[SPOILERS] Chevalier Mal Fet and Marcopolothefraud lead a Soviet Down Under

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Regarding the District Discount calculator in the spreadsheet, it's not working because the counts of "placed" districts are all zero. The way that's set up, "placed" is all placed districts, completed or otherwise. It could be adjusted such that only incomplete districts should be tracked there, if that makes more sense.

Got it. So Placed should be my total placed districts empire wide, or should it be my Placed Campuses, my Placed Lavras, etc?

[williams482]

So the "Districts Placed" column should have the number of districts of that type which have been placed. So if you've placed 10 Holy Sites, 3 Campuses, and nothing else, the Holy Sites row should be 10, the Campuses row 3, and all the other rows in that column 0.

[Jabah]

I don't know your spreadsheet, but for discounting one category of district you have to take into account placed (completed or not) district of THIS kind.
uncompleted districts of any kind are also NOT counted in the formula comparing number of (completed) districts with available types of district...

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Well, IN MY DEFENSE, that was how I originally had the discount calculator set up. ):<

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Stay tuned after the turn report for an empire wide review and a state of the game post. I was going to do it on the traditional turn 100, but with sub kicking off his 'grand' 'jong' 'attack' probably as I type this I figured I'd show y'all on the eve of war. 

Turn 99




Start the turn with Naval Tradition, passing the inspiration on to Marco, and enabling a policy swap. I only have one harbor at the moment, and obviously I'm not in Free Inquiry, so this tech doesn't matter to me so much, but I do want the envoy. Unfortunately, my slick play at Antananarivo is half a turn too late:




I drop my 2 for 1 envoy in, and Amani would literally establish next turn - BEFORE Roland plays, but unfortunately, suboptimal will declare war on his turn and boot Amani out before she can take suzerainty from China. I'll get another envoy in 4 turns, from Military Tradition or Training or some such, and I can try then. It's ultimately futile to try and fight China with envoys, since the Apadana is one of the only sources in the entire game for free envoys, but I've got no place else to stick these so I may as well try. 

Anyway, the walls are done at Mikasa, they probably won't finish at Shikishima, and they certainly don't matter even if they did, so out goes Limes and in goes Oligarchic Tradition:




My galleys now operate at strength 39 in Russian territory. With only 4 jongs, I'm thinking about pulling back from Point Luck and trying to lure suboptimal in. My galleys should do about 25 damage and take 40 in return on the offense, which is good odds when I can afford literally 10 galleys for every jong. At present I field about 3 galleys for every jong, which would still probably be enough to win the battle if it were fought in the open.

If not for Norwegians skulking about on my flanks I'd try that, but I can't really risk leaving an open flank for Woden to swoop in and crush me. 

Oslyabya finishes the Niter builder and starts a 2-turn galley:




I will build 4 galleys over the next 8 turns, plus my quad, plus my exploring galley, and go for Yerevan on turn 107. I should take the city by turn 108. Then we will go and join the defense of SFFB by turn 110. I'll linger my exploring galley until a decent Australian garrison is in place. There's a few quads now, but I'd also feel safer with some sturdier galleys around, too. 

Now, over in Mikasa, our guests have arrived:




No way to tell yet if that's the advance guard of a serious invasion or just a lone raider prowling about. Woden has shown me at least 3 different longships and has shown no tendency to operate them in groups, BUT with DoFs with both their neighbors, Woden and ljubljana have the largest fleet in the game and only one possible target for it. Thus, I must assume that they'll stick their noses in just to see what gains can be got. Hopefully a bloody nose in return will convince them to keep their overlarge sniffers in their own business. 

Longships, unfortunately, could sail around any choke I defend, or I'd pack my fleet in between that mountain and Mikasa. As it is, I'll leave one galley in the shadow of the city, tempting Woden to venture in, so I can shoot it to death. I have fully 4 ranged attacks dominating the waters around the island, all but one boosted by DoF, and my galleys actually outclass longships in home waters. Finally, Mikasa and soon, Navarin, will be contributing fresh ships every 2 turns. 

I run the trader to Imperator Aleksandr, taking the food and production although Ilmatic's gold and science is tempting:




This slashes the growth time from 5 turns down to 3, meaning we can start our Harbor on turn 102. Thus, by turn 110 at the latest we will have a functioning shipyard here. Can Woden and ljubljana launch a powerful attack on Mikasa in 11 turns? Probably, but do they know they need to? 




Build order is granary -> Archer (Machinery boost) -> Harbor. 

To the south, Petropavlosk gets an iron mine and is due to finish its lavra in 2 turns. It will convert in 3:




Once it converts, priority will instantly switch to growth so I can get to size 4 as rapidly as possible, duh. 

Civics research will pick up flanking and support bonuses next turn, since I'll need those soon, then we're diving to Mercenaries, which we know is here:




Because it's the only unrevealed civic and suboptimal hasn't researched any further than this. We need to pick up 2 more units in addition to our archer to inspire it, but overall it should come in in 12 turns, and we'll have professional army in hand for Frigate and Caravel upgrades. I can also inspire Feudalism and Civil Service in that time, but Guilds is never going to happen. Marco, that might be one for Australia to hard research while Russia passes on various other inspirations. 

Finally, let's look up at the north:




Ahahahahaha! He actually let my great writer block his path for a turn! I don't believe that.   I knew he would! I was actually hoping to split up the jong formation a bit, but this is fine, too. Now I don't think he'll have a melee unit in range to take Shikishima next turn. The sword (and heavy chariot??? what on earth for??) won't have the movement, because they won't be able to leave their jong until next turn. 

I pin the third jong on the only invisible tile, and assume the 4th jong is on my turn 97 pin above. Note also the longship shadowing the Indonesian squadron. 

Too bad I couldn't finish walls in either city, without limes. Oh, well:




Man, Vladimir Monomakh is nice. It will be nice, once we return. I evacuate the sword to the southeast and sail for Rodeo. 

Speaking of walls, guess who is bizarrely walling up all his cities on the central island?




Like...why, though? Are you expecting a massive Russian ground attack? Is...is that why you made all the swords? Sub, if anyone is invading this island, it will be because they have the fleet to blockade it and cut it off from reinforcements. If they do that, then these walls will do nothing at all to stop it. There are so many better uses for this production! It's helping me and it still irritates me! 

The fleet gathers at Point Luck:




8 galleys in position, increasing by 2 every other turn, with 2 quads and a further galley in distant support at Mikasa. If sub goes for Marco and no Raider attack materializes, I will probably need to send most of these ships back north, probably swinging west around Novaya, while new builds reinforce Australia. We will try to recapture Shikishima and pillage whatever we can - I guess the harbor at Call Me All? Does it HAVE A harbor? 

If the Raiders attack and Sub goes for Rodeo, then we will swing south and fight for Mikasa while new builds go to Australia. 

If sub comes for me and the raiders attack, we will leave Mikasa to its own devices and focus on holding at Luck. 

Overview of the east:




The builder at Sevastopol moved on to Borodino and chopped a marsh. It will chop the other marsh next turn. The follow on builder will chop the forest for the campus, then plant two farms, getting me 2/3 of the way to Feudalism. I shall need two more charges, probably spent at Navarin or Knyaz Suvurov, to finish Feudalism. 

The builder at Oslyabya will mine the niter, pasture the horses, and then probably mine the silver at Oslyabya. 

The builder at Sissoi Veliki is headed for that polar fish to improve the city's slow food (it dropped an unused lumber mill with its spare movement point this turn - we'll work it once we hit size 4), and use its last charge to chop out the campus tile at size 4. I briefly started a HC here (for mercenaries) but decided I don't need it yet and went with the shrine instead. 

Overview of the west:




No changes.

[williams482]

That's what I do in my singleplayer games and, well, it's awful. A constant reminder of how bad I am at basic arithmetic.

As for the real reason that calculator isn't working, though, it's trying to read the A/C value from $L$23 instead of $L$19, where the A/C calculation is actually located. It looks like this was copied over from the PBEM18 tracker and didn't line up quite right, a product of my constant tinkering with the calculator tab in that sheet.

I corrected the error as described, which I'm just now realizing might be an inappropriate level of involvement for a genlurker? Fixing bugs in quasi-shared tools seems like a very grey area.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Eh, anyone can find a copy of the sheet in the PBEM18 thread soon, and fixing bugs and answering questions I think is kosher. You're not giving me strategic advice, you're just helping me solve the damn sheet (which I hardly use anyway).

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Oh, hah, if I wait for Suboptimal to conquer Shikishima and Vladimir Monomakh before placing the harbor at Navarin it'll be a discounted 5 turn build! Ships on turn 107, ahahaha!

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Turn 100 99 State of the Empire 

The 40 turns of the Classical Age were good to us. We expanded rapidly in total population, science, and culture. Our navy grew substantially and we have expanded out into the world. At present, Imperial research rates are second in the world in beakers per turn and second in total clefs per turn, trailing ljubljana of Team Raider in the first case by 8 points and Roland of Team Rolandoptimal (Team Sandbox, I think) in the second. Gold income is 48 per turn, despite a very large and expensive religious infrastructure, good for third in the game behind Archduke's 53 and ljubljana's 50. Faith is 160 per turn, shortly to improve to nearly 200 per turn once certain districts and buildings complete. 

The diplomatic situation, as a result of all this, is not so good. We have one team like 99% likely to declare war on us next turn with a small flotilla of super-units that outclass anything we are likely to field for 20 turns at least. We have another team already at war with us and at peace with everyone else, with the largest militaries in the game. And the third team is our nearest neighbor and has been giving us the cold shoulder diplomatically lately, making peace with their enemies who sank all their ships and stole their cities. It's a rough go, I tells ya. 

Turning once again, and this time more generally, to the question of invasion, I would observe that there has never been a period in all these long centuries of which we boast when an absolute guarantee against invasion could have been given to our people. I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. 



That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Borodino and the nation. The Russian Empire and the Australian Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Sakhalin and many old and famous city-States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the jong fleet and all the odious apparatus of Indonesian rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in Mikasa, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength with niter, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, Australia or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the Russian Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, Work Ethic, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Bring on the coalition! We are ready! V for victory!

Let's look at each member of the Empire as of turn 99, in order of foundation:




Borodino
Launched: 23 May 1900
Sunk: 27 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 1 

Borodino has developed into a jewel from the swamp-ridden morass we settled in 99 turns ago. It has excellent yields in all aspects, the only harbor in Russia, and is capable of building anything that needs building within just 5 turns or so. At size 8 it is the largest city by far in the empire, and once the emergency is past it will reclaim the 3 massive farms it has presently lent to other cities and will grow to size 10, for an industrial zone that will one day boost the entire core of Russia. This city is the keystone of our strength and as long as it is Russian it will be very, very difficult for anyone to defeat us in battle. 




Knyaz Suvurov
Launched: 25 September 1902
Sunk: 27 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 24

Knyaz Suvurov has actually wound up being more important than I thought it would be. The campus is the single best campus in the empire, and the city has had just enough flexibility to build several key inspirations, like the aqueduct for Military Engineering. Production is low, relatively, due to KS having the worst lavra in the game, a mere +8 while every other city gets +10, 12, 14, or even 16. My plan here was to give the city some serious builder love, building fishing boats, mines, and lumberyards, which will convert it into a strong city, especially at size 7 with a harbor. For now, it suffices to get a galley out about once every two turns, occasionally dropping to 3 as it burns off the overflow. Production is also minimized as I grow to size 7, even during the emergency, so I can lay down a harbor - discounted, once my colonies fall. :D 




Imperator Aleksandr
Launched: 3 August 1901
Sunk: 27 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 52

Imperator Aleksandr is actually a vital city, even though it's not on a coast and never will be without the Panama Canal. It houses a strong lavra and, most importantly, the government plaza. The Ancestral Hall has given us half a dozen builders, already repaying its cost, and the Grand Master's Chapel will be essential to late game military dominance. The city was intended to be a settler pump in the past and was founded as such, with the Plaza and Magnus, but Monumentality obsoleted that strategy and now IA is racing to size 7 to lay down a campus and join in contributing science. The government plaza also boosts 3 lavras, good for 6 faith and 6 production per turn from the district, not too shabby. 




Oryol
Launched: 19 July 1902
Captured: 28 May 1902 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 67

Oryol is the first Monumentality city. Inland, it has excellent production and is home to a solid campus. Once the library is done, I will reconfigure to growth and start growing the city again, while producing support builds - land units, builders, perhaps traders. I wish it could build ships, but alas, this will never happen without the Canal. It is probably fated to be home to Liang and be a builder pump for the empire once the GMC finishes. 




Sevastopol
Launched: 1 June 1895
Sunk: 2 January, 1905 - Port Arthur
Founded: Turn 72

Our second Monumentality city. Right now, at low pop, Sevastopol is serving as a small builder pump for Borodino. With high production, it will shortly enter the science city phase, as Oryol has done before it, and then will move on to other support builds. Sevastopol DOES have a lategame future as a ship builder, since a canal will open it to the sea near Borodino. 




Sissoi Veliki
Launched: 2 June 1894
Sunk: 28 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 82

The third Monumentality city. This little iceball is fed entirely on fish, but has excellent production. It is about 5 turns behind Sevastopol but will follow the same path of producing a campus and then support builds. It will also be able to pass ships through Sevastopol and serve as a shipbuilder itself once the Sevastopol Canal is complete. 




Navarin
Launched: 20 October 1894
Sunk: 28 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 83

Navarin was my third or fourth city pinned, but was settled late due to the lack of food. However, the nearby presence of tundra has let it get down a lavra - only recently finished - and it is now growing by leaps and bounds to size 4, when it will get a harbor. At that point, this will become a vital military outpost, safe from attack but producing ships to defend either the west or the north as needed. 




Oslyabya
Launched: 8 November 1898
Sunk: 27 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 83

Oslyabya was our fourth Monumentality city, settled identically with Navarin. I almost bypassed it, but I'm glad I did not since a shipyard on this coast is proving so vital. It chopped out its lavra and so has a bit more produced than Navarin, but has much less food and much worse tiles. However, it has one of only two niter stocks in the empir (the other, ironically enough, is at Navarin). It doesn't worry about growth much, though it will get a harbor at size 4, and is instead the main shipyard for the Eastern Squadron, charged with the defense of Australian shores. It will also be a base for the imminent conquest of Yerevan. 




Petropavlosk
Launched: 9 November 1904
Sunk: 13 April 1904 - Port Arthur
Founded: Turn 96

Our second-youngest city, Petropavlosk was handbuilt from Imperator Aleksandr. It has excellent production tiles but is dependent on seafood. At size 7 though this will be one of the premier science and shipbuilding cities in the empire. The lavra here is best in the world, with a +8 adjacency - beaten only by the Australian Natural Wonder holy sites in the far east. Too bad about Desert Folklore...ah well. 




Mikasa
Launched: 8 November 1900
Still in Service
Captured: Turn 71

Mikasa has a special place in my heart as the only one of these ships that I've ever actually been aboard, as she still sits at anchor near Yokosuka in Tokyo. The city itself is the former Hong Kong and is useful mostly as a defensive outpost and diamond mine, but the decent lavra makes it a good shipyard. It is crucial to the defense of our western flank and will be a tough nut to crack before frigates. 




Vladimir Monomakh
Launched: 22 October 1892
Sunk: 28 May 1905 - Tsushima
Founded: Turn 92

Someday Vladimir will be a lovely little colonial outpost, with furs, double horses, and coffee, with plenty of jungle tiles to work. In the near-term it is going to be an Indonesian prize, probably falling on turn 100 or 101 at the absolute latest. IT is the only city founded by Russians with no lavra even planned, intended mostly as a shield against enemies controlling the strait at Shikishima. Sub hit jongs sooner than I hoped, though, and I didn't get defenses in place, so the city can't be held. It was the fifth monumentality city. 




Shikishima
Launched: 1 November 1898
Scrapped: 1948
Captured: Turn 79

Shikishima, formerly Nazca, is not a great city by virtue of its tiles, but its location is vitally important, as it controls two nearby islands and provides the best protected anchorage in the whole game. It also has a valuable niter deposit. It was always intended as a military outpost, and served as a good source for two monumentality settlers. I could have afforded 2 more to complete settlement on the nearby islands but jongs intervened, alas. It will shortly be occupied by Indonesians, who might liberate it or just straight conquer it. We will see. 

We're going to lose 3.5 culture and 2 science when both cities fall, but that should be okay.

[Chevalier Mal Fet]

Some images from my trip aboard Mikasa:




She sits in a little plaza with a statue of Admiral Togo outside. This was at the start of the coronavirus pandemic - Japan would go into lockdown two weeks later. So I had the place basically to myself when I went. 




The ship is old and obsolete but still beautiful. She only mounts 4 12" guns in 2 turrets, and has the usual bewildering array of secondaries you find on predreadnoughts. Mikasa is of course the only surviving predreadnought battleship in the world. 




The forward twin 12" turret, with Tokyo Bay in the background. 




The main deck of the ship, with the secondaries visible to port.




A closer look at the starboard secondaries. Some of these very guns sank the ships my cities are named after. 




The lower deck has been turned into a massive museum on Tsushima, the Russo-Japanese war, and Japanese imperialism generally. 

It's worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Tokyo!