This Time for Sure: Mardoc reprises the Lanun

[Mardoc]

NP, though I'm back on days (for two weeks starting next week).

I would be shocked if the game is over in two weeks - consider that a general invitation.

Also, I don't know how much time you have in the mornings, but the invite also applies if the turn hasn't moved on Mon-Thursday mornings. I'll just make it a general rule to stop tempting my boss's ire and not play the turn in a rush in the mornings.

Not sure what timezone Uber is in, but I'm up for another hour or so...maybe...just maybe....tracker is currently giving me a "no input file specified" message, which it wasn't an hour or two ago.

I don't know his schedule, but I'm pretty sure he's German. Unless he works nights (or very early mornings), there was no chance, I think.

As for your actual point - I haven't cancelled any military builds you've queued, much as I'm tempted to. I'm quite aware that we're still basically running a farmer's gambit, albeit one with Command Posts and Training Yard/Stables. And you haven't really suggested we go to a war footing, just stop gambitting. I can live with that.

[Thoth]

I would be shocked if the game is over in two weeks - consider that a general invitation.

Also, I don't know how much time you have in the mornings, but the invite also applies if the turn hasn't moved on Mon-Thursday mornings. I'll just make it a general rule to stop tempting my boss's ire and not play the turn in a rush in the mornings.

My morning time varies depending on schedule, what time I get up and whether or not I have to spend time playing my PB6 turn.

If the save is sitting around during your "can't play" times and I have time, I'd be happy to play.

As for your actual point - I haven't cancelled any military builds you've queued, much as I'm tempted to. I'm quite aware that we're still basically running a farmer's gambit, albeit one with Command Posts and Training Yard/Stables. And you haven't really suggested we go to a war footing, just stop gambitting. I can live with that.

Oh, we are moving towards a war footing. We're just getting the pieces in place as we go. We've got enough cities now to be able to expand at a reasonable pace while we gear up for war. :hat:

I'm itching to see the end of t102 and the location of Iron.

[Mardoc]

I'm itching to see the end of t102 and the location of Iron.

Me too!

Given Ichabod's general kindliness and patterns - I'm guessing it's one of the outer sea islands without much else on it. Although maybe that's what he did with Mithril, and Iron is available on the mainland still.

Unless we've already claimed it, I think that dictates the location of our next city.

[Thoth]

Me too!

Given Ichabod's general kindliness and patterns - I'm guessing it's one of the outer sea islands without much else on it. Although maybe that's what he did with Mithril, and Iron is available on the mainland still.

Unless we've already claimed it, I think that dictates the location of our next city.

Hmm. So far most key resources have been on the mainland, with "extra" resources on the islands. I'm expecting (hoping) for Iron/Mithril/Gunpowder to be available on the mainland.

Agreed that an Iron city (if we don't already have it) >>> the Wheat city (as nice as that Wheat would be).

[Mardoc]

Thoth already knows everything I'm about to say - but it's come to my attention that it's not just him reading

So here's the big news from last turn, which finally came in last night: Iron!

It's on the mainland, outside our territory but only just. On reflection, we decided to wait to settle it after all - there's no sign of enemies coming soon (and not enough swords/chariots on the board to really benefit yet anyway), and our logistics are already arranged for getting the wheat city built. Plus, of course, we still haven't maxed out our IC trade routes or Dereptus. And we have a settler due in 5, and 7 turns, at the current rate of things

Here's the site we'll settle first, probably 1N of the Iron


And we will probably go ahead and settle this one second, simply because adding Iron to it makes it stronger. The site is still the labeled 'city'!



After these two cities...well, we're not sure. Too many areas that are tempting, not enough production to go around. Hopefully things get easier as more cities grow up. We want to expand to the inner sea, grab a whole lot more of the outer sea, and of course fill in the middle too. And both coasts.

Oh, there is one more piece of news: We have a Heron Throne! Ironic that it comes in just before Shipyards, but that'll still stack pretty nicely together. Next up in the islands is rushing workboats so we can have HT-Coves, and then Ballast will be an awesome place to own. The islands still need to get their lighthouses, shipyards, and sea havens built (probably in that order); it's going to be an interesting question how much we help them out with cash infusions. Especially the shipyards, which get doubled in effect by the golden age (conversely, the lighthouses only get the Org boost when handbuilding, not cashrushing). After that...probably the cities build us navy while growing, and settlers/workers once we want them to stagnate.

[Thoth]

T103 arrived, I went ahead and played it in the hopes of maybe a second turn today (probably too late for that, but it's worth a shot)

Micro notes for t104: Mainmast now has 18 happy citizens, it should steal the village that Poopdeck is currently working. Poopdeck works a Sage instead which gets our next GP at eot 104 (92ish % odds for the Gprofit)

Jibboom and Ballast should have their WBs rushed (they can complete them naturally this turn, but it means extra hammers for their lighthouses). Hatch needs the Pearl WB cash rushed as well.

I slotted another worker into Mizzenmast's queue as it'll be a 1t build and we could use the extra worker. I goofed and put a turn into the WS on the roaded Grass tile, we want to finish the ws on the unroaded grass first in order to save worker movement points once they are finished.

Road to Winch's Deer completes on turn 104. One worker to Deer and start camping (camp will complete t105 with the roading worker's help). Other worker in the area (on the "road this" tile) roads the "road 1t" tile and then moves to help out with Topsail's WS.

We're looking at t106 to found the Wheat site, the Wheat road finishes on turn 105 so we can start farming as soon as the city is built. Culture 1st here to get the borders popped, then the usual: cash rushed wbs, Lighthouse yadda, yadda yadda.

We will probably have to up the slider a notch on t104 in order to complete IW at eot 104, but I'm not 100% sure...if we have to, we have to. We can drop the slider back to 70% on t105 and still hit RL in time for the anarchy free swap to Theo/Conquest/Overcouncil.

[Mardoc]

T104 is a turn of foreign discoveries:



Uber's therefore our southern neighbor, and it seems odds are good that Ilios is the northern one. Although it's possible his galley is just wide-ranging.

Looks like our navy shouldn't wait all that long!

How are these two doing for themselves?

Uber's city count is quite respectable, and apparently about to increase:


Ilios is somewhat less impressive, which presumably explains the wonders and high GNP:


Graphs:

Basic takeaway? Yeah, Tatan is the least of our worries!

At EOT, we got our great prophet - and to celebrate, we got two free spreads! In Bilge and Hold.

Finally, if you have the time and inclination, Thoth, here's the tech screens. Or you could just move the southern galley SW and the northern one N-NE, get contact, and check them out directly. Given the GNP graph, I expect to be ahead here too, but not nearly as far as we are ahead of Tatan.

[Mardoc]

Finally, if you have the time and inclination, Thoth, here's the tech screens. Or you could just move the southern galley SW and the northern one N-NE, get contact, and check them out directly. Given the GNP graph, I expect to be ahead here too, but not nearly as far as we are ahead of Tatan.

Found some time after all.

Ilios:

Has on us:
Way of the Earthmother
Arete
Priesthood

We have on him:
Drama
Horseback Riding
Cartography
Hunting
Archery
Smelting
Iron Working
Sanitation
Military Strategy
Code of Laws
Currency
Masonry
Construction

NOT Message from the Deep!

Looks like his best military is...Cultists, Drowns, and/or swords.

Edit: Paramanders, and Bambur! And maybe the Mines for Iron all of the above.

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"]
Uberfish[/COLOR]

Has on us:
Priesthood
Way of the Forests

We have on him:

Horseback Riding
Writing
Trade
Cartography
Archery
Smelting
Iron Working
Masonry
Construction
Message from the Deep
Military Strategy
Currency

Looks like his best military is...Pyre Zombies

All in all - I think military-wise, I'm actually more in fear of Tatan than either of these two (and of course Uber comes in a close second). But of course, both of them can change that pretty rapidly, while Tatan's going to be stuck with Firebows for a while. And both of these could easily boat one of our cities, if they knew it was there. We're going to have to either get some better defenders in, or scouts/Hawks/Floating Eyes... or maybe a little preemptive port-razings

And in any case - once we build a Siege Workshop and make/upgrade a bunch of Iron Chariots, all we'll need in addition to that is Floating Eyes to be secure by land. Secure by sea? That probably takes Optics, the above and a bunch of hammers. And/or mages for Maelstrom/Cultists.

[Mardoc]

Uber followed that up with a ceasefire request, though, so maybe he just didn't want to risk opportunism. We countered with a Peace request, we'll see if he bites. If he does - next logical step is to see about opening trade with the Sheaim.

In the north, Ilios apparently wasn't interested in fighting, so we continued northward. One more turn will likely get us half-circumnavigation, then we'll bear east to pick up the other half. I'm tempted to try to knock out another galley in the south to head east, as well, in case of bad luck. We really want circumnav, and having waited this long, it feels like we could lose it.

In other, better news, Shipyards went into three of our queues this turn, and shortly will enter three more (Mainmast, Jib Boom, and Ballast all have reasons not to build a shipyard quite yet, but soon they will get past those). That should really boost the snowball. Granted, at about 300 gold a piece (after first turn), they're a bit steep - but they'll pay off pretty quickly. Worth 8 hammers/turn in Mizzenmast, for instance

[Thoth]

actually, 9 h per turn in Mizzenmast iirc....+ another 7 from GA hammers.

Trade routes with the Sheam just got shot to hell thanks to the loss of "years of peace" modifier. No reason to let him into our seas/lands to scout us out.

Resource trades (if there is anything to trade) sure....but OB? Fergettit.