[SPOILERS] Serdoa, Ichabod and Ex-Girlfriends - co-starring NH,Bigger and Lewwyn

[Serdoa]

Yeah, when 3 Agri/Wheel civs are available and one is Sumeria, the choice is made already for you. Only other civ I considered at this point was Zulu. They would have Agri as well (paired with Hunting), but the Ikhanda is a nice building that would in theory save more gold than the Ziggurat (Ziggurat = 15 hammers saved, Ikhanda = 50 hammers invested, ~2 gold saved - after around 35 turns you should get in the black with the Ikhanda).

But quite honestly, again I'd rather deny the easy route of going PH, getting Oracle and Courthouses to the others. Though I shouldn't have had this choice imo, Sian really should not have picked Carthage...

[Serdoa]

I simmed a little bit around with our start, though it is kinda hard to come up with micro if you can't see most of your BFC. Anyhow, as we can reach the FP after the first border pop the advantage in commerce of settling 1NW of the corn is a non-factor. Settling on the PH is still by far the strongest option imo. As comparison:

Settling FP-area: EOT40 = 1 Settler, 2 Workers, 1 Warrior, 1 Granary - Size 1, 18/22.
Settling PH: EOT40 = 1 Settler, 2 Workers, 2 Warriors, 1 Granary - Size 5, 16/30

I assume that I could improve the FP-area-run. And I probably also have to discount a litte bit of the PH-run, because I used my two workers up to T36 respectively T37 for the capital. Which is not really going to happen if a settler pops T33. But still, if there is not some really strong tile up in the north I really can't see a reason not to move on the PH.

If you guys want I can post the micro, though it was only a first stab at it, so it might still have its faults in it and also isn't representative of what we will end up doing. Settler could be finished EOT30 already, but I think that would overall be weaker.

[Serdoa]

Pick-analysis:

BaII: Zara / Ottomans

CRE/ORG is an ok pick I feel for being 10th to pick. As we had only one IND picked I think it is debatable if picking IND himself wouldn't be stronger than CRE. Or IMP, which I feel provides more over the course of a long game. EXP/IMP Joao would have been available still as well, but I was right that no one would pick him. You just have to get the snowball rolling very early with him and if you fall behind you won't catch up most likely. Also you are easily a dogpile-target, just because you are so far ahead in the early stages of the game (or should be at least).

Anyhow, the leader is explainable with the late pick. The Civ though is making me scratch my head. If he took it for the techs than there are imo better civs than the Ottomans, Sumeria being one example that would synergize with ORG as well. If he took it for the building... well there is always HR. 2 Archers are definitely cheaper than an Aqueduct and you can build them in a strong hammer-city and transfer them + have more security. And the UU is just... well, actually it isn't bad. But at the point you get it, it won't have much time left to be used. If you don't beeline it. But that has its own issues. And even with the 25% bonus against Mounted you won't invade someone having Knights with it. Reason of course is that Knights can easily have two promos, which the can use on C1,S1. That negates the 25% bonus on the Janissary. And even if he can get 2 promos for them, they are 10.8 str against 11 str of the Knight. Of course, if you reach them before someone gets Knights they are great. But at that point you've won anyhow, even without them. I'd rather have the Musketeers.

So, looking at it I don't understand it. There are other civs with the same techs but better UU or UB. Arguably Sumeria has the better UU and the better UB, while France at least has the better UU. I mean it isn't a bad pick - the techs are the most important and those are the most expensive ones so if he has a Agri or AH-resource to improve it is fine. But I think he could have done better. I was a little bit unsure how strong BaII is, but after the picks I would put him probably in the middle of the pack of this game. Of course I might be completely wrong.

[Ichabod]

Well, actually you need Pinch promotion against muskets, not shock. The advantage of Pinch, in this case, is that you need gunpowder to take it, so Janissaries can actually have a bit impact against knights if whoever has the knights doesn't have Gunpowder. That being said, it isn't that big of a deal.

[Serdoa]

Yeah, you are right of course. Still, I'd rather have Musketeers. If you invade with Muskets (or any kind of 1-mover) you'll most likely get outmanoeuvred anyway.

[Ichabod]

Yeah, you are right of course. Still, I'd rather have Musketeers. If you invade with Muskets (or any kind of 1-mover) you'll most likely get outmanoeuvred anyway.

Agreed. Besides, I believe he chose Ottomans for the UB, not the UU.

[Ichabod]

Are you doing your sims with your spreadsheet or with a in-game sandbox? If its a sandbox, could you share the file so I could take a shot at it (otherwise I'll probably do one myself later)?

[Serdoa]

Sorry, I'm again using my spreadsheets. I'd happily share it, but it still has so many quirks that you have to check the formulas from time to time to make sure it does indeed put out what actually will happen in game. Especially if a Granary is in place, bonus production etc. That all has to be accounted for by hand.

[Ichabod]

No problem. I'll make a sandbox. Do you know the map size/wrap and difficulty? Speed is normal, right?

[Serdoa]

I assume:

Speed: Normal
Wrap: Cylindrical (never stated anywhere though)
Map size: Large
Difficulty: Monarch