[SPOILERS] Roland and Suboptimal Team Up

[roland of gilead]

The missionary should head for Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover -- that's where the island's first Holy Site is being built. 

I loaded up my T96 save to take a look at "Oracle".  The city is named "Oracle Bones" and that's why it's coming up in the search.  You're the only one building it, at least anywhere that we've defogged.

Thanks Sub. Initially i thought it was on a tile in the fog just out of sight but when doing my report and looking at the picture that made no sense. 

I do need to get it up and running asap anyway.

[suboptimal]

Turn 97

Ah FFS. 2K has an updated launcher. Great. Couldn’t stand the old one and now there’s a new one. Worse, this one keeps a window open while the game is running. What a turd pile.

OK...has Woden taken the second DoF offer after seeing the jong fleet being assembled? Yes, yes he has. He has the teal face of “can’t we all just get along for the next 30 turns?”. Good. I can buy a missionary (meh) and I have a trade route available. Drama & Poetry is also complete so I start Divine Right and I’ve got a policy change waiting for me.

First things first, the mainland. Up at OC my choices are a trader, a library or walls. Um, walls please. Next I need to move the fleet out to make room for the next upgrade. The jongs and their units all head for the eastern shores of Starfish Island. Remaining quad and its chariot move into Al’s territory and upgrade. I’ll be able to attack Shikishima the turn after next, so war will be declared on Turn 99. Galley on west shore of Starfish Island heads south. Quads move in. As the western one moves past Desert Isolation I find Homer at sea:




Looks like Russia’s going to find out what’s up on their next turn. He can get far enough to see the front ship in the line if he moves straight NW. Homer’s current position is where the rear ship of the line will be next turn. Eastern quad moves down the coast two tiles, doesn’t see anything and then backs off a tile.

With the combat theater mostly out of the way I adjust my policies. Out goes Professional Army, in goes Limes. Retinues is out, Urban Planning back in. Builder at Skies puts in the first of two pastures. I move a citizen to the jungle and the city’s walls will be done in ten turns. I’ll move the citizen back to the cattle after the second pasture goes down next turn. Every city is building walls except Good Time (has them) and Diamonds (inland but will start them next turn, leaving the horseman at 1 turn to complete). At Proof I move the northern sword to the coffee. I’m going to go into the jungle on the coast next turn and then when I declare war I’ll be in position to move and pillage one horse and be on top of the other one for a pillage the following turn.

Up at Runic the galley moves northeast and finds nothing but ice and a possible shallow passage to the NW extent of our own land mass. Confucius goes ashore and finds nothing of note. Galley leapfrogs a Japanese galley and finds something...interesting:




They started closer to Russia/Australia than we did to Norway/Phoenicia! On the plus side it appears TBS may have put in the cliffs for a reason. The borders belong to the city of Miln, which appears to be the second city Kaiser founded.

My milpower shot up to 587. If anyone had any questions about how close jongs were that jump answers the question. Kaiser swapped a city over to Archduke. Japan’s only got five cities; Archduke is up to eight.

Roland, I’ve got Stirrups at eureka + 1. I’m going to complete it to give us the option of a future knight upgrade for one or both chariots in the event I need to conduct land operations. Likewise I’m not going to worry about getting Raid put in until I get Monarchy unlocked.

Here’s the plan for Shikishima. On the turn I declare I’ll move jongs to the tile NE of the city and NE of the city’s mountain. From there I should be able to two-shot the city’s defenses (unless walls complete next turn), after which an amphibious unit will take the city. The third jong will move to the spot directly east of the city and take the first shot on the inland city. The sight line to the city is assured to be open since the stone with the Harbors is on flat terrain. I don't know that I'd be able to disembark the land unit at the same time. If not then one of the land-based swords will take the city.

Shikishima has coffee, a completed monument and second ring niter. Do you want this city since you’ve only got one niter resource? It’s got good, workable tiles and there might be a reasonable inland city site on the island to the south (no fresh water on settlervision). I’d give you the city the turn after I take it so that I can get my units out in a direction of my choosing.

[roland of gilead]

Turn 98

Military engineering is in and i start accruing Niter which is good.



Up in the NW i start advancing again. Hopefully no more spawns as i really need to get this Camp cleared.



My only trade route has completed so i move it over to Kamara to get that city up and running.



goldson desperately needs the TOA



I buy the oracle tile in the cap



Also got 2 diplomatic victory points for something.



On Shikishima i think it works better as an Indonesian city. Allows the swapping of tiles with it's close neighbor.

[suboptimal]

The Mahabodi Temple gives you 2 diplomatic victory points upon completion but it looks like they aren't awarded until the game does it's start of turn sequence stuff. Things are looking good.

[roland of gilead]

The Mahabodi Temple gives you 2 diplomatic victory points upon completion but it looks like they aren't awarded until the game does it's start of turn sequence stuff.  Things are looking good.

Makes sense. Most times it will complete inter turn of course, just not with China. 

Oracle in about 8 turns. TOA in about 10. 

2 more settlers out over next 4 turns. 

walls going up most places. Then onto Ships from everywhere that can. 

Will get some swords in play need 1 each at costal cities. 

lot's to do.

[suboptimal]

Yeah, there's quite a bit on my to-do list as well.

- Walls everywhere right now
- Library at OC
- Trader from somewhere
- Harbor/Lighthouse at Good Time
- General builds (districts & monuments) on Big Island
- Need some more land units on Big Island (could use a few at home as well)

[suboptimal]

Turn 98

Take a quick look around for anything that’s...out of place (other than this damn launcher – going to fix that after I get the turn played). Nope. Diamonds changes production to walls, five turns to complete. Have a Good Time has grown, with the new citizen working the open plains. After looking at my options I leave that citizen there and move the fishermen up to the unimproved forest. That cuts two turns off the Harbor and I’m not worried about city growth right now because it’s at 4/5 housing. To China’s northwest I confirm the existence of a coastal route to the tundra. I’m going to turn around, head past Runic and go defog west of there and north of Big Brother.

Homer moved southwest and I don’t think he’s got three movement so CMF may as yet be unaware of the navy coming down the coast. Woden is shadowing the fleet:




Over towards Under African Skies a Japanese quadrireme has shown up on the coast:




Looks to be headed north so might miss the fireworks. Swordsman to the coastal jungle. Builder pastures the remaining cattle. All four cities on Big Island will gain a population at some point over the next three turns. Galley comes down and says hello to Homer. Western quadrireme goes down the west coast of Shikishima’s island and ends the turn just out of sight of the city. Eastern quadrireme moves to the borders for a look:




Nobody home. Good. I move back up for the time being. The movement display of the first jong is mildly confusing:




It’s got 6 movement but can’t go past Homer to the tile the quad just vacated. I move down anyway and the pathfinding does this:






If I unlink from the swordsman I can move to the far tile without issue. . The good news is that I can still get to and shoot the city from this spot next turn and Homer won’t be in the way as I could declare and clear him out. I shift the galley back to the northwest with its remaining movement point and bring down the other jong. I park the third jong behind the island, out of sight of Homer. I won’t be able to hit the inland city with jongs next turn but that’ll just let me position all three for Turn 100. Trailing jong goes to the eastern point of Starfish Island and waves as it goes by the longship.




Down south the galley continues up the Aussie coast, revealing some desert silver and an oasis. Confucius works his way south, revealing a 9 Holy Site to the south of the Eye of Sahara:




He’s not running Scripture or that’d be a 18 per turn machine. It belongs to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and that’s a +6 Campus going in to its SE. I don’t what would take that city faster – walls or a mad dash across the desert with ground troops. Taking Low End Theory might be the opportunity to upgrade the chariots into knights and have two of them make the dash. He’s got no iron, only horses and niter.

No news items in the gossip columns. Looks like Ljubljana is making 46 per turn. His milpower is also 602, which is just larger than my 596. I don’t think those are upgrades (unless they’re crossbows) as he’s got no niter and full stocks of iron and horses. Archduke is making 57 per turn on the back of his RND’s. I wonder if those two have some reciprocal trade routes going. For comparison, a trade route from Good Time to Archduke is worth 12. Russia has upped their milpower to 434 but nothing that’s stronger than either a horseman or a swordsman yet. Woden’s also upped his milpower from 275 to 364. Welcome to the Late Classical Power Spike.

[Bruindane]

Any advantages in liberating the city state?  Perhaps to reconquer it without occupation penalties?

[roland of gilead]

Any advantages in liberating the city state?  Perhaps to reconquer it without occupation penalties?

I like this idea though you will lose more pop. How do the occupation penalties work. I know they go away if the city it ceded or civ wiped out but what happens if those don't happen?

[roland of gilead]

Turn 99

Let's start in the NW no units poped so I advance my troops. Maybe norway will help me out or try to steal the camp.




I start a farm Triangle here.



I have my trade route in my new city. Cuneform is tempting but the seas are dangerous and i need food here.



so go to capital where a market finishes in 5 turns to add a production.



Magnus is established a Fil and i lift the fish and lay down the harbor. lot of chopping to do at this city. Need to buy that sheep tile i think.



Capital finishes walls and chops into the CH. 6 turns to oracle. which if i pull it off with start giving me 6 scientist and great merchant points per turn and also boost my faith.