[spoilers] Commodore: Worse than Toku, it's Giggles of Siam!

[Commodore]

Slow, painful building of markets continues apace. It's worth it, for the gold and eventual +3 , but my word it's annoying. Need market/HR, and Lakeside can take all these cottages. Wish I could afford a Hindu revolt, Tranquil needs the happy. Heh, whipped Swallowdale could use it too. But onward, makin' markets...


It'll be nice to have something boosting us on the gold-side, because we really shine when we can turn on the research. Top GNP with a little top MFG on the side, guv'ner! All the while maintaining a vast army 30% bigger than the next largest. Okay, let's take White Castle in seven turns, then. It's not like we're scrambling to integrate what we've already got...


Amazon Circle is definitely the site of our National Epic once we can get there, by the way. With three mines and the horses, it can build the darned thing in time, too. I'd love to be able to score the Great Library, but we'll see how the Lit run looks after Monarchy. Heroic Epic suggestions are welcome, I think north of here at ex-Zaxby's works.


Riverside Manor was whipped, and next turn will cop an overflow of 11 out of the granary. With chops giving 150*2=300 hammers into the ToA, we're looking at needing another 14 hammers. So four turns working the gold. Sadly, staying at size 2 to net more hammers would have delayed the chops, making it still finish EoT 121. So...cross the fingers, mates.


Meanwhile, fireworks are happening elsewhere for once.

[Qgqqqqq]

Why aren't you pillaging the ruins?

[Thoth]

possible free beakers from events.

[Thoth]

Hidden Valley isn't a bad HE site btw.

Nor is VA.

[Thoth]

Actually....come to think of it...

Amazon Circle could make a solid HE city as well.

[Thoth]

this was waiting when I logged in for a lookabout:

I declined.


They've got 69g in their kitty, so they should be able to afford another turn or so without going into strike.

Your call on the gold gift Commodore.

[Commodore]

They've got 69g in their kitty, so they should be able to afford another turn or so without going into strike.
Your call on the gold gift Commodore.

Bah! They're pillaging their way to solvency; lowest GNP is up to a whopping 4, up from -3 last turn. We're keeping ahead on a razor's edge ourselves in the GNP/MFG department, enjoy for now, we'll be dropping back to the doldrums next turn as our gold runs out.


Yep, Scoopin took an Indian city, the imaginatively named IW. With it, they've now cut all the metal in India, and somehow I doubt CFCJester built an archer flood like we did.


Our own little loot pinata is about to give us a medic, very nice. Then we'll clear out and see if the barbs try a third time to build this little icy hellhole. Seriously, guys, I get the need for metal, but flexibility is key. Dotmap better!


Callum's Villas is decided one of those "better dotmap" places, although Thoth's Expedient Craphole would have been better for the next few dozen turns. Still, it is what it is, and the settler will be in the boat next turn. Swallowdale is working on a work boat for the fish when the borders pop, it's working nicely.


Okay, Thoth, I am so freaking impatient with these dang normal-speed GP pools, we are going to get Aesthetics after Monarchy. The Parthenon makes GPP accumulate at basically Quick Speed rates. Anyway, we need to have CoL done by 21 turns from now, which I think is doable, although hardly easy.


As far as the next next GP...


Plan is to make a Hindu missionary to spread it to Riverside, get a temple there, and run a second priest to boost GPP levels and skew odds more towards a Prophet.

[Thoth]

Priesthood before Monarchy. The discount on Monarchy makes Phood almost free if we go there first. And it saves us even more on CoL.

If we're in a position to be able to build Monastarys and Mishes from our Hindu cities, then Meditation should go before PHood. We'll need Med for Philo eventually, and IIRC we need it to build Parth?.

If we're not in a position to build Mons yet, then we can hold off on the religion spread until post Monarchy. Do a double swap into HR/OR. OR lets us build Missionarys without spending hammers on monastarys.

Once we get Hindu spread to the capital, VA and RM it will be worth the swap into Hinduism. Extra happy and hammer boost to infra.

Keep TM religion free for now in the hopes we can land the Taoist Holy city here.

21 turns to our GS seems like a long time but look at it this way: Philo is ~1100 beakers IIRC? So each Scientist's GPP are worth ~25 beakers per turn.

[Thoth]

City/Empire development thoughts:

The Core:

Lakeside Gardens:

t119: 88/150 hammers into MP. Work current tile config.
120: 105/150 hammers into MP. Swap PHmine and Riverside Village for the two plains cotts. Swap 1 crab for Corn. Work RSV in TM instead of Corn.
t121; 120/150
t122: 135/150
t123: Market done at end of turn as we grow to size 11 and pick up the Crab again with the new citizen.
t124: Start lib at 15hpt, +6fpt or swap 3 mines for 3 coast and grow at +9fpt/6hpt.

So we collect gold on Prieshood t119, 120, 121 and then burn through it all on t122/123 picking up PHood and a solid headstart on Monarchy. t124/125 (126/127 if needed) we cash, then finish up Monarchy circa 127/128.

Revolt, and max food in LSG to grow our uber cap as big as possible as fast as possible. We'll be wanting roads on the Sheep and Deer soonish to keep our growth rate up. And Baray before Lib.

Tranquil Meadow:

The Bastard Child of Empire.

Future home of 7 cottages, 1 corn farm, 1 horse and two specialists at size 11 (we'll need a Baray in order to be food neutral at size 11).

Market can be whipped for two pop on t122 if we're going to be cashing t123, otherwise whip it on t123 to complete the same turn as the LSG market for cashing t124.

Verdant Acres:

Still has 7t on the whip anger clock . But can pick up the grass mine from TM t125. Once the GS pops, we can get a solid pile of hammers out of this city with the addition of two desert mines and two workshops. We'll want a Lighthouse once the Archer and Worker builds finish up.


Hawk Ridge:

3 pop whip = 70h
20h invested + 5h/turn = 12t. = t130

4 pop whip =90h= 8t =t126

Food:

19/34 t119 +5 fpt. Size 7. 18 commerce/turn.
34/34 eot 121.
t122: 17/36 food. size 8 (happy) 20 commerce/turn.
t125: 32/36 food. 55/150 hammers into Market.
t126: 19/38 food, size 9 1 unhappy cit. +3 food per turn. 60 hammers into Market. Whippable for 4 pop.

If we whip, we'll be back down to size 5 with 24/30 food and 14 commerce/turn. So the whip costs 6 gold or 6 (base) beakers on t126. The Market would yield 3.5 gpt at max tax, so it's a net loss even if cashing t127. It's even worse if we're teching t127.

If we hold off on the whip, we make more commerce than whipping the Market will produce. We'll have HR for an extra Happy within a couple of turns of growth to size 9. By t131 (accounting for anarchy) we can 3 pop whip the market from size 10. That whip only costs two happy citizens (ie 4 commerce/turn) but will produce 4.5 gpt at max tax.

So we hold off on the whip for a few turns and come out ahead.

[Thoth]

Up and coming cities:

Hidden Valley:

Currently sucking the hind teat due to Wonder Ambitions chewing up a lot of worker turns.

One pop whip the worker ASAP and vector in a worker maybe two from the chopping crew. Farm the remaining grassland (we need the food in this area), cottage the two grasstiles W/NW of the city, get roads on the resources and farm up the rest of the grassland post Civil Service. Either farm or ignore the Riverside plains for the moment. We'll want a Waterwheel on that tile post machinery so it isn't a priority to farm.

Aim to make it a hammer city on farms/workshops. The cotts are just a stopgap so we have something worthwhile to grow on in the meantime. Don't go overboard with them here.

Riverside Manor:

Post T&A, we'll want farms to support growth and feed the deadbeat Priest. We'll never get much commerce out of this city, but with farms and workshops it'll push out some decent hammers. (RM doesn't keep the gold )

Western Heights:

Future Commerce beast. It'll take a few turns to net up the Seafood and grow, but with silks, gold and double seafood we have a solid headstart on a coastal commerce city here. Spam out cotts on the remaining grass (keep the farm for now) and grow as fast as possible.

3 of WHs cottages can get jumpstarted by Amazon Circle:

A nice GP farm in the making. Lots of shared tiles to work when food or hammers are needed here, otherwise Pigs, Lighthoused Clam, Horses, grass mine and 4 specialists at size 8 with Barray (size 9 with a farm without Baray). Can work 3 cotts for WH while growing.