the wandering babylonians

bigvic · September 11, 2002, 23:33

i had read a lot about civs surviving with settlers on boats, but finally started seeing it after istalling 1.29.

i am the russkies, charging toward a science victory. of course the babs gank me early, swarming down on my peaceful empire with hordes of cheap-ass bowmen. My tech comes through as i manage to desperately hold them (and their little lust buddies the persians) with my swordsmen, archers, horsemen while i build up a thundering horde of knights before anyone else has access. finally after irritatingly unlikely early combat results, i wipe them out, gaining some great cities and tying up my northern flank nicely in the process. at this point the civ world is going up in anarchic bloody flames, with the backstabbing iroqois hitting me from a right of passage!

well, this happened early middle ages (for me), and i notice old hammy is still out there, but no cities. over the next 30-40 turns i run into him here and there - at the sige of some persian city with a couple of bowmen, scooting around in galleys, lurking in sme jungle near the action. finally i build abunch of explorars to keep an eye on the world and manage to get a ring side seat to the end of the once mightty germans, besieged in berlin by english, chinese and americans - and 1 little babylonian bowman....for 3 turns german pikemen hold out valiently against waves of riders, swordsmen, knights and rabble when finally, reduced to their last spearmen at 1 hit point after all the big boys have exhauste themselves, that one little bab bowmen steps up and whacks him, capturing the still large, well developped berlin. hammy finds a home!

despite my hatred for them i had to admire the chutzpah and persistence and promptly wired some cash and tech and resources - to which the idiots remained furious

, and watched them eke out a living some 10 turns further til the americans decided enough was enough and put 'em out of their misery.

just thought it was cool.

Ninot · September 11, 2002, 23:39

hrm... sounds like a bunch of Vikings

i wonder if gifting a wandering civ with a city by the sea would make them easier to whipe out...

bigvic · September 11, 2002, 23:42

yeah, all orts of possibilities. have seen this more now, since i have adult add and tend to work on several games at once, but never as long a wandering period as the babs.

i actually thought about that, but then thought "naaaah..."

vmxa1 · September 12, 2002, 01:01

I just disable respawning, you go down, you stay down.

MeaCulpa · September 12, 2002, 06:37

It has nothing to do with "respawn AI". As bigvic said, the comp has a settler somewhere on one of his many boats. And as long as this one isn't down, he's still in the game. He has no city, and thus you can't plant a spy; the world is fully settled, and so he won't find a new home. He has no income or money, but still he can afford lots of galleys.

I think the Atzecs (in my case) will be the longest lasting computer player in my game.

Galvatron · September 12, 2002, 07:19

In the end such a wandering civ could win the game. Look at this like that: They have no city which can be conquered. If they would stay on their boat the whole game and watch till all the others beat themselves up more or less in the end they could land their little spearman and take over the last weakened civ

vmxa1 · September 12, 2002, 12:18

Sorry I thought they were speculating on how they come back to life. The wandering settler must be found and killed.

Thrawn05 · September 12, 2002, 12:38

Quote:

Originally posted by MeaCulpa
It has nothing to do with "respawn AI". As bigvic said, the comp has a settler somewhere on one of his many boats. And as long as this one isn't down, he's still in the game. He has no city, and thus you can't plant a spy; the world is fully settled, and so he won't find a new home. He has no income or money, but still he can afford lots of galleys.

I think the Atzecs (in my case) will be the longest lasting computer player in my game.

IMHO... I'd let them go. If they are just a stupid settler on a boat... don't go after them. The babs are beyond crippled and pose no threat to you. Let some other civ take them out.

Keeper of Hell · September 12, 2002, 18:40

Quote:

Originally posted by bigvic
i am the russkies, charging toward a science victory.

Sorry, sort of off-topic but I just gotta ask. A *science* victory? Is this just another name for some other type of victory? The manual definitely doesn't mention a science victory, the rules settings for the beginning of the game don't include a box for science victory, and I've never won by science.

bigvic · September 12, 2002, 21:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Keeper of Hell

Sorry, sort of off-topic but I just gotta ask. A *science* victory? Is this just another name for some other type of victory? The manual definitely doesn't mention a science victory, the rules settings for the beginning of the game don't include a box for science victory, and I've never won by science.

`

huh?

you know - spaceship? i've never won that way either - want it bad.

Ninot · September 13, 2002, 00:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Galvatron
In the end such a wandering civ could win the game. Look at this like that: They have no city which can be conquered. If they would stay on their boat the whole game and watch till all the others beat themselves up more or less in the end they could land their little spearman and take over the last weakened civ

lol, while that would be quite hillarious, it is doubtful

the last civ probably wouldnt be that weekened, if it was able to rid the world of pretty much every other civ.

Now, is it possible for the player to pull off a wandering civ scenario for himself?

khawkins98 · September 13, 2002, 10:13

I would assume the AI does this, jsut not 100% sure. If I'm more advanced than two civs say A and B. And I give a bunch of techs to civ A will they turn around and trade all of them (possibly) to civ B?

Arrian · September 13, 2002, 11:52

BigVic,

That's hilarious. It would be even cooler if the Babs had survived more than 10 more turns. It would make for a funny screenshot. Berlin, in Bab red (or blue, depending), with the capitol star on it, surrounded by the shattered wasteland of occupied Germany.

-Arrian

Gastric ReFlux · September 13, 2002, 13:31

Arrghh, I got stuck on a cybergalley of my own, and the respone I had written here disappeared into the ether.

I had wandering Babs and wandering Persians in a game finished last night. The Babs got sent to floating in a galley, though they made a brief reappearance on land when a city held by the Persians flipped back to them, and then one of mine flipped back. Around 20 turns later, the Babs didn't get to sneak away.

So that left Persia in my sights, and occupying a portion of the continent that was rightfully mine. Manifest Destiny, ya know? Xerxes sneaks off in a galley when I wrest his last city from him, and spends the next 350 years making war, making alliances, joining in trade embargos, all from his galley.

Around 1700 I discovered that by sharing a humpload of techs with him, he trades in his Middle Ages outfit for a snazzy Modern ensemble. It also seems his scientists had been setting off bottle rockets on the galley deck, the world finds out something is up with that, and I get to purchase rocketry from Catherine for a greatly reduced price.

bigvic · September 13, 2002, 18:46

yeah i had seen this before, but find it amazing and cool how long these gypsy nations can last. tried to save the berlin babs, but just wasn't worth it lol