[Spoiler] RB Pitboss #2 - Shaka of Rome

[Whosit]

@McClure: Thanks for the information! I did not realize that overflow hammers get multiplied twice. That explains why the second worker would be finished so quickly (I would whip with 50 out of 60 hammers in the box; Imperial Center produces 14 hammers per turn, modifiers included).

Once I start building Granaries, I wonder if I should consider whipping all of those into Workers, or vice versa. I suppose it will depend on the city, but it might be a nice way to get some extra Workers available. You can never have too many! Probably. But since I hope to have a vast Empire, having plenty of extra workers to lay roads will certainly be helpful.

More mail:

Greetings Whosit,

I just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents (though feel free to ignore them if you so wish ). I've heard there is to be peace between you and Korea, which given my understanding of the NAP that was broken is a great thing for the both of you and a show of good sportsmanship on either side. I don't wish to interfere in any plans you might have but did want to throw out an idea to you. As both Kalin and I have said we do want friendlier relations with Rome and as such would like to point out a possible opportunity for you.

Given that the Inca eliminated the Zulu, a lot of space between your civilizations was created. They expanded aggressively towards us, so we would like to encourage you to fill those barren lands with Roman citizens. This could be done in peaceful times if you were to have a longer NAP and a land agreement with Korea. You might also find a new target with your aggressive praets!

We have not spoken of any of this to Korea and are not doing this at their urging. We know nothing of your peace terms and what plans you already have in place for your civ but merely wanted to try and highlight "what could be" given certain circumstances. I hope you don't mind us "butting in" so to speak.

If you have any questions or would like to bounce some ideas back and forth, or alternatively tell us where to go we're all ears .

Sincerely,

Athlete for A/K
Ottomans

And my (relatively) carefully crafted reply:

Dear Athlete,

Regarding relations between Korea and the Empire, you have heard correctly. In fact, a peace treaty has just been signed. As far as my understanding of the deal is concerned, the 10 turns of enforced peace will count towards what would have been the remaining six turns of the NAP. Korea also reclaimed the Worker that I had captured, so I do hope that helps erase the blemish on the Empire's record.

As for your suggestion, the Empire would certainly like to spread Imperial dominion to the unclaimed lands. However, after some preliminary calculations, we are not certain that this could be done very quickly. We believe that adding just a few more cities to the Empire will lead to a vast increase in maintenance costs, so we will have to build up a financial base in order to fund further expansion. We are still searching for terrain suitable for commercial endeavors.

I will share with you some information I recently learned. I believe that the Inca are beginning to expand to the south because Thannos spotted a Settler/Quecha pair in what I believe to be the southern part of Inca territory. Or, rather, the southern part of Interregnum territory to use the proper designation.

Are the Alliance and the Byzantines still at war? I have noticed that neither of you has been eliminated, but because I have not yet contacted Byzantium, I cannot be certain of the current situation. If you are still at war, what are your intentions? Do you plan to fight to a standstill, or will you destroy the Byzantines? The Empire would not mind seeing another rival fall. Yes. Give in to your anger and destroy them!

Best regards,

Whosit, Galactic Emperor

I decided against hinting at my plans to renew aggressions against the Koreans. I don't really expect Athlete or Kalin to pass that along, but it's probably safer to keep quiet. The question about the blemish should be enough, and since they already said that they don't mind my going to war so long as I don't break any NAPs . . . .

Just a couple more turns to go until I can see Iron. Well, one more person needs to end turn right now, and then after that turn, I'll have Iron Working. So, I'm hoping that Turn 62 will roll over sometime tomorrow.

I am praying to the RNG God and the Dark Side that Iron pops in the territory I already have. That would let me found Byss and Kuat. However, I probably won't be so lucky. My greatest fear is that Iron will be somewhere so remote that it would be uneconomical for me to acquire it at this point. Or worse, no Iron is visible at all! Well, no use worrying about it for now.

My theory is that the Iron is going to be clustered somewhere or near the starting locations. I've noticed in my explorations that the Copper sources seem to be clustered between start locations and near the inside of the donut. Horses are near each start, and I think there is a gold resource between each start as well. I haven't played donut maps before, so I don't know if this results from the RNG or from modifications by the mapmaker. Either way, there ought to be Iron somewhere.

And then . . . .

[T-hawk]

20/60 in the box for the worker, you are expansive --> 2 pop whip (60 hammers) uses 32 hammers to complete worker + 28 hammers overflow to next build.

It's a little more obvious IMO to rewrite that the way Civ actually calculates it.

20/60 in the box for the worker, you are expansive --> 2 pop whip (60 x 1.25 = 75 hammers) uses 40 hammers to complete worker + 35 hammers overflow to next build. Then the 35 hammers is divided by your production multiplier, so your overflow is 35 / 1.25 = 28 hammers. If you then build another worker, the 28 will get the 1.25 multiplier again. So you do get the multiplier twice on overflow, but it's also divided by the multiplier once, so it washes out to the expected value.

Also remember that you will get your city's normal production (including food) for the turn as well, added on top of that overflow. So the next build after a worker whip can indeed complete quickly.

[Whosit]

Not much news on T61. Seoul completed a Chariot. Maybe I should focus on more Spears than Axemen.

Oh, and Korea got a new tech, not sure what it is at the moment.

Spoke with Kalin briefly in-game. He suggested that he and Athlete have something in mind for me, regarding cooperation. He didn't specify at the time, but I'm expecting a more detailed e-mail from them. I'm wondering what it might be.

Anyway, Iron Working next turn! Then Pottery, and then a limp to Writing. My testing suggests I'll have to limp along with research as low as 30%. I suppose I had better focus on some commerce in my cities while preparing for war.

Oh, and thanks again to McClure and T-Hawk on the overflow info.

I'll be gone all day tomorrow, but I'm sure the turn will have flipped over 24 hours from now . . . . I have a long wait ahead of me.

[Whosit]

Oh, miserable fate! It's turn 62, but I won't be at a civ-capable computer for like nine hours! And there's a chance that the last turn will be reloaded, which would be another delay.

I should have brought my hard drive with me. Seriously. I kind of hope that there isn't a reload, but if Athlete's team is in the right, it will probably happen.

The good news is that my acquisition of Iron Working has catapulted me to second place in score. Also, Korea whipped something, won't know what it might be until later. Probably in P'yongyang, but not sure. Maybe Seoul. They could have 1-pop whipped another Chariot if the overflow hammers had already been applied. Or were there overflow hammers? Eh. I think that they will definitely be building up their forces for the next 10 turns. I'm definitely going to want more Spearmen.

Might as well share some more correspondence while I'm here.

The IKZ Interregnum sent this (I should really ask them about that name, since it basically means they are in anarchy [an interregnum is a period between rulers, basically]. Such chaos must be crushed!):

Greetings Galactic Emperor!

We greet you in peace, and extend a heartfelt welcome.

Things have been exciting on this side of the continent, much to the delight of popcorn sellers throughout our empire (and far worse, according to rumor, the soap's have been taking lessons from the diplomatic correspondence floating around as well...).

Enjoy your trip through our neighborhood,

Iamjohn for IK(Z)

They also get a bonus point for referring to me properly. I'm not entirely sure what they mean by "the soap's have been taking lessons . . . ." Any lurkers have a non-spoiler guess?

Another message from the Alliance, though not the one I was waiting for. I don't think that Athlete and Kalin are necessarily on the same page (on all diplomatic matters, at least).

Dear Whosit,

We are rejoiced to hear there shall be peace for the Empire, atleast for the short term. Hopefully that does not lead to squashing any rebellion that might pop up .

We only wished to make clear the possibility of peaceful expansion known to you. You are of course the best judge for what's most appropriate for the Galctic Empire. It is both good and bad news that the Interregnum have begun their expansion southwards. We hope they are not unopposed in the race for free land so as not to get too strong of a base.

As for our current struggles with the Byzantine Empire, they have fallen back to their capital city of Athens and are only waiting for their deaths. Unfortunately it might prove a longer than we would like seige but to let them remain alive would cause even more of a hindrance to spreading the teachings of the force and restoring order to the galaxy. Thus we march on and we will, as you say, "give in to our anger" for the time being.

Athlete for A/K
Ottomans

Also, they used a verb as a noun ("are rejoiced"), which is a big no-no. But at least they started to refer to my Empire properly! What is this "Rome" people often speak of?

Probably good news for me that one of my rivals (if a friendly rival) will be tied up in war. I'll have to make sure that I do everything I can to avoid a major stalemate with Korea. However, if I can keep them from getting metal, or quickly burn down any city they found with access to metal, (aggressive) Praetorians should probably be able to run over even their best defenders, though if they hole up in Seoul, things could still get dicey.

My current battle plan (though I really need to see if I have iron) is this:

Send a force to harass/capture/raze P'yongyang while at the same time send a force to . . . Pusan? Can't recall their new city's name. If the garrison there is light, raze the city. If it is stronger, bypass the city, disconnect the horses, and march on to Seoul.

I'll strike where they are weak, avoid them when they are strong, and pillage their lands if I cannot take their cities. I will keep at least a Spearman + other unit in Carida and Imperial center to hold off counter attacks. Preferable 2 Spearmen, but that may be a pipe dream because I will probably have to throw the kitchen sink at them in order to muster up enough soldiers to launch an offense. Especially an offense on two fronts.

If I strike at only one front, I fear they may launch a counter offensive on the other front. But, the rewards are high if I can capture/raze their two outlying cities quickly. If I only have to deal with Seoul, I can probably get a 2-3 production edge on them and overwhelm them.

I probably won't be in a good position to strike right after the Peace expires, unless they become very sloppy with their defenses.

Minimum home defense: 2 Spearmen in forward cities. Additional troops will be built/whipped as necessary.

Minimum strike forces: Uncertain. For a two-pronged attack, at least 2 Praetorians, an Axeman, and a Spearman. 8 units total. In reality, I may have to make a 1-front war out of necessity.

In that case, I'll attack their newest city so I can cut off their supply of horses. P'yongyang can be dealt with later. I can probably muster a strong enough defense in Carida to hold off a counter attack of Chariots.

So, yeah, very rough plan.

Dang . . . I really want to see where the Iron is! I could go home, but it's probably not worth the drive . . . .

[T-hawk]

Also, they used a verb as a noun ("are rejoiced"), which is a big no-no.

I think that's OK; it's the same construction as "we are pleased". It's not a noun, it's a transitive verb phrase in the passive voice. If there's anything wrong, it's that "rejoice" probably isn't supposed to be transitive: "You rejoice me"?

[Whosit]

I think that's OK; it's the same construction as "we are pleased". It's not a noun, it's a transitive verb phrase in the passive voice. If there's anything wrong, it's that "rejoice" probably isn't supposed to be transitive: "You rejoice me"?

Well, that's what I meant. I've never been very good at articulating the grammar rules, and I have no idea what transitive means! Can you believe that I work part-time as a writing tutor?

(I generally know something is wrong if I see it, I just don't always know why it's wrong . . . so I'll make something up! )

[Swiss Pauli]

I think that's OK; it's the same construction as "we are pleased". It's not a noun, it's a transitive verb phrase in the passive voice. If there's anything wrong, it's that "rejoice" probably isn't supposed to be transitive: "You rejoice me"?

While I'd disagree with T-Hawk about the nature of the verb phrase ('it rejoices us' would be the passive) I'd agree that the writer has erred by trying too hard to avoid a cliché ('we are pleased') and has ended up with a solecism ('we are rejoiced').

Note to self: try to get out more

[Whosit]

Putting grammatical issues aside for the moment . . . .



This should speak for itself. Lucky! Very, very lucky! Whether by design or accident, LiPing picked a good spot for the capital. The only question now is which Workers should mine it, and when. There's one adjacent, and one that can get there in 2 turns. I will play a bit in my sandbox to see what the best call is. Using Workers for this project will delay the development of new cities, but hooking up Iron is surely worth it.

However, the picture isn't 100% rosey:



I am pretty sure that Korea does not know Iron Working. In fact, they just learned a new tech that didn't score them 12 points, so probably not Iron Working. But I can't let them hang on to P'yongyang for too long.

Also, met team Sullla/Speaker.



I've never "spoken" to Sullla directly, and to me he's kind of like a Civilization celebrity, but, well, I'll just try not to get played. I'll write a letter later, though, as there are some other things I should be doing.

Perhaps I should revolt to Slavery now. It'll give me an extra turn to get started on the Iron mine before my Settler complete. I will settle Byss (by the furs/horses), and Kuat (northern denial spot).

Oh, and Pottery in 3. My sims showed 4, but I guess getting all this contact has helped my tech rates. Which is good. Carida should be able to start on those Praetorians pretty quickly, I think.

[T-hawk]

Let's just refer to the experts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_voice

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transitive_verb

While I'd disagree with T-Hawk about the nature of the verb phrase ('it rejoices us' would be the passive)

If that's by parallel to "it pleases us", that's active voice with an active subject-verb-object construction. "We are pleased" is definitely passive (who or what did the pleasing?) so I'd argue that the original questionable phrase "we are rejoiced" is also passive.

This wouldn't be Realms Beyond if we didn't micro-analyze everything.

Perhaps I should revolt to Slavery now. It'll give me an extra turn to get started on the Iron mine before my Settler complete. I will settle Byss (by the furs/horses), and Kuat (northern denial spot).

Typically the best time for a Slavery revolt is just after a settler completes. Then the revolt costs no time for that city because anarchy doesn't stop a settler from moving.

[Whosit]

Typically the best time for a Slavery revolt is just after a settler completes. Then the revolt costs no time for that city because anarchy doesn't stop a settler from moving.

True, but in this case, I feel that the extra time for the Settler to move while my Workers are doing other things might just be extra time for the cities to drain my economy. That is, the Workers are currently unavailable to start improving the new cities. On the other hand, maybe that's not a big deal.

I suppose I should wait for Settler #2 to finish, if I was going to revolt after Settlers get done.