Settler built and moved to Poison. Moved my protective axe forwards and saw:
Looks like retep is trying to nab that spot and hem me in as well. Argh. Well, if I can get my settler there first, it is MINE.
And if not, well, plan B.
I'm having a hell of a time getting demos on everyone I have contact with. I'm in contact with Commodore, retep, HAK and DZ, but I only have demos for Commodore and HAK. It seems like the number of EPs I need for demos is increasing on everyone, which means I need to keep allocating EPs to Commodore and HAK or I lose theirs, but I can't accumulate enough for the other two.
I also finished PH this turn and went for IW. I decided I am going to try to bust out my gallic warriors and shove them up HAK's marble city. With a barracks and a dun I'll be able to produce G3 Gallic Warriors, which are +50% city attack and +25% hills attack (his city is on a hill). It'll be a little while...like 14 turns, but I am going to use my UU this game.
HAK put down a new city in between Sore (his marble city) and his capital this turn. Commodore also put down a city this turn, I think, though I can't see where it went.
Retep moved his warrior off of the hill where he was sitting, so maybe he doesn't intend to try to put a city there? My settler is on the tile adjacent, so on T73 I can build that city -- next turn move onto the tile, then T73 build.
Warrant is building a lighthouse to get the extra food from the crabs (and the lake), MC is building a granary, and Poison will finish its Dun next turn. I will probably build a unit there next (maybe a spear?) and then follow that with a granary.
Sorry it's been so long since my last report...it's been a busy week and there hasn't been a huge amount to report. Big news is that city #5 went down -- Guns N Roses.
I'm a little behind in city count...of my neighbors, Commodore is up to 7 (!). HAK and Retep have 6 and Donovan Zoi has 5 like me. I one settler in production that will finish in 2 turns out of Poison, and MC is producing an axe then a settler, so another settler in about 6 turns.
I'll get IW in 4 turns, though I'm not sure what to go for next. Probably Writing (a library would be very beneficial in MC and Poison), but we'll see in a few turns where the world is at. Maybe Archery->HBR to get Horse Archers.
I planned to do this on T75, but didn't have time, so for the lurkers here are graphs on everyone I have them with (still working on getting DZ's)
GNP:
Prod:
CY:
Power:
Demos:
I'm behind most other folks (not surprising), but it is a little painful after my initial lead in a lot of areas. But that's why I'm not a top tier player.
What's the argument for teching HAs? Archery is cheap, but HBR isn't, and I can't really see why it's necessary if you're going to be putting out gaels 10+ turns prior.
Second question: after claiming that marble city, what's the larger plan for generating returns from your investment in gaels? How far do you want to push in to HAK? Or are you just aiming to push back your borders with him and retap to give yourself more room to breathe?
Are these small wars going to be the distraction that lets commodore trample all of you when he decides to convert his accross-the-board lead in demos into a war of aggression?
It's not so much for the HAs (though they are handy) as to get ready for the Wellies. Which yeah, now that you mention it can wait a while. Gallics should be able to carry me for a while. I'll still have to worry a little about axes, but none of the other units can stand up, especially in a city attack.
The idea for taking the marble city is two-fold: 1) It was a really aggressive plant by HAK into what would normally be my sphere of influence. That not only irritates me, but also makes that a less secure border. Holding that city would give me a very good defensive spot against HAK in the future. 2) Marble would be extremely handy. My original plan was to grab the marble with my third settler and go for the Oracle, which HAK killed by making it his third city overall. Even if I don't get the Oracle, there are lots of good wonders that use Marble, and if I'm Industrious I might as well take advantage of it.
I'm hoping to only have one small war -- taking the marble city. I don't really have any other violent intentions at the moment, so I would hope that it wouldn't give Commodore or retep too much advantage. But right now I need to expand some more to keep up, so I can't afford a long war.
Well, that was unexpected. Retep declared war on me and moved an axe and a chariot forward to threaten GunsNRoses.
I originally had just the one axe in that city, so he probably thought those two units could raze it; luckily for me I was keeping a chariot in Poison for just such a situation and quickly moved it forward to GNR. He could still take the city, but the RNG would have to really hate me. Neither of his units are promoted (and I think you can see the "glow" when they are promotable, which his don't have) so I'm not sure he can promote them. If he attacks with the axe first, his odds will really suck. My axe will defend with +10% (C1), +30% (G2 on a hill) and +20% (fortify bonus), with their melee bonus cancelling eachother out. That would make my axe power 8 vs 5. I'll take those odds. His odds if he attacks with the chariot first are a little better. It will attack my chariot (which is C1), but I won't get any of the defensive bonuses, so it'll be a much closer fight. On the other hand, his chariot would have had better odds if it was just my axe in the city, so that even if it died he could finish it with his axe, and that's not happening now.
But I'm pretty sure I can hold the city this turn, anyway. I juggled production in MC to finish the axe it was building in 1 turn, and will follow that with a chariot. I also 2-pop whipped the settler in Poison (which I was planning to do anyway) and will follow it with an axe.
I'm not even sure why retep would do this...he has ample room to expand on his other side, and it's a big risk for something opportunistic like that. His power is higher than mine, but not drastically so. It just seems...unwise...at this time. Even if he succeeds in razing that city, our border is not easily defensible and it would provoke a nonsensical war.
But whatever his reason, here we are. IW in 3 turns, then gallic-smash-up time.
Well, that was the shortest war I've ever been involved in. Retep offered me peace, which I accepted. Clearly he was just being opportunistic in going after my new city up there, and an ongoing war doesn't help either of us right now, so I'm willing to let it slide. No damage was done on either side.
On the other hand, my next settler is out and headed towards the next city spot. He'll arrive there next turn and build the following, so T80 I'll get city #6. I'm building another Chariot in MC, then following that with a settler so city #7 should be around T89-T90.
Some interesting things happening these turns. T80 I build city #6 - Skid Row:
It'll never be a great city, but it'll do decently once the jungle is cleared and I get Calender.
I also spotted a barb city on the land mass across the sea to my east -- unfortunately it's not well-placed, so I'll probably have to raze it rather than capture it.
I also moved an axe onto my galley T81, which will debark near the stone on T82 and will serve to guard city #7 when it gets built there.
Commodore also offered a map trade again on T80, which I accepted since I had no real reason not to. Clearly his early Writing has paid off big-time for him.
Iron Working! And, just like copper, it popped on a hill I already had mined.
I also had another one very close to GNR.
I fear that is going to cause a conflict with Commodore because he has no Iron in his territory at all. And, interestingly, I am the only civ that has iron in the BFC of my capital.
Maybe the mapmaker decided to take pity on me as the noob of the group.
I scanned the world and most people have Iron within their territory, with the exception of Commodore. Eek! And I have to be his neighbor.
