RB Pitboss #1 SPOILER - Hatshepsut / India

[regoarrarr]

Well we're back in the swing of things and dsplaisted has ALREADY built the Great Lighthouse!

So.... there goes that plan!

At least I hadn't started on it, so no loss. Guess that just goes in with my pre-game plan that any wonders / religions / first to do bonuses will be VERY hard to come by, without really mortgaging things to get it.

Makes me really think Broker has no chance at a Feudalism Oracle on T83.

[Sullla]

Hey, at least nobody spilled the beans. We had you totally in the dark, even though we knew you didn't have a snowball's chance at that wonder. :neenernee

[regoarrarr]

A big neener neener indeed!

As for the bean spilling, I know you're just tweaking me, and it is probably deserved, but just to clarify for anyone else out there reading, I know nobody would intentionally give out spoilers, but I also know it can be hard to try and balance interacting with us in these threads without giving spoilers. As far as I know, everyone is doing a good job there

As for my plans, I don't know what to do. I had Sailing queued up, but now I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't bother.

Should I bother with the HG? I could probably get it, since I will be among the first to math. But I'll only have probably 4 cities. But the engineer points would be nice to, since that would assure me a later warrior (maybe even the Pyramids if nobody bothers?)

Or maybe I should just give up wonder chasing and play to my strengths.

Problem is I'm Creative, which is good except so is everyone else. And I'm Spiritual, but all the early religions are long gone

I do seem to have a lot of land available and am set up in a good tech brokering situation, so perhaps I should try an early land grab.

Definitely going to have to think this one over. It's too bad he couldn't have snagged the GL BEFORE this 4 day break - would have given me a chance to figure out what to do next!

[scooter]

If I were in your shoes, the landgrab idea is what would make the most sense to me. You've very nicely made friends with your neighbors, and you also have land available to you, so claim it while you can. Pleeeenty of time to snag wonders later after you've got the city sites you want since you know there's only one industrious civ in the game (a benefit you do not normally have in SP). Plus you don't have stone (right?) which makes wonder-chasing less time-efficient IMO.

Of course, you could also use the "only one industrious civ" as a good excuse to go wonder chasing too . Just my two cents on how I would play it only because of the two reasons listed above.

[Dantski]

Generally agree with what scooter said.

As for sailing, when's sunrise going to be delivering a missionary? Do we need a galley for that?

[regoarrarr]

Okay that is what we'll do then - general expansion as fast as safely possible. I will try and figure out some MM plans to get that done.

Sunrise had to delay the missionary by a few turns. He has to build the galley but I will probably get it faster if I build one myself.

@LURKERS - Anyone want to try and WB a test to see if I will get OB with Sunrise when I build my city which will diagonally touch his borders? I tried to do one but it didn't seem to work

[regoarrarr]

Okay. Time for a T61 update. I'd like to give a more detailed one, but I'm kind of pressed for time as I am heading out of town in the morning.

Cincinnati. Just grew (back) to size 4. Growth in 3, library in 3. Though actually next turn I will swap from the grass hill mine back to the cottaged silks and grow in 2 instead of 3. Library still in 3. Plan is to pump settlers and workers out. My days of whipping here may be over, since in the fairly short term, I will have religion + temple + monarchy / her. rule and Calendar isn't too far down the road either.

Green Twp - Just finished a workboat for Whitewater and is onto an axe. Axe will be sent to the north. Also just grew to size 4 this past turn, and has growth in 6. Making a healthy 12hpt, which will go up to 15hpt when it grows. Next up in some order will be a library, barracks, and military for all my new cities. Possibly also a galley.

Whitewater - the new city, founded on the "city" sign on the west coast of Brookville Lake. Currently working the fish, and on a granary, which will be double-chopped and possibly whipped. Workboat from Green will arrive next turn and net the fish.

Diplomacy - The league of 5 is still going strong, and we're targeting somewhere in the late 70s / turn 80 for the big trade. I do need to chase up ZPV and make sure we're on the same page, as I believe we will both be sending our next settlers to the same-ish area (near the southern horses / cow). I think we've got the border mapped up but just to make sure.

The lins are trying to organize a pillaging / choking party to send up towards Krill. They are sending 2 vultures and a spear. They want me to also contribute the same, and I am stalling. I REALLY don't want to do that. Not only from the wasted resources, but also the diplomatic animosity. I'm reminded of an analogy of the basketball game 21. The guy that guards the person with the ball doesn't win. It's the guy who hangs out by the basket and waits for the rebound!! I will endeavor to keep you, my faithful lurkers, up to speed on that.

Exploration - I see that someone (Ruff?) has apparently met everyone. I am still missing dsplaisted and m_h. My warriors are close enough (latitudally speaking) that I can see them both on the same screen. Because I am a major dork, I got out my ruler and attempted to measure the width of a tile and the width of the blackness, and got 19 squares remaining. But it might be closer to 15. I have currently explored 73 tiles. Maybe 90 total? I am pondering talking to Broker (who last time I talked to him appeared to be a few tiles ahead of me) and paying him off in the circumnavigation race, but I don't want to do that till I have to (and till I think I can win).

Oh the other thing going on diplomatically is that the Lins are proposing a deal where they and Broker contact someone (dsplaisted) and offer Alpha and Monarchy for Metal Casting, while Sunrise, ZPV and I do the same with our techs to someone else (shadyforce?) for Metal Casting. I think the idea is to try and encourage duplication of research while trying to engender some goodwill with other teams.

I also think this is an awful idea and am trying to sabotage it as best I can. Their reasoning that the obvious answer to a tech cabal of 5 is to form a counter cabal, and that is valid. But I think if that's going to happen, it's going to happen anyways, and I think the only thing this will give is us 3 techs to our enemies. And for obvious reasons if this does go through, I don't want it to be with shady (nothing against him personally), since if things go according to ZPV's plan, shady will not be able to research MC very fast, and if he does, he's not going to want to trade it to at least ZPV, and possibly not me either, depending on what my role is in all that, if any.

I guess that's about it.

[regoarrarr]

Email to ZPV

Hey ZPV,

Guess we missed each other the other day, and I've been on vacation so haven't been online as much. I'm actually heading out of town tomorrow morning (these past 2 days I've been off work but still here in town), so communication may be even spottier.

I should have decent (once or twice a day) contact via email, so hopefully we can work a few things out there over the weekend. There were a few issues I wanted to run by you though.

1. Our border cities. Last I heard you were sending a settler up this way to the horse city around T70 or so. I am planning (For now) to send my next settler to that same area. My plan is to found on the tile 2N 1E of the cows. That does get the cow in its BFC but since the cow will be 1st ring for you I am hoping that won't be an issue. I am not planning on providing undue pressure on the city but obviously I am creative as well as at some point (not necessarily immediately) it will want a library and the regular stuff. From my understanding once your borders pop (And I know you were planning on chopping out a monument ASAP), you push 20cpt on to your first ring. Let me know if this is an issue. Off the top of my head, I'd look to found my city around T77? I know you offered to permagift me the cow resource and I appreciate that. I shouldn't need it now but I will let you know.

2. The whole Metal Casting tech deal that has been floating around. What are your thoughts on the matter? I'm not too keen on the idea in general for the reasons I laid out in my email, but if it does go through, obviously neither you or I want shadyforce in on the deal since a) we don't want him any stronger and b) if things go according to plan he's not going to be researching well, much less wanting to trade to either of us. If you feel similarly, do you think it would be worth sending an email to the lins and everyone with your thoughts?

3. I think we will get trade routes once our 2 cities are founded, or maybe even after you found yours?

4. Anything else?

[Iamjohn]

I REALLY don't want to do that.
....
I also think this is an awful idea and am trying to sabotage it as best I can.

You attempt to make everyone mildly happy with you and all you'll end up with everyone irritated/angry at you for refusing to do anything. You made your alliances already when you joined the evil cabal.

[regoarrarr]

You attempt to make everyone mildly happy with you and all you'll end up with everyone irritated/angry at you for refusing to do anything. You made your alliances already when you joined the evil cabal.

Perhaps you are right. I guess I will have to play that one by ear. I apparently already have a unit near the Incan borders (and Dreylin does too), and they are wanting to provide some sort of aggressive action. So we'll see...