[Spoilers] Commodore bakes a double entenada.

[Thorite]

How's the city count going? How do you compare against the top of the scoreboard?

[Commodore]

How's the city count going? How do you compare against the top of the scoreboard?

I'm currently at a mere 22 cities; that's much better than before but the top four on the board:

Mackoti: 28
TBS: 30
Pindicator: 18
Old Harry: 27

...clearly not competitive. When the concession or whatever gets worked out here soon because of turn pace, I don't think I can argue for a place on the stand. I have room for another 10-15 cities, which would be enough for a top five eventually, fwiw.

[Commodore]

So this was kind of sad. I'd rather not have Pin get this close, just want to raze. And scrape up about 50 coins.

I'm sorry, corpse of Gavagai.

15 more gold coins. I'm going to be on the ragged, bloody edge to get both Banking and Theology by the end of this golden age, need Theocratic Merchants. I'm keeping in caste so the next golden age won't be hard to do, but the third for Representation will be more difficult.

But at the end of this I'm getting 4XP ports. These frigates are going to rock.

[Commodore]

There's been an intense war going on, while I have been just sitting back and enjoying the golden age. Plako is finally winning the fight for ex-Sumer, but...it's a pretty sad sight. Behold the bones of at least three cities, and all this pretty land in ruin and waste. The Gavagai/Plako duel has been well-nigh apocalyptic. Seems almost sad that Pinwyn gets the best land in the end, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Hell of a resurrection, ain't it? Pin was in despair, now he's legit in third place.


Mackoti is secure in first place, though. He made PEACE WITH RUSTEN this turn, so he can better turn to eating Naufragar. I'm looking forward to the fireworks when Mackoti's frigates enter the waters. All my lands are shielded by TBS, which is pretty dope. He's going to get more of Australia than I'd prefer, alas, but with the capture of that barbarian city and the settlement of the inland city I've got some very good claims.

See Short Pump here for why I can settle again. With two trade routes and a nice stolid merchant, I'll be paying for it with a little profit. Settlers are going to be built everywhere next turn in cities that lack Coliseums. Those cities, of course, get to slam out three-promo knights and a round of brutal formation pikes. I'm not perfectly happy with my economy, but it's back up to "good enough".

Nice golden age. Any questions?

[Krill]

Tech picture please, plus breakeven beaker rate

[Commodore]

Tech picture please, plus breakeven beaker rate

Shall do next turn, when my golden age ends. The tech destination, naturally, is Combustion, but that's a long long haul. Still, with drydocks I'll be pumping 8xp ships from my (counts) 24 ports.

[Mardoc]

How's your first New World city doing? Up to the level of a mainland filler city yet, or have turns been too slow? For that matter, when does the New World become more important than Old Rome?

How many settlers do you need still? If Short Pump is typical, presumably every filler city is worth building eventually, it's just a question of priority?

[Commodore]

Tech picture please, plus breakeven beaker rate

Tech:


Breakeven (ouch!):

...yup, that is why even though new cities pay for themselves, that's not quite the same as saying they cost nothing. They have to nearly double their costs to break even.

How's your first New World city doing? Up to the level of a mainland filler city yet, or have turns been too slow? For that matter, when does the New World become more important than Old Rome?

How many settlers do you need still? If Short Pump is typical, presumably every filler city is worth building eventually, it's just a question of priority?

Perish the thought of a plains hill city with deer/stone/gems/grassland iron being called a filler! That's a darn good city. At least it was until TBS used my roads to pull this dick move. I have no love for Mackoti, but I will hand him the game by fighting TBS if dude pushes it too much. And this is definitely pushing it.

Breathing deep and cleansing my wrath, for a moment at least, we'll look at America. Cities are growing well and I'm starting to make workshops, so that's good. Two settlers for Hooker and Bonesteel are built and Hooker is next turn, Bonesteel the turn after (possibly, I might send it wheeling over to Australia). Beaver city and "?" can be in a half dozen more turns, they don't excite me. The peninsula beneath Felchville earns two settlers, then is this silly western Aussie race with TBS. I'm finding more stuff north of Dtay that I can claim reasonably, and another huge continent farther but that's north of Mackoti, probably already being settled.

Some colonies are better than a couple of my mainland fillers, but then, Spread Eagle and Rough n' Ready are pretty crappy cities to be fair. Old Rome is going to be the most important part of Rome for a good long while, particularly economically with the mature towns and cities with forums, libraries, observatories, and banks. Infrastructure is it's own reward.

As you can see I'm struggling to get a bank going in Swallow Hill. The choice to go into Vassalage was made easier by how poorly built my capital has been this game. It might have crawled it's way onto the Top Five Cities screen, but it certainly deserves no accolades. There should be four more villages-into-towns here at least with the Academy decision. My stubborn refusal to build cottages past turn 100 is pretty solid normally, but look at that naked grassland square. Planning to chain irrigation through it is no excuse.

Sad as it is, that's still about 18% of my total economy. My demographics show about what you'd expect given the screenshots above; land area will be below Mackoti, TBS, and Finarrytu (the other three Astronomers), but I think I'll pull ahead of the rest. I'd be happier about power if my neighbors weren't in 2nd, 3rd, and 7th place. :crazyeyes:

The next real question is what we call the landmass we settle next. The nice little three-city nub west of Australia is West Zealand, naturally, but would I tempt fate overmuch to call south beyond the ice the Canadian Archipelago?

[Krill]

What would make you plan to declare war on TBS?

Ps your tech sucks.

[Mardoc]

Perish the thought of a plains hill city with deer/stone/gems/grassland iron being called a filler! That's a darn good city.

Heh, you can say that once you can actually work any of those tiles...

The next real question is what we call the landmass we settle next. The nice little three-city nub west of Australia is West Zealand, naturally, but would I tempt fate overmuch to call south beyond the ice the Canadian Archipelago?

How about Byrdland?