[SPOILERS] The Rise and Fall of Whositania (all glory to Whositania!)

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Simmed out to T70 and compared my progress with a couple players from PB13. I'm pretty pleased with where I was, although the settler for my 5th city may be a little late. I'm sure that a lot of my worker actions could be improved, and I suppose I can't really take too much from that, as I don't know where Copper or Horses will end up, or what locations may look attractive as a 5th city spot.

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Turn 9 scouting update:

That spot is looking even better now. Plains sheep means an extra citizen, plus an extra hammer. I can see a bit of shore across the water, but I think the scout will go northeast now.

The plains cow looks less attractive. This general area looks rather arid. Hopefully the next few turns will turn something else up around those cows. West coast crab/borrowed wheat site will probably be location #4 unless I find something better, and I may even venture north into the jungle for #5 or #6 depending on what I uncover later. I'm just going to try to keep the scout alive as long as possible....

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Well, someone was gonna do it:

No idea who got it. Lots of people got score this turn. I wonder how many people missed the religion by the coinflip.

Also, moved scout, found this:

Please don't be a map. Also, please don't let there be a bear.

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Please don't be a map. Also, please don't let there be a bear.

Well, neither of those things happened....

At least the experience means I can get Woody II soon, but that Lion is in an awkward spot for me. But hey, pigs! That gives City 2 a lot more longevity! Although it can't make full use of 'em until I get a much larger happy cap. However, I can spin them off to whatever other town gets stuck with those sad plains cows.

Put down some signs for where cities will probably be going. As long as that Lion doesn't move west, I think I might actually just move my scout north 1 space at a time. It's slow going, but it's all flat land, so I'd rather have an extra movement point left so I can run away from a bear. Once I get to hills or forests, I can afford to move more quickly. Then, I think I'll strike out east.

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Huh?

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A bit late on my thread update for today, but first comes something extremely important:

A young scout stands out in the wild. It just so happens that today is the 13th turn. Though it was 13 turns ago that he was given life, it is only today that he will be given a name.

What will the name of this young scout be?



Try again, smartass.



>Examine spoiler thread.

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The people of Whositania (all glory to Whositania!) have made their first foreign contact:

I'll make a separate post for civ/player analysis, so more on this later.

Here's the area we've scouted:

Dry rice isn't great, but I should be able to irrigate it after Civil Service, though hopefully I can do so without plowing over any maturing cottages. There's also grass cows (a tile I personally like). With plenty of green, I think there will be the opportunity to put down a few strong cities here later, but as I surmised earlier, nothing out here is going to make me change my mind about where my next two cities are going.

Also, I logged in later to check something, and it looks like Cheater Hater moved after me.

He can't see the lion. Too bad there's little chance he'll run right into it.

Lots of nice looking land to give me plenty to think about, but now it's becoming more important than ever to track down my closest rivals so I know in which direction I need to go. However, knowing that the Zulu are nearby is not happy news for me, as you shall see....

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Opponent Analysis: Cheater Hater as Bismarck of Zulu

Traits: EXP/IND
Techs: Agriculture/Hunting
Unique Unit: Impi (Spearman)
Unique Building: Ikhanda (Barracks)

Beginning with traits, Expansive is probably one of the strongest traits, if not the strongest. Even though the mod took away the cheap granary, it got faster workers, fast workboats, and gained half-price Markets and Grocers (something I still don't really understand). EXP leaders can get Workers out very quickly (with the workboat bonus, starts like mine would have been fantastic), and with cheap gold buildings, I can see that really helping out down the road. Oh, and they get some other cheap buildings, too, and I think they still get bonus health. Yay, Expansive.

Industrious could be kind of useless in such a large game. The Stone and Marble nerfs do help IND, I think, but with so many competing civs, the chances of landing any particular Wonder diminish, at least until tech leads are gained. However, half-priced Forges are still a nice asset. If leveraged right, and maybe with a bit of luck, could still be a good trait to have.

The Ikhanda is a great UB in my opinion, especially in krillmod since it provides culture as well. However, with the Barracks price hike the Ikhanda is less attractive to a non-aggressive leader. It may not get built in every city right away, but it's certainly worth building eventually. I wouldn't have minded being Hammurabi of Zulu, honestly.

Ah, and then we come to the dreaded Impi. A 2-move spearman with mobility. These monsters can come out of the fog and just wreck you. The most effective counter is a well-placed Axeman and a strong road network. If I don't have Copper in an easy-to-connect location, I will have to prioritize Archery earlier, but I'll probably get it early anyway.

Now, for the player.

I know little about Cheater Hater. He's new to RB, I believe, but I did find out that he's in PBEM 58, so I took a peek into his thread. I suppose I can't divulge any particulars, but he seems skilled. He also seems like the type who won't hesitate to jump on anyone showing any sign of weakness, so an Impi rush/choke/harass is certainly within the realm of possibility. I need to find out where the Zulu capital is sooner rather than later.

However, it might be possible to demoralize him by dealing a strong blow.

Threat Rating: 4/5

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Based on the Zulu's scout's bearing when contact was first made, it seems most likely that he came from the south or the west. I don't believe that he's found my capital yet, but I can't be completely sure. I'm still planning to head generally East right now, but I suppose if I don't find the Zulu there, that's a process of elimination. Somehow I will have to find a Warrior or something to spare to scout south or west in the coming turns, but I think that will be difficult.

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Alrighty, a couple screen shots didn't take, but here's what we got:

Someone got Hinduism. I don't care to try and find out who.

Another lion popped up, saw it from the hill before moving off (I left a sign). I hope the Zulu scout moves to the hill north of where my scout is standing. I hope the Lion eats them. I ended up moving my scout 1SE (3), knowingly next to a Lion, but I applied one promotion to get Woodsman I. I'm saving the second on the assumption that the scout lives and could use some healing. I want to grab that hut next turn.

However, depending on when Cheater Hater plays, he could easily grab that hut with a "double move." It wouldn't be illegal at this point, but it would annoy me. I guess I'll try to keep an eye on when the turn rolls.