[SPOILER] Pacal II of China -Vets- Whosit

[Whosit]

This is my very own spoiler thread. If you are playing in either version of the PBEM4 game, just turn around and walk away . . . .

I figure I should fill this space with something interesting, but since I'm not at my home PC, I'll just pick random pictures from my photobucket account.



From a scenario I never finished designing.



???



D'awww.

OK. Enjoy the lurking.

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This is me! Though I renamed my civilization the "Confederate State of Elysium" (I will change that to "States" once I get another city). Yeah. That's about it. Move along; move along.

[Whosit]

To whet your appetites a bit:

I'll analyze the other civs here.

Victoria of Babylon (Darrelljs): Financial + Imperialistic; The Wheel, Agriculture; Bowman (Archer), Garden (Colosseum).

Suleiman of Inca (Sunrise + Scooter): Philosophical + Imperialistic; Mysticism, Agriculture; Quecha (Warrior), Terrace (Granary)

Catherine of Maya (Kylerean): Creative + Imperialistic; Mysticism, Mining; Holkan (Spearman), Ball Court (Colosseum)*

Peter of Egypt (Cyneheard): Philosophical + Expansive; The Wheel, Agriculture; War Chariot (Chariot), Obelisk (Monument)

Darius of Ottoman (Krill): Financial + Organized; The Wheel, Agriculture; Janissary (Musketman), Hammam (Aqueduct)

OK, so let's take a look at what we've got. First off, I don't know very much about any of the player's playstyles, so I won't be discussing that.

Let's start from the top:

If I were playing Vicky of Babylon, I would probably try using those traits to expand quickly and fund it all with cottages. I would probably tech Animal Husbandry quickly, otherwise, the Bowmen could suffice to protect cities early on. A potential fast-techer.

Suly of Inca: A little less sure. Imperialistic means faster construction of settlers, but I can't forget that they will rack up a lot more GG points for defensive wars. I imagine that sunrise will leverage the Philosophical trait plus starting with Mysticism to land some religions and shrines. That could easily make up for lacking Financial. Quechas can be troublesome for anyone stuck with only Warriors or Archers.

Catherine of Maya: The only other civ starting with Mysticism, but less likely to pursue religion because of the Creative trait, perhaps. Lucky, in that Kylerean actually gets a discount on his pretty darn good UB. Resourceless UU means that starting next to him could be very dangerous. Traits are good for setting up new cities and fast border pops, plus cheap libraries and Granaries, which can help cities start contributing all that much earlier.

Peter of Egypt: There's absolutely no reason why Cyneheard wouldn't research Animal Husbandry immediately and go looking for Horses. Peter's traits are pretty good, but nothing really shines here, so far as I can tell. Depends on whether Cyneheard pursues an aggressive or passive strategy.

Darius of Ottomans: Those two traits are made for running big empires, though neither help you get those big empires directly. With a mid-game UU and an expensive UB that may not be that great, I can see him trying to keep quiet and teching his way to Gunpowder.

Very brief thoughts, yes, but that's what I perceive so far. Who do I want to stay away from? Egypt, certainly. Maybe even the Ottomans. I don't plan on being terribly aggressive, myself, so if we sat next to each other and teched, it could hurt a lot once he starts throwing the Janissaries at me.

Umm . . . I guess I don't want to start next to any of them! Heh heh. I feel like my Civ, while strong economically, doesn't present a great military threat.

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Well, not sure how I'm going to organize the first couple of posts (I reserved them without deciding what to put in them), and I can't look at the save at the moment, but maybe I'll ramble about the Leader and Civilization combination.

Leader-wise, Pacal is pretty darn good. Financial + Expansive means well-developed cities raking in tons of cash. Ideally. It will probably be a good crutch for me, since I am arguably the least experienced of the Veterans.

China, as the civilization, is a little less sparkly, but not awful by any means. Unless my memory fails me, China starts with Agriculture and Mining, which are good starting traits (can take advantage of many starting resources, and leads to good things like Animal Husbandry and Bronze Working). Unique Unit: A Crossbowman that deals collateral damage. Don't know how much use that will see; I don't think that it is well-favored. Unique Building, a Theater that boosts culture by 25%. Well, maybe if I want to win Always War via Culture Victory . . . I don't think that "culture wars" will be my number one priority.

We're on an inland sea map, which I've actually played on, so I'm not completely in the dark. Obviously, getting a navy is going to be important, though since all my neighbors will be trying to kill me, land forces are very important, too. Trying to run a Farmer's Gambit would be nothing short of suicidal in an Always War game, I imagine.

Overall, my strategy will be to build up my economy, keep a strong military, and try to keep a low profile until I can actually beat one of my neighbors. Actually committing to a fight will be dangerous, since that may leave one front open (at least I have experience with two-front wars now!). Military builds will be alternated in pretty often, I think.

Ideally, my capital will be a cottage king, and my second city will be a hammer dump, followed by more commerce towns. A 1-to-1 ratio would be ideal. Not gonna bother with Great People, I think, though I may have a town run a couple of Scientists to try and pull 1 or 2 G. Scientists for Academies.

Tactically, I'm going to try and put my cities on hills as much as possible. I'll even settle off-river if I have to. Again, strategically, I want to stay on the defensive. I don't know yet if I'll scout with my first warrior until I see the start (and I know if I can build a second warrior quickly).

I'll probably just keep the warrior home, because I really don't know how cramped we'll be. Much as I want to keep my head down, I'll have to scout extensively since knowledge is power. That's all for now. When I have more time, I will try to develop a more detailed strategy.

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Well, since I still don't have the correct save (I guess), I'll just muse about the MP game I played this evening. We played on a inland sea map, so that provided a good taste of what things might be like.

I drew Tokugawa of India. I laughed. Probably helped keep me alive.

I didn't really get in any fights, but Dantski mentioned he had a big stack ready to come for me. I need to remember how important Construction is in Multiplayer. It should be a priority tech for me.

Umm, let's see, the other thing of note that I liked was I got a very nice natural border to the south. A river ran from the edge of the map to the sea, and I got two cities behind it. Would have been pretty difficult to get by, I think.

So I think that should be something to think about: Reaching for good geographical borders and filling in behind that. If I can make solid battle lines on either side of my core (and make a navy that can keep my coasts safe), I can probably tech away relatively peacefully. Capital should probably be cottage central, but I already mentioned that.

So, yeah. Construction. Big tech.

I wonder if I have a shot at the Oracle. Unlikely, since the guys with Mysticism might beeline it. We'll see what the start brings me.

Anyway, I had fun. Mounted units are, of course, going to be dangerous, so Spearmen will be important (I wasn't really short on them in my game, but I need to keep it in mind). I'll just have to work to stay in a MP mind-set, and think of ways to counter big stacks with lots of siege.

OK, I guess this little rant wasn't as useful as I thought it would be, but oh well! (Dantski got Math from the Oracle in our game, so he got Construction early.)

[Whosit]

Hey, I got the save! How about that? PICTURE SPAM!







Though the Wheat to the southeast was tempting, leaving a river-side plains hill in an Always War game just wasn't going to happen. The Pigs are pretty decent tile, and the land is relatively fertile, so I should manage. The Wheat can be fore a city to the south, I'm sure.

Overall, the start is OK. I'm hoping for some Metals on the blank hills. There's the map edge to the north, but otherwise, no sign of the coast yet. I wonder who I am sandwiched between. Anyway, another food resource in the BFC would have been nice, as would more grasslands (only 4 riverside grasslands, and I have to cut down trees to get to two of them). Speaking of, not a ton of trees, or, rather, they are scattered about.

Still, I can get some decent commerce out of the city.

Warrior first because this is Always War. Fortunately, I'll grow to size 2 by the time the Warrior finishes, and I can use my Expansive trait to get the Worker out in 6 turns. Bronze Working will follow Animal Husbandry. Wonder if Horses will be anywhere.

Sad to say, I don't really have any grand plan. I think my inability to plan long-term will become apparent pretty soon.

Hmm, more random thoughts: Lots of hills, it seems. If I can find enough food, landing a couple production cities shouldn't be an issue. Doesn't look like that river goes much further west. Sad. Perhaps I am in a relatively dry spot that will limit the power of my Financial trait? That would kinda cheese me off. Of course, I'll have to do a lot more exploring first.

Hmm. Maybe I'll try to get Metal Casting early somehow. Colossus would be good if I end up settling a lot of coastal sites. Dunno. Need Copper. At least no one is Industrious.

Oh, but I must remember: Construction!

[Whosit]

Hey, wow, an update finally. And a screen shot. I doubt I'll be taking 'em every turn, but I'll try to keep this reasonably updated.



I also forgot to stay in character, as it were. *Ahem* The fine people of Elysium, having settled down, embark upon examination of the seeds of the earth while training village men in the use of heavy bludgeons. The Confederates are a wise and enlightened people, believing in peace and goodwill--unless, of course, you come from another barbaric culture. Then you'll simply have to die. Our paradise on earth has no room for others.

Contrary to my previous thoughts, the river to the north extends further west. There is also the end a river to the southwest. These warrant further inspection, but I think I will head 1SW, 1SE and scout in a tight circle before expanding the search. I must remember: Next city needs to be a production power-house, but after that, I will prioritize river sites.

The dry rice is decidedly unappealing. Hopefully there is more.

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There is more.



And I was just thinking to myself: "What wonders do I want to build in this game?" Looks like Marble-based wonders! I lack Mysticism, but can I make it to Priesthood in time for an Oracle build? Perhaps if Animal Husbandry unlocks Horses. It would be awfully risky to have nothing but Warriors to defend myself with.

I'm thinking of a city 1E of the Warrior's current position. Lots of overlap with Elysium, but there's a lot of food in the second ring. Well, I'll need mysticism for sure, then. Is it a production site? 4 Workable hills (5 if I take one from the capital) plus plains Marble. About 21 hammers from all of that (once I have the Happy Cap to work it). Not bad.

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Another night, another turn, but nothing special.

Demographics are truncated, of course, but I drew some info (and since I'm near the end of the turn, it should be mostly updated). I think that I'm the only one who has grown to size 2. I think that everyone has a +3 food bonus of some kind, so that probably means everyone is working on a Worker. I may be a few turns behind on growth, but I really didn't want to risk having an empty city when an enemy Warrior wanders by.

Speaking of, Warrior built at end of turn, will start on Worker (plains hill city + forest plains = expansive bonus at work). Some benefits to the trait, surely. I'll post new pictures when something else interesting pops up. Hope Horses pop up when I finish Animal Husbandry. Should probably tech Bronze Working next, though I do want pottery quickly, as well as Masonry, etc. Heh.

I really don't expect to win this, but I'm going to do my best. Gotta play as smart as I can, and as carefully as I can. Research is #1 priority. Well, maybe staying alive is #1.

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Alright, so I've been a bit busy. Got a backlog of pictures (though I'll probably just put the most recent up), but that'll have to wait until I get home.

The gist of it: Researched Animal Husbandry. No Horses in sight. Decided to research Bronze Working hoping to reveal Copper. Unfortunately, not many trees to chop, but it's not a bad tech. Where I go from there depends on whether or not Copper is in range. I surely hope so.

Scouting south has revealing water to the south-east of my capital. It looks like I'm in the northwest corner. Good to know. Yuu (scouting Warrior) is heading south. I'll probably meet someone soon that way.

No religions have been founded yet. Somewhat surprising. Though in an Always War game, people probably will head for military techs first.