[Spoiler] Fintourist loses his multiplayer virginity

[Fintourist]

Thanks Commodore for encouragement. I have followed several threads of yours and I will try to provide almost as excellent reports as you do when the warring finally begins. (It seems that we are again back to the slow tempo and so it will still take a while..)

What had you done differently Old Harry? If you want I can send you my T0 sandbox so that you can depress me with your micro skills

Re Stonehenge: Sareln seems to be more active with reporting again and I'm interpreting it as a sign of an almost-finished wonder. I might be paranoid, but perhaps for a reason..

[Old Harry]

What had you done differently Old Harry? If you want I can send you my T0 sandbox so that you can depress me with your micro skills

I want my life back!

If you post it and I have a few days off work when the Demogame and pbem46 aren't taking up all my spare time then I'll have a go.

I think I'd have settled by the lake and tried to grow to size 2 on a work boat and get slavery up early. Dunno if that would have been more productive than your setup though...

[Old Harry]

Oh, and is the fur on an island or is that one of the other players territory?

[Fintourist]

Nice, I consider that a deal

I hope this link works: PBEM 45 T0 Sandbox

Btw, if I had wanted to settle next to fish I would have chosen a civ that starts with fishing. Now you have to settle for FIN/CHA + Agri/Wheel

I'm pretty sure that this fur is on an island between me and Azza. There is another one NE of my region that is probably between me and Sareln.

[Old Harry]

So how long before you have naval superiority?

[Fintourist]

My estimate is T110 meaning March 2014..

[Fintourist]

Turn 51

Here is a recapture of my morning (civ-related events):
1. I notice that I have received the save
2. I remember that Sareln updated (again) yesterday after his turn
3. I cross my fingers and open the save
4. I see that Sareln has received a significant score increase..
5:



I guess it's kind of unusual to feel relief when you see that a major competitor has landed the Oracle.. Anyway, for the Ottomans it means that Stonehenge is still possible and my odds increased significantly. However, Sareln is not out of the race and can possibly still finish the wonder before me. Damn, if I lose because of the turn order..

Regarding C&D this turn was confusing. Sareln and Hydra got techs (Sareln's Oracle tech will probably be visible next turn, MC?). Sareln double-whipped a city and Viqsi did a one-pop whip. Azza, Viqsi, Hydra and me also grew a pop point. Additionally there was a 6000 soldier point increase unrelated to population. Next turn will be a big C&D turn as I should receive Azza's graphs and can see how those soldier points are distributed (I don't believe that anyone has built an axe yet).
--> I really have to be careful so that I don't lose this game just because I delayed military techs/units a bit too long.

Another big decision that I face shortly:
Do I whip a 5th worker at my capital at size 5 or do I grow it size 6 and whip a settler. It's a trade-off between a 5t earlier city (T58 vs T63) and better worker support to all my cities. I do believe that the copper city has to be my next site regardless of the plan. It starts to get too dangerous if I delay it to T70 or something..

[Old Harry]

Sareln wouldn't cripple his game by going for Stonehenge too would he? Who else is competing for it?

[Fintourist]

Well, building two half-priced wonders cripples Sareln's economy as much as building one wonder cripples my economy. So yes, it takes hammers from other things and slows expansion, but I think building Henge is not out of question for him. Theoretically Azza & Hydra could be running for the wonder. Hydra started the game with Mysticism and got BW pretty early. I think there is no certain way to know for me whether he has put hammers in a wonder.

[Fintourist]

Turn 52

Turn 52 arrived with best possible news: No news. That means that Stonehenge-dreams are still alive. Sareln Oracled with great likelyhood Metal Casting. I also guess that he teched Sailing last turn, which means that I must be a bit careful in the future and acknowledge the possibility of enemy gallies. Overall nobody still has any kind of military so I can keep building my own little empire.

For a change, here is an overview shot of that little empire:



And of course I forgot to put a red dot on the sheep tile..

With Azza's graphs (that I received after ending the turn) performing C&D is now pretty easy. All in all my feeling is that Azza's start has not been that fast while Sareln definitely will be a tough competitor with Oracle and probable Colossus. I think he has already succeeded in turning IND into a financial trait. But well, I repeat myself: It is still too early to judge anybody and I have to wait and see how everyone's snowballs start rolling..

Next time I have to make the decision whether I grow to size 6 and whip a settler or do I whip a worker first at size 5. I guess I must do some testing.