[SPOILERS] Dark Savant leads the noble Inca as half-noble Churchiill

[Dark Savant]

Turn 38 (2480 BC) - Part 2 (C&D)

5000 soldiers appeared this turn.

Score tally:

• Charriu: +4 points for +1 pop in his capital (now size 4; 1000 soldiers).
  
• ipecac: +6 points for a technology researched in 10 turns.  This is either Animal Husbandry or Pottery, but I can't tell which.
  

We also got graphs on Charriu this turn.  Wait, what's this?



Okay, that 6000 soldiers I saw last turn is an axe produced by Charriu.  I don't think he's going to try a single-axe rush into the fog (and even that can't hit us until I think t52 at the earliest), but this is definitely worth watching.  I'm going to connect copper now.

[Dark Savant]

Okay, I have a updated sim; I didn't bother to update the map (we're not planting city #3 in Charriu's direction), I just played out the turns as I did.

When I played through, I realized that I didn't actually waste anything from overflow.  Not sure why I thought so?  

Science is at 80%; you can set it to 100% the next turn, and then adjust to try to not lose anything to rounding.

Also included is a copy of my C&D spreadsheet, if you're interested.


  RB-PB39 Dark Savant t38.zip (Size: 37.84 KB / Downloads: 2)

We also need to think about which technology to research after Pottery.  On the table are Fishing (needed for city #3), Archery (if you're feeling paranoid), Animal Husbandry (ditto), or chasing a religion (no one's shown any sign of doing that so far).

[Dark Savant]

Turn 39 (2440 BC) - Part 1

This is an example of what happens when you don't plan thoroughly in advance -- I should have focused more on that.

I was producing a quechua in 2 turns growing to size 4, at 8 hammers/turn.  That just finished and I got 1 hammer overflow when I swapped into a settler, but I should have put more hammers into overflow, because ...




... I'm falling short of a settler on turn 41 by one hammer.  I'm going to come up with a settler a turn late because I screwed up my micro.

Gah, nothing to be done about it now.  The worker that comes after it isn't going to be delayed, at least; Lommy is going to chop a forest into the next one.

Gendry starts the copper road, so we'll have copper connected next turn.  Hot Pie moves off to the wheat, and this turn Lommy finished chopping a forest into that settler.

I can run science at 100% for one turn.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 39 (2440 BC) - Part 2 (C&D)

Our scout finds this east of Academia:



2000 soldiers appeared this turn.  Also, Buddhism was founded.

Score tally:

• JR4: +3 points for +1 pop in his capital; -3 points for promptly whipping that one pop away.
  
• superdeath: +6 points for a technology researched in 10 turns.  This is probably Animal Husbandry (which covers all the soldiers).  Also, he doesn't show a land expansion this turn from his city planted on t34 -- he may have been in Slavery then.
  
• WilliamLP: +6 points for Meditation, researched in 7 turns.  He is probably the founder of Buddhism, as I don't see how superdeath (only other player to get a tech this turn) had the time to get Mysticism.  WilliamLP also has better reason to found a religion than most other players (and I've played turn 40 and already know he's also built Stonehenge).
  
• yuris125: +3 points for +1 pop in his capital (now size 4).  That was fast; he may already have a Protective granary.
  

[Dark Savant]

Turn 40 (2400 BC)

One of these days I'll learn what parts of playing the game to emphasize.    Ah well.  I'm paying attention to lots of details because I can, not because I truly understand what's important (and also, the amount of free time I have varies wildly from day to day).

Our road on the copper is done.  Hot Pie starts farming the wheat at Oldtown, and Lommy moves to the next forest at King's Landing, to be chopped into worker #4.

Science this turn is at 50%.  Oldtown is due to grow to size 2 next turn.

Our scout sees the bear again; it'll be dangerous to try to get vision on Charriu's second city with it in the way.



C&D: 5000 soldiers appeared this turn.

Score tally:

• JR4: +7 points for +1 pop in each of his two cities (1000 soldiers).  Pottery can't arrive soon enough.
  
• superdeath: +3 points for planting city #3.  Wow, that's early -- he can't possibly have the worker support for all three cities, can he?  That city plus the border expansion from city #2 claim a total of 9 new land tiles.
  
• WilliamLP: +18 points for building Stonehenge.  That's how he's going to get a Great Prophet for his Buddhist holy city.
  

[OT4E]

You are very good in paying attention to details. Therefore it is very interesting to follow your thread. I leave other threads unspoiled in case if you need some military advices.

What you need is to ask yourself "how am I going to win?" more often. Will you expand faster than others, or build more and better wonders, or make quick conquest of some weaker neighbor.

[Dark Savant]

You are very good in paying attention to details. Therefore it is very interesting to follow your thread. I leave other threads unspoiled in case if you need some military advices.

As you might have guessed, I do often miss the forest for the trees.

What you need is to ask yourself "how am I going to win?" more often. Will you expand faster than others, or build more and better wonders, or make quick conquest of some weaker neighbor.

Well, in Civilization IV you usually complete early expansion before wondering "how am I going to win this?"

Early on, the plan is to start constructing terraces soon (whip one, overflow from a whip and chop into a second, chop a third) and grow some, building several early riverside cottages to defray maintenance for further expansion.  I'm Charismatic/Protective, the best thing to do is to build fast granariesterraces and work a bunch of premium tiles quickly, more than other players can.  I can work two riverside corn + two flood plains cottages + plains hill copper even with two whip effects lingering. That will then cover either peaceful or not-so-peaceful expansion.

I'll have to watch out for my eastern neighbor pulling a fast one; he did build a very early barracks and then an axe.  He's got to wander far in the fog to find me, though, so I have time to react to a power spike.

I don't think a quick rush is going to accomplish much, with distance to neighboring capitals being 16 tiles (that's a lot of walking distance and then paying maintenance, even if the rush works) and with everyone having at least one military trait, and not having any of Expansive, Aggressive, or Imperialistic ourselves.  An attack as early as late Ancient might happen, but I don't even know who my western neighbor is yet.  I'm building a scout partly so I can find that out; knowing that (and busting fog) is well worth 15 early hammers.

There's now clearly plenty of coast on the map, so currently given the choice between the Oracle or the Great Lighthouse for an early wonder, I'm planning on the latter -- in fact, I have early plans of preserving at least 4 forests at Oldtown to help knock it out.  I'm beginning to doubt we can get religious techs early and conveniently enough to make the Oracle worthwhile, especially as marble is awkward to get.  Early-ish Pyramids are also not going to happen, not without any of stone, Industrious, Philosophical, or Spiritual.

I still might get a religion, but that won't be after I get Pottery and then Fishing.  Yeah, that order is a little weird -- I know that misses a 20% arrow bonus -- but I'm planning to throw down three quick terraces and start flood plains cottages once Pottery arrives in a few turns.  That's worth the 15 or commerce that costs.

After Fishing comes in, I'll either roll the dice on Hinduism, or start work on Animal Husbandry.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 41 (2360 BC) - Part 1

In our core this turn:

• I'm running science at 100% for this turn and the next.  Pottery is arriving on t43.
  
• The belated settler from King's Landing is due next turn.
  
• Oldtown grew from size 1 to size 2.  It doesn't appear worthwhile to stall growth just to maximize granary food saved, in this case.
  
• Gendry moves to the hill at King's Landing's 10 o'clock.  This chop will actually go into a terrace at the intended third city at the mouth of the river (on the flood plains), not into King's Landing.
  

That lion west of Oldtown is also just not moving, at all.  Weird!    I'm not objecting, as it's not getting in our way any time soon, and as long as it's there it helps prevent barbarians from spawning.

[Dark Savant]

Turn 41 (2360 BC) - Part 2 (C&D)

Our scout presses east, past the now-familiar marble that marks the midway point between start locations.



The marble isn't necessarily on a hill, incidentally.

ipecac whipped 1 pop in city #2 (down to size 1) last turn, after I played.

9000 soldiers appeared this turn.

wetbandit is the only rival to get a score increase this turn:

• +6 points for a technology researched in 10 turns.  This has to be Bronze Working (8000 soldiers).
  
• +4 points for +1 pop in city #2 (now size 2, +1000 soldiers)
  

[Dark Savant]

Turn 42 (2320 BC) - Part 1

Core overview:

• King's Landing produces that settler; all the overflow is going into a worker.
  
• The settler moves to the hill where I have a quechua fortified; I'll plant city #3 next turn.
  
• Gendry starts chopping the forest that will go into city #3.