[SPOILERS] enough is ENOUGH! scooter opens some windows and finishes first!

[scooter]

Fin/Spi really is the best combination for Inca here I think, so I applaud that pick.

I think his picks were really good, though I do wonder if Fin/Imp still might be better than Fin/Spi here.

Yeah that happened in the same post . Just thought I'd clarify that yes, I kind of changed my mind part way through writing that post. As an even further addendum, Pacal also is probably better than Fin/Spi here because duh, expansive Terraces. Just thought I'd clarify that because I managed to seemingly contradict myself in one post and still not even mention Expansive.

Commodore preview is up next. Probably not going to be done until later tonight though.

[scooter]

Commodore

Fin/Imp (grrr) of Byzantium (wheel/myst)
-1 gold
-Grocer
-Tile C is plains and not grass
-No village

Here's his start:



Commodore has the "Lewwyn start" where all his worker can do is road for the first 4 turns. He'll need to micro a bit (workshop and all that) to get Hunting in 4 and not 5, but for purposes of this preview I'm assuming he'll get that right. Side note: I do love the workshop on the floodplains change as it makes "unfarmed corn vs floodplains" a very real discussion, where 2/1/1 has greater raw yield than 3/0/0, but 3/0/0 prioritizes all-important growth. In general though, the FP is the right choice here when it speeds up a tech.

So anyways, I simmed out this start in a somewhat unscientific manner - meaning I just used my instinct on the best choice based on doing several of these. Just made one pass through... But for him I end up with an EOT15 settler (as opposed to 14 for me) which is actually not too shabby. The following worker came out at EOT18 which is two turns behind my pace. Also should be noted this results in a size 3 capital rather than my size 4 capital, so he'd be behind on the growth curve as well. Again, no scout, so he'll be behind on crucial map intel as well. Overall it's a quicker start than Lewwyn largely because of the Imperialistic trait, but it still lags behind the pace a bit. In fact, the difference between this start and Lewwyn pretty much is just the Imperialistic trait.

It also should be noted that since he passed on Spiritual, Commodore will have the worst map knowledge out of anyone in the early game. This may end up being meaningless, but if he misses a crucial resource or makes a poor decision on his 2nd/3rd cities as a result of lack of map knowledge, that could really hurt him.

So the gist of it is I've gained 2+ turns on Commodore here (the + represents the extra city size -> bigger tile yields and more whip potential), but in contrast to Lewwyn, he doesn't have an advantage like Terraces that could help him catch up. We both share an Imperialistic trait, but my ability to get cheap workers and granaries is an advantage he can't duplicate. In theory, I should be able to outpace him. It'll be my job to take advantage of that. If I'm not first to 3, 4, 5 cites (and on) then that's my fault.

From a meta perspective, I don't know a ton about Commodore. I didn't spend much time here for the last 3-4 months, and during that time he was highly active so I missed out on a lot of opportunities to figure out his style. In contrast, I remember him commenting numerous times on my PBEM14 thread so he certainly knows what I'm like - or at least moreso than I know about him. All that said, all signs point to him being a very competent player. That makes him a legitimate threat to win.

One minor note I'll make about Commodore's start and the capital in general is that it's not a great "Financial" capital. Particularly Commodore's start with tile C being a plains tile... I mean how many cottages can he even build here? He has just two riverside cottages available to him, as well as only 4 other grassland tiles if you don't count the stone. Really, this is a wonderful Joao capital, but not a great capital for a Financial leader. One of the benefits of Victoria is being able to better support the REXing with boosted commerce, but on a meh commerce capital, is it really that big of an advantage? I say no. Same goes for Lewwyn.

PREDICTION: Like Lewwyn, Commodore may slip behind a bit early. While he doesn't have Terraces to help him out, he DOES have the benefit of an Imperialistic trait. I should be able to out-expand him; however, his Financial trait likely means he'll be able to better afford leveraging his Imperialistic trait. I think Commodore will keep pace enough to be a real threat in this game. I'll also enjoy killing him the most because he stole my choice.

[dazedroyalty]

Next turn is up. There's not much to do besides moving the scout. The only question now is do we want to do beeline scouting in one direction or circle around the capital. I'd keep going east.

[scooter]

Next turn is up. There's not much to do besides moving the scout. The only question now is do we want to do beeline scouting in one direction or circle around the capital. I'd keep going east.

Yeah I went SE-NE. Camp also finished so yay. I'll post pictures this afternoon.

[scooter]

I lied. I had a minute so I threw together a report real quick. So the camp was completed this turn:



Thankfully swapping to it doesn't delay Agriculture. I'll finish that road on the corn next turn while waiting for Agri and then start the farm. Warrior will head west. Eastern scouting:



I was on the plains hill last turn and went 1SE before deciding where to go next. I considered going SW and circling back around, but decided to go NE and continue my eastern trek:



All of these bodies of water are registering as salt water... Which is odd because that southern body sure looks like a small lake to me. Next I either should loop back to the jungle hill or head SE-SE. SE-SE should let me cover more ground but looping back may help me in my city-finding quest. That also may not be necessary though as I'll get a couple warriors in the coming turns. Hm. Something to think about. Demos:



Brian is also at 6 food right now - he presumably finished the camp too.

[scooter]

Brian is also at 6 food right now - he presumably finished the camp too.

Correction: that should read Serdoa. He's the one ahead of me in the turn order, not Brian. Next turn was played, so I'll type up a report now. Scouting is fairly interesting.

[scooter]

Turn 4 - I spent my one dead worker turn completing the road on the corn:



This works out nicely because the warrior can use that road next turn to get an extra move out of the deal. Also, there's just something enjoyable about seeing growth, warrior, and tech all complete in one turn. Yes I realize that means I have a problem. Moving on.



Ok some things to consider here.

1) Bananas on trees? That's new. Pretty sure that doesn't happen naturally. Though neither does a lot of things I've been seeing (that plains corn for example). I like it - adds flavor.
2) Calendar is obviously going to be an important tech in this game.
3) Fish! Two of them!
4) Most interesting part is that snow there. It's pretty obviously artificial based on the surrounding trees/territory, so Seven designed it that way on purpose. Curious what the reason is for.
5) I'm noticing a lot of land/water chokepoints in general. Placing cities with good defense in mind will be important. Forts may be fun and important. Anyways, DEMOS.



Again, per my correction the other high food person is Serdoa. That number will drop to 8 though once I jump to the workshop. I am confused as to how the rival worst for food is 3 and yet no one has more than 2 hammers. That means someone is working a 1/1 tile? That seems unpossible.



Again, that top one is Serdoa as I'm 2nd in the turn order. Also the score. Serdoa also completed Agriculture at EOT as his score jumped for tech as well - so he worked the FP workshop.

[scooter]

I am confused as to how the rival worst for food is 3 and yet no one has more than 2 hammers. That means someone is working a 1/1 tile? That seems unpossible.

Wait. Someone is working the village. Mystery solved. Duh.

[scooter]

Turn 5 is in the books and there was much rejoicing. I was greeted with my first technological advancement type thing:



Now we can build farms and crap. Wonderful. My scout made the questionable decision of climbing a dangerous, snowy, and tree-infested mountain:



Thar be deer across the pond! And I won't get the forest taken away on that one if I can claim it so double bonus. I also notice some tundra so perhaps that snowy part isn't quite as artificial as I first guessed. Anyways, I thought about going SE instead but decided I wanted to see across the pond and that was probably for the best. I'll go SE next turn and end on one of those two hills - and that's to be determined by whatever my mood is tomorrow. Someone decided not to grow on this turn:



And that would be Lewwyn who is working the village, which my thick head took a little while to remember yesterday. According to my brief look at his start, that's probably a wise move for him and a good trade. Demos:



My drop in food was my choice to swap to the FP workshop to speed Mining. Not much else interesting going on here or that I care to take a crack at for now. Finally the capital:



The farm is in progress (yay). The warrior took advantage of the road and headed west. I'll either move him SW or NW next turn... Actually yeah I'll do NW because I'd really like to see what kind of pig city is possible. I thought about scout instead of warrior, but given the AW nature of this I thought it made sense to get a warrior out now in case he had a chance for combat.


Also, since I did name my capital after the song, I feel compelled to post a link to the pretty fantastic SNL performance from this weekend. Pretty stunning. Plus it features a guy playing trumpet and a piano keyboard at the same time which... cool.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/v...ne/1383318

[SevenSpirits]

I feel really good, I got someone to use a basic workshop from the start of the game. (No I did not plan out all the best openings, I just though it might be interesting.)