[SPOILERS] Kurumi & wetbandit serve you Hannibal's Breakfast Cocktail (of Persia)

[Bigger]

Buro doesnt multiply with Academy (academy boosts research, Buro boosts overall commerce), so even if you build an academy and then move the capital it won't have much of an effect.

I'd just build your academy in the best research city now, capital or not.

[NobleHelium]

The fact that Bureaucracy boosts commerce and an academy boosts beakers is what makes them multiply.

[wetbandit]

Yeah, 50% more coins getting the 50% science boost.

The issue with moving the palace is the opportunity cost involved. I can probably whip the palace in Sobieski in 10 turns, but then it will be size 4, lack a library, market, and lighthouse. Tail will be size 15 next turn with all of those buildings in place, working improved tiles or financial lakes. Sobieski will take many turns just to get up to where Tail is now with pop growth and infra builds.

The potential return in Sobieski may not make a move worthwhile, given that I expect no more than 150 turns remaining in this game, before concession or our death. Both have 11 cottage tiles, Sobieski has 9 riverside spots to Tail's 3. I haven't run much more detailed simulations, nor will I, but I think keeping the palace where it is makes decent sense.

On the final turn of the GA, Tail will produce about 100 coins +75% science for 175 beakers; tech set on Priesthood, OF onto MC. I'm hoping to one turn MC and I think I'll get damn close if I don't actually do it.

Open question: when would you research Alphabet in a game like this? Spies are not allowed to be built. I figure it would be useful as a future overflow generator, but the ability to see techs I guess has some value. I don't think it would have much value, but it's something. FWIW, this game feels like tech is quite slow, aside from the strange GA birth which Kurumi thought was music. Theo just fell. I'm puzzled as to why if Music fell, why someone hasn't built the Great Library? I doubt they'd go to Music through Drama.

And while I'm still here postponing RB Fantasy Football research, dumped a good portion of EPs onto WLP. I'm hesitant to do so on Molach, for fear of prodding the Praet Guy. Seems like we're also one of the earlier ones to get Courthouses online.

Oxy declared on WLP. Our scout is out trying to find the way to the Far East, we might catch some part of this war looking for a way in.

[Commodore]

How do the immediate maint savings work out?

[wetbandit]

I didn't do much in the way of distance maintenance calculation. I believe that we would have saved some coins, but based on my searches, I couldn't find the appropriate 3.19 BTS way it is calculated. I didn't want to rely on the information I found as it was pre-BTS. Maintenance is going to be an issue, because:




Quite a few island spots to colonize.






Azza's peace deal runs out in 3 turns, we're in place to take these cities.

I ended up settling the GS in Tail, but the FP may become a priority, potentially in Grey Goose of Sobieski.

Obligatory last turn of GA shots.




Super-inflated GNP.



Kurumi and I chatted briefly about tech path. We're going to head towards MC->Machinery and probably stay in builder mode by focusing on Calendar/Aeth->Lit, order yet to be determined. Calendar is nice for the 3 extra happy we can have, getting the epics online with fast build would be nice too.

Triemes will be ordered up after MC to protect the Northern and Southern coasts. A few maces should deter aggression.

[NobleHelium]

Nothing in the patches changed distance maintenance.

[wetbandit]

Things aren't looking too bad for us. Demos after EOT whips:




I found WLP's MOM city, it's also the Hindu holy city. It's closer to his border with BXB so any dreams of sniping the wonder built with our marble are pretty low.




Lots more islands. Peace treaty expires in 2 turns, going to send the galley back with both immortals to ensure a capture. Azza can whip one warrior here. We're already up to +2 rejoin Motherland unhappiness.

[wetbandit]

Played the turn over lunch, no time to post pictures. Peace Treaty expires next turn and we are in place to attack both of Azza's remaining cities, albeit mainly by amphibious attacks. His capital on the Ice Island can be hit with 2 axes from the galley, there are also 2 axes walking East from his hill. We can always land the axes if necessary. Azza's ice city has first-ring fur which is hugely important for Tail as it is +2 with its market; I wanted the option to amphibiously attack to speed up assimilation.

There is an immortal landed on the Tundra hill within striking range of Not Dead Yet and the sentry immortal can also attack amphibiously if necessary from the 5-mover. The city is empty. I expected Azza would have whipped, but he still can. He also has 2 workers, but I imagine he'll delete them.

MC came in and I set tech to Machinery, due in 4 turns at 60%. We have enough turns for 3 turns of research, but I'll start a wealth build or two next turn to ensure we can get there in time. Started forge in capital as much for the happy as for the hammer boost. Tail is at size 16 and will grow in 3 turns.

Machinery is key as we've fallen far behind in power. I'd like to flash a mace or xbow for the sake of deterrence, if that's worth anything. Our demos look really good right now, except for the soldier count. Our front cities are lightly garrisoned and wouldn't hold up to a determined attack.

I've got EPs boosted on WLP as we'll have research visibility soon. There's nothing he can do about that as he doesn't appear to have any courthouses. With our boosted EPs, we needed somewhere to place the EPs, I've also thrown a lot on Suttree to track another top end guy for relatively cheap. Molach has courthouses and more of them than us; I'm not interested in getting into an EP fight with him and am content with a graph stalemate.

[wetbandit]

Pictures are at home on ye olde dropbox, but we declared and took Not Dead Yet, leaving Azza with his Capital. The city was empty and I captured the two workers. I opted to land the axes as I had a bout of timidity with a 29% shot with either axe from the boat. Stupidly left the CG axes to walk and took the shock axes on the boat. There is one archer in the city and I imagine one archer will be whipped in next turn.

Research visibility gained on WLP. He is saving gold on Monarchy. Put full EP on Suttree and in 2 turns we'll see his research. Molach banked a considerable amount of EP on us (that's him ahead roughly 280:120) and he also has courthouses built, which would mean a big uphill battle. He added a Praet to his Southern border and has 2 Praets and a Spear in his capital. His power is going up and I'm getting paranoid.

We can comfortably get to Machinery in 3 turns. Two turns would burn up all of our gold and I'd like to try and get to enough to upgrade an axe or an archer, as the case may be. Capture gold will help with this.

[wetbandit]

GG Azza, I'm appreciative that there were no issues with our turn splits. And, again, you were spurned by the RNG. To keep with the theme of this game, we won the first battle with the axe at 58% odds.

Pictures from this turn:




Very happy to grab Fur, Crab, and Sheep with those two new cities; all resources we didn't have. Azza's elimination means we can have token forces in our backlines, not that there was a serious threat of invasion, but now there is none.

Current Diplo situation:




Suttree declared war on Oxy, hopefully this will cause Molach to divert attention from us and not consider that his Eastern front is secure.

Molach has some troop buildup going on:






Our other front seems relatively quiet:



As seen in the later screenshots, we can make Machinery in 1 turn. I'll turn research off and save some gold for potential upgrading. Mad Dog will go into full-scale Mace production.




WLP is one-turning Monarchy, so I'm guessing he is the top GNP.

Current plan is to consolidate gains. Backfill tech with Calendar, HBR and get Lit for epics. Expand into the Islands. Keep a credible military force to deter Molach and WLP.