[Spoiler] Suboptimal's Next Attempt at Lurker Frustration

[suboptimal]

Turn 257

Nora Batty is under attack. I think if Woden liberates the city I’ll attempt to recapture it once I take care of the Auntie Wainwright problem. Razing Nora Batty after rataking is an option as well as I’d likely lose the city once more. Of course, what I’d look to do in that instance is found on the lough, swap a pile of tiles over and then let Woden take the city again. I start out by moving the settler a tile to the east and getting the musket army over as an escort. It wouldn’t get to the lough in time to reclaim any tiles from Nora Batty before it falls next turn. Actually, if he doesn’t take the city next turn then I’ll settle next turn, one tile SE of my current position:




and swap over all tiles that are second and third ring to Nora Batty. I could then use Magellan to get some for a lake tile buy to lock down an RND. That also leaves room for another settler down in the desert if Nora Batty is razed.

Up at Howard’s former territory it looks like the Canadian warrior moved into the fallout early. It’s gone now but that warrior has lost about 50% of its health. The newly completed settler at Foggy moves out, gets to the cattle with 0.25 movement left and founds Robert Fyfe. I lock down and immediately start a Campus district between the city center and the Government Plaza. Next turn I’ll buy the oil formerly controlled by Howard. In the meantime the builder moves to the forest to the SW and will put down a lumbermill next turn. I swap over the banana plantation from Foggy and the city will grow in three turns.

The field cannon army from Auntie Wainwright moves north. I don’t want anything on the shores of the lake once the Phoenician fleet starts up with the assault on that city. Both bombers at the coastal airstrip are fully healed and relocate to the aerodrome. Builder at Peter Sallis puts down the elephant camp; that gives the citizen showing up next turn a nice 363 tile to work. Sinan showed up in Marina after getting chased out of Isaac’s area, likely by the Spec Ops that’s shown up in the city. I head towards Pearl but the realize I have no path into Phoenicia unless I embark. He’ll turn around and head north next turn.

Back down at Nora Batty my artist goes out to see what it can see of the fleet. Not much, but enough:




The submarine to the west heads south. I’m looking for carriers. My hope is that Woden sends the great people back to a city. One will wind up at Auntie Wainwright or Compo and I can use them to go take out the destroyers. This positioning almost looks like Woden might try to go for two cities at once here, depending on the results at Nora Batty. Neither of my bombers can reach the destroyers from their current position and I don’t want to risk the rebase to Compo as there’s likely some submarines wandering around that could coastal pillage. It would take two bombers to sink either of the destroyers right now.

Radcliff has reached Ed Mercer. There are currently 50% odds for the Siphon Gold mission so I may run that once the Gain Sources mission has completed, provided that’s a “global” effect against the civ. I’ll find that out in four more turns

That leaves the upcoming concert. MODERN PANTHEON heads to the Theater Square at Steve Newton and I push the button.




Two tourists for Ichabod, one for Woden and one for Canada (Blackhawks is exactly ten tiles from the district).

Over on the “main” front it seems there’s been a lot of nukes flying around:




Not shown are the other three Brazilian cities with no walls and no city defense. Curiously, Woden has yet to take any of them.

[suboptimal]

Turn 258

The question is whether or not I still have Nora Batty. The answer is...no:




Don’t worry about the Pink Crown of Flipping – the city is at +10.4 per turn. Now, there’s a few unusual things here. First, I’ve been declared upon by...Vilnius. Vilnius subsequently died. Second, Egypt is back in the game:




That’s goofy. Third, Marina got nuked and I think Canada is coming for a visit...they’ve denounced me so they’ll be here in five turns’ time.




I also get a kick out of the wounded trader. The problem here will be that if/when Canada declares my economy will likely implode. I’m making 173 per turn off trade routes to them and that’s going to all go poof in four more turns. Triangular Trade would only get me 20 back so I’ll be running on fumes until my empire collapses with no income. That’ll be interesting. What I don’t get is that I’m able to run 6 trade routes but only have five slots.

Marina starts a builder, that’ll be done in three turns and I can start cleanup operations. Until that’s done the city can’t heal or repair anything. I’ve gained a Casus Belli – War of Territorial Expansion – against Canada. Sinan comes north and finds the Phoenician spec ops unit next to Wild. If he airdrops next turn he could wind up close to Foggy, but not close enough to actually attack and SAMs. For the time being the lone tank goes back to Robert Fyfe and that city’s builder puts in a lumbermill.

Up at Peter Sallis the builder harvests the wheat and the city immediately places the Commercial Hub and the Campus district (Truly acquired that tile). Units at Foggy, Truly and Cleggy all sit tight except for the tank army, which comes over to the Great Library. I’ll use that for spec ops mop up duty.

Down at Auntie Wainwright the artist moves out to scout the fleet. In particular I want to see what’s around that destroyer group. The answer is that it’s by itself. Magellan heads south and finds the other destroyer group.

Further to the south is a submarine armada that’s in view of my own sub but I don’t think can see me. My sub moves south and then east to go around it. Now about those destroyer groups. I can actually reach and kill both groups with my air force. Bomber east of Truly goes first, attacking the further destroyer group. That happens without incident so the second bomber sinks it. Bombers west of Truly clean up the destroyers closer to the coast. Two destroyer armadas sunk, that might stall the invasion (or might not) and I get two era score for my troubles. Better yet most of the bombers will fully heal in one turn, with the remaining one being at 99/100 after a turn of healing. The other fortunate but unplanned thing I’ve got going for me is that if Truly gets nuked the air force will be spared (until thermonuclear devices come around).

I’ve got am available spy (it was counterspying at Foggy’s Theater Square) and it goes to The Blues. East of Truly I decide to settle next to the niter anyway as I should be able to eventually bomb out Nora Batty and take the city long enough to swap tiles around. I found Kathy Staff then improve the niter and start a Commercial Hub to the city’s northeast.

Where’s MODERN PANTHEON? Dead, actually. Steve Newton got nuked, Woden took the city and liberated it as Vilnius and then Ichabod took it back. . Eh, it was fun while it lasted. Maybe in another, oh, 30 turns or so I’ll buy another rock band. If I do I’ll make sure to use umlauts. Umlauts are always good in band names.

Steve Newton is actually going to loyalty flip, as will Tella Keyali. Canada might try to take Marina but I think that’ll flip back to me quite quickly unless they raze the city or Woden can take Compo first. The good news there is that I should be able to get the builder down from Robert Fyfe in a turn or two, decontaminate the fallout and repair outer defenses before Canada attacks. I don’t know that it’ll stop the tank armies when they attack because the city’s garrison strength will be zero, but it might be enough. Truly completes a SAM next turn and I may get out a one-turn engineer to put an airstrip down where Howard’s Theater Square used to be. That’ll let me shift bombers west, letting me attack Canadian tanks along with giving me aerial coverage of Auntie Wainwright’s maritime territory.

I’ll be curious to see what Woden does at Auntie Wainwright. I know he’s got more destroyer groups around, the question is whether or not they’re close enough to take the city or whether subs can do that job themselves. My recollection is that raiders cannot take cities, Viking longships excluded (because they’re still melee-class).

[Kaiser]

curious, i did not get to play my turn yet :D

[suboptimal]

Umlauts are always good in band names.

Not always. Imagine Rämmstein...

Need moar umlauts....Rämmstëïn. There we go.

Kaiser: indeed...I think you should protest in the tech thread.

[suboptimal]

Turn 259

The end of the age is upon us. I get a normal age and take the To Arms! dedication. Canada has declared war, not quite sure how they did that, and has taken Marina. The city will flip back to me in three turns even with the governor in there since they’re in a dark age.




Two bombers can reach the tank closest to the city. Builder moves into the lake (where Canada can’t kill it), the city shoots for 22 and the bombers follow-up for another 47. They’ll be able to kill that tank group next turn. He’s brought his cavalry army ashore, right next to my tank army. The eastern bomber group and a nearby field cannon army sort that out and earn me two era score.

Compo’s mobile SAM is done and it moves up to Foggy. The city starts a tank. Truly says screw the engineer, it’s tank time and starts a tank corps. The builder that was going to chop the forest at Peter Sallis instead heads for the lake – I have no oil but can get the oil in the lake connected next turn.

Woden has started shelling Auntie Wainwright, likely with battleships just out of view. My artist heads south and finds a battleship armada well off the coast – exactly 11 tiles away from the closest airstrip. He’s probably got a spy in Auntie Wainwright so that his bombers have vision on the target. Magellan leaves Compo and sweeps the coast for submarines, finding none. The submarine in the far south turns around and heads west. I might be able to get some pillaging in before Canada’s frigates can hunt me down. I also rebase Foggy’s fighter to Compo to help with some defense there, as well as swap the musket army at Compo and the field cannon army at Foggy. The latter arrives at Compo and takes Garrison with its available promotion. It’s only a flesh wound against a tank army but between the city attack, fighter and field cannon I can still attempt to mess up some tanks. I’d bring my tank army forward (to Robert Fyfe) but I need it to take Auntie Wainwright in the event Woden nukes it, keeps it and attempts to move in.

Big problem with the war now is my income is at -114 per turn. All traders returned home. Here’s where the stupid starts:




The game is routing Compo’s trader through a civ I’m at war with in order to get to its destination. Know what? I send it to Venice. Eventually it’ll get pillaged but I need cash now. Same with the trader at Foggy. The other three traders, however, are stuck on internal routes as I apparently do not have trading posts at Compo or Auntie Wainwright Well, I’ll get one more turn in positive gold balances unless I use Magellan.

Radcliff was waiting for Gain Sources to complete elsewhere. Screw it. I need cash and Ed Mercer might get me 556 in eight turns’ time at a 50% success rate. Loefflaed relocates to Wild as I’ve got a much higher shot at success there. Agent Merciful Death aborts her mission, checks out Canadian cities and heads for Bruins.

Elsewhere, Woden took Misty Mountains. The Zombie has managed to get to full loyalty even though it’s currently at -17 per turn and in a dark age. That city will flip, and the zombie will die, in six turns. Ichabod will lose Steve Newton in two. I missed Belem’s departure from the map but Belo Horizonte joined it in nuclear purgatory this past turn. This whole game, I think, will depend on who can build and deploy nukes faster – Woden or Ichabod. Of course, if Canada can manage to exterminate me (because I’m broke), well, maybe Canada somehow pulls this out. That’d be a hoot given their first 200 turns.

For the record, I’m going to keep on going with this hot mess as long as possible. However, if Woden or Ichabod concedes to the other at some point then I second that concession.

[suboptimal]

Turn 260

So, what sort of Shenanigans do I have to deal this turn?




TABARNAK!

In the notifications pile Cleopatra has been defeated...and the city has been razed. Oh, that safe-looking icon?




Yeah, no kidding.

First things first. Settler in Foggy heads east. It’s going to the area just outside Nora Batty’s borders on the Greenlee Lough. The builder over there moves to the wines and the musket army moves into Nora Batty’s territory. I’ll start pillaging down there next turn. I still have Auntie Wainwright, it’ll likely get killed next turn. Magellan does a quick sweep of the area, ending on the whales and activates. That staves off bankruptcy for a few turns.

The tank armies are the big problem – they’re going to pillage me out and there’s not much I can do about them. They’ll also take out all my AA guns. Oh, and Marina’s loyalty is stabilized in Canada’s favor. Let’s see what I can do here. At Foggy the battleship and fighter (which I forgot to move) fire at the tank on Compo’s IZ for an entire 30 points of damage. Bomber promotions are all defensive at this point, I won’t use those just yet. Two bombers, a city attack, a fighter, a battleship and a field cannon army all attack one tank army on flat ground and can’t kill it. Yeah, that’s what +5 CS in an update will get you. A field cannon army moves up from the area NE of Foggy and kills the thing off. Robert Fyfe does 13 damage in a literal pot shot, two bombers do a bit more damage and that’s the end of that. I also move the tank out and the tank army in. The latter puts on an attack as well, which redlines that tank. The builder leaves the lake via the city and runs east.

I put one Mobile SAM in Foggy and send the rest to Truly. They’ll help defend that city from any nukes that Woden unleashes. Actually, I send the one at Truly next to Auntie Wainwright. Maybe it’ll shoot down a bomber in the process. I also send the Machine Gun army west as that has a better chance to deal with tanks than field cannon at this point.

At least I get some oil hooked up this turn.

In the ocean, Woden’s sub has emerged out of the fog but at a visual range of three. Don’t know if I’ve been spotted but I head west anyway.

I’ll be curious to see if Canada resorts to pillaging, bankruptcy and my cities rebelling (the irony!) or if he actually tries to take any of them.

[suboptimal]

Turn 261

OK...did I lose any cities and what did Canada pillage? Well, no cities lost and the pillaging is all around Compo (along with a trader):




Compo is also under attack, either from that Canadian artillery or the Phoenician bombers. So...what to do first? I send the artist south looking for ships. I find two battleship armadas, one in striking range of the eastern bomber group. It’s deadlined. The artist finishes its movement and finds a carrier armada:




Sinan heads in that direction to spot the battleship next turn. Submarine moves towards Red Wings – I’ll see what’s there and perhaps take out the frigates.

The western bomber group goes to work and attacks the artillery army, redlining it. City attack and field cannon work on one of the cavalry units and Robert Fyfe potshots a tank army. That city will have two attacks next turn once Victor establishes. Marina is also back under loyalty pressure though will flip in 20-something turns.

Elsewhere I pillage a lumbermill at Nora Batty. That gets me four turns of , so bankruptcy is currently six turns away. The city has walls now but only a strength of 37. I might have to use a bomber to attack the city’s walls but I don’t think they’ll do much damage as I go pillaging through. Peter Sallis has completed its sewer and starts a tank (along with Auntie Wainwright) because why not?

No territory appears to have changed hands last turn over in the Brazil-Phoenicia war. Hit end turn and Woden had a spy mission complete.

[suboptimal]

Turn 262

Compo has been taken by Canada and Truly got nuked. Actually, the settler that by by Truly got nuked and Truly got caught in the crossfire. If there was a spy in the city it’s not there any more. It also completely missed my eastern airforce but the western one is gone.




My sense is that Woden is bombing out the cities for Canada to take. TABARNAK!

Cities with available potshots take them. I use the western bomber group and the battleship armada to kill Canada’s artillery army. That won’t slow them down any since Woden’s bombing things but gotta take out something on my way out the door. Truly starts a builder to decontaminate the area. Can’t build a military engineer to do so; don’t know that they can. The builder at Kathy Staff goes to the airstrip to start working on decontamination next turn. The fighter and lone wolf tank kill off the cavalry armada near Foggy. I’ve got a spare trader, it heads to Venice but will get pillaged in a few turns. Eh, helps stave off bankruptcy. At Red Wings the frigates have moved off. My sub will pillage the shipyard next turn and hopefully not get too shelled. There are fishing boats around to pillage to heal if I need them.

[suboptimal]

Turn 263

I open the save expecting Auntie Wainwright to be under Canadian control, possibly along with Truly. My expectations are met:




The only good news there is that Auntie Wainwright will rebel in two turns. The bad news is that Canada will take Truly next turn, solving that problem. Phoenicia also bombed my musket army that I was using to pillage Nora Batty as well as Kathy Staff. And yes, I also haven’t unloaded the UI mods I had active, either. I’ve got two idle governors, they are assigned to the remaining cities without governors. I can send three envoys somewhere. Eh, whatever. I’ll save them for later. I do, however, upgrade the AA gun at Foggy. The loss of a couple of cities has solved my maintenance cost issue, or rather, reduced it.

The cavalry army outside Robert Fyfe is attacked by the city twice, doing over 90 points of damage, and I finish the unit off with the field cannon army. What’s left of my airforce takes out the artillery army by Auntie Wainwright while the battleship group redlines the cavalry army towards Compo. I move my great people out to the coast by Compo and look what I find there:




They’re a bit too far away to assist Red Wings so that city’s shipyard gets pillaged. Next turn I’ll cut and run if I’ve still got the sub left.

Oh, I’m up to 81 tourists.

Since I haven’t unloaded the UI mods since I played the PBEM 20 turn earlier tonight and this game is a lost cause I figure I”m not out of line by showing a few of screenshots for the benefit of everyone in PBEM 21. I’ve got both Sukritact’s Simple UI Adjustments and Sukritact’s Global Relations Panel mods active here. According to the mod notes there is nothing here that isn’t displayed elsewhere, it’s just formatted better or relocated for quality of life.

You can see the modified city infobar at Robert Fyfe in the screenshot above (city attack button to the side). Hovering over a city infobar will show assigned citizens and the next tile in the tile picker. Hovering over the religion icon shows current religious pressure:




and the production icon shows the queue:




Down in the city info box the yields are explained much better:






Those are the features I use, there may be others that I’ve overlooked.

The Global Relations Panel is accessible by clicking that silver diplo deal icon at the top left. It might look slightly familiar to a few people out there:




Kinda like the Civ 4 version, but not.

I’m not aware of any information leakage through either of these mods (CQUI used to leak a few things, IIRC).

[suboptimal]

Turn 284




AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!





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Hmmm….I think one of my post-Moderna Bill Gates drops didn’t like that so much…

So….is there much left to do here? Well, let’s see. I might actually be able to take back Truly. That’d be a hoot. It’d also kill a tank army. It’s in range of the fighter, the bomber, the battleship and my land units (though I’d lose the battleship to the naval forces in the lake. Let’s see what the minimum required units would be for this….bomber goes in, machine guns go in, solo tank goes in, tank army at Robert Fyfe takes the city back. That works for a little bit. Shame I don’t have any builders in the area. I start one, it’ll take seven turns.

Over at Robert Fife the field cannon army moves into the city and three ranged attacks later the infantry corps is down 75%. Now...as for that battleship group...armada does 93, fighter finishes the job but gets severely damaged by the battleship fleet in Auntie Wainwright proper. I can promote-heal next turn if I need to.

My artist was not sent back to the capital, so I embark to go see what’s around and find nothing. My sub, surprisingly, wasn’t attacked by Red Wings’ city attack. However, I expect that part of the navy is on its way to my neck of the woods. I pillage the lighthouse for 405 and then move two tiles to the southeast. I’ll be visible for one more turn but then should be able to slip under the radar for a bit and work my way to Penguins.

Aidan has reached The Blues and starts a 74% chance Siphon Funds mission. If I’m still around in 8 turns we’ll learn the result.

Elsewhere it appears there’s another Brazilian city missing and Ichabod has lost both Cassius and John Lamarr to Woden.