RBPB3 - Gandhi of the Egyptians

[shadyforce]

I can't tell from the screeny but does the river that the horses are on connect with your capital's river?

[Rodge]

I can't tell from the screeny but does the river that the horses are on connect with your capital's river?

Yeah, can't quite make it out either. I was wondering, if it does - does the link apply if you haven't defogged the whole river? Like trade routes don't apply until you defog the coast, for example.

Was also just wondering, do you think many people will have joined the dots and realise it was you that was behind the attack on Lobo, due to the discussion in the technical issues post? And do you think it'd affect future diplomacy if they do?

[Jabah]

I thought you need sailing to have river connection going outside your border ?
(from the pict, it seems to be the same river, but seriously outside egypt borders for a while)

[shadyforce]

T15:

Gaskin moves south-west. Doesn't reveal much of interest.

Worker moves onto the Sheep and begins Pasture as instructed. Why a Pasture though? Is not farming the Rice (or corn or whatever it is) to get 5f+c better than 4f+h+c? Is it because the pasture is done a turn earlier?

[Krill]

It depends what the aim of the game is If the aim is to grow asap to size 5, then the corn is better, by 2 food.

If the aim is get out a settler asap, the the sheep is better. Grow to size 2 and get a second warrior asap, using minimal overflow for food (total of 3 food). Overflow 3 hammers from teh warrior, allowing the settler to finish on exactly 100 hammers.

The corn first forces the city to grow to size 3, which costs an additional 21 food over the sheep, which is a fifth of the settler, and the extra citizen doesn't claw much of that back. It also delays the warrior because of the lack of the hammer on the corn tile, compared to the sheep.

If I was playing this game normally, I'd say that the corn would have been better, but then again I'd also go Mining now and get out a second worker then setter and try to settle both the gold and horses cities asap, but as illustrated I'm playing a little bit psycho right now.

[Krill]

Not sure which way to move...

Better hope that there aren't any barbs around...

[banshee]

Could you give MP noobs like me some thoughts on scouting your surrounding land vs. finding other teams? Sorry if I missed it on one of the previous pages.

[Krill]

These aren't just MP tactics, they are normal land scouting tactics. Coastal scouting is somewhat different, because tech paths are then involved and work boats are much more expensive...

This is a great thread detailing scouting. It was written for Civ 3, but the basic strategy behind scouting is exactly the same now as it was then.

There are three choices:

1. Sit in your capital.
   
2. Circle your capital
   
3. Go Deep

Number one is the absence of scouting, to make sure you don't get warrior rushed. I've already posted beforehand why some of the time (when no one can see your capital without declaring war) the decision to declare war and warrior rush is based solely off previous games. That means that if you think you won't get warrior rushed by the other players playing, pick one of hte other 2 choices (so knowledge of their playing styles is important).

Number 2 should never be confused with Number 1. It is so easy for an enemy warrior to pop up on the diagonal at the end of a turn and then while you've been circling you can't get back in time. You have to treat them separately.

This tactic is best for when you want to provide limited resources to scouting, and instead dedicate them to settling the best city sites you can find adjacent to yiour capital. The aim is to make the strongest economy you can asap and get into the front of the pack, and dictate the game from there. Generally it works more when you go worker/workboat first and second or vice versa, or maybe even worker>worker, and you are going without a warrior for an extended period of time. You enter the diplomatic game later than 3, so you need to be careful.

Number 3 is the diplomatic game: you aim to contact as many people as fast as you can and form alliances, make friends, and guard your back. Ultimately you want to make a tech alliances (UTA style) for at least the first round of tech trades, and try to butter up your neighbours to that you all have a safe part of the map to expand into, instead of having to make fight over it. You usually need to get out extra scouts though to scout around the capital late on to find new city sites, and this slows your growth compared to 2 because your settler comes out later.

This is where 2 and 3 come into conflict: 3 will have a group of alliances set up once 2 enters the scene, and when 2 can't break into the diplomatic scene the game degenerates into a long term war game (just look at PB1 for an example of that!) If 3 doesn't have enough allies then all else being equal 2 will overcome them through economic strength. If 3 has a strong enough alliance system and has managed to isolate 2 then 2 gets crushed by sheer weight of numbers.

This is just a very basic explanation: in this game with 16 sides I have no clue how everything is going to work out.

To compare it to my game though, I've combined 2 and 3. I've gone deep, and I'm planning on getting out a quick settler at a good city site (either horses or gold would qualify as good IMO). This is why 3 can occasionally be straight up better than 2, because you may wander off from your starting position into the best part of hte map to settle first, without you knowing that it is the best part of the map to settle. Which is just luck of the draw. I think the two food/gold city is good enough to get as a second city, especially considering the tech and expansion costs in this game, on our settings.

[Krill]

The shit just hit the fan in my capital, another forest grew, but on the tile tat means I have to road the plains forest 1N of the capital to get the settler to Dunmanifestin 1 turn quicker.

I now have a total of 10 forests. There is a very real possibility that have to go BW fifth at the latest. Bollocks. This isn't making me happy...I might be very screwed at this rate. I'm kinda stuck hoping that Polytheism falls very shortly so I don't have to research it early, or I win the race to it to make Dunmanifestin a solid city site (without the instant +5 culture/turn it is a much worse city...). This is not an enviable position to be in, what with an unknown amount of teams knowing that I have one less neighbour, making me a a potential big dog in their eyes...




Scouting went OK. I bit the bullet and moved NW onto the flatland, in the knowledge that the river would protect me on most sides. Next move is either NW or SW. Still considering which is best...

[Krill]

Worker at size 2 after a settler anyone? Leaving one warrior to defend the capital and Dunmanifestin until t50? With Emp level barbs?