dtay pb38 [spoilers]

[dtay]

Long time no update, though still nothing super interesting. I brought my scout back around to protect/fogbust for the 2nd city site (there is annoyingly a known lion prowling about near it), it'll then go out and scout more (I appear to be one of the few who consistently do this, but I think there's a lot of value of keeping the initial scout close enough to help with escort duties).




Superdeath is likely slightly south into the black fog, based on the distance between myself and BGN and where I found his scout (who I have't "met" but glimpsed the borders of in the fog), no need to let him know I'm here until KTB exists). There really isn't anything to race for down there (kind of shitty land pre-calendar besides the city I'm settling), but that's fine since I need to save settlers for...




this will likely be where many cities 3/4+ go, good food extending out pretty far, and a nice gems


Other thing is copper is north of the capital, in what appears to be backlines




This looks awkward at first given no nearby food, but I actually think a city 3/4* settled right next to the copper, sharing the pigs might actually make sense, and would let me whip the capital off a lot and move the pigs back and forth. And notably, it could be settled very very fast, with 1t travel time if I road the tile 1NW of the capital.

*Any later is really pushing it re strategic resources, unless horses pop up somewhere convenient.

So rough plan is something like settle the obvious city to the SW, then either expand out east or quickly grab copper, THEN expand out east.

[dtay]

Ok, here's what I think the plan is (mostly held off on medium term planning until I knew where copper was)

I will finish the current settler in 3t (when 2nd chop comes in). From there, I immediately begin a another settler. A 3rd chop goes into him, and then he is whipped out the following turn. That gives exactly enough time for a worker to complete a road to get the settler to the forest E of the copper, and I can have my 3rd city founded by t33 (I think). The city can then immediately steal the now-unworked pig from the capital, growing onto a copper mine for another 6-yield tile, itself then beginning another settler/worker. Then for next 20 turns it and the capital will just trade off whips and working the pig.

I don't actually care about getting copper that early (vs say around t40), but the extremely quick 3rd city that requires low worker labor is too nice to pass up, even with no immediate new food*. I'm pretty sure that that direction is backlines, which is also suboptimal, but I'm going to privilege the snowball here (and I really couldn't delay this city past 4/5 anyway).

That can then lead into settling east near the oasis, and then likely for the gems.

*I think really the right way to think about the super early game is in foodhammer space, and it does pick up a new 6 yield tile (copper). Actual food is certainly better since the slavery conversion is better than 1 to 1 (though not by the insane amount it is post-granary), and food -> larger cities to work more tiles, but I can grow with the pig anyway which mitigates the second aspect of that problem. And medium term the city is fine, it'll pick up a food source with a border expansion and conveniently shares the to-be-cottaged-floodplains with the capital.

[dtay]

This is incidentally the reason why I cared so much about getting one of mining or hunting as a tech, even at the cost of the "useless" myst* - if bronze working has to be your 3rd tech then you usually can't do many chops before the first settler, substantially slowing down the growth curve. The difference mostly won't matter by t40, since now I'm researching wheel and ag anyway, but it substantially changes how fast you can be early on.

*not literally useless, both oracle and judaism are still on my mind. And masonry for Duns.

[Ceiliazul]

This is incidentally the reason why I cared so much about getting one of mining or hunting as a tech, even at the cost of the "useless" myst* - if bronze working has to be your 3rd tech then you usually can't do many chops before the first settler, substantially slowing down the growth curve. The difference mostly won't matter by t40, since now I'm researching wheel and ag anyway, but it substantially changes how fast you can be early on.

*not literally useless, both oracle and judaism are still on my mind. And masonry for Duns.

Early leader for the "most asterisks in thread" award, I see! Here, let me help:

Fun fact, Kraft was accused of fathering a child by a *** who is younger than his star quarterback**.  

Kraft denies, **** proof wasn't immediately sought by either party? That's a * in the head.

* kick
** Tom Brady
***lover
****but

 * **** ** ***  

[dtay]

In other news, the animals are really out to get me. My killed a lion near my to be next city 2 turns ago, then healed up and fought ANOTHER lion, lost, and now the (injured) lion AND a new bear are sitting next to each other by the site. We'll see if the warrior can take them now, but these are not riskless odds...

[dtay]

My badass warrior bailed me out, beating both the lion and the bear. And now there's ANOTHER lion (seriously, what is up with these animals and this spot). But he will be too slow to interfere:

[dtay]

The great animal bloodbath of the 29th century BC (how does that phraseology even work going backward) has forced me to do a painful thing:




I really didn't want to build this warrior yet, but I decided I'm not quite bold or desperate enough to send a settler blind in a spot adjacent to 3 tiles of fog. I mean, it would probably be fine, but... ugh I'm a coward.

It doesn't cost me that much. I'll found the city 1t later, and subsequently get the settler it is supposed to get out 1t later (and due to a knock on effect get 2 fewer tiles of incomplete road down south... it's complicated). 

On the plus side it gives a worker spare time to road up my copper early and connect a trade route faster, so it really is the safer option all around. Early axes I hope to not need, ho. On the minus side to the plus side, I'm going to lose the ability to build MP warriors substantially earlier than I would prefer. Oh to be Inca.

[Japper007]

The great animal bloodbath of the 29th century BC (how does that phraseology even work going backward) 

Exactly how you did it, next turn will be the 28th century BC. Some historians even drop the BC* to make it properly confusing. Like an example from my textbook on Hellenistic cities: "Now when the 2nd century rolled around, after the 3rd"

*Sometimes BCE ofc. gotta be PC about this, not like the BCE/CE system isn't the exact same system with all the same Western-Christianity baggage intact.

[dtay]

Sending a warrior to scout and confirm superdeath actually is down there where I think he is (likely just a few tiles in the fog if the BGN distance holds). He'll then probably loop a bit east and see if there's a neighbor just out of sight over there.



Mine mine mine the copper




I went back and forth between ag vs animal husbandry. Ag is more beaker efficient, but animal husbandry is substantially better in terms of immediate unlocks (deer > wheat, seeing horses is good, also ivory and fur though that is less pressing). Opted for animal husbandry.

[dtay]

This was the annoying situation last turn - BGN had a warrior next to my worker, landing in the 2t window where such a thing would disrupt the micro. Ugh. Loss of 2 worker turns (warrior came out end of that turn so now can cover). Really should have kept the scouting warrior back until this couldn't happen, but I decided having no window for losing the city was being cautious enough, as opposed to no window for worker disruption.