AU204: Spoilers, Reports and Comments

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 00:26

This is the spoiler thread for 'AU204: The Power(?) of Randomness', which may be found here.

If you've played this scenario for at least an hour, please post your comments here (but try not to read too many spoilers before you get far enough!). Reading about other people's games is one of the best aspects of AU. Screenshots are a nice touch, especially original ones.

Enjoy!

Dominae

alexman · February 8, 2003, 01:40

At least this time I won't be the last to post my AAR!

I haven't yet played an hour, but I'm sure, given the circumstances, I'm allowed to post!

Dominae, you're evil. Alone on a tiny island with the Greeks? And not only that, but I got the Koreans (same starting techs) so I couldn't even trade with them.

I started building the Granary before I knew what was going on with the map, and then it was too late to change it. The damn barbs killed one of my exploring warriors, so I had just one left when Alex sneak-attacked.

I was too eager to play borg-style with my commercial civ, and I paid the price.

BRC · February 8, 2003, 01:50

At least he left you your worker! Start over. Good luck.

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 02:20

Alex, did you get the barbs that killed your warrior from the hut near the starting location, or from elsewhere? My Korea was fortunate enough to end up with Ceremonial Burial from that hut, and Alexander has left me alone so far. I just traded Writing plus a bunch of gold (I researched Writing on a 40-turn pace) for Iron Working, and I think I'm in for the least unpleasant early war I've fought in ages. But at least Seoul can be configured to make up in quantity of workers for what it lacks in quality.

By the way, I agree that starting players about nine tiles from Athens is evil! Greece is my least favorite civ to take on in an early war, but I don't see much choice on this map.

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 02:31

Although I may be evil, I did not think the game was going to be this rough. I'll have to post a disclaimer on the main thread (reduce your usual level of difficulty or something), because this is hard. Sorry guys, but apart from the Greeks (my choice), this is what the RNG cooked up!

I'm playing the game now (Koreans as well), and I've survived the initial onslaught. They came at me with 2 Warriors and 2 Hoplites just as I finished a Granary (plus two Warriors). Since Hoplites are not flagged as offensive units, they only attacked with the Warriors. After this they gave me a Worker for peace a few turns later. Now I'm out-REXing them and things are going well.

I figured that the island is small enough so that one or restarts is not completely annoying. A little knowledge of the map should make things survivable, and then anything goes.

Sorry again for being evil (I'll understand if I'm not allowed to set up any more games...).

Dominae

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 02:35

By the way alexman, nice play in the early-game! I took me a few minutes and two retries to figure out how to effectively research Pottery, and use the chop to get a Granary.

Dominae

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 04:16

I'm at 650 BC now and have the Greeks under control. Even hoplites can't handle it if you throw enough swordsmen at them.

I built my usual granary in my capital (after two warriors to time things right for the chop) and then started throwing up barracks as I built other cities. I'd originally planned to leave things at five cities until I pruned back my Greek neighbors, but I ended up deciding I needed a sixth for the free unit support. (Fortunately, I was able to out-REX the Greeks enough that they didn't think I was a great target before I was ready.) Anyhow, Greece is now down to two cities (I left them the second one in case I might want to try another tech extortion).

The bad part of the Greek war was that it put me way behind in technology. Japan showed up with about a three-tech advantage on me, and I soon discovered that Egypt was more like four ahead. Fortunately, I did have something they didn't - Literature - and Germany (the third civ on Japan's land mass) had some techs I didn't but was missing several that I did have. With some shrewd trading, I was able to catch up, at least for the moment, although it cost me a chunk of my gold reserves I'd built up researching on a 40-turn pace after I no longer needed to upgrade warriors to swordsmen.

Nathan

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 04:19

By the way, I'm playing AU Mod, Emperor level. Here's a current map of my continent.

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 04:38

Looks a lot like mine, Nathan! What year is that, by the way (edit: never mind, just saw the post above your screenshot)? Now all you need is to get some techs, get off the island, and see what awaits you...(edit: never mind this too).

Dominae

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 05:01

Nathan, just for comparison's sake, here's my game at 650BC. Although there are subtle differences, our games are definitely more similar than not (did you get The Colossus?). I hope not too many people are reading the spoiler thread before playing, because dealing with the odd start is the first "big test" in this game.

Dominae

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 05:02

Forgot to post the screen:

BigDork · February 8, 2003, 06:01

Hey everybody. I have to say things are going good in my game. I'm using the AU mod and playing as the Vikings. I'm doing this on Regent. This is my first game playing on Regent. I figured since this is an AU game it was a good time to move up.
I'm currently up to about 200AD

I have to say that I've been pretty lucky so far. An early war with the Greeks ensured the island would be mine. In 1675BC I saw the Greeks sending a settler and warrior over to the horses. Well, my settler was just a little ways off and wasn't gonna make it in time. So, I sent in an archer before they could establish a city and took'em out. Then it was just a matter of sending enough archers and chariots to overwhelm the hoplites. In 1400BC Athens fell. 200 years later it was all over for the Greeks.

After that the builder in me took over and I started building up my cities. In 1000BC the Babylonians finished the Oracle. When I saw that I knew I was behind in techs. So I made straight for the Great Library. Actually I already was but I was thinking of switching for Map Making. But I kept going for literature. Glad I did too. As soon as I finished the GL I got 5 techs.

Well, in 190 BC I made contact with the Japanese and the Germans. Soon after I made contact with Egypt. Egypt is the dominant force on that continent right now. When I met them there was already a war going on between Japan and Egypt and Germany and Egypt. Other than Japan capturing Giza not much is noticable from those wars. I signed a RoP with Germany so I could get a galley with a settler in to set up a city in an uncontrolled area. Germany is the weakest of the three so I'm gonna use them as I go after my next target, Japan. I'm already building up the armada for that.

After about 5 or 6 galleys sinking I finally made contact with the other continent. France and Babylon are looking about even as far as land and score right now. Something I thought was odd is that China only has Beijing. Unless they got into a war and all their other cities got razed the AI is being really stupid with regards to the Chinese this game.

France is more technically advanced than everyone but the Babs are ahead points wise. I'm currently in 4th behind the Egyptians and Japan is right on my heels. The top 5 are all within 100 points of each other so I'm not to worried.

I'm about to kick some Japanese @$$ so my score should be going up. I'm also way ahead of Japan tech wise now because of my contact with the other civs(which they don't have) and the GL. So I'm currently loading up my Galleys with horses and swordsman and in the next few turns am gonna start building up some forces to severly hurt the Japanese. I thought about going after the Germans but I think they're better of as allies than enemies right now. We'll see how it goes.

BigD

edit:need to learn how to type.

BigDork · February 8, 2003, 06:08

Also I mentioned earlier about I was getting lucky. Here's what I popped outta huts.

1. Ceremonial Burial
2. Warrior
3. Settler
4. Bronze Working
5. 50gp

The settler was super helpful. I was able to block the Greeks from expanding some with it. I didn't get the last two huts until just a little while ago. I got bronze working right before I finished the GL so it wasn't that big of a deal. And I used the 50 gp to help buy a world map from the Germans.

Also, what programs turn bmps into jpgs. PhotoShop was suggested. Is there somewhere I can download that? Thanks.

BigD

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 06:56

I skipped the Colossus because I wanted to make sure I got the Great Lighthouse. Unfortunately, it took me a long time (and a couple reloads from failed experiments) to figure out what to do with it with the way it's sabotaged in the AU mod. I finally figured out - and no guarantees that this isn't just coincidence - that galleys don't seem to sink if they end their turn moving from sea into an ocean tile. (I first got a clue about that when a galley that got stuck ending its turn one early didn't sink.) Once I got the nerve, was just able to take advantage of that fact to make a suicide run to contact France. (I've never cared much for the galley sabotage in the AU mod to begin with, so I don't mind doing some experimentation that could be considered cheating to try to find a way to make it less crippling.)

It's now 450 AD, and Egypt has been staying just a tech or two ahead of me for some time now. (They long ago reduced Japan to a single island city off my west coast, becoming a monster in the process.) But I'm maybe a little ahead of the other continent, so what I'm hoping to do is invade that to get the size to match Egypt. Then, assuming that works out, I get to decide whether I want to go the space race route or the domination route. I would post a full map, but it seems a bit early for that even in the spoilers thread.

Nathan

Bluefrog · February 8, 2003, 08:52

I drew the Koreans, too. Seems to be the early random civ of choice, heh. I'm playing Monarch (haven't played enough Emp yet to feel remotely comfortable). I got lucky and popped a settler from my first hut (north of Seoul), and from there began borging it.

I was able to put my foot on Greece's throat by hijacking a warrior/settler pair (SO glad they didn't send a hoplite) and jumping on their one warrior the same turn. After a quick pillage or two, there would soon be no way for them to get back in the game (hopefully...I haven't wiped them off yet). I snagged the colossus, knowing I need to nab wonders to get a GA.

This is my first time borging, and, while effective, I'm finding myself wanting to abandon some cities. I've already abandoned one, so some other cities can be more productive. That, and borg just isn't pretty, hehe.

BigDork · February 8, 2003, 09:20

Thanks to Bluefrog's help I can now post screenshots. Here's the minimap from 260AD. Hopefully soon all that green Japanese land will belong to me.

BigD

badman · February 8, 2003, 09:44

I was really lucky with my first hut ( the one north of the capitol ), which got me a settler

I was hoping that the Greek would research IW but instead they went for writing. I did the exact same thing :/
So I bought Warrior Code from them and razed one of their cities with a large pile of archers.
Then I made peace for Iron Working and two more techs (I gave them literature); they had researched them by then.
So I upgraded my warriors and was just about to declare war, when I realized that the Greek had a GA and were about to finish the GL in 10 turns. I hoped that they would complete it before someone else did and delayed my attack.
They actually did complete it so I'm now in possession of the GL and the Colossus (I haven't built a wonder on my own yet).
I'm now a republic and attacking the Germans (Berlin and Konigsberg are mine).
The Egypts are a powerhouse and if I don't take care of them, they will eventually take care of me

The Babylonians are way behind in tech but they have conquered nearly their whole continent. (The Babylonians are the warmongers in my game, it seems

)
edit: I just noticed that the Babs have caught up in tech and are equal to the Egypts and me.

edit2: I got a great leader, what do you think I should spend it on?
I think, a wonder would do best here because I don't have a good place to rush a palace yet. (my FP is being built on my home island and will soon be finished)
I'll just keep the leader because I don't want to start my GA yet but my first wonder will start it (I conquered GL and the Colossus)
i'll probably wait till I have conquered Heliopolis

.
I want to rush the Palace there.

edit3: I built an army, hoping for the effects of Heroic Epic.
This decision could turn out to ruin my game if I don't get any leaders from upcoming my wars against Japan and Egypt. Without a palace on that continent, there would be no way of keeping up with Babylon.

badman · February 8, 2003, 12:44

For some reason this feels like AU106 ( IIRC, the one where you start with Rome on a little crappy island ).
I was lucky and got a second GL. I'm gonna keep him until I've captured Helioplois ( probably as soon as I have cavalry, I'm researching chemistry right now ).
I've just captured the last Japanese city on the second continent, it was fairly easy, even though Kyoto was heavily defended and I needed all my knights to catpure it, my very last knight finally took it.
Kyoto has the Pyramids and Sun Tzu's

Just decided to build the Palace in Tokyo, I don't want to wait any longer, I need it now.
I can't believe how lucky I am, one turn after I rushed the palace, I got a third leader.

Jawa Jocky · February 8, 2003, 12:50

Vikings, Emperor, AUmod.

I got a settler from the 1st hut. Then cerimonial burial and bronze working. That was it, not a good map for expansionist.

I built a few cities and barracks and beelined for iron working. Figured i needed swordmen to attack hoplites. Here is my army on the turn i attacked greece.

Jawa Jocky · February 8, 2003, 12:53

I'm one turn away from building my FP in the center of my continent. I'll use a leader to palace jump later. I'm also going to attack Germany and attempt to extort tech. I'm way behind.

Jawa Jocky · February 8, 2003, 12:55

My first intercontinental invasion. I'll use this island to stage a massive invasion.

badman · February 8, 2003, 13:02

Did the Japanese kick the Germans off the second continent in your game?

In my game I'm going to rush JSB's Cathedral with my leader. This will start a GA, so I want to build a improvements in my new cities first. My embessador told me that the Egyptians will complete it in 13 turns (at 5 shields per turn in a size-2 city

), so I'm gonna rush it in 12 turns. Poor Egyptians, what a waste

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 13:13

Quote:

Originally posted by badman
Did the Japanese kick the Germans off the second continent in your game?

I set up the game so that the Japanese would wipe out the Germans early (just look at the start locations to see why I thought this would happen). But in my game, against all odds, the Germans actually destroyed the Japanese before 1000BC! There's no stopping the German machine...

About the comment that this feels like the a previours AU course, I'm sympathetic. But the theme is randomness after all! Still, there are a few things that seperate this map from the other course: 1) the close proximity of the Greeks on the home continent, creating a pretty hectic early-game, 2) the promixity of the nearest continent, 3) and the intended balance of power between AI civs (Killer AI theory).

Dominae

badman · February 8, 2003, 13:29

never mind... I'm just stupid

Dominae · February 8, 2003, 13:32

Ok, I've played up until 230BC for testing purposes, but now I should stop because, well, I set up the game.

I finished off the Greeks about ten turns back, the same turn I met the Egyptians and the Germans (Arrian Deception!). Like I said above, the Germans surprisingly took care of the Japanese, leaving the Egyptians as the Killer AI (Germany's lands are horrible compared with what Egypt got...). I'm gunning for the Great Library, because Egypt entered the Medieval age two turns ago. I'm still inching my way to The Republic the hard way, because Cleo is building the GL too and I'm afraid I'll lose the race. After I get some Libraries up in my main towns, I plan muster some kind of army for use against the Germans. It is imperative that I get on to that continent before Egypt gets really out of hand. This is all assuming, of course, that I'll play on at a later date.

I found the early-game quite fun, but I did have the advantage of knowing what was "going on" from turn 1 (before, actually). If you look at the Greek lands you'll see that they're actually quite poor, which is why the early game turns out to be easier than it looks. I figured that putting you all alone on a little island ten tiles away from the Greeks would at least bring about some curses, but the goal was not to make it impossible.

Anyway, that's all for me. Have fun everyone.

Dominae

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 15:45

I trailed Egypt just a little in technology most of the way through the middle ages, but some tech brokering with Egypt and France toward the end finally got me a lead (and also a nice little stockpile of gold). Early in the industrial era, Egypt demanded Steam Power and declared war when I refused. I was in the middle of trying to build up a horseman force to upgrade to cavalry and attack Babylon, so I used a "wall of units" defense to keep Egyptian forces from landing. During that same tmeframe, Egypt conqured Germany to gain total control of its entire continent. Definitely a killer AI civ! The early industrial era was also the time of Korea's golden age, thanks to the Great Lighthouse and Newton's University.

My own first extracontinental adventure involved capturing Japan's last city, which was on the island to my west. Not long after, I upgraded 21 horsemen to cavalry, bult a very few more from scratch, and sent an invasion fleet of cavalry with five infantry units for support to Babylon. The fighting took longer than I had hoped and forced me to make some use of the luxury slider, but in the end, I succeeded. Babylon's core is now mine, and is home to my new palace (thanks to my one and only leader in the game thus far).

War weariness cost me a bit in the tech race, and between that and researching Atomic Theory the hard way, my lead is only three techs even after the boost from ToE. But at least they're expensive techs: Atomic Theory, Electronics, and Radio. I've also managed to snag all the industrial wonders so far, and should make it a clean sweep with Hoover in a dozen turns or so.

Nathan

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 15:46

Oops, forgot to include the minimap.

nbarclay · February 8, 2003, 15:57

By the way, my attack on Babylon was an exception to my general rule against sending cavalry up against riflemen. I was getting pretty desperate for a larger income and industrial base, and I figured Babylon hadn't had a whole lot of time for upgrades. As things turned out, my strike force was barely large enough to do the job, which was a good thing because my cities had better things to do than build reinforcement units that were already practically obsolete.

Nathan

nbarclay · February 9, 2003, 09:01

Korea is enjoying a period of peace and prosperity and has just entered the modern era. I've built three cities of my own in the former Babylonian core in order to take advantage of some tiles (mostly coast and sea but a very little land) that the Babylonians hadn't bothered to use, and I've been taking advantage of income from foreign sources to rush improvements in my new cities (and also a few newly captured ones). I'm expecting Computers in six turns at 100% research (thanks to foreign income), not a great pace for modern research (my goal is always four) but not really horrible. Getting Rocketry for free stretched out my tech lead to five techs over Egypt and six over France, so I should be in good shape to win the space race if peace prevails.

By the way, I scored a major coup in the tech race selling Egypt Combustion shortly before France could finish researching it. I got three luxuries and 134 gpt from Egypt, and France and Egypt lost a chance to do a swap that would have helped them cut into my lead. That may not be as glamorous as a tank army crushing enemy infantry under its treads, but the wars fought by accountants are no less important than those fought by soldiers.

Nathan

nbarclay · February 9, 2003, 09:27

Dominae, is this the original Beijing, or did China have the original razed and build a new one before being reduced to this single city? I've never seen such a pathetic capital after such a long time - China has been stuck with that one city ever since I met them.