[PC] Of Spock and Communism: Civ IV Succession Game

Have the file, and I'll see what I can do about taking the turn later tonight, as I won't have much chance later in the weekend. Also, during the next week, I'm going to be a bit sporadic on checking this, as I'm on work travel, and will have to be taking turns from the hotel after I get back from days on site.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Quick update this round, as I'm a bit pressed for time. First off,

Originally Posted by Nixon in China

The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow

When we look up
The fields are white
The fields are white with harvest in the morning light
And mountain ranges one by one
Rise red beneath our harvest moon
And mountain ranges one by one
Rise red beneath our harvest moon
Rise red beneath our harvest moon
When we look up
Mountain ranges rise beneath beneath the moon and fields are white

The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow
The people are the heroes now behemoth pulls the peasants' plow

We moved into the modern age with the aquisition of Rocketry, which changed our music to some of my favorite tunes.




Then, within a couple turns, we also gained the ability to fly, which was a nice change. Airports began construction.



Shortly thereafter, I began the process of creating the Apollo Program at Missoura, which is amusing due to its original location in 'Bama. This occurred after both a Great Engineer was added to the city, and the Iron Works finished there.

Next up, was yet another tech, with Plastics rolling in, on our way to space parts, which I have queued the chain of.



Overall, not a huge amount happening. I spent a decent amount of my time getting further boats down to the SE corner of our landmass so that we can have a reasonable expeditionary force, and starting moving what troops we had there. I'm building Tanks in several cities to support this effort. If we go for Liz, or really any of the other characters, we don't actually need much amphibious assault, so we can hit one large city in massive force, and then use that city to put out an airport and ferry in further reinforcements.

Looking at our happiness though, I'm not sure we can honestly support war weariness and still create the Apollo Program as well. People are already so close to unhappy that it would be crippling.

Finally, your moment of zen with the world.


How ya doing, buddy?

Hurray for John Adams, then.

I'll see if I can play my turn tomorrow when I get back from work. Hopefully I will be able to, if I'm not dead tired. In any case, the latest I will take them is Tuesday, as I'm off then. I should be able to get them in before then though.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

It looks like Araes forgot to leave a link for the save file. Hope he'll check in before my days of are over!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Damn, forgot the most important piece of information. Here's a link to the save file. AD-2036.Civ4SavedGame. Well timed with a break in work.

How ya doing, buddy?

Thanks for the quick reply Araes! On to my turns then...


With all the unhapiness in our midst, I knew starting out as leader of this civilization that starting a war would be digging the memory of our Civilization's greatness a shallow grave.

Hence, I decided that my rule should be devoted to making sure our people would support our soon to be started war effort.

Hence, prisons, colosseums, grocers and theaters were popular choices as far as production goes. Another means I used to pacify our population was to be once again at the front of the people's decision to revolt against the status quo. To get this done, I made a small trade with our friend Frederick, to whom I made the gift of a tech much more advanced than the one which he provided for us





Soon, news came that proved we were not yet ready for a war effort, even though our production of high power military units was accelerating with every passing day,



And an unfortunate discovery took place on the northwestern tip of our continent.



In other news, a war I hadn't even heard about came to an end,



And a rival has proved that the Space Race will live up to its name.




As I left my position as leader of this great empire, I could feel the tension that grasped our world and was certain that a great change was coming. There would be flames all around soon, yet I feared them not, as we would be the ones to stand long enough to walk over their ashes. War would soon be upon us once again.


(I've built as many happiness buildings as I could, and I started construction of both the Eiffel Tower and Rock'n'Roll. Hopefully, one of the two will finish and give us a good culture/happiness boost. Also, a word of warning: the Kahn has finished the Apollo Project, so we oughta move our asses with our own or we could still lose this thing.)

Here you go Pang: GFF Civilization - AD 2046

Hope your turns bring us one step closer to victory!

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Could you not try to get someone to declare war on Khan to slow down his space programme?

FELIPE NO

I think their problem is they're most buddy-buddy with ol' Kublai. Mutual defense pact and all

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

The first few turns are largely uneventful but before long our launchpad is built and we're ready to begin building our chariot to the stars. Attempts to coax some other nation into harassing the Khan go nowhere, but Frederick - despite his disappointment when we refuse to help him against Greece - is happy to trade us a couple of missing (if nonessential) techs. Even if we'll never use Fascism, collecting it gets us one step closer to Future Tech and the extra health and happiness it brings. A Great Engineer appears with a Great Artist in tow, just in time to bless the start of our great project with the dawn of a Golden Age; we'll need those extra hammers if we want to recoup the lead Kublai Khan's already got on us.

There's a turn of Golden Age left if the next person wants to make any quick civics adjustments. Let's see if we can wrap this up by 2100, hmm?

http://www.saxypunch.com/miscimg/ML2....Civ4SavedGame

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If we concentrate our efforts on building our space travel apparatus, we can still take the game without too much trouble, as the computer players usually won't go ahead and build their parts en masse.

However, if we're still planning on going to war, our production might be a bit too divided, depending on the military strength of our opponent. Hence, I believe it may only make sense to try and encourage others to fight while remaining on the sidelines ourselves, until we can clearly see that one of the other civs is on the verge of falling. Canceling our defensive pact with the Kahn just to start a war of attrition probably wouldn't be the best idea at this point in history.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Generally what I was planning. Since Khan's got a few years on us, I'll probably be having every reasonable city in our empire pump out space parts while staying largely out of any mess that develops unless they directly come after us. Might take the turn today, as I've got a few hours before I have to be on site, otherwise, later tomorrow.

Additional Spam:
Figured better to squeeze in the turn today as not sure when I'd have time later. Starting off, Khan's got 2/5 Casing's and 1/3 Thrusters done. We shouldn't underestimate his en-masse potential for building though, as he finishes them all in the next turn. However, he also had a Golden Age going on that ends shortly thereafter. It should be noted though that we are, and will continue to be, doing better on the techs necessary for winning, as Khan doesn't have many of them beyond Satellites. Elizabeth actually has more (although unwilling to trade)




I don't mess with much during our last turn of Golden Age, as I'm happy with being a communist that allows free speech.

It appears that after a lifetime of being uncultured bar-bars, our people have finally decided its the right moment for culture. Within two turns we get both Rock 'n Roll and the Eiffel Tower and our happy, cultured people hit the streets in celebrations all over the place.




Figuring to keep the pace of all this construction, I also fire up the Space Elevator, to give us that extra edge in construction (and a few more points).



This ends up being timed well with the discovery of Fusion, which gives us a Great Engineer, who can be added to project and makes it imminent during then next player's turn.




A string of other tech achievements follows, with both Ecology and Satellites also being discovered, and good progress made on Refridgeration.




Unfortunately, I also note some minor problems, in that Alexander is creating yet more cities in our NW landmass corner, and our capital is so dirty that its people are starving to death.




By the end of my reign, we are well into production of the spacecraft, with all Casings complete, and every other part except for the Stasis Chamber under construction. Research will be roughly 6 more turns to reach Genetics, and then we can build that as well.



While Khan has completed more parts than us currently, we have far more in progress from a quick scan of his island. I don't believe he has actually teched enough to compete well with us, and we're building in a relatively efficient manner. If it comes down to a race, we'll also have the elevator to help.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Good stuff!

I should be able to take my turn in the next few days, though I'll be needing the save file to do it!



I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Damnit. Every time. They're loaded and on the website every time, and then my mind totally blanks on linking. Save file can be found at AD-2066.Civ4SavedGame

I was speaking idiomatically.

And so, my turns came and went faster than our space machine will once we complete it.

To begin, the old wench came looking for a favor:



I didn't feel I needed to oblige, so I didn't.


Shortly thereafter, she came back with a bit of a better deal.



This lead me to examine the diplomatic situation of the world.



I guess it's a good thing we didn't decide on attacking Montezuma.


Meanwhile, The Kahn came to see me offering the best Pr0n Mongolia had to offer.



Needless to say, I accepted without the slightest hesitation.


Technological advances were few but significant.





And, to top it all off, production has begun on the last piece of the puzzle, weirdly enough in a city that is so dirty that its citizens should be dying by the dozen, but yet is still growing and the most productive in the empire.




Here's the save, Pang. GFF Civ4 Save 2076

On a final note, it seems that Pang is going to seal the deal. Short of canceling production on the space parts and declaring war on every other civ in the game, I don't believe there could be anything to get in our way of winning this thing.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

All is in readiness.



A few minor adjustments to our technology...



A handful of crucial components...





And we are soon prepared to slip the surly bonds of Earth. Frederick, our oldest friend, remains embroiled in one of the little conflicts that seem to form the basis of terrestrial life. It all seems so petty. I turn down his request for aid. Only one project concerns me now. Perhaps my successor will have mercy on the Germans when I am gone. Frederick shoots me a look of contempt as I hang up the vidfone, but I'll never need to worry about his opinions again.



And then it is done. The selection has been complete for weeks, and the candidates already sleep in their cryogenic pods. 3,000 of our greatest scientists, engineers, athletes, artists — the greatest Americans alive today. The government and its functionaries we leave behind us. When we reach our destination, some untouched and beautiful place — these people can choose how to govern themselves. Alpha Centauri has no use for our old bureaucracies. As of launch day, I've abdicated my position as Prime Minister. On this craft, I'm just another old man. Too old, in fact, to survive the cryosleep process. I'll never see our new home. But I will see the stars.

They're beginning the countdown now. Farewell, America. Farewell, Earth.

YouTube Video

October 8, 2114. Ship's time: 10:30 AM. We are now less than a day's travel from the binary star system Alpha Centauri. Scanning for habitable planets.

Success.

Waking captain in 10. 9. 8. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.

Good morning, Colonel Santiago.

YouTube Video

Spoiler:

FELIPE NO

Lol Ethelred the Unready

Well, that took a while, but you finally got the victory! Congratulations!

I was kinda hoping for a domination victory myself

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Nice game guys. Particular thanks to Pang and Rychord for being so dependable with their turns throughout the game, and thanks to the others for the turns you did play through. Honestly, I'm super happy we even pulled out a win. During the middle ages, things were not looking as bright as you could want, and it was fortunate Egypt left themselves a bit open to our aggression. Note the first chart in Pang's spoiler - dead last to first.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Judging by the Pang House's post, I guess we get to start all over on a new planet, seeing that the cryo sleep thing makes it sound like a one-way trip.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Such a planetary restart can be arranged in the near future, although I need to get off the road and stop working stupid hours before that happens. I'm considering shifting over to Warlords and Beyond the Sword if we do this again, as it might provide an interesting change of pace. Also leaving in all the other victory options (except Timeout) just to make us that much more scattered in our strategy.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

I'd be in for this, though I'll need to find some sort of Mac build of the expansions. If anyone has a lead I can work with on this front, It would be greatly appreciated!

A break would be welcome on my end too, as I'm working quite a bit right now and I'm often called in on my days off to help keep the store from being a complete shame as far as organization goes.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What are the main differences with the expansions? I've got them but not got round to playing with them yet. I started a new game the other day although I fear I might have been a little optimistic on what my laptop can handle, opting for a huge map. It takes a good couple of minutes to process each turn, although the whole thing's been a bit shitty lately so that could just be a symptom of a wider problem.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I think the big change in Warlords was greater emphasis towards warfare. And you can have nice vassal states.

I haven't played "Beyond the Sword", but I was told having wonder Corporations was the big attraction. They seem to be kind of similar to Religions, except there's a greater element of strategy in just economics (holy city of religion X gets Y gold for every city X is worshipped) or politics (we are upset that you have fallen under the sway of a heathen religion).

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

The biggest strategic change in Warlords was the addition of Great Generals which are formed out of units that perform well in combat. They give bonuses to troops around them, and you can use them for some specific strategic buildings / wonders. The addition of Vassal States was relatively minimal, as they aren't terribly binding. They also added six civilizations, a few new traits (Charismatic, Protective and Imperialistic), and a smattering of wonders/buildings/units/resources.

For Beyond the Sword, Zerg basically covered the Corporation point, although they take resources in exchange for the societal benefits they give and they need a Great Person to build them. Generally, the motivation for building one is to gain access to a strategic resource you can't get normally (although a few give food / culture)

BtS also added Great Spies, and expanded the espionage game significantly, with spycraft available much earlier. You also have an intelligence slider which provides info about other civs with money.

BtS has random events, kind of SimCity style, which throw a bit of unexpectedness into the game. They're a lot like Alpha Centauri ones if you played that game.

Trade routes across oceans are visible, and can be blocked with blockages, which can provide an interesting use for ocean units later in the game.

Finally, BtS also adds yet more civs, leaders, units, buildings, wonders, techs, although the majority aren't game changers, just offer interesting opportunities for diversity of play.

FELIPE NO

Cool, I might have a game using one of those then.

Did anyone else here ever play any of the Masters of Orion games? I reckon one of those might work as a succession game.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Played the MoO series, although I and II were quite a bit better than III. The crap interface on the third one limited me to playing it for about two games. Loved the second one though, and would be amusing to try playing a succession game for a decade old title. If the goal is just 4X games, then there are some other titles like Galactic Civilizations 2, which are more modern.

Really, the succession idea can be pretty broad. You could even play it with some types of RPGs like Oblivion which are really expansive. You'd just have to tell the story of what you did. Think the only big limits are that there needs to be enough freedom that you can have real choice, and long enough play time that turns are even reasonable.

Also, on game lag, how long do folks want? Rychord, you cited an upswing in recent work. Is that on the scale of days / weeks? For me, I finally stopped traveling, and I shouldn't need to do so for another month or two.

I was thinking of starting another Civ game in maybe a week, say next Monday.

Jam it back in, in the dark.