[Spoilers] Commodore as Washington of the Mongols

[Commodore]

Turn 75, also known as year 1 AD, had some good news and bad news. At end of turn, I finished off Currency to give me a GNP that's actually competitive, this with no tech selected. I'm past the limping stage, officially.



In additional nice news, I'm going to be able to take a peek over to the peak-isolated land of rivers and trees, not yet touched by man. I want to call the first worker I plunk over there Kipling.



On the other hand, I'm cheerfully playing really hard for second place, it would seem. Mackoti decided to pretend to be Industrious, it looks like. We are so freakin' smoked it's not even funny.



City-by-city report in a bit.

[Commodore]

City time! All screens captured at EoT, and yes, that means I stupidly starved poor Hippo a little more.

The first city of my empire and largest in the world is the capital of Manticore, slated for a market next. This place will truly rocket once Civil Service comes in, but Calendar/IW/Monotheism come first, not to mention the prereqs. I see how Mackoti can spam wonders in his own capital so well, once I get a forge, Bureau, and OR in here I'll be able to make 46hpt easily.



Gryphon is my good second city, although it still is awaiting Calendar and IW to be phenomenal. I might have kinda gone a little crazy with the cottages here, but once I whip in the keshik (slatted as payment to TT for the incoming second settler shipment), I'm not touching the whip again as I grow onto those cottages. I need villages and town post-haste, and Gryphon is a huge part of that place.



Sphinx is my currently stagnated little border town, stuck as size five or six until the rice can be farmed. The long-term plan for this sucker is to abuse Civil Service into a massive production center. Once I can chain irrigate the plains are all getting farmed and at size 13 (painful to grow, but it can borrow Gryphonian cottages to speed things a little) I'm looking at a 26hpt city before modifiers.



Also a future fan of chain irrigation is Naga, my future GP farm. It's not the most amazing site for the National Epic I've ever seen, but it should manage to run 8 specialists without too much issue pre-Biology, which is more than sufficient for my purposes. She's currently knocking out a quick GS for a capital academy.



Seen here just before I whip it, Minotaur has been an excellent city that is pretty close to maxing out its potential once Calendar hits. Thanks to the wonders of the GLH it's always going to be profitable, and once I mine the hill and cottage that last plains tile, it's just going to be whips and specialists in this creature's future. Still, not at all regretting the settling order here, it's been a hoss.



Rounding out my cottagey core is Basilisk, needing its two plains squares to be cottaged to fill out its quota. I think I'll let it hang around size 9 for a while, whipping when needed to push the odd keshik or galley out. This city was a great spot and I'm glad I pushed it quickly, as now its fullfilling its duties as the gateway to the west and upholder of the economy at the same time.



This is poor hungry, hungry Hippogriff, proud owner of not one but two lighthouses, one of them great. This spot is going to be pushed to a growth focus for the next few turns and then it's "stagnate and build crap" time, standard issue. I need a few more cities to its west to feel 100% secure, right now it's a bit vulnerable to seaborne strikes.



Centaur, to Hippgriff's west, is a very generic city, with low potential but solid enough for now to justify its existence (scientist gets hired next turn, no worries about anything so daft as working a bare gl tile). It's going to be watching a fort to 1NE when I get the chance, to give me a complete canal system.



Eventual naval pump, current massive moneymaker, Mermaid is doing just fine for itself, growing like a weed on uninspiring coast. If TT and Gaspar both close borders with me I might have to go capture this city's equivalent twins in their lands, dang fine city.



Chimera is suffering from what I think of as "too lush" syndrome, where I have literally too many good tiles to be able to justify using the whip heavily here. I'll soon enough be sharing with a city to the south, which will be helpful, but for now I just let it grow and chop in infra.



Finally, little baby Wolpertinger is my canal, and as previously noted, a dang good city in its own right. Only thought I have is that obviously those plains cottages are a cry for help. People, don't bore your workers.



That's it, all my current cities, only one back from Gaspar even now. I do have five settlers in route to net me all of my mirror in the next few turns, then it's geopolitics time!

[Ceiliazul]

looking real good there Cmmodore, especially compared to about 10 turns ago! yes Mackoti is going away, but not in the GNP sense the world gets smaller from here on out, and it's not too late... like you said, it's geopolitics time!

Sphinx needs more wonders... maybe borrow one from mack ;-)

Hippo was an excellend ply, even if you did neglect the pre-planning involved.

does the world wrap vertical?

So, how does the GNP leader feel about the liberalism line?

[Commodore]

looking real good there Cmmodore, especially compared to about 10 turns ago! yes Mackoti is going away, but not in the GNP sense the world gets smaller from here on out, and it's not too late... like you said, it's geopolitics time!

Sphinx needs more wonders... maybe borrow one from mack ;-)

Hippo was an excellend ply, even if you did neglect the pre-planning involved.

does the world wrap vertical?

So, how does the GNP leader feel about the liberalism line?

Thanks Ceil, it is looking a little less hopeless, although I'm still laying Mack's odds above 85%. The world is flat, that much at least is standard for a inner sea.

As far as the GNP leader...I dunno, maybe I should ask him how he feels about the liberalism line. I'm doing better, but both Gaspar and Mackoti still have an edge at break-even. Poor TT is dusted though. Confucius say "ouchies":



My meaty MFG numbers are helping me keep up despite no OR or forges yet. Hippogriff is growing to work its mines. I need to start spreading around religion too but there's a lot of catching up that this tower needs to carry me to.



Gaspar is still unsettled in the middle, confirming my push for the peak-isolated area. I might need to rearrange things for more coastal plants to take advantage of the new hawtness.


Landfall in the hidden valley reveals...nothing new, no shock there. My keshik will be handling a lot of barbarian warriors I'm sure, fingers crossed for a town to capture. I'm sure Gaspar's taken his side already.



No worries, though, I'm pumping settlers like they're going out of style, as they kind of are I guess. Another worker is next in fair Minotaur, to assist in the de-junglification protect about to start. Then, it's spice time!



Behind but catching up, this is Commodore, out.

[Commodore]

Well, I can finally clear out jungles, and once I find my iron I can...oh wait. Well then. Sweet!



Explorers find a barbarian land of fertile rivers and tempting marble, lush and inviting. Gaspar will be trying to snipe all of this, no doubt, which will make me an unhappy camper if he blocks off my site. Going to whack the barbs and then decide if I settle or conquer this area.



I really don't want to start hitting my core again, it's growing up so nicely, and the window for keshiks is just about over what with longbows a single tech away for Gaspar. Meh, we'll have to see.



Meanwhile, it's kill the wogs time.

[Ceiliazul]

Explorers find a barbarian land of fertile rivers and tempting marble, lush and inviting.

wow an interesting choice next turn: where will the settler go? Keshik could kill the lower warrior, but maybe a better choice to escort the settler onto marble for a better view?

[Commodore]

I am a bad reporter, I fear. Work's been cranked up a notch and I've got something social on the docket every evening this weekend, so it's another light few days.

Everything is going along pretty well in Mongolia, there's a huge mess of workers preparing the lush flood plains of the north for colonization, I expect to settle three cities in rapid succession up here.



The other big change is that I finally have some workers clearing out the jungles for farming rice, and it won't be much more 'till I can plantation sugar and bananas for my hungry Gryphon and potential canal site.



One kind of interesting bit, I'm about to polish off a scientist in Naga, which will be nice, then I have to either work fast in Hippogriff to get a merchant or I'll be due an automatic Prophet in Gryphon. Gaspar's in the market for a prophet, and willing to pay with either merchant or scientist. What's your thoughts on that, Ceil or Yuri? If I used the prophet myself it'd probably be to bulb Theology for a shot at the AP, whereas a merchant would allow a boost towards Civil Service or a GS would be used to academy Gryphon, most likely.

[Ceiliazul]

What's your thoughts on that, Ceil or Yuri? If I used the prophet myself it'd probably be to bulb Theology for a shot at the AP, whereas a merchant would allow a boost towards Civil Service or a GS would be used to academy Gryphon, most likely.

Can we get a shot of your F1 screen? i think in general CS will be weaker here than normal because of your many cities.

what about using both to push Lib? can Gaspar tell you what techs Mackoti has? Could even work together on that goal, and work out some kind of profit-sharing arrangement in the name of reigning Mack in.

[yuris125]

Well, I think the best use for a prophet is to build a shrine. Bulbing or settling is significantly weaker, any other SP is better. So if Gaspar is willing to trade GM or GS for your GP, I would take it without thinking, before he changes his mind

Whether GM or GS is better is up to you, but keep in mind that using GM for bulbing is almost always weaker than a trade mission

[Commodore]

Hrm, it definitely does need more thought. As early in the game as it is, a GA would actually still not go out of line either, as swapping is painful. Here's the two cities under discussion, relevantly:

Naga, plunking away at making a scientist, due now in 12 turns. Definitely need a market here soon, to up my GPP pool while running 2 scientists, 2 merchants, and then more later in the game. Want to keep it pure for now though, I need that academy...also, neat, I could use a exp harbor here soon.



Secondus, Gryphon, currently auto-filling its GP pool. As close as Calendar is I'll be able to afford to run those two available priests to get a prophet eight or nine turns after the scientist pops out, faster if I'm willing to risk Spy points. I might just build the GW, and let it leisurely make me a GA starter anyway.



Amdist the anarchy of converting to Hinduism as my state religion, I founded two cities this turn, to follow up with more in a couple. Jackalope is going to be a nice little place, contentedly working mine, clams, and lakes and the rest just tons of cottages. Ought to be a fast starter too.



Hippocampus is a little early, as Calendar is still a couple turns away, but I'm tired of using the long canal, so she'll be a help with the logistics train. Once the bananas are plantain'd, it'll be a bog standard core cottage city. Need a ton mature as soon as I can if I want to compete with the more gifted specialist economies out west.



This lush river will be my economy in the future, although I'll have to bite the bullet a few places and farm the floodplains. Tell me, do lake cities with a coastal connection get GLH trade routes? I'm thinking now.


Jus' expandin', guys, don't mind me.