[SPOILERS] PB50: scooter's Big Cat Adventure

[scooter]

I used Thomas Edison to complete the Pyramids.

You ever make a joke that you think is brilliant and it gets no reception?

I actually laughed about it and was a little bit disappointed that the didn't call all the way and rename the great person before using it.

That would have been even better.

[scooter]

Turn 74


On this turn, we play a game. It's called, "spot the weird thing about Cornflakes' capital."






Ok, I'm not good at naming games. I do promise there's something unexpected here.

Or rather, there's not something.

[sunrise089]

Yeah that. But in old school RB spirit I won’t say it in case this is a long con by Scooter

. I get the reference at least, unlike the Edison reference which is still lost on me.

[Charriu]

Back in the day Edison and Tesla had somewhat of a rivalry, just search for "War of the currents".

[scooter]

I get the reference at least, unlike the Edison reference which is still lost on me.

Back in the day Edison and Tesla had somewhat of a rivalry, just search for "War of the currents".

Going beyond that, it's a bit of a running internet phenomenon to be really invested in Tesla/Edison debates. It's a popular though fading part of internet culture - even stuff like this exists. This is slightly oversimplifying it, but one of the hallmarks of this is the debate over whether Edison got a lot of credit for things Tesla actually did.

Yeah that. But in old school RB spirit I won’t say it in case this is a long con by Scooter

So, Cornflakes has no Academy! A new turn rolled last night for a rare double turn day, and I was thinking about his tech path, when I realized I overlooked an obvious very weird thing yesterday. How did Cornflakes get Alphabet? I've never actually seen him tech it, and by my count it should have taken him at least 3 turns. Maybe 4. So, sure enough, I check his capital and... there's no Academy there. WTF.


Ok, so he bulbed Alphabet, which costs 381 in this combination of mod and game settings. There's no way that's worth it, right? The payback horizon for an Academy is really strong here. Right now my capital is producing base 24bpt, which would make an Academy worth 12bpt, initially implying a 30T payback horizon. That's actually pretty borderline, but that's not the actual number here. First off, Alphabet has the prereq bonus, so that drops that 381 cost down. Second, I expect his capital to grow in commerce output, and it may already be ahead of mine, which also brings that cost down over time. I would think an Academy would "catch" the bulb in beaker output within 20T max, which makes it pretty questionable. An Academy is especially strong here in a world where you can run a high slider all game due to low city counts.


I'll entertain the pro-bulb position here briefly, because it's worth considering. This speeds him to Currency by 3-4 turns, which means an extra 2 commerce per city (IC routes). If he's going to beeline down this tech path, it also compounds a bit and maybe that slightly earlier Currency speeds him towards Civil Service by another turn, which is very much a key tech here. I dunno. I can't imagine giving up the Academy is worth 4ish turn of research. The thing is - he's going to want an Academy at some point. Why not plant the Academy now, and use your next scientist to bulb something like Optics and harass my coast with Caravels well before I can deal with them?


I should probably stop nitpicking someone who is beating me.

[scooter]

Turn 75-79


You know, it's really weird that I got all the way to T79 without revolting to Representation. Maybe I forgot.





Oh no, I've compounded this horrible mistake with a misclick onto the wrong civic.





Seriously though, I've been thinking about this for a bit, and right around when I landed Pyramids, I decided to pull the rip cord. I don't think I can wait longer like I had hoped and planned, so instead it's Police State time. I can get out 2 promoted Praetorians every 3 turns from the capital indefinitely.





Once it gets back to my turn, I double whip the Barracks here at exactly 29/60 to get max overflow into a Praetorian. I've let *most* of the previously obscene whip anger subside here, so I'll do more of it now.


The target is likely Superdeath. That's Plan A. The promotions are going to be an issue, but I'm hoping to overwhelm it on pure numbers and production. It really depends on how well he responds. If he bulks up well enough, maybe I'll try to raze Cornflakes' holy city instead. I'm hoping I'll get some of that suiciding units with questionable tactics energy from earlier in this game, but we'll see. The issue is stuff like the C3 Shock axe he's walking around with. Past that, I've got a decent shot. Even the CG3 archer with max fortify I can get 20% odds on, and even a minor scratch on that puts it into very favorable odds. I think around 9-10 Praetorians will be plenty from the sims I ran unless he responds quickly and cranks shock axes.


Plan B is a limited war with Cornflakes to raze his holy city. I don't think this is particularly likely, but if he assumes I'm hitting Superdeath and leaves an opening, I'd definitely take it. His Bowmen are actually not that scary to 50% city attack Praetorians - less so than the shock axes Superdeath can produce. His one super Bowman would give me just 6% odds - in the realm where 2-for-1 is not a given. Take away the city garrison promos though, and the rest of his Bowmen become more like 20-25% odds. It just means he could easily overestimate their power, especially if I've got 9-10 Praetorians.


I do have a Plan C if it doesn't look like I have enough for Superdeath, and Cornflakes is careful. I'm headed towards Construction now, which is roughly 15T away. I've got an Engineer-leaning coin flip in 11T. If that's an Engineer, I can pair completing Construction with a Machinery bulb if needed, and Crossbows will make the the Superdeath conflict a formality while allowing me to harass Cornflakes pretty badly. Even if it's not an Engineer, Catapults would definitely be enough, and I've got a couple options for the Merchant too.


This is a bit of a home run swing, but it's necessary, because I think Cornflakes is going to be able to leverage his lead into eating Yuris before too long thanks to Yuris' failure to conquer Superdeath, so I've got to get going sooner than planned. Representation will still be there for me once I've secured more land.

[El Grillo]

I’ve seen people in previous games who muse about going for Police State with the Pyramids, but don’t go through with it. Very interested to see how this plays out

[scooter]

I’ve seen people in previous games who muse about going for Police State with the Pyramids, but don’t go through with it. Very interested to see how this plays out

I'll either be an inspiration for future ill-advised wars, or I'll be a cautionary tale.


Related note: I deeply regret taking Creative over Spiritual. C'est la vie.

[Zed-F]

I thought you might deeply regret not picking start-first instead of leader-first. Maybe that too?

[Brian Shanahan]

Keep him. His existence will lead to a company building rockets later. Easy space victory for you.

Or he'll build a gun which will shatter the earth. Not that would make a difference, the map being Australia and all.