BaII cleans up THH's mess [spoilers!]

[TheHumanHydra]

I'm just going to re-post this here for my own reference:

Here is a comprehensive list of all the game settings and rules I could derive from the vets' tech thread (based on the list at the start of that thread by regoarrarr):

Map
* Snakey archipelago similar to pbem17 (but not duplicate of)
* Make naval strategy as important as land strategy
* Enough land that Astronomy is not the One Right Choice
* Land connection between all starting capitals
* Map size - Small
* World wrap - Toroid
* Difficulty - Prince

Diplomacy
* AI Diplo - among other things, this includes no renaming units, no typing in the chat or trade screen, and no using cities / resources to try and spell things

Other Bans & Settings
* No Nukes
* No War Elephants
* No Spies
* No Huts
* No Events
* Played on BtS
* No Barbs
* No tech trading
* Blockades only with ships that have strength > 8 and movement > 4. (I'm assuming that means no frigates)
* No wonder bans (all wonders allowed)
* No corporations
* Everyone starts with a scout, not a warrior

Now for my Turn 1 report:

I moved the Scout SE (to see the sea), then SW onto the hill, revealing Clams:



Not much else to say; here is the demographics screen at the end of the turn:



Two questions: why is our soldier count 0 and the others' isn't, and what kind of tile is somebody working to get a higher GNP than us?

[Commodore]

Two questions: why is our soldier count 0 and the others' isn't, and what kind of tile is somebody working to get a higher GNP than us?

Soldier count is zero because you have no techs that grant power, like The Wheel, Mining, or Hunting, and scouts grant no power.

The GNP, not exactly sure, but several factors: Viqsi is Creative, which is +2GNP. Also, GNP reflects research with known tech and prereq bonuses. So if (for instance) someone was researching Animal Husbandry knowing Agriculture, they get a higher GNP because of bonus, but someone researching AH with Agriculture and Hunting would get an even higher GNP.

[TheHumanHydra]

Thanks for the clarification, Commodore. I knew that about techs, just forgot in this instance.

Turn 2 report:

Just more Scout movement:



No demographics screen this turn; the first two turns were important because they were just after people founded their initial cities; I'll space them out more from here on in.

Here's another question: does anyone know why the map isn't projected squarely on the screen (it's off-kilter a bit)? This has always driven me batty.

[Sian]

As for the scout ... i'd say to move it clockwise around the capital ... point being to find the best place to settle your second city

[TheHumanHydra]

I'm not going to bother with a turn 3 "report"/screenshot. I moved the Scout east/clockwise.

[TheHumanHydra]

Turn 4 report:

The Scout continued moving clockwise along the coast, as Sian suggested, revealing a juicy Gems tile:



Fintourist's score went up six points; here's the new demographics screen:



Our own borders popped at the end of the turn; this is what the immediate area looks like:



Ironically, we appear to be on a kind of fat, south-western-jutting peninsula just like RL Spain!

[TheHumanHydra]

I recommend comparing your plan to one where you try to maximize the speed of getting the workboat out. (i.e. work the plains forest hill for 6 turns and the sheep hill for 2 turns). Getting the fish improved is worth +3 food/hammers per turn, while growing to size 2 is only worth a measly +1.

Hey, SevenSpirits, I'm really, really sorry, but somehow I didn't notice this post of yours before (I just did now when looking back through the thread). I actually did do a comparison, and growing to size 2 first turned out to be a turn faster, with more beakers to boot! Maybe I'll post the comparison later if anyone would like (I could have done it wrong ...)

[Sian]

hmm ... Sailing looks like an important tech ... Great Lighthouse (if possible to get) would be brilliant to get as well ... we have the second best Trait combo in the game for it so ... if that end out being the target, then a city 4s of the capital might be nice (either that or 1s3e)

untill you explored more those gems while decent aren't all that juicy ... they're offshore and have no food worth mention as of yet ...

[TheHumanHydra]

No turn 5 report ... just moved the Scout. We'll have to see about the Great Lighthouse - one concern is that we don't have a lot of forests to chop. 4S might indeed be a good location to try for it, though.

[TheHumanHydra]

Turn 6 report:

Okay, Dropbox isn't letting me upload my screenshot right now; I'll try again later. The Scout discovered another Clams resource, and we discovered Agriculture at the end of the turn! Next turn I have to remember to change the tile Armenelos is working.

Edit: Okay, here's the picture: