[SPOILERS!] I am Molach. This is my thread. Kublai Khan of Rome

[Bigger]

the first step to rushing someone with praets is building a bunch of praets! then the question will usually take care of itself!

[Molach]

Some diplo. Yeah, impressive in a no-diplo game, but I am impressive.

(Oxyphenomenal wrote):
Hey Molach,

So I played last turn very late at night, following my micro plan. I had thought I had done everything correctly, but once I got home I realized that I had forgotten to whip a certain city I had been planning to that turn. I quickly logged on and preformed the whip. Unfortunately, I realized soon after that you had a chariot in the area who may have intent to declare war next turn and that if you were to declare war, I would fall in the first half of the turn timer and thus that whip would be illegal and unfortunately would directly influence your aforementioned chariot. I didn't want to post this in the tech thread as there is some spoiler information. Again I'm really sorry, trust that there was no intent to cheat, just carelessness, followed by rashness. Let me know if you desire a reload.

Molach:
We're cool.

My chariot was actually trying to kill a barb warrior for exp, but it disappeared. And I offered open borders to oxy a couple of turns ago so my most recent move to his borders was just to scout around a bit. Oxy got confu a little while ago, so I'd like to get a spread from him...he has a costal city, and I defogged a path to it just now, and I have sailing - so we should hopefully have a route now for spreading religions and other goodies - or does he need sailing as well?

Anyway, mission "scare Oxyphenomenon into building units and garrison cities" has appearently been a striking success. Next mission is "do a sudden multi-city preat-chop-turn" to alarm every single negihbour I have and make them build units.

And perhaps I should put together a force and backstab wetbandit, seize his northern city for myself. However I am running into heavy maintenance - would like currency first. Also CoL so I have something to whip if upkeep gets too mean. A settler would do just as good a job at bankrupting me as 3 preats....they cost upkeep, but generate gold when I take a city...I'd have no problem chop/whipping an unstoppable force of praets, but upkeep is already getting high, so I can't see that move as anything other than futile....take down a neighbour, but there are too many of them.

After currency and CoL I'd be able to take and keep a lot of cities, but by then the age of the praet is almost over. This will be about 15 turns from now. Provided I don't whip much. I can chop, though, so I think I'll set up for that - pre-chop at least. 3 forests means 2 praets, so I could field 10 of them without too much hassle.

I am building a settler along with several slow-built preats, gonna settle a city to the east to wall of a little peninsula with barb city on it and establish my front line border with Oxy.

[Molach]

I am still on vacation, still no pictures.

I've built a settler, but going to wait on currency to finish before settling - if I settle city first I think currency is delayed a turn. No competition for settling rights to my immediate east so I think +2 gold from 6 cities beats 2/2/3 from a new city.

Currency is 3 turns away, city could be settled in 2.

Some fun stats from demographics:
Im 1st place in Land Area,
2nd in GNP.
My army is 3rd
but my crop yields a 4th.
Population is 5th
yet MFG is 6th.
Who cares about the rest, apart to say,
no 7th or 8th rate nation am I.
Import or exports was worse in the past,
so 9th place is bad but at least I'm not last.

I have 2 praets now, nowhere to use 'em but I get a certain atavistic thrill marching them back and forth near my rivals' borders. Need one for the east too, Oxyuris is still going light on the army.

[Molach]

Turns still rolling in at a good rate.

Next turn I'll settle new city, and currency will be in.
Religion-wise, I really want a religion now...extra happy will be a big help. I've got a trade connection to williamLP wh ois hindu founder, and wetbandit recently got hindu spread too. New city will give me trade connection to Oxy, and he is confu chief. Should get a spread or two before long. Right!?!

There, not bottom of the pile any more.

[Molach]

I am home again.

Quick question, and I'll need answer within 4 hours.

Code of Laws or Calendar first? Both are 4 turns.
CoL:
leads to civil service. (major goal, with my commerce-rich capital)
gives courthouses. (cities have 3-5 gold in upkeep. Gonna add some more cities soon, but after 4 cities I'm out of expansion room. Espionage points minor benefit - get visibility on my next targets might be decent)

Calendar:
Enables plantations - I got spices. +1 happy in 7 cities, pretty much worth 10 (food(hammers/commerce) per turn.
Enables Mausoleum of Golden Ages. Big build, but I do not appear to be going to war right now, and have a city or two with a decent number of choppable forests.

Capital is outputting 28 commerce, which will of course means 14 extra commerce. In a city with academy - so call it 17-18. Hm. Seems early civil service might be worth it over calendar.There will also be some extra hammers, I guess.

Okay. CoL it is. Hopefully someone else build the mausoleum in 6 turns so I would have lost it anyway.

This actually started out as a question, but somehow the asking it answered it as well.

Gonna do a proper report later on. With pics too.

[Molach]

Getting late over here....took one shot.


Barb city up to size 3, and they built a worker for me. Gonna keep him from chopping forest with chariot. Two praets are on the way to seize the city in the name of Rome, they are just south of Overlord. Roma victor!

This area kind of resembles Krimea, so I might get an operational name connected to the capture of Sevastopol...either 41 or 44. However I know nothing of any such operation nor the name. Checking on wiki first seems like cheating...

Well, cheating reveals that the german capture in 1942 was operation "Störfang". Or go with "Rheinübung", as this seems like it might be an advanced naval base from which to attack Oxy. If I ever am forced to do so, heaven forbid.

Also, my newest city, Uranus is in the shot. Perhaps my closest city to Oxyphenylalanine, so I imagine some of his lurkers could make some comment to him about that....Hey Oxy, looks like Molach settled right up Uranus...

All is quiet on the western front, Wetbandit and Azza made peace 2 turns ago...again. Don't know what they are up to, haven't seen any other cities changing hands. Some part of me thinks that this can only be good for me....I get to econ to my hearts content while they...don't. Azza is more or less crippled, I think - economically. He will put up a tough fight, but as time goes by he'll fall further behind. I am putting all my EP on wetbandit, to get research and eventually city visibility. However I think the age of the praet might be over before I'm ready to attack. Too many barracudas in the water around me to take advantage if I fully commit to attacking.

[Bigger]

I think there was some big scientific thing a scientist filming an eclipse in Crimea in the early parts of the war that would prove Einstein's theories on relativity, while dodging Russian authorities. I don't know the code name they gave it, though

[Enoch]

If that area was the Crimea then that city would be very close to Yalta, where the famous meeting of the allied leaders took place. The code name for that conference was 'Argonaut', don't know if that is a violent enough operation for you though

[Molach]

Looking at the maps, thanks google, I see that Sevastopol is a bit more westerly than I thought. Yalta is south of crimea, barb city is on east, closest city might be Kerch. Apparently captured in 41, recaptured by amphibious assault by russians, recaptured 1942. And then again '44, but prolly no name for it then.

Recapture operation in 42 was named "Trappenjagd", Bustard hunt. Soviet assault was named 'Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation' which is less fitting for a city name. However I'm trying to to use names that I either know, or lurkers, of course, or at least of operations that I know pretty well. Argonaut would fit better. But it was mostly vodka rather than blood shed at that meeting. I'll think on it.

Hm. But Trappenjagd is a good name, if any Oxyheptatoxin units try to 'wade' over from Neo-Seoul I'll try to hunt them.

I'm seeing two more frontline cities going up - One in the west to plug the hole in my wetbandit border, and one due east to wall of my east.
Then I've got a filler W of capital and one on the western part of 'Crimea'. So 4 more cities, with names to be suggested. Then I'll have no more room to expand.
EXPAND PEACEFULLY.
Right.

[Molach]

I am again reporting some pictures.

First, the north. Forum build is a bit weedy. And I wonder if I should just claim even more land here with the northern city.

Will need some real defense there, though. Praet + spear or something. Have neither as of now.

The east. Two praets in a row, I'll attack with first praet, kill a warrior and then hopefully be undamaged next turn to kill the other two.

Free worker, and I think the barbs improved my sheep for me. Instantly useful city.

Notice that the north (WilliamLP and wetbandit) is hindu, and Oxy is confu - for at least 5 turns, but no spread. Both have open borders as well as trade routes. Hurm. I really really want some religion for happiness now.

The west and southwest. Dunno if I've shown off the island yet - I'll settle on hill and work the iron, I guess. Build granary & lighthouse then slowgrow onto the coast. Might be fish in the black sea (hah) so perhaps it can whip some instead.

All quiet on the western front. Azza is hopelessly behind, so I am happy to leave him alive to balance increased wetbandit power. They've already killed a good number of each other hammers so far. Wetbandit's done better, though.

Demos. At 60%, breakeven research.


And some demos.