[SPOILERS - PBEM17] darrelljs - Elizabeth of Egypt

[Gold Ergo Sum]

So what do you do with the warrior? Keep circling or send him out on that peninsula?

[Krill]

http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showpost....tcount=148

These aren't just MP tactics, they are normal land scouting tactics. Coastal scouting is somewhat different, because tech paths are then involved and work boats are much more expensive...

This is a great thread detailing scouting. It was written for Civ 3, but the basic strategy behind scouting is exactly the same now as it was then.

There are three choices:

1. Sit in your capital.
   
2. Circle your capital
   
3. Go Deep

Number one is the absence of scouting, to make sure you don't get warrior rushed. I've already posted beforehand why some of the time (when no one can see your capital without declaring war) the decision to declare war and warrior rush is based solely off previous games. That means that if you think you won't get warrior rushed by the other players playing, pick one of hte other 2 choices (so knowledge of their playing styles is important).

Number 2 should never be confused with Number 1. It is so easy for an enemy warrior to pop up on the diagonal at the end of a turn and then while you've been circling you can't get back in time. You have to treat them separately.

This tactic is best for when you want to provide limited resources to scouting, and instead dedicate them to settling the best city sites you can find adjacent to yiour capital. The aim is to make the strongest economy you can asap and get into the front of the pack, and dictate the game from there. Generally it works more when you go worker/workboat first and second or vice versa, or maybe even worker>worker, and you are going without a warrior for an extended period of time. You enter the diplomatic game later than 3, so you need to be careful.

Number 3 is the diplomatic game: you aim to contact as many people as fast as you can and form alliances, make friends, and guard your back. Ultimately you want to make a tech alliances (UTA style) for at least the first round of tech trades, and try to butter up your neighbours to that you all have a safe part of the map to expand into, instead of having to make fight over it. You usually need to get out extra scouts though to scout around the capital late on to find new city sites, and this slows your growth compared to 2 because your settler comes out later.

This is where 2 and 3 come into conflict: 3 will have a group of alliances set up once 2 enters the scene, and when 2 can't break into the diplomatic scene the game degenerates into a long term war game (just look at PB1 for an example of that!) If 3 doesn't have enough allies then all else being equal 2 will overcome them through economic strength. If 3 has a strong enough alliance system and has managed to isolate 2 then 2 gets crushed by sheer weight of numbers.

This is just a very basic explanation: in this game with 16 sides I have no clue how everything is going to work out.

To compare it to my game though, I've combined 2 and 3. I've gone deep, and I'm planning on getting out a quick settler at a good city site (either horses or gold would qualify as good IMO). This is why 3 can occasionally be straight up better than 2, because you may wander off from your starting position into the best part of hte map to settle first, without you knowing that it is the best part of the map to settle. Which is just luck of the draw. I think the two food/gold city is good enough to get as a second city, especially considering the tech and expansion costs in this game, on our settings.

[Gold Ergo Sum]

By that logic, on this map, with NTT, 2 would seem correct.

[Krill]

Yup. That was written during PB3, and that is the other end of the spectrum where (3) was pretty much the right choice. Here, well, (2) without a doubt. Why bother finding city sites 7, 8 and 9 when you haven't found city site 3?

[darrelljs]

No new resources discovered this turn...including no Horse:



Demo:



Darrell

[Krill]

Found Corn:



Praise be to the guv'nor for hiding out stats. yes Darrell, you are going to have to resign citizens next turn, please do not forget that...

[darrelljs]

Next time find Corn ON a river.

Darrell

[Gold Ergo Sum]

Is everyone supposed to have their own continent, and be able to reach every other player's continent? I read that in the setup but didn't know if it still stood.

[darrelljs]

Is everyone supposed to have their own continent, and be able to reach every other player's continent? I read that in the setup but didn't know if it still stood.

Yes, that is correct, we should be able to reach everyone's continent, by Galley, without having to traverse a third party's territory.

Darrell

[Krill]

Pretty sure you owe a turn report...or at the very least a new idea for me to lambast.