[Spoilers] Bacchus debuts on RB showing unmatched vision and slick dice-rolling

[Cheater Hater]

So are we competitive with our neighbors in cities now? Granted, this in-fighting just means we'll be hopelessly behind the other continent/side of the landmass, but we can enjoy it now

[Bacchus]

We are competitive with Retep, might become competitive with William after this raze (btw, William also founded a city, so he still has 3) and nowhere near competitive with either Ichabod or Plako. However, we might have better long-term land prospects, I will soon post a picture of the jungle that the scout is exploring (he had to fight a Warrior and is now healing up).

[Bacchus]

Retep appears to have lost an axe storming Carmen, but there's no corresponding loss in power from William. I guess William rebuilt a unit on the same turn.

I've thought about it all and decided to push towards more of a farmer's gambit. Rather than take the 22 overflow from the whipped settler into an archer, I took it into a Worker. Just couldn't pass up that 8 hammer bonus. This also let's us work a mine in Demolished Man, freeing up the Wheat for the Settler in Double Star. We get our fourth city next turn, and the fifth some 9 turns after that. Unless retep somehow chooses to re-commit his axes from Inca, we should be fine. Re-settled ruins will have two archers and a chariot for defense (another chariot is zone-defending nearby). The fifth city will have even better protection, two archers and an axe, probably.

[Bacchus]

Oh yeah, we gained research visibility on retep (Writing, saving gold) and switched EP to plako and Ichabod.

[Bacchus]

Refounded Forever Machine and still sucking:



Largely because the cap was whipped down to 3, of course. In another 10 turns, these demos should look much better, we are at the bottom of hopefully a fairly steep growth curve.

Explanation for the atrocious Soldier score is above. Capital will start working on improving it in 2 turns, might be joined by Double Star. I'm thinking of chopping a library ahead of the granary in Forever Machine to grow a scientist, I'd quite like an Academy there.

[Bacchus]

Traded maps with Dhalpir for the south:



Now, I assume he isn't going to trade the map on to Plako, if he does and Plako sees how abundant and safe the lands beyond America are, he would go on to roll Dhalpir over.

[Bacchus]

Here's an overview of the entire continent:


And here's the dotmap for after we've settled the floodplains:


More than enough to keep us busy. In some ways, it's a blessing for the game that we've rolled this start rather than anyone else, in competent hands I'm sure one could have done wonders. The immediate starting prospects are perhaps not so hot — no double pig, like America or two cows/wet corn like Inca, but good expansion space. The gray dots are highly provisional. The barbs settled in an ok fashion, I think, but need to certify — it will take the scout a couple of turns to get past them without endangering himself.

Upcoming highlights: City 5 (north), gem mine, complete improvement of The Big Time (two seafood, copper mine, marble quarry, river grass cottage), pump out settlers, escorts and some army to guard against retep.

EDIT: Actually, I will probably settle on the sugar in the south.

[Bacchus]

Took some pictures for a post and forgot to post. Inca and Khmer power is peaking ridiculously, looks like these guys are into duelling mode. William got a Great General, too, so things aren't going the way I would have liked them to. Retep is Pro, so I hope he can hold out, otherwise I will have to send some chariots up to mess with Incan stacks while they are vulnerable and in enemy territory.

Also, retep is researching HBR. Takes 14 turns for him, so I'm sure he won't get it in time.

[Bacchus]

Graph tells the most important story of the game:


Looks like I really will have to save retep from William. Oh well. Fun thing is, whilst this was happening, we caught up on crop yield a bit.


Capital is now into military building mode, as I decided to build the fifth worker in Double Star, where there was a lot of overflow from the Settler, letting us get 5 hammers of the Exp bonus, couldn't pass that up.

Not much to do for us, except for expand-expand-expand into all that space down in the jungle, using plako's pressure on dhalpir to boot. All the military action by contrast will be in the north, and that's only to prevent William from ever getting retep's lands. The Inca-Greece war is still going on, btw, which is a boon.

[Cheater Hater]

Why do we need to save retep--just so William doesn't get an unstoppable empire?