[Spoilers] Pericles of the Graeco-Mayans

[Jabah]

Ooh, treecows!

Will pasturing them result in cutting the trees or will it be an uber forrested pasture ?

[Sylon]

It removes the forest, unfortunately.

[Sylon]

The save arrives in less than 24 hours! That has to be a new record.

Before that, however, we have a reply from Ruff.

[COLOR="Plum"]Sylon, First Citizen of Athenai ... greetings to you this day.

My humble capital is in the South but you would have to go SE and then SW from the Pillars to find it. My warrior has headed NE and I will let you know if I find anything. I agree to your excellent suggestion of a pact to inform each other of other civilizations (if there are any). However, please do me the honor of informing me about them prior to telling them about me (if you know what I mean).

Regards,

MMuff[/COLOR]

He seems willing to share information with me; this could be the start of a good relationship.

I pondered for a while, wondering whether or not I should tell him about Pytheas, and if I did, how I would cover the fact that I did not tell him about it earlier. Then I moved Pytheas.



Two contacts in two turns! That's a nice bit of luck.

I quickly sent a message to Ruff, damning the whole Pytheas dilemma.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Hail Mmuff_Hi!

I come bearing news. Our explorer, Pytheas, in the East, has come into contact with a people who call themselves the Inca!

He tells me that these 'Inca' are fierce in their warfare and extravagant in their splendour. Their warriors, he claims, are lavishly adorned with necklaces of wolves' teeth, bracelets made from seashells and caps made from the skin of lions. Their arms, too, are intricately carved and decorated. Each of their warriors are armed with a sling, a club, and a large rectengular shield, and in the use of each of these they are extremely skilled.

I assume that your warrior is in the spice grove South-East of the Lake of Feasts. The Incan scout's position is six days (moves) away from the grove. Of these, the first three days should be spent moving South-East, back into the jungle. From there, travel East three more days, and you shall come across a grassy hill where a glittering, yellowish metal can be found. The Incan scout is currently there.

I have yet to formally compose a greeting to them. Would you like me to inform them of the existence of your civilisation, or would you prefer that I refrain from revealing it just yet?

I wish you good fortune in your endeavours and look forward to your reply.


Sincerely,
Sylon, First Citizen of Athenai[/COLOR]

I hope it doesn't come back to bite me. Still, better to mention it now than to have him stumble across Ruff's warrior later.

------

After some consideration, I send a message to Mackoti.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Greetings, Mackoti of the Inca. The city-state of Athenai extends its hand to you in friendship. My explorer is full of praise for the splendour of your people, claiming that their wealth exceeds even that of our glorious city-state! May our two nations grow and prosper in peace and harmony, working together for the advancement of knowledge and civilisation!

By the way, would you rather I refer to you as CIPMAC, or Mackoti?

Awaiting your reply with anticipation,
Sylon, First Citizen of Athenai[/COLOR]

The message is just a simple greeting, to let him know we've made contact and to hopefully leave a good impression. Of course, I've been pestering him about signing up for the PBEM tracker (He still has yet to do so) so his opinion of me might already be in the gutter.

------

On a separate note, I wonder: Is my approach to diplomacy too careless with information? Should I be hiding what I know a little better? I'm personally a bit nervous at revealing so much so quickly, but on the other hand it facilitates communication and cooperation, and loosens the lips of the other party. What do you think?

(By the way, that grassland gold hill is most definitely not natural. Not that I'm complaining, of course. Unless someone else gets it, in which case the mapmaker is at fault)

[Square Leg]

On a separate note, I wonder: Is my approach to diplomacy too careless with information? Should I be hiding what I know a little better? I'm personally a bit nervous at revealing so much so quickly, but on the other hand it facilitates communication and cooperation, and loosens the lips of the other party. What do you think?

I would say that it is up to you! :neenernee

Both ways have merits but it might be easier for continuities sake to just be yourself.

[Sylon]

I would say that it is up to you! :neenernee

Both ways have merits but it might be easier for continuities sake to just be yourself.

Thanks for your input! I think I'll continue with my style of diplomacy as it is.

Speaking of diplomacy, we've got a little update to pass the time.

[COLOR="Yellow"]Hi,nice to met you you can call me either way.What a nice coincidence to met a philo brother,I hope that our way too see life will be same.As you see this is very hard water map, and its clear that us are in big disavantage, but we can work togheter and the winsdom to prevail,
regards,
Cipmac[/COLOR]

So, it seems we think alike! While his reply might not be as eloquent as Ruff's, it strikes me as being more sincere. Or would it be precisely because it is not as eloquent, that it seems more sincere? Regardless, it's good that we're thinking along the same lines.

[COLOR="Cyan"]Good evening, Mackoti.

It would seem we are on the same page! Great minds think alike, as they say. Indeed, as you say, as Philosophical civs, the both of us are at a disadvantage. The best way to proceed would be for our civilisations to work together. Perhaps, in the future, we might be able to coordinate our plans- Though, at this point of the game, one does not have much in the way of plans, so that will have to wait. Nevertheless, I hope that we will get along from now on.

Have you met anyone else yet? I myself met Ruff_Hi the previous turn (That is to say, the turn before I met you). His warrior is to the West and heading in this direction. If you head several tiles West, you will find him.

I wish you the best of luck.

Sincerely,
Sylon[/COLOR]

He doesn't seem too eager on RP, so I decided to ditch it and speak in a more natural manner. Why, y-yes, that is natural for me. Why are looking at me like that?

------

Ahem. Anyway, on to a discussion of strategy. From here on, I'll be explaining my diplomatic plan of approach towards Mackoti. Smack me on the head if you notice I'm repeating anything.

Out of all my opponents, Mackoti would make a good ally, since as a fellow Philosophical civ, neither of us pose a credible threat to each other- That is to say, neither of us will be top dog, or even in second place.

Of course, the antithesis to this is that out of all my opponents, Mackoti is the most threatening to my chances of victory, and I to his, since we will be going after the same key wonders: The Pyramids, The Mausoleum, The Great Library. Of course, the latter two would be pursued by everyone, but by Mackoti and myself with extra fervour. These wonders can only go to one player, and the player who loses them is much weaker for it.

Nevertheless, in the short term, I intend to make nice with him. I have Stone, and with any luck, he does not. Furthermore, if I can persuade him to go after the Oracle, and nab Metal Casting, that would be taking it out of the hands of the Financial civs. The Colossus in his hands is a lot less worrying than a Colossus in the hands of Ruff or Kodii. (Sorry, Pegasus )

------

Now, in regards to plans of alliance and war. Take note that this is in regards to Classical/Early Medieval warfare. If I forge an alliance with Mackoti and decide to expand towards Ruff, I will be up against an extremely skilled player, playing as India on top of that. I can expect many, many rushed units heading my way. Total annihilation, or indeed a major campaign is out of the question, due to the eventuality of longbows and Ruff's superior production. Securing a good city or two, however, is not.

If I can get Ruff's other neighbour to join me in the attack, however, it would be possible to cripple him. With several of his cities stripped away from him, Ruff will be all the weaker. However, judging by Ruff's comments as to the position of his capital, his portion of the map is probably similar to mine (SE, then SW, indicating a curve inwards and out). This is going to make it very hard to attack, and even harder to split between two parties, since the place would be congested.

Of course, it is not necessary to attack Ruff. If I sign an NAP with Ruff and turn to attack Mackoti, I have a greater chance of success, due to what is hopefully a difference between the level of skill of the two. (Of course, for all we know, Mackoti might be very, very good at civ) The lack of Fast Workers is a plus here. Granted, Mackoti is Expansive, so he might have more workers to make up for it anyway.

However, there is the problem as to whether Ruff will sit still, or if he would seize the opportunity to take a bite out of my lands. It really depends on who his neighbour is, and what his plans are- For example, if he intends to expand, and he's next to a peaceful Kodii, he would rather attack me than face those skirmishers. On the flip side, an aggressive Kodii or Pegasus will persuade him to sign an NAP with me. All this, however, is irrelevant if he plans to focus on economic expansion instead of war.

But enough building of castles in the sky! For now, I should just concentrate on worker micro and tech paths- though that is hardly my forte.

[Sylon]

Pytheas explores more of Unnaturalia. This would make for a smashing city site: Riverside hill gold, grassland gems, hill silks and a grassland cow for food. With any luck, I can secure this site for myself.

I'm guessing this area is meant to be a 'Centralia' a la PB2. Unlike Centralia, however, it is more accessible. By the looks of it, however, it is less defensible than Centralia, despite the peaks, since it is connected by land to the players' realms.

I'm guessing that the continent is in the shape of a star, with five points and five capitals at the points. This would make either control of Unnaturalia or the seas vital to an invasion.



Athenai finishes its worker and starts on a settler. I was initially planning to let the work boat finish first, in order to send it out to explore, but with the land like this I suspect I'll be meeting the remaining two civs soon enough. I do intend to scout the seas eventually, but for now, I'll focus on building up my cities.

Does anyone have any idea when hammer rot sets in on Normal speed?

[T-hawk]

Does anyone have any idea when hammer rot sets in on Normal speed?

10 turns for a unit, 50 turns for a building. Decay is 1 hammer/turn unless you're over 50 hammers invested for a unit or 100 for a building. If a city resumes a decaying build order, the clock is paused while the order is first in the build queue, but it is not reset.

[Sylon]

10 turns for a unit, 50 turns for a building. Decay is 1 hammer/turn unless you're over 50 hammers invested for a unit or 100 for a building. If a city resumes a decaying build order, the clock is paused while the order is first in the build queue, but it is not reset.

Let me see if I've got this right: I've left the work boat on the backburner for 8 turns. If I start investing hammers in it, the decay timer is paused, but if, after investing about 10 more hammers in it, I decide to swap back to a settler, the decay timer on the work boat will only have two turns remaining on it?

[Sylon]

It would appear my predictions regarding the map were wrong. I wonder if that little bit of land poking out of the fog is attached to the landmass, or a separate continent?



Demographics this turn. It would appear that Ruff whipped his capital again- I hope it isn't a settler, since that would put him quite ahead of the growth curve.

[T-hawk]

the decay timer on the work boat will only have two turns remaining on it?

Right, at least by my understanding.