Zalson plays one turn at a time [COMPLETE]

[Zalson]

I think the long-term plan is where I'm wondering what to do. I think it needs to be claiming the rest of the easily available land on my continent. The next move after that will getting a tech lead and conquering Qin.

Those are macro goals. I think the next step is getting forges: they're +2 happiness and +3 with silver. The other goal would be to get MoM -- I need to prioritize that one and I think Thebes is the city to build it. I can chop it out most of the way.

So, to do that, I need my marble city. For my marble city, I need to be in caste system (OK) and have a settler (not OK). The sooner I can do that, the better. So those are my short term goals:

Monasteries up ASAP
+8 workers
+12 cities
MC
MoM

Monarchy tech would be on the road to feudalism, to open up the 1.4x bonus on civil service.

Care to show your work here? Your screenshots show 147 bpt for the whole empire; presumably those four cities are less. Also, that's 147 bpt at full slider, but it appears from your expenses that you can only run full slider 50-60% of the time.

Mecca makes 35 beakers per turn, Damascus makes 28, Najran and Baghdad both make 18 -- and are not near their full potential at all. (35+28+18+18) x .1 = 3.5+2.8+1.8+1.8 ... 9.9 ... not sure where the 20 came in. Should be 10, baseline. However, that repays itself over 20 turns. 20 x 9.9 = 198 beakers for 180 hammers.

I'd really like to get hanging garden for the 14 extra pop points but it's not critical. MoM is though: I'd really like to experience the 60T golden age if I can (1 GP, 2 GP, 3 GP, 4 GP, Taj). That might take more planning that I can muster, though.

I think I need to kick that off after the settling push. I'll want to whip a lot of items and then grow in the golden age.

(although even Monarchy might not be worth the anarchy).

Spiritual, bruh.

[Zalson]

T129 goals

Monasteries in high commerce cities
+8 workers
Start researching metal casing and prepare to chop MoM

Oh yeah, Kill Ramesses.

T128
Mecca switches to a Monastery.

T129
D’oh.


Whip Baghdad’s worker. wasn’t smart enough to get the max overflow to get 2 workers. Shoot.

I shift Thebes to a wealth build. The missionary will change 22 overflow into 27 overflow into a courthouse; that’s nothing to sneeze at.

I now have 15 workers with 2 more coming next turn.

Basra will give me 2 in the next 3 turns. Memphis is also working on one. That’s more than enough for now.

The next set of whips will be for settlers.



Inside of Elephantine. It needs borders and improvement but it’s still a risk … okay, it’s not at risk at all. I just forgot to send someone down there. Probably should have razed it, actually. It doesn’t add al to (okay, the banana is pretty good).

What awaits me in Alexandria



+4 workers! (there is two of them … on the plains hill) I might not even 2x whip in Basra if that's the case.

That said, the time to switch to caste system is approaching. I'll want to time it when the Egyptian cities come out of resistance for quick border pops. Something to think about, for sure.

[Zalson]

T130
Baghdad: starts a market. It’s going to have decent commerce potential, so I might as well embrace it.

Kufah: starts an archer to go down south and garrison Heliopolis.

Basra starts a jewish missionary, to plant at the marble location. Then I realize I need a settler, so I start the settler. :weed: This is not before I have cunningly — cunningly! — roaded the forest instead of doing something else. Like finishing the chop.

I am tempted to whip down my population again but the promise of the end of Ramesses bids me hold. I can use that extra pop.

[Zalson]

As it might be obivious, not a lot happened this turn. Next turn should be the end of Ramesses. That'll be +1 happy in my largest cities.

I'm hoping that I can whip out a settler from Basra next turn, I should be able to:

T130: 14h/100
T131: 28h+30h (chop)/100 = 58/100
T132: 2x whip

Rats...

As I think about it, I need to settle down toward Qin: he's used the war to take land that should belong to Ramesses. I have the units to hold him off; I just need the cities!

REMINDER: turn on flying camera mode.

[Zalson]

t130

t131
Facing Pi-Ramesses




Inside Alexandria. Note that the axeman is being sacrificed intentionally. I’d like to threaten Ramesses’ worker, although I should have threatened in more force. Against a human player, they’d kill the axe and move back inside.



Demos



t132
Flawless victory at Alexandria!

Catapult hits sword: withdraw
Catapult hits axe: withdraw
Catapult hits war chariot: withdraw

And that’s all she wrote. Every unit got 98%+ odds and cleaned up Alexandria. Unfortunately, no buildings survived.



Less flawless victory @ Pi-Ramesses. Lost both catapults but, after that, it was a cakewalk.

Goodbye Ramesses.



Meanwhile: Here’s Qin’s stack. Well, I’m not going to snipe the worker he has on the border now.

Now that the war is over, I expect to go into EXPANSION MODE.

Fortunately, the majority of my army is down near Qin, which should allow me to put up a fight in the event he decides for a backstab. First order of business is going to be planting on these two Xs. The eastern most X is going to move 1W so that it gets the copper/wheat first ring.



Plans for how to do that will follow at some point. I imagine I'll whip out the settlers and missionaries, then follow with a flip to caste system on the turn of founding. Run artists for 2T whip should pop the border nicely.

[El Grillo]

Congrats on the elimination! You should have plenty of land to work with now. I'm a little bit worried about how exposed those two proposed city sites are, especially the eastern one which is on flat ground. Remember that Chinese pavilions have a big edge in mid-game border contests.

[Zalson]

Like most players, I find it a challenge to focus economically and focus on military matters. Art imitates life, and I am good at focusing and not good at multitasking.

Happily, a war is no longer an issue.

El Grillo wisely warned me against pavilions and the danger they represent. However, I’m willing to take my changes. And Qin if he tries to object.

Anyway, I need 3 settlers rapidly. I also need to grow tall.

I micro Damascus to grow in 1T.

Heliopolis is going to 2x whip a worker. I need some more labor in that area. Heliopolis is going to grow to 5 and 2x whip + chop a settler).

Thebes starts a workboat.

Whip the worker at memphis. The overflow will go into a workboat.

Right now, thebes will 3x whip one settler in a few turns. Baghdad will be the other one, also in 2T.

Now the rule is whip things when the box is full.

[Mardoc]

El Grillo wisely warned me against pavilions and the danger they represent. However, I’m willing to take my changes. And Qin if he tries to object.

I can see why you would settle the western city, it picks up seafood. But the eastern city doesn't seem to get any new resources at all, unless you can win a culture battle starting from behind. Every non-Chinese food it has can be worked by a city you already own, and none of those cities seem strong enough to want to split up the food. So what's the profit? If you can get the tiles, you probably get a war due to border tensions. But if you're going to fight a war, you can get the tiles by taking his city! Why spend on a settler, and a city that will cost maintenance but have to spend all its hammers on culture buildings? Just build horse archers or catapults or knights when you want those tiles.

[Zalson]

El Grillo wisely warned me against pavilions and the danger they represent. However, I’m willing to take my changes. And Qin if he tries to object.

I can see why you would settle the western city, it picks up seafood. But the eastern city doesn't seem to get any new resources at all, unless you can win a culture battle starting from behind. Every non-Chinese food it has can be worked by a city you already own, and none of those cities seem strong enough to want to split up the food. So what's the profit? If you can get the tiles, you probably get a war due to border tensions. But if you're going to fight a war, you can get the tiles by taking his city! Why spend on a settler, and a city that will cost maintenance but have to spend all its hammers on culture buildings? Just build horse archers or catapults or knights when you want those tiles.

That's an important consideration. I suppose I'd usually want the front there to open my avenue of attack -- but now that I think about it -- it would make me more vulnerable: 3 cities threatened to one of Qin's. Taking ...ang... is the linchpin of the attack.

Right now, Qin's still firmly in the ancient age. I think knights would be the right attack choice; my military will go 100% catapults for now.

[Zalson]

T134
Damascus grows to size 9 and has completed the missionary for the new city. It’ll start its Monastery.

Kufah finishes an archer and starts a catapult.

Memphis starts a courthouse. it’ll grow to 6 and whip it. i should be able to get a missionary down there in time. Might have time to get the forge in ahead of time.



Plantations on sugar and dyes lead to +3 happy in Mecca. Woot.



Demographics: That’s a nice GNP number. And a nice crop yield. And nice production.



That is not a nice power number. Qin’s going for the backstab, for sure.

I shall respond by building infrastructure everywhere.



Cities