CBG: "Worst starting position EVER"

[Ray K]

CBG : Comic Book Guy


I started a game on Regent, randomized tiny map, with the express intent of playing with whatever hand I was dealt.

Here's what I got: a 3-square island (plains & 2 forests) with no special resources except for a fish square. Not only that, there is no other land in range of galleons. It's 1400 AD and I have yet to encounter another civ!

Obviously, I cannot win the game so my goal is simply to survive until 2050. I've built the Colossus (and named my capital 'Rhodes') and have amassed over 3000 culture points so far. Since I can't realistically keep up in tech, I made a beeline for Astronomy and am about 2/3 rds of the way through with Copernicus' Observatory. I figure that will be the last wonder I can build before I fall too far behind.

Kind of a boring game since I prefer conquest, but I have become reacquainted with the idea of micromanaging a city! Right now, my size-10 city is the #1 ranked city on the map.

I think I can stave off the eventual invasion by building fortresses in my other two squares and putting in hoplites. That way, the other civs won't have a square to land on to launch an invasion.

[nato]

Wow this is hilarious. When your empire is reffered to as "my other two squares" it is one tough day.

[mactbone]

What's even worse about this is that ocean squares are inadequate until harbor and then you still don't get production. You have to wait until youhave the oil refinery thig oget production on the sae.

[Ray K]

Originally posted by MacTBone
What's even worse about this is that ocean squares are inadequate until harbor and then you still don't get production. You have to wait until youhave the oil refinery thig oget production on the sae.

Oil? What's that?

My citizens think the world is just a small, flat plate floating in an endless ocean and they are the center of the universe. I'm thankful that I've got two forests just for the production.

I have no special or strategic resources. I guess I could get rubber in one of the forests eventually. Fortunately, riflemen will not require saltpeter so they will eventually replace the hoplites.

[DaBear]

While not quite as bad as that. Three grass squares, one mountain and then desert four a minimum 4 squares all around. No river or lake. Past the desert was 4 different warlike civs. Two of which quick pummeled me.
Huge world, Deity, Dry, 16 Civs.
Deity level probubly will not make that much of a check to find you a viable start point.

[pchang]

Build every cultural improvement you can as fast as you can and wait. Who knows? If you amass 20,000 cultural points before 2050, you might just win anyway.

[The Flouridater]

How about walking around to find a better place to build your city and then having your settler run into a barbarian on the third turn? That was a quick loss for me!

[Oncle Boris]

LOL!

This is hilarious!

[adaMada]

hillarious!

keep posting .

-- adaMada

[zapperio]

Originally posted by Ray K


Oil? What's that?

My citizens think the world is just a small, flat plate floating in an endless ocean and they are the center of the universe. I'm thankful that I've got two forests just for the production.

I have no special or strategic resources. I guess I could get rubber in one of the forests eventually. Fortunately, riflemen will not require saltpeter so they will eventually replace the hoplites.

ROFL!!!

You're pulling our collective leg again Ray K, but boy is it funny!
I'd love a screenshot if you could 'doctor' one for us.

Zap

[Ray K]

Originally posted by zapperio


ROFL!!!

You're pulling our collective leg again Ray K, but boy is it funny!
I'd love a screenshot if you could 'doctor' one for us.

Zap

Actually, this a completely true story. I have been playing the game on a lark just to see where it will go.

I've also been taking notes of important "dates". I finished Copernicus' Observatory in 1630. At six shields/turn, no leaders, no rush-building, you do the math. I was sweating out the last few turns when other Civs completed Sun Tzu's and Leonardo's.

In 1764, I finally learned Magnetism, built a Galleon and made first contact (with the Romans). It turns out that my anal-retentive micromanagement and timing have allowed me to keep pace scientifically, and I soon found that the rest of the world was in awe of my knowledge of Banking.

Being good bankers (the best in the world, apparently) my citizens put their financial skills to immediate use, teaching everyone the deep mysteries of compounding interest and amortization in exchange for maps, knowledge, cash, and installment payments. A lot of good banking will do them with no money!

Now that I can see the map, it's definitely a 60% archipelago, and the biggest civ has only 4 cities (I'm playing against 15 opponents on a tiny map). This bodes well for me.

However, Industrialization is looming large and Kiev has two iron mines. And everyone knows that you can't build a factory without iron. I will be rush-building longbowmen with all of my newfound revenue and paying a visit to my dear friend Catherine. If she thinks I annoy her now, just wait.

If I do somehow pull off a conquest victory in this game, it may end up being the most memorable Civ game I've ever played. Thank goodness for larks.

I also noticed that at least one AI civ was stuck on a tiny island like me: the Egyptians. Unlike me, however, they are still living in the Ancient era and were begging me to explain the concept of Currency.

[EricWright]

Last night, I started a game on the huge Earth map around the location of the real New York. Built capital on first turn, moved worker out to north to build mine. Turn 3, barbarian killed worker. Turn 4, ransacked the city. I quit.

[zapperio]

Originally posted by Ray K


Actually, this a completely true story.

Please continue...what happened then?

Zap

[hoyatables]

With only two forest squares, you could infinitely cut down and replant those forests - not liek you have an empire of cities to worry about.

That's pretty interesting - it would actually be nice to run a smaller empire for once, and I might just try my hand at an archipelago-type game. I really love the thrill of being the first one across the seas to discover new continents. Rolling back the darkness and all that.

I've had some bad starting positions, but never one as bad as a three square island! Just think, until Amphibious warfare is discovered, you can be totally secure with troops on each square - never mind the fortress - they need ground troops to kill them!

[Osprey]

Forgive me Ray, but when I read your post I laughed my ass off!
I would like to play some poker with you some time, hehe.
Actually, I have my own strategy that I use for situations like that. This is the first time I've talked about it in any forum, so it's my copyright (LOL). I call it getting a case of the ARSE! It's the "Automatic Re-Start Event". Open up the main menu screen, hit the quit game button (DO NOT HIT 'SAVE'), select new game. Works everytime for me, right up until I get another case of the ARSE!

Please feel free to use this acronym. I'd like to see if it catches on.


The Osprey

[Whtemg]

My worst start put me in the largest tundra I have ever seen in a Civ game. By the time I found the edge, three other civs had sealed me in quite handily. Old man winter came for a visit, and we ran out of firewood.

--Whtemg

[Ray K]

Originally posted by zapperio


Please continue...what happened then?

Zap

I loaded up my Rifleman and 3 longbowmen and planted outside of Kiev. Then I brought over 3 more longbowmen and invaded. One reason I waited was to see if any Russian troops would kill themselves again my fortified rifleman (I hear that the English fear him). No luck there.

Anyway, two turns before the attack, a Russian galley appeared outside my unguarded island city (we were officially at war because of my trespassing). I conscripted a riflemen in the nick of time, right when a swordsman landed on my shores.

I attacked and conquered Kiev, securing the iron that no one would trade me. hey, I tried that first. Then I sued for peace to keep my island unpillage and it worked. With a large force of longbowmen next to her cities, Catherine emptied the vault for me. I built a factory and now my home city produces 9 shields per turn. I'm not going to cut & build the forests because I consider it an exploit.

That's where I'm at now. The Russian continent (3 cities total) is first, and the others should fall in line when I flex my technological muscles.

I thought I had no chance to win this game, but now I think I do.

[Skanky Burns]

LOL Good luck Ray

My first game had me start in hills. My best production square was a jungle, with dyes (+1 commerce)... By the time i got to pop 3 in my capital, the other civs had 4 or 5 cities, and had boxed me in my little hills area.
Considering this was supposed to be the game where i learnt all the concepts of how to play, this constituted an ARSE

The next game i had a much better start, and eventually won
(Regent level)

[Ahlyis]

It's an interesting story, but I think you are full of it!

What I'd like to know is how you got 16 Civs into a Tiny map. The game doesn't even list 15 opponent slots when you choose Tiny. It only gives you 3 slots for AI Civs. So how did you manage to get 15?

[Nyl]

You can put 16 civs on a tiny map by editing "World Sizes" in the editor.

-Jamie

[kittenOFchaos]

A completely true story: then you won't mind posting screenies or better still you latest save file.

Screenies and sav files...rarely lie

[Ray K]

Originally posted by kittenOFchaos
A completely true story: then you won't mind posting screenies or better still you latest save file.

Screenies and sav files...rarely lie

Well, the save files are about 800K, and the "pre-contact" screenshots are kind of boring.

I've taken out the 3-city island of the Russians, but now I need some coal...

[The Rook]

Well, my last game, I had just the opposite. I had one of my better starting locations. I started in the middle of a horseshoe shaped continent with plenty of resources, and at one point, the continent shrinks to a single square with a mountain on it. It's a perfect place to defend from. On the other side of that I ran into the Egyptians. I quickly built a city on my side of the mountain, and began planning out my borders.
On the other side of the horseshoe, I ran into the Greeks who were busily sending in settlers out taking up all the hot spots. I quickly started a race to beat them to all the good resources I had discovered. I was doing well. my borders were defined, but inside my civilization was hollow.
The Egyptians were the first to attempt to settle my inland areas. I couldn't build settlers fast enough to beat them AND solidify my Greek border. I told them to remove their troops, and of course they declared war. No problem though, they would have to get past my mountian stronghold. Many an Egyptian soldier died on that rock, but then they got smart. Amphibious assaults brought chariots around my mountain and started capturing my workers behind the lines and pillaging my roads. In the meantime, the Greeks were crossing my borders with settlers. I told them to get lost too, and now find myself in a war on two fronts. I held back the Egyptians, but the Greeks had too much going for them. Soon my cities were falling, and as they circled my capital, I had no choice but to retire.
I did get my revenge though in the next game. Very early, I ran into both of my "friends" the Greeks, and they Egyptians. I didn't even give them a chance. I immediately sent in waves of archers and captured both Athens and Thebes. The Greeks escaped to the North and now have a nice small country. I still plan to deal with them some more though. The ppor Egyptians escaped too, but they now have 2 small cities in the artic wastes of the North. Too bad the computer doesnt have the option to retire.

[WarKing]

I used to run into the ARSE situation all the time, then I figured out that it's okay to start with no resources...right must have been hitting the crack pretty hard...

But seriously, all you need is a river and some shielded grasslands, and if you have and food enhancing resources, you'll really dominate.

I'm playing a game like this right now. Nearest iron was about 15 turns from my capital. Nearest luxuries (ivory and silk) were almost 30 turns away! My strategy is to expand like there's no tomorrow. I'm playing the Egyptians, so I also engage in culture war quite frequently. Amazingly, I'm the number one player, I've secured my iron, used culture to capture one city, and using it now to close out another civ, and try to get a couple of their cities too. No luxuries yet, and my core cities, which after a while started on the wonders (I've built all available so far and I lead in tech), have started to go into disorder...and anything over size five now has at least one entertainer...Lack of Luxuries is really holding me back!

My plan is to expand until corruption makes my cities useless. Fillin remaining lands on the interior, then take out the English-Just because they're so annoying. I am still about ten turns out from the nearest luxury-barbarians and rival civs are tying me up at the moment. That city won't be able to produce squat because it'll be so far from my capital, but with rodes it'll keep my people happy...I love how no one trades resources by the way...

I've only had one game where I had iron and at least one luxury within 10 turns of my capital. This seams to be a common theme.

I can't wait for the patch, then again, it's all strategy...nice challenge sometimes, but very annoying.

[Elowan]

Ray --

At least you don't have corruption to deal with.