Lead, follow, or get out of the way. - Thomas Paine
There'll be a lot of explanations in this part.
4000 BC: The "German" civilization begins with a settler and a warrior.
A humble start, to be sure, but it's a start. I have some very nice resources; cow and deer for food, silver to increase happiness, some stone, and ivory once my borders expand. A worthy place to begin my empire. I settle my first city, "Berlin."
My warrior moves to garrison it.
Unlike previous Civ games, only one unit can occupy a space at a time. Same for cities; you cannot create a huge garrison like you could in previous games. Only one unit allowed on a city. A worker or settler can also share the space of an offensive unit in a city. To make up for the loss of large garrisons, cities now have an innate health that takes a while to whittle down and can shoot enemies from afar.
I start to make another warrior, which will take ten turns. This one will explore the island and deal with barbarians. I research pottery, which takes ten turns.
Each city can make one thing, either a unit or a building. All of these things take a certain amount of turns. There's also an extensive tech tree in this game; you can only research one tech at a time. They take time too.
I wait for my warrior to finish.
3640 BC: My warrior is finished. I send him to explore the south. I have Berlin make a monument in my name. This will remind the few who are still arguing that I am touched by the gods. It will increase our culture. I start researching Writing.
I'm performing a common tactic in this game called a "Great Library rush." For this trick, you research writing as fast as you can so you can create the Great Library wonder. It increases science exponentially and lets you research a free tech. It's a great boost early on.
3520 BC: My warrior explorer finds a ruin, which contains artifacts of a lost civilization.
The plates and vases we find amaze my people, and reinforce their confidence in me. Wise men write great stories of my holy lineage, increasing our culture.
3480 BC: I have accumulated enough culture for my wise men to advance my civilization in a new direction.
Culture, which you get from cities and buildings, is collected into a pool. Once you reach the pool's limit, you can research a Social Policy. They give benefits to your civilization. Each branch contains six Social Policies; one to unlock the branch, the other have to get the real Social Policies. Each time you exceed the pool's limit the threshold is increased. Branches are unlocked in each era; right now we only have Tradition, Liberty, and Honor.
I have my wise men start researching Liberty. If I simply trust my people to always and unflinchingly believe in my ability, human nature will ensure their revolt. Gundislavus' words will fade and disappear from memory in time. My government perhaps should be made to accommodate differing opinions, and allow people to voice their grievances with our government without having to completely overturn it. Yes, that seems the wisest course.
3440 BC: My warriors find a barbarian camp.
No, I don't know about all the white squares. They show up in almost all of my screenshots. I'll try to fix it next update.
For now, we will have patience and leave them.
3320 BC: My wise men are quick to work out a possible reform to accommodate to my fledgling ideas. I tell them to work on incorporating collective rule.
This will mean every man in my civilization can vote on which way to advance our interests. A bit crude, maybe, but a change which will lead to more worthwhile advances. Because of our advancement, some men and women of the tribe offer to head south and create a new city. Remembering the warrior posted there, my men approve the idea. A new settler unit is created, and they head south. Also, the creation speed of settler units is increased.
3280 BC: My warrior posted south is summoned by a civilization called the "Aztecs" to meet their leader, Montezuma.
According to the warrior, he was extravagant, strutting on top of a magnificent temple lit in the dark by flames. My warrior also reports that Aztecs regularly perform ritual sacrifices. I have a feeling we will not get along, especially if our borders are close.
Shit. Montezuma is aggressive and warlike. If our empires are close, it's pretty much guaranteed that we will go to war at some point. Well, at least this LP will be exciting.
3240 BC: We have discovered writing. I have us work on animal husbandry, which will allow us to get food from the animals around us. Since we have finished our studies of writing, the vote to create a "Great Library" to house the works of our wise men passes, and construction begins. In other news, our settler has gotten to a good position south of Berlin, and we settle the city of Hamburg.
It is removed from Berlin, but it's access to fish and cows will be helpful. I have them work on a warrior; I don't trust Montezuma in the slightest, and I will need someone to guard the border. My warrior positioned in the south garrisons Hamburg.
3200 BC: Apparently Montezuma is not happy with our settling of Hamburg. He sends a messenger directly to us who says surprisingly politely to stay away from their territory.
I will not be daunted by those who's gods demand regular sacrifices. "We'll settle what lands we please," I growl. The messenger shakes his head. "This is a disappointment," he says, and leaves for Aztec lands. This Montezuma bears close watching. Very close watching.
3040 BC: Another ruler, Darius I of the Persians, contacts me today.
He is certainly more pleasant than Montezuma, but he must still be watched out for. Words are vipers in the right hands,
Darius is a leader who usually doesn't backstab you, but if he does, you'll be in for a lot of hurting. Not as dangerous as Montezuma, but bears watching.
My wise men work on mining.
2840 BC: The wise men have prepared another advancement.
I tell them to go for Citizenship. This will reward the natives of my country, and help keep them content. The advancement means some men volunteer to be workers. They pass the vote. I send them to create a pasture for nearby Berlin cows, which will increase our food output from them. I can create workers quicker now.
So. 1000 years have passed. In that time I have created a new government with the help of my wise men which does not discourage but accommodates differing opinion, I settled two cities, met a probably foe and a possible foe, and created a great library which will house the works of my wise men so they will last throughout the ages. But this is only the beginning of the fledgling German civilization.
Hope you enjoyed it! More to come soon.
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