[spoilers] Commodore is strategic in Pitboss 74

[Commodore]

Good starting area. Second city 1N of the eastern rice?

Hrm, excellent question. My gut impulse was 1W of the copper for the easy trade connection, but need to simulate them both. Hard not to see the appeal of a ph plant for that east rice.

[Oxyphenbutazone]

Hmmm yeah I like that dotmap too. If we go 1W of copper I see it as a hybrid city that can push early hammers with copper + grass mine + cows then grows onto some plains cottages. Would probably need permanent custody of the capital rice but that's acceptable. City on the PH would have to wait until t50 for capital 3rd ring border pop but as Darius I don't imagine we'll be able to push early settlers too much anyway.

Gotta scout the southern gold before finalizing a dotmap IMO. If there's not much food around there then we'll have to split off the capital pig for it which will weaken 1W of the copper (tho it would still be fine with a farm on the FP)

[Commodore]

Holy food, Batman...

[Mjmd]

[Commodore]

This vast riverine system is almost certain to be under contention with a neighbor. Cottaging this whole area would give enough of an economic engine to power the entire game; claiming all this plus the lake/jungle area would probably see us drowning in enough commerce to actually perhaps even pull out the archaic Liberalism->Rifling path. Claiming it all is going to be the priority, then, which means we need to try to perform that rarest of feats, crashing a Darius economy via expansion.

[Oxyphenbutazone]

...we need to try to perform that rarest of feats, crashing a Darius economy via expansion.

Love it but we'll need a happy cap > 4 to power out those settler whips. Early calendar research is a given but that'll still come in pretty late. Perhaps beeline monarchy to connect wines and churn out a lot of MP archers?

This vast riverine system is almost certain to be under contention with a neighbor. Cottaging this whole area would give enough of an economic engine to power the entire game; claiming all this plus the lake/jungle area would probably see us drowning in enough commerce to actually perhaps even pull out the archaic Liberalism->Rifling path

Finally someone who plans as far ahead as I do! Shall I draw up the battle plans for a Calvary pincer movement to seize the jungle isthmus?

[Commodore]

...we need to try to perform that rarest of feats, crashing a Darius economy via expansion.

Love it but we'll need a happy cap > 4 to power out those settler whips. Early calendar research is a given but that'll still come in pretty late. Perhaps beeline monarchy to connect wines and churn out a lot of MP archers?

This vast riverine system is almost certain to be under contention with a neighbor. Cottaging this whole area would give enough of an economic engine to power the entire game; claiming all this plus the lake/jungle area would probably see us drowning in enough commerce to actually perhaps even pull out the archaic Liberalism->Rifling path

Finally someone who plans as far ahead as I do! Shall I draw up the battle plans for a Calvary pincer movement to seize the jungle isthmus?

I agree, Monarchy is much higher on the list than before. If someone can spread us an early religion I'd love to get OR as well. Long-term happiness is going to be ridiculous thanks to Ball Courts, but that's a long ways from here. 

Please note the Liberalism comment is if we can lay claim to that jungle isthmus in the REX phase.

[Commodore]

The map wants us to go north for strategic resources, but the more I see of the river system the more vital it looks to me.

[Oxyphenbutazone]

This is really lush land for an unedited map!

1W of copper seems like the obvious call for the 2nd city now, should get a monument out quickly for those cows + horses. Agreed that the river valley should be the early game priority: with Darius and cottages on all those river tiles it'll be basically impossible to crash the economy

[Commodore]

I'm going to amend that last and take a bet that's we're actually in competition with multiple rivals for this wonderland.