[SPOILERS] enough is ENOUGH! scooter opens some windows and finishes first!

[scooter]

My only question, did you check the Bulb order for GMs? Do we need Math first to bulb Currency?

Here's the list:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=140952

Currency is top bulb priority so it's required for MC... But Math is a prerequisite for Currency so yeah you need Maths first. I mean you could do alphabet instead but Maths is cheaper and more useful. Metal Casting is next on the list (aside from a bunch of techs that are forever away) so yeah, the plan will work for bulbs.

[scooter]

Also - in theory once Currency is in I could build a market and run more than 2 merchants to speed up the MC bulb. That's something I'd have to evaluate further down the road, but it's an option I'll have.

[dazedroyalty]

Also - in theory once Currency is in I could build a market and run more than 2 merchants to speed up the MC bulb. That's something I'd have to evaluate further down the road, but it's an option I'll have.

I think that would depend a lot on if there was an urgent need to build Forges, which I don't think would be the case... plenty to do with settlers, workers and enough military to deter aggression. Especially since the capital needs to work as many cottages as possible!

[scooter]

I think that would depend a lot on if there was an urgent need to build Forges, which I don't think would be the case... plenty to do with settlers, workers and enough military to deter aggression. Especially since the capital needs to work as many cottages as possible!

Yep. I'm working up a plan now of the capital (I'll post it after I eat) and how it will need to look to run these merchants without interfering too badly. Size 8 is a good target size for us as you'll see - it works out really nicely.

[scooter]

Okay time to figure out what our target for Holocene is. At size 8 (9 is supportable with gold + incense), we're looking at this:



The C's are all cottages. Breakdown:

size 8:
center: 2/1/1
corn: 6/0/0
deer: 4/1/0
fp: 3/0/2
griv: 2/0/2
grcot: 2/0/1
grcot: 2/0/1
merchants: 2

food: 21
cost: 16
surplus: 5

Okay if I get to size 8, I can work the center, both foods, 4 cottages, and 2 merchants and still have a surplus with which I can make it to size 9. The north mine would get handed over to Simple Math, but the one annoyance is not working the RR mine - it's painful for Joao to ignore a 0/5/0 tile. Now I could just continue up to size 9 and swap to this mine, but still, I'll be getting off of it for quite awhile while I grow. An alternative is to found a copper city in a way that makes it able to steal the mine from Holocene:



If I settle on "a" I can borrow the RR mine from Holocene. Site b might seem more logical as it doesn't burn a precious grassland tile, but that would also make it difficult to found a good spot SE of that to get the town - it would eliminate all but the site 1W of crabs. The site I like for the town of the plains hill NE of the fish - working fish and town and possibly building Moai. Site A would fit naturally with that. It wouldn't be an amazing city, but it would be passable.

[dazedroyalty]

If I settle on "a" I can borrow the RR mine from Holocene. Site b might seem more logical as it doesn't burn a precious grassland tile, but that would also make it difficult to found a good spot SE of that to get the town - it would eliminate all but the site 1W of crabs. The site I like for the town of the plains hill NE of the fish - working fish and town and possibly building Moai. Site A would fit naturally with that. It wouldn't be an amazing city, but it would be passable.

I thought we talked about settling that island instead for TRs. So who cares if site B makes it harder to grab the town!

[T-hawk]

So another idea. I generate TWO great merchants. First bulbs Currency, second bulbs MC. I can get the first GM in 11T of 2 merchants which is great

Where do you get those two merchant specialist slots? Did you get to Caste System somewhere?

Edit - oh, it's the free grocer.

I love the idea of the first GM to bulb Currency. Not sure if the MC bulb is hugely worthwhile, compared to the opportunity cost of an academy with that GP slot.

[SevenSpirits]

Are you counting on incense happy pre-calendar? Because you need calendar for that. Otherwise people would just settle on or fort their calendar resources and ignore the tech.

[dazedroyalty]

Are you counting on incense happy pre-calendar? Because you need calendar for that. Otherwise people would just settle on or fort their calendar resources and ignore the tech.

No, that's only true in the Civ game with 11 traits. We're playing the 9 trait version, right Scooter?! :neenernee

[scooter]

I thought we talked about settling that island instead for TRs. So who cares if site B makes it harder to grab the town!

I thought we were talking about settling on the elephants to get the intercontinental trade routes. Is it any better to have multiple cities on the islands? In other words - yes, there's a large economic benefit to securing one economic trade route... But getting a second city on an island doesn't actually help does it?

I love the idea of the first GM to bulb Currency. Not sure if the MC bulb is hugely worthwhile, compared to the opportunity cost of an academy with that GP slot.

Academy would be great, but the problem is I'm going to be running a low slider for quite awhile which makes it not as worthwhile. I mean, I'm at 4 cities and already at 40% breakeven (Toroidal maintenance), so I question how much the Academy would help - especially since I only have two riverside cottages possible with this capital. Am I missing something?