The Next 20 and Beyond
In PBEM 2 the players occasionally outlined their thoughts and plans during the game, either on a regular basis or as the situation warranted. This being the end of 20 turns I figured I’d do the same, and probably give additional updates every 20 turns (or 10, if things get moving fast).
First off, I’ll be curious to see what, if any, reaction I get out of Kaiser with my scout moving into his territory. I suspect he may have a builder lurking somewhere to the west and may be trying to warn me off with his slinger. OTOH with a warrior just outside an undefended Tomatin he might get cheeky and make an attack (perhaps hoping that Rowain joins in). I shall see (though you’ll all know before I do). Back to the update.
Short Term Objectives
Holy Site/Religion: I should complete Pottery on Turn 22 and Irrigation on Turn 28, barring anything happening to my science rate. That will let me place the Holy Site on Turn 28 with a cost around 97 cogs. I’ll probably start putting some cogs into it around Turn 40.
Glenkinchie: The settler is due out on Turn 28. It’ll take 3 turns to get there and 1 to settle, so that will be done on Turn 32. Military builds will be the first task for this city, though at some point soon-ish I'll want to work a Tsingy tile for the science.
Bronze Working: I’m behind my initial "schedule" of finishing it on Turn 30, but that’s by design given the start I had and my objective with the Holy Site placement. It might come back to bite me, it might not.
Intermediate-Term Strategy
Religion
I’m questioning my plan of Jesuit Education. On a faith vs. production generation scale it’s faster to build a Library + Madrasa than to faith-buy one, as the faith takes that much longer to make up. This is especially considering that a missionary will be needed to start converting cities before I could consider getting the campus buildings up. I’m not concerned about amenities, given the number of luxury resources within a dozen or so tiles of my capital. That makes the follower belief a toss-up between Feed the World and Religious Community. The six food (once the temples are up) could free up some citizens for specialist slots and extra housing is always good.
As for the initial Founder’s Belief, it’s Defender of the Faith all the way. The +10 combat strength bonus is HUGE. It’s effectively worth 2/3rds of an era advancement in unit strength – Archers at 35 ranged, spears at 35, horses at 45 and heavy chariots at 38. With those kinds of strengths finding iron for swords and quickly getting to engineering for crossbows become less essential to defense and a military that would cost me 1gpt per horseman once Professional Army is slotted in. Unless I wanted to go on the offensive I wouldn’t need iron at all, since I wouldn’t need it for Mamluks, either. If I need to do some projects or buy a Shrine to ensure I get first pick of religious beliefs I will most likely do so. Part of my conquest plan relies on having this belief (but that's for the Turn 40 or Turn 60 update...)
No PBEM2 Players!
Settling
Glenfarclas is the next priority for settlement. It’s not a strong location but puts something between me and Kikyo. It’d also be on the “right” side of the forest belt, giving sight issues to ranged units (but not city bombardment). After that, it’s a tossup between Cragganmore (for the fantastic campus location and securing the NW chokepoint) or Strathisla (to complete the southern front and access more of Tsingy; need to correct the spelling on that pin).
Research
Masonry and the Wheel are the tech priorities after Irrigation and Bronze Working. Archery will slot in once I get the eureka. Political Philosophy and Mysticism are the target civics.
Military
Once Glenfarclas is up I need a few units to get rid of the two encampments and keep pace with future military development by my neighbors.
Recon
The scout is heading south of the city-states to see what’s there (and help me determine if I am on the west coast or a saddle formation in the middle). The warrior will go find America once Glenkinchie is settled, then do another sweep to the east.
In PBEM 2 the players occasionally outlined their thoughts and plans during the game, either on a regular basis or as the situation warranted. This being the end of 20 turns I figured I’d do the same, and probably give additional updates every 20 turns (or 10, if things get moving fast).
First off, I’ll be curious to see what, if any, reaction I get out of Kaiser with my scout moving into his territory. I suspect he may have a builder lurking somewhere to the west and may be trying to warn me off with his slinger. OTOH with a warrior just outside an undefended Tomatin he might get cheeky and make an attack (perhaps hoping that Rowain joins in). I shall see (though you’ll all know before I do). Back to the update.
Short Term Objectives
Holy Site/Religion: I should complete Pottery on Turn 22 and Irrigation on Turn 28, barring anything happening to my science rate. That will let me place the Holy Site on Turn 28 with a cost around 97 cogs. I’ll probably start putting some cogs into it around Turn 40.
Glenkinchie: The settler is due out on Turn 28. It’ll take 3 turns to get there and 1 to settle, so that will be done on Turn 32. Military builds will be the first task for this city, though at some point soon-ish I'll want to work a Tsingy tile for the science.
Bronze Working: I’m behind my initial "schedule" of finishing it on Turn 30, but that’s by design given the start I had and my objective with the Holy Site placement. It might come back to bite me, it might not.
Intermediate-Term Strategy
Religion
I’m questioning my plan of Jesuit Education. On a faith vs. production generation scale it’s faster to build a Library + Madrasa than to faith-buy one, as the faith takes that much longer to make up. This is especially considering that a missionary will be needed to start converting cities before I could consider getting the campus buildings up. I’m not concerned about amenities, given the number of luxury resources within a dozen or so tiles of my capital. That makes the follower belief a toss-up between Feed the World and Religious Community. The six food (once the temples are up) could free up some citizens for specialist slots and extra housing is always good.
As for the initial Founder’s Belief, it’s Defender of the Faith all the way. The +10 combat strength bonus is HUGE. It’s effectively worth 2/3rds of an era advancement in unit strength – Archers at 35 ranged, spears at 35, horses at 45 and heavy chariots at 38. With those kinds of strengths finding iron for swords and quickly getting to engineering for crossbows become less essential to defense and a military that would cost me 1gpt per horseman once Professional Army is slotted in. Unless I wanted to go on the offensive I wouldn’t need iron at all, since I wouldn’t need it for Mamluks, either. If I need to do some projects or buy a Shrine to ensure I get first pick of religious beliefs I will most likely do so. Part of my conquest plan relies on having this belief (but that's for the Turn 40 or Turn 60 update...)
No PBEM2 Players!
Settling
Glenfarclas is the next priority for settlement. It’s not a strong location but puts something between me and Kikyo. It’d also be on the “right” side of the forest belt, giving sight issues to ranged units (but not city bombardment). After that, it’s a tossup between Cragganmore (for the fantastic campus location and securing the NW chokepoint) or Strathisla (to complete the southern front and access more of Tsingy; need to correct the spelling on that pin).
Research
Masonry and the Wheel are the tech priorities after Irrigation and Bronze Working. Archery will slot in once I get the eureka. Political Philosophy and Mysticism are the target civics.
Military
Once Glenfarclas is up I need a few units to get rid of the two encampments and keep pace with future military development by my neighbors.
Recon
The scout is heading south of the city-states to see what’s there (and help me determine if I am on the west coast or a saddle formation in the middle). The warrior will go find America once Glenkinchie is settled, then do another sweep to the east.