[SPOILERS] TheArchduke blasts into Space as Russia

[TheArchduke]

Ah, I see.

To be honest, I think we want to completely clear that area of forests and chop them into ships.

Much more worth then the 4-6 faith which really are only a drop in the bucket by now.





Currently I am wondering if we ever see a good, active CIV VI PBEM community as I have tremendous enjoyment but it seems except for a small hardcore group, I am rather alone on the RB Forum.

I never got that fervent nostalgia for CIV IV.

[TheArchduke]

Pindicator turn hold 20 hours.

Last online at RB 3 hours.

Last multipage post in the CIV IV Pitboss he actually plays, 5 hours.

..

[williams482]

I really do not think chopping ships is a good idea, at least until frigates. The stupid overflow mechanics make it a severely suboptimal use of a chop, and lumbermills are flat better than mines even before we account for the extra two faith per tile and the builder charge savings. That two faith per turn is effectively one production per turn towards units purchased wherever and whenever we want, and if we ever reach the point of having actual diminishing returns on that, we already won the game.

[TheArchduke]

Should be able to make a report now.

2 kids and COVID and working in the healthcare industry = no fun.

And I still manage my turns on time..

[TheArchduke]

Turn 85

Some quick screenies.

   

   

   

5 turns until fun with Valetta. I think I will get the next settler regardless.

[Sullla]

Empire looks excellent once again. I'm especially impressed with Russia hitting 100 faith/turn while not running Simultaneum policy (the one that doubles Lavra adjacency bonuses). Just a couple thoughts to add based on the posted pictures:

* I think Atreides needs to build its temple before its Theatre district. Remember that having a finished temple is a prerequisite for starting the Mahabodi so if you're planning to chop it out in the near future, the city does need its temple. The good news is that a base forest chop should be worth about 75 production and a Magnus chop is worth 50% more or about 110-115 production. You can take a builder faith-bought out of Fogger with 6 charges and use five of them to finish temple + Mahabodi with some overflow left over, probably enough to finish the Theatre district. Plus you'd still have one builder charge left over even after burning five of them on chops! Start thinking about which forests you want to remove; the ones in the northeast and northwest corners of the city's borders are likely the best candidates.

Also don't forget to move Magnus from Spice Melange over to Atredies, if you didn't do so already following when these pictures were snapped.

* Did Radio have a lighthouse at its Harbor district to repair? I saw that the city state had a trader and I assumed that there was a lighthouse finished for that reason. I think that takes priority over getting out a trireme since Radio badly needs the housing that a lighthouse provides and the empire as a whole could always use another trade route.

* Super happy to see the double Campus districts at Act On Instinct / Just Do It with the former almost finished. They are worth 10 beakers and 8 beakers per turn respectively and should maintain Russia's science lead over the other players. Don't forget that each library is worth 5 beakers/turn thanks to Hypatia and 3 envoys in Fez; I'd go right on to a library in Act On Instict when the current Campus finishes. A Lavra or whatever other district comes at size 4 can wait.

* Is Eastern Rampart about to be founded? A screenshot of that region would be helpful. By the way, the scouting in this game has been excellent: we have knowledge of almost the entire continent. That's going to be very helpful when it comes to fighting down the road.

* With regards to faith: the biggest question is how much time there is left in the current Golden Age. Has the era countdown started yet? Russia needs to hold on to enough faith to purchase one more settler for the far eastern spot on the river in proximity to Greece. I think that's about 450 faith but not entirely sure. Beyond that, faith can and should be spent as needed to keep accelerating the growth curve. I'm still advocating for triple builders out of Fogger (with Serfdom + Liang in place) to improve the core and chop out Mahabodi. They will cost roughly 150 faith apiece and I'm not sure how much faith is left over for Valetta purposes after that. Even with 100 faith/turn there's a lot of competing priorities here.

For whatever faith remains for use via Valetta suzerainship, the top priority is likely monuments in cities that have low production capacity and don't have Lavras with shrines/temples. In other words, places like Spice Melange and Eastern Rampart. Monuments are 60 * 2 = 120 faith and granaries cost the same amount. Hopefully the other players won't try to contest your control of the city state and you can keep faith-purchasing stuff via Valetta after the current Golden Age ends. Valetta and the future Grandmaster's Chapel will remain sources of faith purchases after Monumentality is gone.

* After Feudalism, I think the next civics push is for Reformed Church and Theocracy government: Civil Service, Guilds, and Divine Right. Theocracy government is going to be huge for the extra policy slots (a nice 2/2/1/1 distribution) and the discount on all faith purchases. You will also need to adopt a tier 2 government so that Fogger can build the Grandmaster's Chapel and open up faith purchasing of units. There should be just enough time to do that and stock up enough faith to purchase some horses (for upgrading into cossacks) and cossacks. 25-30 more turns until someone gets a beatdown.

[TheArchduke]

Empire looks excellent once again. I'm especially impressed with Russia hitting 100 faith/turn while not running Simultaneum policy (the one that doubles Lavra adjacency bonuses). Just a couple thoughts to add based on the posted pictures:

* I think Atreides needs to build its temple before its Theatre district. Remember that having a finished temple is a prerequisite for starting the Mahabodi so if you're planning to chop it out in the near future, the city does need its temple. The good news is that a base forest chop should be worth about 75 production and a Magnus chop is worth 50% more or about 110-115 production. You can take a builder faith-bought out of Fogger with 6 charges and use five of them to finish temple + Mahabodi with some overflow left over, probably enough to finish the Theatre district. Plus you'd still have one builder charge left over even after burning five of them on chops! Start thinking about which forests you want to remove; the ones in the northeast and northwest corners of the city's borders are likely the best candidates.

Also don't forget to move Magnus from Spice Melange over to Atredies, if you didn't do so already following when these pictures were snapped.

* Did Radio have a lighthouse at its Harbor district to repair? I saw that the city state had a trader and I assumed that there was a lighthouse finished for that reason. I think that takes priority over getting out a trireme since Radio badly needs the housing that a lighthouse provides and the empire as a whole could always use another trade route.

* Super happy to see the double Campus districts at Act On Instinct / Just Do It with the former almost finished. They are worth 10 beakers and 8 beakers per turn respectively and should maintain Russia's science lead over the other players. Don't forget that each library is worth 5 beakers/turn thanks to Hypatia and 3 envoys in Fez; I'd go right on to a library in Act On Instict when the current Campus finishes. A Lavra or whatever other district comes at size 4 can wait.

* Is Eastern Rampart about to be founded? A screenshot of that region would be helpful. By the way, the scouting in this game has been excellent: we have knowledge of almost the entire continent. That's going to be very helpful when it comes to fighting down the road.

* With regards to faith: the biggest question is how much time there is left in the current Golden Age. Has the era countdown started yet? Russia needs to hold on to enough faith to purchase one more settler for the far eastern spot on the river in proximity to Greece. I think that's about 450 faith but not entirely sure. Beyond that, faith can and should be spent as needed to keep accelerating the growth curve. I'm still advocating for triple builders out of Fogger (with Serfdom + Liang in place) to improve the core and chop out Mahabodi. They will cost roughly 150 faith apiece and I'm not sure how much faith is left over for Valetta purposes after that. Even with 100 faith/turn there's a lot of competing priorities here.

For whatever faith remains for use via Valetta suzerainship, the top priority is likely monuments in cities that have low production capacity and don't have Lavras with shrines/temples. In other words, places like Spice Melange and Eastern Rampart. Monuments are 60 * 2 = 120 faith and granaries cost the same amount. Hopefully the other players won't try to contest your control of the city state and you can keep faith-purchasing stuff via Valetta after the current Golden Age ends. Valetta and the future Grandmaster's Chapel will remain sources of faith purchases after Monumentality is gone.

* After Feudalism, I think the next civics push is for Reformed Church and Theocracy government: Civil Service, Guilds, and Divine Right. Theocracy government is going to be huge for the extra policy slots (a nice 2/2/1/1 distribution) and the discount on all faith purchases. You will also need to adopt a tier 2 government so that Fogger can build the Grandmaster's Chapel and open up faith purchasing of units. There should be just enough time to do that and stock up enough faith to purchase some horses (for upgrading into cossacks) and cossacks. 25-30 more turns until someone gets a beatdown.

Yeah, the high faith generation is also why I did not mind getting rid of some forests.

Magnus will move as soon as possible. 

There is no harbor at Radio (former Cardiff) unfortunately not district at all. I think a CS has a trader via foreign trade.

No chance to make the Campus discounted unfortunately. Still 15 turns is not that bad.

I am considering moving Eastern Rampart 2-3 N so it settles on the coast. We will most likely not need it to defend but as a productive city.

I think Valetta should be used liberally for monuments. I am not sure if we actually should settle more towards Greece, he will just see us coming. I rather backfill 1-2 and settle the river to Greece whilst or after I conquer him.

TBS insistence not to sign a DoF is actually smart as it forces us to waste time and money for a covering forces (thus quadriremes). We will also use them to defend against Australia and maybe conquer Hattusa.

[TheArchduke]

Turn 86

DoF Rejection by TBS again. Not going to ask again. He made his bed. We will eat Greece and then kill him.

First policies.

   

Feudalism and thus Stirrups is done.

Then dotmap question. I am considering splitting Eastern Rampart up in two more viable sites south and north.

   

Both with easier access to Citrus and Cotton.
I think militarilly Greece will be not threat whatsoever.

   

I buy a warrior to be deleted next turn. I rather spend 10 more gold and have this over with now.
Funny enough if I would not report so diligently this would easily slip through. Thankfully it did not as I only stop posting so much shortly before I die.

Anywho, I got baited by pindicator and will try to abstain from this forbidden fruit in the future. At the very least he will do his next 10 turns somewhat punctual. He really irks me. As it is my fault he just does not do his turns on time and then makes huge posts in a Pitboss game. He "forgot" this PBEM. Yeah right, give me a break.

[TheArchduke]

Scouting report:

   

   

   

[Sullla]

For your eastern dotmap, I definitely would not split Eastern Rampart up into multiple cities. The terrain is fairly weak in that region (few hill tiles) and you need a city there largely to establish control in the region before pushing on to more desirable targets further east. This is a bridge city to the next spot which I'll suggest should go northwest of the pigs on the river, right where the "Wai" text is sitting in the screenshot. That spot will grab the pigs + citrus + silver + iron and will be a strong producer. Obviously it will also serve as a staging ground for going after Greece as well since the next Greek city is only about half a dozen tiles away. Given the strength of the land it's kind of shocking that Kaiser hasn't tried to settle there yet. (If he does, then that's the first target in your war.)

The only potential alternate spot for Eastern Rampart that I would consider is one tile southeast. I only suggest that because it could open up the chance to place a Campus district on top of the current deer resource; I think that's a +4 beakers adjacency spot because it's next to the two thermal vents (obviously I can't check this in-game). If that's correct, then I'd move the city southeast a tile so that the deer are in the second ring instead of the third ring and a Campus district can go down immediately. Eastern Rampart's going to get a 5 charge builder when it gets established and even without Magnus you could convert 3 forests into a Campus by chopping some of those low-yield non-hill forest tiles. I think that's the best way to make use of this low yield terrain.

I keep asking this question since I haven't seen a response: has the countdown to the next era started yet? It's important to know how much faith is available before Monumentality ends. And did Magnus start moving to Atreides? Again, that city can't start Mahabodi until it finishes a temple so I think it should come before the Theatre district. (Not to mention the theatre district is 4 faith / 4 culture, better yields regardless.)

Have you considered harvesting the two wheats along the Don River to try and get the capital to size 10? I saw that a flood looks like it took out the previous farms there and I think harvesting them both would get the city from size 8 to size 10. That would deliver the Civil Service boost and a higher size for the capital would be worth more Pingala beakers/culture plus unlock another district. Not sure if that's the best use of some of the upcoming builder charges but worth thinking about at least.

Your scouting has been very good in this game, still hoping to find the last two leaders soon.