[PB78] Dreylin boldly goes

[coldrain]

Oh also can you take a quick snap of the Tech Tree so we can see what Superdeath might have, and of the Top-5 cities to see how many have grown. I’ve taken a quick look at pbspy score updates and we were the first to get a second tech, but looks like some of the others may have reach’s 2pop.

Pictures:

[Dreylin]

Thanks!

So we know SD’s Capital hasn’t grown; he’s had 2 score increases, so both are techs. Sumeria starts with Agriculture and The Wheel, and we can see he also has AH & Mining. One missing, probably Fishing or Hunting rather than Mysticism.

Thrawn is definitely one of the 2 who grew - back-to-back score increases - and probably also Magic Science given the timing.

Gavagai took noticeably longer on their first tech, which was probably Bronze Working.

[coldrain]

Turn 18

Met all other players this turn (tech screen and top 5 cities included):

 

View of scouting:

 

Magic Science scout found ours. Gavagai scout appeared NW of capital. Looked around, but didn’t see how Thrawn found us.

Any thoughts on next Tech? I’m wondering about grabbing Pottery for early Cottages and to get our Terraces going, but also think we’ll need Mining-BW soon for Slavery & Copper. Maybe if we have easy access to Horses we can delay.

If we are able to secure the gems + lake oasis spot before Superdeath, then I’m inclined to go bronzeworking first. Those super tiles should be more than enough commerce for the early game. The question is, can we and should we prioritize that location and can we found there first? Maybe horse location influences first expand spot?

EDIT: Also there's a forested lake with a pre-placed cottage south of capital, which should be 100% reacheable by one of our later expands too.

[Dreylin]

Hmm, I’m not sure I want to be too aggressive towards Superdeath while his Vultures are ruling the roost, but we do need to claim a share of that area.

Our first city will give us +4c from the PRO trade routes, which is why I’m looking at ways to take advantage of the pre-placed road/rail network. We also need to bear in mind which improvements gain a benefit from Railways, as that could drive our yield.

I also keep forgetting that Chariots need The Wheel; if Horses look viable, that would probably be the next tech, else I think we have to go to BW next. We’ll need both Chariot and Spears relatively early since Horse Archers are available earlier than usual and we have gone down a detour. Or we just take Archery ourselves and stock up on PRO Archers for defense.

[coldrain]

Looking at the map, and if wheel tech is not needed for existing road connections, the only direction with a potential instant trade route connection for second city is to the north. But the closest pre-improved or modified super tiles are to the east (lake oasis) or southeast (grassland floodplain or lake oasis). I would be tempted to settle for those super tiles, and therefore wheel would be needed after animal husbandry?

Have you had the chance to take a look in game after the travelling yet?

[Dreylin]

Haven't had a chance to look yet; partly because of the pause, and partly because of the Erdtree....

[Dreylin]

Looking at the map, and if wheel tech is not needed for existing road connections, the only direction with a potential instant trade route connection for second city is to the north. But the closest pre-improved or modified super tiles are to the east (lake oasis) or southeast (grassland floodplain or lake oasis). I would be tempted to settle for those super tiles, and therefore wheel would be needed after animal husbandry?

I got as far as setting the mod up last night, but didn't log in. Probably tonight, and will test the road connections.

Agreed that the best tiles that we can see are to the SE and further South, but we also haven't explored as far to the North, so they may be there out of sight.

A note for when the game restarts:

• EPs need to be directed towards Superdeath until we get his graphs.
  

In addition to the road connection test I also need to run a quick simulation of fighting Vultures (Aggressive!) with Chariots and Axes to get a feel for how bad things could get.

I also need to do opponent analysis ... or at least talk a bit more about the combos. (I added them into the first post for easy reference)

[RefSteel]

Quick mechanics answer: Yes, roads (and railroads) work normally (for movement and trade routes) whether or not you have The Wheel.

[Dreylin]

Quick mechanics answer:  Yes, roads (and railroads) work normally (for movement and trade routes) whether or not you have The Wheel.

Thanks Ref!

I did take some time last night to start looking at this game. I ran the Road test and then looked at Vultures and ...

We are definitely going to have to dance around Superdeath and try to stay on his good side early. The only good odds on an AGG Vulture is attacking with a Chariot; even defensively we're going to struggle and are going to want to to be prioritising settling on Hills and relying on our PRO Archers to defend. I'm pretty sure we'll want to go Road after AH and settle for Horses first.

I also logged into the game and started to explore the map and look at options, but unfortunately the power went out while I was doing that and I didn't get very far. I was starting to look at the unusual terrain combos and noting to test what improvements are possible - e.g. what can be built on a Tundra / Flood Plains / Hill?? - but hadn't got much further.

A couple of things I did note: the direct SW route to MS is blocked by a Maceman in a mountain pass, which will make defensive settling complicated. The "best" tiles that we can see are to the SE and SSE, but there are also good tiles to the NE alongside a defensive point that we should be looking to secure.

Overall, I'm not feeling too concerned about the Raging Barbs as I think we can get a good visibility net up in time. The fixed barbs are a problem we need to think about how to address, but the big scare factor right now is the other players since the religion grab has put us essentially 2techs behind most of them.

[coldrain]

If fog busting hasn't been changed in CtH, then those held super barbarians (macemen etc.) should prevent other barbarians from spawning near them? Making a spawn proof sentry net should be quite easy to achieve?

Aggressive vultures are tough to deal with, I agree with founding hill cities and researching archery at some point to leverage PRO trait.