So, this was the sight that greeted me when I logged in to the game. Well, that was obviously not the response we were looking for.
We have to accept that Joey gets the disputed land, as he can back up his settlement with a phalanx. I left our axe in place and retreated our warrior NW to the forest. As this will completely ruin our dot map, we have to come up with a new plan. Actually, I decided to let the worker just south of Borte lput a turn into a mine that could be shared between Borte and Toregene. My thinking is that we`d rather settle the hill SW of Borte now, and the worker can road towards that spot next turn. It`s on a plains hill for protection and an extra hammer and has a sheep in its first ring. The other workers followed the current micro plan.
Okay. I think if we're definitely not attacking, we should probably move the axe elsewhere; it does no good where it's standing if we're yielding the city site. There's not a lot we could have done to prevent this situation; the only thing that could have prevented it would be if GJ actually needed to plant a city to his own South. So, are we giving up on everything south of Toregene? If not, do we found a city on the jungled copper tile down there, or what? Either way, this might suggest a different tech path as well, since a not-insignificant part of IW's value was improving that river city: Maybe Sailing next ... or HBR....
[EDIT: Or if Buddhism hasn't fallen yet, going after Meditation at full burn might be worth the risk. If Toregene is going to be a ~front city, getting religion there wouldn't be bad, and if we land it in Muqa, that would help us do a lesser version to dtay of what GJ did to us. Still runs the risk of losing it in the next two turns, or on a coinflip on the third though....]
I don`t see how we can break through that fortress city in the short term. Even if we whip out some axes, Joey could just get a new phalanx in his new city, where he`ll have 75 % defense. The axe was moved 1N, back to the tile it came from. It might be needed in the SW to act as a deterrent of an opportunistic attack by Joey.
Oh, and I`m not giving up on everything south of Toregene. We`ll want all of it for ourselves. I just think we`ll have to get that SW city up and running first, as it`s a faster starter.
I agree that Iron Working is a bit less valuable if we`re not settling a city with jungled copper in its first ring. Buddhism still hasn`t been founded. It might be worth the gamble trying for a religion. I changed the tech to Meditation, which is a 3 turn tech. There is something to be said for going for an early HBR as well. Keshiks would dominate the battlefield this early in the game.
Btw: How do you feel about settling up on dtay? It doesn`t look like he`s prioritized our border lands at all..
I support settling up on dtay in principle; where would we put the city though? On the copper as planned prior to discovering the resource? Would we delay the NW Cow/Pigs city to plant it ASAP? (These are not rhetorical questions; I can see arguments for a number of options, so I'm wondering which you like best.)
The hill city only gives a 25% defense bonus (until it pops borders) - not 75% - but you're certainly right that he can get more Phallanxes there before we could attack, and I agree that we're not going to crack his defenses there in the near term. And basically, our communication worked here: Showing him the axe sent the message, "Don't plant that city unless you can defend it." He responded by planting and defending it; well done. (He might well have done that anyway, just in response to our Warrior, but that's not really relevant.) There are some things we could have done if we'd gone for all-out military when we first saw him roading that corn, but that would have set us back in other ways.
Nice thing about gambling on Meditation: More exciting turns to look forward to as we wait to see if we get it! If we don't, it'll be a big setback, but I'm okay with taking the gamble here. (I probably wouldn't if I were the one playing, but I've said before that I play too conservatively to win an MP game.)
(June 22nd, 2017, 15:24)RefSteel Wrote: I support settling up on dtay in principle; where would we put the city though? On the copper as planned prior to discovering the resource? Would we delay the NW Cow/Pigs city to plant it ASAP? (These are not rhetorical questions; I can see arguments for a number of options, so I'm wondering which you like best.)
The hill city only gives a 25% defense bonus (until it pops borders) - not 75% - but you're certainly right that he can get more Phallanxes there before we could attack, and I agree that we're not going to crack his defenses there in the near term. And basically, our communication worked here: Showing him the axe sent the message, "Don't plant that city unless you can defend it." He responded by planting and defending it; well done. (He might well have done that anyway, just in response to our Warrior, but that's not really relevant.) There are some things we could have done if we'd gone for all-out military when we first saw him roading that corn, but that would have set us back in other ways.
Nice thing about gambling on Meditation: More exciting turns to look forward to as we wait to see if we get it! If we don't, it'll be a big setback, but I'm okay with taking the gamble here. (I probably wouldn't if I were the one playing, but I've said before that I play too conservatively to win an MP game.)
Oh, I meant to write +25 % defense on hills. Don`t know why I didn`t catch it when I reread it.
About settling up on dtay: Yes, the tile I have in mind is that copper tile. It`s a shame to build on it and lose some hammers, but look at that cluster of resources we get. A grass cow, 2 bananas (at least one of them is safe, the other one can be targeted by a zulu city) and another silver tile. It also practically guarantees us a city on that peninsula east of Muqa later. Imo disputed resources are much more valuable than back fill ones. The city can borrow the wet corn from Muqa until the grass cow pasture is done. Muqa has more than enough food itself and would only be happy to borrow away some of it. Dtay`s power graph is another good reason for settling aggressively.
As you know, there are a few risks involved by planting there. Dtay might be provoked into aggression. The city has some defense in the river, but not much. We`re going to need real units to defend it all all times. I think we should build it asap and maybe build a spear to accompany the axe up there.
I`m hoping to land Buddhism, but the chances are probably well below 50 %. We`ll see next turn if we still have a chance. Okay, it`s getting late, and I really need to get some sleep. Have a good day!
Excited to find out what's happened - and if Buddhism's still around! Also, here's a very, very tentative, untested adapted microplan:
T56: The Warrior near Muqa movess 1W to the Copper. The Worker on the Cow begins a Road. The Worker on the forest north of Borte moves E-NE-NE-NW to the plains hill forest in Muqa's BFC. The Worker on the grassland hill in Borte's BFC moves NW-SW to the grassland between the cows and forest, begins a Road, and CANCELS orders. The Worker on the river hill in Toregene's first ring moves N-NW to the grassland hill just vacated by the other Worker.
T57: Toregene is now size 3; it WHIPS its Granary (3 pop to 2) and works Rice + Furs. The Worker on the plains hill forest begins a Chop. The Worker on the Cows completes a Road. The Worker on the flat grassland moves 1W to another grassland between two forests and begins a Road. The Worker on the grassland hill moves NW-SW to the grassland just vacated by the other Worker and completes a Road.
T58: Settler is complete at Borte, which resumes its Chariot. Granary is complete at Toregene, which resumes its Spearman. The Settler WAITS for the Worker on the part-roaded grassland to complete the Road; then the Settler moves 2SW-W-SW to the plains hill. The other Worker nearby moves 1NW to a forest hill. The Worker on Muqa's Cow moves 1E to the Silver.
T59: Chariot is complete at Borte, which begins a Granary. The Worker on the grassland WAITS until the Settler founds the city of Oghul Qaimish, which starts a Monument and works the forest hill; then the Worker from the grassland moves SW-S through the city to the Sheep and begins a Pasture. The Worker on the forest nearby begins a Chop. The Worker on the forest hill near Muqa completes a Chop. The Worker on the Silver begins a Road. Muqa WHIPS its Settler (5 pop to 4) and works Corn + Cow + Sheep + Fish.
T60: A Settler is complete at Muqa, which begins a Granary and works Corn + Cow + Sheep + Silver; the Settler moves N-NW-N to the Copper. Borte swaps to building a Worker. The Worker on the plains hill near Muqa begins a Mine. The Worker on the Silver completes a Road.
T61: Granary complete at Muqa, which begins a unit (TBD) and works Cow + Sheep + Fish + Silver. Toregene begins a Monument. The Worker on the Silver WAITS until the Settler founds the city of Chubei (going slightly out of order to save similar-sounding names for later cities) which starts a Granary and works the Corn; then the Worker from the silver moves NW-W through Chubei to the Cow and begins a Pasture. The Worker on Oghul Qaimish's forest hill completes a Chop. Oghul Qaimish works the Sheep.
T62: Monument is complete at Oghul Qaimish, which begins a Granary. Toregene is now size 3; it WHIPS its Monument (3 pop to 2) and works Rice + Furs. Borte WHIPS its Worker (5 pop to 4) and works Cow + Copper + Horse + Clam. The Worker on the Sheep completes the Pasture. The Worker on the hill near Oghul Qaimish begins a Mine.
T63: Worker is complete at Borte, which resumes its Granary, working Cow + Copper + Horse + Cottage (because the Granary's timing means the additional food from the Clams would be ~wasted). Monument is complete at Toregene, which resumes its Spearman. Muqa is now size 5 and starts a Settler, working Cow + Fish + Sheep + Silver + Mine. The Worker on the plains hill near Muqa completes a Mine. The Worker on Oghul Qaimish's Sheep moves 1NE to the forest. The Workers from Borte moves SE to the part-cottaged "river" grassland and continues the Cottage.
T64: Granary is complete at Borte, which begins a unit (TBD) and sets AVOID GROWTH ON while working Cow + Copper + Clam + Cottage. The Worker on Chubei's grassland Cow completes the Pasture. The Worker on the forest next to Oghul Qaimish begins a Chop. The Worker on the plains hill Mine begins a Road?
T65: The Worker on the "river" grassland tile shared by Borte and Toregene completes a Cottage. Toregene is now size 3 and works Rice + Furs + Cottage. Chubei is now size 2 and works Corn + grassland Cow. Borte turns AVOID GROWTH OFF. The Worker on the hill near Oghul Qaimish completes a Mine. The Worker on Chubei's cow moves E-SE to the silver and begins a Mine. The Worker on the plains hill Mine completes a Road?
T66: Borte is now size 5 and has 21 food in the bin. Oghul Qaimish is now size 2 and works Sheep + Mine. The Worker near Borte moves 1SW to the roaded, part-mined hill and begins a Mine. The Worker on the forest near Oghul Qaimish completes a Chop. Further Worker actions TBD....
T67: Oghul Qaimish WHIPS its Granary (2 pop to 1) and works the Sheep.
First things first: Buddhism still hasn`t been founded! We`re very close to getting at least a coin flip now.
I moved the axe S of Borte closer to the soon-to-be city on the western coast. Our warrior next to Toregene went S in order to watch for barb movement. Joey might be concerned that we`re planning on staying close to the corn, to delay the farm. Anyway, he can send his phalanx to displace our unit if it`s important to him. I don`t think he will. Our warrior N of Borte went to the oasis. It`s to a act as a fog buster in the NW. From that grass forest hill it`ll have a good view of the surroundings.
Dtay whipped twice this turn, so he might be up to something.. Note that Joey caught up with our power rating. Maybe we should get out a few extra units. But that would delay important things like settlers and basic infrastructure. Right now we`re looking at turn 59 and turn 61 cities. It`s still looking good.
The turn rolled at a very convenient time, so I got to play early. Again I checked for the message: "Buddhism has been founded in a distant land". The event log told us that... it`s still up for grabs! Now we have a coin flip chance at worst. Beautiful. I think Muqa is the strong favorite to land it, as it`s the biggest non-capital city by far.
Next turn our fourth settler finishes in Borte. The axe joined the worker on its way the the plains hill SW of Borte. I think we need to move the axe in Muqa up north soon, to prepare for the arrival of our settler turn 60. A little fortification bonus is good as well. But Muqa will have an angry face if we move it straight away. The warrior could be moved back to act as military police, but then we`ll lose sight of the lake for a turn. Thoughts? (This is of course assuming Buddhism isn`t founded in Muqa).
All looking good! Where did our warrior in the southwest end up going?
We'll be getting a chariot out of Borte soon (T59 if we use the tentative microplan above) and are 2nd in total power (to GermanJoey - remember that the graphs show information from the beginning of last turn - but the difference is tiny and just from population; he hasn't built any more units since that Phalanx) and way (way) above the average. If dtay just whipped two axes (doubtful) he would still have some catching up to do before he could match us. I think as long as we keep our eyes open, we'll be fine on military for a (little) while.
