I see the 3 island - and the implied 4th.
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[SPOILERS] yuris125 on a Pitboss77 boat
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Great, glad it's still working - but need to figure out why it isn't on my side
I did some testing and think Japan is viable, it is a workboat first start, so plenty of time to research Agri and BW by the time a worker is out. Also gives me a chance to try something different after playing a fair few games where I made an econ-focused pick. Been a while since I was an aggressor
Yes, 73, although that was an unusual setup, and the intention for my pick was to counter scary units from player with Artillery, not to be an aggressor myself - even if that's how it played out
The big question with this game is whether Astro land is going to be relevant. With only 5 players, it may well be decided in medieval era, before Astro comes into play - and that's when Japan is at its strongest Basically I have two distinct game plans before me, either America and Astro bulb, or Japan and amphibious samurai. In a smaller game, I think the latter has a clearer path to victory - not least because if I don't take Japan, someone else will, and defending against amphibious samurai is not a prospect I relish (April 19th, 2024, 14:30)yuris125 Wrote: Before I lock it in, Commodore, can you share the map size for tech cost purposes? Map size is Small. 
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
I write RPG adventures, and blog about it, check it out.
I have never hated defending in a game as much as I hated defending RtR Samurai in PB71. I know this isn't RtR but I figure the point holds here.
Best of luck.
Perfect - that's what I used for testing!
Obviously too early for a detailed micro plan, but the outline is to grow to 2 while building a workboat, then worker, grow to 4 on the second workboat, then 2 chops into a settler. I can research Agri + BW just in time to start chopping By picking Japan, I'm more or less committing to an attack in pre-Gunpowder era (since the UB only grants bonus XP to melee units), but there are different paths I can choose, depending on what the map dictates. Triple-promoted samurai is the obvious unit of choice, but honestly, an early attack with double-promoted axes/swords could be just as terrifying. Heck, nothing stops me from delaying Civil Service and doing the Astro bulb anyway if that's what the map wants me to do One thing I know for sure is that an archipelago map will require more investment into units than normal, since one not only has to build units, but also ships to transport them. Production will be at a premium, forges will want to be everywhere, and I might as well take the extra benefit from them. Plus Japanese UB is cheaper than a regular forge It could absolutely be a suboptimal pick, but I think I will have fun with it  For the leader, I'll be aiming for Brennus or De Gaulle, with Boudica a backup option. I think Phi is devalued if I don't want to play a dedicated great person game, whereas Boudica's stocks go up with me planning an attack in medieval era at the latest. In fact, Boudica would allow me to make amphibious units with just with 2 promos, without needing Vassalage/Theocracy; what stops her from being the clear choice, and I think puts her behind the other two options, is that I will want those civics anyway for Navigation 1 on ships. But if I do have to pick her, I won't be unhappy
Indeed she does
 I think I'm off Spi after sleeping on it. Switching civics at will is undeniably powerful, but this feels like a game which will have relatively long periods of econ development and military action, and civic swap won't need to be frequent. Spi would essentially be a substitute for properly planning for those swaps Think I still favour Ind over Agg, simply because cheap forges come into play earlier than extra unit promotions. I know, it's a highly original play to take an Ind leader alongside a forge-replacement UB, then Oracle Metal Casting. But hey, it's still effective With Agg, I don't want to fall into the trap of overestimating its economic power in the later game after seeing how strong it was in Pitboss 68. That game was not only AW, but deliberately set up as a low econ game, with room for what, 4 cities per player? 5 maybe? That setup made the discount on unit maintenance extremely valuable. Here, with the game specs being 10-15 cities per player, it should be a simple matter to build an economy strong enough to maintain a large army Agg does have a strong economic power: "acquire more land than the other players". But it would make me a little one-dimensional. I talked about how I don't have to wait until Samurai to attack, and could well launch a sword-based attack if the map demands it. Well, if I take Agg, it likely would have to be both. Having more land than players with more econ-oriented traits would be a must But I do think Boudica is now second on my list of desired leaders, behind De Gaulle, but ahead of Brennus |
