Civ 6 SG2 - Duty Free Egypt

[Ruined Everything]

Mainly to save a forest tbh. At this point a forest chop would be the aqueduct needed straight off to compensate, and gets the crab otherwise lost.

With no internal routes I think colossus is not worth it. Oxford could be nice although have we anywhere to build it? Polata palace needing a hill next to an encampment is so so. FP and Big Ben well worth it IMO.


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Is a crab (and a stone) worth a forest whose production is canceled out by the aquaduct requirement? IDK. It does get that marsh first ring, which is nice.

[Sareln]

Potola palace requires a hill next to an encampment? That sounds more like Alhambra... Big Ben always worth IMO, +Econ card-slots.

No strong opinion on whether to settle on river or off river in the south.

[Ruined Everything]

Potola palace requires a hill next to an encampment? That sounds more like Alhambra...  Big Ben always worth IMO, +Econ card-slots.

No strong opinion on whether to settle on river or off river in the south.

Portola palace is just a hill next to a mountain. The capital, OPEC, Columbian Exchange, NAFTA, etc. could all build it if we were so inclined.

It's 3rd most useful out of the three policy wonders (red policies are often *briefly* good, but long haul slots definitely yellow > green > red IMO.)

This isn't an example of bad game design, IMO, red policies are often quite strong. It just reflects the fact that military pushes tend to be short, targeted events against a more economic background.

[Sareln]

Potola palace requires a hill next to an encampment? That sounds more like Alhambra...  Big Ben always worth IMO, +Econ card-slots.

No strong opinion on whether to settle on river or off river in the south.

Portola palace is just a hill next to a mountain. The capital, OPEC, Columbian Exchange, NAFTA, etc. could all build it if we were so inclined.

It's 3rd most useful out of the three policy wonders (red policies are often *briefly* good, but long haul slots definitely yellow > green > red IMO.)

This isn't an example of bad game design, IMO, red policies are often quite strong. It just reflects the fact that military pushes tend to be short, targeted events against a more economic background.

I find the 1st or 2nd red card slot for the Maint-Reduction & Cheaper Upgrades, or the Retainers (+1 Amenity for Garrisoned units) are *okay*, but after that they're not useful, eg. basically using the red cards to gain gold/defray mil costs or let the cities grow taller past the amenity cap.  Diplo slots are also kind of lame (just +envoy production unless you have a truly staggering amount of envoys) until the late game cards come in and then whoa (+10%/suzerain in science or culture).

[pindicator]

There is a late game diplo policy that gives +2 food and +2 production to trade routes going to an ally. We should definitely aim for this policy (and for securing said ally).

[Ruined Everything]

There is a late game diplo policy that gives +2 food and +2 production to trade routes going to an ally. We should definitely aim for this policy (and for securing said ally).

IMO, Philip seems like our best bet. Here's my analysis:

Qin Shi Huang - Dislikes anyone who builds more Wonders than him. I assume we're planning on building wonders, so China will hate us forever.

Cleopatra - Cleopatra will respect someone with a strong military, but despise someone without one. Our army consists of like 3 archers and 2 slingers, and unless Tomyris decides to attack us this basically isn't going to change until then end of time. Cleo will also hate us forever.

Tomyris - Likes civilizations who are her declared friend. Hates civilizations who backstab and declare surprise wars. This actually feels like a good snowbally one - if you can butter up Tomyris with enough pluses to make her your friend (maybe by giving her gifts or sharing her government) it feels like this policy means that she'll like you to the end of time. Unfortunately, our game plan is forwards settling her into oblivion. Ipso facto, Tomyris will also join the hate party.

Harald Hardrada - Builds a strong navy and respects civilization who follow his lead. Does not like civilizations with a weak navy. See Cleo, yada, yada, all aboard the hate train.

Philip II - Likes civilizations who follow the same Religion, and wants his cities to all follow the same Religion. Hates anyone trying to spread their Religion into his empire.

Now this one has potential. We're doing nothing with religion, and Philip will convert a number of our cities naturally. If we can keep Tomyris's apostles off our lawn, we'll be mostly 'following his religion' anyway. Notably, we also haven't really forwards settled him yet - BP is our closest city to Philip, and I don't think we plan to put much close to him (mainly cause we're forwards settling Tomyris.) If we give Philip nice trade deals, keep our military away from his cities, accede to his requests within reason and send him a trade route or two, there's no reason that we shouldn't be bffs by the time the mid-late civic tree rolls around.

Notably, from Sareln's screenshots Philip is the only civ not angry at us. I don't think that's an accident.

TLDR: Philip

[pindicator]

I started to play today but I'm getting pretty sick and am all doused up on Sudafed. So I'll try to finish this tomorrow.

[pindicator]

Okay gents, I am sick and we are going to do this turnset drugged up on sudafed and honey losanges.  I promise it won't be as bad as it sounds.

Ruined Everything, you mentioned planting campuses and to be honest, I'm not sure.  If we were doing domestic trade routes I'd just say no, because we would want to use trade routes for the food buffs to get our cities up and running.  And since we're using external trade routes then we're not gaining any growth off of them -- we are only gaining production in the form of gold-buying.  So we either need to adjust our tech path and strategy to emphasize buying buildings (saving up to buy as many research libraries as possible when we reach that is what I'd do off the top of my head), or we probably should build Campuses ahead of Commercial and Harbor Districts.  HOWEVER -- I'm going to double back and say that we really shouldn't do this because in the end it always seems that production is the limiting factor in the end.  At least, that's what it feels like in my limited space runs.  So... honestly, I would put a mix of them in.  Build campuses where you get really good multipliers, build commercial elsewhere.  Build Industrial EVERYWHERE.  And we should also start to mix in some Entertainment Districts because we are going to run into amenities problems eventually if we don't.  Actually, I'd probably plant Entertainment Districts ahead of Campuses right now, for certain.  We do want to get some great scientist points going, but we also can generate a lot of GS points later in the game with Campus Projects.  Anyway, that's enough stream of conscious ranting on districts.

POLICIES WE WANT TO TARGET WAY DOWN THE LINE:
- Market Economy (Capitalism Civic): international trade routes get +1g per strategic and luxury resource at destination city, as well as +2 sci, +2 culture
- Arsenal of Democracy (Suffrage Civic):  +2f and +2p for each trade route to an ally
- ECommerce (Globalization Civic): +5p on international trade routes

I am guessing we don't get Globalization until after the culture boost from the Moon Landing project, so it is very lategame, best for the last spaceship projects.  But Suffrage is a civic we should target not just for Arsenal of Democracy but also to get into Democracy.

Regarding roads, we may end up building military engineers this game?  Nah, they suck.


I agree with Ruined Everything's diplo analysis, at least just enough that I want to take Scythia's cities.  I have no idea how to do this without making the entire world think I'm a warmonger, though.



That's enough talk, let's play some turns:

t110

The 'X' location by Spain, I'm not a fan of it.  Why not move it southwest a hex?  That way we're in range to plant an aqueduct and can work / harvest the stone.
Chop the rainforest at Hudson's Bay for 33p and 33f.  This cuts 4t off the harbor time.
Builder at OPEC continues south to East India Company, to improve the Jade once it grabs it in a few turns.

Mass Production is due at end of turn.  Industrialization is due in 19 after.  So we need to get workshops finished for the Eureka.  I'll do my best but I don't see any cities that are really ready to start building Workshops.

I don't like losing out on the Eureka for Drama and Poetry, but since we're waiting on the Eureka for Medeival Fairs then there really isn't another civic to go after.  Naval Tradition is a pure dead end and I don't think we care at all about the Harbor Adjacency policy.  Although it does grant an envoy...

I'm making the decision to swap Tradewinds off of it's Harbor and on to it's Industrial District.  We chop into it, cutting the build time down to 6t

Not a fan of the district placement in the Tradewinds / Common Market area.  We end up with nowhere for farms, and you really do want farms early on for growth.  We can pave over the farms later on.


ITMass Production finishes and we enter the Renassaince era, including a Eureka for Gunpowder.

t111
British Petra-Oilum gets it's Industrial tile with culture.  I move the builder to that tile to chop out Petra.  Speaking of which, I think that will be enough to complete the wonder next turn.  So I switch our civic research over to Naval Tradition for 1 turn.  Hey, we may finish it for the Envoy down the road.

t112
Pasture is built at TPP
Chop the jungle at British Petra-Olium and... oh my.  We end up 3 gears short.  Well, we won't end up losing any time on Drama and Poetry, as the Eureka gives us 2 turns of culture and we just threw 2 turns of culture into Naval Tradition.

Remember to look at diplomacy.  Offer Philip oranges for 23g and 5gpt

IT
Looks like we may need to adjust our diploamcy outlook.  Norway likes civs with lots of gold.  We could build a navy and get him to like us more, turning him into a 2nd ally.

We build Petra



And China is immediately pissy about it.

t113
Eureka for Drama and Poetry comes in from building the wonder, finishing the civic's completion.
British Petra-Oilum is at housing cap, so I have it start a Granary ahead of the Industrial District to keep growth coming in.  I figure if there's a city we want to grow grow grow it's this one.
Opec finishes it's Commercial hub and starts on a trader (due in 5)

Change Civics to Recorded History (due in 6).

Policy Change:  Off of Caravansaries (6gpt lost), and back on to Colonization (+50% production towards settlers).  Settlers are already costing a ton, more than most buildings, so if we want to continue to spam them we really have to stay on this.  I'll try to get a wave of them going to take advantage of this.

Change Columbian Exchange to a settler to put a chop into it.  This knocks about a third of the cost off.
Swap tiles at Common Market and swap it to a settler as well with another chop into that.
Start a Settler at East India Company, due in 14

t114

Harald likes us!  I offer friendship and he accepts!
In the meantime, Spain likes us less because Tomyris is converting our cities to a heathen religion.
Chop into settler at TPP

t115
Chop jungle into settler at Common Market

t116
Industrial Districts finish in TradeWinds and Silk Road.  Both cities start on workshops, for the Eureka.  We'll buy the 3rd workshop (700g) to trigger the Eureka (or we'll just not do the Eureka).
Granary finishes at Nafta.  I'm tempted to start an Entertainment District here; we're going to need some of those to get our cities to grow higher.  But we really don't profit from those until we get Zoos.
Chop antoher forest into a settler at Columbian Exchange.  Actually I think i wanted to lumbermill that one.  Oh well
Harvest a marsh at East India Company to get that city a food boost.

IT
We meet Greece.  Their capital is size 13!

t117
Harbor finishes at Columbian Exchange; swap back to settler, due in 2.
BP finishes it's granary; Industrial District is due in 10
Tomyris builds Mahodabi
We finally find a new continent.
Opec finishes trader; starts another
I send the trader to Tradewinds

t119
Recorded History is done.
Tradewinds trader does a route to Preslav, givign the Eureka to Medieval Faires and completing that civic
Civic set to Exploration, due in 13t.
Settler done at Columbian Exchange, start on a builder.  Send the settler south to the border by spain.  Actually, I'm going to propose he go to an alternative site, where we can get an aqueduct placed.
I decide to pull the trigger on starting an Entertainment District at Common Market.  It's a fantastic spot, and will give amenities to 6 cities.
Chop a jungle at Common Market into that district, then swap back to complete it's settler at end of turn.

t120
Settler fiinishes at Common Market.  There are 2 more building at East India and TPP
I swap off of Industrialization:  it's halfway to completion, needing 8 more turns of research.  The workshops being built are at Silk Road (due in 4) and Tradewinds (due in 5).  So I propose that we use some of our gold stockpile to purchase a workshop at OPEC and then just use the Eureka to finish Industrialization.
I swap us over to Engineering because the new city by spain will need an aqueduct, and also because we are going to want Machinery for crossbows and lumbermills.
Stirrups is also an option for Knights and going on to Banking.


SAVE

[Gaspar]

Sounds good (have to wait to actually look at save til later) Pindicator.

Heartily approve of Entertainment District at Common Market. Think we need to move to Colosseum after. Those two will do a lot to alleviate amenity issues. Hopefully we'll find some other amenities abroad somewhere along the line as well.

More later...

[Ruined Everything]

Got it. Great As always, more analysis coming when I have a chance to look at the save, but:

- Agree with Gaspar's push for Colosseum.

- Will likely spend my turnset industrializing. Given that, I would push to Machinery for lumbermills (and crossbows are always handy if Tomyris gets intransigent) - we're not gonna be building knights & banks until we get our factories up. I assume that we're going for Exploration civic tree wise?

- I'd be tempted to go granary -> aqueduct at BP unless we can slip in an i-zone before it starts hitting its housing cap. BP is going to be insane for production and culture, and I'd prioritize getting it up and running ASAP.

- On diplomacy, I've noticed that the AI will give you more gold if you ask them for g/t rather than gold straight up. Unless we need the gold immediately, I would lean towards g/t deals.