Civ 5: GMR in the Playground 11: Settlers RULE!

[Illven]

I'm guessing the Rush Production button isn't showing up? That's happened to me a few times; switching production to something else sometimes fixes it, the game is picky about what it lets you spend engineers on. (Can't rush units, can't rush special wonders like the Manhattan Project or World's Fair, and I think it might also take away the option if the building/wonder you're working on is too close to complete, presumably to keep you from wasting it and/or gaming the system by dumping the excess production into something you're not supposed to be able to rush...)

It literally says I can rush units.

[The_Snark]

Oh, does it? I thought you couldn't... I could be wrong about that, I don't think I've ever tried. (I usually like to save Great Engineers for rushing wonders.)

[Illven]

Oh, does it? I thought you couldn't... I could be wrong about that, I don't think I've ever tried. (I usually like to save Great Engineers for rushing wonders.)

Says, units, buildings or wonders.

[Illven]

Spoiler: Sunday spectator update extravaganza

Show

Gee, really?



That's good.



Huh, okay.



For that city state



Protect the worker.



Hold the line.




Crossbowman go!



Great General wait.



So I can rush buildings. Well I need happiness.



Worst in approval. Best in nothing.



Policies.



Mayan intelligence agency.



Palenque.



Tikal



Sir puppet.



Tech tree.



Tourism.



My tourism.



Russian tourism.


So it's past turn 100. My starting position is clear. It blows. There's way too many civilizations for this area, Russia and the Shoshone got all the good spots. I honestly don't actually see a way to victory, and the best I can hope is that the Shoshone are willing to keep me alive.

[Narkis]

Spoiler: Russia

Show

The Great King Alexander of Athens sends his regards. We have travelled far, relatively, seeking new lands. Would you agree to an exchange of embassies? And could you tell us a little about your realm, and the other people of your continent?

[Illven]

Spoiler: Spectator war update

Show

Gee really? I thought they were friends.



Dammit, was kinda hoping it'd be better.



Ah well, at least I'm at 0 happiness



Blast the Pikeman!



*le sigh*



Attack the Pikes!



Hold the line.




Group attack the Pikes!



Victory.



Back into the city.



Hold!



Catapult, watch the city.



Soon you will return.

Spoiler: Dutch

Show

Why are you spying on me?

[Ryuho Tsugu]

Spoiler: Maya

Show

We believe it necessary to have eyes in your capital to warn us if your hostility towards Russia were to expand towards our lands, as well as to appraise us of any technological advancements you might have to that end.

[Illven]

Spoiler: The Dutch

Show

Very well.

To show our good intentions would you be willing to trade a spare lux for a spare lux?

To the spectators

You would have gotten a war update, but I am tired, and a flash plug in crashed when I tried opening tabs to my pictures.

That is all.

[OrcusMcP]

The spectators are content. We will await further information. We are sufficiently entertained.

[Narkis]

Spoiler: Shoshone

Show

The Great King Alexander of Athens sends his regards. We have travelled far, relatively, seeking new lands. Would you agree to an exchange of embassies and excess luxuries? And could you tell us a little about your realm, and the other people of your continent?

Spoiler: Netherlands

Show

The Great King Alexander of Athens sends his regards. We have travelled far seeking new lands. Would you agree to an exchange of embassies and excess luxuries? And could you tell us a little about your realm, and the other people of your continent?

[Ryuho Tsugu]

Spoiler: Maya

Show

Unfortunately, preliminary talks with your merchants reveal that you have no luxuries to offer us and only meager income to use to import from us.

Spoiler: Greece

Show

The merchants of Amsterdam always welcome new trading partners. We have put together a deal we hope you will find amenable.

As far as the lands we inhabit, if your ships head due west from where we spotted them, you will encounter the Maya, who are situated in a central position on our cramped continent. To the south lie the lands of the Shoshone, to the north and east our own, and to the north and west the lands of Russia. Unfortunately, the previously mentioned cramped nature of the land has led to disputes over settlements, and the Russians are at war with the Maya and the Shoshone.

Will you offer us some insight into what we can expect to find overseas?

Spoiler: Spectators

Show

We've made first contact with an overseas nation and they are far more advanced than us, technologically, which only reinforces the concerns we had written about previously. Also, it seems we were wrong about them constructing two Wonders at once—we did not see the Sistine Chapel among their achievements, which means one of the other two civilizations must have constructed it at the same time as the Leaning Tower. This is still worrisome, as it means there's more than one nation to catch up to...

[Illven]

Spoiler: Sunday spectator update extravaganza Now with war

Show

She still does not accept the deal.



Once again, helpful as always.



Yeah, kinda busy.



Oh no.... Oh wait... aren't they mercantile?



Well in anycase the scout watches and waits.



Worker works on the trading post.



Crossbowman waits for an assault.



So does the Pikeman.



My great general waits.



More crossbowman waiting.



Trebuchet based protection.



William hold!



Tech tree. Soon Renaissance.



View of my capital.



View of Tikal.



View of puppet von puppet.



My policies.



No world congress yet.



Worst in Manufactured goods, GNP, Soldiers, and Approval. Best in nothing.



Tourism wars!



Mayan tourism.



Russian tourism.



Mayan intelligence agency.

[Narkis]

Spoiler: Netherlands

Show

Thank you for your warm welcome, and the directions. The deal you proposed was more than acceptable. We hope this is only the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship.

Should you head due east, you will soon discover the northern border of the Greek coast, with nothing but city states and empty land further north. The eastern central part of our continent is occupied by our Celtic friends, while Venice, the city of wonders and home to the Lord of Salt lies directly to their North. Unfortunately the southern passage is completely blocked by ice, and we haven't explored the north enought to determine whether you can actually cross it and meet our neighbours. They are far more easily reached the other way around, with the strait between our continents crossed in a single year by a caravel near the city-state of Wellington. (soon to be the Shoshone city of Wellington, from what we can see)

Our continent has been at peace for centuries, ever since the Celts and ourselves split the warmongering Zulu Empire between us. We are saddened to hear this is not the case for you.

Spoiler: Venice

Show

We regret to inform you that we will not be renewing our current luxury trade deal, as we have secured our own source of Salt. We have offered you an alternate arrangement, but we would be open to any counter-proposal you would find acceptable.

[Illven]

Spoiler: The war update

Show

We know.



That's bad...



Dammit.



Can't really do that right now.



The scout waits for the worker to be done.



Crossbowman hold.



Crossbowman chase after the Pikemen



General wait!



Hold Crossbowman!



Pikemen retreat!



Hold Pikeman.



Hold siege weaponary.



General, return to the fort.

[Illven]

Spoiler: The war update

Show

I know.



Dammit.



The problem.



I kinda need this deal.



Now for Science.



And now the war.



The General inspires his troops.



The Crossbowman waits as well.




The crossbowman attacks the Pikemen.



The Pikeman holds.



The worker moves.



Crossbowman waits.



The siege waits.



And so does the general.

[The_Snark]

Spoiler: Spectators

Show

State of the empire update! It's been too long since I did one of these, especially given that I'm at war. The Mayans have been posting war updates regularly, and I guess I've been slacking on account of that - you get to see one side of the war, that's good enough, right?

No!

When we last left off, the siege of Lhasa had begun, the first step on the long road to retaking Jungle Jamboree.



As you can see, Lhasa has long since fallen. It is now both my forward military base and one of the most valued cities in my empire: three Horse resources, the Russian unique ability, and a Stable add up. At this point, I believe it has the highest production value in my empire, and it's been rebuilding infrastructure and churning out units at a nice clip.



I'm just now starting to move on Palenque. After taking Lhasa, I made a brief foray towards Tikal, but aborted that plan when it became clear that catapults, composite archers and pikemen were just not going to cut it against crossbowmen in a fortified position. My army has been sitting just outside of bombardment range for a while now, denying the Maya access to their northern resources and generally harassing them. We've each lost a couple of units in sallies against the other, but I'm pretty sure I'm winning the battle of attrition - I can produce units a lot faster than they can.

And now that my forces have upgraded to crossbows and trebuchets, it's time to attack. I've just discovered Steel and am working on Gunpowder, so I can afford to be a little cavalier with my pikemen - they're going to be outdated pretty soon.



The Shoshone are still at war with me, but they aren't aiding the Maya directly. Instead they've decided to take one of my city-state allies right on their borders. Reasonable move. I can't really stop them, but I'm not losing much of an investment either - my influence with Wellington has almost decayed to the point where we're no longer allied.

So long, Wellington, and thanks for distracting one of my enemies, I guess.

I'll include more information on the home front next update.

[Magentawolf]

Spoiler: Greece

Show

Venice appreciates the business we have done with you in the past, and we look forward to continuing a profitable relationship in the future despite the current lapse in trade.

[Narkis]

Spoiler: Venice

Show

We understand. We do hope we will be able to resume trade relationships at some point in the future.

Spoiler: Celts

Show

In the past few years our exploration efforts have bore fruit, and we have encountered people of another continent. Unfortunately, we found most of them backwards and quarrelsome, with all but one nation embroiled in a territorial war. We have began making preparations for a World Congress that will hopefuly help them get past their differences. In the spirit of our frienship, what would you like to see proposed?

[Illven]

Spoiler: War update.... Mayan calendar makes me unsure of the year AD.

Show

Why is it giving me the same info twice?



Thank you my people can be happy again.



Yay more happiness.



The city bombards the Siege.



Our brave city defeneders bombard the squad of crossbowman.



Our work squad flees to freedom.



Probably should have waited to move the Pikemen....



Our crossbowman blast their Crossbowman.



Our siege waits.



Our general waits.



The scout and other worker also flee to freedom.



Buff, buff, buff my troops.



And our crossbowman blast the siege engines.



More blasting!

[Narkis]

Spoiler: Maya

Show

The Great King Alexander of Athens sends his regards. We have travelled far seeking new lands and nations. Would you agree to an exchange of embassies and perhaps excess luxuries? And could you tell us a little about your realm, and the other people of your continent? The Dutch traders we encountered told us about your war with Russia, but they were sparse in details.

[Illven]

Spoiler: Maya

Show

The Great King Alexander of Athens sends his regards. We have travelled far seeking new lands and nations. Would you agree to an exchange of embassies and perhaps excess luxuries? And could you tell us a little about your realm, and the other people of your continent? The Dutch traders we encountered told us about your war with Russia, but they were sparse in details.

Spoiler: Greece

Show

Certainly. Although I'm unsure if I have spare luxuries at the moment.

Currently the Mayans and the Shoshone are at war with Russia because they stole both of our territories with a great general.

[Illven]

Spoiler: For spectators

Show

We noticed.



A foreign traveler.




World congress.



Embassy exchange.



Their capital.



Our cities will attack the Russian foes.



Our crossbowman also attack the Russian pikemen.



Workers now have to flee the fight.



So does the scout.



Worker flee. Flee for freedom.



Blast the Pikemen.



General. Wait...



Crossbowman take out the siege.



Pikemen damage the Pikeman.



Pikemen, Heal.



Worker. Wait.



Crossbowman take out that archer.




The siege and the general leave.



For this.

[The_Snark]

Empress Catherine would like to announce that yesterday at sunset, Russian armies under the command of warlord Hernan Cortés stormed the city of Palenque. Enemy general Sun Tzu and his command staff have been put to the sword, but her Imperial Majesty assures the nations of the world that she intends this occupation to be as civilized as possible -- after her own people's losses at Jungle Jamboree, she is sensitive to the plight of a citizenry under siege.

While some Russians feel that the time has come to negotiate, exchanging the Mayan capital for our own lost territory, Cortés has indicated that he intends to push onwards, stating that "we have now an opportunity to end the strife between the Russian and Mayan peoples forever."

Spoiler: Spectators

Show

State of the war update!



Russian forces encircle the city. After bombarding the city, General Cortés orders the assault on the city's walls -- or lack thereof -- to begin.



A turn later, the city falls. The Maya still have a couple of melee units hanging around, so theoretically they could retake it, but in practice... no, I don't think so.



Reinforcements coming up from the south. Jungle Jamboree is still a freshly-conquered puppet, so I doubt it's producing all that much, but I've relocated my spy there to keep tabs on the city and whatever garrison it might have.



The Maya sue for peace -- too little, too late. If they'd offered this ten turns ago, I'd have taken it. Right now, though, I'm pretty sure I stand to gain more by taking everything he has - I've taken his capital, Tikal is lightly defended, and I already have a large army built up. Given a choice between seizing the advantage, and leaving a small but resentful neighbor on my borders... yeah.



Wellington hangs in there! In fact, despite their low health they're in fairly good shape - the AI had the sense to take out their only melee unit in the area, and unless the Shoshone can get another there quickly they're going to lose progress. The city and its garrison are probably tough enough to take out a unit per turn if they focus fire.




And now, as promised, let's take a look at the home front...



The heart of the Russian empire, still truckin' along. Chilling in Party Central is the great Russian musician R. Carlos Nakai, who can't find a venue to play in on account of an embarrassing mistake on my part: I built a Musician's Guild, but don't have any Opera Houses yet, whereas I'm just now starting to build an Artist's Guild to fill up the many slots offered by my Cathedrals. Oops.



~ Under the boardwalk... do-doo, do-do-do-doo... ~



The World Congress has been founded. Just one proposal so far, because Greece hasn't taken their turn yet. Nothing much to report here so far, except that I'm guessing Greece is aiming at a diplomatic victory.



I take advantage of the conference to offer an exchange of embassies with the Celts. Also, fine wines and other luxury goods.




Tourism! I'm aiming for a cultural victory this time around, and now that I've met everybody it's time to step up my game. Influence with the Netherlands and the Maya is already well in progress, but with the Shoshone it's going very slowly -- they have more culture than the Mayans, I guess, and with a war on I can't get boosts from trading or open borders.



Starting on the Aesthetics policy tree. I'm only a few turns away from the policy that reduces the cost of culture buildings, which should be in time to help me finish that Opera House.



Sportball is the most popular religion in the world, bar none. The Shoshone are losing ground to it, despite using missionaries (they snagged Borobodur a while back) and the like to re-convert their cities -- the passive pressure from the Mayans and surrounding city-states is too much. There's a couple of Dutch cities (and a city-state) on the far end of the continent that haven't converted yet, but there's no competition in that region, so it's only a matter of time. Current revenue from tithes and ticket fees: 37 gold.

I'll have to consider whether it's worth trying to spread Sportball to other continents. I think I need to explore and see how entrenched the other religions are before I decide.



My tech tree. Going for Gunpowder may be unnecessary, as I don't really need more of an edge against the Maya and Shoshone, and there are some wonders around this period that I should think about building... eh. We'll see how it goes.



We'll finish up with a shot of post-conquest Palenque, which has weathered the conquest pretty well - my influence with the Maya is high enough that it reduces resistance and population loss when conquering cities. In 6 turns it'll be ready to take its place as a productive city in my empire.

[Illven]

Okay, I don't have the forces to fight you, so I'm just going to surrender now.

No hard feelings.

[Ryuho Tsugu]

Spoiler: Russia

Show

Now that the Mayan civilization has capitulated, would you object to letting us take Tikal?

[Narkis]

On behalf of the Great King Alexander, I would like to extend an invitation for the First World Congress of Athens to delegates from all nations of the world. It is our distinct pleasure to host this event, an event that we hope will provide the opportunity for all warring nations to reconcile their differences and put an end to the bloodshed.

Spoiler: Celts

Show

My condolences for the death of your agent. I got no problem with you spying on me, but I wanted the protection against the good people of the other continent. If you'd asked I'd have removed my agent for a turn, and I could do it in the future if you want. However I am opposed to your proposal in the World Congress, my chief advantage over the aforementioned good people is my tech lead and I'd hate to see it go away.

Spoiler: Venice

Show

The Celts' proposal to the World Congress is contrary to our interests, and we believe to yours as well. If we both vote against we could have it defeated. What do you think?

Spoiler: Netherlands

Show

Greece has grown concerned over your neighbour's aggressive expansion. You should know that should they choose to attack you, you will have our support, material or otherwise.

Spoiler: Shoshone

Show

Greece has grown concerned over your neighbour's aggressive expansion. What would you say are the prospects of peace being declared soon?

Spoiler: Maya

Show

Damn, I was too slow to meet you. Just a turn earlier and I'd have threatened Russia to leave you alone... Anyway, good luck in the rest of your games!

Spoiler: Russia

Show

Greece has grown concerned over your nation's aggressive expansion. May we ask what your intentions are regarding the Maya people and the Shoshone nation?

Spoiler: Spectator Update

Show

Been too long since I made one of those. First, a tour of the Empire:



Science capital of the world. (I'm pretty sure.) It would've had much better prospects if I'd settled by the river, but then I might've been unable to get the Great Library and snowball my tech.



Production capital of the world. (That I know for sure. You'll see why shortly.) A testament to the power of Petra. Just look at these delicious desert hills!



A decent city. Settled mostly to grab the natural wonder and allow me to be the first to get a reformation belief. It served its purpose, but Venice had founded their own religion by then, for some incomprensible reason, and snagged the follower tenet I wanted. +15% production is really strong.



Former Zulu capital. Gave me Gold and more Truffles than I know what to do with. Not much else to say about it.



If Venice had been a proper civilization, this would have been their city. As it is, I was very lucky to be able to grab that spot.



Will become a decent science city eventually. Also gave me a unique luxury.



I screwed up with that one. The Zulu had a city at the exact same spot, and I burnt it by default before I realised just how awesome a city site this is. It's never going to be the city it could have been, but it's still pretty damn good.

Next, stats:



First in everything that matters. No idea why Venice is first in population, they only have two cities compared to my seven. The Celts have the largest army, but we have excellent relations and I'm not really afraid of a sneak attack.



My tech tree. Venice is close behind me, having been #1 for long stretches at a time. I expect them to enter the Industrial era within the next five turns. The rest are far behind, with the Maya, for instance, having entered the Renaissance just before I met them.



The cause for this update. World Congress host! I rushed to Banking to get the Forbidden Palace, and then to Caravels so that I could meet everyone first. It payed off.



I was very surprised at Russia's tourism. Without this I'd have guessed they're gunning for a military victory. Venice I expected to go for culture. Speaking of which:



Report from my spy, right before he was reassigned. Venice had a wonderful starting location, and were able to capitalise on that, and the extra production belief, to grab a bunch of wonders. As for my other neighbour:



Report from my other spy. I'd have allowed them to grab a tech had they asked. I'm mostly worried with my tech lead over Russia, and to a lesser extend the Netherlands and Venice. Bonus score list on the right.

Strategic analysis: I'm in an excellent position to win this game. My first choice would have been a diplomatic victory, but I don't think I can pull this off with Venice buying city-states out from under me. My second choice is science, and I've got both the tech lead and the production to accomplish this. My biggest worry is that everyone else will unite to take me down, and the fact that I'm so far ahead makes it decently likely that they'll do so.

Diplomatic analysis:
Venice cannot threaten me military, but they can single-handedly stop me from getting elected world leader. They are a favourite to win by culture if they can stop me from winning by other means.
Russia is the other favorite, based on their score, their tourism, and their stunt with the Maya. I only don't know what they've chosen to pursue primarily, military or culture.
The Netherlands can't win by themselves, I think. But they do have the capacity to play kingmaker, and I very much hope to pull them in my camp.
The Celts likewise have no chance of winning. We have been friends for a long time, and I really hope this doesn't change in the future. They have the world's largest army, after all.
The Shoshone are a complete unknown. I saw them having surrounded a city-state that was at less than half health, and somehow have failed to capture it still. They also didn't even answer my first message. They may be on the verge of getting conquered by Russia, for all I know.

That's all folks. Hope you enjoyed it. It's gonna be a while before the next one.

[Illven]

Spoiler: To Greece.

Show

Oh well. With your lands, I wouldn't have been able to win anyway.

[The_Snark]

Spoiler: Netherlands

Show

To be frank, we had planned to take Tikal along with the rest of the Mayan empire, but we're open to negotiation on that front. Do you have a force nearby that could take the city, or are you requesting our aid?

Spoiler: Greece

Show

We understand your concerns, as you are new to this region and not privy to the history between our peoples. To clarify: this is not aggression. The Maya and Shoshone people declared war on us, not the other way around, and seized one of our distant settlements. We attempted to regain our city through diplomatic means, but they demanded too high a price, and so we found ourselves with no other recourse but to launch our own invasion.

At this stage we intend to assimilate the Mayan empire into our own. They have proven aggressive and unwilling to negotiate, and their lands lie almost directly between our heartland and our lost colony of Jungle Jamboree; it is the only way to be sure such things will not happen again.

The Shoshone have aided and abetted the Maya, but they hold none of our cities and their location is less problematic. We would have made peace with them long ago, but they refused, stating a desire for solidarity with the Maya. We applaud their loyalty, however misguided, and hope to make peace once Jungle Jamboree is ours once again.

In summary: Russia is an expanding nation, yes. But it is our strict policy never to be the aggressor; observe our peaceful coexistence with the Dutch, whose cities lie intermingled with our own. As long as you don't attack us, you have nothing to fear. If you feel threatened by the prospect of peaceful expansion... well, it is the Empress's firm belief that unclaimed territory belongs to whoever settles it. That said, we have no plans to send settlers overseas at this time, and the world is a large place. We're not looking for conflict - if you'd like us to stay away from a certain location, let us know.

[Ryuho Tsugu]

Spoiler: Russia

Show

We would be using our own forces, but they are still in training. If you already have plans for the city, though, we will not press the issue.

[Kesnit]

Spoiler: Greece

Show

The loss of my agent is sad, but that is how international politics works. Although I was sure I had the agent in Venice, and was rather surprised to see he was killed in Greece.

I suspected you would not be pleased by my proposal. I assure you, I did not make the proposal to "get back at you" for anything. (There would be no reason for me to do that, as we have been friends for so long.) However, when I reviewed the options, that was the one that made the most sense for me.