[Spoilers] luddite tries to remember how this game works

[luddite]

Thanks Gavigai, that makes sense. I thought that the hammer decay would reset after some production, but I guess not.

Forgot to take a screenshot, but I've moved my stack up to the desert hill in the center. Cairo now has 1 extra musketeer. I'm trying to decide if I should go any further, or just stay here for now. This is a good spot where I've got the hill for defense, visibility, and I can still get back to defend. But I do want to pressure him to whip more...

meanwhile Oxy has a size 15 capital with the Kremlin... just a tad bit better than my size 6 capital with nothing but a granary...

[luddite]

Here's the screenshot:

For the moment I'm not worried about his main stack at all, but I do wonder where that one chariot went to. It's possible he's hiding it on the right side... I have another AT just finished in Dardanelles this turn though.

[luddite]

Well, I say I'm not afraid of his stack but that's not true.. I still am. There's just so much variance in this right now. One single low-percentage combat result can change things so much. If I can win a flawless victory with my artillery, or if he gets a low-odds win, it changes the entire stack result. And of course he can always bring reinforcements in quickly that I can't see.

[chumchu]

Good that you have pushed him away from your lands. How do you plan to use it?

Plunder his lands?
Choke him?
Conquest?
Grow your cities in peace?
Settle new cities?

[luddite]

Good that you have pushed him away from your lands. How do you plan to use it?

Plunder his lands?
Choke him?
Conquest?
Grow your cities in peace?
Settle new cities?

I'll take whatever I can get! Ideally I'd like to raze one of his cities, like he did to me. Plundering is hard since I don't have any two movers.

But my main priority is to keep my stack alive. It's a careful balance, because if he builds just a few more musketeers the balance will tip quickly. So my plan is to just move forward a little and scare him into some emergency whips. Then I can pull back and, maybe, hit him with my wave of reinforcements.

[luddite]

OK so he was actually hiding a chariot in the fog on the side. Very clever, Mr Cairo! But it's just one chariot so not much of a threat. He might kill a warrior but nothing else.

I moved up another square... feeling quite nervous now! What I wouldn't give for a great spy or a blimp that could show me his army. But he didn't whip at all this turn. I think he did twice last turn. even with 2 extra musketeers on his 6, i don't think 8 would be enough to beat me. Or at least, I don't think he'd risk it.

[luddite]

Hopefully it wasn't a mistake to go mine the copper, now I can't make roads.

Then again, I don't even know if I want to make roads, since he could also use them to attack me.

Should I continue moving in, or go back to the hill where it's safe and wait for my reinforcements? This is all so complicated. It feels like a guessing game where I'm dead if I guess wrong. I wish I was better at reading the demos so I'd know exactly how many units he has.

[Thoth]

Thanks Gavigai, that makes sense. I thought that the hammer decay would reset after some production, but I guess not

The hammers stop decaying once production resumes but the decay counter doesn't reset until the item completes.  So for example:  an axes has 20/35 hammers invested.  Production is swapped for 7t and then resumes.   The counter for decay is at 7/10.  The counter stays at 7/10 so long as tge axe is being produced. If production is swapped away again before the axes finishes, the counter starts at 7/10.   Once the axe completes, the counter resets to zero.

[luddite]

Thanks Gavigai, that makes sense. I thought that the hammer decay would reset after some production, but I guess not

The hammers stop decaying once production resumes but the decay counter doesn't reset until the item completes.  So for example:  an axes has 20/35 hammers invested.  Production is swapped for 7t and then resumes.   The counter for decay is at 7/10.  The counter stays at 7/10 so long as tge axe is being produced. If production is swapped away again before the axes finishes, the counter starts at 7/10.   Once the axe completes, the counter resets to zero.

Thanks! Interesting, I didn't realize that the decay counter just stayed there forever until you finish it.



This turn his stack wasn't visible, (i'm on flat ground so only 1 tile visibility) but I was feeling nervous. He whipped twice last turn, and the "rival worst" power that I think was him has gone up a lot recently. So I turned my stack around. time to wait for the reinforcements I think...

His chariot moved inside, still threating the capital but also potentiallyh threatening rodman. Very annoying, especially since it blocks me working a mine. I upgraded a warrior so I can kill it next turn if he pillages. Trying to keep my AT hidden though.

[luddite]

So Cairo tried to run his chariot away from my spear. However, he ran towards my stack. I finished roading the hill and killed it (no damage again!) with an AT. Another 1 XP, another promo.. slowly inching my way towards a Great General (23/30 now).



I *think* it's safe to rest the rest of my units on that hill... sure hope so anyway. The hill makes a huge difference.

Noticeable dip in Scooter's power this turn. But I still have no visibility on what's going on between him and Yuri.

Next turn I start whipping artillery.