[PB69 SPOILERS] Magic Science and Nobody Else in Pitboss 69

[Magic Science]

Turn 86, Turn 87, and Turn 88 – 725 BC, 700 BC, and 675 BC
Part 1: Turn 86
   
My Axeman is dead. An unsurprising tragic waste.

Superdeath’s Peace Treaty is strange. Why did you include that I should declare war on BING_ac? (Civac has still been logging in occasionally, by the way). He included the same thing in the third version of his Peace Treaty offer on Turn 55. My best guess is that Superdeath means to tell me that HE will declare war on BING_ac soon, so I should make peace and leave him alone, but he does not want to give me the chance to cause war between him and BING_ac prematurely, so he included the “War with BING” item on my side instead of his side.

For the record, I would never “shoot the messenger” and accept a trade deal clearly meant as a message normally, but I might accept a “Peace Treaty + message” offer if I was desperate for peace right then and was worried there might not be another Peace Treaty offer behind the message one. If I am correct about Superdeath’s fear, then it was not unfounded.

However, in this case, I am not desperate for peace, so I rejected that version, and there was a white version behind it, which I accepted.

Also, Superdeath lost 1 Vulture to kill my Axeman, as predicted, but his first Vulture wounded my Axeman little enough that his second Vulture didn’t even have odds to win! . I cannot complain about my combat luck, but Superdeath really should have let me go in peace like I offered!


   
Gin-guelito offers Ivory for Gold. I will spare Gold next turn, and another spare Gold soon after, and they will have spare Ivory soon too. .
Only 1 city is unhappy now: Mei, and Mei will solve that problem by triple-whipping a Library very soon. This deal might be worthwhile, but it is not so urgent that it cannot wait to come into effect until their part of Turn 87 when they accept my echo. Therefore, I turned the deal down to look around.


   
Well, deals like these you always turn down, and then you echo them, or not. .

Those 2 deals demanded that I get my broader political thoughts about Gin-guelito in order, and I did, and now I will convey those organized thoughts to you, at long last. They have been brewing for a while.

…

Big Picture: Naufragar and Gin-guelito are in a deathmatch, I think.

Their border is long and open and close enough, and neither of them has another border like it. Naufragar borders me and Commodore, but those borders are small and rough. Gin-guelito borders BING_ac and Superdeath, but those borders are also small and rough. Of course, Gin-guelito also borders me, and that border is bigger and better for attacking, but it’s not nearly like the Naufragar border. Also, Gin-guelito razed Naufragar’s 5th city about 10 turns ago now. Forgot to mention that! Therefore, Naufragar and Gin-guelito are in a deathmatch.

I am the only player who borders both of them, so I am the only player who gets to choose which of them to ally with and which of them attack (if I want to attack at all, that is). I stand by what I said a while ago in the opponent analysis that success in shifting coalition warfare is one of the likely paths to victory this game (though it occurs to me as I write this that whatever Commodore is doing with Gavagai could be another path unlike anything in PB64, ). Neighboring both of the pre-determined combatants gives me more leverage than I have in any of my other possible wars (against Pindicator, Commodore, Superdeath, maybe even BING_ac?). So, my possible path to victory probably involves allying with one of them to conquer the other one of them. The question is, which should be which?

I am not sure yet. I lean towards allying with Naufragar against Gin-guelito, but I am not sure. Things can change. One of them could start winning decisively all on their own, for instance, and that would settle it. . For now, my border with Gin-guelito (GG? Let’s try it) is more favorable for fighting, and GG seems stronger and scarier, and I might have a good shot at capturing Hannibal coming soon. Naufragar is the most reliable war ally in the game (though GG are reliable too, I think), and he proposed Sheep for Sheep a few turns back, and I echoed, so I already started the alliance process.
Still, I do not want to commit yet.
Back to the 2 trade proposals…

…

I will not echo Sheep for Sheep. I plot an imminent attack on Hannibal, which would be a betrayal of the deal. Also, best to keep my options as open as possible. Maybe it was a mistake to echo with Naufragar earlier.

I will not echo Ivory for Gold. Mainly because I do not need 1 more happiness at the moment. The War Chariots quest will be complete soon for +1 happiness from religion across most of the empire, and again, only 1 city is unhappy at the moment anyway. However, I should use my spare Gold for something, and I want to indicate friendliness to maximize the chance GG leaves me an opportunity to capture Hannibal.

I offered Stone for Gold. I want Stone for Walls on the border and for Moai Statues up north in Bei. And a mutually beneficial trade deal makes me seem friendly, right? But breaking one like this doesn’t make me into an especially untrustworthy wretch, right?


   
Meanwhile, outside the diplomacy screen, on the Pindicator border…

His Galley is exploring, not returning home. This poses a threat, but at most there is only 1 unit aboard, and he proposed Crab for Crab. I will cover Mei and Bei with a Chariot as the Galley passes by. This should be fine.

If his Galley turns around very very soon, then this next part is moot. Otherwise, if his Galley keeps exploring, then that indicates he has nothing useful for it to do, like settling a place separated by water. But you don’t build Galleys unless you have something for them to do. So why does this useless Galley exist? My best guess is Pindicator planned to settle across on my side of the water, where I am just about to settle, but then that plan failed when I made contact. Further evidence is that Worker, “Gargamel”, building a wilderness road; a Settler is likely imminent. Maybe that Crab for Crab was more generous yet more tenuous than I thought. .


   
Overview screenshot.
Just seems like a good spot to include one.

[Magic Science]

Part 2: Turn 87
(this was the turn I revolted to Judaism in to prepare to complete the War Chariots quest, but I played most of my turn and took most of my screenshots before the anarchy)

   
Demographics screenshot.
This just seems like a good spot for one.

…

Foreign Affairs: Commodore built the Temple of Artemis. Very interesting!
Gavagai auto-razed Commodore’s 8th city (actually happened after I played my Turn 87, time is strange)
Commodore auto-razed BING_ac’s 8th city(actually happened back on Turn 85). They have binding peace now.


   
GG declined Stone for Gold, so I proposed the same deal to Naufragar. Maybe he will be more agreeable. I just want Stone!


   
(It was a mistake to move my Sentry Chariot there. It does not reveal the second Ivory behind Hannibal, all it does is look suspicious and expose my Chariot).

So, I am plotting an imminent attack on Hannibal. Why? Well, it just might work, and it would benefit me if it did, of course.

My attack is a constant (not quite). I need to train 8 Chariots, or 5 more Chariots, anyway for the War Chariot quest to spread Judaism, regardless of any war plans, and those will be almost all the units I will use, and actually all of the newly trained units.

Rather or not my plot succeeds is entirely up to GG. If they put enough military in Hannibal to defend against my pre-determined force, then they keep the city, good for them. If they do not, then I will claim Hannibal as another reward of the War Chariots quest, good for me. Turn 87, Hannibal has 2 Axemen and a Dun.

The default attack declares war and hits the city on Turn 90 with 5 Chariots. I need to commit to bringing another Worker to road the tile 1S of Bolan-Mei one turn earlier. The Axeman and the Spearman from Bolan-Mei will hit the city one turn later. Bolan and Bolan-Mei might whip more units for their own defense on the turn of the attack, depending. The staging tiles are the Sheep tile (most of the Chariots) and the city tile (the Sentry Chariot and the garrison). Later attacks can have more of the Chariots; I have it worked out turn by turn.

I have done my part. Now it is up to GG and RNG.

This would commit me to allying with Naufragar and warring with GG sooner than I would like. But again, I already lean towards that, and the ability to achieve a rewarding attack against GG RIGHT NOW is itself a good reason to choose them as my target instead of Naufragar.

This would require training a Settler of my own, because Hannibal would be auto-razed.

[Magic Science]

Part 3: Turn 88
   
No. I told you what I want for my Gold.
(soon later this turn I learned they just built the Pyramids this turn, but that does not explain why they will not trade me Stone now)


   
Excellent! Except this is so generous that it confuses and therefore frightens me. .

Free Stone from an ally is reasonable, but we are not quite allies yet, and I told you I would offer Gold for the Stone. Why would you decline offered payment? And what does the Pig mean? Does it just mean “positive vibes ”? But why not use Sheep, the resource we are already using to mean “positive vibes ”, then?

Pig is the resource of Ban, the border city with Naufragar .

Anyway, I accepted the deal. It is probably not meant to be sinister at all. I will not trade my spare Gold to anyone else for now in case Naufragar wants it soon.


   
.
My chosen ally should have Open Borders, and my chosen enemy should not.
I turned this down to look around.

After looking around, I echoed it.
Hannibal is defended just like last turn, so it needs multiple Spearmen/Archers immediately to survive. I commit my western Worker next turn. Victory looks likely for the turn after that.
GG’s Pyramids disturb me. Their Crop Yield is excellent and their MFG is good. Their Power is fine too, the question is just if they distribute it properly. I am certain Naufragar is forecasting doom in his thread, and he might be right. Either way, it makes him even more reliable.
So, I echoed Open Borders with Naufragar. This is not quite commitment, but it is a bigger step in that direction.


   
Overview screenshot, again.
This is an even better spot for one.

I settled 2 new cities this turn: Bolan-Bie in the east, by the Crab and Gold, and Bolan-Bei in the west, by the Crab and Gold. (Bolan-Bei will train a Galley first to deliver a Scout to Pindicator and a Settler to the island in the north).

This was surprisingly economically painful: -29 to -43. It should not have been surprising. My instincts for the increase of maintenance and commerce with cities are bad, but I know that, so I should have done a quick simulation to see. Why not, you fool? .


Big Picture: Again, Serfdom is the Way of the Future for my land. My dominant tile type is the Plains Hill, and Windmills are the best improvement for that type. Windmills and the associated farms can be the core improvement of my economy, but I need to get to the key technologies. How?

Well, I thought I would be fine just with trade routes, Gold tiles, the Palace, and other bits and bobs. I was wrong; I miscalculated. The new cities were a hit, not a help. The crude prediction from the Technology Advisor is 100 turns to discover Mathematics (necessary for chopping and to be within reach of Construction in case the next stage of war happens sooner than I want), Metal Casting, Machinery, and Monarchy. MMMM. A refined prediction would not be as bad as that, but still, the key technologies are too far away and I need to figure out something else to reach them. What?

Obviously, Cottages are the thing. I should have built more of them before, I will build more of them now, right?. But I don’t want to. They are inferior for me. Every Cottage tile, at least south of Mei, could be a Farm tile. Food, not number of Plains Hills, is the limiter for working Plains Hills, so every Farm is also another Windmill, and 1 Farm + 1 Windmill > 1 Cottage, I think. Still, if there is no other way, I could use Cottages, but it seems a bit late for their slow and steady approach to me. I only have 2 cottages. .

Luckily, there is Currency. . I think I can make it soon. Another Gold tile will soon be worked, Mei will have Scientists, the northern island (Greenland) will be settled soon for +3 trade routes, and bits and bobs of commerce from rivers and coasts will trickle in. Then with Currency I will get a massive boost from PRO trade routes, and I can force my way with Wealth as well.

. This is not really so ingenious. “Wow, early PRO Currency on RB! Truly, you are the greatest among us”. .

With Currency, I will research to Machinery first, before Monarchy. Monarchy’s piece of the puzzle, Serfdom itself, can be put into place instantly after discovery, but Machinery’s piece of the puzzle, Windmills, needs many Worker-turns over time to put into place. Better to start with the slower piece and end with the quicker piece.

Mei’s Scientists should produce a Great Scientist at about Turn 106; ideally, a Golden Age would happen Turn 107, so I want to in position to discover Monarchy EOT 113 and adopt Serfdom T114 at the latest. That is unlikely. I will probably need to wait and delay the Golden Age a bit. But maybe the Golden Age of Serfdom could take place more around Turn 120, maybe?

[Magic Science]

And with that frenzy of reporting complete, my thread is at long last approximately contemporary again! The only unreported turn left is Turn 89, the turn that turned weird.

. This game is blazing fast! . It is hard to keep up.

[Charriu]

Could you try the [screenshot] tag for the screenshots in future reports. Makes reading easier.

[Tarkeel]

And with that frenzy of reporting complete, my thread is at long last approximately contemporary again! The only unreported turn left is Turn 89, the turn that turned weird.

I find that the best way to keep current with reporting is to have notepad (++) open while playing, and swap over to note anything interesting that happens that turn. If there's not enough for a full report, I tend to roll it over for a later report. For screenshots I use paint.net, and leave place in the report with screenshot tags for where I want them.

Good luck on the war!

[Qgqqqqq]

Thanks MS. Really appreciate the reporting. Nothing interesting to add!

[Magic Science]

Still waiting for Ginger* + Miguelito to play before me, and now I have class again.
Maybe they are waiting to declare war on Naufragar? Otherwise, I do not know.

EDIT: Annoying that this confirms my hostile designs at least half a turn in advance.

[Magic Science]

Yep, now everybody knows. Great.

Pindicator has Horseback Riding. I know because he said in the tech thread that he got a quest failure message for War Chariots, but he said that before he logged on T90, and the only other Classical KTB is Monarchy, and I know for sure that’s Nauf.

EDIT: also IW but I know for sure that’s Bing.

The connection here is previously I felt guilty about my knowledge, and now I do not.

[Magic Science]

The main report will come soon.

For now, the magical Ramkhamhaeng fix worked perfectly. 5 more of my cities are now Jewish, and I see no signs of the alternative promotion reward. Thank you all again.

However, upon rolling to Turn 91, before logging out, I got the message that I had FAILED the quest of the War Chariots.
This makes some sense, because I logged out without selecting a reward, which led to that bug so I did not technically succeed, and then I discovered Mathematics this turn, so now I entered the Classical Era and failed.
I think this means everyone else was not informed of my success in-game, but you told them in the tech thread, so it's fine.
I think it might also mean that the War Chariots quest is still available for other people to complete, when it should not be. That could be bad.