[PB37 SPOILER] Coeurva, Bacchus -- Cyrus of Carthage

[Bacchus]

Will do once I am back at a computer to browse the list. Inspired by the chess blitz comment, it will be something of that sort -- who knows, maybe Will wrote about Grunfeld.

Any desire to consider the plainshill corn plant ahead of pigs? It's an awkward plant that kills a bunch if cotton eligible locations, but it's also pretty fast. I guess the biggest downer is having to research agriculture, who has the time.

[Coeurva]

I like the plains hill site and it's the definitive pick for a worker pump (although I would also consider the coastal plant, which is stronger in the long term, if only due to not missing the northern corn and the extra cothon TR), but planting there will probably yield the north-east, especially those succulent pigs, to Savant; those tiles where we met his scout must be roughly equidistant from our capitals (slightly closer towards us). The flip side being, of course, that Savant cannot hope to pester the plains hill city with his wandering warriors.

Agri research isn't much of a problem -- we produce the settler at 13 raw bpt, which becomes 15 effective, which means 7t to Agri (96 total, just like Hunting -- correct this if wrong, please); even factoring in the slavery revolt, we can manage that. I also like that the worker is within range already, with Savant's warriors unable to intercept him. We'll miss out on a trade route, unfortunately, and Pottery will be delayed.

We'll have to see what Savant has done by T22, really. If he completes another warrior on T21, I might just have to live with it and not go hog-wild.

I never play the Grünfeld Defense against 1. d4 -- I've always preferred the Queen's Gambit Declined. (You could infer this from how eager I am to settle towards Savant; that said, your suggested fianchetto is far from out of the question.) Yet in Faeria, so far I've strongly preferred to pressure the center from the flank, so maybe I should learn how to play the Grünfeld from Black's side for once or, alternatively, figure out how to transplant 8/8 bears onto a chessboard.

[Bacchus]

Well, there is a hapax that must beat others out to it:

To execute the charge my father gave me
For visiting your highness: my best train
I have from your Sicilian shores dismiss'd;
Who for Bohemia bend, to signify
Not only my success in Libya, sir,
But my arrival and my wife's in safety
Here where we are.

Which is surprising, really, given how the entire play is about "Sicilia". Just not very adjectival.

[Coeurva]

ANTONY.
Sometime we see a cloud that's dragonish;
A vapour sometime like a bear or lion,
A tower'd citadel, a pendent rock,
A forked mountain, or blue promontory
With trees upon't that nod unto the world
And mock our eyes with air. Thou hast seen these signs;
They are black vesper's pageants.

(Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, Scene 14)

How about "Dragonish Sicil"? That would achieve chiastic closure with the opening.

[Coeurva]

T19. Sent the worker to pasture. Warrior 8/15 (4h OF from worker); swap to pasture on T21 to complete him by T22 (2h OF) along with BW. Someone is researching BW (I presume) at a GNP of 24; we're #2 at 22 (only relevant for gauging BW interest in others, not for bragging rights). Score increases recorded for Ventessel and Krill; the former I think is Bronze Working (started Agri/Mining; last tech was T6, probably Fishing) and the latter could be anything from the first bracket (obfuscated).

In other words, still proceeding as planned and anticipating the turn of big decisions (T22).

Edit: Rival Best Food now suggests that someone else is working clams + 3-food (cow or oasis) -- that must be one of the EXP people (i.e. it's not dtay or Ventessel), and they must have researched Fishing (i.e. not Savant). Unfortunately, I think that could be any of those left (CML, Gavagai, JR4). If turn / snake-pick order is the tie-breaker, it is CML with 100% assurance, although there could be others behind us.

[Mardoc]

If turn / snake-pick order is the tie-breaker, it is CML with 100% assurance, although there could be others behind us.

Turn order in pitbosses is not actually knowable, unlike single player and PBEM. As I understand it, every turn the turn order is randomized. This matters for wonder races and first-to bonuses on techs. I don't know for sure that it matters for Demographics rankings, but that's how I would bet.

[Coeurva]

Good to know; thanks, Mardoc.

T20. Dark Savant has met someone this turn, or at least switched his espionage investment completely away from us (contact may have come earlier, with him prioritizing the first neighbour until "locking into" graphs). This doesn't imply that his warriors aren't coming our way, but at least we know that he has another settling front to worry about. Could even be warrior-warrior contact.

Rival average soldiers is 8375, so Ventessel having picked up BW last turn seems plausible.

[Coeurva]

T21. Savant still has two warriors. Unless he has lost one warrior on the interturn, this indicates that he probably isn't intending to block the pig site, and we can probably eschew Archery for the time being. So, our city options:

Plains hill produces 12fh/t into workers (5t) at size2 when fully improved, and it grows from size1 to size2 in 7t. We can't reach the optimal 6t due to Agri timing and worker labor shortage / slightly awkward positioning; the first worker coming out of ph will take 6t from growth, due to the cows not being improved upon growth.

Silver/pigs offers 10fh/t at size2, is closer to Savant (both an advantage and disadvantage), less defensible and in fact boosting attackers, due to its awfully hilly northern approach, but allows us to delay Agri in favour of Wheel (-> more commerce, better movement for warriors / axes, Pottery before Agri is at least an option -- something we'll want to discuss around T28), takes 1t less to improve the food, and picks up a happiness resource we don't need right now, but will enjoy later.

Pure pigs (on hill) is junk by comparison.

Copper can tip the scales, of course.

No time to set up a sandbox today, unfortunately, but should have time tomorrow.

[Bacchus]

Yeah, I think silver is a strong boost, but is your calculation right? Silver pigs should give 3 + 4 + 1 = 8 fhpt. I think you forgot to subtract the 2 food for the citizen working the silver.

[Coeurva]

Yeah, I think silver is a strong boost, but is your calculation right? Silver pigs should give 3 + 4 + 1 = 8 fhpt. I think you forgot to subtract the 2 food for the citizen working the silver.

It's due to me thinking grass silver was 1/4/5 (because I thought the usual +2 mine hammers were applied on top of the mine bonus given in the wiki), but same difference. Apparently grass silver is 1/2/5, in which case the tile is actually mediocre at best (for the early game, that is) and I'm swinging towards plains hill.