[Spoilers] Woden takes on the World (PBEM18)

[Woden]

Turn 73
Start off with...



Slot Irrigation to finish next turn. Osgiliath switches production to a watermill. I assess the battlefield at La Venta and decide to declare. They have a warrior that I can hit with an archer, a warrior, and finish off with a spearman...



I forgot to get a before shot but the warrior was where the spearman is standing. I also hit the city center with 2 horsemen. I don't think I can take it next turn but definitely the turn after, once the horseman that finished at Gondor makes it to the battlefield. 

In the northeast...



Looks like I can snipe the barb camp from Kaiser, as long as the red-lined warrior doesn't move east. I will probably send him half the gold so I don't piss him off. No need to be on the wrong side of a 2 v 1 in the near future. 

I switch civic research to Defensive Tactics. I am going to hold Military Training at 1 turn for a little bit. I will put research into Feudalism and may put a turn or 2 into Naval Tradition while I get a builder out at Gondor. Then I can triple chop 3 settlers over 3 turns and only keep the settler card in for a few turns. Goal right now is to get as much gold for knight upgrades and having an economic slot taking up a space for longer than I need  will hurt my income. 

Internationally, Ichabod finishes a civic and gained 4 empire points and an era point. Kaiser gains 2 empire points. Suboptimal gains 10 empire points and must have founded a new city. CMF finishes a tech. 


Turn 74
Once again, start off with...



Builder at Misty Mountains hooks up a spice. I am currently trading for a spice from Ichabod, so no change in happiness but in 15 or so turns, I won't lose any. 

In the northeast...



Kaiser tries to block my warrior but we are not at war, so no zone of control. I snap the camp from him for 3 era points and 50 gold. I forgot to send him so this turn, so hopefully I remember next turn, otherwise I will say screw it if I forget again. Over at La Venta, I bring my 3rd horse next to the city but he is out of movement points, so can't attack. An archer comes up and attacks one of my horses. I shift my horses around the city and only attack with one, since the one I don't attack with could get killed by a double warrior counter attack if he gets anymore injured. I will be able to capture the city next turn and shouldn't have any loses. 

Down south... 



Somebody is getting ready to attack Hattusa. I figured he would go after them soon. They have one of the few irons I can see down my his empire. They have done their job by giving me some useful information and I think it was worth the 2 envoys. Other than the iron, the city kind of sucks. A +1 campus, mostly desert and no jungle. I can see him going for a slow build Petra or trying to buy the first Great Engineer. Don't think that city is going to be very useful with out Petra. 

Internationally, Ichabod has a big turn, gaining 11 points with another civic, a tech, 3 empire points, and 3 era points. Kaiser finishes a tech and 2 empire points. I now have a 2 tech lead and will complete another tech next turn. Another big boost to suboptimal's empire score with an additional 6 points plus he finished a tech. I did get a notification that an unknown city state was capture, I am guessing it was him. CMF finished a civic and tech and gained an empire point and 2 era points. It should be noted that suboptimal is gaining on me with empire points 75 for him versus my 85, so he might catch up with the leaders soon if he is left alone to build.

[Woden]

Turn 75
Start off with...



And...



Time for a policy change...



Dropped Agoge and Manuever for Conscription and Limes. I change all production to my front line cities to walls. Up at La Venta, they attacked my horsemen twice. Time to take the city, but first a little experience farming...



I hit the warrior with my archer, warrior, and spearman but didn't quite kill him. Then I pillage one of their unique improvements that is going to disappear for 75, followed by having all 3 horsemen attack, taking the city. I have it start repairing its monument. The city also has a damaged granary. This city is going to need a trader and some builder love before it is worth much. Once it gets to size 4, I will buy the ocean tile by the crabs and fish and build a Cothon. 

A new barb camp showed up by La Venta. Another easy 50 and 3 era points. Not going to have much issue getting another Golden Age. In fact, I think I am going to have to adjust a few builds to prevent from going over too much. Only need another 11 points and will get 3 for the barb camp, 2 for the Great Admiral in a few turns. Probably get 1 or 2 for Feudalism. So, will only need 5 more. I can get 4 for a splendid Campus, Commercial Hub, or Industrial Zone, so I might have to delay a few of those until the next era. I will have to check the estimate for the next era, might not want to wait that long for any of those. 

In other news, Kaiser came asking for 50 and open border for open borders. Looks like he is a little mad at me for snagging that barb camp. With all due respect, I was working on that camp for a while before he sent his chariot up there. I decide to send him whales and jade plus open borders to him. I was going to send just jade and 10 but for some reason I could not change the standard 100 when you click on one time amount of gold for 10. It keep reverting back to a 100. I think that is a much better deal, I get to keep the gold and if I am supplying luxuries to keep his cities happy, he won't attack me. 

Also, Ichabod has started attacking Hattusa and looks to be able to take it next turn. There goes my scouts down by his empire. I promoted Pingala with the cultural promotion and am now leading in culture generation (35 for me versus 34 for Kaiser and Ichabod). Things are starting to look good in my empire. Another 10 turns and I should have 3 more settlers out, a few chariots, and getting ready to launch an attack.

Internationally, Ichabod gained 2 empire points and Kaiser gained 1. Suboptimal finished a tech, gained 2 empire points, and 1 era point. No score change for CMF.

[NobleZarkon]

 Another 10 turns and I should have 3 more settlers out, a few chariots, and getting ready to launch an attack.

Sounds good.

Can we have a strategic overlay map soon, would like to have a good look at things.

[Woden]

Turn 77
Slow turn. Horseman finishes at Gondor and I start the lighthouse. I will switch to a builder in a few turns to time it with Feudalism finishing. Horseman heads west and will make his way towards Fez. Up north, horsemen and archer heads towards the barb camp. I will get the next Great Admiral next turn and it is as good as the one suboptimal sniped with running projects. Gaius Dulius makes a fleet out of a unit. I will keep him around until I get Frigates and then have a frigate that can pretty much one shot ancient walls. Also noticed, looking at the Great People screen, suboptimal is earning great general points, so he has an encampment complete.

Here is a overview in strategic view with what I know about Brazil's land...

 

For a planned attack, I have a few options: (1) power through Belem's jungle with force, (2) raid Manaus and split forces to Hattusa and Belem (this would hopefully draw forces from Belem to a more open field), or (3) send army towards Fez and flank his capital while ships attack his coastal cities. 

After trying to work out a strategy for the coming turns, I think the earliest I can attack with any kind of advantage might be around T95-T100. I need that much time to get enough gold to upgrade a bunch of knights. And one issue I am running into is that if I wait a little longer, I can reach Frigates. Frigates are important for 2 reasons, first, I will be able to smash any of his coastal cities fairly easy with Frigates, and second, attack strength from walls are based on your strongest ranged unit (including ships) and a fleet frigate is pretty strong. It will help protect my cities from any counter attack or a double team by Kaiser. 

I also need to get some infrastructure developed to strengthen my civilization before I can start any war that might take a little time. Right now, I am the largest empire but most of my cities are fairly undeveloped. I am in great need of some builder love and need more traders to speed up development of my newer cities. I don't want to fall into the trap of a long, drawn out war with nothing to support it. And if that occurs, Brazil will win with his production potential, or at least be able to continue to develop while also defending his lands. But, I also don't want to fall into my own trap of always thinking there is a better time to attack in the future, which I tend to do in most games and then I fall victim to a dedicated attack from someone else. I just don't see a scenario where a rushed attack is going to accomplish much versus waiting a little bit and actually gain an advantage. So, in summary, an attack is coming but will take a little bit to get things in place to be able to sustain a drawn out war if need. 

What do I need to accomplish in the next 20 turns, so I can launch an attack?

To start, I need builders and am going to have feudalism in 6 turns. Gondor will switch to a builder in a few turns and Osgiliath, Erebor, and Rivendell will build them after their current builds complete. The builder at Gondor (along with the builder coming up form Misty Mountains) will chop out 3 settlers, once Feudalism is complete. First 2 settlers will go west to settle the 2 pins by the lake between Fez and Belem. Once they are close to settling, I will launch an attack on Fez and if I can get 3 horsemen over there, will be able to take the city in 1 turn, if it doesn't have walls. Hopefully it will complete its campus by that time. The 3rd settler will go to the truffles location in the northeast. Once the builders are out, I will focus on getting production up with some lumbermills and mines.

Where I gain my advantage will be on research. On the civic tree...



I am pretty sure with everybody building Campuses and Holy Sites, most went to the bottom of the tree first, where I am focusing on the top. My goal is Exploration and Merchant Republic government. I will also get all I need to launch an attack with cheap upgrades from Mercenaries. After Feudalism, I will start Naval Tradition while chopping out settlers and put a few turns into Mercenaries if need be. Then research Mercenaries while I get my 4th trade route out to boost Medieval Faires. By the time I get to Exploration, I can upgrade my Briemes to Caravels for the boost. Once in Merchant Republic, I can go full gold generation and upgrade all my units to launch an attack. 

For tech research... 



Nobody has reached Apprenticeship yet. I will finish the Classical Era techs in 3 turns, Math next turn and Construction in 3 turns. Then I will focus on getting to Cartography, researching Buttress unboosted. Then, I will go Military Engineering to reveal niter and Square Rigging (unboosted) for Frigates. Once, those are done, I will get Stirrups for Knights, upgrade about 6 and attack. I will be reaching deep into the trees but it will I think it will get me an advantage or at least give me some good defenses if my attack fails. The reason I am delaying Stirrups so long, is the production card for the next level of Calvary is at Divine Right, a civic that I am not going to research and will need to build a bunch of chariots to upgrade.  I am going to skip Divine Right and Reformed Church, going with the Merchant Republic government until I can get the next generation of governments. I really don't see a need for either of those governments and it will give me a cultural advantage if I don't sink into them. 

Anyways, I think delaying an attack for a few turns so I can get my empire established is a good choice right now. And I might even be able to fit some of my Industrial Zone in to keep up with Ichabod on production. 

I forgot to grab screenshots of the score, so next turn's score tracking will include that last 2 turns. I think Kaiser founded a new city north of his capital, as I see new borders in the east.

[Woden]

Here are the latest two uneventful turns. 

Turn 77
Start off with...



My 19th tech versus 15 for Kaiser. He must be working on a few boosts because it has been a while since he has completed anything. I earn my first Great Person (Admiral) this turn and send him to hook up with the quad to help speed its way towards Fez. The GA completed the quest for Vilnius, earning my 2nd envoy...



Not much  else going on...I started attacking the barb camp in the north and most of my cities are building walls. 


Turn 78
Open the save to Kaiser asking for a friendship...



Good, now I will get the first attack option. I accept as my attention is to the south. He might be planning a settling spread to his northwest, so I send my warrior up there to look out for incoming settlers. The land fairly flat, so let's hope he has better land on his other side. 

I noticed Belem has lost a population point. I swing my injured spearman towards the lake to go  to my pinned location to block it and find a Brazilian warrior fortified on some stone...



I was hoping his new settler would be going to fill in the gap between Belem and his capital but pretty sure it is head to where the warrior is located to seal off that pass. I might send my spearman into the lake to annoy Ichabod and see if his settler is guarded. 

Next turn, I will switch to Military Training to finish it and should have enough overflow to finish Feudalism as if I never switched off of it. 

Internationally (for the last 3 turns), Ichabod has gained 15 empire points and 7 era points. I think the empire points are Hattusa and districts. Kaiser has finished a civic, gained 15 empire points, and earned 5 era points. Suboptimal has finished a civic and gained 5 empire points and 6 era points. CMF has gained 2 empire points and 3 era points. 

I have a 14 lead in empire points with everybody except CMF (where I have more than double). I don't think anybody is up to 7 cities yet but I could be mistaken. Another 8 turns and I will have 3 more settlers. I might need to see if I can fit more in after a short break for infrastructure so I can grab as much land as possible before my neighbors grab it for themselves.

[Woden]

Turn 79
This is the forest turn post August 2020 patch. All my cities were happy but now are just content, so I lose +5% to all my yields. It will be a few turns until I can get more luxuries hooked up. Not to jazzed about this change to the game. 

Anyways, another uneventful turn. Walls finish in Erebor and Moria. Erebor starts a builder and Moria switches back to the lighthouse. It is time to switch civic research to Military Training, so I can drop Limes in favor of the +30% to harbors. 

Looked at the era time screen...



A minimum of 20 turns until the next era change. Is there a minimum turn count between eras? No problem getting another golden age, I need 7 more points. I will get 1 or 2 for Feudalism and most likely 2 points for Cartography. Might be able to make it to Merchant republic but if I won't, I can build a splendid Industrial Zone at Gondor or the Commercial Hub at Osgiliath. 

Internationally, Ichabod gained an empire point, Kaiser gained 2 empire points and 3 era points (splendid district?). Suboptimal founded a city, gaining 7 empire points and CMF finished a civic and lost a population. 


Turn 80
Start of with...



And...



Time for a policy change...



Decided to put Ilkum in while a lot on my cities are building builders and alos land surveyors so I can buy the stone at the capital that will help finish a settler in a turn. I figure the 25 saved is a little more than the 12 for trade routes. And I say 12 because thanks to the loss of the happiness bonus, it is going to take 2 turns for Feudalism, as I will be just shy of enough to finish it next turn.

Canada came asking for 100 gift. I did look at relations last turn after Kaiser asked for a Friendship and he did denounce Canada, so I expect war is coming. I didn't want to do 100, so I sent 50 and 21 iron. He doesn't have iron yet, so I figure I would send him enough to build a unit when he can and the extra one is so his unit could heal. I don't know if he can build a swordsman yet but wanted to let him know I can supply him some if needed. I will also look at his horses and make sure he has enough for a stead stream of horsemen coming out. Don't want Kaiser to completely overrun him. 

Here is my empire...



Gondor will switch to its lighthouse next turn while I wait to get the +2 charge card in place for Feudalism. The builder heading towards Gondor is going to the stone tile I just bought and the new builder will move to the plains hill to start the chopping. I will be able to get out 3 settlers in 4 turns with 2 forest chops and one stone harvest. First 2 will go to the west to seal off the northwest and the 3rd will go to Truffle city and will probably be first to be founded. 

My horsemen are healing at La Venta and the 4th is making his way towards Fez. I will send one more towards Fez and the other 2 to Misty Mountains. I think I will use my friendship with Kaiser to take Vilnius while he is focused on Canada. So, I should have another 5 cities in about 15 turns. 

Internationally, Ichabod finished a civic and gained an empire point, Kaiser gained an empire point, suboptimal founded another city gaining 7 more empire points, and CMF lost another population so I expect a few more cities soon. Suboptimal has almost caught up to me in empire points (my 99 to his 96). Just in time for another settler spree.

[Woden]

Turns 81 & 82
Pretty boring turns here. Not much going on and half my typical screenshots didn't take. My dance with Ichabod's units west of Belem didn't work out. He had enough to kill my spearman if I blocked what I think is his destination. So, I moved to a tile to block his path north and where I can get a horseman to back him up. Also, I have rethought my settler plan a little bit and don't need to push a city where I suspect Ichabod is planning a city spot. 

I revised settler plan is to push 3 cities north of Kaiser while we are in a friendship and I can get walls and Cothons up before it ends. I am still planning 1 city in the west to lock in the border but I think the cities north of Kaiser are more desirable since I can build a Cothon in each and get a little more science and gold. 

Feudalism finished on turn 82 and I switched my economic policies to Ilkum and Colonization. At Gondor, the lighthouse finishes next turn and will finish the builder the following turn. Then it will build a settler without a chop and then go for 3 more chopped settlers, finishing the last on T90. 

Internationally (over the last 2 turns), Ichabod has gained 3 empire points, finished a tech, and earned 2 era points. Kaiser has finished a civic, gained 7 empire points (new city?), and earned 1 era point. Suboptimal, finished a civic, gained 11 empire points (new cities?), and earned 4 era points. CMF has gained 1 empire point, finished a tech, and earned 3 era points. Suboptimal now has more empire points than me (102 (me) versus 107 (him)). I think it is due to having 1 more RNY than I have Contons. He is earning 8 GA points, so 4 RNY. 

I will get some good screenshots during today's turn.

[Woden]

Turn 83
Lighthouse finishes at Gondor and goes back to finish builder next turn. I pinned out my 3 cities over towards Kaiser...



The one closest to Gondor, directly north of Moria grabs truffles and will Magnus double chop out the Cothon, Lighthouse, and a monument using the tundra forested deer tile and then start the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Mangus will move here once the 4th settler finish in Gondor. 

The northern coastal pin by the barb camp will chop its Cothon using the tundra forest the barb camp is located. That Cothon will be splendid (+4 adjacency) and give me the era points for a splendid harbor. The city on the geothermal tile will start a Cothon within the lake. It will be under some loyalty pressure but settling the other 2 cities and giving it some time to grow will stabilize the loyalty. I don't think I will need a governor to hold it but that is always an option. It will need a trader fairly soon to get its growth going. The city will be able to grab a fox for more luxuries. It will also be able to get a +3 campus on the tile east of the geothermal vent after the Cothon is built. That city will need walls before my friendship ends with Kaiser as it will be open to attack but I can park a few frigates in the lake to help defend it. 

So, the first settler will go west and then the next 3 will go east to lock in the available land north of Kaiser. In my core...



Two builders finish next turn. Gondor will start a settler to finish naturally and Osgiliath will build its lighthouse. Moria will build a monument after its lighthouse completes before building a few traders. This will give me a little time to get my new cities founded, so the traders can go to those cities first. 

Over in the west...



I could have blocked the settler by moving my spear on the tile where my "City A" pin was but I saw the chariot and new if I did, Ichabod would just declare war and kill it. Better to block his path north. I figure his ideal city spot is the stone where the warrior is standing. That would give him a nice +6 Holy Site on the second stone tile. If I were him, I would found on the tile he is currently standing. That would put the iron in the second ring instead of the 3rd. 

Internationally, Ichabod gained 2 empire points and 2 era points. Kaiser gained an empire point. Suboptimal gained an empire point, earned a great person (his 2nd Admiral), and a era point. CMF founded a city, increasing his empire score by 7 and gained a era point. 

I need to start thinking about the threat that suboptimal is becoming. Lots of GA points and the second biggest empire. If I race to Frigates, I might have to pay him a visit before he can muster his own. I am 7 techs ahead of him but don't know how close he is to Caravels. If I can, probably just raze his coastal cities to make sure the ocean is mine. Best guess on his location is the other side of the landmass, so he might be fairly close if I sail west when I can. 


Turn 84
Two builders complete. Builder at Osgiliath will lumbermill a forest, mine a plains hill, move up to La Venta to place a farm and mine, then move down to Rohan to lumbermill a forest. He might lumbermill the forest at Rohan before moving up to La Venta, I am not sure yet. The builder at Gondor moves east to mine 2 plains hills before moving back to chop 2 forests. Osgilaith starts the lighthouse and Gondor starts a settler. He is my core...



A flood occurred at Erbor, taking a population but added food to a tile. The notification stated 3 tiles gained fertility but only noticed the 1. Too bad I am going to place an Industrial Zone on that tile. A 5/1 is a pretty nice tile but a +7 IZ is better.  

Over in the west...



I expect Ichabod to settle his city next turn. I move on eof my horseman south of Fez to get some scouting information and the other one hangs out out of sight. I will bring the one in La Venta down once it is completely healed and then take Fez. Hopefully the builder is going to chop the jungle tile for the campus. Then I could at least get +1 adjacency when I build a Cothon in there. The southern horseman will move south to defog a little while he waits for the 3rd horsemen to come and play. I should be able to take the city in 1 turn and if the dice gods are kind, use only 2 horsemen attacks. 

Internationally, Canada declared war on Egypt. Must have wanted first strike. It will be interesting to see how that shakes out. Kaiser did denounce him but it doesn't look like he was preparing for war. Score-wise, Ichabod gained 2 empire points, finished a tech, and gained 3 era points. Kaiser finished a tech, gained another scientist, and 3 era points. Suboptimal gained an empire point. CMF founded another city, gaining 7 empire points, finished a tech, and earn an era point. Era-wise, it looks like almost everybody is on track for a Golden Age.

[NobleZarkon]

Had to rebuild my computer but back now, looks like things are bubbling up quite nicely! Thanks for keeping the reports going, was good to be able to catch up.

Always hard to balance making sure you have enough troops for a decisive war with waiting too long, don't envy you that decision!

[Woden]

Had to rebuild my computer but back now, looks like things are bubbling up quite nicely!  Thanks for keeping the reports going, was good to be able to catch up.

Always hard to balance making sure you have enough troops for a decisive war with waiting too long, don't envy you that decision!

Sucks that you had to rebuild your computer. It is tough to decide when the best time to attack. I have one and half times Brazil's military power but am pretty sure he could ramp up quickly, thanks to his massive production. That is why I am hesitant right now. With the jungle, it will be slow going and gives him time to produce units quicker than I can replace them. Give it a little time and I can get my Industrial Zones down to match his production power and could get more units on the field. I know this is my biggest trap, always looking for the next "big" thing to give me an advantage and it blows up in my face but right now I don't see any advantage to attacking him right now. Especially with others getting more cities out and the possibility of some good land being taken from me. The best play I see right now is to expand and develop and use my larger empire to gain an advantage.