[SPOILERS] NHs rise to number 4

[NobleHelium]

Turn 14, Turn 15

Played two turns, not much going on.



I'm planning to go southwest onto the tundra hill next turn before doubling back north and then likely out west. Do we have a different idea?



Demos are the same for both turns.

[Serdoa]

I think you can make a slightly bigger round with the scout, defogging more tiles. We have the time for it before we need to make any decision easily.

[NobleHelium]

There is water 3W of the scout though. In fact I actually think that is a narrow strip of land with lots of water to the west, so we'll likely have a choice between straight north and straight south before we can go west. I figured north would be more useful.

[NobleHelium]

Turn 16

As described, there's quite a bit of water to the west.



I'm still planning to move northwest then north then northwest. I don't see how we can loop back in a reasonable timeframe if we go southwest next. Anyway, the good news is the corn of course, making southwest of the crab a prime spot now. It means we have three strong spots without any need for culture, so skipping Myst is definitely a consideration. However, I am very disappointed by the continuing lack of luxuries so far and it will definitely be a problem. Perhaps we should consider something like Oracle on Monarchy? Obviously we would go for Myst and religion in that case.

[Serdoa]

Didn't see the water. With that obviously your idea for scouting makes the most sense. Lack of happy is indeed an issue and by now I have to agree that CHA would have been very helpful. Maybe even too much tbh - I guess that's the issue with the trait, if you have happy it is not as good as if you have none. Which makes it another "Lets gamble"-trait, something I really dislike because it has nothing to do with actually planning and strategizing but just with pure luck, completely out of your own influence.

Anyhow. Oracle could be a possible play. I think we would need to work on an overflow chain though, so that we can (maybe with a chop or two) finish it in 1 turn. Else with that competition it is a recipe for disaster (read: not getting it and wasting a bunch of hammers). Probably would need to two pop whip a worker, let it in the queue, regrow, two-pop whip a settler, change back to the worker, finish it, overflow ~40 hammers into the settler. Settler finishes next with ~80 overflow. Leaves 70 to go still. Though we could most likely already chop a forest into the settler, getting more or less exact 100 overflow. Two more chops + natural production (city 2 could work 3 GLH-mines with a border pop) would finish it. Or simply three chops and doing it in the capital.

Now do we want to do that? First I wanted to write that I don't like it, because the path is rather unnecessary. But we are Sumeria, so actually we want PH sooner than later in any case. And with ORG to boot the courthouses are actually dirt cheap. 45 hammers, that's basically whip overflow from a worker + some production. And we would benefit with the 5th city already imo, as costs are raising rather quickly - or I had that feel at least when I played in the sandbox.

[NobleHelium]

Yes, costs are pretty high. Toroidal always makes a huge difference and the map isn't that large.

[NobleHelium]

Just noticed that that's a forested farm in the southwest there. It's not irrigated though so the improvement doesn't actually add anything, but if it persists until Civil Service it could be a 2/2 tile. Heh.

Also just remembered that yuris the Oracle Builder is in the game. MC is much cheaper now though and he's in a hole and has Krill pulling him in three different directions. I doubt he'd build Oracle before say t65.

[NobleHelium]

Turn 17



Found a flat plains mine, which translates to a normal grass mine. Can't complain about a free grass mine which is better than the plains cottage that we might otherwise have on that tile, although I do wish that it was forested.



First to size 2. Seven got a tech, probably Mining since power went up by 2k.

[NobleHelium]

dtay's playing window is highly overstated, by the way.

[NobleHelium]

Turn 18



Ichabod probably finished Mining too...