Spoilers - Lurker Discussion Thread (No Players)

[Whosit]

Am I the only one that finds it amusing that it appears that TT is going to make the decision regarding Open Borders that Sandover feels is least wise?

Granted, can't tell if TT will include any stipulations yet, but it's kind of funny to me.

[pocketbeetle]

I don't like Sandover's move in building the Hanging Gardens so early.

All his cities are on fresh water, he's only got 4(?) cities, and he's building a wonder in his capital rather than a library.

[novice]

Well, he has two industrious neighbours to beat to the wonder, so he can't safely delay it too long. And Psamanthe should be able to produce two more cities before the HG are finished.

Does he need the wonder though? At least he can afford it, it's good for denial, and it will give him some GE points.

[Krill]

Generally, if you have stone it is worth it if you have 5 cities, without stone need 10 (comparing to slavery usage), but that ignores the health and GE points.

[novice]

Generally, if you have stone it is worth it if you have 5 cities, without stone need 10 (comparing to slavery usage), but that ignores the health and GE points.

That's not counting the cost of the Aqueduct, though.

[pocketbeetle]

Thanks for the benchmark Krill.

So considering Sandover doesn't have stone also, it's not looking like a great move.

Fair point about the Industrious civs Novice - Sandover was smart not to go for early wonders, and is possibly leading because of it.
But personally, I'd rather have a library and take the risk of fail gold.

Confucianism (Code of Laws): Twinkletoes didn't use the Oracle to get Code of Laws, but he is the one I'll most likely be competing with right now to found the religion. With the Oracle gone, Priesthood will probably not be as interesting a tech as it was before, but unless that player has access to a religion, it's a far cheaper option than Monotheism on the way to Monarchy. Although I can research Code of Laws right now, it is quite pricy, so instead I'll probably get Mathematics -> Currency first to get the discount. This will be fairly high up on my future teching plan though. Aside from the religion, Code of Laws also opens up Chichen Itza which is a source of Great Prophet points (I will need to pop several to get the shrines), and the defense bonus may actually be pretty nice as well vs Barbs. To be honest though, I'm fairly sure someone will beat me to Code of Laws. It's a great tech, and with the founding a religion for being first is a juicy cherry on top.

*wince*

I think someone needs to remind SleepingMoogle that he's not Industrious and that a religious economy doesn't mean he has to found every single religion.


Finally, Timmy has been pretty quiet, but my money is on him playing a solid game so far and a potential dark horse candidate later on.

He just needs to be careful he doesn't get squeezed by Scooter and Bob, who seem to be reaching border agreements with their Northern neighbours.

[Whosit]

I should avoid avoid gushing about it in his thread, but I think that Sandover's decision to capture Nubian is one of the most interesting things to happen so far. Will it change the course of the game or will it be insignificant? I don't know, but since it has the potential to stir the hornet's nest with TT, I want to keep my eye on it.

However, from the screens we've seen, I don't think that TT is even aware of the city's existence. His scouting in the game has been kind of dubious, I think. It's been OK in terms of scouting his immediate area to find city spots, but that means that he doesn't have any real idea about where he is in relation to his neighbors.

And unless he picks up the pace with expansion, maybe we'll be seeing yellow borders next to TT's capital soon.

[novice]

Twinkletoes continues to fall behind with questionable empire management decisions, such as building a library in his production city instead of e.g. a forge, and waiting forever to recamp the deer. In that light, Sandover's aggression should prove to be a good idea. Sandover looks set to have a peaceful border with Bob and conquer TT soonish, maybe even with war chariots.

[Whosit]

Yeah, that Library will do him absolutely no good at all. I also notice, now, that he hasn't even pastured the sheep at his second city (3 food tile isn't great, but it's all he has, it seems) and is instead working an unimproved grassland forest. The Forge would be a much better idea so he could spam some troops, but more importantly: Settlers and Workers.

Plus, capital is still working unimproved tiles. It's hard to tell, since his last overview picture was a few turns back, but I think he only has two Workers, which isn't that great at this point in the game.

Doesn't seem like he's built any Spearmen, either, which may prove to be a foolish and costly mistake, depending on whether or not Sandover decides to take advantage of his position.

(For TT when he reads this: Remember, we're here to help you learn. Oh, and to be amused by you, too.)

Well, at least it will make for an exciting show!

[Tatan]

What does everyone think about the ivory left on the map? Should War Elephants/Ballista Elephants still be banned?