Turn 51
Mind the gap, sorry for the delay. It's been six turns since hte last up date as we are playing two turns a day at present. I'm getting on in the morning and then one in the afternoon. It has been a hellish week, and I've also needed to take some time to actually think and reflect on how appalingly unfocused I have been. Really bad opening, albeit I don't think this start had that many options for Yongle. Kinda wish I'd had Gorgo, I'd be farming barbs all day long and happy for it.
Anyone, major update this turn because greenline showed some of his hand as he just finished BW and started generating iron. Before I knew he had POttery and Writing due to the Seowon, and he had AH and Archery due to the horse and the mass upgrade, but I didn't know what his fifth tech was. I thought he was running to HBR to horseman rush me off the face of the map. It would have worked, but he isn't doing that. I've got 6 turns before he can get horsemen started, and that's all the time I need to set up a viable defence.
More importantly, he attacked Venice, and it does not seem to be going well. I might eat my words, as he may have been able to get a warrior to the north of the city to cut off the healing, but he doesn't seem to be having much luck at hte moment. I've seen several damaged units that aren't healing well. OTOH, he could simply be farming, but that seems...risky.
greenline declined a DoF offer after he declared on Venice. This was an attempt to show I can accept him taking Venice. It's not great but I can't get there. He will get an opportunity to pillage my trader, I can't really stop him as all my units were out of position. C'est la vie.
But his failure to rush me means I'm going to have walls down pretty quickly. I've put Magnus in (unpromoted) and I should get two chops in for sure. Possibly 3. I am still deciding if I want to put an encampment down 2S, but I am going BW next, then Archery. I only need Victor if I start to see the units move in, and even then, not for warriors and archer, but I plan to move Magnus over to MH anyway.
Those two chops basically give me walls and an encampment in 8 turns. Long used the turn before Masonry completed to use Lilja to get within one turn of growth, it will stagnate at 14 production per turn once borders pop after T52. Now greenline needs to research masonry and build a ram. That gives me enough time to get to HBR (including Archery research time, it's 10 turns). That gives me the opportunity to finish the horseman (the pasture went down this turn, I will have the resources).
Edit: I should say, I don't know that greenline is planning to attack now, his tech path just doesn't suggest he is going for a rush. But I have to cover it, and I need a double promoted Magnus in MH before I finish my next settler to not lose pop, so I need the GP built. I'm not spamming units for no reason, I've just returned to the goal of getting MH to size 10 and letting Long support that goal.
He has to get through the city, the tile south of the volcano will be blocked by the encampment. Is it really worth the effort? Oh, and the encampment plus Gov Plaza gives me the Maths eureka. The GP will be placed T53.
I've made a call to go to BW next because I think I need to know where iron is. If I beeline HBR I will just have enough horse to build one horsemen, but I will only be able to build archers and warriors for the next 10 turns.
I will finish SW eot52 (overflow most of the culture) and then Mil Trad is actually only a 4 turn civic. PP is a 20 turn run though, so I will not be able to swap cards for a while. What I intend to do is to swap back to Agoge (short burst of discipline annihilated the barbs, but I'm not going to be pushing to the west again until I settle my third city over there. Just going to play defence and farm XP), but get MT to one turn from completion as I will want the support/flanking effect. But I will also try and fit in The Wheel (one turn from completion) to boost the chop power, and also open up the possibility of a heavy chariot to bump up the city strength, and this gives me the opportunity to change research and then build the HC in a total of four turns. The fall of Venice gives me a greater than 4 turn window so I have this option in the back pocket.
I will have the option to get out spears in Agoge but i've cooled on this option once I've seen greenline start to accumulate iron. I'm still likely to build one just to try for the Military Tactics eureka, especially with the continued barb pressure.
I think my tech position isn't actually that bad. I doubt anyone actually knows what my plan is, and if they do they are wrong because I don't really now what it is. If I have iron close by, then I could concievably have all the Classical eurekas done before the era end except Constructio,n Math and Shipbuilding. Maybe not Celestial Navigation, it depends on how I want to spend the current builders last two chargers before I finish the fourth builder in MH on T54, but that fish isn't pillageable by greenline (I could be wrong, but by picking up the horse and fish the housing cap is alleviated for growth turns).
My culture position remains dreadful. I still need to use Lilja to get a pantheon. I'm due a dark age in 10 turns. I'm trying to hold off building a great wall tile until after. Loyalty shouldn't be an issue, but an Heroic age would be very welcome if I survive that long.
Mind the gap, sorry for the delay. It's been six turns since hte last up date as we are playing two turns a day at present. I'm getting on in the morning and then one in the afternoon. It has been a hellish week, and I've also needed to take some time to actually think and reflect on how appalingly unfocused I have been. Really bad opening, albeit I don't think this start had that many options for Yongle. Kinda wish I'd had Gorgo, I'd be farming barbs all day long and happy for it.
Anyone, major update this turn because greenline showed some of his hand as he just finished BW and started generating iron. Before I knew he had POttery and Writing due to the Seowon, and he had AH and Archery due to the horse and the mass upgrade, but I didn't know what his fifth tech was. I thought he was running to HBR to horseman rush me off the face of the map. It would have worked, but he isn't doing that. I've got 6 turns before he can get horsemen started, and that's all the time I need to set up a viable defence.
More importantly, he attacked Venice, and it does not seem to be going well. I might eat my words, as he may have been able to get a warrior to the north of the city to cut off the healing, but he doesn't seem to be having much luck at hte moment. I've seen several damaged units that aren't healing well. OTOH, he could simply be farming, but that seems...risky.
greenline declined a DoF offer after he declared on Venice. This was an attempt to show I can accept him taking Venice. It's not great but I can't get there. He will get an opportunity to pillage my trader, I can't really stop him as all my units were out of position. C'est la vie.
But his failure to rush me means I'm going to have walls down pretty quickly. I've put Magnus in (unpromoted) and I should get two chops in for sure. Possibly 3. I am still deciding if I want to put an encampment down 2S, but I am going BW next, then Archery. I only need Victor if I start to see the units move in, and even then, not for warriors and archer, but I plan to move Magnus over to MH anyway.
Those two chops basically give me walls and an encampment in 8 turns. Long used the turn before Masonry completed to use Lilja to get within one turn of growth, it will stagnate at 14 production per turn once borders pop after T52. Now greenline needs to research masonry and build a ram. That gives me enough time to get to HBR (including Archery research time, it's 10 turns). That gives me the opportunity to finish the horseman (the pasture went down this turn, I will have the resources).
Edit: I should say, I don't know that greenline is planning to attack now, his tech path just doesn't suggest he is going for a rush. But I have to cover it, and I need a double promoted Magnus in MH before I finish my next settler to not lose pop, so I need the GP built. I'm not spamming units for no reason, I've just returned to the goal of getting MH to size 10 and letting Long support that goal.
He has to get through the city, the tile south of the volcano will be blocked by the encampment. Is it really worth the effort? Oh, and the encampment plus Gov Plaza gives me the Maths eureka. The GP will be placed T53.
I've made a call to go to BW next because I think I need to know where iron is. If I beeline HBR I will just have enough horse to build one horsemen, but I will only be able to build archers and warriors for the next 10 turns.
I will finish SW eot52 (overflow most of the culture) and then Mil Trad is actually only a 4 turn civic. PP is a 20 turn run though, so I will not be able to swap cards for a while. What I intend to do is to swap back to Agoge (short burst of discipline annihilated the barbs, but I'm not going to be pushing to the west again until I settle my third city over there. Just going to play defence and farm XP), but get MT to one turn from completion as I will want the support/flanking effect. But I will also try and fit in The Wheel (one turn from completion) to boost the chop power, and also open up the possibility of a heavy chariot to bump up the city strength, and this gives me the opportunity to change research and then build the HC in a total of four turns. The fall of Venice gives me a greater than 4 turn window so I have this option in the back pocket.
I will have the option to get out spears in Agoge but i've cooled on this option once I've seen greenline start to accumulate iron. I'm still likely to build one just to try for the Military Tactics eureka, especially with the continued barb pressure.
I think my tech position isn't actually that bad. I doubt anyone actually knows what my plan is, and if they do they are wrong because I don't really now what it is. If I have iron close by, then I could concievably have all the Classical eurekas done before the era end except Constructio,n Math and Shipbuilding. Maybe not Celestial Navigation, it depends on how I want to spend the current builders last two chargers before I finish the fourth builder in MH on T54, but that fish isn't pillageable by greenline (I could be wrong, but by picking up the horse and fish the housing cap is alleviated for growth turns).
My culture position remains dreadful. I still need to use Lilja to get a pantheon. I'm due a dark age in 10 turns. I'm trying to hold off building a great wall tile until after. Loyalty shouldn't be an issue, but an Heroic age would be very welcome if I survive that long.
