[SPOILERS] Pindicator as Qin Shi of China - Boring Ol' Vanilla

[NobleHelium]

I nominate TXT_KEY_LEADER_PERICL for execution, he's obviously out of place.

[pindicator]

On my run tonight I figured that pretty much the only opening was to settle first and move the scout second. Then I realized I had locked my keys in the car.
Once I did get home here's what we spied:



Madrigal was my other thought for a capital name, and I'm already having second thoughts even though Myth has been done already

To Do: Select a Tech by Turn 4

Also To Do: Micro Plan. Probably farm that corn first and then go for the rice

[pindicator]

I don't know what gave me the idea to look into this but it looks like whipping the first settler out is the best play here. I'm going to try and hold off on using chops for settlers, and try to save those for getting fast granary, library, & forge in the capital when those building become available. Growing to size 3 was my first choice, and then I checked settler at size 2 and settler whipped at size 4.

Here are some measurements of those different methods after turn 31:

	Size 2	Size 3	Size 4 w/ Whip
Settler	Turn 29	Turn 30	Turn 30
Warriors	Turn 18	Turn 19	Turns 19, 25, 31
Size & Food	2 (13/24f)	3 (0/26f)	2 (8/24f)
Total Beakers	377	387	388
Total Hammers	181	183	202

For all 3 methods I went worker first, growing on warriors until i swapped to a Settler. The settler completes at the end of the listed turn. For the size 2 option I made myself finish the first warrior since I figure I will want at least something to guard the settler in the fog.

Tech path goes BW -> Wheel -> Pottery and Total Beakers are calculated going along that path. If I find I need Hunting then that will probably go in place of Pottery, and that will probably narrow the gap between the 3 options a little as we would no longer have to deal with rounding.

Total Hammers counts the hammers for the worker, the settler, whatever warriors are built, and any overflow left over for turn 32.

Finally, all three routes include a revolt to slavery. Size 2 & Size 3 the revolt comes the turn after the settler finishes. With Size 4 w/ Whip we revolt on turn 20, after the first warrior is done.

Of the three I like whipping the best. The extra warriors are going to be a big help for getting early scouting done and finding the best spots to settle. It's a little ahead in beakers, although the size 3 will probably pass by shortly. And it's also best set up to immediately put out another worker. We'll have 12 overflow from the warrior that completes t31, which means either another warrior timed with growth to size 3 and then a 5-turn worker, or straight into a worker with the 12h overflow. The size 3 method ends t31 with 5/15 built towards a warrior in queue, and we have to finish that warrior right after the settler unless we want to suffer hammer decay.

This will probably all go out the window when we pop copper in our BFC, but it's almost as good as playing.

[pindicator]

Now a bit about scouting



I don't plan on shooting off into the distance with my initial scout - although my plan of whipping does give me some extra warriors for revealing tiles around my capital, I want to make sure I'm settling the best 2nd city spot around my capital when that first settler moves out on turn 31. That means I have 30 scout turns and probably 5 or so warrior turns before I need to turn the warrior around and send him back. A warrior can't go too far in 5 turns, so the scout is going to have to do most of the heavy lifting.

There are two spots I want to take a look at for settling: by the plains sheep and along the river by the rice. The river by the rice is going to make great cottage territory, but those usually aren't great second city locations unless there's also additional resources to claim. The second city needs to be able two things: growth and claiming resources. Those usually align, but not always. For instance: the only resource I've spotted outside my BFC is a very uninspiring plains sheep. 4/1/1 tiles are not worth getting excited over, typically.

Still, it's probably worth heading west to check out the sheep, and then circle around to the north of the capital before checking out the tiles east of the rice.

[NobleHelium]

The riverside plains sheep is 4/1/2.

[pindicator]

Turn 001

Now we're playing a Commodore map!



Looks like some floodplains in the fog to the southwest. Unfortunately that's a bit too far away to walk for a second city, so next I'm probably going to move to the hill 2N of my scout.

Going by score we had 31 out of 33 players settle on the first turn. That seems a little high for a random start, so I'm going to guess we have some hand-drawn goodness. Shot in the dark: mirrored starts?

[pindicator]

Congratulations to mostly_harmless who is the first player to pop a tech from a hut!

[pindicator]

Spring Solstice, Highlands west of Madrigal

There was a great argument when we broke camp this morning. For the last few days we have been feasting on mutton. One among our company named Marek did not grow up in the corn fields in the valleys below Madrigal like the rest of us. He was born in the wildland hills outside of town, and his skill in navigating rough company and tracking and hunting animals is invaluable to a group of poor farmers such as ourselves.

It was he who got us the mutton. Two nights before he arrived unexpected back at camp with a giant ram hung over his shoulders. As he cut up the animal he told how he had chased the old beast over rocks and through valleys for the better part of a day before it staggered to its knees in exhaustion. The men held him in rapt attention the entire time, and sang his praise in jubilation over the evening fire. Meat such as this is not something we get to have much; corn cakes and roots make up most of our diet in the farmlands.

Marek said he spotted a herd of even larger cloven-foot beasts, without hair and living in the plains to our northwest. I think half the company volunteered to help him take one of those beasts down, and this is what the fight is now about. Those that would follow him want to head northwest and see these great beasts with their own eyes. Twice as large as a ram, at least, Marek boasted. I think he is drunk off of a stronger stuff than the corn whiskey some men have brought with them from their home. He has the look of a man who would one day be chieftan, if the ambition doesn't get him killed first.

Our captain is a large oafish man named Farlan, who is brother by marriage to our chieftan Pind. The men say that it was his strong arm that helped Pind gain the throne of Madrigal, and men fear him more than respect him.

Marek has been arguing with Farlan throughout the morning, their loud shouts the only sound in the chill air. He is promising him more meat if he would head northwest. Farlan does not look like a man who can be easily swayed, and yet he appears like he would change mind now. Another man named Orim has joined the argument; he thinks we should head down the river, that from these highlands the river to the south looks lush and ideal for crops. Orim is a farmer all his life and thinking only of easy downhill paths along the riverlands. This seems to snap the argument to a close, Farlan tells us he has made up his mind. We are fulfilling the word he gave to the chieftan, to scout out the highlands. After that we can chase those cloven-hoofed monsters and languish on riverbanks for all he cares.

Yet when we arrived, all the argument was forgotten on account of what was found there...


Turn 002




Obviously next turn I'm moving onto the hut. I'll probably select Bronze Working as my tech at that time, unless I get really lucky and pop it. We'll have to do a sheep/cow/gold city later on, but I'm still not convinced that is the best place for city #2.

[Ceiliazul]

Nice, Pin.

Good to see that with Commodore out of the game someone will paint us scenes of tragedy and triumph. And mayhaps a scene of escaped sheep!

[Commodore]

Nice, Pin.

Good to see that with Commodore out of the game someone will paint us scenes of tragedy and triumph. And mayhaps a scene of escaped sheep!

Particularly with sheep!