Unofficial April Tourney game

[BillChin]

April is here. This is an "unofficial" tourney game of Civ 3. Standard rules, version 1.17f. The settings are Monarch difficulty, standard size map, random civ, eight random opponents, random barbs, random map type. I rolled a map and the first one came up Zulu. Looks like a nice starting position. Sorry, no picture of the start, as I do not have a jpeg picture program.

I'll start a separate thread for spoilers and finished games. Keep this thread to downloading problems and such.

Please, no reloading, no restarting, and no exploits. 1.17f exploits include using entertainer cities to join workers and pop rush, using numerous scouts to block resources, endless ship hopping for extra ocean movement. It is all honor system, but it is more fun if you play in the spirit of the game. Also stay clear of the spoilers and results thread until you see the world map or get past 10 A. D.

As for scoring, the top score overall, the fastest finish for Conquest, Domination, Culture and Spaceship, and top score for Diplomatic are the goal posts to shoot for.

I have the preferences set to what I like so you may want to press Ctrl-P and readjust the game preferences to what you are used to. This game requires version 1.17f, if you do not have it, you can find it at:
http://www.civ3.com/patches.cfm

Enjoy.

[BillChin]

Here is a strategy tip for novice players. It is a general tip for Civ 3 and not related to this particular game. For novice players that are struggling a nice "book" opening is to take a turn to pick a good tile for the capital. Building over a luxury or gold icon, next to a river or on the coast gives a nice early boost.

I suggest an initial build queue of three warriors, a settler, three more warriors then another settler. Plant these first two settlers very close to the capital. I suggest one square away on the diagonal or two away on the straight. Use the worker to connect them all with roads. This start gives six warriors and three cities quickly with the warriors all able to reach all cities in one turn. This makes it very tough to actually lose the game in the ancient age.

If you need an unzipping utility one site is:

http://www.pkware.com/downloads/

Thanks.

[punkbass2000]

OK, perhaps I'm a total dumba$$, but when I download that file it saves itself as a doc and not a zip. What do I do?

[BillChin]

Originally posted by punkbass2000
OK, perhaps I'm a total dumba$$, but when I download that file it saves itself as a doc and not a zip. What do I do?

Maybe I am a dumba$$ too, because I'm not sure what is going wrong. You might try using the File Manager to rename the downloaded file to APRIL.ZIP (or whatever). To rename a file in Windows goto My Computer, go to the C: drive (or whatever) highlight the downloaded file and right click on it. Choose rename from the pop up menu. Eventually you want the .SAV file in the saved games folder (something like
C:\Program Files\Infogrammes\Civilization III\Saves\April.Sav)

[BillChin]

I downloaded a paint program. Let's see if I can get a picture up...

[punkbass2000]

Renaming it to a zip file worked, thanks.

Now it's time for me to go and lose this competition!

[La Fayette]

Nice idea, BillChin!
I wonder what happened to Mark, but you are quite right: the 'official' tournament looks like being on strike.

[BillChin]

After one day the game file has 20 downloads--not a bad start.

To bump this post, I'll post an opening strategy: Warrior Gambit. Again, this is a general Civ III tip, and may or may not be a good fit for the April game.

If a player wants to fight early, a good strategy involves sending the first two warriors together looking for an enemy. The warriors attack the first enemy settler or city that they find. Capturing a settler yields two workers, which is a huge early boost that is worth more than two warriors. A slightly later attack is to wait for archers and go looking for an enemy capital to cripple the enemy early. The key to a successful Warrior Gambit is to find an enemy and attack quickly. On Monarch level the AI gets two free units, so this strategy takes some luck, but is doable.

This kind of early war may be forgiven so it is not the end of the game if it fails. The odds of success with two warriors against one are about 70%. Tomorrow, I'll bump this thread with a post about a higher percentage opening strategy: Swordmen Conquest.

These opening strategies are also outlined on CivFanatics:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showth...threadid=15439

[nbarclay]

I wish you didn't suggest the warrior gambit, because it can too easily turn tournament play that ought to be a contest of skill into a contest of whose warriors get lucky and whose don't (both in terms of what path their explorations take and in terms of whether or not their attack succeeds). I know luck plays a significant role in the game no mater what, but such a big roll of the dice so early makes the luck element significantly greater.

Personally, I've never been inclined to try that strategy because I prefer reliably sound strategies over higher-risk, higher-payoff ones. That means I'll almost always do reasonably well, but it also means that in any given tournament, gamblers who get lucky and have comparable skill can beat me. (And given enough gamblers, one or another will almost certainly get lucky in any given tournament. ) But since the challenge I set for myself is to do pretty well in EVERY tournament game rather than to win any particular one, I can live with that.

Nathan

[BillChin]

Nbarclay,
You have a good point. I rarely use Warrior Gambit because of the high chance of failure (vs. other strategies) and have never used it in tourney type games. However, the strategy is popular, and is effective on Monarch level. I do not recommend Warrior Gambit for novice players because it is a struggle to catch up if the gambit fails. Other strategies have a much higher success rate and can yield as high a score if executed well.

I started my tips with a dense core city build that I suggest for novice players or players that are struggling. It almost guarantees that a player will at least survive through the first age on Monarch level, with a start of the three cities close together connected by roads, and six warriors to defend by turn 45 or so. Again, the initial build queue is three warriors, settler, three more warriors, settler. Plant these first two settlers very close to the capital.

In case it gets bumped down too low, the spoiler thread is at the link below. Please stay clear of the spoiler thread until after 10 A. D. or the world map is visible.

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=46274

I'll post about Swordsmen Conquest later today, to give this thread another bump up.

[punkbass2000]

If I'm militaristic (and not Japanese) I will pull off an "archer gambit" on whoever I find first (which, ironically, failed this time). I find 3 archers are almost a lock, unless you're attacking across a river or onto a hill, or your opponent has at least two spearmen already. Generally I will build archer, archer, settler, archer for this scenario.

[BillChin]

Again, this is a general tip, and may or may not be a good fit for the April game.

Swordsmen Conquest starting strategy:
Start with the core of three cities close together, already outlined. Research Bronze then Iron Working. For the fourth or fifth city look to claim iron. Send the early warriors out scouting and locate the enemy borders.

After each city has at least one defender, build barracks and then warriors. Barracks are not essential, but are desireable. An alternative is to send the regular warriors out against Barbarians to get them veteran status. Once Iron Working is discovered, lower the research slider to get gold to upgrade the warriors (40 gold per unit). Gold for upgrades is not essential, but allows a player to field a larger attack force earlier.

Timing of the attack depends on how much open land there is between a player and the enemy. Generally, I suggest building four to six cities, and a time of 700 B. C. A stack of ten units is a good number for the 700 B. C. time period. Maybe 7 swordsmen, 2 spearmen and one settler. Generally, Swordsmen Conquest works best when directed at the nearest enemy.

If there is no iron, use archers and plan on losing more units and maybe build a catapult or two. Catapults are also good if fighting Hoplites. With seven swordsmen in the attacking stack, the odds of success are above 99% against typical defenders.

Swordsmen Conquest is the one of the best strategies for attacking hostile Zulu neighbors. Swordsmen Conquest is very powerful when playing as Romans or Persians because of their unique units.

A player can theoretically flow from Warrior Gambit into Swordsmen Conquest. A player has the choice of destroying the enemy or making peace on favorable terms.

Another good time window for attack is after the enemy changes government so they do not pop rush when seeing troops. This time window may be more like 10 B. C. on Monarch level. In this case about 20 attacking units, and building 8 to 15 cities are what I suggest. This is a strategy that I labelled Horsemen Conquest. With the new 1.17f rules it is more like Combined Arms Conquest and I'll outline it tomorrow.

[D.K]

this is an excellent thread, good work Billchin

[BillChin]

Well, I saw MarkG's pixels on the top post.

I'll post the Combined Arms Conquest later in the day to bump this thread again.

[BillChin]

Combined Arms Conquest, formerly Horsemen Conquest

Again, this is a general Civ III strategy tip, and may or may not be a good fit for the April game.

The basics are to build eight to 15 cities, and an attack force of about 20 units. Build the first three cities close together (initial build queue of 3 warriors, settler, 3 warriors, settler). For the next cities look to claim luxuries, iron and horses. Techs needed include, Horseback Riding, Iron Working and Mathematics.

I suggest the following ratio of attacking units:
10% spearmen
20% horsemen
50% swordsmen
10% settlers
10% catapults

Increase to 20% catapults if facing hoplites, legionaires or pikemen. Spearmen are useful for garrisons and to absorb any counter attacks.

The time window launching the war ranges from about 100 B. C. to 300 A. D. On Emperor difficulty, a player may be five or six techs behind. War is an excellent way to catch up in tech. Bribing some of the neighboring Civs may deter them from declaring war. One free gold per turn is often enough to keep the peace. A two front war is something to be avoided.

If a player can not get the attacking force in place by 300 A. D., he/she may be better off waiting for Chivalry and upgrading to Knights. Knight Blitz will be the next strategy outlined. Enjoy.

[nbarclay]

Originally posted by BillChin
Combined Arms Conquest, formerly Horsemen Conquest
I suggest the following ratio of attacking units:
10% spearmen
20% horsemen
50% swordsmen
10% settlers
10% catapults

\

I might note that the "10% settlers" seems to assume at least partly a "raze" strategy rather than a "capture and hold" strategy. Personally, I prefer to avoid the investment in settlers if it is practical to do so. (The "raze or keep" quesiton has already been discussed fairly extensively in other threads, for those who are interested.) Of course I also prefer not to attack unless I'm planning to take out my enemy's entire core empire before making peace with whatever remote outposts, if any, he might have left.

Also, do you have any particular reason for mixing horsemen in with swordsmen and catapults like that? So far, about the only times I've ever mixed swordsmen and horsemen have been when I sent swordsmen in my initial waves and then switched over to horsemen because they could get to the front lines more quickly. I'm curious about what kind of battle plan you use that calls for this type of mixtue.

Nathan

[Giovanni August]

Originally posted by nbarclay
\

IAlso, do you have any particular reason for mixing horsemen in with swordsmen and catapults like that? So far, about the only times I've ever mixed swordsmen and horsemen have been when I sent swordsmen in my initial waves and then switched over to horsemen because they could get to the front lines more quickly. I'm curious about what kind of battle plan you use that calls for this type of mixtue.

Nathan

When I switched to Emperor level i founded ancient wars pretty impossible. I asked for strategic help and they told me to mix my Legions with Catapults and Horseman.

Here is the thread, if you want more info
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=44722

Saluti

[BillChin]

Originally posted by nbarclay
Also, do you have any particular reason for mixing horsemen in with swordsmen and catapults like that? So far, about the only times I've ever mixed swordsmen and horsemen have been when I sent swordsmen in my initial waves and then switched over to horsemen because they could get to the front lines more quickly. I'm curious about what kind of battle plan you use that calls for this type of mixtue.

Nathan

You already cited one reason to bring Horsemen, speed to the front. For the strategy outlined, a 10 A. D. attack, cities are spread out. An enemy civ may have ten or more cities by that point in the game, so speed is sometimes very useful. The enemy may launch a stack into my territory. A pure force of swordsmen can not respond quickly. Horsemen are also good for finishing off enemy horsemen, scouting ahead, terrorizing workers, pillaging key resources deep in enemy territory and attacking lightly defended cities in the interior. Horsemen also upgrade to Knights for the next war. A pure force of swordsmen is often one war and done because they can not upgrade.

With the old 1.16f fast retreat rules, I preferred mostly Horsemen with a few swordsmen. With the new rules it is mostly Swordsmen with a few Horsemen.

Catapults help keep casualties down, especially when facing Pikemen, Hoplites or Legionaires.

As for settlers, sometimes it is very useful to plop down a city for troops to heal, when taking another city is not an option and retreat is long and dangerous. At this time window, 10 A. D., two settlers is nothing for a well built empire and can help relieve overcrowding in certain cities.

Then of course there is razing. Razing is more likely on higher difficulties where the enemy culture may be overwhelming, and where total conquest is a not an easy task. On Emperor level, a player may be five or six techs behind, and face a superior army when the war is launched. On any difficulty, a few bad combat rolls can cause the offensive to sputter, and having a city secure from culture flips is a nice security blanket.

[BillChin]

Knight Blitz

This is the last in my series of opening strategies. Again, this is a general strategy tip and may or may not be a good fit for the April game.

Knight Blitz is perhaps the most powerful opening strategy when executed successful. Attack window is 300 A. D. to 700 A. D. Experienced players may be able to attack earlier with better results. Knight Blitz is an excellent strategy for the first war on large or huge maps. It is more likely to be the second, third or fourth war on standard size and small maps.

The basic strategy is to build a modest empire, perhaps a 10 cities, perhaps 20 depending on the amount of open land. The key resources are horses and iron (for Knights). Tiles that yield a lot of gold (gold, gems, rivers) are also desirable, as gold and research are important to this strategy.

The goal is to reach Chivalry with about 20 horsemen units and 2000 gold, then upgrade the Horsemen into Knights. 12 horsemen and 1000 gold are adequate, but for obvious reasons 20+ is a lot more effective. There are many ways to get there. Novice players may have to practice for several games to get the lead up in place.

This strategy is more difficult to pull off than Swordmen Conquest. The building phase is longer, and a lot more can go wrong before a player is ready for war. One road is to go for the Great Library and then turn off research to save gold. A more sophisticated strategy is to buy all techs up to Chivalry then rush research it when it becomes available. It is not important to be the first player to Chivalry. Enemy civs may field two or three Knights if they reach Chivarly first, but with 20+ attacking Knights the enemy has little chance.

With this strategy, a government switch may or may not be appropiate before war is launched. Switching governments is often a key point in the game. As a rule of thumb, Republic requires marketplaces in the core cities and three or more luxuries. Monarchy is a good wartime government. Remaining in Despotism has the advantage of four units supported per town and pop rushing.

With 20+ Knights and some supporting units, a player has enough force to conquer several civs, sometimes enough to conquer the world. Knights move fast, hit hard, and defend well. It is best to keep the Knights in large stacks instead of spreading them out. It is best to take out one civ at a time unless a player has overwhelming superiority.

A variant of this strategy is to use archers and longbows. This is not as strong, but it is an effective strategy for maps where there is no iron or no horses. Longbowmen move slowly and defend poorly, but have the same attack rating as Knights.

Enjoy.

[nbarclay]

In the spirit of BillChin's posts, this is general information that may or may not prove useful for your particular situation in the April tourney.

One of the potential down sides to playing a race such as the Zulu with an early-game UU is that they tend to get their golden ages very early. One thing I don't like about that is that in despotism, a tile with a base production of two (e.g. plains with mine or grassland with shield with mine) still only has a production of two during the golden age. Thus, for some number of tiles, the golden age does not yield the production benefit it normally would. (Another consideration regarding early golden ages is that regular grassland you're using but haven't gotten around to mining yet yields no production, and thus no production bonus.)

If only a small percentage of tiles are affected, that may not particularly matter. And an early golden age can be useful in attacking an opponent whose golden age will only come later (if he lives long enough) or in defending against an opponent who is in his own golden age. On the other hand, if a significant percentage of your tiles will not receive increased production in a golden age under Despotism, it may be worth trying to get a different form of government early and hold off the golden age until you do.

Nathan

[BillChin]

Here is a summary of all the tips that I have posted on this thread (there is another one from Nathan, thanks).

0) Dense build of three core cities. Initial build queue: 3 warriors, settler, 3 more warriors, 2nd settler. Plant settlers very close to capital. Connect all with roads. Works better the worse the terrain. Applies to all starts with the possible exception of Warrior Gambit. For novice players, I suggest planting the settlers very close to the capital, one square away on the diagonal or two away on the straight. This start almost guarantees that a player survives the first age on Emperor difficulty and below. With the number of early losses already posted on the spoiler thread, this is a good way to go for players that have not started the game.

1) Warrior Gambit. Send the first two warriors together looking for an enemy. Attack. Capturing a settler is good. Storming their capital is better. Works best on Monarch difficulty and below. Odds for two warriors vs. one are about 70%. The percentage is more like 30% if there are spearman defending. A player is usually better of waiting for archers or better is there are spearmen. If there are hoplites, try something else. Warrior Gambit is not recommended for novices, because it often means disaster if the Gambit fails and there is a 30% chance of failure.

2) Swordsmen Conquest. Research Bronze then Iron. Build 4 to 6 cities. Claim iron with the fourth or fifth city. Build a stack of ten units to attack, mostly swordsmen. Attack nearest enemy. This is an excellent strategy for novice players because the odds of success are above 99% with a stack of swordsmen and the build out phase is short. If no iron, use archers (and capture iron if possible). Attack window 900 B. C. to 500 B. C.

3) Combined Arms Conquest, formerly Horsemen Conquest. Techs required include Iron Working, Horseback Riding, Mathematics. Build 8 to 15 cities. Build an offensive force of 20 units. Choose one enemy. Bribe the others. Attack in force. Crush the enemy. Attack window 300 B. C. to 200 A. D.

4) Knight Blitz. Tech required Chivalry. Resources needed Iron and Horses. Goal is to get 20+ Horsemen and 2000 gold. Upgrade Horsemen to Knights, conquer the world (hopefully ). Time window is 300 A. D. to 700 A. D. There are many roads to Chivalry. Novice players may have to practice for several games before he/she can execute the build up phase. Knight Blitz is an excellent strategy for large and huge maps. Also good for a second, third or fourth war on standard size and smaller maps. An effective variant is to build Archers and upgrade to Longbowmen for maps with no iron, no horses.

Enjoy.

[Fossil]

The accessory "Paint" program with Win '98 (and above) can save in jpeg format.

Just print-screen, open the Paint program, edit/paste.

You can clip the image, or otherwise edit as desired. Adding text on the image is one possiblity.

File/Save, and select "save as type" - jpeg

There you go!

[BillChin]

People still playing the April game may finish the game with 1.17f, or download the new patch, 1.21f and then complete the game. Overall, the rule changes look like they will have relatively little effect on the scoring and play balance on this particular map.

As of this writing there are 61 downloads, 4 submitted games. If you ever wanted a top ten finish, that looks like a virtual lock if you submit a game, even a losing game.

The spoilers and results thread is:
http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...threadid=46274

Thanks.

[punkbass2000]

"If you ever wanted a top ten finish, that looks like a virtual lock if you submit a game, even a losing game."

Yay!