[Spoiler] RB Pitboss #2 - Shaka of Rome

[Whosit]

An announcement from Whosit, Dictator of Rome:

As we are on the eve of a new age, the age of bronze, I feel that it is appropriate to regarb our society to better reflect who we are as a people. Henceforth, the Land of Fantasy shall be known as the Interim Imperium, and the capital shall now be known as Imperial Center, until such a time when a more permanent identity shall be forged. That is all.

Whosit, Ruler of the Interim Imperium



OK, now that that's out of the way. =)

The northern area is a bit more lush than I first realized.



Definitely an area I want to fence off for myself. If there are any strategic resources hiding up there, all the better. However, it is time for Rumia to head back southwest and prepare for the second city. I'm only waiting on a couple other players for the next turn to kick off. Then I'll know if Copper is anywhere close, and then I'll know how to respond to plako's last message from the other day. Can I remain in control of the situation, or must I yield?

[Whosit]

The moment of truth . . . .

I've teched Bronze Working, so . . .



There is Copper! Woohoo! And about where I wanted it, too! Actually, there's another Copper source to the north, but it looks like it got cut off in the picture here.

So, tech plan: Wheel < Mysticism.

The only tricky part is to settle where plan, chop out a monument and wait 10 turns to get the Copper, or Settle, say, 1NE. Hmmm. I'm going to stay put, actually. Having food sources in the small cross is important, and there's not enough to feed more than 6 hills, anyway (which is what the original location has). I can also pre-road the Copper to save some time.

There is no Copper near Korea that I can see, though I have to assume they have some close by. It would be too much to hope for that what's in the hills is their source.

Speaking of Korea, they have 2 hammers invested in something. That would be consistent with them working the plains wheat (and city square) as well as a seafood. They are probably trying to grow to size 3. They surely do NOT have a Settler. I'm not entirely sure what their overflow went into, though. If they had built a Work Boat, they should have had 29-30 overflow. My spy screen drew a blank that turn, so I just don't know. I'll have a better idea of their production next turn, though I think their production chart took a big dip, which would support the hypothesis that they're working seafood instead of a mine.

Edit: I've played a couple versions in my sandbox. Both times, using different tech paths, when I settle on the original spot, I don't get Copper until Turn 57. That's 15 turns after originally learning BW. Is that too long? I think that it's basically costing me an Axeman or two, based on my build plans. Interestingly, tech path 2: Wheel < Mysticism < Iron Working, in which I skip AH, limiting City 2's growth, I should have IW by the time my second Settler is done.

Build plan in Imperial Center: Settler 1 < Barracks < Warrior < Worker < Warrior < Settler 2.

That wouldn't be too bad, actually, as then I could try to pick up Iron with my second city. I'll mess around a bit more before confirming my plans.

[Whosit]

OK, so now I am replying to plako and Broker. Here is there last note, I realized I didn't post it before.

Dear Whosit,

It is hard to react to your offer when we don't know what you're offering. What is this mystery resource and what is the spot you want exactly?

Preliminarily this doesn't sound reasonable deal. e.g. offering resource when you can still attack us on turn 66 doesn't sound very appealing. It might even be that we don't have writing at that time.

plako

Obviously not pleased with my last offer, but oh well.

My own reply:

Dear Broker33 and plako,

I am sorry, I did not mean to be unclear. I do not have an abundance of resources at the moment, which is why I did not specify a resource in my last letter. However, based on what I have now, I imagine that I can offer either a health resource, such as Rice or Cattle. If need be, I can part with my only Gold resource.

The specific site I am hoping to reach is three tiles north of the Silk in question, and one tile east of some cattle. It will slot in perfectly with the borders of my capital (once both cities expand their borders), and will be the limit of my westward expansion.

I am not certain that writing is necessary for a resource trade, though it is possible that I am mistaken. My second city could build a road connecting to the nearby river and, if one of us has learned to Sail the waters, I believe that trade could be conducted that way. Assuming, of course, that your own capital of Seoul has access to the coast, which seems to be the case so far as I can tell.

Again, I wish to do my best to make a fair offer, so if you have additional suggestions, please let me know.

Best regards,

Whosit, Ruler of the Interim Imperium

Am I stalling again? Perhaps. They don't have a Settler ready, and they won't have one before I do. Unless they have Copper in their BFC (and so far, there is no indication that they do), I should be alright. I still have plenty of time to eye their production to see if there's a jump large enough to indicate a Copper mine. I feel fairly good about my position again. Where Iron is located will be the final issue at stake, but I imagine that there's a good chance that some will be nearby, somewhere.

This isn't an Apolyton map, after all.

[Whosit]

It seems I was holding up the game a bit, but it was all worth it! I've figured out a new plan to get the Copper hooked up in a very short period of time. Well, yes, it would go faster if I settled next to or ON the Copper, but this is the best for what I want to do. Having just played Turn 33, I should have Copper mined and connected in 20 more turns.

I will actually tech Mysticism first. Here's the plan, Operation: Get Copper:

T32: 2W--Chop Chop
T33: chop finish, move forest
T35: Chop finish
T36: Myst < Wheel, Workers move silk forest
T37: Settler < Barracks, 0%
T38: Wake Workers! Move to forest. 100%
T39: Settler to hill, workers chop
T40: Chop finish, worker to forest
T41: Finish chop, move worker towards copper (road)
T42: Wheel < AH, Cap: Warrior < Worker (work lake extra commerce), 2nd City: Monument < Barracks
T43-45: Roading
T46: 2nd City, work commerce tile to get AH 1 turn, not 2
T47: AH, 2nd City work cows. Worker < Warrior
T47+: Focus commerce or hammers? Shave a few turns off of IW or Units?
T52: Start Copper Mine
T53: Copper Mine finished!

Mostly for my own notes, but also for you lurkers out there. I've already invested in Mysticism, so too late to turn back now! But it's still 4 turns faster than the other two tech paths I tried. Even better, Imperial Center and Regals Reach (name for second city) will expand borders at the same time on T52. The only possible flaw here is that I have to make sure to wake up the Workers before they chop the forests. Shouldn't be a problem, I ran this twice and was able to wake them in time, but it still makes me a tad nervous.

Thannis is finally heading east. Found some sheep. Nothing else too exciting. I hope to meet someone else soon.

Korea has learned a tech (6 pt score increase). Several other teams learned something this turn, actually. It took them 5 turns to research it, probably getting about 10 bpt, so maybe a 50 beaker tech? I'll look it up in a bit to see what the best estimates are. If it was something for which they had a prereq, I know it would go faster, too. Seoul is still getting 2 hammers per turn, so I think they're max food. Their power hasn't spiked since they got BW, so I'm not sure what they put all that overflow into.

Oh, Imperial Center is the second greatest city!



And here's a general overview of my spot. Nothing terribly exciting, I suppose, but it IS a picture.



So, yeah, I'm fairly confident in my position again. Unless Broker and plako do something silly like attack me outright, which I doubt they have the forces with which to do that at the moment, I should be sitting pretty. One thing that I DIDN'T work into my plan is the revolt to Slavery. Dunno when I should do that. Maybe after Iron Working? I also have to tweak what comes after the Copper Connection. I could emphasize commerce in the capital, getting AH and IW a turn or two faster (each), or get units a turn faster. My plan is to get the techs earlier, since I think that is more important. Regals Reach should be able to handle unit duty after the cows are pastured and it's pulling hammers from the mines.

So, where did all the lurkers go? Are they on holiday? Did I miss the memo?

Oh well. I must admit, I am very excited. And I really hope to find more cool stuff as I scout. Regals Reach will build a Scout after the Barracks build, so I can try to figure out what is to Korea's west.

[zakalwe]

You should be able to avoid accidentally chopping a forest by canceling the chop order right after issuing it (i.e. on the same turn). Or does it work differently in a pitboss game?

[Whosit]

You should be able to avoid accidentally chopping a forest by canceling the chop order right after issuing it (i.e. on the same turn). Or does it work differently in a pitboss game?

I don't know! That would be a good question to have answered. A lot of things work the same in pitboss. I'll experiment in my games, though, thanks for pointing that out.

[shadyforce]

It works the exact same in Pitboss as it does in single player.

[ZPVCSPLFUIFDPEF]

Thanks for the detailed plans, Whosit. Can you clarify what your workers are doing t36-38, please?

[Shoot the Moon]

I don't know! That would be a good question to have answered. A lot of things work the same in pitboss. I'll experiment in my games, though, thanks for pointing that out.

Yes it should work in pitboss too. Basically, you hit cancel the turn before, after they have preformed their action for that turn (i.e. if you want it completed on t3, on t2 you hit the chop button, the worker puts the turn in as a chop, then you hit cancel).

[Whosit]

Thanks for the detailed plans, Whosit. Can you clarify what your workers are doing t36-38, please?

Yeah. On T36, both Workers move onto a Forest (silk) tile. On T37, they both chop a turn (and stop). T38, they move 2W to another Forest. Then they start chopping on T39, and on T40 the 2nd city is founded and they should finish, with that going into a monument.

I'll practice the canceling technique so I can do it without worry. Thanks everyone.