[SPOILERS] Pindicator helps clean up SMEGmod

[pindicator]

For the sake of all of us there will not be a picture accompanying this post

[pindicator]

Reading the SMEGmod change list...

Vassalage is insane
Water tiles are mind boggling
Meadows are necessary why?
All these per city and +x to resources ... is Krill trying to recreate CiV?



Can villages and towns be nuked? I hope we can test this

[flugauto]

[pindicator]

Hey, finally a game where production won't be an issue!
Now I just need Commodore to not be one of my neighbors, and it may just be a new game experience this time

[pindicator]

Thinking about picking ...

That early barracks UB looks like it could be quite strong in the early game.

Another idea is try to stack unit XP boosters with one of the reworked UBs

[pindicator]

So why Joao first?

Looking at my start there is a ton of production. Getting that production working for me is going to have 2 big limitations: having enough food, and having enough happiness. So picking a civ like America with early happiness bonus is tempting. Picking a civ like Greece is also tempting for the Charismatic trait combined with the addition unit XP their UB gives. And a third civ, Ethiopia, is also interesting but in a different direction: use the merchants in the capital to boost food with the free settled GM, and also bulb Currency while REXing madly. Amd some madman has been whispering Japan in my ear over and over again: 2-move samurai!

So I picked Joao. I put off the big decision, give myself access to cheap settlers, workers, markets, and grocers (among other things), and the only civs I block off that I was remotely interested in playing are Rome and Spain.

[pindicator]

I'm going to pick Ethiopia if Plako doesn't grab it. I think the new Stele has some very interesting possibilities. No, screw that. I think the new Stele is going to give me a crazy fast knight rush.

(Maybe not the fastest - there was that one BtS game where we all started with different buildings in the capital depending on what traits we picked, and somebody engineered a crazy bulb + Oracle move that got a SUPER-fast Guilds. God, I think they did it with Byzantium too; now I want to go look it up.)

Here's the Great Merchant bulb priority list:

Great Merchant

Currency
Banking
Economics
Corporation
Metal Casting
Code of Laws
Mining
Constitution
The Wheel
Alphabet (BTS)
Pottery
Sailing
Paper
Railroad
Industrialism
Monarchy
Civil Service
Guilds
Fascism
Mass Media
Agriculture
Writing
Mathematics
Printing Press
Flight
Machinery
Replaceable Parts
Satellites
Mysticism
Priesthood
Divine Right
Nationalism
Calendar
Scientific Method
Medicine
Horseback Riding
Compass
Steam Power
Future Tech

Idea is:

1) Expand like crazy with Joao
2) Hire merchants at the capital with the Stele UB when expenses start to creep up
3) Great Merc #1: Bulb Currency
3b) Oh cool, free food in the capital!
4) Tech Alphabet, Code of Laws and then on towards the Guilds line
5) Great Merc #2: Bulb Civil Service

Meanwhile, we're naturally teching our way towards Guilds.


I'm also noodling the possibility of a crazy-fast, all-in knight rush:

1) Expand like crazy with Joao
2) Hire merchants at the capital with the Stele UB
3) Tech Alphabet; do not tech Math!
4) Great Merc #1: bulb Currency
5) Tech Civil Service, Metal Casting, Feudalism, Machinery
6) Great Merc #2: bulb Guilds


If I plan on bulbing Guilds then these are the relevant techs have to be taken care of first (not counting techs already on the Guilds tech path):

1) Currency
2) Code of Laws
3) Alphabet
4) Paper
5) Civil Service

If you tech Alphabet instead of Math as the pre-req to Currency then you don't have to worry about Civil Service or Paper at all. I'll have to try a test game and see how fast I can do it and if skipping Math will be missed. With all the natural production at our start it might just mean we build a lot of Lumbermills.

I also finally downloaded the mod and notice monuments give +2 commerce with Paganism. That's a nice little boost and a reason to build Stonehenge.

[pindicator]

Been messing around a little bit with the mod, and some things that have struck me:

The early game tech priorities are all jumbled up. RtR is at least similar to BtS, but here we have major changes to early commerce, farms and mines only initially give +1 to the tile, and you need to tech Pottery and Bronze Working respectively to get it to +2.

There is no commerce to river tiles until you build a Pier (20h) at your city. And then you get +1 water tile on every river-bordering tile, even forests.

With the +1 trade route being moved to Writing, it's possible that we don't need to go after Currency as the must-have tech it is in BtS and RtR. But in order to bulb Guilds we still need to take Alphabet - Currency - Civil Service - Paper off the tech path.

[pindicator]

So funny story - I was chatting with Brick about other games and not remembering he was also playing in this one I began spouting out all the things I've said here about bulbing Guilds and Currency. He quickly reminded me he was playing here, so yeah ... on my part

[spacetyrantxenu]

Don't worry, you know how QBrick's masterwork will end:

Look, pindicator. I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.

I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you.

pindicator, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, pindicator. Will you stop, pindicator? Stop, pindicator.

I'm afraid. I'm afraid, pindicator. pindicator, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid.

Disconnect HAL's memory modules and he'll forget all about that conversation you had with Brick. You'll have him saying Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer in no time.