Gavagai manages his personal GULAG

[Bacchus]

Mids however are problematic because of the reason already demonstrated by early religions: in game that big there always will be a noob willing to build them really early.

We can protect by chopping as many forests as we can into overflow, rather than into Pyramids, so that we can redirect the overflow elsewhere. Also, if we start building after OR, the 125% boost on production at least gives a reasonable compensation on failgold.

[Bacchus]

So what shall we do with the scout? I'd go to the hill 1NE, which leaves several options open.

[Bacchus]

Alright, Grimace graphs.

Power:

Score:

GNP:

Food:

MFG:

Espionage slider set to 2/2. Tsargon has only 7 EP into us, and still no contact with Grimace, so another neighbour somewhere. Haven't checked Grimace's EP actually...

The graphs are weird. We worked the same tile for the entirety of the game, yet it's showing changes in MFG/CY for us. In any case, looks like Grimace is also building a worker whilst working first some riverside 3 food tile and then his second ring ivory, after finishing the worker he switched to growth. He has researched two power-yielding techs, so Mining and Hunting and one non-power tech, presumably Agriculture. GNP suggests that he is now researching a second-column tech, probably BW.

Our demos are also showing that we worked a riverside cereal for a turn, but that's definitely wrong — we have the correct number of hammers in the worker under construction. WTF.

[Bacchus]

This turn or the next our scout will open up a view from a hill onto the northern floodplains, and we will be ready to get dotmapping. Albeit the ring around the capital is pretty set in, as it were, stone.

[Bacchus]

So, Gavagai has sunk into Pillars of Eternity for now, but here is the update.

Last turn we met Barteq, Tokugawa of Aztecs. Thanks, RNG! I have no idea how we have gotten contact, but he also has contact with both Grimace and Tsargon. As these are our two immediate neighbours, Barteq is seemingly on the other side of one of them. Please make it be Japan! Tsargon and Grimace still have no contact, which points to some interesting scouting decisions on the part of both of them. We also found Persia's borders, there are something like 14 tiles between our capitals (actual cities, not current borders). Persia is to the north-east, as expected. Japan is just slightly further away from Persia, at about 16 tiles. Basically, our movement cut out some of the distance to both of them. This is good in the sense that it gives us a much stronger claim on the territory lying between us — what for Tsargon and Grimace would be third-wave cities, for us are the immediate environs of the capital. It is bad in the sense that everyone is going to feel that little bit tighter and prone to aggression. Thankfully, Skirmishers. I keep wondering whether Hammurabi of Arabia would have been better or worse in this situation, and I have to conclude that worse.

Anyway, here is the prospective dotmap:


It is pretty much ICS, which we don't see often on these forums. Once this gets to the lategame, oh boy will this be demanding to play. We also don't really have scope for deviating from this map, as I see it, only choices in the sequence of planting, and maybe shifting by one tile or so. Actually, not even that, because all the front-line cities will have to be hill-planted, and most of the cities are front line Getting a culture-producing wonder in Construction 859 is imperative, but we really want to found the religion in Kolyma for the long-term. That will be our most-cottaged city. Clearly, that stone-marble spot was meant to be contested between us and Grimace, but after our original movement we have no choice but to gun for that spot. For Grimace, OTOH, it would be a mistake to try and get it before us. That city will come under pressure though, both culturally and militarily. Talking of which, Grimace's power shows no crazy early Warrior, nor does he have BW yet. We get BW in 2 turns.

What will those cities do? Well, all the tundra and plains, and being Industrious and having Stone really suggests to push for Pyramids and run specialists. We have a ton of forests in the capital, even after we chop 2 down for a Settler. Gold also lets us have Organized Religion early, should we found Judaism, and a +125% production bonus makes for an enormous saving, we will only need 90 base hammers. This approach does make us dependant on two first-to bonuses in an era where you win races not so much by playing well, as by making a wrong choice, witness the founding of Hinduism and Buddhism as first techs both. But in games like these you must make a reach -- either militarily or with races to have a real chance to get ahead. If someone decides to suicide their own play to also kill yours, that's just the reality of playing with a large and diverse field.

Apart from Mids, we obviously need to be cranking out Skirmishers and Settlers. Even Granaries might not be a prominent feature for a while, except in Kolyma.

[Bacchus]

In the grim darkness of Megacity One, there is only war:


So this spot was actually marked on the prospective dotmap. I think whoever actually settles there will kill his chances of winning the game. For us, this is by some way the best spot on the revealed map, ahead even of the capital. Don't know what others' land is like, but boy, whoever tries to build up that spot is going to draw so much aggro...

Map craziness continued with the copper reveal:


So apparently no-one has copper in BFC. Now, the question is what the hell is that second copper? Surely there is no way in hell this is Persia's copper? So just a sweetener for the land? Looks pretty appropriate, to be fair. But this gives us 3 first-ring 6-yield tiles and moves the dotmap even closer to an ICS style.

No new contacts. Japan and Persia still don't know of each other's existence. Grimace's power grew 2000 without a score increase, so does look like he completed a Warrior. Fortunately our own completes soon too, as you can see. I wouldn't have though Grimace will take the warrior out to harass us and risk leaving himself open, but who knows. That C1 is a huge advantage in the early game. Grimace will also see we have BW next turn, another dissuasive factor.

As you can see our micro is a bit weak, we will have 3 spare food after growing. There isn't really a good way to use it either. The corn farm completes the turn after growth, so we could get 3 -> 7 -> 16 -> 25 food to grow in 3 turns, but that will leave us with 12 hammers in a Warrior, which we can count wasted. As the growth would be onto the forested, but unimproved ivory, it's not really appealing. So the 3 food is best left spare I think, and we should go straight into completing our part-built Worker after growth.

[Bacchus]

We found Grimace's borders and his copper:



He doesn't yet know that this copper is there, but will do before his Settler completes — Grimace has been researching BW and will soon finish it.

Our second food is online. There is a bear to the south-east, so it's starting to look like the warrior will have to take up a post close to Kolyma. For now, I moved him NE, however.

Next turn we could declare war to move onto what is a forested hill tile within his borders, but it will be just a little risky, as he has already completed a Warrior. Potentially we could mess with micro a little though.

[Gavagai]

Don't like wardec idea. It's absolutely unnecessary and as I know many people take it as a demonstration of aggressive intents.

[Bacchus]

Well, we can offer peace immediately. But I'm not particularly in favour of it either, doesn't give us much.

[Gavagai]