[spoilers] Commodore gets medieval

[Commodore]

I always thought it was wild that those free-promo events stayed active for the whole game, it would feel a lot more reasonable to me if it were instead:

The next N mounted units you train are promoted to Flanking I (where N is a variable based on map size and game speed)

Agreed. Although weirdly enough the MOST valuable part of that event is unlocking easy Mobility access, which Charismatic Mongolia already has.

[Commodore]

Unfortunately, the speed of turns means that if you fall behind on reports, you get *really* behind...

...anyway, Scooter massed enough to take out the attack, and Pindicator sniped a galley then peaced. So I get counter-invaded by the above scratch force, but I'm able to whittle it a bit...

...and I have enough left in the city to stop the rest:


Suing for peace with Scooter cost me 25g and let him replant here, but it's worth it in the end. Pindicator peace is up in 3t, so just enough time for my knights to rush to the other end of the empire and defend.


I think the quest (which, remember, everyone gets) is telling me to build infrastructure. I don't know if I will, but we'll see.


Meanwhile, there's one place to put ashore the maces. Barb cities do, in fact, spawn with granaries and lighthouses, so I might as well try for Avar. It'll allow a stint in Mercantilism if I can hold it, if I can't eh, crumple zones.


Map is filling up and despite all the fireworks its been remarkably stable over the last few dozen turns. Pindicator's game to lose.

[Commodore]

Feel bad about the reporting gap, anyone have any questions?

[greenline]

What is your current plan to win the game, or failing that, reach as high a score as possible?

[Mjmd]

Future predicted relations with neighbors?

[Commodore]

What is your current plan to win the game, or failing that, reach as high a score as possible?

Score is worthless. You win or you lose, I don’t care about other outcomes. As for winning, that feeds into…

Future predicted relations with neighbors?

I think the diplomacy setup pretty much makes this one unwinnable for me right now:

Scooter seems locked into a place where he’s more anti-me than anti-Thoth (might be an artifact of that dead-zone neutral ground between them). He’s capable of winning thanks to his setup and Philosophical trait, but I think the massive 1-2 punch that ended in his capital burning broke him mentally and he’s going to be in “you lose” mode, not “I win”. That means he’s the burdensome “Gavagai Neighbor” situation for me where peaceful demilitarization isn’t possible. Bummer.

Pindicator is quite rightly less hostile because he’s clearly in the catbird seat, but he also knows how indefensible the map is via seas, so he is massing caravels. He’s able to force war-peace regularly right now, which gives him freedom to hop into a Pacifism/Caste stint and pop out a pair of Great Scientists at a better tempo than me. This opens Liberalism for Astronomy, which is horrifying. His citadels give him easy Nav1 access, which means he’s going to romp wherever he wants. Alternately, he can just sit out the fights and bloom.

Meanwhile, the Thoth-vs-Yuri situation has stalled out. Yuri wisely beelined Optics to blunt Thoth’s advantages, which in turn forced Thoth to draft him and further delay knockout ground techs. I think in the long duel Thoth will win, but all that does is give Pindicator a timer. Thoth has also played extremely cynical diplomacy games, giving Scooter strategic peace treaties to blunt my offensive during my one window of victory. There’s a very real chance Thoth even hits the Banana Barb City if I take it, just out of sheer puppylike aggressive enthusiasm.

I think I’m going to signal a detente with Pindicator, if possible. His biggest potential loss scenario is getting bogged down on his me frontier, giving Thoth enough time to win his locked-in duel with Yuri and draft to Astronomy/Paper/Gunpowder. At the same time, I’d like to be able to build up and reach a space where I can actually overwhelm Scooter via galleons-knights. If Scooter can signal that he’s trying to win and he can fight Thoth, I’d do otherwise, but I just don’t see hope in his behavior…

[Commodore]

Pindicator has bunch of caravels and I'm running around with this junk...

[DaveV]

Pindicator has bunch of caravels and I'm running around with this junk...

Pun intended?

[Qgqqqqq]

Does your reflection on your chances in the game make you wish you'd made different strategic decisions earlier?

[Commodore]

Pindicator has bunch of caravels and I'm running around with this junk...

Pun intended?

Of course. 

Does your reflection on your chances in the game make you wish you'd made different strategic decisions earlier?

Not really. I would have made different tactical choices, but I think given the neighbor situation and Thoth's tempo this was always going to be the relationship configuration.

I am now officially Forgiving the Event RNG. This is a very powerful event, offering a settled Great Person. Options are either +2 XP, +1f/6g, or +2h/5g...in a normal game, that's a decent choice between the food or the hammers...


...we're Charismatic, though, and already have an instructor, so this means we can make 8XP ships.