[spoilers] Commodore: Worse than Toku, it's Giggles of Siam!

[Thoth]

Had a look in game:

If we whip away the Ivory and riverside hamlet next turn we can found the Awesome No Food 1 tile Island city the same turn (or a turn after) we get Currency. The city will suck donkey balls for all time, but right now it's worth more than a gold mine.

Tweaked the tile micro in TM/Capital so that we are working a Plains mine instead of a Grass forest. What are we? Zulus?

1.5 bpt for 3 hammers is a good exchange. We complete currency and the Settler we might or not be able to afford to settle on the same turn as with the GF tile config. But we gain an extra 3h into the 3xp cat.

Also: I think finishing the Col in TM and working another riverside cot is better than finishing the settler faster. The riverside cott helps pay for the city.

[Commodore]

Okay, well, first issue answered, it's scorched earth, I asked Pin and he said he didn't want to reload. So. It's also scorched water, or at least scorched nets. Would 20-30 more builder turns be unmerciful?


Farming XP, Gangnam Style. I'll agree about the saving of it, unless that barb worker is still hanging out there next turn; we could really use 60 hammers now more than 100 later. Meanwhile, enjoying the fighting:


Coldspring Way is needing that worker badly, this is a lot of yucky jungle to clear. However! This is also an awesome, awesome city. Feast your eyes on dry corn, bananas, grassland horse, plains hill plant. Yum.


I'm all about trading 4 hammers for [strike]1.5[/strike]2* beakers, absolutely. But it's foodhammers in TM's case, so it's more like trading 1 hammer, in this case. We'll be getting the cat out next turn in either case with the chop rolling in though, so eh. That cat will be moved post-haste to arrive at the Suicide Lands in time for the balloon to go up.


Elsewhere, fiddling. Welcome to the 10h/turn club, Willowbrooke! Honestly, starving this place is another good reason to slow down on settling Riverside to steal the poor hungry folks' crabs. But that crappy foodless wonder hurts my very soul to contemplate settling...maybe the fish island in the east? I just...I dunno if I can do it, man.


The east! We know India now.


This comes courtesy of our new contact, Serdoa, who must be soon to Alphabet, particularly once we torch his remaining trade cities. Here's the diplo-map. Not shown? Azza gifting Scoopin gold.


Maybe we should take a nice copper/clam city from him...

[Commodore]

What can men do against such reckless hate? (Beyond, I dunno, win the culture war)


Clearly, the answer is to take it out on the barbarians. The worker did it, man, I just couldn't turn that down. On the plus side, we now can finish Currency on time! Barely, with great strain, but still...


It's getting the point where I almost start to question completing units. Trading stacks would be a great boon for the economy. You're right about needing the good TRs, by the way; Hawke's Ridge, tiny as it is, still is worth 15gpt. But it's also got hammers and food, and it worth something. I think the tundra isle...isn't. Unless we can find a fish, the galley is going to go look.


We need the gems online stat; not just for the happiness independence, although that's great, but also for the sexy +6gpt yield. It's getting painful, children, thank goodness we're going Currency first. These little rump-cities need to start paying for themselves!


So, then, what about Tranquil Meadow? Well, see, tiny issue with building the Colosseum this second...unhappy useless citizen for two turns. Waiting until the mine completes lets us make that zero unhappy turns, combining the extra hammers with the settler overflow. Then, of course, we finish the library, it's a crime we don't have one in a place with so much commerce.


One other thing you might have noticed above. We need health once HR comes online! Sheep/rice will be fine, but we're low low in that life expectancy. Otherwise, we're going well for people with the top soldier count by a lot...let's just push out the Zulu and REX, and I think we can top all of these.


Except imports/exports. Alphabet doesn't just clear to bulb Philosophy, we need OB.

[Thoth]

It's getting the point where I almost start to question completing units. Trading stacks would be a great boon for the economy. You're right about needing the good TRs, by the way; Hawke's Ridge, tiny as it is, still is worth 15gpt. But it's also got hammers and food, and it worth something. I think the tundra isle...isn't. Unless we can find a fish, the galley is going to go look.

Finish up the units, and grow our cities onto commerce as much as possible.

Tundra Isle....I know you hate the idea. It's ok. Ellimist hates my city placement notions as well.

TI sucks donkey balls as a city. But we can found it soon and it's worth +8 commerce on the mainland, 5 commerce from base tile and trs plus 2c from the one coast tile it will work (until we whip a gran 23t after founding and a LH a million turns later). We'll have the settler on hand soon (hand built I think ) plus a second settler. Settling the PoS offshore city pays for the mainland city with a bit left over. Two mainland cities will cost us more than they make even with currency.

Sailing off into the fog and paying support and away costs hoping for something decent.

We need the gems online stat; not just for the happiness independence, although that's great, but also for the sexy +6gpt yield. It's getting painful, children, thank goodness we're going Currency first. These little rump-cities need to start paying for themselves!

Worked gems mine be teh sexy.

Rump cities with +4c in tr income pay for themselves fast.

So, then, what about Tranquil Meadow? Well, see, tiny issue with building the Colosseum this second...unhappy useless citizen for two turns. Waiting until the mine completes lets us make that zero unhappy turns, combining the extra hammers with the settler overflow. Then, of course, we finish the library, it's a crime we don't have one in a place with so much commerce.

As much as I hate Marketplaces in general, (they're a horrible Hammer/Gold investment vs building Wealth in a lot of cases) I think a Marketplace in TM and Capital before Libs is the better play in this case. The MPs are worth +2 happy (Whales and Ivory) which means more worked cots in our main commerce cities in addition to the extra gold when cashing. More gold when cashing means fewer turns cashing needed per tech turn.

One other thing you might have noticed above. We need health once HR comes online! Sheep/rice will be fine, but we're low low in that life expectancy. Otherwise, we're going well for people with the top soldier count by a lot...let's just push out the Zulu and REX, and I think we can top all of these.

Health we can fix with hammers once it becomes an issue in the cap.

We do after all have a UB that gives +2 heath and +1 food.

And we can (eventually) build a Harbour for +3 Health from Seafood.

In the meantime, a Lighthouse post Market gives us all the food we need to get to size 20.

Except imports/exports. Alphabet doesn't just clear to bulb Philosophy, we need OB another offshore Trade Route per city.

Meh. We don't *need* Alp yet. OB would only be worth a couple of commerce per turn from foreign offshore TRs. Sign OB with anyone who's willing, sure. But let them do the heavy lifting for the moment.

Tech it when we need to clear a bulb.

[Thoth]

And if we're really, really stuck and in a bind.

We have a crapton of 2c coast tiles we can work in the fringes if we have to. T'aint pretty. But if we're really stuck for commerce to get us to Monarchy.....it'll help get the job done.

[Commodore]

So, then, what about Tranquil Meadow? Well, see, tiny issue with building the Colosseum this second...unhappy useless citizen for two turns. Waiting until the mine completes lets us make that zero unhappy turns, combining the extra hammers with the settler overflow. Then, of course, we finish the library, it's a crime we don't have one in a place with so much commerce.

As much as I hate Marketplaces in general, (they're a horrible Hammer/Gold investment vs building Wealth in a lot of cases) I think a Marketplace in TM and Capital before Libs is the better play in this case. The MPs are worth +2 happy (Whales and Ivory) which means more worked cots in our main commerce cities in addition to the extra gold when cashing. More gold when cashing means fewer turns cashing needed per tech turn.

I knew I was forgetting something! Hammer/gold ratio be damned, marketplaces are worth it to us as just happy buildings. +3 before too long...


Calendar: Nice but I think we'd rather go up the Lit line first. Thoughts?

[Thoth]

I knew I was forgetting something! Hammer/gold ratio be damned, marketplaces are worth it to us as just happy buildings. +3 before too long...


Calendar: Nice but I think we'd rather go up the Lit line first. Thoughts?

arrrrgh. You hit my weak spot.

I love Calendar with access to marble.

MoM/Parth is one of my favourite SP buildery combos........


but I'm not convinced we have the luxury of heading down that path.

Dunno. But we'll have a few turns yet before we have to commit after currency.

[Commodore]

Currency is gonna be close. Down to 70% this turn, we're looking at 12gold short next turn, but we can work gold, ironically, so I think we're gonna be okay.


I wistfully wish Winding Creek was an IC-TR. Here's Generica, folks...I guess we can settle Thoth's Folly down in the south, although looking at in terms of wealth-building, that's a 100 hammers of wealth builds.


I really don't expect to net the MoM. The Parthenon? Maybe.

[Commodore]

Another two thirds of a day, another turn here in PB8. Bad turn for Azza; although the top power went massively down and he spawned a GG recently, it wasn't enough...the oddly named iron city is no more. So! I'll be on the look out for him begging more iron. We want to keep him propped up for as long as possible.


Glancing at other people's cores makes me extremely grateful for a dedlurker who shrieks like a smoke detector at Bonnaroo when I don't build and work cottages. Plako and Slowcheetah I haven't seen and are doing well still, but of the Seven Mainlanders and India? This is the best core in the game, bar none. Ten more cottages to go!


Civilization, however, will always have its detractors. It took a while, but it looks like the barbs are finally spawning real units, like the spear fellow here. Not that I mind, Brian's little 4xp has been annoying me for some time, he needs shock. Next turn, I'm still debating getting the experience boat-borne cat to the front in time for the balloon to go up by settling Riverside now. TM's settler will be for the Craphole Island. Yes...you've convinced me.


On to dotmaps! Gentlemen, Jungle Generica:

[Commodore]

It was so low-key making contact with him, nonetheless...

Serdoa (Erratic, Competent) as Charles DuGaulle (Chm/Ind) of Maya (Myst,Mining,Holkans,Ball Courts)

Serdoa herein manages to get a goodish combo that I'm pretty sure he hates. He's spoken at length elsewhere of his disdain for Ind, which he's used to great effect but is now tired of. Maya...man, I'd have killed to have gotten Maya, but the Ball Courts are less game-changing without the Cre discount, and his holkans we're needed with his core copper. Still, its strong beyond doubt, and in his very competent hands, it's obviously worked well for him.

His current situation is...interesting. He's accurately top player right now, with his Colossus-boosted coasts and his Representation specialists promising to keep him on top for quite some time. However, he has problems. Looking at the map, I'm buggered to tell where he's getting iron from, particularly with Lewwyn stealing his pink dot northwest. It's all about fighting over the big No Man's Land between him, Xenu, and Brick. So, his future is violent...his amazing two core cities naked, sweltering jungles southwest, and contested lands everywhere else. Interesting times ahead for the top dog; this is not Krill in PB5.

Let's enjoy!