[PB59] Ichabod realizes Civ 4 PB is for closers only

[darrelljs]

I think Garrinacha picked a better companion .

I don't need to be a contender.

Then you made a wise choice in me!

Darrell

[Ichabod]

I'm back!

   
Here's the current situation. I'll be slow to my third city, but that's okay. The Capital is growing to size 5. It'll work the settler for some time at size 5 and 2-whip in the same turn that the right worker finishes a mine+chop. The idea is to overflow into a granary, almost finishing it. I want to work on granaries soon, as I take ages to finish them.

Germany was a great pick, because of the power of mining + hunting. I think a lot of players suffered from bad starting techs. I decided to go for pottery before AH, because of settling order. The 3rd city will be the plains hill one near the eastern copper. The 4th will be from a settler whipped in Garrincha and it'll go to the west, for the pig + copper + crab site (that's what the Garrincha work boat is for).

I'll probably whip the Capital for a 3rd settler, but after that, I think I need to grow into cottages already. Teching will be hard and there's a lot of stuff we need. It's turn 39, but only Buddhism already felt. Hinduism is up for grabs, all wonders are up as well. I'm just saying that to point out how bad overall tech is, not that I want any of that. After Pottery and AH, I want Sailing, mathematics, writing... I should probably get Mysticism as well, to pop borders (though my settling plans are really tight, after Serdoa chastised me into the right path).

Is blbing maths a good idea? Food for thought.

Teching is so hard in this map that I bet we'll see Knights conquering someone that still doesn't have LB's. Unfortunately, my neighbor is Cornflakes, a very competent player, with CRE/PHI. I don't expect to have an edge on him any time. Jowy and Byzantium are in a tough pickle. I'm not sure you can recover from Myst/Wheel starting techs in this map. How would you go about it? Well, I've seen his Capital and it seems he settled further inland. Perhaps he managed to get 2 grains by settling this way? But it'll take ages for him to get BW/Pottery/AH. Finally, we have Lazteuq. There's a chance he's also our direct neighbor and I don't know about his skills. Montezuma is not an easy leader, as there's really not much economic bonuses going for it. 

What I need to do: I need that gold online soon. I need a sailing city, bonus points for one with a new luxury. My long term game plan is to try and have a good economy to allow for a mid-game expansion through war. Considering the costs of this map, perhaps we could think of Maces + trebs, since we are AGG after all. The map is huge and I lack the willpower to win a game in these settings. But perhaps a mid game contestant position is possible.

Finally, the no score, no city is a no fun, no joy option. There's simply nothing to talk or worry about other than your micro. We might as well be playing sandboxes. Perhaps the hardcore players can figure out what's happening on the map, but I sure can't. What are we supposed to duscuss about the map if we can't see scores? And I hate that crazy long list of players to my right, with everyone having 1 as the score. 

I wonder if other players are also annoyed with this.

Demos:

   

[Ichabod]

I think Garrinacha picked a better companion .

I can't let the King be contested like that.

[darrelljs]

You need to found more cities so I can see more photos of Brazilian babes.

Darrell

[Ichabod]

Well, Darrell is a lucky man, because we are up to 4 cities.

   

We are a coastal empire, it seems. I don't know exactly what I'm doing, but I think all the usual boxes are checked. We are building granaries. We already have a cottage, with another one to come next turn. Cities are growing mostly on improved tiles.

Commerce is perhaps my biggest strength, as the only tech that my neighbours have that I don't is Myst. On the food/hammer front I think I'm middle of the pack. BUG shows that Picadilly has 4 cities and CF has 3, though I'm not sure how he knows that. We have a fifth settler partially built in Pelé, but I decided to grow another size this turn, as whip anger disappears. Sailing is aimed at an island city for our 6th one, perhaps. I don't think I'll settle the one close to my Capital, perhaps the better idea is to get one of the islands with a happy resource.

   

   
New city will come somewhere around here. I was thinking 1S of the warrior, for an awesome food/hammer city, that could start with improved pigs. Though that would delay the gold, which is a problem. Not sure about this.

And for Darrell:

They had a lovely marriage that lasted for some months, if memory serves me right.

And since Ronaldinho Gaucho betrayed my team, I won't give him a girl, but rather show that he should have played for Paraguay, not Brazil:



That's a fake identity card and Ronaldinho spent some time in jail in Paraguay last year.

[Ichabod]

I think my next two cities will go 1SW of the gems and 1SW of the gold. The fist one will have improved pigs from the get go + inner ring horses and cows. That's very powerful and it'll grow fast. The horses will be useful for a chariot or two, as I need to explore a bit more of the map. All the cities surrounding the Capital will help with growing cottages. I won't whip the Capital for much longer, as I want to make it very powerful.

The other city can get the pigs from Ronaldinho, as that city has crabs and copper for a good food/hammer output. The main point is getting the gold online quickly, as I want to grow the Capital and get that commerce going. 

7th city will be on an island.

Tech will go sailing -> Myst, I think, as the gold city will want a monument ASAP, to get the rice. Hinduism finally fell (someone is probably very happy about getting it after turn 50). After Myst, I think I need archery for cheap defenders (I haven't roaded my copper yet, as I want the option to build warriors). The first big tech I want is probably Math -> Currency.

Can someone explain to me how BUG can tell me how many cities the opponent has, seeing as that info isn't showing at the trade screen? 

If that info is to be believed, Jowy is at 2 cities still, so he'll most likely be food for someone not very far from now. Unfortunately, he's not my direct neighbor. If CF eats him, I'm in a pickle with a powerful neighbor. So, if CF gears for conquest. I should probably stab him from the other side.

[darrelljs]

Can someone explain to me how BUG can tell me how many cities the opponent has, seeing as that info isn't showing at the trade screen? 

I'm sure you already assume this, but just to confirm...I cannot.

Next players?

Darrell

[darrelljs]

That's a fake identity card and Ronaldinho spent some time in jail in Paraguay last year.

I can't believe that story! His brother supplied fake passports...why? Very strange.

Darrell

[Ichabod]

There is a world where I could try to get the Great Lighthouse. I just researched Sailing, I can get Masonry in 3 turns. I'm not IND, but ORG is the next best thing for TGLh, since it discounts the Lighthouse. My Capital wants a lightouse anyway, for the fish and a lake. And losing it wouldn't be the end of the world, as getting some gold would help financing whatever tech we go next.

TGLh would fit my current empire, as my first 4 cities are coastal, something that I don't think most players did. I could then get two quick island cities for a very strong economical boost.

At the same time, my Capital isn't the strongest on the hammer side. I'm also very limited in worker labour for chops. And I would feel very sad about losing the race and making my position worse than it could be, especially considering I'm feeling decently competitive right now.

My back of the envelope calcs shows that I could get it in <15 turns.

[Ichabod]

Decided against TGLh, because I don't want to play risky. I'll settle more cities instead. CF and Piccadilly beat me to 5, but they are creative, so it's to be expected. CF settled inland, so I'll have a big head start against him in naval development.

Jowy is down to 1 city. Again, not sure how reliable that info is, but that would be quite a bummer if true. CF has a whole second blob to develop into if Jowy is gone, which makes it very difficult for me to compete with him. CF lost some power last turn, but I forgot that I can see if they are at war with each other. CF also has a warrior near my border, which is annoying. Probably just scouting, but I have to keep in mind that this is not Civ 6 and a single warrior can kill a city.