[SPOILERS] PBEM 8 - Shoot the Moon's Thread

[T-hawk]

Do any lurkers know the formula for having research visibility? I found a espionage cost guide on CFC, but it only explained costs for missions, which obviously doesn't help here.

Your EP > (their EP + 100) * 0.75.

Factoring that gives that you need 3/4 of their EPs plus 75. The lowest number for mutual research visibility in both directions is 300.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.p...stcount=33

[Shoot the Moon]

So that means Maya needs 140 EP into me to have my research visibility (I have 87 on him). He is only at 127, so I should generally be safe.

I think T-Hawk is the clear favorite for the "Most Helpful Lurker" Award at this point.

[novice]

I think T-Hawk is the clear favorite for the "Most Helpful Lurker" Award at this point.

Yup. Omniscient and Omnipresent!

[Shoot the Moon]

Pretty quiet set of turns. Have been trading some Triremes with the Incans (he'll suicide one to injure my c1 trireme and then mop up with another). I've been healing up my HA's in the west and will probably attack somewhat soon. However, I've had to shift some back over toward the east, as Byz has moved a nice large stack next to my border. I think it is just to protect four workers he has (probably to mine a tile, perhaps to road too if he is smart), but if he moves onto the gold tile in my territory I would take the opportunity to attack. I may also look at attacking the city, as he has left only 1 longbow, 1 axe, and one warrior in it. The only problem is that he could see any tile I could stage my two movers on with his sentry chariot, so I don't think I could surprise him.

Unless he moves it, I'll steal a Mayan worker next turn with a spear (worker currently reads 5t to go on a farm and Maya can't see any of my units setting up for the steal).

I know that Maya has machinery, as I have seen an xbow of their's.

I will finish Engineering in 3t time, Byz will finish guilds in 7t. Not too shabby beating them to that considering they Oracle'd feud. If they attack Bombay (my eastern city that was second founded) I should be alright, as the combat I + II pikes I can produce will get 50-50 odds on cataphracts in the city I believe (or better odds if I build a castle). It gets interesting if Byz attacks my southern city or attempts to fork my capital and Bombay. Thankfully though, none of my cities can be hit in 1t, so no matter what I get a turn's notice.

Or maybe Byz will do me a favor and go after Warriorknight instead. After razing his city and poking fun at him with unit names, that might be too much to ask though

[Shoot the Moon]

Interesting: someone else already has engineering. My money is on warriorknight, as he neighbors Byz so I would sure hope he does (or more accurately hope he doesn't but strongly suspect he does). Nice to get that research boost though.

Pretty quiet turn otherwise. It should heat up in the next couple of turns though, although I will leave it at that for now to build up a bit of suspense.

[Shoot the Moon]

Stole a Mayan worker by moving to and roading a jungle tile with fast workers. Rego didn't protect the worker, probably one the basis that all the tiles around it were jungle (so thinking I couldn't move and capture in the same turn) and forgetting about fast workers. That, or he might not have seen my borders expand only three turns ago to even give me visibility on the worker (the pink on grassland jungle is at least somewhat hard to discern). Either way, stole a worker. We'll see if he attacks the spear I stole it with (I did not delete the worker as I can't see any units that he can attack with, which probably means it would have to be with mounteds and if he would like to waste a mounted to get a worker, that is fine with me).

Also, I realllllly want the next turn to come. I'm going to be scouting his capital with the possibility of hitting it with horse archers, so I'm quite excited to see what is revealed. I'll post screenshots of that next turn.

Finished engineering with a fair deal of overflow this turn at 50% research. I need to decide what to go for next. I'm considering calendar for happiness, alpha for knowing what techs everyone has, lit for GL and the epics (and perhaps onto drama for globe and/or music for GA for either a GA or bomb), or going Fued to Guilds to both get a nice city defender and knights to see about going after some more Mayan land.

I get a great person from my capital in 5 or 6 turns. It should have northward of 90% odds for a GE with the rest for a GS. Not sure what I would want to use either for. GS might perhaps be used to bulb Astro (haven't even checked GP bulbing charts to see if that is feasible with what I have already researched). Or maybe a GA? I'm not entirely sure, I would have to check numbers.

With the GE, it would probably either be the GL or perhaps use it to get globe finished in an island city that has three seafood but little production to build globe itself. Any lurker thoughts on how to use a GE during the medieval times, especially when I have both marble and stone and could thus reasonably quickly build any crazy important wonder?

[Shoot the Moon]

Time for a nice large (and dramatic!) update:

First things first. I finished engineering on the interturn. Take a look at my city builds: Think I might possibly have Byz as one of my neighbors?



I also rather like this picture to illustrate my domestic situation: At break even science, there are four techs I can research in 1t (although with a fair amount of overflow to be fair) and only two that take 3t. I chose Feud by the way, although with research at 0%.



The big news this turn though was that I moved a sentry HA in on Maya's capital, and saw this:



It is EMPTY!!!!!!! Anyway, this is the stack I moved onto the tile:



I also moved all my single movers from Vijay-something-o-rather onto this tile and roaded with two workers. Also notice the signs showing his other troop locations as of a turn ago (only change from that turn is one less holkan on the northern stack, don't know where it went but probably the cata stack, which I did not get to scout this turn):



I figure with nothing being in the city, there is a slight chance I may actually decide to keep his capital instead of razing it (it would depend on what he moves in next turn, whether I think I can hold it, and what the cultural borders of his other cities look like afterward). Those units, along with a couple pikes and maces, might allow me to straight up capture his city instead of razing it.

Also notable was a little stunt I pulled in the South. Last turn I had captured a worker and this was the position I inherited (the mouseover is showing his units to my SW on the sugar):



The normal move would obviously be to move my spear and captured worker back into my land. However, a captured worker for India turns into a fast worker, so instead I did this:




How often do you see someone in a game of civ scouting with a worker? It was worth it too, as it revealed a city with a crossbow (that's all) in it.

By the way, does any lurker know if you can both move *and* upgrade a unit in the same turn?

EDIT: In hindsight, perhaps I should have given a couple more promos to my HA stack. I don't think it can be hit by anything too important next turn unless Maya has either engineering (which I doubt) or a sizeable stack of two movers in the fog (also doubtful considering their power rating). Hopefully I don't pay for that oversight.

[Shoot the Moon]

I also REALLY REALLLLLLLLLY want the next save already (I only passed it on a couple hours ago, so it's not like I have any reasonable grounds for expecting it so soon, but I expect I will have a mad itch to play this game until I see the next save).

[Shoot the Moon]

I'm also sooooo jealous that plako can load up the save right now to see what Rego has in the fog and I have to sit here waiting. The suspense here is killing me (and making me start spamming like Rego ironically enough).

[plako]

I'm also sooooo jealous that plako can load up the save right now to see what Rego has in the fog and I have to sit here waiting. The suspense here is killing me (and making me start spamming like Rego ironically enough).

Actually I haven't checked how Rego can reinforce, but empty capital is pretty good sign for you indeed. I'll check the status in the evening :neenernee. Good luck.