[Spoilers] Commodore as Darius of the HRE

[Commodore]

Okay, it is Turn 100, the year 800AD. The Hyborian Empire has come back from the brink of utter irrelevancy into a solid third place, with an outside shot at still winning this. My cities are growing, my military keeps my borders secure, and my workers are working hard to farm everything available.

City-by-city review, spoilered for number of images.

Aquilonia


My capital is still the top producer of, well, everything in my empire. I'm not absolutely certain, but I think the total beaker output here is the highest of any civ in the game, ignoring GES' current golden age. It is accounting for almost a third of my total GNP, and it 1-turns a bunch of stuff. A Jewish Monastery is next up, and a Buddhist Monastery will soon follow. University + Oxford should push this place into the "truly nuts" category for science output, which thanks to the Org Rathausai everywhere can be at 100% for a while.

A side effect of the rifle beeline will be lumber mills soon, turning the last forest into another grass-hill mine of a sort. My next growth will push into unhealthiness briefly until I grab RL7's promised pigs. I might have to build an aqueduct soon, but no point until I improve the final four tiles, which are due a farm and two cottages. Very good city, building a final LK for it's own protection. If after these builds I ever make another unit that doesn't shoot rocks or a bullet, I'm an idiot.


Koth


Solid enough little city, my second most populous actually. Once the new-wave cottages get some growth this place will be a nice(er) commerce location, while with an Iron mine and a lumber mill the production won't be terrible. The Rathaus is about to get whipped in, with overflow going into the start of a settler.


Khoraja


Steadfastly refusing to convert to Hinduism, this city is nonetheless about to experience some rapid improvement with worker labor, next turn making that riverside into a farm, then mining the two other grass hills (windmill due for the desert hill once windmills get the hammer boost). A worker will be coming after the next growth to help that improvement along.


Khauran


About to win back the culture war with a 7 culture-per-turn Hindu building, Khauran will now be in chillax mode for a while, just making random stuff while growing to fill the coastal lands. A university will solidify the cultural hold it has on the area.


Zamora


Okay, I lied, here's one place that won't stop making military, I'll be making some two-promo knights and later cavs to fill out the mobile side of my forces, as needs must as devils drive. Has all the basic infrastructure built, and now can cheerfully grow for a bit, (see, I am going vertical, just, y'know, a little late).


Ophir


Tired old Ophir is going to switch to hammers to pump out a couple more workers before growing to its stable cap of 13. A monastery needs to be woven in when it can be, although some idiot decided a temple was more important for some odd reason. It's not like I'm about to go on a cathedral push with all the other things going on around these parts. Ah well, no point in not letting it finish now.


Nemedia


Nemedia is working on making me a nice shiny new great scientist whenever she has the spare population, which is...often. I'll be whipping a knight next turn to plump out the mobile defense forces, with perhaps one more coming after that. Then, should be time to start a university. Boy, Sistine sure makes for cultural cities don't it?


Zingara


This bugger was only just founded. Yeah, I think this will make a good GP farm. The plan is to whip out infrastructural buildings, with the overflow each time going into the National Epic. I think I may stop adding food after one more farm and the windmill. Sheesh. Still a pretty healthy place due to those forests, need to keep two around to counteract the lack of fresh water.


Bossonian Mark


I'm still kicking myself for not settling this outpost sooner. It will actually grow at a decent clip, although it's going to need granary, lighthouse, rathaus, forge before it starts on Moai stones. Once the Moai comes in though I'll be making this place a great naval pump.


Brythunia


I need a rathaus in here ASAP, but with me completely stripping the garrisons out of my hub I though it wise to at least have something in the former Avignon to reduce temptations. Whipping this place is actually not too bad, with those two clams allowing a good fast growth rate even when I'm working the foodless silver mine. The deer trades nicely too.


Hyperborea


Last and frankly least is the artist formerly known as Grenoble, about to be hit with a whip in 3, 2, 1...this will give the deer to Brythunia for a bit and the overflow should finish the lighthouse soon after. Not much to say really, kind of a generic distant fishing village.

Finally, here's the demos. In GNP, I'm competitive with GES, although he's got a definite edge there, MNG has finally tanked low enough for my MFG and CY to be solid 4th-place. My empire needs Universal Suffrage so bad its not even funny.



As I said, in 3rd place overall, although RL7 is going to lag until they get the French lands under their control, and GES is going to be going runaway-level very quickly unless we can militarily reign him back.

[Commodore]

Yup.

[COLOR="Yellow"]Hey MNG,

So I see the stacks that RL7 are running around your lands, it's looking a little bit hopeless there even if I lent a hand. :-( I feel like a rotter for this, but I had to go ahead and DoW as well. If RL7 picks up all of France I'll be screwed, blued, and tattooed, but if I could secure your southern 3 I might be able to make them think twice before invading. I'm so sorry it had to come to this, but I don't think there's much else I could do. I'm sorry MNG, I hope if we ever play again that I can be on your side. :P

Until later,
-Commodore

[/COLOR]

He's really a nice guy, no doubt about that.

[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]
No worries and no hard feelings. In truth, I planned on gifting you a couple more workers before asking you to DOW so you can get the GL. I have had quite a bit of fun but my inexperience showed when it came down to the MP aspect of the game. I learned a lot, and hope you really can "salvage a sinking ship" before it's a shipwreck

Thanks!
MNG[/COLOR]

Fare well, sweet Mr. Nice Guy, may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38wx8C7VmB4

[Ceiliazul]

so you're going to haul rocks to Rheims, then continue the roll the southern cities?


Have you had any diplomatic contact with RL7 regarding city splits or the like? It would all have to go perfectly you to take Rheims, with RL7 getting first response to all MNGs moves. Good luck Commodore, and happy trails to MNG

[Ceiliazul]

Perhaps when MNG takes his final bow, he'll pop in here and be a general for the HRE.

[Commodore]

so you're going to haul rocks to Rheims, then continue the roll the southern cities?


Have you had any diplomatic contact with RL7 regarding city splits or the like? It would all have to go perfectly you to take Rheims, with RL7 getting first response to all MNGs moves. Good luck Commodore, and happy trails to MNG

That sounded eerily like a farewell, Ceil, don't be a dead lurker! If I have to start relying on luck then I'm screwed already, must prefer to rely on diplomatic maneuver and skill.

There hasn't been any kind of definite split, but I believe the general though is they'll be conquering north first, and the south is mine unless I dwaddle. Thanks to the Great Artist bomb Rheims is actually unusable to me (or rather, it would take waaay to much effort to keep and it's an attractive target that is sure to make me next up on the RL7 hit-list). If I get a shot, it's getting razed.

The current hard target is the Parthan peninsula. The mouse is over is the galley-landed force just south of Parthan, if he abandons it I'll take it next turn. The selected force will otherwise come up and knock it down in two more turns. That place is also begging for a city, fishing is great there (fish 1S), some cottages and mines available. After it falls I upgrade my chariots into knights and then its Tours time.



MNG's fleeing workers get captured and will be improving the core a little more before being transferred back up to the hub to prepare the final two city sites. Visible to the east is Yuri's missionary ship, which will be bringing back the Hindu missionary seen in Hyperborea. My shrine is still spreading Hinduism far and wide, although I'll need to build some missionaries so ensure rapid spread in former France.



This is easily the most half-assed war effort ever. My core is working hard pumping units:



Heh. Or not. One small problem that you might notice: I have a major lack of markets (grocers too, although I just got that option this turn). Thanks to the power of Org and the rathaus, my expenses, even with an army in hostile territory, aren't all that much for a toroidal empire my size. But when I do save gold, it's a pretty big fall in my GNP.



I actually was third in crop yield briefly before a round of infrastructural whips though, it's improving slowly. Now we just need to finish MNG in time to put the threat onto GES.

[Commodore]

Okay, thinking time. The depressing implications of the above demos might not have sunk in, but that's GES at #1 GNP (in a Golden Age, granted). Here's the thing. I have an advantage in that I can see everyone's techs, whereas they can only see mine. So for a moment, I have an information advantage regarding any pushes/races. With my EP lead due to Org rathausai, I can also ensure nobody sees my research unless they want to start sapping their GNP to do so.

I can keep up, ish, with GES for now. He's got a huge advantage in beaker potential, but I can go all-out and beat him to specific techs if I do so carefully. See: Why I'm researching Education before Gunpowder. I need to max both prereq and known tech bonuses to keep up. After Gunpowder, though, two (or three) roads diverge in a wood.

The first, rather conventional road, would be to follow along with GES' current path and go for Nationalism and Rifles. Banking is the next step along this line, followed by replaceable parts and rifling. Banks are good in general, actually, as more gold modifiers are needed for maxing out efficiency. The preferred course, though, would be to hit economics if he looks like he's not heading there at first. The free GM would probably be saved for the second golden age, although a cash mission would be nice too. The trouble here is twofold, one, I'm not as efficient at using the draft as spiritual GES is, and secondly, my bureau capital is a huge chunk of my empire's output.

My preferred direction instead would be to go for chemistry, military science, and grenadiers. The nice parts are; I need better production and +3 workshops are actually worth it, ironclads, cannons, and machine guns are along those lines, and it's not a draft-happy method. On the other hand, it rather distorts the traditional tech paths quite a bit, and once those rifles become infantry, I might as well have maces for all he'll care.

The real question becomes, what do we expect GES to do? Yuri and I have no long-term NAPs with him, but RL7 is NAP'd for too long to make any sudden moves...which means if they want to grow, it'll be through me or Yuri. It's all a complex situation, and this is all thinking ahead, naturally...the next few turns are mercy-killing Mr. Nice Guy and getting guns.

[Ceiliazul]

Hey I was signing off to MNG, not to you. The luck was for you, but only with regard to RL7's moves that will allow you to capture cities.

I don't see that you're in terrible shape... keep the current path, and wait for the inevitable GES dogpile.

I like where you're going with your research thoughts. I expect GES to be getting Alpha and PP very soon, so not sure how long that advantage will last.

[Commodore]

Okay, well, good news and bad news this turn. First the good news:



Flawless victory!

Then, the bad news:



Crappity crap. They needed to cut the horse supply, I get it, and after I hit up Seven in chat rather angrily he's agreed not to go for Rheims or Chartes (GLH city and other peninsula, respectively), and gift me stone as needed. It's a nice crumple zone that away and honestly they owe me nothing. I'll take it.



It's fort building time in that jungle arm. Beyond that, with a couple more knights aside, it looks like it's time to go back to building. Next time I need to save gold, I ought to have grocers in my best cities.



This is pretty important, because while running max science I'm still behind Mr. Max Gold (ergo sum). This must be utterly depressing for everyone else, as I'm considerably ahead second too. Man that's hard for poor MNG.



One tiny nice thing; I'm definitely winning the culture war out in the far east. New game objective: I want those clams in my borders before the game is done with. GES will be warring on someone soon I'm sure, but his New England soldiery will be speaking German.



Do-do, be-dee, how I hope it's not me...

[Commodore]

Oh. So it might be decent reporting to actually post the new city's screens.



This is in a replay for screen shots but it should still have all of this infra, right? Why it came with everything a growing town needs, and due to the rathaus, it'll cost squat. Lesse, extra food? Sheep and pigs are a yep. Good production? Three quality mines means I can just work on infra, boosted by the forge ASAP. Happy resources? Well, I already have dyes, but RL7 don't...and they did just acquire some spices. Yep this is a nice capture.

Bonus points: What's in Rheims, and what should be built upon capture?



Yes, log shows GES finishing off the trifecta.

[Ceiliazul]

I've never been good at reading a city from the world screen... one thing I don't see is a market...