[SPOILERS!] I am Molach. This is my thread. Kublai Khan of Rome

[Molach]

I am forgetting some minor details.

First, Sisu looks like this:


And next two screenshot are background for my latest poem which I've entitled "Should I worry"



Should I worry
Should I worry?
My farmers are working, my people are fed.
Should I worry?
My research is flowing, my wise men have said.
Should I worry?
My civ has the allmighty combat I praet.
Should I worry?
Perhaps, cuz I ain't got 'em yet.
I worry
That farms and no mines have been built
I worry
That Wetbandit's feeling some guilt
I worry
That nowhere is iron in sight
I worry
That mapmaper will prove me right
...
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Transfer report: Recent 'minister for cultural learning for make great poems about civilization' has been assigned to the staff of 1st chariot, a unit which will soon receive training in Overlord. His new assignments will include, in the words of his new commander, "Horseshit".
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[Gavagai]

It is?
Why?
This is a honest question, not being argumentative or anything.

If you are rushing someone, your task is to maximize food/hammer output of your empire at some very early date, sacrificing long-term considerations. Hill city would allow for a much faster development, able to work two excellent food resources without a border expansion and having a free hammer from plains hill.

(I actually forgot that you are creative when I wrote my previous comment, so the border expansion isn't much of an issue for you. It, actually, allows for a much stronger case for a port location.)

[Molach]

Whip settler - overflow into chariot.
or
Switch to chariot 1 turn - whip - overflow into settler.

I've been talking about the second one, but I really can't see any reason to, it's not gonna get me a quick pop increase or anything. Chariot can follow up and defend new city just fine 1 turn behind. City gets a few more turns to expand borders.

Workforce is a bit scarce, no pre-roading, but can still chop the workboat, and once border expands, farm the grain. Core area will have 2 workers laying down cottages and roads for TRs. At which time the new city will start paying back. I think I'll call it "Fortitude".

Gold mine will finish next turn, I dread to see my GNP then...big bullseye on my forehead, at least if they don't know that much is creative culture.

Future plans:

Pottery next tech, then.....gamble and do writing? A quick library, run by a couple scientists, academy in capital, which will by then have some juicy cottages run....better long term.

Pottery then IW....delays academy, which probably isn't good. Enables metal units, which ensures I don't get roflstomped early on. No economical benefit, except if I pop iron in a BFC to work for extra hammers. On the other hand, there is a possible economic benefit - build some praets and seize a weakly defended enemy city. Depends on what my opponents do.

I'll just jot these down for reference. When the game is over, I can look back and either lament the opporunity lost, or cry about chances missed. Ehm. The turns I research IW first are the number of turns I delay academy - probably 15 or so beakers per turn missed. I'll see how many turns I'll spend getting writing then evaluate. But having 3 civs around me, and in my first PB, I'd rather not go out with a whimper.

I'll also need a settler/worker/chariot to be ready to go forth and settle an iron city when iron pops too, but this won't be a problem.

[Molach]

An update!

Yes, we fortunate few, that got an update before the game went down.

Still not quite Micro Man....

This always confuses me. Always forget that when it says 1 turn remaining you get the improvement by clicking worker, and then immediately can reassign people to use it.

Around capital:

No road to second city, I'm afraid. But I'll spare this worker to follow settler and chop forest and farm grain. Working the clams with 2 commerce is almost as good as trade connection. Not like I'm gonna lose money settling the city.

I am quite sold on the grassland port. Azza settled in a way that still leaves room for a city in my direction. So we both get a city towards each other. Well, apart from that I get a filler city, but that is because my lands bend south. Right. So no casus belli here, Azza.

I know I put the "Get this city" signs down, and perhaps I should, but to flatify my border area vs Azza/Wetbandit I should get a city that works the two cows to my northwest. You see the area in my "Turn 45" report. "Aggressive plant" is still legal, 3 tiles from Azza, but I think I should settle E-SE of that spot. (Just NE of the plains cow). Got hill, lots of forests to burn, 2 cows, and makes a nice, flat border.

[Lewwyn]

Nice! Brilliant even!

[Molach]

I am bubbling with pleasure over this:

Nice! Brilliant even!

What? My elite playing and micromanagement skills, or my cartoons?

Either way, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Except what you just saw last report.

Anyway, when I opened the save, scouts were exchanging pleasantries with a barbarian warrior. I took steps to move.

1 exp from medic unit....

But, once upon a time in the west....there was an Azza city.


Or wetbandit/Kurumi. I'm so confused. The worker is beyond my reach, as Azza hadn't moved in this picture. And I'm a nice guy, gonna be bestest friend with these silly infighting western neighbours.
NO YOU'RE NOT
Oh hush, you haven't entered the game yet.

Now for the micro. Capital. In 2 turn I whip settler, turning those floodplain-working guys into 30 hammers for a chariot

(Yes, the answer from last riddle was indeed that the road will indeed connect horses)
I could have whipped now, but that takes workers away from my power tiles, so my gut says no, keep those at work. But useless guys fooling around on a floodplain...which won't get improved for 10 turns....nope. Ego vobis valedico.

New city:

I'm working that forest for a turn to get 1 more hammer into warrior. That will mean 6 overflow hammers, which means worker will be 16/60...needing 44 hammers. Which takes exactly 4 turns. So I sacrifice a population growth for a turn in exchange for a worker one turn sooner. This is probably pretty even regardless, but at this point I gain security - quickly build road towards capital so I can whip chariot in case of trouble. Or chop something. I might have simply gone worker first, but felt that at least a token military presence here was needed.
(When I say "plain forest" in the screenshot, I mean it's a plain, unlumbermilled/unancientified forest...not that it's on a plain tile. Confusing? You ain't seen nothing yet)

Demos. Not too bad - but gotta keep that food flowing in. Newcity with clam+grain should help.


And that concludes the report of the Molachian jury.

[Ichabod]

Neighbours fighting is always good!

Sorry for not helping much, but I have too many games to keep track and my brain can't handle them all. But I see that you are doing a pretty good job by yourself, so I wouldn't be of much help either.

I think it's not imperative that you rush someone. Agressive praetorians will remain useful until people get Maces, crossbows or, less so, Longbows. It usually takes quite a long time in these big games. If you want to take Azza out you can settle all the good land around you, tech to construction, build praets + cats and be unstoppable. Combat 1, Shock Praets on defensive terrain can't be taken down even by axes, I think, so you could go with a only one troop type composition and still win. Azza won't recover from a lost second city, so you have time.

Edit: Updates are awesome, as always.

[Molach]

Not really much happening either, hard to advice where to move scout next turn and such....I usually have it pre-moved when report gets up.
However I'm thinking I should head home now, see the north of Oxypheromones' territory, and if possible check out closer my Wetbandit/Molach border. I've got my spymaster in his lands, but that idiot can't really read a map, much less draw one.

Found a thread about "How to defend against Praetorian rush in civ (MP)"

Suggestions:
- Be native americans.
Too late for that...

- Shock axes.
Okay. But I'm aggressive, and will have a barrack in my build-cities...I'll get shock praetorians.

- Pillage his iron. Or better, beeline to IW before him and settle to deny him it.
This will work. But if someone beats me to IW, they just sold their game for it. I am leading GNP, even without culture, due to gold right now. But the pillage thing I'll look out for.

- Scout well, see him coming, tech towards catapults.
Catapults...right. I'll get those as well, as per Ichabodian advice. Advantage Praetorian.

- Rush him before he gets 'em.
Here we go. This is my number one fear, these noobs who don't know me from playing WW won't realize that I'm a perfectly nice guy who never rushes anyone. However, possible rushes would be axemen or chariot - I could fight back on equal terms with my chariots. Wetbandit, though, started with hunting, so he can build spears now if he has copper. That is one rush that will kill me. But hopefully he will be content with sniping a city from Azza and secure his lead instead of throwing it all away on early warring. (Sniping that city was very smart and cool and rewarding, long wars probably won't be)

By the way, Commodore - thanks for the starting area, very nice second city site, gonna be fun to play out...
WHERE IS MY METAL?
(shush, not his fault...)
I SAID WHERE IS MY.....
(we have horses. chariots. we are doing)
MEEEETAAAAAALL!!!!

Soo...writing next? Who needs Iron ...we probably don't have access to any anyway.

[Molach]

Curious to see what the wetbandit had in store, my warrior moves in.

Archer rush. Ohkay. I can live with that. Literally.

They have made peace, my quarrelsome little neighbours.


Sent out a party of warriros, looking for the nemean lion to slay...nothing seen so far though.

Gonna check out this peninsula, might be metal here. Copper now or iron in the soon future.

Pottery in 4 turns....would be nice to get writing, but suppose I must do the boring IW for security.

Otherwise proceeding by plan. Gonna chop a forest (which is standing in my way) - turn it into a barraks and soon another chariot.

[Molach]

Turn 50
has just been played, and that means an overview post, where I describe my current empire, and explain slowly and carefully how I'm going to win this in the end.

Also, to keep this serious, no silly cartoons this time. Proper report.

First, the west. Settler moves onto plains hill, then grassland and founds in 2 turn. Chariot will be hot on his heels.

Worker started chopping this forest, to clear the way for future roading efforts. Chop can go into my next settler.

Then my immediate east.

If the map is natural, that is a peninsula which ends shortly. If map is edited, this might be a land strip leading towards more...
VICTIMS!
...rivals.

Further east, my scout makes an important discovery


Capital:

30 hammer build, overflow + new production makes 51 hammers. Will I lose something here?

Weserübung:

Finish worker, grow on chariot/barracks.

Demographics.

Soldier: Completing a chariot next turn, that'll keep soldier count up.
Founding a new city in 2, which will make all stats slightly better. However my enemies are expanding too.

Graphs of my neighbours:

I am the big fish in this little pond, have to say that. And wetbandit's power is 3 archers, not that scary. (Hope I don't have to eat those words....)

Contact report:

Azza has met all my contacts. Question is, who have they met to the west that I haven't? Or are we perhaps on continents? (Map script says continents, but I suppose that could just be the template for an edited map)
Also, wetbandit has only met me and Azza, so now that Azza is crippled, he might turn his blood-soaked claws in my direction. I must be cautious.

Future plans:
Well they haven't changed much. I'll settle a city to my northwest, try to grab 2 cows. Then make no further moves west. Expand east, by city placement, aggressive settling and, if opportunity presents itself, with the edge of a gladius. Settle as much as I can. Cottage capital. Tech - I suppose it's in-character to get IW now. Sigh. I read the PB1 thread, Ruff-Hi played the exact combo as me - KK of rome - and he knew how to beeline IW....
Anyway, a lot will depend on immediate landgrab and where IW pops up.

Thanks for reading. Remember to donate to the roman cause on your way out.