[Spoilers] Defining the phrase "€˜Hung Like a Horse"€™: Pb & the Kuriotates

[pocketbeetle]

Very impressive game. Diplomacy and development.

I have a question :
I am a decent player, I usually play at emperor, but I feel humbled by this thread.
I've never been too much in the C&D and micromanagement stuff, and I will not do that in SP. But I'm now involved in several PBEM games, and I'm very interested in the way PB is able to extract information from what looks to me like raw data.

I'd like to know where to find a score calculation explanation sheet. It probably is in the civfanatics strategy and tips forum, but I did not find it.

thanks a lot !

(and is everybody here able to calculate from turn 1 what he will be producing at turn 50, safe events ? )

Hi Old Lion,

Nearly missed this post, thankyou for the compliment.
I think it's fair to say I took it slightly to the extreme (it was interesting to me, trying to figure out stuff along the way), and most [sensible] people won't be bothering to dig that much into the demographics.

There was a good post by someone recently, summarising/offering a starter in reading the score changes etc, but I'll be damned if I can remember where it is.
Basically, some score changes are independent of the map (e.g. tech) and some are dependent (e.g. cultural ownership).


Edit: Ah thanks also Mist.

[pocketbeetle]

Turn 132:

Philosophy splashscreen:



The pesky Goblin near Riedquat pushed its luck too far and got eaten by Curly.
Unpromoted odds were 75%, Combat I made the fight more certain.



Turnlog shows Cull received an interesting (but minor) event, called the Mystic Tree:

Our people have found a tree in the forests outside of XXX that sparkles with thousands of lights after sunset. People are awed by the beauty of it, though some say the spirits of the dead dance in its branches.

1. Such a spectacle shouldn't be hidden in the forest. Cut it down and have it moved to the city's courtyard.
   
   
2. Hire some priests to calm those spirits and send them into the afterlife.
   
   
3. This is a gift of Cernunnos, make the area around the tree a sacred grove.
   
   
4. This defies the natural order, a tree should only be alight while burning. See that the natural order is restored...

I’m not completely sure about what happens/is required for each option, but I’d imagine that option (2) requires a state religion/Priesthood tech plus shelling out some cash, so Cull almost certainly didn’t pick that one.
Option (3) would also be unavailable to him requiring either FoL/Elves which leaves (har!) options (1) and (4).
It would seem Cull chose (4) because the Armageddon Counter has gone up by 4%, but why he didn’t/couldn’t choose (1), I don’t know. Maybe he needed Bronze Working to chop the tree?
I really need to do a post on the AC at some point, remind me later.

In the South, Iskender’s jungle Rice was chopped and he founded a city with another unpronounceable name - Urgortheth.



The Calabim worker is on the Southern Gems.
I’m currently having a heated argument with myself over whether or not to Declare Nationality on the nearby Giant (fyi I’m definitely winning the debate.)

In the North, Pixiefoot is healed up and raring to go.
Unfortunately the sole remaining Bear, now lacking its mate, refuses to reproduce.



I’m also looking at Pixiefoot’s 14xp, and comparing it to the requirements for the Form of the Titan (level 6, 26xp) and not liking what I see.
I think I may have to start taking some risks to reach 26xp in time.
So next turn, assuming it’s still in range and the odds remain at around 75%, Pixiefoot is going Ivory hunting.
I’d type “Cover your balls!” in big bolded capitals at this point, but that would be like, inappropriate.

Over at the Copper mining town of Reorte, a Hawk scan reveals Selrahc’s PoW came no closer and fortified in place.
Clearly he believed my message, so Moe happily goes to sleep on the hill (Hill Giant on a hill, who would have thunk it?).

Granary and Mage Guild completed, Caledor should grow and complete the Palace next turn.



Construction up next.


Diplo:

Hi there

Here are the three tiles that I'd like you to de-jungle. They are
marked with red crosses, please disregard the 'chop' signs (I've
changed my mind after taking the screenshot). Please beware that the
bottom two tiles are next to a goblin fort so your workers will need
protection.

Iskender

Hi Iskender,

Understood!
Rice was chopped this turn.

Regards,
Pb, Worker Boy-King

[TheBagelProblem]

Turn 74:
Beefy then used Legends to blow the borders, catching the bear, who should remain frozen in that location until I choose to kill him.

I was just wondering, isn't now the time to make that bear dance.

[Mardoc]

Would you mind pointing me to where you're finding out about the event details? For instance, how you got from 'A tree that glows at night...' to the text of the options? My google-fu is weak; I find nothing relevant.

[Mist]

There's a big Excel (FfH Editor.xlsm) file in FFH mod directory that lists all events with relevant text keys ( in this case TXT_KEY_EVENT_MYSTIC_TREE ) and effects. Once you get that you can go to :

<mod_dir>/Assets/XML/Text/CIV4GameText_FFH2.xml

and look (ctrl-F) for proper descriptions there. You can also look in the .xml file from the start, but it can be a bit tedious going past all the civilopedia entries.

[Mardoc]

Ah, thanks, Mist. I should have realized that if it's in the game, it's got to be on my hard drive somewhere as well.

[pocketbeetle]

I was just wondering, isn't now the time to make that bear dance.

Featuring in almost every eot overview screenshot I make, rest assured I definitely have not forgotten about said Bear!
(I've finally figured out his name - it's Tibbers!)

The problem is twofold:

• He's str 5 and Combat III (+60%) = str 8.
  It just so happens that the Elephant is also...str 8, ie same odds in attacking either.
  So I might as well go for the one which isn't immobilised.
  
• He's str 5 and Combat III (+60%) = str 8.
  Animals retain their combat promotions/xp when captured, so I can't help thinking that a free str 8 unit for city garrison duties would be very nice.
  

Dancing Bear count at the moment is 2 cities have/about to receive (Caledor and Kwythellar), 2 cities without.
There's one Bear in the Den, another if you count Tibbers, but the latter point is why I'm crossing my fingers and hoping another Bear gets spawned soon.

There's a big Excel (FfH Editor.xlsm) file in FFH mod directory that lists all events with relevant text keys ( in this case TXT_KEY_EVENT_MYSTIC_TREE ) and effects. Once you get that you can go to :
<mod_dir>/Assets/XML/Text/CIV4GameText_FFH2.xml
and look (ctrl-F) for proper descriptions there. You can also look in the .xml file from the start, but it can be a bit tedious going past all the civilopedia entries.

Thanks again Mist!
Clearly I've got an excellent technical advisor, now all I need is someone to write my turn updates and we'd have the perfect thread.

[pocketbeetle]

Turn 133:

Masonry splashscreen:



The text in the top right is the Armageddon Counter 10% warning.
I’ll explain it more later on, but for now feel free to assume it’s irrelevant.

More importantly, Pixiefoot has a date with an Elephant.



For which the outcome was…



Victory!

The captured Elephant retains its 8 str and Hidden Nationality.
It’ll cost around 130gp to upgrade it into a War Elephant which can then attack and gets +50% vs Mounted units.
Therefore I’ll store it in Avelorn for a while, but eventually will move it down to the South where it’ll be useful vs Iskender (once he finishes with his Archer building fetish).



Ending turn completed an Adept in Kwythellar and KK grew.
I deliberately delayed the Palace in Caledor to fit in one more turn of +50% production at Kwythellar, which should let it finish the Public Baths in 1t and get back to building CAs asap. I'll take the unhappy penalty.
In the bottom right of that screenshot you can see the road to Reorte was completed, Copper is now hooked up.

Avelorn received the WLTK day yet again - my subjects are happy people!


Demographics:

• Cull settled his third city, Riylod, this turn.
  
• Imports/Exports tells me that two other civs have OB and are trading with each other – almost certainly that’s Sareln and Dave/Bob.
  
• Selrahc settled “Fairytale of NY” last turn.
  It’s located North of Sareln’s Nameless Tower, but not claiming a Dye oddly.
  I’ll screenshot it next turn.
  

All in all, it seems like everyone is starting to gain score each turn now, either through techs or cultural ownership etc.
But then, so am I.

[haphazard1]

It has taken a few days, but I have finally read this entire thread and am up to date.

You have done a fantastic job with this thread, pocketbeetle. It has explained events in the game clearly and in detail, covered your planning and reasons for various actions, provided a ton of information on FFH2 to noobs like myself (just downloaded the mod and will be trying some games!), and been hugely amusing and entertaining. Great stuff.

[pocketbeetle]

It has taken a few days, but I have finally read this entire thread and am up to date.

You have done a fantastic job with this thread, pocketbeetle. It has explained events in the game clearly and in detail, covered your planning and reasons for various actions, provided a ton of information on FFH2 to noobs like myself (just downloaded the mod and will be trying some games!), and been hugely amusing and entertaining. Great stuff.

Glad to have you with us Haphazard, new converts to FFH2 are always welcome. (We will eventually assimiliate the entire RB community ).

I also have a feeling that anyone new who finds this thread will end up repeating your first line - trying to read everything in one sitting is probably not recommended.
Next milestone is 1k replies!