Whosit Clowns Around in EitB PBEM XXVI [SPOILERS!]

[Brian Shanahan]

I quite like Elder Councils, actually. They're a free and relatively cheap source of 2 free beakers for life, and give you a scientist slot you can run for early academy or golden age.

They're not an early build in every city, but are worth building everywhere eventually.

[Qgqqqqq]

I don't because if you just go markets then you can counteract it (binary) by dumping negative beakers into a tech you won't use.
EC go against this, so I only build if PHI or going for an early academy.

[Whosit]

So the friendly neighborhood Clan has twice my power. I'm pretty sure he agreed not to attack me again until turn 100, though.... Pretty sure.

I think it would be a good idea to get an early Council + Sage in the capital. An early academy, either in the capital or Money Town would surely do me good, but as long as I'm still Financial, it sounds like Markets might be better for me, if I understand right.

Other than that, just a waiting game. Settler and Exploration done in 3 more turns. Once the chop finishes at Jubilee, I think if I work a forest for a turn instead of an incense, I can get another Worker out in 2 turns. I'll figure out something to do in time for Elder Council tech to finish. Maybe start another Settler, or get a 4th Worker first. We'll see. Once I have 3 cities I'll pump a few more Warriors/Freaks if I have Festivals by then, and Bronze Working will be the next tech I aim for (so I'll want yet another Settler to help me claim that Copper). Once I have 4 cities, I think I'll take a break to work on infrastructure and boost my army a bit, then I should do another round of expansions.

I know I often forget to do those additional rounds of expansion because I love infrastructure so much.

[Whosit]

So, with stuff like this, what does it mean? In SP games, I've sometimes gotten things out of these. Does it all depend on civ, civics, and religion?

[DaveV]

That one temporarily changes some grasslands to plains and plains to deserts. Not one of my favorites.

[Whosit]

Oh. Is that random on the map, or random in my territory? Because I don't think I saw anything change.

[DaveV]

It's only in your territory, 10% chance of affecting tiles with no improvements or features (i.e. bare tiles). You may have just lucked out.

[Qgqqqqq]

By the way the combat log thing is in the xml, under PythonCallbackDefines.

[Whosit]

Oh, I'll check the xml then.

Anyway, Settler has finally popped. Another 3 turns to get it settled. My Worker micro is nonexistent, but I think I can have a dude follow the Settler to start on the flood plains farm right away. I'll be keeping 3 Warriors out there for defense.

Exploration also done. Gonna micro tiles in the capital to get next Worker done in 2 turns instead of 3, but that'll add probably 2 turns to Mysticism (8 instead of 6). I'll probably work the Incense tile again after this Worker, so maybe it'll net a 1 turn addition, but I haven't done the math on that. I think I want a total of 4 Workers, plus an extra Warrior, before I start the next Settler. Then I might slip in that Elder Council at the Capital, get Bronze Working and another couple Warriors and a Settler, then hold at 4 cities while teching and building up some infrastructure. Freaks, Carnivals, and Markets if I'm still Financial. Oh, yes, and a Training Yard and Swordsmen from the Copper city, since that ought to be production focused. I'll also need more Workers of course, and I'll want to squeeze another Settler out....

Basically, I want to do everything, but that's the rough plan. Capital will probably remain the Settler city. Might throw a Granary in there for health benefits. I should end up with all 3 grain crops in my possession. That will also make the Brewery a nice addition, I think. I'll probably build that at the gold/gem town. Or should it go elsewhere, since that'll also be the spot for my first Academy?

[Whosit]

Ok, so on Turn 41 here:



I'm still a turn away from even founding my second city, and he's got his 3rd. I'm gonna have a lot of catching up to do.



So, it probably wasn't optimal to have a Worker spend a couple turns chasing the Settler, as that's 2 turns of not doing anything, but at least he can start the farm immediately next turn. 3rd Worker pops next turn, too, followed by a 4th. Will go back to full commerce mode, too. Worker on the hill will probably do move+road until he gets to the second city's territory. Not completing roads, just putting a turn in on each tile. He should get there in time to help finish the farm, and then they can put the road down on that tile. The new worker will road up to the city. I think I will build the gold mine south of the city first just because it will be more protected. Gems goes next, and then the reagents. Once borders pop, I'll get the wines and the second gold. I can't get to the dyes until I tech Bronze Working.

Also, I forgot I can't build that Brewery unless the city is on a river, so I think city 3 will hold that item. So here's a question: Though I am planning to get the civic that makes farms add money, I was thinking of putting cottages around city 3. I recall you all saying that cottages are still stronger in the long run, so I figured it might not be a bad idea to have a cottaged core city to fall back on when I make the switch later.

Tech path... I'm still going for Kilmore (or however you spell it), though I'm starting to wonder if I should delay that. I want Bronze Working to get access to more resources. I want Animal Husbandry since the next town will have Cows, and seeing if I have Horses would be great. I want Festivals because Balseraph. Also, if I get Festivals while I still have the Financial trait, I can build a lot of fast Markets, which would be good. I could do Mysticism > Runes of the Earthmother > Festivals. That would delay some of the Worker techs (BW and AH), but I could start working on some good stuff right away, and the Workers can still do other things (chop forests, make mines, road, farm). It's kind of hard to prioritize it all right now.