[SPOILERS] Pindicator promises brighter days ahead

[pindicator]

Lewwyn and I discussed this last night, and I wanted to sleep on it, but it seems like this is the new plan:

* Leave TBS be for now - he is the best hope of countering mackoti and dragging him down
* We need to get bigger. Hello, Plako
* GA still a go for next turn - the goal is to get Education (I swapped us back to Paper) and get Oxford. With civics we want to get into Mercantilism right away, and the civics we want to end with are up in the air. I'd love to get to Environmentalism or Nationalism but I don't think we want to build research if there isn't a free tech prize at the end
* Build lots of units then go after Plako

[pindicator]

I started to write a post with the intent of planning our civic swaps for the rest of the game, lining them up with future GAs. But then I realized that I don't even know what we're doing in the latter half of this golden age, so I thought I'd list some ideas:

• Astronomy - No secret that TBS has been shipping scores of settlers past our shores for several dozen turns now. While there may not be lands to grab still there definitely is a need to add our own sea power. And observatories right after universities would be quite the research boost.
  
• Philosophy & Liberalism - We've already discussed the how, but the main advantage here would be to swap into Environmentalism at the end of the golden age. However, it needs a lot of Research Builds to get us there in time.
  
• Philosophy, Nationalism, & Theology - We probably delay Education for this one. With here the goal is to swap civics into Nationalism and Theocracy civics at the end of the GA. If we are going to be at war with Plako we might need these tools to win swiftly. Plus, gunpowder and military tradition become natural follow ups.
  
• Gunpowder & Chemistry - Steel & Military Science beeline. Same idea as above but we aim for next generation units to win the war. This would be a later payoff than other ideas.

I can't say I know what is best. I'm kind of leaning towards Nationalism, but then Plako was losing to Gavagai before we interjected. Then again, they both have slavery so perhaps we need drafting to tip the scales.

[Lewwyn]

We lost a city? Did you move an eleplant over to Alexandria or did you leave spear there?  I can't log in right now.

[Lewwyn]

For the peanut gallery, Pin took pictures but Notagav hit Alexandria with 4 units from boats and broke through the elephant/spear including a 30% win on the spear. We took it back and took his first island capital.

[Thoth]

The peanut gallery wants pictures!

[Lewwyn]

From last turn:




And the retaking:




We started our Golden Age and we've decided to push Education -> PP -> Rep parts on the way to rifles and cav.


New turn is up. NotGav played an immediate 4 minute turn so we're up. I bounced of dtay so I'll get in after him. I do want to say I appreciate the speed and early action of NotGav in playing his turns.

[Lewwyn]

So NotGav hit our single boats like I expected. We killed his trireme, but then he won against our Galley (30% of course) and trireme with his galleys.

I attacked pithom with our knights. First knight had 71% odds so I just went with it. He won. Second knight had 76% odds. Went with it and lost (Of course). Third cleaned it up.



I haven't made too many other moves yet. The biggest decision is do we want to take the barb city down south or raze it? We have 97% odd on the barb archers.

[Lewwyn]

Do we want to keep those units on the galleys and run south with them to boat plako's city in the south? Or do I drop them off in our culture next to Giza on the mainland.

[Lewwyn]

I moved a few units but I haven't moved the bulk yet. I think we should move the bulk out of Klaepo and further south. We have to decide on a Plako war timeframe and the keeping or razing of the barb city + the movement of those units on boats are going to factor in.

Plako has not moved in his army to Byblos. Either he is waiting for more troops or he's waiting for us to do it.

I have family coming over, but I should be free when you get back from work tonight.

[pindicator]

Is it worth spending 50g to upgrade our trireme to a caravel so we can just get rid of those galleys (and the longbow still on them)?

I am not a fan of attacking plako while NotGav still has Byblos (really, the army at Byblos is my concern). I'd rather not cast our fate to whichever whim NotGav has, as far as whether he screws us over or plako. And if Plako isn't moving to take Byblos then maybe we should - with Byblos that city I marked as a thorn city isn't so much an overreach.