We are not in position to go on the offensive. I vote for offering peace.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
Scouting first: Adjustable Telematic keeps going up north - does anyone want me to bring him back to investigate M3 a bit more thoroughly?
Further south Trac II Plus has discovered M3's second city - moving 1N onto the grass forest hill should let us have a look next turn.
Over in the east nothing is going on, but the new archer in Occam will allow the warrior there to go searching for Troll cities from next turn.
In Occam unfortunately we're one food short of growing at the same time as starting the Settler, so I'm working a cottage instead. It's going to cost us 6 commerce and two cottage turns but we will grow quickly after the settler is 2-pop whipped on t63. We can grow back on an Archer or Warrior, any thoughts?
In BoG the Oracle has started, our new population will work a Grass forest for one turn then the new grass mine. Chops will come in t66 and t67 meaning we can 2-pop whip t68 and (hopefully) get it at the start of t69.
Smooth Criminal will grow onto the ivory, then pretty quickly onto the mine being built, do we switch to the new Settler/Worker at that point or finish the warrior first?
Finally and most importantly, research path, we're going to save 39 gold, then 100% research is -7 gpt, getting us writing t65, where do we want to go then? And if we get the Oracle are we taking Metal Casting?
(November 12th, 2012, 19:32)Old Harry Wrote: Do seven and scooter want to be involved, be consultants or have nothing to do with the game now? Either way I think they've given us a brilliant start.
Realistically speaking I'm done with this game. Good luck, guys!
Thanks for your hard work so far guys, I think I want to give it a few turns without Scooter and Seven and see how bad a mess we make before thinking about throwing in the towel. I'm afraid the micro plan isn't going to be nearly as good from here on though...
I make the current roll-call Merovech, YosarianLives, myself and Cheater Hater. Is anyone else still playing? I guess Mero is now chief diplomat and Yosarian is spymaster still, but everyone should feel free to tell me what to do... Cheater Hater (or anyone) do you want to do some long-term planning? Where do we want to be heading and what do we need to do to get there? Lots of cities, lots of wonders or lots of units?
BTW, I've just logged in and M3 are suspiciously near to our gold with their axe scout. I don't think we can do anything to protect it, they get odds if I put the archer on the hill, so I'm just going to cross my fingers...
I'm bringing Adjustable Telematic back to do some investigating, while Trac II Plus couldn't quite get visibility on any cities.
Back home you can see Ferret the Explorer loitering near our gold. Not much we can do about it, our archer doesn't get defensive odds unless he's in the city. I've sent our new archer, Atra Plus, from Occam towards BoG. I've put BoG onto an archer for a turn here. It won't change the finish date for the Oracle unless there is war and we need to whip the archer:
Having completed the chops we have three workers underemployed - I'll get one to road up to the horse stone city, and could send another to help chop some more trees near BoG unless we need cottages or farms for Smooth Criminal. Any thoughts?
Thanks Old Harry for taking the reigns as Captain! Let's see what we can make of this great start!
Echoing the thanks to Scooter and Seven. It's been lots of fun playing with you guys. I do hope you check in from time to time.
So, I've done absolutely no c&d work for weeks now. I'll try to get us caught up over the next few days. Cyneheard left amazing explanations in the opening posts of that thread, in case anyone else wants to try their hand at it.
That really sucks about m3's axe. Would a message to them asking about their intentions be in order? Did we ever finalize aNAP with them?
I'm still here, but I'm way too busy to commit to anything other than the occasional comment until the middle of December at the earliest unfortunately.
Adjustable Telematic uncovers some coast. The land around M3's capital looks a bit crappy - is there a river hidden in the fog?
Trac II Plus uncovers one more M3 tile - thats probably all we're getting. I might move him 1E and then fortify - will M3 think that's rude? Their exploring axe has moved on. Panic over...
Occam before we whip:
And after. We have an overflowing food box, but we're working on a settler, will we grow at the end of turn? [edit: YEAH!] We'll have 15 hammers overflow, which I might put into a worker or settler for one turn, then regrow on a library (writing is still two turns away).
Back on the Oracle, end date is still eot68:
Smooth Criminal will grow onto the new mine next turn, then start on a worker or settler for somewhere else. Where is our next city?
Finally and most importantly - where is the horse stone city going?
- 1N of the horse gives us 6 forests to chop in the BFC, but orphans the fish and whale.
- 1S of the horse only has 2 forests, uses the crab and leaves space for a city to use the fish and wheat (but which might annoy M3 if I remember the border discussions rightly - although who cares about that?)
- 1NW of the horse gives us 5 forests once borders pop but will take a turn extra to settle.
Any thoughts?
