[spoilers] Pax Commodorica: Pharaoh of Rome

[Commodore]

Yeah, I regret that. Instead, there's a picture of a fancy patriot bear riding Abe Lincoln with laser eyes.

In my defense, I'm kind of sleep deprived.

[Commodore]

Turn 154: Commodore Moving Quickly Along
Among the freshly whipped Oxen troops was a musket; I was mildly surprised to see Maya had Gunpowder. Checking the tech screen again, looks like Gaspar is soon to Steel, while post-Rifling TBS can field cavalry very very soon. Erm, whomsoever TBS piles into is going to evaporate like spit on a griddle.


My own tech rate is about to go down at 100% but get gold a lot better...Legio is wonderfulness, but I'm going to dip into Nationhood shortly with caste/theocracy. So...enjoy the second-rate Ottawa Porn while it lasts!


Gaspar is going to be coming up short against Paddy. That's...pretty unfortunate. I'm intensely curious where Gaspar goes next. Hope it's not due south!


I do really want to keep Ulpia Victrix; it's blossoming as a hammer site. Another mine on the plains hill, then the jungle flat gets a workshop. Sure, I could grow all the way on all those coast tiles...buy dry rice, ugh.

Huge MFG spike from these temples incoming. Woop woop.

[spacetyrantxenu]

Commodore, I'm amazed that pic hasn't been deleted yet, nor you permabanned.

Permabanned? Not around here for something that's easily fixed (like having the link removed for creepy.gif above) like that even if someone has an eye for moderation. I've banned dozens of accounts since I was made an admin but just the stupid advertising accounts. If someone puts up a retarded goatse or whatever it's just going to get pulled down and the person yelled at most likely. Especially if it's a first time thing. The only thing I'd have suggested for creepy.gif would have been to hide it in a spoiler tag. People do read RB at work.

[Commodore]

Turn 155: What Was Commodore Doing Again?
It's been a long weekend. I'm serious, took a while to remember my plans. Signs help! It seems I harbor dark ambitions of fire and death; if those two cities continue to be defended by a chariot and an axe/holkan pair, respectively, next turn I think I shall burn them and settle. I should let Ox double-move, actually, so I share Gaspar's time-slot; otherwise it goes Dtay-me-Ox-Gaspar, just nasty. Thoth for some reason always waits for me to move too...he needs to stop that shit. Seriously, let's not have peacetime turn splits.


Meh. Anyway, I whipped away another huge chunk of score, microed a ton of units to complete at end of turn, then did this:


Cool, eh? Moving just a handful of engineers to artists dropped me to fourth in MFG. But going full blast on Nationalism has me a close second in GNP! Actually, Nationhood will be waiting for that long away. I think I'll pair it with Pacifism, because third place soldiers don't need no unit support worries!


...also, I'd like to pop some great people, as well. Slowly, annoyingly slowly, I am polishing off work on the National Epic here in Minervia. I lost 4hpt from OR, but gained 3hpt from Caste, so that's all a wash. I need to trade for some gold here, folks...poor city is being kept content only by threat of catapults to the face.


Going to go do that now, actually. Can someone please whine to Thoth about this split he's maintaining?

[Commodore]

Turn 156: Grim Portents
The best laid plans of mice and men gang oft aliegh, even more civilization players'. I noticed the story on Civstats; Gaspar seemed to get a peace settlement. And how! Two excellent extra cities, gone over to the Turks. Needless to say, I'm not going to raze/resettle with that big and ugly stack staring at me now. Ox might actually go hunting...which would suck and be throwing the game to TBS (even moreso), but stranger things have happened.


Lacking any good green lands to settle, I'm defaulting back to tundra fillers. The icy forest island spot gets one, of course; that's an actually fairly decent city spot. I'm far less enthused about deer/horse/whales here...it's not exactly bad, but +4fpt is slow growing and it won't be until State Property that the riverside workshops will resolve to attractive 1/4/1 tiles. I could use the whales sooner than later, though. Eh, at least it shouldn't need a missionary.


It's kind of funny looking at Mali right now; Dtay's been automatically whipping himself a bunch of catapults. Like, a whole bunch, that's 13 right there! He's only got 11 horse archers as hitters. I still want Thoth to go first, but I'm about to be arriving at Military Tradition, where I'll just upgrade to cuirs and suck it up. If I do go that route I'm pushing on to the Great Lighthouse in compensation; that's some 100gpt ridiculousness for my coastal empire.


Disappointment reigns here in Rome, although in a metagame sense Gaspar being strong and keeping his army intact might be a net positive to counterbalance TBS, if indeed any can. In the meanwhile...well, enjoy this lovely shot:

I'm thin and kind of wreckable here, but I do like my empire, for better or for worse. There are many like it, but this empire is mine!

[spacetyrantxenu]

So you'll be the pontiff again. And will be running another crusade to the east? Where have I seen this before?

[Commodore]

So you'll be the pontiff again. And will be running another crusade to the east? Where have I seen this before?

Where would you be without standard touchstones like this? A Commodore Game tm keeps its brand quality high by imposing rigorous standardization practices!

[Kofiman]

Where would you be without standard touchstones like this? A Commodore Game tm keeps its brand quality high by imposing rigorous standardization practices!

War winner, narrative winner, game loser.

oh, and narrative has two rs in it.

[Commodore]

Two big MFG-boosting wonders built this turn; Apostolic Palace and Taj Mahal.
   
I like mine, but TBS definitely landed the better one.

Also, in the "idle ambitions" category, found the last remaining double-food spot yet unsettled!
   
It's unsettling.

[Commodore]

Turn 158: Bad To Worse
Okay, I knew something was going to happen soon. I had it in mind, but then I kind of just put it out of my head. What's that worry again?

Ugh, right, Master Hand was surprisingly tardy about popping fourth ring borders. It's actually not the end of the world; my heavy artists coupled with Dtay's anti-culture policies means those southern sectors are at 55/45 for him; I'll regain them in a couple turns. But I had to retreat my main knight stack from Undeviseptima; the city is now 100% useless except as attrition ground if Dtay gets a wild hair. And no Harvard boy yet would allow a wild hair.

I consoled myself in the traditional manner, by settling a cruddy whaling village. Concors will get Hindu next turn and receive two chops for its granary soon after. Lighthoused whales and tundra hill deer will feed enough tundra riverside horse pastures to make this sucker viable. Hard to muster a ton of enthusiasm, though. Queue Brick yelling at me not settling 1NW...

I did note with some surprise that I'm still first in cities, clocking in at roughly thirty. Gaspar and TBS are close, though, with better and far far greener pastures.

I guess I've carved room for another city in the middle sea if I wanted it. Moai/happy buildings > Creative, apparently. Doubt I'll bother. But it's a third iron!

Mining Inc would yield...not much, but enough to be worth it if I had been good about my courthouses.