[SPOILER] PB37 Dark Savant tries not to be a blatant MP n00b

[Dark Savant]

I was the last player on t56 (first time I've been the slacker, actually ), and I've already played much of t57, but first things first:

Turn 56 (1760 BC) - Part 1

Animal Husbandry due next turn.  The two workers on the fur tile start and finish a road there.  Two more workers complete a cottage near Harmondale; I'm not using it now and won't for at least a few more turns, but that was partly to temporize to see where horses will pop up next turn.

Harmondale finishes its whipped granary; I set it to max food (+8 food surplus, grassland cow and pig) and buliding a spear.

Gavagai's power did not go up last turn.  I have Castleview whip  the granary for 1 pop.  I'll put the overflow into a spear and be ready to whip that too; that'll put Castleview under "only" double whip unhappiness since the unhappiness for the barracks whip is about to expire.

I wonder what everyone else thinks of our relentless whipping that hasn't actually resulted in a scary power spike.    We've got 2 barracks and 2 granaries in our 4 cities, another granary due next turn, and Sorpigal can whip a barracks in 4 turns.

Sandro and Gem keep scouting.  I thought everyone had jungle to their south and southeast, but I find some jungle northwest of Anchorage:



If we weren't to the northwest, I'd take that as a suggestion I might want to turn Sandro that way.  Nope, still heading northeast.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 56 (1760 BC) - Part 2 (C&D)

Score tally:

• CML: +2 points for +1 pop; +6 points for a technology researched in 6 turns.  This can be Archery (to defend himself against dtay's impis), but I think it's more likely to be Masonry (it's possible CML wants to chase Judaism) or even more likely to be Priesthood (so he can build the Oracle).
  
• dtay: +2 points for +1 pop; -5 points for 2 -1 pop whips.  I wonder what those whips are for ...
  
• GermanJoey: +3 points for a new city planted this turn that claims 6 new land tiles.
  
• Krill: +6 points for a technology researched in just 4 turns.  Blah, 5 river resources plus 2 silver mines.    This also has to be something cheap, either Masonry or Priesthood.  I don't think Krill wants Archery even with Ventessel on his doorstep, he can't leverage Aggressive that way.
  
• Ventessel: +10 points for 8 land tiles held by Juneau for 20 turns; +2 points for +1 pop.
  

Gavagai's city #3 Ankara expanded borders as expected, for +7,000 land area.  This doesn't include the corn tile he may have been expecting.   Hooray for RtR-Aggressive culture!

In things that are Not Happening: Buddhism; Krill revolting to Slavery; war between Krill and Ventessel.

[Dark Savant]

That tile the scout is standing on actually looks like a good spot for planting a city close to Anchorage -- it can share the oasis and clam, and additionally claims wet corn, deer, and a flood plain.

So Mardoc did in fact encourage a few city plant locations close to the start positions -- until now, we had some pretty strong evidence he was exclusively encouraging rather distant later plants.

[ipecac]

Gavagai's city #3 Ankara expanded borders as expected, for +7,000 land area.  This doesn't include the corn tile he may have been expecting.   Hooray for RtR-Aggressive culture!

He wouldn't have gotten the corn anyway. Each turn you'd have invisible +1cpt put into that tile for the purpose of calculating who owns it.

I was the last player on t56 (first time I've been the slacker, actually ), and I've already played much of t57, but first things first:

There's nothign wrong with being the last, especially when you want to grab the second half of the turn timer!

[Dark Savant]

Gavagai's city #3 Ankara expanded borders as expected, for +7,000 land area.  This doesn't include the corn tile he may have been expecting.   Hooray for RtR-Aggressive culture!

He wouldn't have gotten the corn anyway. Each turn you'd have invisible +1cpt put into that tile for the purpose of calculating who owns it.

Oh, I forgot about that!  So we're actually running even, unless he either builds culture there (he doesn't even have any tech for that), or Ankara expands to third-ring.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 57 (1720 BC) - Part 1

Sandro spots a wildling northwest of Anchorage.  Even if I promote him to Woodsman I and move to a forested hill, he's only got about a 2/3 chance to win on defense, so I move him northwest after all.  Ventessel's scout is still near Sandro.

Gem finds Ventessel's neighbor's ivory on a peninsula she'll have to work around.  More evidence for the "everyone has ivory in jungle southeast of their start position" hypothesis.

Current status of circumnavigation watch:



No contact made with Ventessel's mystery neighbor, but it should happen any turn now.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 57 (1720 BC) - Part 2

Animal Husbandry arrives.  Yes, there are horses at Castle Ironfist, and apparently at everyone else's start position.

We also have horses at Harmondale.  The two workers at Castle Ironfist start a camp on the furs, so I have a worker start to develop the horses at Harmondale, building a partial road this turn (which would have completed if I had done that worker micro right earlier).

Coeurva has not moved yet this turn, so the other worker near Harmondale temporizes by spending 1 turn building another cottage at Harmondale.  I want to have him head back towards Sorpigal if it's safe to do so.

The last worker we have could build a road on the corn tile at Castleview, except I want to get going on connecting the silver, so he moves to the forest west of Castleview.

Castle Ironfist grew to size 4 and is now working the copper mine.  It will momentarily grow into unhappiness at size 5 next turn, but the furs will be connected that turn.

Castleview completes its whipped granary, and the overflow now goes to a spear.  Gavagai just gained 3000 power; one was for his 10th pop point, and I think he also built a warrior in Ankara (city #3):



Gavagai already moved this turn and did not move any unit into sight, so we should be good at Castleview -- I can whip the spear next turn if necessary, and also put 2 warriors on defense there.

Current overview:



By the way, when I mark "1t road" on the map, that means I have 1 turn of a road built, not 1t left to go.

I started research on Sailing, which will take ~9-10 turns.  I suppose we do have time to set up the entire overflow chain for the Great Lighthouse after all.

[ipecac]

Oh, I forgot about that!  So we're actually running even, unless he either builds culture there (he doesn't even have any tech for that), or Ankara expands to third-ring.

Once your city gets its second ring, its first ring tiles get a ~+10 invisible cpt. Once third ring, the first-ring tiles basically get enough so they'll never flip to someone else. 

So you shouldn't lose the corn.

[ipecac]

Details on culture mechanics: https://www.civfanatics.com/civ4/strateg...assembled/

Gavagai already moved this turn and did not move any unit into sight, so we should be good at Castleview -- I can whip the spear next turn if necessary, and also put 2 warriors on defense there.

Do note that this only holds if you play after him, if he plays after you he can move in chariot(s), and you can see them next turn but your whip will only come end of turn, i.e. too late. Though two warriors can hold off one chariot and give you enough time to whip a spear.

[ipecac]

Also, you should get a chariot soon. Barb axes will appear, and provide excellent opportunities for you to get Sentry chariots.