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games in general probably don't get followed as much as they used to, pbems don't generate as much interest as the bigger pitbosses (which there are quite a few of currently) and people flock to the more known names. I'm certainly looking to see how my map holds up.
Thank you for the map comments. I ALMOST put a lake fish/clam etc at each cap, but I felt that would make fin too inviting as it would be useful right from the start. So I decided to go for both hunting and agri food to lower agri bonus, but fishing is a pretty nerfed starting tech here really. Then you have all your animal goodness!
Will you get AH pre settling?
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That makes a lot of sense. I looked at the other currently-running PBEMs, and there certainly seems to be hardly any thread activity. Whereas this PBEM has me and greenline posting a lot, as well as gingereagle over in A. Can't blame the lurkers for not scouting land they assume is terrible :P. Thanks for your attention, though!
Oh man, lake seafood would have definitely caused even more of a FIN-rush than already exists. It might also have caused people to actually grow to size 2, though: everyone in this game (don't know about A for obvious reasons) went worker-first. Tradeoffs, always tradeoffs!
Speaking of which: Yes, I will have AH in advance of settling. It's my lack of Pottery that's going to hurt -- from reading demographics, I'm pretty sure two people are researching Pottery now, and they will have a jump start on me in cottaging. Possibly my Bronze Working first was a mistake, but oh well! This is a semi-newbie game, after all, and hopefully I'll learn something.
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(April 10th, 2016, 16:09)ReallyEvilMuffin Wrote: games in general probably don't get followed as much as they used to, pbems don't generate as much interest as the bigger pitbosses (which there are quite a few of currently) and people flock to the more known names. I'm certainly looking to see how my map holds up.
Also: Clearly the solution to this is for you to create a lurker thread. People can discuss the map in play with you, and we the players can feel good knowing someone is watching 
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Giant demographics dump behind a spoiler for my own reference. Might do some C&D with it later this afternoon.
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I'm reading every post  Just usually too busy to comment.
April 11th, 2016, 14:24
(This post was last modified: April 11th, 2016, 14:36 by picklepikkl.)
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@BRick: Thanks very much! My ego appreciates it And now I'll quit being publicly insecure about lurker interaction.
Instead, time to be publicly insecure about a different thing: my ability to decode tech paths!
Everyone besides me teched Hunting on turn 3. It's the only thing that can account for the speed of research and the rise in soldier points.
Sian's next tech took a little longer and involved no soldier point increase. This was probably Agriculture. Then Jowy and greenline both finished techs (one of them being a one-arrow tech, to account for rival highest GNP) and global soldiers increased congruent with either Jowy gaining 4k soldier points or greenline gaining 2k. I was racking my brains trying to figure this out when I realized another explanation: that was the same turn I finished my Scout, so Sian could have built a Warrior. With that assumed, the tech choices become clearer: greenline getting Agriculture like Sian and Jowy getting Pottery (Animal Husbandry would have increased soldier points). Then everyone gained 7 points for growing to size 2, and that's all the techs so far!
Two people are currently researching prereq-requiring techs. One of them has a higher GNP than the other; I think this can be accounted for by someone working their plains dyes (1/1/3 tile) instead of flood plains (3/0/1), to explain the discrepancies in production and crop yield as well. I'm going to tentatively assume this is both Malis getting either Pottery or BW while Jowy gets Mining.
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My first scout reached a large expanse of water to my east. I'm pretty sure that, coupled with the previous discovery of large water to my south, indicates that I am in the southeast. Furthermore, I'm going to guess that the overall map shape is a square with an X through it; civs at each corners, and this strip of land to my northwest connects to some central point that everyone shares. More speculatively: the marble and stone are on four islands on the "outer" sea, one near each halfway point between two civilizations, while some incredibly desirable land is at the center of the X, to create tension between strength inside and strength outside.
Anyway, demographics reveal that everyone but me has grown to size 3. Hopefully my strategy is any good at all!
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From score increase and lack of soldiers increase, looks like everyone else has been teching Pottery. I'm either a genius or a madman.
I really should be doing more sandboxing, but taxes are eating my attention. If one of the Europeans wins this game, I have another thing to blame it on :P.
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Hi, Picklepikkl, read through your thread with interest. You seem to have a very good grasp of the game for a person who is playing only for a month. Am I correct that you played other strategy games a lot? Don't think you should be afraid of Jowy and Sian. Well, may be Jowy should be feared because he is crazy like hell.
I really appreciate your naming theme. In fact, I always wanted to run it myself; what stopped me was that I usually play in large pitbosses where you typically get more than 22 cities if you are doing well.
Would you appreciate unsolicited advise? No promises as I'm may be the most terrible dedlurker here but I haven't read anyone but you in this game, so it will be legal.
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Wow, thanks Gavagai! Your comments are very flattering and also reassuring. Yeah, I've been a fan of strategy games since I was small: started with Warcraft 2, Civ 2, and Alpha Centauri as a youngster, and then got into Paradox grand strategy games in a big way in recent years. Some knowledge, like growth curves, strategic concentration, and exploiting comparative advantage, generalizes pretty well.
I'm glad you approve of the naming scheme! I'm a strict physicalist philosophically, so I certainly don't "believe" in the tarot in any real way, but I always liked the aesthetics and symbolic vocabulary of mysticism. And secretly, I have a plan for staying in-theme if I get past 22 cities  .
Anyway, I'd love to have you on board! Even if you don't post much, knowing someone's got my back is very reassuring, and I view this game as a learning experience first and foremost, so your advice and guidance is most welcome
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