RB Pittboss #1 - SPOILER - Washington/Carthage

[Jabah]

Seems a waste to build Maoi in green, it looks like you will be working a maximum of 2 sea tiles for most of the game if this is your military center (you will be working as many hills as possible, I guess).

It could be better at black dot (where you could even chop it), where you could be working lots of sea when/while growing each time your happy cap changes.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Seems a waste to build Maoi in green, it looks like you will be working a maximum of 2 sea tiles for most of the game if this is your military center (you will be working as many hills as possible, I guess).

It could be better at black dot (where you could even chop it), where you could be working lots of sea when/while growing each time your happy cap changes.

You might be right. I was planning for later in the game, when happy caps will be higher. As soon as I get a monument it will be at 7, however, and with HeredRule, and the Medieval happiness resources available to me, it will be a double-digit size before too long.

Soon after that, however, grassland workshops will be better - except in a golden age.

The main question about Moai without Stone is - where can you build it that it is worth it?

You can't build it in a low-production city, because that will take too long, or else divert chops away from needed commerce multipliers (e.g. Universities for Oxford).

So it will have to be a high production city - either one with a research bent, or one which lacks the grasslands to profit from workshops. Maybe Yellow? I'm not totally convinced it is worth it, but I don't have to commit now

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Here is a screenshot from my latest turn:


Since my last report, several things have happened:

I've founded a second city. I believe I was the first to do so, as Imhotep founded one later that turn (2600 BC), and regoarrarr the turn after.

I've finished Pottery, and my third worker (both last turn). This gave me enough overflow to build most of a Granary in Carthage, and a conveniently-timed chop means I will finish it in one turn! Time for maximum growth! I will take 4 turns to grow to size 4, then two turns to sizes 5 and maybe 6, and three turns for size 7. In 11 turns, I expect to be at size 7, and building my third Settler to overflow into a Library.

Utica has also started a Granary, which will complete in 4 turns, with the aid of a chop.

On the foreign front, I have met [strike]Imhotep of Zululand[/strike] Sauron of Mordor, and sunrise089 of Spain. He tells me he is not adjacent to a lake, so I'm left guessing who the coastal civs are.

I can see regoarrarr of India's borders in the fog, so I should meet him next turn, and sunrise has met Dreylin/Kalin and Krill/Memphus.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Things are afoot!
I am now pencilled in on a 5-way tech deal with 2 people I have met (sunrise and regoarrarr), and 2 people I haven't met, but hopefully will soon. (Dreylin and Broker).

Dreylin predicts t93 for Alphabet - but I think I can beat this by up to 20 turns, so t93 trades are not all that attractive for me. Is it in my interest to do speed things up? Just for me or for others too? This will require some thought, and I'd greatly appreciate lurker help on this.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

I've decided that I probably won't go for the tech deal - instead looking to set up my own deal with people with whom I'm not directly competing for land. EDIT: However, I see no need to tell that to regoarrarr et al just yet I'd appreciate it if none of you tell them either.

It just doesn't make sense in my book to boost my immediate neighbours - especially when I am the fastest teching of any of them.

I can complete Alphabet, after Mysticism and Sailing, on t75 without the benefit of foreign trade routes or rival-tech-known bonuses. I doubt that the regoarrarr-sunrise-dreylin-broker brigade will have anything useful to trade for it at that time - so I'll have to look to shadyforce, and anyone else with a good tech rate, for techs to trade, before I decide to go for this route at all.
dsplaisted lacks trading partners, so I think he will be quite willing to deal with me, although if he researches too slowly, I might give him a favourable deal in exchange for me temporarily directing his research.

This also allows me to build some units, and use my power rating as a bargaining tool when negotiating borders without antagonizing my trading partners - I have a couple of aggressive chokepoint-on-hills spots in my eyeline, and I'll need to be able to back them up.


However, this is all premature thought. Animal Husbandry is due in one turn, and I will see if/where I have horses. Once I know, I'll be able to work out the MM of my plans in detail, and be able to make more informed decisions about my diplomacy.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Here's the latest update, at turn 50 = 2000BC.



Writing is due in one turn, which means shadyforce's work boat can start moving again.
My capital has grown to size 7, and is will complete a Settler in 2 turns - since there are two chops coming in next turn.

Utica is waiting to grow to size 4, and then it will start building workers. It should be working a farm now, so if I can manage to log in before the turn ends, I'll change it.

Techwise, my plans are now for Sailing, Mysticism, and then Horseback Riding.

Do I have horses, I hear you ask. Sort of. They are equidistant between me and regoarrarr, and I am negotiating with him.



The gist of my proposal is, I get that nice site on the hill with horses+cattle, and in return I will give him shadyforce's capital by turn 100. This means I am back in on the 5-way tech deal, which conveniently doesn't include shadyforce.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

The gist of my proposal is, I get that nice site on the hill with horses+cattle, and in return I will give him shadyforce's capital by turn 100. This means I am back in on the 5-way tech deal, which conveniently doesn't include shadyforce.

As you may have learned from regoarrarr, we have come to an agreement about the horses.

Formal agreement between regoarrarr and ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF:

* ZPV settles a city sometime around T70 on the hill 1SW of the cows between our 2 lands to grab the nearby horses.
* ZPV also at some point may settle a city roughly SE of the cow / horse city, on the southern coast.
* ZPV cedes to regoarrarr all lands NE of a line between these 2 cities.
* ZPV and regoarrarr agree to not exert any undue cultural pressure on the border between them.
* Should regoarrarr desire, ZPV will perma-gift a cow resource to regoarrarr.
* Somewhere on or around T90, ZPV will attack shadyforce of Persia
* regoarrarr is not needed to provide any military assistance
* All gold from city captures will be ZPV's
* All gold from any pillaging will go to whoever pillages the resources
* All workers captured belong to the civ whose unit captures them.
* shadyforce's capital will be given to regoarrarr when it comes out of revolt. Only by mutual agreement may the handover may be delayed.
* Any other Persian cities may be given to regoarrarr but will likely be razed. Where possible, ZPV will consult with regoarrarr before razing / capturing but as military general, ZPV will have the final say.
* ZPV will not pillage any improvements in the former Persian capital, with the exception of metal mines.
* ZPV will leave an adequate military force (3 Numidian Cavalry) in the former Persian capital until such time as regoarrarr can incorporate it into the Indian empire and defend it himself. Term of stay to be decided by mutual agreement.
* ZPV and regoarrarr agree to an NAP until T110. 15 turns before the agreement ends, it extends for an additional 15 turns. So on T95, unless canceled, it will extend until T125, and so forth.
* It is hoped that this agreement will be the first step to continued long-term cooperation between our two nations.

I have spotted a Malinese Axeman, and dsplaisted has Sailing, so I wonder if he is trying to attack shadyforce. If he does, it'll be easier for me to attack, because it will be far away from his core.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

I will be doing a big proper update once the turn rolls over, since Stonehenge is 1 turn away from completion, and I want to know whether I actually get it before I post it.

Here is a small teaser:



It looks to me like I've gotten the fastest start, as shown by my #1 positions in GNP, Manufactured Goods and Crop Yield. Furthermore, I am on the inside of a 5-way trade cartel, and look like I will have very short land borders.

This has come at a little cost, though. All of my cities are (and will be) coastal, so I will have to be vigilant against the possiblity of a naval attack. When the time comes, I'll have to make sure to have a good scouting net.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Time for the big update I promised!

First of all, why don't we have a look at the state of the land, as shown by my attempts
to crash my laptop with flying camera mode. I have added a dotmap for my somewhat
certain cities, and there is some more space yet to be decided.



For the 1024x768 crowd, I'll continue in the next post, so that you don't have to scroll to read the text

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

The dotmap is fairly settled - I have a border agreement with regoarrarr about Yellow Dot, which will give me horses, and later be a strong hill border city.

I will found this city as soon as possible - I am getting a bit antsy without any military resources hooked up, and will need the horses in order to invade shadyforce.

After that, I will need another commerce city, so I'll found Green Dot, and build some cottages on the floodplains.

My Western border is still undecided (the red circled area). Kalin stated an interest in the area with Silks and Wines. I haven't responded yet, but I will give a vehement "No!". The plains hill forest - a site for a strategic chokepoint, albeit without any food, is closer to my capital than his, and I don't intend to make any concessions in this regard.

On the other hand, the parts of this region which I could reasonably claim seem completely devoid of food resources. My instinct is to try and get the plains hill site, and found another junk city (also on a hill) in between it and my core to give it an air of defensibility - but I honestly don't know what is best. I will ask kalin for some map information about the south coast, and if I decide I don't want to bother with securing that land, I can at least try to extract some concessions for it.

One more point in favour of the contested land is it looks like that the lake to its north is 20 tiles in size, which means galleys can be built on it. In any case, a well placed fortress will allow it to be navigated, and increase my flexibility when things come to a head.

Finally, there is some land just out of my view at the south of the picture.
If this is an island, it will definitely be worth it to found a city there, and grow it to size 11, because I don't expect everyone to keep open borders with me all game long, and this will give me a 3-commerce trade route in all cities with a Cothon. (which will be all of them since it is so cheap with Exp) This can greatly reduce my need for foreign trade routes, which may be in short supply.