Nobody expects the Chinese Inquisition: Isabella of China

[Gaspar]

Apologies for not really updating this well the last few days. A few factors:

• Really busy.
  
• Wife being especially persistent.
  
• I always forget how time-consuming WW is.
  
• Turns coming in early when I have no time, late when I have time I can't be arsed to reopen saves.
  
• Game kind of dull at the moment.
  
• Nothing new under the sun.
  

Let me expound on the last two, since the first four I'm sure are interesting to nobody.

The die is sort of cast here. TT hasn't responded to me, but even if he does and the conversation flows that way I'm quite a ways from being interested in messing with Commodore. For one, there's still another 8-10 cities to be settled peacefully. There's no sense going after stuff I wouldn't want to hold. Minimum 30T before I'd even think about a serious anti-Mongolian offensive. While I could push and have Knights relatively soon if necessary, they're a waste of hammers, especially as I get far more useful Libraries and Markets up in the first ring cities, granaries and lighthouses in the second and third ring.

More importantly, the game has a pretty clear pecking order right now that's unlikely to be changed before war:

Mackoti > Me >> Commodore >>> TT

Commodore actually settled another city this past turn, the mirror of my last city, Cangrejo Rangoon, so he's the first to 11. Now I've been sailing a pair of Settlers on a magical mystery tour - by all rights I should be on 12 right now - but I made a strategic decision otherwise. I'll be settling Rice/Incense next turn which will even me up, and then two more should come in 3-ish turns after. Have another Settler in production for double banana land as well. Anyway, just making a push for the next round of cities. I'm not worried about tanking my economy because once Bureaucracy is in I'll be fine long term - capital is an uber spot so it'll support the empire for a while til the new cities are productive. I need to get more workers out east, though - but the home ones are just about to the bored stage, so I just need another galley or two to ferry them along. Banana-Canal will help.

So yeah, we're just at a sort of lull. This game is all about whether Commodore can catch up to me (doubtful) or I can stay with mackoti (also doubtful.) Somehow Imp/Org TT is only on 7 cities, so I think he's already lost.

[Gaspar]

This turn's news:

• Open Borders signed with TT
  
• Frijoles Chinos founded at the rice/incense spot.
  
• We're no longer Confused, instead Jewish.
  
• Mackoti planted city 11 last turn.
  
• TT is up to 9 cities.
  

[Gaspar]

I don't have time for a proper update, but just to let everyone know what's the what:

• Last turn (74) Commodore built GLH
  
• This turn (75) Mackoti built both MoM and Hanging Gardens
  
• I landed settlers at FP land, and it appears that's where Marble is located, assuming that Mackoti used his GE on MoM, I could now make a run at Great Library.
  
• I completed Moai in Wonton Frito this turn by putting all the populace to work as citizens.
  

In 2T, 2 additional cities get put down - Banana and Marble. I'm going to throw the second settler there back on the boat because there appears to be a reachable island from floodplains land that maybe has silver which I haven't seen anywhere else (the fog gazing shows an ice hill.)

I'll do a proper 1AD update tonight when I get back from work.

[Gaspar]

Ok, so 1AD update time...

First off, cities:

The capital, Arroz Frito. Here I'm banging out another settler, but primarily I'm trying to grow some cottages in anticipation of Bureaucracy. Once it comes in, its really going to fuel the empire, already able to hit size 14 and plenty of food to support it.



Croqueta China, the Jewish Holy City is working some lower yield tiles to try and grow closer to potential. It'll never be a great city, but it will be solid.



Agria Dulce, with its 4 lighthouse lakes might have been a better Moai choice than Wonton Frito, but its going to be specialist haven. I might pave over those cottages with more farms, actually, and just go whole hog and put national epic here.



Carne Ahumada, the Confucian Holy City is pretty middling. If I had that Iron tile, instead of settling on it, it would be much better, but as is, it's going to be a limited commerce city.



Huevo Foo Young, settled solely for gold, will finally get a chance to grow with Sugar hooked. Its also a pretty limited burg.



Wonton Frito, where I worked 7 citizen specialist last turn to bang out Moai, will be a key contributor now. Sort of a bit of "novice" city management - every hammer towards Moai before this was from whip overflow.



Sopa Huevo, a pretty reasonable city, would be a great city with Fin or Colossus.



Pollo Kung Pao, the first Eastern incursion, is the "capital" of the east, working towards supporting the newer burgs. It could use a Courthouse.



Camaron Lo Mein needs worker support. :P



Cangrejo Rangon needs a border pop to reach its potential.



Frijoles Chinos was just settled last turn, ostensibly to claim that incense and maintain a foothold into the gold valley.

Here's the next city location - marble that will hopefully help with a Great Library build, but that will definitely help with a National Epic build.



I'll post graphs - the demos/advisors are pretty distorted by my shenanigans to get Moai built, but regardless, for completeness I'll show them:

Graphs & Demos:

GNP - you can see mackoti spiking, but without culture my research rate is pretty much the same.



You can see manufacturing sucks. I've used a lot of chop/whip to get things built, but clearly mackoti's farm/mine focus tells here. Without 'mids, I need cottages to support my empire.



Food's been good for me all game, and will just keep getting better with Civil Service coming in soon and more cities on the docket. Commodore and mack are doing well here as well, though, its a food heavy map.



Demos - a bad turn for them really:



Top 5 cities shows mackoti cleaning up on wonders. It'll take a miracle for him to lose at this point.

Basically, mackoti clinched this game when he rolled up on my undefended city with 2 chariots and I capitulated with that NAP, and then won the mids race. But I'm going to keep playing and maybe see what I can do from there. For all the talk of a tactical map - there's really no need to ever go to war for land - we all have so much that we can launch spaceships without a shot ever being fired in anger. I suspect we'll concede to mackoti before that.

[luddite]

thanks for the big update.

[Gaspar]

thanks for the big update.

No problem!

In other news, any lurkers left out there for some help with this puzzle:



How would you settle this? My first instinct was the marble and on the iron, but you could make a case for 1N of the marble, among others. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

[Gaspar]

Also got this in from mackoti:

Hi Gaspar,

Alot of time passed and you didnt sent me an email to congate me about Hangins gardens, or the beatufill mausoleum which i build,or to show some simpay because i lost great lighouse in last turn.
What you feel abuot open borders between us?Looks like other are very good between them(i ahve a TT keshic near me).
Youl'll see that i cheked your therad it wastnt me it was my cousin, i just seen something like Mackoti should be drunk...

Regards,
mackoti

To which I replied:

Hey mackoti,

Did you build all those wonders? I should really check the event log more often.

Congratulations, of course. I'm beginning to think you don't want me to have anything, though. That's not very neighborly.

I'm not especially friendly with TT or Commodore at the moment, they've both gone quiet on me, but I do have Open Borders with both of them at the moment. So right now I don't need anymore trade routes. Maybe if I land a wonder sometime I'll feel a bit more "open."

As far as you being drunk, I might be drunk if I had as many things to celebrate as you have had.

Best regards,
Gaspar

[Nakor]

How about ON the silver and 1S of the marble?

[DaveV]

1S of marble, 1W of silver?

[T-hawk]

The iron tile is of questionable usefulness. If it's a 1-tile island, you can only hook it up with a fort or a city on it, meaning you don't get the increased hammer yield from a mine.

Whether settling on the iron is worthwhile depends on what other tiles exist south of it. The 1-tile island city with just a crab won't be very useful, but with some more seafood it would be.

If you don't mind leaving the iron mined and unhooked, then 1S of the marble and 1W of silver is a good plan.