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

[Thoth]

More up and comers:

The GreenWays:

No food specials, but double farmed floodplains are giving us a decent growth curve here. Needs a lighthouse (with chop hammers from the RSG) once we can afford to take it off Wealth duty. We can either get some ok commrce here with grass cotts/coast or some ok hammers with grass workshops and some commerce from coast. Probably better off with the latter.


ColdspringWay:

Solid food, especially post Calendar. Needs 2 cotts, a lighthouse and workshops. Very strong hammer potential here.

At Swallowdale:

Nice food, lots of riverside tiles. We can go commerce or hammer heavy here. Probably commerce heavy with cotts I think.

And.....Willowbrooke

Nasty little city, but once the LH is done we can grow a bit and get at least some commerce and hammers out of the sucker.

[Thoth]

And Baray before Lib. wink

Whoopsie.

Just noticed we've already got a Lib in LSG. When did we build that?

[Commodore]

And Baray before Lib. wink

Whoopsie.
Just noticed we've already got a Lib in LSG. When did we build that?

Squeaked it in just before going full-burn with the academy. So yes, baray can be next without issue. If we find ourselves with stone at that point, Hanging Gardens can be knocked out, otherwise, other stuff is fine.

I like the general flow of things, a few modifications of course. The Greenways I favor for commerce, next cottage in Coldspring will be incubated for it, actually. Please do not insult Willowbrooke: It might be cruddy, it might only ever have food by vampire-ing off of other hungry cities...but dangit, that little hellhole saved the empire.

I'm inspired now to look over our next few planned city locations and map how they mesh with what we've got now.

[Commodore]

Okay, first things first, looks like someone else finally got another GP, well done. Also, the White Castle boys got themselves some prairie dawgs up in them thar hills, that'll be mighty fine once time comes around fer us to come a hollerin'. Sheew-doggie.


As can be seen, I sunk our overflow into Meditation. It's a mild savings on Priesthood, plus as mentioned we'd need it in the next twenty turns anyway. A monastery is cheaper in wealth-hammers than paying the OR cost for a religion we're not embracing, too. We'll flip to OR once we hit the Big B. Meanwhile, here's the tech front...we're actually at the kind of amazing ratio of 5 turns saving for 2 turns researching.


I chuckled at the irony. TM won't be the holy city...


...beyond that, core is being the core. Need Monarchy in the worst way, and also stone. Hawk's Ridge will be an amazing Moai spot when that happens, eh?


Good luck, Zulu-nuts.

[Commodore]

So! Next few cities, and culture map. Here's Greater Generica, if anyone was curious:


Okay! Next few cities, with thoughts:
Sandhurst Trace:

Sandhurst Hills is going to be a burly hammer spot once we start up with workshops, and until then it has very little to recommend it...except 150 base hammers of lumber. I really like the thought of chopping out the Parthenon here, with a pair of archer whips netting the extra hammers to get the 200 base needed. It'll need a little preparation, growth, and time beforehand, though. I'm open to a VA plan instead for the Parthenon. It'll incubate a cottage for Greenways, and otherwise work farm/clams/two watermills/workshops in the end.

Poplar Point:

Stone, sheep, grass. Lots of it. We need stone for good stuff, so I'd like this place down sooner rather than later, but beyond that it's going to take a while to reach its full potential. Eventually, seven cottages/gh mine/desert mine/quarry/sheep makes this a winner of a core city, though, and actually able to build stuff too.

Northcorner:

Sheep, HAMMERS. Seriously, this is going to be a very quick-starting hammer spot. It'll work sheep/gh mine/copper mine/ph mine for 12hpt early, and maxes out higher with a farm and another mine later. It can also incubate one cottage for Western Heights and two for the future city of Songbird Cross in the east. I know that later is a bit of an indulgence but give me my tundra riverside towns, man!

Phew. MC and Machinery are pretty high on the must-have list here too for techs. I think this is making it clear we need to avoid any other deep beelines after securing Taoism; a lot of needs all along the tree.

[fluffyflyingpig]

Sandhurst Hills has actual mountains nearby! Surely 'Cactus Flats' or the like would be more fitting?

[Commodore]

Sandhurst Hills has actual mountains nearby! Surely 'Cactus Flats' or the like would be more fitting?

Fair enough, Trace is nicely generic. I also added a bit more to my thoughts above.

[Commodore]

Follows plan; anticipates Monarchy. We'll grow and get +2 the same turn, which will be very nice indeed. The vroom-vroom growth stage is coming very soon, so Baray is next. I really wish I had someone to trade wheat with, rice will come once we settle north into the jungle.


Health is easy to come by, though. Three workers finish the farm at Hidden Valley next turn, then two will move up (cottaging as they go) to hook the sheep in time for the next growth, and the third will hook deer well in advance of TM and LG hitting size 12. Plus, as they move, they'll be improving Hidden Valley, which frankly deserves it.


I'm doing okay on the worker front; not great, but certainly hardly terribly. 12 workers for 11, soon 12 cities seems like too little, but as seen the core is largely improved, and the newest city isn't going to need a single turn of worker labor ever. Still need more before wonders can be chased, though.


The new city's workboat is being built swiftly. Swallowdale's whip anger actually shouldn't be an issue, although I'm probably going to hurt it quite a bit for a faster temple over in Riverside. It's fine, Swallowdale only has so many improved tiles, which means workers, which means foodhammers over growth until its big garrison helps out in HR.


A couple of the garrison have fled, though. I'm willing to bet the Zulu have largely emptied White Castle in the Indian assault, so I'll check and see if I can just walk in when the ball is able to go up again. Droooool over that pretty city, and hope we can capture its lighthouse intact.


ToA completes end of next turn, so two more days to see if we get it.

[Commodore]

Eventful year! First of all, let's cross our fingers and hope here; I think we won't have much competition, as this is for a shrine chance not really the wonder itself, but it'd suck to lose on a coinflip. ToA incoming; that's worth very little short-term benefit, but can have a very excellent return in 40 turns.


Secondly, here is the new hotness. Miserable for another five turns, then merely kind of sad. Still, it pays for itself nicely already with +10 commerce empire-wide. That'll do, that'll do.


The real big news, of course, is foreign, looks like Flight of Fancy was captured by Zulu exiles. Nicely done, as a lover of crazy schemes I cannot help but root for this.


It looks like the Zulu are striking down the western coast of India, which is smart considering they get to cut metal, then snag GLH, then either land and strike out towards horses or continue south to capture the Hindu Holy City. Juicy, juicy conquest path, although it sucks for poor Nakor/Jester. Rival best power barely is budging, which means surprisingly that the Zulus aren't losing much at all in this. Pants-down victim, it's all manner of fun. The progress means they must have a looot of navy...White Castle definitely needs to go and we need to picket the islands leading back to the mainland. Beyond that? Have fun guys, it's closing time which means you can't stay here, but you definitely don't have to go home.

[Cornflakes]

What is the mechanic for choosing the next capital once you eliminate White Castle? It'd suck for the Zulu palace to land in the IW desert city.