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Update 0: King Frederick and the Fellowship of the Horsemen




As promised!



And for extra fun, fallen enemies will be restarted as new civilizations!



We start with just 2 extra techs, which is neat.


And there we go! We arrived on planet Andala and start in a nice, grassy valley, with hills to the east and a stream to the north. Very good starting location indeed. We found Berlin immediately.



Turns out the sea/lake coast was just over the forest. Oh well, we can always create a port city later.



Just as our Warrior-scout found 25 gold in a village, Berlin began working on Pyramids. I just love that Wonder in Civ2, it's so simple yet so useful.

Oh no!


He stumbled upon a 'horde' of barbarians!
PS: He barely survived the combat.



We got a Horseman friend from next village! He will take over scout duties as our Warrior will return to Berlin.


More barbarian hordes it seems.


More horseman friends!



Berlin finishes Pyramids, just as one of Horsemen discovers scrolls containing secrets of Currency.

It's time for our capital to spawn a Settler or two.



Yay for Mysticism scrolls! Also, our Fellowship of Horsemen grew to 3rd unit, yaaay.

Next turn we lose one Horseman to a proper horde of other Horsemen, just as Map Making scrolls are discovered.


That's... that's way too far. I will have the settlement disband into Settlers and make a new city somewhere *much* closer to Berlin.



The Russians!



Emperor Lenin is okay with sharing techs. And we became allies, too!



O:
Lenin, I <3 u

Leipzig has been de-settled and the nomadic peoples are going north.

What does the bright future has in store for us!?



Apparently not peace and friendship for everyone.

~~Enemies Turn!~~

Fer successfully aggro'd the bandits! In the meanwhile Beryn got range-shanked once again.

Hit: 121+15-15-2-27 = 92
Hit roll: 37, hit!
Damage: 19-1-16 = 2dmg

Thief D strikes once more!
Hit: 121+15-15-2-27 = 92
Hit roll: 31, hit!
Damage: 19-1-16 = 2dmg

And so was Jesseo, but this didn't got that well.

Hit: 121-5-56 = 60
Hit roll: 3, hit!
Damage: 19-14 = 5dmg

Jesseo counterattacks!
Hit: 116+2-55 = 63
Hit roll: 57, hit!
Damage: 12-6 = 6dmg

//Dingdingdingding!

~~Allies Turn!~~

Ethan and Margaret continued the walk.

Update 12: The Flight to Alpha China-tauri!



While we're a scientific powerhouse, our production is a bit lacking. Some cities therefore were tasked with creation of Freights to speed this up.



2nd Spaceship part unlocked!


Oh so that's why I can't get some things to pop-up, ha ha. We don't even know how atoms work. Silly us. We gotta fix that.


One of our mandarins pointed out that Texcoco being the only Aztec port means it's from where the transports are being sent. A task force of our Submarines was sent to blockade that port.



My thr- I mean, my presidential office looks so nice nowadays~!



I've got that one mandarin a new set of concubines. He was right! This transport was sunk, albeit it didn't carry any units.
In the same turn we finished Nuclear Power research, by the way.

Few turns later Apollo Program is finished! The astronauts bring us photo of the Earth!


No wonder the Aztecs are sneaking transports! They do have a port of Cempoala!


Vikins and Greeks continue to be as backwaterish as possible.

No matter. We're on our way to research The Laser, and then Superconductor which will allow us to construct Spaceship Modules, the 3rd and final Spaceship piece.

Wait a moment...



...Don Quixote! HE LIVES!! (maybe I just didn't notice his survival, the map auto-centers from event to event?).



Truly, there's nothing our scientists cannot do (it gives 1 happy citizen in every city).

Oh by the way, I didn't show the modded unit that comes with Rocketry:




Yeah it's just a intermediary between the vanilla Fighter and Stealth Fighter units.




Alongside the Laser comes second-to-last of modded units, ICBM; it's a Nuclear Missile with extra 10 fuel slapped on it. I just counted and any ICBM launched from Kyoto could reach half of Aztec cities.

I'm tempted just a little tiny bit.
PS: I just witnessed Don Quixote take on a fortified Cannon. That man's a beast.




The first piece of the spaceship; the blueprint of the last item.



With these settings, we will crank these spaceship parts like there's no tomorrow.

...

. . .

.   .   .




CSS Wu Zetian...




...it's X year mission...

...shall soon begin.

But you know what? I had finished Manhattan Project.


I couldn't resist.


Nyeheheheheheheheheh.



We then develop Fusion Power. For sake of completeness, take a look at Deathbot:




It soaks up damage like a sponge and one-hits pretty much everything. A couple of veteran Howitzers, however, and ample amount of Cruise Missiles can bring a Deathbot down. And of course, a nuke can easily wipe them as well. They also cost more than ancient-era Wonders!

It's irrelevant now: because CSS Wu Zetian is declared complete.



And it leaves our tiny planet, our birthplace, the Earth, behind. Fast forward to 1848AD...



Just a year before the arrival of CSS Wu Zetian at Alpha Centauri, I got just one last throne room upgrade. I decided to go with some potted greenery.



We did it! Our people have reached Alpha Centauri!!





And have these final score graphs and whatnots.

...

. . .

.   .   .

~FIN?~

Eh sure, next playthrough +2 difficulty and +1 barbarian setting. Might as well taste the challenge ;v

Update 11: The Chinese Scientific Behemoth (and the Sad Tale of Don Quixote the Barbarian)

The very next turn, our wise men discover the principles of Theology; it allows for construction of yet another wonder, J.S.Bach's Cathedral, which make 2 unhappy people on your continent content.



We also have a little peasant uprising on our hands, but nothing our riflemen can't handle.



The shields-poor cities like Macao or the ones on Japan archipelago will soon get a tremendous boost in their production output.



We are ahead of everyone else. If we get Mass Production soon, then coupled with Miniaturization they will allow creation of Computers, and with them SETI Project, which will boost our total science output by 25%.



The Chinese people can now claim to be enlightened both scientifically and spiritually.



You can see how important Mass Production is; it unlocks so many technologies! It also allows construction of Mass Transit, which is the only way to curb pollution you get from huge cities.



First airplanes can be constructed. Next is Radio, then Advanced Flight, then Rocketry... and then Space Flight (we will still need Plastics and Superconductor for 2 out of 3 required Spaceship parts).



Huuuh?? And how did these get here? I have 4 Submarines on sentry mode eastwards from Japan.



SAY WHAT. Are they out of their mind??
We killed the 'invading' Musketeers. I need more submarines.
PS: Later I noticed that they go all the way from below, pass Indonesia and then sail up the coast, sneaky bastards.



Also lately we have been getting an awful lot of pollution, even with Hoover's Dam and Mass Transits some cities continue to get some pollution counters. I wonder if we should get Recycling tech.


OUR SUBMARINE NETWORK NEEDS TO BE LARGER! A transport slipped past it.
We gonna blanket the entire Pacific with subs if need be. At least one other sub struck down a barbarian galleon, sinking it and 4 other units it was carrying.
PS: By the end of this update, our Submarine fleet was enlarged to 14



Ahahahaha!



AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

China will very soon be into fusion reactor-powered deathbots.

And now for something totally different:



See this little barbarian knight? He tanked 2 Elephants, a Crusader, and next turn he went out to kill a stack of 3 Cannons. Mad respect for the Don Quixote there!
PS: He miraculously survived an attack by a sneaky Cannon!
PPS: Few turns later though he died to acute case of Musketeers. RIP Don Quixote, the Chinese people will forever remember you in epic tales of badassery.



It's time for a Cosmodrome to be built in Beijing, don't you think?

"Understood. Remember that those protecting the Emperor will not listen to reason like regular soldiers from the lower floor. There's only one way you can get to the throne room. Julius, Fyra, good luck." And so the General and hired mages remained on guard whilst all others climbed through the staircases and wide galleries...



A heavily armored man arrived in the chamber, approaching a distiguished mage that was setting up some weird magicks.

"Magister Roy, I am here, what is the situation?"

"I have been in contact with Commander Aserbaena... from what she spies upon our foes, they have just murdered Bishop Roshard and that Manna Divola. Here, Rouen, take this... and this, and that one too." Magister began adorning the imperial bodyguard in ton of jewellery.

"Magister, not that I complain, but this is an impressive amount of magical jewellery you have prepared..."

"Yes, but that is a necessity at the moment. It seems that our rebels fight as a close-knit group bound less by goals and more by... friendship. As weird as it might sound, it seem that Palatial Garrison is no match for them."

"And you think we can overcome them by sufficiently empowering ourselves with magical items?"

"Perhaps... I hope so. Just in case, I also brought a supply of these along with my finest staffmeisters." Magister waved his hand toward middle-aged men, all preparing blood-red staves for use.

"Nine of them? Isn't that a little bit excessive-"

_{"Excuse me."} A non-descript man in unimpressive robe approached the two.

"I do not remember giving an authorization to deploy that many ailment staves at once. As the head of the Dragon Cult, I must protest this blatant breach of established protocol."

"Apologies, Archbishop, but these are times of emergency. I will fill out the proper paperwork later. May we have these blessed by the Dragon?" The stoic man let out a sigh.

"May the Dragon's fury infused into these ailment staves wreck havoc and bring downfall of our enemies."

"Thank you- ah."

"What is it, Magister?"

"T-the magical link I had established between me and Commander Aserbaena has broken. I'm afraid she might've been killed. The rebels are on their way here!"

"Curses! It's time for me to go and prepare our brave stand against them. Good luck to you."

"And to you. May the rebels cover in fear at your might!" The purple-haired guard nodded to both Magister and the Archbishop, and then left.

"...so, Archbishop. How is he?"

"The emperor? I'm afraid that there is nothing more I can do. That ill growth began to overtake his organs. He is dying. The only medicine I give him now is basically painkillers so at least he can be at peace for a brief while... if he somehow survives today, he will be dead before next month."

"First the death of his heir, then the illness, and now the civil war and this rebel raid... I fear that a dark age is coming to our Empire."

_{"Archbishop..."} A weak grunt came from behind the two.

"I'm coming, your Majesty."


Commander and Fyra ran up another set of stairs.

"Once we clear this corner, we will be at the top floor, and there- ah!"

"Palatial guard - AIM!!"


Objectives:
Reach the throne room. You have (20-0) 20 Turns to accomplish this.
Hint: As mentioned by the General, no enemies on this map can be persuaded to surrender.

Enemies stats here!

Update 10: Aztec Goodwill&Knife

As noted by one of ministers of the Chinese court, it might be that Aztecs have powerful empire spanning two continents. A Balloon was rushed in the city of Kyoto with the goal of exploration of Aztec inlands.

Especially that two turns later Aztec Ironclad (unsuccessfully) bombarded Tientsin!

Five turns later they land near Tientsin!


Hello there, enigmatic raiders from the east.



Sure! If that stops you from bombarding Tientsin so often.



Ooooh. This is a tempting offer... Democracy is beefed up Republic, the Senate might be more inclined to warfare, plus the boost of luxuries, trade and science is even higher than republic; plus there's just tiny amount of Corruption and Waste compared to Republic.

The Queen accepted and told the mandarins to leave their wine cellars.



That renders our Balloon expedition obsolete!



And thanks to President Wu Zetian, we are now back on the track of science train! Let's see Aztec map-


Oh damn, they sure did expand a bit on that private continent of theirs. I mean they're just behind us in terms of improvements, but their empire is smaller. They did a lot of sea traveling as you can see by the explored minimap in upper right corner.

They will be either our (distant) neighbours or competitors in the race for space.

We will see sometime in the future I gu-



D:<

Honestly?? I mean all they did was lose buncha Catapults and Frigates against Tientsin (what's with them converging on it anyways?), but still, this is aggravating! At least Vikings and Greeks are perpetually against us, not stabbing us in the back the moment we sign peace!

Bah!



Fortunately they do not bother us again and in meanwhile we research Electronics. This improves the effect of Colliseums but also gives us designs for Hoover Dam; it provides Hydro Plant in every city we own; it's the cleanest form of Factory upgrade short of Solar Plant.
PS: Next turn we finish Newton's College in Nanking.



Alas, with all our industrialization and huge population, the cities began to produce Pollution. To those unfamiliar, Pollution lowers Trade and Food output of a tile. Also, sufficient amount of Pollution can escalate the global warming, leading to potentially disasterous consequences. At this moment our technology has nothing that can diminish this; we can only put Hoover Dam online to minimize the pollution creation a bit.



Speaking of which, we got it up! Clean, reliable Hydro power now boosts every Chinese city (with Factory) with +50% Shields production!



And we develop Conscription; our Musketeers now got boosts in attack and defence, making them doorstoppers for anything that is not a Cannon or Cavalry.

...

Many turns pass and it's now 1720AD. Nothing exciting happens. No Aztec landings, no Viking crusades, and only Greeks keep us company by sending Catapults and Crusaders at us.


So here, have a map of Great China in that year. I had to un-zoom quite a bit (it stops rendering tile improvements at this level) to fit every Chinese city in. From Karachi in Persia to Kaifeng at edges of Siberia, Chinese culture flourishes.