Monty goes to war with the Buddhist Elizabeth. Fine by me! An overview in 150 AD (I missed 1 AD). Current builds forges, then catapults. Tech path towards the predictable maces for some AI beating. I realise I am starting to play by numbers, as I so often do. I prefer to play Civ as casual speed games, rather than well-planned out affairs, as you may guess from some of my decision-making... :-)
The need to micro-manage doesn't help, so I start to try to let the cities take care of themselves (not with the governor on, though).
I suddenly recall there are a list of special mentions. Well, I have built no wonders. It actually says "most wonders constructed by 500 AD", but not by whom... A loophole! Earliest conquer of an AI - working on it (my money is on the English). Citadel - hmm, way off that yet. Ok, relax, get back to the game. I found Confucianism in Cordoba in 225 AD. Not ideal - I wanted it to appear nearer my front line. Oh well. Predictably, my missionary fails to spread the word. There is so little action between the English and Aztecs, I have to check they are still at war. I am used to playing on the aggressive AI setting so this is not what I am used to.
By 500 AD, 8 wonders had been built. Alas, none by me. Woah, Bureaucracy sends Madrid's growth crazy. Monty and Elizabeth make peace in 700 AD and, as far as I can tell, nothing happened in that war.
920 AD and Monty declares again, the log delaying it enough so that I become confused when Elizabeth asks for help before I know about the war itself. I don't come to her aid since she is about to be on the receiving end of a ton of maces and cats. Madrid is proving a booming production centre under Bureaucracy, as coastal tiles and floodplain cottages come good. Two turns later, the Apostolic Palace comes to her aid. Evidently that gives us an unbreakably peace treaty for 10 turns. Arse. I was just about to invade. Oh well, I will have a lot of maces ready. So many that I split the army up for speed.
Right, 1080 AD and 10 turns are over. Time for WAR! 6 maces, 5 cats, 4 swords, an elephant and a crossbow gather outside York (defended by a sword, an archer and a catapult, tch). 6 maces and 7 cats gather by the former barb city of Nubian, defended by a sword and an archer. Oh dear...
Elizabeth at least reinforces with a mace and a spear in one, and a chariot and archer in the other, but it';s not enough. I wait a turn at York (splitting my cats has its downsides), but Nubian falls with no losses.
See how Bismarck and Hannibal have utilised the space to boost their score. I have some catching up to do. I get a bit lucky and take York with no losses the following turn. The turn after, Hannibal declares on me - Buddhists sticking together, eh. Not sure what he will be able to do from round there, though. I pick off a random Carthaginian axe.
I auto-raze Coventry in the NE (sorry!) The English have sporadic longbows now, so it's going to take a little bit longer, but not much... I take Canterbury, which is further east (by yet another iron), again with no losses. Still no losses to report at all, amazingly. Look!
Now that's what I call a good ratio. Although I do lose a worker to a horse archer (I have lazily, as I usually do once it gets past critical, put my workers on auto - they selflessly act as good bait, though!). Pfft, and another. My elephants mop up the invaders.
Finally, I lose three suicide catapults taking London and it falls easily, despite having 10 units defending. Meanwhile, a crack Carthaginian raiding squad uses English territory to make progress into my heartlands. I take them out for the loss of two elephants.
The Aztecs ask me to cancel deals with the Germans. Nope, you're next... Meanwhile, Hastings is dispatched and the conquering army link up with the troops healing in London ready to finish off the English at Nottingham. This stack (which is by no means all my offensive army) has to face a longbow, an axeman, a spearman, three missionaries, three workers and a galley... Hmmm... I'll try not to massacre the innocents. Wish it was possible to steal missionaries like workers.
Predictably, the English fall, in 1270 AD. I immediately declare on the Aztecs to take advantage of the pushed back Aztec borders, with two armies closing in on two Aztec cities. Monty attacks out of Tlatelolco, which is brave but also foolish, as it loses him 7 units since I am sat in the forest. I take two Aztec cities next turn. Whilst my units are healing, the Germans demand 410 gold. Um, no.
1360 AD and two more Aztec cities down, although they have some knights now, which has me on my guard. They still don't put up much resistance, however. I get full visibility on the Carthaginian cities, and they don't seem to have many troops, but the culture border suggests that there is one unexplored. I send some units to take a look and - woah - that's where they all are. I decide to make peace, while I take out the last Aztec city and build up my infrastructure a bit. Actually, scratch that. I ask the Aztecs for peace and they offer capitulation and Guilds. Go on then.
Given that my science rate sucks at 30%, I build commerce buildings in my main cities. Meanwhile, the Germans form an American colony on the large northern island. I sneak to Liberalism with a turn to spare on Hannibal, take Liberalism, and use my Great Engineer to build the Taj Mahal for a golden age. I use a great prophet for a consecutive golden age as I head for Military Tradition and Conquistadors. After a while, I liberate Technotitlan to the Aztecs because I want to free up some defensive units for when I attack Hannibal. The added bonus is pushing back the Carthaginian culture for easier access to their frontlines. I now have direct access to the hill NW of Sicca. The monster stack from before has retreated to the capital - wonder what they are up to. Two turns after Military Tradition, I have 20 Conquistadors - time for some action.
I notice that I am not far short of a Diplomatic Victory - a few captured cities should help me over the line... Famous last words? I declare and move on to the hill. Hannibal's monster stack mobilises and heads for the Aztec city. Sorry about that...
It gets messy. Hannibal shells his stack on Sicca once I captured it, giving me a strong numerical advantage. But cavalry and rifles begin to appear, swinging things closer to balance. I use superior numbers to take Utica and Carthage, before sacrificing a number of Conquistadors to take Hadrumetum for speed, and take it, despite the 100% defence. I see what the peace offer would be - Hannibal offers capitulation (!) plus Printing Press, Corporation and Theology. This makes me think - are they so weakened that they will offer that? I decide to accept and see if that works for a Religious Victory. Worth a go, eh.
It works! Funnily enough, I think that is my first ever Religious Victory. What a strange game!
77k score, not that it matters, in 1790 AD. And that was that - cheers to the sponsor for a game which messed with the mind. Unfortunate that the governors can't handle it. I didn't really bother too much with micromanagement.