[Spoilers] Ceterum Peter censet Carthaginem fore triumphatrix - Adrien + Miguelito

[Miguelito]

So we unloaded the axe.


last night's plan was improved a bit however, as I figured out that with TOS having 2pop-whipped and working the copper mine to 2-turn an axe afterwards - so no growth - it's perfectly ok to move it's MP warrior out to reinforce the zone and, after all is over, cover the jungle where we want to settle.

-> serious mechanics question: What's the probality of a barb attacking if he has the chance, and does it depend on his odds to survive the battle?

Dunno for sure, but it's ridiculously high. Barbarians don't fear for their lives, weakling!

This guy may need to be expulsed from the club.


Annoying, but we can handle it without too much harm done. What would've been bad was if he moved onto the 'r' forest. Now we can move our healthy warrior and the injured one onto the 'r' forest tile together with the settler and get the axe onto the plains hill next turn. Even if he attacks and kills the healthy warrior, the axe is there next turn to give him what he deserves.
Also seen: I'm re-considering the spot to settle. if we go for
- 2 (original plan), we get that dry rice eventually in the city BFC. We lose a worker turn on the gems tile.
- 1, everything (foreign TR, gems happy) comes in 1 turn earlier, so more immediate return. BUT the really strong reason is defensibility. With 1, we can play zone defense with a 1-mover stack from the plains forest tile. OTOH, if we settle 2, THH unloading a galley onto the isthmus would be very annoying. I think the immediate economic advantage from 1 is enough to justify settling it, mainly for the huge defense advantage. What do you think?
Generally, I want to play rather safe this game. Given my greenness, I'm sure that in the meta I'm considered the softest target and in the lurker thread, Commodore probably posted my name with this image below...


So can't leave an opening.

THH flashed a chariot on his island. Good we got our spear in production. It's getting out in time from Pfeffi, which has to starve a little to achieve that working a mine.
Also annoying: That plains on the river got FP on it (but alright, I still love our copper)

The granary in Peas finished and I set production to a monument, which will get an after-maths chop with the forest 9 of the city. We don't have MP here, which sucks. We'll need to get a mainland warrior back on the island for that purpose; There's ttwo by TOS, but we need them right now. Another one is scouting in the west (currently healing), if we get a galley overe there before the barbs get him, good.

Demos not looking so pretty anymore after TOS's whip, but the others also run lower GNP now. I just hope CY gets better with our two new cities.

[AdrienIer]

So it seems like we're almost mirrored with THH, he gets pigs instead of corn at his mainland city, and he gets a plains FP.

-> serious mechanics question: What's the probality of a barb attacking if he has the chance, and does it depend on his odds to survive the battle?

Dunno for sure, but it's ridiculously high. Barbarians don't fear for their lives, weakling!

This guy may need to be expulsed from the club.

Barb warriors like clubs, that is well known.

I favor settling the 1 site, even if it makes the filler MoM city weaker.

Your picture of a bullseye doesn't show properly.

[Miguelito]

Your picture of a bullseye doesn't show properly.

Fixing it from my phone isn't realistic, but at least your post taught me that the correct English word is bullseye

Alright, we agree on spot 1 then. I am doubting a bit that there will ever be a MoM city, just gut feeling and the fact that THHseems to have happy (cap still on six). We'll know soon if it's furs (and marble). Whatever, mids alone would be awesome enough.

Pigs vs dry corn is unfair (also considering everybody has corn at home), and FP plains a bit ridiculous (at least no gold on it), but getting that copper in that particular situation was just too good to complain
about anything now

[AdrienIer]

Why didn't you push west with the warrior in THH territory ? The western warrior needs to go 1N, that way he scouts an important area and fogbusts almost the same tiles.
Monument whip is needed in Peas.

[Miguelito]

The THH warrior was healing in the capital . I'd like to return him towards the stone zone for a little extra production and scouting on THH's chariot movements. I think we'll have an opportunity to scout W of THH later, but if you're really interested in the land there we can go for it.

I was a bit cowardy with the western warrior who was injured, so I left him healing on the hill. The plan was indeed to go on scouting towards the north, but eventually hop on a galley to serve as MP before barb axes appear.

[AdrienIer]

Wait what ? The THH warrior isn't in anyone's capital at the moment... And I don't get what you mean about extra production. I'm in favor of at least moving 1W on that PH to have a look at his west, if you look closely you'll notice that the land is almost exactly the same as ours, with 2 PHs and FPs plus a food resource and a seafood resource, there might be copper at the same spot, 3W from his city ?

I think the western warrior can go 1N for now.

[Miguelito]

sorry, meant protection, wrote production. And meant Nanjing not capital. No idea what I was writing.

The issue is the following: THH probably picked up a chariot with his galley last turn, which we don't see right now (it didn't return to Nanjing). He has a warior 66 from the stone, which he may not have seen, but could see very soon. If he starts to mess around with his chariot we could lose an axe, and that would suck (we don't lose the settler unless there is TWO chariots, as we also have a spear coming in). That's why I want to return the warrior to the space inbetween our cities, to watch how his units move. When we got the stone settlement done, we can move on scouting. I don't think there's much of a hurry.

Also, did you notice we already can wrap the world around? The dark area where Mardoc/Al are seems about as wide as the area we have discovered already.

[AdrienIer]

Ok.
Didn't notice the world wrap, does this mean that they're in the competition for the stone site too ?

[Miguelito]

well, OUR stone site is a race between THH and us, which we are winning if he isn't moving two chariots straight there right now.
But I imagine Commodore put the two of them in a similar configuration with a stone in the middle. I'm confident though that we went quite fast for mainland expansion, and probably are also the most motivated to go for fast mids.
the western warrior could try to go further west (after the 1N which I already did this turn) and make contact with whoever is also on the northern hemisphere.

playing now, report soon to follow.

[Miguelito]

So this is the THH situation. At least one chariot on that galley, but it seems he isn't heading towards the stones but east, as otherwise he would've unloaded in the city. That might change however if next turn that wariror sees the stones. I think that will happen, as to my understanding the warrior was sent to scout our mainland holding. However, THH would have to 1) understand that he has to send in the chariot immediately to stop a settling party he can't see yet, and 2) probably spoil his own settling plan.
I get THH more as a guy who likes to play his micro plan rather than seeking trouble with other people, as long as they leave him be.
In any case, our returning warrior will have full sight over the area in two turns, moving onto the naked plains hill (important, see below)

I did a little dotmap of the western area. Sending you the raw file also if you want to make your own


red dot will be settled in two turns, the rest is open for discussion.
My priority is blue -> pink -> orange -> green
- blue is nice with 3 (albeit low) food resources. Possible globe site? I doubt without irrigation - seriously, where is the water ? We'll have to ask THH to kindly build a channel from Nanjing
- pink could also move 1N. Depends on the land to the south as well, and THH's settling. I think it will be a border city
- orange looks like a good production city (which we somewhat lack still). I think that water is something like the eastern arm of the waterway that starts from TOS
- green gets horses, but is terribly barren, if there is not something in the fog still

Demos look a bit worrying, but we are just on very low pop right now, working two scientists and are about to found two cities. Let's start worrying if it doesn't get better within 5 turns.



Now the real news of the turn: The barbs just keep trolling us


so, our new axe, which was intended to protect the stone city, will have to save our copper . I'm a bit tempted to whip TOS once more, but I don't think it's necessary. Right now, we have to worry about that chariot mostly, and that is covered by the spear from Pfeffi.
Also, that stupid coward barb refused once more to throw himself into certain death, and now has actually outmaneuvered us: We retreat our warriors back on the road, but if he chooses to walk
on the roaded forested hill he's really messing up our plans. Please just die! Should I move the axe towards him, to give him another option of losing his life? The settler would be left alone, but the tile is not in peril.

Side note, I put 'x' marks east of TOS. I initially thought of the PH where the barb is right now, because TOS has more tiles than it can work right now. However, by the time we can settle there we should have calendar resources, fur and hopefully Representation. So probably 'x (alt)' would be better for claiming land? Difficult to see in the shot, but east of the spot is a spice tile we would surely like to claim.