Well... I don't mind too much reporting 
|
[PB74 Spoilers] Donovan Zoi Celebrates 20 Years of Living Dangerously
|
|
October 2nd, 2023, 21:32
(This post was last modified: October 2nd, 2023, 21:36 by Donovan Zoi.)
Turn 33 - 2680 BC
I'm happy to report that we've founded our second city --- K2! I can't say the same for everyone though since our civ went into anarchy during the voyage. We are now in the Slavery civic, and I've been simming the possibilities on and off all weekend. And thanks to you all for your patience on the stories, but these next few turns are much too important to settle for the usual Zoi treatment.   It looks like I'm only the 3rd player to found a second city, losing out to Dreylin by just a few minutes at the outset of this turn. Commodore left the rest of the field in the dust with a city plant at T30 after a double whip. We got ours with just one chop, and Dreylin's was built organically as well. So maybe it's time for some city screens.... Skeleton Coast  As of now I have our capital leaning on production for a quick WB and I'll be storing the next 2 chops into a Settler while building a Quechua escort to grow to Size 4. Early estimates have me chopping the last turn of the Settler to get a Terrace in one turn at T44 or 45. Still working out what happens next, but I'll be in the market for a Galley (Silver awaits!) or a Lighthouse with Sailing completed at T47. K2  The new city, named in honor of the nearby mountain, will alternate between Quechua and Worker for now. I want to whip the Worker at Size 2 so I can still devote the other 2 food tiles to Skelly Falls. A Terrace will chop out around T42, and with the accelerated growth I should soon be able to graduate this comparatively sparse site to whip Settlers at Size 4 while giving our capital the big projects. Demographics  One new city and we're back in the game! As you've probably guessed from the above plans, I'll be going Pottery > Sailing after Wheel to put this thing on steroids. I'm seriously considering Metal Casting afterward if I can get some Lighthouses built. Yes, you heard correctly, although testing may rightfully place Writing ahead of it. There may also come a need to sojourn into Hunting and/or AH should anyone come my way. But...I really want the Colossus and with all the Mining and IND civs out there, bumping MC way up in the queue is my only shot at it. This tech also comes with a great supporting cast of Plan Bs in Forges, Triremes, Workshops and maybe Lumbermills that I'd put to good use. I suppose there's a 100 turn plan I'll need to add to the content list as well. 
October 5th, 2023, 13:59
(This post was last modified: October 5th, 2023, 14:00 by Donovan Zoi.)
Turn 36 - 2560 BC
I discovered The Wheel, just in time to devote a few turns to roading the forest hill SE of the capital. My sims have the Workers falling a bit behind the Settler/Quechua en route to Copper city, so I wanted to have this path in place ahead of time before chopping some more. This will allow me to found the site in 2 turns instead of 3.  Demographics I was able to net the other Clams this turn, which gave us another good boost on the Demo screen. We are momentarily in the top 10 on each of the 3 major categories.  City Screens I'll be playing food games with these two sites over the next few turns, one of the drawbacks of sharing important tiles so early. However, this practice becomes less painful once Terraces arrive.  I moved the Fish tile to the capital to get more hammers for the copper Settler. Then I'll go at least 2 turns with all 3 food to accelerate to Size 4 while I swap in a Quechua, giving at least 1 tile back on T39 to K2 to use for a Worker. I saw that Dreylin just 2-whipped this turn after founding his second city, so I may have to do the same for my Settler once we have Pottery. Current sims have me founding the Copper site T46, but a 2-whip would move that up a bit.  K2 will hit Size 2 next turn, but I'm putting the brakes on food storage in preparation for an early Terrace here. We still get to Size 2 with the swapped in Clams, and I'll use Spices and a plains forest the Quechua in 2 turns at 4h. Then I'll be starting that Worker but will still need to determine how many food tiles I'll devote during its build.
T 38 - 2480 BC
Border pop in K2 a few turns ago and found us some Furs to the NE. There has to be some seafood up there to support this site, right?  T40 - 2400 BC I'm gonna be whipping these two sites to the bare foodstuffs on T43, with each city having enough overflow to 1-turn a Terrace. I gave Skelly Coast all the food this turn for fast recovery before completing the Settler/Terrace with a double whip. K2 will build our second worker, and I'll have Copper connected in the new city by T48.   Demos Looking pretty good across the board. We're middling in soldiers and near the top of the pack in population and commerce. Someone's at Size 5 and 3 already, which is mighty impressive.  We're also leading the Top 5, even besting that size 5 site. Oh, and Gavagai's new wonder was Stonehenge as expected. 
Turns 42 & 43
So yeah, I went and did it. My civ has been whipped to oblivion, going from this:  To this:  Demographics took a hit as expected.  I am actually not worried, since there is enough overflow to produce 1-turn Terraces in each city. It's actually kind of nice to finally get to this point, because I've probably tested this set of turns about 50 times. In doing so, I've tried different laborer allocations and changed my tech path, but Worker moves have remained static throughout. T43 - Start road on shared grassland hill T44 - Complete road; Worker joins tile from K2 T45 - Workers in tandem, begin farm on Flood Plains. Cancel orders. T46/47 - Complete Copper mine in new city T48 - Road mine, bringing Copper to all 3 sites. T49 thru 51 - complete Flood Plain farm; one worker moves 1N to start road T52 - road completed, 2nd worker can now start chopping forest plains hill for capital T53 - complete chop with both workers I'll use the 5h from the mine to 4-turn a Terrace in Death Valley before the food storage hits 50%. I don't really see any of the above changing, though I still have to figure out what those chop hammers will produce. I've moved Writing before Sailing so it will most likely be a Library, but I've also placed a huge order for Workers. Sailing was moved back due to my bailing on the high investment in founding the Silver-Fish city for now, never getting it before T60. I also ran a casual test to T70 just for kicks and was left wanting for Axemen etc. So for now, I am going to run tests on getting the basics: --3 to 4 more workers for a 2:1 ratio per city --Scouts from K2 and city 3 (I'm thinking Death Valley) --Workboats from all 3, to expand our defensive view and find a trade route. --At least 1-2 Axes to gain some barb XP. This means I'm scrapping any plans for Colossus and GLH for now, though I may still make a run for the latter if I start Sailing on T48. I do have a feeling that both of these are going to fall early, and so I prefer to stay with plans that support the massive city growth that's about to take place. Back to the Workers, the 2:1 ratio will allow tile improvements to keep pace with the Terrace-fueled pop growth, as well as ensure that roads are available to next viable city plants. Once this is fulfilled, I should be able to be equally explosive with Settlers shortly thereafter. I'm actually staying competitive so far, in that Commodore is the only one to found a third city (this turn).
October 14th, 2023, 22:46
(This post was last modified: October 14th, 2023, 22:51 by Donovan Zoi.)
Turn 44 - 2240 BC
Hey thanks guys! I agree that it's a bit unconventional but I think it will all work out. Anyway, here's the obligatory screenshot of the two Terraces queued up along with our Settler meeting two Quechua at the Copper rendezvous point....  ...but T45 turns out to be much more interesting. I'm gonna go ahead and put it in spoiler tags. There's a lot to cover.
Turn 46 - 2160 BC
This region is pretty much the only thing that matters to me right now, despite the growth of both other cities next turn.  So, basically...if I log in after Miguelito plays to find 2 or more WCs waiting to strike Death Valley, I'll almost certainly lose the city despite adequate preparation. If not, then we'll go back to Defcon 4 with decent countermeasures to Egypt in place. I've swapped a Quechua into queue this turn as a final contingency, storing 3h to it and the delayed Scout. Totally a moot point if I get attacked on T47, but the 6h via next turn's mine will allow me to 2-turn either for T49. And now, we wait.......................
Turn 47 - 2120 BC
Turns out my fears were much ado about nothing...for now. I logged in after Egypt played last turn (46) to find the Scout had retreated and no WCs were in sight. I also determined Mig's city sizes (5 and 3) via PBSpy to ensure he really couldn't have put together a raiding force. Knowing I'd be assured of connecting Copper now, I reverted to the Scout build in Death Valley. However, this short term comfort could soon give way to long term uncertainty if I let it. Because Miguelito initiated a 3-whip for his IND civ, so I am anticipating a Wonder next turn. If it's the Oracle, then he'll likely grab Metal Casting and cause us all sorts of hell down the line. Or HBR riding alongside his super-Chariots? Not sure, but it will definitely be interesting. I really doubt the 3-whip was for a Settler. So, I think the only thing I can do to counter any trouble from the south is to maintain a lead in city count and set 'em to grow. Miguelito only has two cities at this point and will take just a bit of time to recover from whatever was just built. I want more Workers after these unit (and Terrace in DV) builds allow my cities a chance to grow. Then a simultaneous Settler push if I feel safe to do so. I get Hunting next turn, and then Writing by T52. Sailing will almost certainly be next, as my goal is to get the Silver and Furs connected ASAP. Skeleton Coast  Size 4 and UU garrison in 2 turns -- then thinking I can build a Worker and 1-whip enough overflow to make a huge dent in a Library build. I'd complete it while we grow back to Size 4. K2  After the Scout, I may use both food tiles to get up to Size 4 unhappiness and 2-whip a Worker. A Lighthouse will be essential for teching and rapid growth, so I can try to 3-whip Settlers one day. Death Valley  I considered moving to the Terrace build, but decided that with Writing and OBs a mere 5 turns away I really wanted this Scout to scan the southern coast. I may compromise and prioritize food, completing the Terrace on the way to Size 3. I'll decide on a Worker in queue once I see where we're at when these are done. If there's no threat to this city, then I won't upgrade to a Spearman right away. But I am thinking that I'll use an 80g reserve as my baseline for binary research to make sure the option remains available indefinitely, whether here or elsewhere. |
