[SPOILERS] The Chemistry of Victory - Mardoc plays Mehmed of Sumer

[Mardoc]

Man, how is that top Crop Yield managing that?




Not 100% sure who it is, but score implies thestick or Bob. And Bob made a wonder.

Maybe...maybe whipping two settlers at a time will give me a chance to catch up? Planning both Ethane and Methane for settler production shortly. 2 turns, IIRC. Other than that, just keep growing and building stuff.

[Mardoc]

So, thinking about plans...

- Ethylene is making a galley with worker whip overflow. I'll use that galley and one of my upcoming settlers to grab the island - it'll boost at least six mainland traderoutes and 5 commerce/turn natively, so it'll be worthwhile even if there's no tiles worth working. Although it should be able to steal one of Ethylene's food tiles, too, at least occasionally, and if I'm lucky there's something in the fog that's worth having in a city.

- After that, I'm torn on Ethylene. One possibility is to use it for a few more units. Another is to go ahead and put up a library, and start on my Academy - would start the library with whip overflow from a worker and hand build it, and probably end by whipping it to completion. My capital is going to be glorious, so an Academy will pay off quite soon. And Ethylene is still my best GPP farm possibility, so I'll want the spec slots long term regardless. For that matter, the city itself is clearly a commerce city long term, so +beakers is useful itself. I think I'm leaning library, assuming no new threats present themselves. Methane and Ethane (and soon Propane) ought to be able to handle units, for the most part.

- Methane and Ethane are pretty much booked solid with settler and worker whips, overflowing into units. Eventually I need to put up a library in both places, but not yet. I'm also thinking Ethane may be a good spot for Moai, mainly because it doesn't share much of its coast and can get Moai built soon. Not the best site ever, but good enough. I'm holding off though, because a) maybe I can get stone first and b) expansion seems more important for now.

- Propane and Propylene are both focused on standing up for now. Once they get granary + food set up, they'll join the worker/settler/unit production group. Same with the new cities to be settled soon. If Judaism keeps being reluctant to spread, I may add in libraries in these cities - better than monuments, and both have a resource 2nd ring that would probably make libraries pay. But I'd aim to do it with whip overflow from workers/settlers, same as everywhere else in the empire.

- Ziggurats and Libraries are both waiting for now. Worst maintenance is currently 2.5 gpt, and Libraries are expensive. This is lush land, I want a lot of it. Of course both of those will come eventually, preferably almost everywhere.

- Tech path. Currency to finish (obviously) and Calendar next both make sense to me. After that I feel kind of lost. I don't really want to try for the top of the tree wonders, at least not until I've run into borders and (ideally) gotten marble. If I try for any wonder, it would be GLH, but really the 'lots of workers and settlers' wonder seems like the right choice here. So I guess that leaves Metal Casting and Iron Working. Neither's particularly urgent, but I will want forges in some places and Iron is a good tile and useful resource, and maybe even jungle chopping will prove handy. Especially if I can kick expansion into high gear. Or, well, I can pick up Construction for insurance and possible Hanging Gardens. Maybe in 10 turns it'll be more clear what's urgent.

- Scouting. Currently can't do it. But I have a chariot and two galleys in queue, and I'll definitely put more in queues over time. I think first priority is to scout SW, toward Jowy, with the chariot. That's close land that I can't dotmap yet, need to fix that. Next chariot should probably head east, although I'm torn on east or southeast branches of the land. Southern galley probably first founds an island city, then scouts clockwise around it. Northern galley...I think I need to defog a path to Jowy. Although it's tempting to head across the sea by that peak island, or look east for a neighbor, cash now is probably more important. And it's not like knowing the land to be settled to the south is a *bad* thing Does mean I'll want more galleys, though.

[Mardoc]

[Ilios]

I think you forgot to mine those grass hills...

[Mardoc]

I think you forgot to mine those grass hills...

Seriously, I will, sometime soonish, so I have the option of going for a wonder or something like that. But I haven't really missed the production so far. Maybe I could get a smidge more hammers, at the cost of giving up my cottages, but that doesn't seem like a good trade to me.

[Mardoc]

Ok, by soonish I apparently meant "starting now". Although it's not worked yet - I seem to have overbuilt workers. Only solution: many settlers!

[Mardoc]

First time I've uncovered new tiles in a while. Wonder if I managed to include them in the screenie?




Guess not Next turn.

[Qgqqqqq]

Where are the settlers going?

[Mardoc]

Where are the settlers going?

First one, north to the coast, there's a wheat/fish site up there. I've got workers prechopping forests, so it ought to be able to have a granary and library quickly.

Second one...probably to the c2 sign on the screenshot. Doesn't look like my galley will be ready quite soon enough to send it south. And besides, I need somewhere to sink worker turns, a land city does that a lot better.

Which means the next one, due in 3-4 turns from Methane, will be the one that goes south to the island.

After that, I'll have to reevaluate. Hopefully I've got a good idea of what's to the west by then and can send settlers toward Jowy.

[Mardoc]

Ok, Jowy's gonna die. Friendly gestures on my part, repaid like this?

Granted, it was clever tactics, using a wardec teleport to reach the settler I'd thought was too far away to be vulnerable. But still. It's not even early enough for that to gimp me. It'll slow me down, sure, but the replacement settler is already en route. But oh...do I have a goal now.


But...not just this minute. He'd offered me a peace treaty, I killed his warrior then reoffered. I think the War Chariot era isn't quite the best time to be killing him. And by the time I find his borders, it may even be a later era. So for now, scout and settle, just remember the grudge.

Speaking of scouting, here's what I've found so far to the west, and a tentative dotmap for the area. Subject to great revision with further information, of course.



Course, it may not matter anyway. Thestick has turned his probably early lead into a dramatic early lead, and if I can't farmer's gambit, then I won't be catching up by any normal means. Maybe all I can get from the remaining game is to make Jowy wish he'd kept his clever tactics to himself.



All that said, where there's life there's hope. Maybe Thestick gets into a war that goes poorly, or tries to grab too much land all at once, or some such. Not throwing in the towel yet anyway. Just....oooh, Jowy, you are now designated New Sumeria, enforcement of said claim to occur at soonest profitable date.