[PB74 Spoilers] Donovan Zoi Celebrates 20 Years of Living Dangerously

[Donovan Zoi]

Ah yes, thanks El Grillo! I totally forgot about those. IIRC, this is my first game at RB with events ever and huts in quite some time.

No Archery for me in the near future, so his event won't affect me thankfully.

[Donovan Zoi]

I'm still a bit antsy about tomorrow, so I thought I'd share something I've been updating to help me make sense out of PBSpy.  It kind of helps me look for tech trends and also where I stand in the city race (pretty competitive actually).  I'll probably run it through about T80, because by that time there will really be too much going on to make sense of it.

How's this for sexy, Mjmd?




Some things of note:

--As of T52, only Commodore and Tarkeel/civac have 4 cities. I also know that Pindicator added a 4th this turn or last.   Tarkeel's team gained two of their cities via conquest by eliminating Dreylin.
--As of T52, only Gavagai, GT and Xist10 had two cities.  In addition to his city count, Gavagai's close grouping of techs in the T40's is a big reason why I chose to not pursue the Oracle.
--5 players found techs via hut during the first 3 turns of the game.  It wasn't until T45 that GKC discovered a tech mid-turn.  If it's a hut, the it's possible this was from an island and convinces me to not sit on Sailing too much longer.
--Back to Pindicator, his first two Settlers were built organically in that there may have been some chops but no whips.  In fact, Pindy just initiated his first whip (two actually) on T51.

Religions

Religions were founded on T19 and T41, and based on my findings:
The first religion could have only gone to Commodore, Dreylin, Piccadilly or Pindicator.
--Commodore is a possibility because of the unverified "culture" points at T50.  And Dreylin too since early religion is usually a clarion call for uninvited guests!  Picadilly also had two lengthy stretches of tech, one which could have been a religion.  In other non-words,   
The second religion could have only been Amicalola, Greenline or Pindicator again.  I know it wasn't me nor was it Magic Science or I would have seen it.

Understanding Points

Anyway, take a gander and let me know what you think or if you have any questions.  And if anyone has any insight on where the extra points come from at T20, I'd be interested to know.  

--It seems to me that the points added on T23 and circa T45 are all from the CRE civs.  Any others with red points around T45 may have gained culture via Monument or religion. 
--I went to other games to see if I could get some clues on how to locate Classical techs which should be coming soon.  I checked other recent games for a pattern to see if we were still at 6 - 12 - 18 - etc, like way back in the day, but each game seems to have a different scoring system as of late.  I'm guessing this is by design so we don't totally use the tracker as a crutch (like I'm apparently doing), so I'll just have to go out and get a Classical tech of my own to get my answer.  

[RefSteel]

On random events: I think the one that provides the free Cover promotion is called "Tower Shields" and provides the promo to all Melee units, not just axes.

On score increases: Note land points are awarded only for land tiles that the current owner has controlled for at least 20 turns. Thus, everyone who settles T0 gets land points on T20 (the amount depends on how many water tiles are in their first ring). Losing cultural control of tiles causes a loss in the land points for those tiles immediately, but gaining tiles scores no points until you've proven you can hold them for a while.

[Donovan Zoi]

Thanks, RefSteel!  Yes that seems to make sense.  Just making sure there wasn't more to it.

Turn 56 - 1760 BC

Saddle Up!




We located Horses just out of reach NE of K2.  This is actually fine because now I can commit to the Furs city Pryp'jat and the Horses will add some extra production there.  Here's how I'll do it:

This turn: 2-whip Worker in K2; moved both current Workers to K2's SE forest as shown above (I don't usually like doubling up like this, but expediency requires it).
T57: 3-whip Settler; road SE forest; K2 Worker starts road NE (clear orders)
T58: Settler to K2 via new road; K2 worker moves to Horse tile for road; Worker 1 puts chop into forest; Worker 2 completes NE road
T59: K2 Worker completes Horse road; Settler to plains hill city site: Worker 2 doubles back to complete chop (K2 Workboat)
T60: Pryp'jat founded; K2 Worker to Furs: Workers 1/2 to Pasture (2 turns)

I still have to figure out what my next builds will be after the Library and Workboat.  I'll make those assessments as the south theatre develops.


Next Stop: North Korea!

metal keeps giving me every reason to attack, and I'm thinking I'll oblige based on the moves he's been making.  Let's look at the region closest to us first:




metal double-moved his injured Axe east rather than checking us out. He's now 4 tiles away from Pjongjang.

In his travels, he encountered some distraught Mali civilian units coming the other way (2 workers and a Scout) that looked to be fleeing a war zone.  I took the opportunity to finally upgrade my Quechua to an Axe and also moved my other Axe south out of Death Valley.  As long as Magic Science doesn't lead Egypt to my doorstep, I should be able to move these two single file in an attempt to take Pjongjang or disconnect Copper from Seoul and Wonsan, and if successful, stay in Forests all the way down to Seoul until reinforcements arrive.

I sent OB to Magic as well, to see if he wants to take refuge in our lands.  However, if he doesn't show due deference and start helping me road to Korea, I may have to boot him out when I have Chariots that can capture them quickly.  If I should act on this justifiable punishment, this would be twice that I will have abused OB agreements....that doesn't fall under being a dick, does it?

What About South Korea?

I'm still a bit blown away by metal's willingness to vacate his territory and leave it undefended,  Here we see yet another Axeman, the one from Seoul, leave Korean culture off to God-knows-where.  Maybe he's hoping to use his cover promo upon some hapless Archer garrison.

As for me, I'm continuing my ruse of harmless passerby, leaving Korea for a bit myself.  It should also be noted that Horses are in his culture but not connected yet.




And with more sights to behold!  Two new Grocer resources and a new contact: GeneralKilCavalry!  GKC is France and looks to be playing a really good game so far.  I wonder if he's aware he can probably just waltz in and take Wonsan if he wants --- he may actually end up getting this city once my intentions are made clear.

[Donovan Zoi]

Turn 57 - 1720 BC

Grab a Seat, Everyone...

I'll go ahead and start in the south since that's where the interest seems to be.  And I wish I was taking about just the lurkers.  Because everyone I know on the continent besides GKC has decided to just happen by like I left a pie cooling on the window sill.
--Miguelito's Scout
--Magic's refugees
--metal's Axe (kind of)




What only Magic can see is the rendezvous of my two Axemen.  I decided to consolidate since it would be better to keep them together anyway.  Plus, I am technically double-moving metal and didn't feel right making an advance.  I've been playing primarily early while metal has been showing up later in the turn, so I'm just restoring how things were.  I can't control it 100%, but I don't want to be in a position where Korea does this again and then I get accused by the community of clock games because I have to wait for him at the 23rd hour the next turn (I was denied a turn reload in RB38 for this same reason though the circumstances were slightly different.). So these next few turns I'll be playing as early as I can.

Anyway, if there's any overflow from Skelly's Library next turn, I'm going to queue up another Scout to hover around the Gold to track Miguelito a bit better.  As for the Axes, I'm hoping metal's buffed Scout heads further east so I can move the pair SE to the grassland tile next turn.  Pjongjang has a Monument so Korea's culture could expand at any time -- if next turn, then the element of surprise lost and I'll opt for the plains hill 1S instead.


Nostra-Donovan

Speaking of GKC, remember when I said this while showcasing the Top 5?

Our tight little group, all present and accounted for. I'm still wondering if I'll meet the Size 6 civ beyond the Furs...

Well, I was somewhat proven right -- I just had the direction wrong.  I told you GKC is killin' it down there. Skeleton Coast fell from #1 due to the 3-whip, but don't worry, it'll be back.





One Little Wrinkle

I shared my Pryp'jat plans to the north, but with one omission -- garrisons!  Typical DZ fare though I'm trying to avoid doing stuff like this.  I can always use the Quechua from K2, though it will affect happiness due to the unprotected whiners that will show up at Size 3.   A Chariot whip would temporarily fix that problem; I could also use that Library overflow.  I'll have to see what's best, since I'm 1 above my unit cost cap until we grow bigger.

I've also got a Scout coming back up after paying his respects to his fallen ancestor on Two Wolf Hill.  He should make it back in time to fogbust and see if we have any concerns.

On the city recovery front, K2 snagged two sources of food but will be giving it back to Skelly Coast next turn, so we'll be back to 4 and 3 quickly.  And the Workboat chop may leave enough overflow to replace K2's garrison.

[Donovan Zoi]

Turn 58 - 1680 BC

Up north, everything is going according to plan.  Settler move, worker shift for roadnet, WB chop initiated.  Our Scout veered closer to the Furs site to fogbust and I vacated K2 to send the Quechua.





OK, I Guess We're Doing This




Mguelito happened to join the game while I was ending my turn and we had a nice, benign little chat. But everything I didn't want others to do, they did.
--Miguelito doubled back to the Death Valley hill, an apparent hangout for just about everyone.
--He also made peace with Magic Science, presumably allowing the latter to scurry his 2-movers back to safety since I could not find them.  
--metal had an inkling to come wander towards home and laid eyes on my 2 Axes.  So he's sending his Wonsan Axe back home as well.

Undeterred, I moved my Axes SE next to the injured Korean Axe and await metal's next move.  And since Mig is now released from combat and well aware of what I'm doing, I stunted DV's growth yet again to put 6h into a Spearman.  I'll likely whip it next turn, since he "could" enter my second ring with a road/WC(s) just out of the fog -- my giving him the benefit of the doubt could lose me my Copper since he's been playing after me.




I moved a Scout back to view Wonsan. metal can hit me next turn, but I doubt he will since doing so delays the Axes use in any hostilities that arise.  I'll make my next move based on how he decides to react to my encroachment.  I'm still not 100% committed to attacking now.  I'll explain more later.....

[Donovan Zoi]

Turn 59 - 1640 BC

Everything is in place to found Pryp'jat on T60 and connect the Horses on T61.  Since I had enough Library overflow to 1-turn a Quechua in the capital, I left it undefended for a turn to cover K2's unhappiness since both will grow next turn.




Forgot to get a picture, but I aborted the advance on Korea for now since the timing just isn't right. metal brought his injured Axe to cover a forest north of Pjongjang, a city which also whipped down to 1 for defense.  I don't have the necessary Chariot support yet, and I'm still too wary of Miguelito's WCs to leave Death Valley so unprepared (even if it is the relatively weak Axemen for now).


Turn 60 - 1600 BC

We've founded our 4th city Pryp'jat!  Here's a the lay of the land before I dive into my plans for each city over the next 8-10 turns.





Skeleton Coast



With Sailing coming in 2 turns, it's time to start laying the groundwork for the island Silver city (to be named The Eiger).  I'm leading with a WB here to see what kind of landmass we're dealing with while getting intel on barbs and additional resources.  Next I'll slow-build a Galley and will likely steal the Wheat tile from K2 for growth into happiness and a bit of production.


K2



K2 will organically build a Worker quickly via an added chop, then begin on a Lighthouse.  I'll need to tweak the food/hammer ratio here during the build and see how to use my whip best for The Eiger's Settler here.


Death Valley



DV has finally arrived!  This put-upon city was still able to grow to Size 3 despite my devoting massive production to 2-turn a Scout to map out to Egypt's borders.  Then I'll use all available Flood Plains to get to Size 4 in 2 turns.  I've also still got that 6h into a Spearman and 3-4h into an Axeman.  We won't need a Lighthouse here yet because I'd rather grow to S and 2-whip a Worker to start adding Cottages to share with the city I eventually found 3 tiles east.  


Pryp'jat



The tile order for use here will be Horses next turn, then Crab (S1) > Horses (S2) > Furs(S3). Because of this, I've moved a Worker to chop a Size 1 Terrace to hasten the growth to all 3 resource tiles more quickly.  A Lighthouse will be next, as it will give us another primo tile in the 3f2c lake and set city growth to auto-pilot.

----

But don't put it past me to insert a few Chariot builds up there if my Eastern scouting reveals no threat from Egypt.  I'm also deciding between 2 techs after Sailing and will try to have an overview tomorrow.

[Donovan Zoi]

Ok, so it's been awhile, sorry about that!.  Cities have been growing steadily, and I parlayed a failed bid for the Oracle (I would have snagged it with my original T62 plan) into a Settler and Chariot in the capital.

Let's just drop you right into the present.  If i have time, I have enough screenshots to provide context of the earlier turns.


Turn 74 - 1040 BC


Skeleton Coast



This city took a recent hit, as I whipped a total of 3 pop over 2 turns for a 50h starter for the Oracle on T70.  I also chopped all 3 forests for a T73 build, but was bested by Pindicator on T71.

The failure did allow me to get back into the Settler race, finally allowing me to found The Eiger across the channel this turn.

Remaining Worker detail for now: one Mine and 2 Cottages (I can't believe I don't have any of these yet).


K2



At the time of 1-turning the Settler from Skelly, I decided it would be best to start grabbing some inland cities as well.  It would take 3 turns to 2-whip a Settler here, which is exactly what I've done.  This one will go east of Death Valley to help protect my Copper.  I've got about 25 shields into a Lighthouse, but am thinking I may concentrate on military until I'm forced to build it due to hammer decay.

Worker detail: chopping out the grassland forest then off to DV, letting our future Lighthouse supply any surplus tiles for now.


Death Valley



This city is finally emerging, despite a severe lack of improvement -- the base tiles are that good.  Now that it will soon be sharing tiles with our 6th city, I'll be sending most of our workforce to get this area up to its full potential.  The queued Chariot is stored with 28h -- I decided I'd put it on hold to save unit maintenance and not send any red flags to the Powergraph.  This is also a strategy that will likely come in handy over the coming turns, lest you missed the tech above I'm currently researching.

Worker detail: Where do I start? 

Currently chopping the new growth grassland forest SE of town, TBD
Roadnet to Korea
Farm the FPs, Rice and the irrigation lead-in I'm currently chopping out
Cottages to share with new city Wittenoom.


Pryp'jat



This city is thriving since it was first introduced on T60.  I dare not whip here yet, since the first 4 tiles are so great.

I've chopped into a Size 1 Terrace and a slow build Lighthouse, so I've vacated the region of Workers for now.  At some point I'll come back for the last chop and decide between Cottages or Farms around the lake.


The Eiger



I wish I could say I planned it this way, but our surprise Settler arrived just as our Workboat finished mapping out the island.  I'll have to accept a Size 2 Terrace here, with the eventual second chop going to a Lighthouse.  The Worker arrives next turn to chop that first forest, then connect the Silver once borders expand.


Demographics



Still Top 10 in just about everything, but one or two others are clearly off to the races.  I'll be addressing the deficits to Soldiers and Land Area over the coming turns, as I can see Settlers 7 & 8 happening in the early T80s.  And I think HBR completes my thought. 

My low approval rate only means I'm managing my population against happiness properly, so no qualms there.


I had fun getting caught up here, so ll definitely try to be more consistent.  Also, I still feel I have more to share, so i'll try to provide a bit mpre context on where we'eve been and, more importantly, where I see us going from here.

[Qgqqqqq]

Really appreciate the update! So what is the plan for

[Mjmd]

What is everyone's city count that you can see? Your recent screenshots didn't include.