AU501 - DAR2: First Dromon

[Dominae]

This is the second "During Action Report" thread for AU501 - The Power of Seafaring, dedicated to the time period between 2150BC and the construction/upgrade of your first Dromon (the Byzantine unique).

So, what are you planning to do with your wonderful UU?

[nbarclay]

The Byzantines discovered Writing in 1910, raising the question of what to research next. I decided to suspend research for a couple turns to get a better feel for what the island to the west looks like before deciding whether to focus on Philosophy or Map Making. (I had a curraugh just starting to explore in that direction.)

In 1830, an exploring curraugh spotted the borders of what turned out to be the Hittites to the northeast. At that point, I decided to go for Philosophy and hope that I could trade to one or another of the AIs for Map Making and get some other things in the process. With a small land mass at home and the island to the west looking like mostly marsh and jungle, I decided that the conquest of Japan was my best bet for gaining some additional territory. (Not that I planned to have my conquest stop there.)

My Byzantines won the race to Philosophy in 1175 BC, taking taking Code of Laws as my free tech and engaging in a series of trades. (I could have traded for Polytheism before getting my free tech and ended up with Monarchy, but that seems like too much of an exploit.) I traded Philosophy to the Hittittes for Map Making, Iron Working, and 40 gold and then traded Philosophy and Map Making to Sumeria for Literature and 61 gold. (The Sumerians apparently had their own research into Philosophy well underway.) I also traded Philosophy to Japan for Polytheism and 5 gold.

That series of trades gave me a considerable tech lead over my neighbors. I was the only one with Code of Laws. Japan and I had Mysticism and Polytheism, while the Hittites and Sumerians did not. In the other direction, I had Literature, Map Making, and Iron Working in common with my northern neeighbors, while Japan lacked those technologies.

With a nice tech lead and a newly revealed iron deposit, I decided to research Republic on a 50-turn pace and build and upgrade warriors for the conquest of Japan (and probably other targets later on). While building up my forces, I would go ahead and start settling the western isalnds.

In 1150 BC, the first of the three Byzantine curraughs was upgraded to a Dromon.

[Cort Haus]

Complete Writing in 1870, start Philosophy (14 turns)

Philosophy discovered in 1550 - took Maps and start on Lit

Met Hittites & Sumerians in 1500BC

By now I have decided that I have to hit Japan.
This is conquests after all - and there's never enough strategic resources to go round so war is a necessity.

Start trading tech with the 3 civs I've met and get a lead of :

Maps over Sumeria, Maps/Iron/Maths over Hittites, and Maps/Phil/Maths over Japan. Japan has HBR though.

Holy Cr*p I've got Iron as well as Horses! Is this too kind? I sense not-the-map generator at work here

In 1450 Const builds its 8th settler and goes to workers. It's been doing 4-turn settlers nicely since about the start of this DAR. Before then it was going ad hoc until it got into its rhythm. There's one barracks city doing 2-turn warriors, with two more barracks on the way. Two other cities are building harbours, one is building a Dromon, and the last 2 cities on the island will be founded in a few turns.

I opened an embassy with the Sumerians. (Ur has Oracle and is doing Pyramids (50t)) - and Hittites (doing Pyra (40t)) - and Japanese who are building a barracks in Kyoto. Hmmm. Sign RoPs with Hittites & Sumerians.

In 1400 I realise my big mistake. Can't settle swamp. Oh dear, looks like they'll have to go overseas. Lucky there are Dromons coming ...

In 1375 Varna completes its harbor, and I spend 45g upgrading a vet curragh (battle-hardened by barbs) to my first Dromon


Builds

1. Const : Worker, warrior, warrior, granary, settler, settler, warrior, settler, settler, settler
2. Adrianople : curragh, warrior, warrior, barracks, chariot/spear, warr, warr
3. Caesarea : warrior, curragh, barracks, chariot
4. Nicea : warrior-worker-barracks
5. Varna : curragh-harbor-dromon
6. Smyrna : warrior-worker
7. Heraclea : harbor

(plus two other warriors somewhere)

Military at 1375BC is 10 warriors, 2 curraghs, 1 Dromon, 4 workers & 2 settlers.

[Taian]

I accidentally lost the first part of the DAR (from 2150BC to Writing - 1700BC). In that time, I got contact with the Hittites and that's about it. Also dropped down another city.

The next little while was focussed on filling the island (at least until I could get off of it with Settlers). I also started planning to do a curragh-->Dromon upgrade combined with a warrior-->Swordsman upgrade. Figured on launching an attack on the Japanese using swords and catapults/dromon for bombard.

Around 1650BC, I started a curragh on a suicide mission. There was sea squares with no coast in sight, but I sent him on to see how far he would last.

[Taian]

The RNG must have been smiling on me because he made it all the way up to the Maya and English.

He was later killed by some barbarians, but needless to say it was worth it. Armed with 5 contacts, I could play each one off the other to maintain the tech lead and build up a nice sized treasury.

[Taian]

In 1425BC, I noticed that Sumeria had discovered Writing. Rather than wait for Philosophy before trading now, I sent Writing to anyone who wanted it. Went to Japan for Mysticism, Warrior Code and the Wheel. Went to Mayans for Iron Working, Masonry and Pottery. Sent Masonry and Pottery to Japan for Horseback Riding and then sent Horseback Riding to the Mayans for Mathematics and 50 gold. Since the Sumerians already had Mathematics, I decided to sell it to the Hittites as well for 77 gold. This sequence of trades gave me tech parity with everyone I had contact with and a one tech lead on most of them.
Later on, I sent Writing to the English (in 1175BC) for Polytheism and 110 gold. Then in 1125BC, Polytheism went to the Mayans for Construction and 30 gold.
Finally, in 950BC, I discovered Philosophy. Turned out I was also the first one to get it and I took Monarchy with the free tech. After a 4 turn revolution, the new Byzantine monarchy continued with plans for the upgrade invasion of Japan.
In 825BC, Philosophy went to Sumeria for Literature and 48 gold. It then went to the English in exchange for Currency. Over the next few turns both the Mayans and the English demanded Literature and then declared war after I refused them. Horseback Riding went to Sumeria and the Hittites in 550BC in exhange for 103 and 111 gold respectively. At this point, since no one seemed to be researching map making, I jacked up my research and was losing 21gpt. However, that would only last 8 turns and since my treasury was over 800 gold at this point, I decided to go for it.
In 410BC, map making was discovered and the first Dromons appeared in the Byzantine military in 370BC after being upgraded at the newly built harbor in Adrianople.

Stats:
7 worker
8 warrior
2 spearmen
11 swordsmen
7 catapult
6 dromon

Contact with the Hittites, the Sumerians, the Mayans (war), the English (war) and the Japanese (soon to be war...).

[donZappo]

Emperor Difficulty

Alright, let's see... where was I?

Right after my last post, Japan contacted me demanded Masonry. I thought about this for a bit, thinking it was odd that they would declare ware when only curraghs were available. I said no, but they were bluffing anyways. Silly Japanese.

Nicae was founded in 1870. My 4 turn settler pump has been is definitely in full swing now so this island will fill up in no time. I checked around for techs and saw that Sumeria had writing! Still 20 turns away from finishing my research I think I can deem my 50 turn writing gambit a complete and utter failure. I know all you guys probably saw that coming, but I gave it a shot anyways! I decided to finish out that research and use the saved cash for other techs in the future.

Next couple turns I settled some more cities and hooked up my horses and incense. In 1500 I finished exploring all of the coastal tiles with my curraghs. I see that there is no place for a suicide curragh so I'll be content with what I see until Dromons come out to play. Also, I *finally* finished Writing on this turn and went on to Map Making since i didn't think I would win a race to philsophy. Turns out that Sumeria went for Literature so it might actually have worked. I see some of you guys have had success with the bee-line to philosophy so it is definitely still possible in this Mod.

1450 BC - My volcano erupted! Only spewed where there were no borders so no damage was caused. I was worried for a second there! Put down my last city on the island so REX is officially over. I don't like borging, so there may not be as many cities as some of you would like. To each his own.

The next two turns the French finished The Collusus and Wonders started to cascade from there. Luckily I wasn't working on any so I didn't miss out. I put down my first barracks and started pumping out horsemen for a future invasion. Most of the other cities were working on temples or curraghs.

In 1275 I allowed myself to be extorted for 23 gold from the Hittites. I'm almost ready for war, but not with them. I started a pre-build for Statue of Zeus at this time as well.

Just a small note... in 1200BC I started clearing a spot for a city in the wastelands. It's a nice spot once you get to it. Plus you get one of those cool land-based fish! That city will be able to churn out a worker every 10 turns so I figure it will be able to drain its own swamps.

I finished Map Making in 975BC. I'll have dromons next term and be ready to march very soon after that! I put the research to 0% temporarily so that I would have enough money for the 45 gold upgrades.

950 BC - Okay, right now I have:
4 horsemen
5 dromons
8 warriors (Gee, I wonder what they'll become. Heh.)
5 workers (I didn't realize it was so few. I really need to pump out some more real soon)
1 settler

I also managed to trade around for Polytheism, Iron Working, Mathematics, and Literature. and 158 gold. I have two cities building harbors on their way to full-time Dromon production, likely to be a third. Three cities are currently pumping out nothing but veteran swordmen as well.


Alright, so what do I plan to do with my dromons? I've used the Byzantines before and they're definitely a great unit to have on water maps during the ancient age. It's power is pretty startling if you've never seen it before. I'm going to use them to suppress Japan to keep them from meeting other civs, and use them to soften up cities for my ground troops. They do both very well, and are even transports! Once my Golden Age is triggered I'll use it to rush the Statue of Zeus through production at the very least. Probably put down libraries in all of my cities as well.

Hopefully everything goes as planned! Swordsmen with Dromon backup should just tear through Japan.

-donZappo

[ZargonX]

Here's a quick rundown of my game up to the first Dromon. I apologize for the scant notes, but I get more caught up in playing than in note taking For the record, it's Monarch with the AU mod.

3900- Founded Zargonbul 7-7 of start.
3650- Volcano erupts *phew*
3550- Ceremonial Burial from hut
2750- Warrior Code from hut
2230 - Contact with Japanese
2230 - Alpha and Pottery for 10g and The Wheel
1750 - Contact with Sumerians
1750 - Wheel and Writing for Masonry and IW
1745 - Contact with Hittites
1325 - Suicide curraugh contacts Egyptians
1325 - IW for Myst and 14g
1300 - French build Collosus
1250 - Contact with Russians
1250 - MM and Myst to Sumerians for Math and 80g
1250 - Math and MM to Russians for Lit and 50g
1225 - Curraugh sunk by stack of 5(!) barb gallies
1000 - First Dromon

I'll try and get a screenshot up shortly...

[Rhothaerill]

Emperor level played with the AU mod

1790bc – Settle Varna on the coast to bring incense to my capital.

Varna has much potential with all those forests surrounding it and the plainsland in the future. But the primary reason for settling it was to finally get a luxury running through my cities and ease the burden on the luxury slider. Other than the luxury, the city was not very important to settle, which was why it slipped so far down the list.

1725bc – Contact with Sumeria. They are five techs ahead of me, and I have absolutely nothing to trade to them.

At the time I wasn’t sure if they had a neighbor or not that they were trading with. If they didn’t then they must have received incredible hut luck. Not only did they have my techs, they also had masonry, the wheel, ceremonial burial, iron working, and writing (already)!!

1650bc – Contact with the Hittites. They are four techs up on me (everything but writing) and refuse to trade.

So far I have made exactly one tech trade and I’m lagging quite far behind. I had originally been hoping to trade writing around, but one nation already has it. At the time I was just hoping that the Sumerians would not trade it to the Hittites.

1550bc – Smyrna settled near the wheat.

It would take a little while to get irrigation up to the wheat, but it would be worth it to have another fast growing city. The forest chop also allowed me to get a quicker barracks going. I already had several barracks cities, but I wanted to have several cities with the ability to pump out veteran units. I wanted to have quite a few units ready to attack Japan as soon as I had dromons. Also around this time I stopped building warriors. I had already gotten to around my upper limit of warriors that I’d be able to upgrade with the gold I had, plus I still had to upgrade curraghs to dromons too. I was also very leery of not having iron on my little island either so I started building some archers and spearmen as a possible attack force in case of no iron.

1400bc – French complete the Colossus.

I didn’t make any effort to get a wonder yet. All my efforts have been going toward settling my island and preparing to take Japan’s island.

1375bc – Finish research on writing. Start researching map making. Many tech trades occur.

My research capacity had increased to the point where I could research map making in 18 turns. I thought for a while about heading to philosophy first for the free tech, but I decided I would likely not be able to get it seeing as how the Sumerians had already had writing for quite a while. If I didn’t get it first to get the free tech, then I just set back my war for quite a while. I headed for the sure path of map making for my dromons and the ability to make war. On the tech trade front, I was able to almost catch up in tech with Sumeria. The Hittites still did not have writing so I traded writing, 6gpt, and 50 gold to them for masonry and iron working. I then traded masonry to Japan for ceremonial burial, the wheel, and 30 gold. They had apparently finished mysticism, so I traded writing to them for that and 12 gold (all they had), but the others had that tech also. I now was equal to the Hittites, ahead of Japan by iron working (I didn’t want to trade them that under any circumstance to allow them to start building swordsmen before my invasion), and behind Sumeria by literature.

1350bc – The Mayans complete the Pyramids. Bummer! Heraclea founded on the gold hill.

I still hadn’t made any effort for great wonders, but I was hoping I’d be able to receive an SGL for map making and be able to rush the Pyramids. It was not to be.

1100bc – Trebizond and Chalcedon founded.

I had started working on draining my swampland for a little while, enough to allow me to begin settling the area. I also settled Trebizond close to a whale tile. It would take a while for that city to be worth it, but I knew I’d need more cities with low corruption, meaning cities on my primary island.

1075bc – Hittites complete the Oracle. Woopty Doo.

I can’t even remember the last time I build that wonder. Civ2 maybe? It’s practically worthless, even if you were swimming in SGLs

1025bc – Finish mapmaking and another bit of trading goes on. Adrianople starts a harbor.

I traded map making to Sumeria for code of laws, and then traded code of laws and map making to the Hittites for literature. I was now only behind by polytheism, which I could not get out of anyone, including Japan.

900bc – Upgrade a curragh to my first dromon in Adrianople

I had several curraghs waiting to be upgraded and a few more returning from exploring to be upgraded before heading back out. I will also complete a few new dromons in other towns soon. With a large force of swordsmen back by archers, Japan does not have much longer before I begin my invasion. As you can see, Japan has gotten a curragh into the water. They still do not have contact with anyone but me, and I’m going to try to keep it that way. I haven’t decided yet whether I will use my new dromon and start my golden age in despotism, or use my east-coast curraghs to take it out. I’m currently leaning toward the latter. The dromons will rule the seas for quite some time so I shouldn’t have any trouble triggering my golden age once I have Japan’s lands and a new government.

That’s as far as I’ve played so far. I unfortunately have things I need to do today, but I’ll try and keep going as soon as I can.

To be continued…

[Rhothaerill]

Whoops, I just noticed that Chalcedon's worker build outpaced the growth. I forgot about the tobacco tile receiving the mine this past turn.

From reading through a few other DARs in this thread, it looks like I wasn't aggressive enough with suicide curraghs. I did notice the two sea lanes, but with the lessened ability for suiciding in the AU mod I didn't want to risk my curraghs that early.

[Fosse]

The year is 1000 BC and I just built my first Dromon, stuck a warrrior and a settler into it, and they are heading to the volcanic island to the west, securing their iron. Next island will be the other iron to the south east, but that's still a bit off.

I've sent curraghs through the sea channels in the north, toward Maya and France, and the east towards Egypt and Russia. I've made contact with the Dutch as well. And if you take a look at my screenshot at the bottom, you'll see that Varna is playing host to a Japanese curragh! I know that this was one of the thigns AU wanted to see more often, what was the solution (or is this a freak occurance?)?

Okay, the detailed report...

2100 BC, found Varna in the northwest, start a barracks. Nicea begins building the Collossus.

1790 I build Smyrna on the incense, and begin the roads to hook it up.

1750 I am able to afford masonry, finally, from either Sumeria or the Hittites. Sumeria is the big kid, so I give the Hittites 140 g and 1 gpt for it. I then sell it to Japan for all they have: Ceremonial burial and Warrior code.

Checking Sumeria, I see they have math, horseback, and myst.
Japan has myst, and Hitties have Myst and Horse.
I am six turns away from writing. This is the year I start the suicide galley in the north west sea channel, sending a pair of them out.

1700 BC... Stupid barbarians delay a settler from founding a city in the north east... grrr...

1625 I have writing, start Philosphy at 50 turns. Sumer and Hittites got it at the same time, but Japan trades Mysticism for it.

1600 One galley sinks within sight of purple borders! But the other makes it to shore... contact next turn introduces me to the Mayans, whol have Ironworking, but not mysticism. They won't trade iron, so I decide to build up gold for a few turns as I did before.

At this point Constantinople stops pumping settlers, as the 6 cities and two settlers I have will last me until I clear some marsh and get dromons. It starts pumping workers.

1475 I learn Mayans have map making.

1425 Japan gets Polytheism, and I hook up the incense to everyone. This allows me to move from the 50 turn pace on philosophy. Nobody will trade techs to me.

1375 I meet France. They have iron and math, but not writing or Ceremonial burial... A round of tech brokering starts...

I sell CB and writing to France for Iron working and 60 gold.
Sumeria buys IW for Math and 125 gold
Japan sells Polytheism for Math and IW
France pays 60 gold for Mysticism
Maya pays Mapmaking and 74 gold for Polytheism and Math.

1325 A curragh in the east reaches Egypt! They are backwards, but rich in gold, so I sell them Wheel for 210 gold.

1275 Maya builds the Pyramids. Workers finish clearing the first marsh, and I found Chalcedon in the reclaimed land.

1250 Sumeria discovers literature, which I pay 275 gold for. SEveral cities building temples switch to Libraries. Within a few turns I finally start building culture (and research!).

I sell Literature to the Hittites before Sumer can for Horseback riding (a tech everyone had in the previous round of trading, but I didn't really need).

The Dutch build the Mausoleom.

1200 I meet Russia, backwards and poor. My guess is Egypt is selling them the techs they get, which explains Egypt's wealth.

1150 Hittites build Oracle

1075 I meet a Japanese Curragh! From here on out I will assume Japan has contact with Sumeria and Hittites.

France gets currency, and I trade them Mapmaking, Literature, and Horseback riding, plus 225 gold for it.

1025 My curragh exploring the icy island west of France heads south and reaches the Netherlands. They have Code of Laws and Philosophy!

I sell them Literature and Map Making for COL and Philosphy. I am 16 turns from Republic.

1000 BC First Dromon. The curragh in Egyptian waters is sunk by barbarians. Constantinople resumes settler pumping (this was actually a few turns ago, but I don't recall exactly when).

[Fosse]

A note...

Alexman, great work with the research priorities! THis is my first C3C AU game, but if it is any indication then it's really working. If I weren't whoring techs around then every continent would have very different techs right now! It's very cool, and really adds flavor!

[notyoueither]

This is a great map. I am finding it challenging to play a more classical style without the use of camps. The following develops into a bit of a ramble, but it was fun to write, so here goes.

By 1000BC I was finished Map Making and Working on Iron Working (mistake). Clearing of the Marshlands had begun and settlements would spring up within 25 years. Veteran Dromon's were coming out around 750BC and eyes were cast across the Fuji Straights towards Japan, but builder impulses won the ear of the Empress so such plans were put off (2nd, BIG mistake).

By 250BC, the hawks had gained in influence and plans were finally underway for a landing in Japan to establish the vassalage of the Japanese. These plans were somewhat disturbed by the propensity of the Iron God to belch forth lava upon his treasure, so it was decided that horse would be the weapon of choice, especially given the theoretical possibility of them being retrained once the horseniks mastered stirrups and armour. Plans for a Japanese excursion were also slightly effected by the Hittite hoards who repeatedly deposited their demon chariots upon our good shores and were barely pressed back. Luckily, the stout Spearmen of Varna were able to dispatch the remains of their most threatening incursion after the incompetence of the Imerial military planners was demonstrated when forces at hand were destroyed in a disasterous attack on the Three-Man Chariots. However, leadership improved somewhat and this Hittite intrusion was expelled for good with time.

Imperial misfortune with thngs military was not over with the First Hittite War. The First Japanese War ~50BC brought Byzantine shortcomings in things military during the Ancient Age to a thunderous conclusion of disaster. As a site for the initial landings, the gold camps overlooking Satsuma near Mt Fujikillemall seemed ideal as readily defensible terrain. Imagine then the horrors of those who survived the experience when Japanese Archers made short work of the covering Spear (2 of them) and proceeded to mince the assembled Horse with 2 of 6 landed lost to initial Japanese counter attacks. During a lull in the butchery, one brave unit of Horse worked their way into position to test the defences of Satsuma. The cries of the wounded horse and men alike were dispiriting indeed as they lay dying before the defenders of the town who appeared to have suffered no appreciable losses. The survivors of the expedition were relieved when they received the order to re-embark on the Dromons.

Meanwhile, rumours of new ideas were reaching the capital from Sumeria. Armoured men with long pointy poles sounded better equipped to deal with the task of guarding the mounted troops. A resurgence of thought on the uses of armour for the mounted troops was also underway. Many thinkers were assigned the task of ascertaining just what this 'stirrup' thing was, and how it kept the men from falling off their mounts.

After receiving counsel from what appeared to be a very limited supply of wise-men in the Republic, the Empress decided to stay the hand of the hawks and prohibited any further landings in Japan at that time. The swarms of Spearmen and Archers available for a rapid response to the Satsuma landings were deemed too large a threat to overcome in short order without some advantage that the implementation of new ideas might afford. What was needed was time, so after some discussion with the Japanese, and the receipt of a token tribute from them, peace was established. The First Japanese War was over.

[ducki]

1990BC - Settler4 complete. Writing done. Research Mapmaking 80%. Will found embassy with Hittites for 32gold, then trade them Writing for Masonry+30-ish gold, then trade Masonry or Writing to Japan for Wheel and Warrior Code. Soon to contact 3rd Civ. I think.

------------------------------------------
IBT - I make number 8 on the list of Thucydides. Mooovin' on uuuuup!

1950BC - Contact Sumeria. Masonry to Japan for Wheel. Writing to Sumeria for Warrior Code+16g.
Oddly enough, Sumeria is guarding a chokepoint. Never seen that before.
Hey, I can trade Horses now! How'd that happen?!? Hehe, thanks Dominae!
Adrian. grew to 3 and instead of growing my deficit-spending, turn him into a taxman, since a scientist doesn't change the time on Mapmaking and gives me a surplus without changing the temple's completion time.

1910BC - Found Smyrna to the east. Start Warrior. I'm not sure how this 'tactic' of having each town build a MP for a settler 8 turns into the future is working out, but with Adrian and Caesarea on Temples hoping to get wonder(s), I can't afford to fall behind on MPs just yet. Also, darned BGs always right where I want to put a town. Having a hard time with spacing because I really don't want to give up extra shields, not on this map where my island is likely to be my only productive place for some time to come.

Hrm, looks like I forgot to MM or messed up the MM in Duckst. last turn. now my food/shields seem off. Grr.

Lux now connected! Slider to 0%!!! Yay! Research to 90%. Gonna need money for another Embassy and maybe a Dromon upgrade or two.

1870BC - Adrian finishes Temple, begins Colossus.

1830BC - Trade Writing to Japan for Horseback Riding. Will use as bargaining chip with other two AIs when they finish whatever they are researching. MapMaking in 16.

1790BC - Duckst. switches to Worker - will make 2, probably. Then back to settlers.

1750BC - Barbs appear N. of Duckst. Eek! Not good.
Duckst. completes worker, goes to growth in 4 MM, Build Warrior->Worker, THEN back to settler pumps.
Smyrna starts Harbor prebuild(temple).
Hittites begin Colossus. Dang.

1675 - Caesarea completes temple.

Flavor Note: For some reason, even though neither had horses (or didn't have them hooked up) and neither had contact with each other, both Japan and Hittites appear to have researched Horseback Riding.

1650 BC - Heraclea founded on Au Hill in the NW.
1625 BC - Switch Duckst. to Pyramids long enough to chop forest next door. (Sickening, eh?)

1600 BC - Japan gets Mysticism.

1550 BC - Clear barb camp. Caesarea switches from horse to Pyramid-placeholder for Lighthouse.

1525 BC - take 27 gold for HBR.
1475 BC - Trebizond founded on riverside hill 1 square away from Varna.(Edit. Not sure, I think I changed my mind on this but forgot to change my notes. I know I debated it forever.)
Sumeria gets Literature. 2 turns to go on Mapmaking.

1450 BC - Suicide Curragh sees yellow beyond the Hittites. Could get very interesting now. Curiously enough, I've accidentally ended turns in Sea 3 or 4 times(this is the first intentional) and I've only lost 1 so far. Now watch, I'll lose this one.

1425 BC - Mapmaking comes in! Woohoo! A few turns ago, I brought a curragh home for upgrading to stake out the island to the south - or maybe a beachhead on Japan - and sent a settler and an archer over there as well. Whee!

Research Ironworking at 40% - 13 turns. Should give me time to find/build a barracks and start some Dromons and Swordsmen. Assuming I have Iron. Gah! (My thought here was to destroy Japan ASAP and take over the island, installing a Forbidden Palace there. Unfortunately, in my over-attention to micromanagement, I've lost site of the big picture and have almost no military, two wonder builds going(stupid, stupid, stupid!) and too few workers. I'll have to wait on Japan for a while. Sure, I could trade for lux, but I'd rather be the seller, and that means being the owner. )
Caesarea switch to GLighthouse(51 turns)
Varna switch to Dromon(finish next turn), Smyrna switch to Harbor(finish this turn) - this will be needed for my island settlements, not for the extra food.
Meet Egypt but still ended turn in Sea, so not out of the deep end yet.
Trade Cleo the Wheel for Mysticism and 60 gold! Whoo!
Trade Warrior Code for 5 gold.
Build Embassy.
Gift her Alphabet. What a waste. Nothing will make her part with Poly. Grr.
Can't decide whether to see if Mapmaking is enough. I'm the only one I know with it, so that would give me a big advantage on the empty islands...

1400 BC - Two Dromons set sail with a settler and warrior in each. One to the South, one to the West.

Unfortunately, I Forgot to take a screenshot at this point. My original plan had been to have a lot of Dromons and send a horde of swordsmen to steal Japan from Tokie, but I've faltered badly. I just hope I can get to Chivalry with enough of a lead to smoosh him before he gets Samurai.
So for now, my Dromon plan is to be nice, fast transports for my settler-garrison pairs. OCN corruption's going to go through the roof, but I can turn those areas into resource supply centers and specialist camps.

[ZargonX]

Screenshot of the world of the Byzantine at the building of the first Dromon...

[Arnelos]

AU 501, Stock game, Emperor level

STATUS AS OF 2110 BC
5 Cities, 4 Warriors, 5 Workers, 33 beakers toward Philosophy, 1 luxury (incense) hooked up, 2 granaries. Contact with Japan, Hittites, Sumeria, Egypt, Russia. Possession of Bronze Working, Masonry, Alphabet, Pottery, The Wheel, Warrior Code, Ceremonial Burrial, Iron Working, Writing, an Mysticism. Sumeria has Mathematics, but they will not sell it to me for a price I can accept.
2070 BC: Japanese coastal city's culture expands. Curragh moves south along Russian coast.
2030 BC: Caesarea completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 1), starts Granary. Constantinople expands to Pop 3. Hittites start Oracle. WF in Constantinople set to 2-15-18 (4 fpt, 5 spt). Curragh moved south along Russian coast.
1990 BC: Adrianople expands to Pop 2. Adrianople completes Warrior, starts Warrior. Russians are building the Pyramids. Curragh moving along Russian tundra coast.
1950 BC: Nicaea completes Curragh, starts Barracks. Second warrior moved into Constantinople and forted. Second Curragh moves out to explore Japanese coastline. First curragh continues south and encounters a barb galley. The MM begins... WF's in Con, Adr, and Nic all swapped around. I'm not even going to bother detailing this in the future.
1910 BC: 1st Curragh defeats barb galley. Forest chop nar Constantinople complete. Constantinople expands to Pop 4. Varna completes Warrior, starts Barracks. Nicaeae expands to Pop 2. 1st Curragh makes it around the Horn of Siberia. 2nd curragh exploring the Japanese coast.
1870 BC: 2nd Curragh explores Japanes coast. 1st curragh moves northeast on the other side of the Horn of Siberia.
1830 BC: Temple complete in Constantinople, start Settler. Warrior complete in Adrianople, start Settler. Caesarea expands to Pop 2. There are Numidian Tribes near Constantinople. 1st curagh moves NE. 2nd curragh moving south along Japanese coast and finds Kyoto.
1790 BC: Constantinople expands to Pop 5. Adrianople expands to Pop 3. Slider to 30% Tax, 70% Research (13 bpt, 4 gpt). Sell Writing to Russia for Horseback Riding. Sell Horseback Riding to Egypt for 50 Gold.
1750 BC: Egyptians are building the Oracle. Russians have completed the Pyramids. Curraghs continue exploring. Slider changed to 40% Research, 60% Tax (9 bpt, 8 gpt).
1725 BC: Philosophy research complete. Map Making research complete. Literature research started. 1st curragh headed north. 2nd curragh rounds the south end of Japan. Nicaeae switches from Barracks to Granary. Slider set to 100% Research (21 bpt, -3 gpt). Sold Horseback Riding, Iron Working, and 22 Gold to the Sumerians for Mathematics. Varna switched from Barracks to Catapult.
1700 BC: Constantinople completes Settler (shrinks to Pop 3, expands to Pop 4), starts Settler. Settler moves to found its city in the valley of tobacco to the East. Curraghs continue exploration.
1675 BC: Curraghs continue exploration. Settler moves toward site.
1650 BC: Culture of Constantinople expands. Adrianople expands to Pop 4. Japanese start The Oracle. The Sumerians start The Temple of Artemis. Sumerians complete the Oracle. Slider set to 20% Luxury, 80% Research (16 bpt, -3 gpt).
1625 BC: Adrianople completes Settler (shrinks to Pop 2), starts Barracks. Varna expands to Pop 2. Japanese start The Colossus. Smyrna built. Smyrna starts Barracks.
1600 BC: Constantinople completes Settler (shrinks to Pop 3), starts Barracks. grr.... I forgot to change my slider last turn. Slider adjusted to 100% Research (oh well). Eastern curragh finds another barb galley.
1575 BC: Forest near Constantinople chopped (10 shields toward Barracks). Curragh defeats barb galley, promoted to Vet. Egyptians start The Colossus. Heraclea built. Heraclea starts Warrior. Curragh in east suicides!!! Western curragh exploring a disastrously bad looking island (well, other than the nice bonus tiles).
1550 BC: Constantinople expands to Pop 4. Caesarea expands to Pop 3. Varna completes Catapult, starts Worker. The Hittites start The Colossus. Suicide galley in the east succeeded, found an island with sugar and horses... no AI civs yet.
1525 BC: Nicaeae completes Granary, starts Worker. Sold Writing to Egypt for 80 Gold. Curraghs continue exploring.
1500 BC: Constantinople completes Barracks, starts The Great Lighthouse. Trebizond built. Trebizond starts Worker. Curraghs explore.
1475 BC: Horses connected (the tile was already mined and is in use as one). Nicaeae completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 2), starts Barracks.
1450 BC: Caesarea completes Granary, starts Worker. Heraclea completes Warrior, starts Catapult. Exploring.
1425 BC: Exploring. Slider set to 70% Research, 30% Tax (21 bpt, 3 gpt).
1400 BC: Literature research complete, start Construction research. Constantinople expands to Pop 6. Adrianopolis completes Barracks, starts Worker. Caesarea completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 2), starts Barracks. Philosophy and Literature sold to Sumerians for Polytheism and 9 Gold. Research switched to Monarchy. Slider set to 10% Luxury, 90% Research (27 bpt, -7 gpt).
1375 BC: Smyrna expands to Pop 2. Dutch build the Colossus. Egyptians are building the Temple of Artemis. Exploring.
1350 BC: Forest chopped near Adrianople. Adrianople completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 2), starts Temple. Nicaea expands to Pop 3. Exploring.
1325 BC: Adrianople expands to Pop 3. Heraclea expands to Pop 2. Smyrna changes from building Barracks to building Harbor. Exploring.
1300 BC: 2nd Curragh sunk by barb galley. Varna completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 1), starts Catapult. Smyrna completes Harbor, starts Dromon. Exploring.
1275 BC: Nicaea completes Barracks, starts Worker. Exploring.
1250 BC: Heraclea completes Catapults, starts Catapult. Trebizond builds Worker (shrinks to Pop 1, expands to Pop 2), starts Warrior. Exploring.
1225 BC: Nicaea completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 2, expands to Pop 3), starts Temple. Caesarea expands to Pop 3. Adrianople expands to Pop 4. Slider changed to 20% Luxury, 80% Research. Exploring.
1200 BC: Forest choppe near Caesarea (helps Barracks). Varna expands to Pop 2. Forest chopped near Adrianople (helps Temple). Exploring. Sold Mathematics to Egypt for 79 Gold. Sold Mathematics to Russia for 50 Gold.
1175 BC: Caesarea completes Barracks, starts Worker. Constantinople expands to Pop 7. Japanese start the Great Lighthouse. Exploring.
1150 BC: Connected Iron. Exploring.
1125 BC: Smyrna expands to 3. Exploring. Smyrna changes production from Dromon to Temple. Exploring
1100 BC: Adrianople completes Temple, starts Swordsman. Caesarea completes Worker (shrinks to Pop 2, expands to Pop 3), starts Temple. Nicaea expands to Pop 4. Exploring.
1075 BC: Varna completes Catapult, starts Harbor. Heraclea completes Catapult, starts Catapult. Exploring.
1050 BC: First Japanese Galley spotted moving along my southern coast. Well, damn. Trebizond completes Warrior, starts Dromon. Sumerians are building the Great Library. Hittites are building the Great Lighthouse. Sold Philosophy and Literature to Russia for Code of Laws and 28 Gold. Sold Philosophy to Japan for 38 Gold. Sold Philosophy to the Hittites for 16 Gold. Sold Code of Laws to the Sumerians for 62 Gold. Exploring.
1025 BC: Japan is building the Mausoleum of Mausollus. Curragh suicies!
1000 BC: Trebizond expands to Pop 2. Nicaea completes Temple, starts Swordsman. Adrianople completes Swordsman, starts Swordsman. Hittites are building the Mausoleum of Mausollus. The Egytians are building the Mausoleum of Mausollus. The Russians are building the Great Library. Cultural influence of Adrianople expands. Exploring.
975 BC: Heraclea completes Catapult, starts on Harbor. Caesarea expands to Pop 4. Russians builing Temple of Artemis. Exploring.
950 BC: Russians demand 36 Gold (I give it to them). Egyptians demands Map Making (I give it to them). Constantinople completes The Great Lighthouse, starts on Library. Nicaea expands to Pop 5. Smyrna completes Temple, starts on Dromon. Japan starts builidng Mausolleum of Mausollus. Sumerians start builing The Hanging Gardens. Exploring.
925 BC: Adrianople expands to Pop 6. Forest chop near Heraclea (helps Harbor). Exploring. Sumeria now has Monarchy, which has reduced the price.
900 BC: Adrianople completes Swordsman, starts Swordsman. Nicaea completes Swordsman, starts Swordsman. Nicaea cultural influence expands. Exploring.
875 BC: Constantinople completes Library, starts Swordsman. Smyrna expands to Pop 4. Exploring
850 BC: Forest chopped near Heraclea (helps Harbor). Heraclea completes Harbor, starts Dromon. Barbarian camp sighted north of Smyrna (swordsman dispatched, more to follow). Slider changed to 50% Tax, 30% Research, 20% Luxury (18 bpt, 5 gpt). Exploring (2 barb galleys sighted).
825 BC: Monarchy research complete, start research of Construction. Constantinople completes Swordsman, starts Swordsman. Adrianople completes Swordsman, starts Sworsman. Nicaea expands to Pop 6. Sumerians start builing the Mausolleum of Mausollus. Exploring.

Rather critical decision point here on how to proceed. Should I use poprushing to reduce the population of my cities (while pumping out units) and high tax to fuel myself for first the Japan war, likely followed by other wars once (with reduced pop) I switch to Monarchy? Should I try to switch to monarchy now and just ride try out the anarchy period with these dangerously high populations? Could I try to wipe the Japanese out under Despotism using my dromons exclusively for amphibious attack and attempt to avoid having my GA until later? What about research? I can either go 20% Lux/80% Tax (well, under Despotism) to upgrade warriors to sworsdmen, but I'm going to need a number of units (which might as well be swordsmen) sitting at home anyhow. Should I try to research all the way to Construction (and trade for Currency) so that I can finally build the rest of my improvements, and have a reasonably happy and large population? I'll take some time to think on it. Suggestions welcome.

Stopping at this point (I complete my first Dromon next turn), I'm #1 in population (1,154,000), #1 in GNP (57 million), and #1 in Mfg goods (53 megatons). In fact, I've been #1 in production for as long as I can remember and #1 in population for a rather long time. The #1 in GNP is quite recent, however.

What I have:

8 Cities (with 34 pop points)
13 Workers
9 Warriors
5 Swordsmen
5 Catapults
1 Curragh
Techs: All ancient techs other than Republic, Construction, and Currency
Gov't: Despotism (Monarchy research completed this turn)
Contacts: Japan, Hittites, Sumeria, Egypt, Russia
Wonders of the World: The Great Lighthouse
City Improvements:
4 Barracks
4 Granaries
4 Temples
1 Library
2 Harbors

[cracky]

AU 501 DAR 2 2150BC to First Dromon -Monarch, standard rules


2110: Constantinople builds settler, starts on another one (5 turns). This settler is going south west to the shielded grassland closest to Japan.

1990: Caesarea built and worker begun there. The two workers are mining the grassland just north of Caesarea before becoming a road crew for the settlers headed south-east for the incense and game. After this next settler from Constantinople I think I need a third worker.

1950: Adrianople builds settler and starts on second curragh. This settler is headed north for the hills by the gold. I don’t really want a city that close to Adrianople, but if the shoe fits…

1830: Nicaea founded on the northernmost hill and begins a warrior.

1790: Constantinople builds a worker who heads north to improve Nicaea. The first curragh built has located Japan, the empty island north of Japan and an island west of that. Still no other contacts.

1750: Second curragh built in Adrianople which switches to a worker. Since the last curragh went west, this one heads east.

1725: Varna built one tile west of the incense and worker begun. Right now I have three workers and five cities, with Caesarea one turn from completing a worker and Adrianople 2 turns away.

1675: Sumeria contacted to the East. I have The Wheel while they have Masonry and Mysticism. (one turn to go on writing.) Japan has Iron Working.

1650: Check back with Sumeria after completing writing. Strange, now they’re up by Masonry and Mysticism. How did they get The Wheel and Writing in one turn? The only thing I can think of is that I accidentally gifted them The Wheel which I’m 99% sure I didn’t do. Trade Japan Iron Working for writing. 13 turns until philosophy…

1550: Smyrna founded. Looks like there’s only room for two more cities on the home continent. Oops, forgot I got Iron Working from Japan… Trade it to Sumeria for Mysticism and 64 gold.

1450: Contact the Dutch: Trade CB for Masonry. They have map making, I have The Wheel and Mysticism. They won’t go for a trade… bastards.

1400 Heaclea founded to the east by all that tasty tobacco.

1350: Philosophy done. Turned out I was the first to get it and took Polytheism as my free tech. The Dutch take Math and Philosophy for MM and 35 gold. Japan gives up Horseback Riding and 4 gold for Masonry and Mysticism. Sumeria takes Philosophy and HR for Math and 19 gold. So now I have at least a one tech lead on everyone with Japan way in the back.

1300: First worker (the 10th) put on automate/no changes (I know, I know)

1175: First Dromon started in Adrianople. English contacted after one heck of a suicide run by my first curragh. I’m up at least three techs.

1150: Woot! Our glorious Byzantine civilization is the happiest nation on earth! Mayans contacted. Up at least three techs here as well…

1100: French contacted. Up at least 4 techs.

975BC: First Dromon built in Adrianople. I have only three warriors built to upgrade to swordsmen. Constantinople is building a barracks and then swordsmen. I have several cities working on temples, but I think I’ll switch those to barracks and get busy on some Japan bashing. Hopefully this campain will be over before Japan gets map making...

Overview: I have seven cities, ten workers. Almost every worked tile is improved. I’m about to gear up for an elimination war with Japan. I’ll do this before settling the two islands to the west. 14 turns until Monarchy. I have contact with 6 other Civs, and have between a tech parity and a large tech advantage over them all

Again, any and all advice is appreciated. I just recently moved up to monarch after getting a little bored with the easy wins on Regent. So far I haven't quite adjusted to the greater number of units the AI is likely to have on Monarch which leads to under-manned invasions. Hopefully it won't happen this time.

[cracky]

...and of course, here's the screenshot. I know it looks crappy, but I can't quite figure out what I'm doing wrong tonight.

[Smellincoffee]

In 2110 BC, the ice finally thawed over Byzantium. (Meaning, I got tired of having to right-click to find my bonus grassland, so I abandoned the beautiful winter terrain). That year, the Year of Elation, contact with Gilgamesh of Ur was made. Gilgamesh did not know how to write, and the captain on the Adrianople eagerly exchanged that ability for his pottery and masonry techniques. Gradually, our explorers made contacts with other city-states, but it was soon revealed that Gilgamesh was their virtual king, demanding taxes and men from them. The kingdom of Gilgamesh was referred to in the Byzantine logbooks as "Sumeria".

In 1790, the people of Adrianople attempted to revolt. This was probably due to a lack of military in the city. Troops in the Great Big Swamp were ordered to the city.

In 1675, the crew of the Adrianople made contact with the man who called himself "Merciless". He knew nothing interesting.

Fifty years later, as another settlement was founded, the crew of the Caesarea made contact with the Japanese, trading them masonry and gold for "The Wheel".

The Sumerians soon discovered the art of mapmaking. Lord Smellincoffey was highly irritated, history records. In fact, some say he was throwing darts at a crude likeness of Gilg.

In 1300, the crew of the Constantinople fought off two attacks by "massive boats of war", the log records. How on earth could barbarians have better ships than the sealoving Byzantines? The goverment in Constantiniople decided on a course of action. Their diplomats got King Gilg a wee bit snookered and he agreed to sell the Byzantines advanced shipmaking-- and mapmaking-- skills for "the wheel" and gold.

In 1250, the crew of the Adrianople discovered the land of Egypt. According to the first officer's log, they were "pretty freakin' dumb". The captain sold the Byzantine alphabet to the Egyptians for their mysticism.

In 1200, the Constantinople won another battle.

In 1150, the crew of the Theodora discovered a "northwest passage" -- relativly tame seas that cut through the turbulent oceans.

In 1125, contact was made with a strange man named Rus. He had an even stranger wife named "Catherine". Rus seemed to be out of it, so the diplomats on the Adrianople spoke with her. She, however, knew nothing.

In 1100, the Year of Rot and Death, the Nicaea sank just outside the shorewaters of her namesake. The military regent of Nicaea commented "Ouch."

In 1075, the crew of the Theodora used the "northwest passage"-- now known as the "Passage of Theodora"-- and found coast.

In 1025, the Theodora discovered the Mayans. They knew iron-working. The Theodoran crew taught them how to write down the instructions. While that happened, two barbarian warships attacked the Theodora, now manned by a skeleton crew. However, the crew won the day.

In 1000 BC, the first Byzantine warship was produced, the Varna.

---------------------

In 975, the Second Year of Rot and Death, the Adrianople was sunk by a barbarian galley.
In 950, the Third Year of Rot and Death, the Theodora was sunk outside of English shores. The [i]Smyrna[i] was built.
In 900, the Fourth Year of Rot and Death, the Caesarea was sunk trying to find the Passage of Thedora. The Great Volcano of Adrianople suddenly erupted as the news was given. Also, Merciless VIII demanded mysticism. Smellincofficus is said to have said "stuff it!" Merciless declared war on the Autocracy (as it was known then), and Smellincofficus had a fit laughing.
In 825, the Year of Way-Bad News, philosophy was discussed among Constantinople's elite. Nothing resulted from the discussions, leading Smellincofficus to believe that his people were clueless. (I didn't get it first! What the?!)

Picture to come soon.

[jshelr]

Due to the power of the early boat that sounds like you are clearing your throat, we were ahead of Dom's schedule well before our first strange smoke spewing Dromon.

Met Gilgamesh in 2350 BC trading the wheel for pottery and 10 gold. Gil thinks we are an easy mark and turns cautious from annoyed.

Switch capital from barracks to granary.

Exploration shows lots of land empty to the west. That raises the question of whether to race for early claim on that land or concertrate on eating the Japanese.

Trade with Japan for mysticism in 2150 and finally see the horse hiding under the capital's star

Also found out we can't enter the ocean. Good mod change, I presume.

1950 the guys already have writing

Trade mysticism for it and start philosophy at 100% = 47 turns. That will come down quickly.

Met Thebes in 1600 BC. They have all tech but wheel, LoL. Gil's got literature in 1525, illustrating the changes in the mod.

Russia met in 1500 BC. All boats sunk in 1450 as the barbarian technology is leading edge in boat building at this point.

Summaria has math 1325
Japan has code in 1300
Egypt has poly in 1200

Hittites demanded gold so I bribed Sumeria into an alliance in 1175. They can't get over here and the war might bleed both of them for awhile.

We got Philosophy and refilled our Grey Goose glass in 1100. We traded around the wheel before choosing our next tech, which was maps. So, we have our tech lead.

Set Republic at 50 and decided to put a few settlements on the isle to the west while mostly concentrating on the Japs. Dad would approve of that strat.

Building swords and pumping settlers. We have built cities on the coast to get max ability to build boats.

Having fun.

[jshelr]

So, what I was planning to do with my strange UU was to wait until currency was available and then trigger a republican golden age, to hasten the building of markets and slingshot into the next era.

Here's what's happened:

On the better to be lucky than skillful front, we saved the hut in the northern swamp for a long while and got horseback riding from it in the end.

That was in 975 BC, and we were pumping workers in the granary capital to attack the swamp.

We decided not to explore and concentrated on settlers and attacking Japan.

No one is building the Statue of Z

In 690 BC Gil offer 300 gold to continue the useless alliance against the Hittities. Helpful

Trade russia for Republic in 670 BC and, more luck, only a 3 turn anarchy ensues.

So, we declared on Japan in 590 BC and, thanks to my brilliant leadership, or, more probably, the fact that Japan has no resources, the battle was decidedly one-sided.

Did you know that galleys could deliver two loads of two units per turn if the distance travelled is short enough?

Satusma falls in 510BC. The Dutch show up in 310
BC and are the tech leaders soon after.

Statue of Zues started in 270BC.

Decided to take a GA in 210 BC.

Japan will be gone in a few turns, although we are going slow in hopes one of the elites will produce a leader. The GA should help trade for currency and build markets.

Going well. Having fun. Madam is threatening the vodka bottle and, I think, might want to eat dinner at table. Good night.

[Master Zen]

Originally posted by jshelr

Hittites demanded gold so I bribed Sumeria into an alliance in 1175. They can't get over here and the war might bleed both of them for awhile.

Hope that doesn't backfire. Sumeria has iron, Hittites don't. In my last turn I have a Dromon parked right near the chokepoint spying on the war and it seems Sumeria is going to get a smashing victory...

[ZargonX]

Hope that doesn't backfire. Sumeria has iron, Hittites don't. In my last turn I have a Dromon parked right near the chokepoint spying on the war and it seems Sumeria is going to get a smashing victory...

You know, I was doing that in my game too; just sitting a dromon at the chokepoint watching them fight back and forth. I thought the Sumerians had the clear advantage, with Med. Infs. and Pikes, but the Hittites had a neverending stream of 3-man chariots that somehow managed to hold the Sumer back. Of course, things went even more in their favor after I invaded Sumeria

[Master Zen]

Well, nothing much exciting happened during this time other than contact with the Sumerians, Hittites, Egyptians and Russians as well as become the tech leader of my part of the known world after some smart trades.

To start, on the last turn of the last DAR (2150 BC), I founded Nicaea, in a prime spot for building the Great Lighthouse which I figure will be vital for this game (5 turn Dromons with sea access!!!).

Military

This period witness my first "mini-campaign" against a pesky barb camp smack in the marshlands. My expedionary force was a pair of vet Archers and a regular Warrior. They fought off 3 enemy warriors and 2 horses before taking the camp. I didn't lose any of them although many were at 1-HP which made me have to stop and heal about two times before approaching the camp. Unfortunately, there were no promotions.

City Placement

Perhaps the only interesting thing to discuss was my city placement. I've seen a lot of rather loose spacing from some of the other DARs and I'm rather surprised that knowing how little space we have people did not try to max out as many cities as they could. Land isn't fabulous but there are plenty of hills, forests and mountains which means that most cities can develop pretty good production, at least for ancient and early-medieval standards. Obviously the problem with a tight build is that it limits growth once your cities are in the teens but given the difficulty level I'd rather sacrifice that for early power, translating it to more room to grow in the future.

My cities built were:

Vardna - 1750 BC - Built to get the Incense and the western whale
Smyrna - 1650 BC - Good spot in the east
Heraclea - 1500 BC - Built to take back the BG that the Japanese had swallowed with their border
Trebizond - 1325 BC - Can you say gold hill and mountain??
Chalcedon - 1300 BC - Built to take advantage of the eastern whale
Sardica - 1100 BC - Good spot for a naval producing city since it can't really do much else

There are plans for 2 more cities, one being built 2 from the marsh fish and the other built 7 from the same tile. The settler for the first city is already built and should reach the tile just as soon as the workers clear it.

Thus, in total I managed to fit in 12 cities in the home island. Let's see if my gamble pays off.

Diplomacy

The only other interesting thing was the tech trades. I went for Writing with the hope that I could whore it with my newly-discovered neighbors. My first trade was with Japan, got The Wheel+Mysticism+80g for Writing. After that, I went for Philosophy and with it, hopefully, a free tech. I got Philo in 1050 BC but to my dismay, no free tech (damn demigod) but I was still able to whore it very very very nicely. I had discovered Egypt at this time and the trades for Philo were:

Japan - Polytheism+17g
Sumeria - IW+Masonry+194g
Hittites - Math+14g
Egypt - HBR+275g

In 975 BC I got contact with Russia, I traded Philo for MapMaking, and later traded MM with the Hittites for Literature.

Amazing all you can do with just one tech

By now I was the tech leader and doing Currency. I immediately switched Nicaea to the GL. My first dromon had to wait a little while before it rolled off the shipyards of Caesaria but lo and behold, by 875 BC the Dromon HMS Conqueror had been built, and with it, the birth of the Royal Byzantine Navy.

[Dominae]

Set Republic at 50 and decided to put a few settlements on the isle to the west while mostly concentrating on the Japs. Dad would approve of that strat.

[ducki]

I can't think of a good place to ask this, so here goes -
I've invaded Japan and have their two hill/mountain cities still to take which shouldn't take long, since my first Crusaders are coming out now.

I just got a MGL and, while an army would be nice, I am 99% sure I won't be doing any conquering before knights are quite obsolete.

I'm thinking a second core this early(well, not that early, but it's around 200AD, I think and I'm researching Printing Press to nab and switch to democracy really quick, noone has Education yet and noone has Gunpowder yet) - anyway, I'm thinking I'd like to get another core online and Japan being the most logical choice, I was wondering which exJapanese town you would put your FP in if you were going to do that?

I have two towns with homeland borderlock on the island to Byzantium's W-NW and 3 towns with all but two tiles on the island south of Hittites(bastards nabbed that one tile of tundra on the far southwest corner. grr).

So, corruption-gurus, which japanese city makes the most sense?

If it's a better idea, I can go start a "help me out" spoiler-containing thread for anyone else that has minor questions like this.

[steven8r]

Edit: Regular game, Emperor /edit

I'm not sure how far (what dates) this thread is supposed to encompass, but I'll post what I've done so far--and in a much less detailed maner than in DAR1.

At the end of DAR1, I had 1 other city and a slight Barb problem. Well, since then, I got Constantinople up and running and turned on the Pump. I put down 5 more cities (7 total) and produced some Workers and a few Warriors to escort my Settlers through the 'problem areas' of my island. I finally got some releif from the RNG when a couple of Barbs slew themselves against my Forted Warr on a Hill. (about time I won a Barb Battle!!!).

I made several Curraghs and started exploring coast lines. Met Japan then Hittites and Sumeria, as well as discovered the 2 vacant, jungle islands to the Northwest.

I managed to purchase Writing from the Hittites about 6 turns before I could research it and went for Philo as vigorously as I could. Building Workers and Settlers helped keep my pop low and thus less dependant on the Lux Slider.

I made some suicide runs w/ my Curraghs and low, and behold, they were just that--suicide. (What must I do to appease the RNG gods?!?!?!) However, just as one sunk, I somehow got contact w/ Dutch.

I got Philo and chose MM as my freebie--got to make Dromons after all. Turns-out, this wasn't the best choice. Hittites already had MM, but hadn't traded it to anyone. I traded it like a madman and with that and Philo, achieved tech parity and started building Harbors.
Note to self: Curraghs CAN'T carry units, Galleys/Dromans CAN--remember this.
I didn't even think about sending-out Settlers until I started seeing Japanese and Sumerian Galleys heading for the NW Island. Time to play catchup. I didn't have any Curraghs to upgrade (have I mentioned my bad luck w/ the RNG yet?) so I quickly built enough to send some Settlers and Spears to the NW Islands also.

It seems that the Black Death has struck 2 of my cities--just as I'm trying to build units to send w/ my Settlers. (Bad RNG!) (Note the Skulls and Vultures on Caesarea and Heraclea below)

It turns-out that it only lasted a few turns and all was OK.

The Volcano errupted twice now. The first time it just polluted itself, the second time it got one of my roads, but I had another and was able to clean it up. It seems the Japanese Volcano has errupted 3 or 4 times now--sucks to be them!

Founded Trebizond on NW Island and poped Construction from a hut! WooHoo!!!

Through my trading, I managed to start building ToA and MoM. However, I managed Literature and changed MoM to GL--and got it!! I was building the ToA and someone else got it so I looked in the Build box and, what's that, SoZ in 1 turn..... Guess what I did, thanks to Fine Ivory from Japan

About this time, the Dutch got all upity (just because their Galleys can move 1 more AND survive in Sea squares) and tried to extort some gold from me. They became all upset and declared war on me. Not having many land units, I concentrated my builds on Dromons. (Nice boat that Dromon!) I managed to hold-off conflict until after the GL got Monarch and Republic (from the Dutch no less), and switched to Monarchy. A Dutch Galley made the mistake of attacking a 2x Dromon stack. Even though he was Elite and I was only Vet, the first D bombed him and the second took him out trigering my GA.

Spend the GA building Markets and Libraries (as well as a few more Dromons). Only 1 Dutch Galley made it to my Island w/ troops--which the AC from SoZ quickly dispatched. I sent most of my Dromons to Netherlands to intercept thier Attack forces. I sent a few others out exploring. 1 found the Egyptians and Russians, another found Maya, England, and France. The French are waaaay behind--I gave them a tech just cause I felt sorry for them.

One of my cities on NW Island (placed to nab Iron from Sumerian city) Flipped! Not sure I'm liking the Sumerians. I'll let them live awhile longer while I build-up my military.

Managed to make lots of gold via tech trades. Finally made peace w/ Dutch for as much gold as they had. Sumer and Hittites have fought each other twice now.

I learned Chivalry from GL about 4 turns before I could finish it. Started Theology. However my GA has ended and I'm researching slowly again. Started building SunTsu's, might switch it to Leo's--not sure yet.

Anyway, I came back from a fairly bad start, I just have to keep the momentum going.

[jshelr]

"So, corruption-gurus, which japanese city makes the most sense?"

I don't qualify to answer as a guru, but my guess was that it was best to choose a site nearest to the homeland -- the one with the ivory. (That was partly due to reduced turns to build it, however, and you don't have that problem with a leader.) It will be interesting to see how others place a Japanese island FP.

[jshelr]

In my game, the French were destroyed in 30BC and soon after I was able to trade mono for engineering and then flip engineering to the Dutch for Feudalism, adding some gold and 0-extra horses and ivory.

The Dutch promptly started Statue of Zeus and I remembered that they might get a SGL -- still probably it was worth it to get Feudalism since we have only 4 turns to Statue of Z.

Volcano killed off a city on the NW island that was stupidly placed too close to it.

We puttered along until 320 AD, building temples, aqueducts, harbors, and markets in most cities during a GA. Then, lacking completely any research infrastructure, we focused on military. The attack on the Hittites in 320AD was accompanied by a cheap alliance with Sumeria (110 gold), using the Dromon units to bombard the horse resource and a stack of pikes, MI, elite swords, and few ancient cavs. We took a city and starved it down to 1 while using the attacking Hittite archers as elite target practice. Finally got a leader, which I should have used to complete the Japanese FP, but it seemed more fun to make an army and go for complete domination of the Hittites, followed by an attack on Sumeria.

We seem to be falling well behind the Dutch on buying techs. I used to think this was a big deal, but lately it has not mattered much. I'm going to be shocked, shocked, if the Dutch don't wander around in the Nationalism, Commie, fascism line and steal ToE from us.

We're number one in all categories except lit on f11. We're last on that category

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by jshelr
"So, corruption-gurus, which japanese city makes the most sense?"

I don't qualify to answer as a guru, but my guess was that it was best to choose a site nearest to the homeland -- the one with the ivory. (That was partly due to reduced turns to build it, however, and you don't have that problem with a leader.) It will be interesting to see how others place a Japanese island FP.

I built in Edo (?, the Japanese capital). That is a nice city site, and is on a river with access to several bonuses and a couple of hills.