[SPOILERS] Land of Chaos - HitAnyKey

[AutomatedTeller]

You could let him sit, too, if you don't see a need for him right away and don't want to settle him.

[HitAnyKey]

You could let him sit, too, if you don't see a need for him right away and don't want to settle him.

Yeah, I already figured he's going to end up sitting for awhile until I have a clear idea of what I want or need him for. And since there is no immediate need, I have plenty of time to think about it.

[HitAnyKey]

Just a quick update since I'm kinda tired and meant to do this earlier.

Finished the last Chariot down in Dragon's Mouth, so I've switched over to Organized Religion to get the bonus for all the buildings I'm now working on. Christianity also spread to my last city (Hard Knocks) this turn, so now all cities have it. I don't even need to make a missionary (though may make one for the new city I'm going to make on the hill north of HK).
I've started the Hagia Sophia in my capital and that will take like 25 turns (or something like that, I forget the specifics). I really wish I had Marble to speed up some of these upcoming wonders. I was staring at the tech tree and most of the upcoming wonders have double speed with Marble...which is nowhere in our section of the world.
I was making Granaries in HK & MtW, but with the growth rate I realized I can crank out a set of Walls and then finish the Granary in both cities before they grow. Figured may as well get the Walls out first and then the Granary, instead of the reverse. Also making Walls in Pile of Crap....after all, it's on LP's border. It's gonna need as much defense as it can get. Also sending some more units up there.
Dragon's Mouth is making a settler for me, which will go north of HK.

Got a question about visibility. What determines how far into plako's borders I can see? I noticed that in some spots I see 2 tiles into his borders, but in a couple others (ie. the Gems & the tile north of them) I don't. Why is that?

I'll also have Math in 2 turns, at which point I'll be able to start chopping away at all my forests. I'm pretty sure I'll go Currency next, but not sure what to go for after that. I'm considering Code of Laws, so I can try for Chichen Itza for the extra city defense bonus. That's one of the last wonders that have double production with Stone, so there's a small chance I might get it (or at least a lot of cash out of the failed wonder).

[AutomatedTeller]

you can see the 3 tiles along the river because of the jungle hill and the fact that the iron is clear. That hill doesn't give you vision into the gem tile, however, because of the jungle tile between them.

i think you can see the rice because of the peak, which can see over the forest. youget visibility on tiles by your borders exactly as if you had units on them.

Have you built Moai or have plans to build it?

[HitAnyKey]

So I've been really bad about updating recently, but apparently still not as bad as some other people (since there's at least 6 other threads updated further back than me LOL). But since my girlfriend was visiting from out of state this past weekend, I think I have an excuse.

Anyway, I'm home sick from work today so I'll actually get in some updating. LOL

First up before I bother logging in to play the current turn, I have some photos that I took a handful of turns ago that I never got around to posting. Let's see what those were first and give some updates on them:

First up, a handful of turns ago I took a shot of the troops LP had in the trees at our border while he was chopping it down. Just felt like showing the funny names he used. After the trees were cut, they went back towards his city:

Next up is some of the visibility my Speaker has been giving me.
He's passing through some of CommoXenu's land, so these are some shows showing the cities I've run across and some of his troops:

Those Archers of his are some massively good defenders. I think at some point I'm going to have to launch an offensive against them, since I don't really have a chance against LP or plako at this point. But since the war with mackseven seems to have died down a bit, I would need to wait for that to go full force again. Plus I would need to build up a large army, which I can't even afford because my commerce is pitiful.

So since those turns, Speaker is getting ready to enter LP's land and I'll send him straight across the southern lands of his to try to reach some other civs. I really need those research bonuses from meeting other civs.
I've also founded my last available city on the piece of crap area that has no resources. Again....
I'll grab some screenshots when I log in to play that turn in a bit.

[HitAnyKey]

Have you built Moai or have plans to build it?

I haven't even gotten Fishing yet, so no Moai for me yet. I assume I'll need to try to get Fishing & Sailing soon so that I can get a Galley to that little island to my SW, and that would need to be my Moai city....as long as I can do so before yuri snags it. But since he's already been up by me and passed by that land, I have a feeling he'll beat me to it by a long shot.
But I need to get Currency first, which is what I'm currently working on. I suppose I can go for the two water techs next.

[HitAnyKey]

Ok, after lying down again for most of the afternoon (sadly not getting any actual sleep ), it's time for a full monster update. I took a LOT of screenies for you guys this turn.

First up, the nation as a whole. Very sad that I can fit it all in one screenshot:

You can see the new city I founded 2 turns ago (Nothing Hill), with a name as a play on Notting Hill. Yet another thing that popped into my head for some unknown reason, and hence becomes part of my chaotic naming scheme.
Also, as you can see I've "done a piss-poor job" (can anyone name the movie that part of a quote comes from?) of handling improvements around my cities. I should have made A LOT more cottages, and farms, to help with growth. My cities just grow WAY too F'n slow, and I have poor commerce coming from them.

I thought about doing close-ups of all my cities, but didn't feel like doing that many screenies, so here is first just my new city to show how crappy it is. It just had a forest chop of the tile directly to it's west to speed along the Granary, and it's working the cottage I made a little bit ago that Hard Knocks got a little start on.

I'm assuming my best options are to make a farm on that tile to the west (for growth, and eventual spreading of a farm via irrigation to the north) and then mine that forest/hill afterwards. It really doesn't have much other potential. It's at least founded on a plains/hill, so that at least helps a little.

Next up, the pride of Chaos....Puddle of Doom.

As you can see, I've been working on The Hagia Sophia. I'm pretty much guaranteed to get it, since I doubt anyone else has even researched Theology yet. Those forests to the west are getting chopped right now (one just finished) so it won't take a full 12 turns to finish it. Then I'll hopefully have a small chance of getting a Great Engineer for popping a tech, plus my workers will be making improvements faster. And that's something I really need, since I have WAY too many unimproved tiles (plus not enough workers for maintaining my nation). So them working faster is a big deal.

Since I haven't shown any in awhile, and since I just got visibility of mackseven, here is all the Demographics:

Yup, my nation is totally and completely pitiful.

Last thing to talk about. While I was sitting there staring at my screen, I realized something. I've been really stupid. There's a spot that I probably should have founded a city in a long time ago. I actually have space to make a city on one of those two grassland hills to the west of my capital.

If you can't tell by the photo, it's the tile I have marked and the tile south of that. The one to the north is just grassland, and that would be stupid to found a coastal city on when I have hilly options. Plus, I'll need that spot for either a farm or cottage.
So after Dragon's Mouth grows in 2 turns, I'll make another settler for that spot. Just need to decide on which one specifically.
I could be wrong, but I'm thinking the spot I have marked is the best one. It would get 8 Coasts & 3 Oceans. It would be able to share the Iron & Corn with PoD and the Corn with DM. 8 land tiles total.
The other spot would have 6 Coasts & 4 Oceans, but have more overall shareable land. It would get access to the two Corns and the Horses (instead of Iron). 9 land tiles total.
But, I could make this city my Moai city (with the 8 Coasts & 3 Oceans). Yes, the one on that little island would be more appropriate for being the Moai city....but it'll be tougher to hold, and I can get this one so much sooner. So when I eventually get that island city, it would essentially be a crap city, but the trade-off would be that this city on the mainland would be pretty kick-ass much earlier on.

So the main decision is which hill to make it on, but after typing that stuff I think it's clear that the spot I have marked is the clear winner. One less land tile, for 2 additional coastal tiles....and PoD keeps having issues trying to work those 3 plains/hill mines, so letting the new city have the Iron would help out a lot.

As for the Moai, does anyone think it's a bad idea to build it here instead of trying to wait until I've put a city on that island? That island city would of course be a long ways off. I have to finish Currency first (which I think is about 4 or 5 turns away) and then need to do Fishing & Sailing, make a Galley & Settler and then make sure to ferry over enough troops to make sure yuri doesn't take it from me with his gazillion galleys and troops.
The mainland city, I would be able to start on Moai as soon as I've gotten Sailing.

[regoarrarr]

IMO a faster Moai is better than an "optimal" one. Plus there isn't really any production on the island site - at least the mainland one can share the iron or horse tiles, as well as borrow either the corns.

[Bigger]

I agree w/ rego. Also, congrats on getting to the #2 spot in the exports\imports category!

[HitAnyKey]

IMO a faster Moai is better than an "optimal" one. Plus there isn't really any production on the island site - at least the mainland one can share the iron or horse tiles, as well as borrow either the corns.

I agree w/ rego. Also, congrats on getting to the #2 spot in the exports\imports category!

Yeah, I've pretty much also figured out & decided that the earlier Moai site (on the spot I have marked) is what I should be aiming for.

And thanks. I've worked long and hard to get my exports/imports to be my best statistic.