[Spoilers] Commodore is Kublai Khan of Greece...yeah.

[Commodore]

Turns 119-129 I am lagging so incredibly badly in my reportage. Nonetheless, here's everything up until this turn, which awaits my late late lunch break. I did indeed burn AT's gem city, for what it was worth.


His angry defenders wiped out most of my remaining stack, although my morale GG was saved, thankfully. Nasty as settling atop gems is, I might have to do it myself soon as that's the only hill location available.


Scooter has been dominating the demographics thanks to Oxford coming online and his Golden Age. Agg Muskets saved be thus far, but this is the look of a runaway charging towards rifles.


AT made himself very nasty and unappealing to eat, while Scooter ensured himself a second golden age with Coco there. I think curs might be able to break into the city of Abed, but we'll have to see.


I grew increasingly jealous and the time was right, so I polished off he Taj Mahal and launched a Golden Age of my own.


Of course, the time spent sandbagging the Taj had not gone to waste, I collected a couple turn's failgold for my troubles. Expenses have been brutal throughout this whole game, my 100% research is still excellent but costs are staggering.


I grew my cities carefully in preparation for the golden age, passing the wonderful milestone of five million the turn the Taj finished. Only a couple thousand years behind scooter!


The plan was to generate a GA or GE to fire off a third golden age with the GSci sitting around in Volantis. War weariness slowed the plan by a turn and skewed odds to an uneasy coinflip.


...which failed. I settled one of the silly buggers, and I'll try again.


I did realize I was being daft about happiness and built a market in Volantis in between its university and Oxford. I began lurching towards MilTrad at this time, given the threat of knights all around.


Pindicator caused a serious delay with his attack, as Tyrosh was easily my third-best city and a natural fit for one of the univerities. I've been regrowing New Tyrosh, but it's a hard, slow road.


A nodal reaction force of muskets now defends Tyrosh and Lys, although at the moment Pindicator hitting me hard would throw the game even further to Scooter.


Scooter is begining to really dominate, as he is poised to snap up the majority of AT's old lands. Ala, poor AT, we knew thee well. Sweet flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.


Meanwhile, I have sweet flights of Motherlickin' Dragoons to make lifea little less restful for them that remain. Aw yeah.


So there we are, Shadow in the year 1400 AD. I'm back to being competative in tech and am burning Engineering before going full force to Rifling. It's about time for a showdown.


Pindicator please please join me...

[AutomatedTeller]

Oh yeah, Abed would have burned if you had managed crossbows in there. I saw the Engineer push, so I figured I didn't have much time, plus it was on flatland. Good game! Could have easily gone differently for you, I was frankly terrified of a crossbow push.

yeah, looking back, it was really dumb to not get xbows, especially when I saw you had lit (and were likely building the Glib).

you'll have a laugh when you read about my thinking then, after the game is over.

I figure (now) that if I had xbows and cats... and you had no horses... well, that would have been that...

anyway - you have played a great game - good luck going forward and I'll keep lurking!!

[Commodore]

Turns 130 to 136 I think the pace of this game is probably making it hard to lurk, alas. Here's the last half dozen turns, though. When last we saw our heroes, they witnessed the death of AT with dismay, and Scooter was obviously poising himself to fill the void. Settlers spotted!


Scooter also has been teching like a madman, and by turn 131 he was almost at rifling. I had to move fast, because he was soon going to have rifles...and I owned a lot of ex-ATland.


So, armed with MilTrad, I queue up a mighty round of Curs!


By 132, the stage was set, and Shirley looked lush, open, and inviting...and not shown, but absolutely packed full of knights. That big knight force had to go.


And so, it did...but I was one unit shot of actually burning the city, more's the pity. Gah, that's twice now that one more horse unit would have hurt scooter badly, although Shirley is no Abed.


On the return, I got served. Ouch. Scooter's "lots and lots of knights" is now less a threat, at least, but those rifles are online, no hope of breaking that anymore.


I claimed a little piece of the jungle from the hopefully cooperative Pindicator. I could kill him now with curs, but that wouldn't do me much good relative Scooter, so I believe Pin and I are at truce for the nonce.


You'll notice me burning through to Guilds, I need more workshops online stat to match Scooter's AP-boosted MFG. The plan is to go for Banking next, if I don't get screwed by a 33% GSci. Lovely capital, non?


When I turn on tech, my GNP is earthshaking, but at the price of a lot of specs being worked. Scooter's general caution is my hope at the moment, but if Pindicator keeps lagging behind then it'll be duel-mode soon...and that ain't great for me.


I can't make much to dint rifles on the offense, but I'm making a big mass of cats to at least ensure that defensively I'm solid. I hate waiting on infra in these places, but I don't have much choice.


...and EoT, I get another scientist. Kill me.

[Commodore]

So I realize I've been reporting this in a very flowing, duel-like manner when I'm not playing with the story. Are there any questions anyone has? Any interest in a nice general overview post?

[AutomatedTeller]

I'm curious as to how/when you plan to take the war to scooter. A civ overview post would be nice, too.

[Commodore]

I'm curious as to how/when you plan to take the war to scooter.

Oh boy, where to begin? I'm in trouble, although not as much trouble as poor Pindicator. My lack of golden age hurts, so now I find myself at a bit of an impasse. I can continue on getting Banking, then snag RP and rifling before too too long, but that basically cedes the lead to Scooter and I'm drafting him for the rest of the race.


I might, however, be able to turn my painful disadvantage (two Great Scientists, more GScis incoming) into an advantage. Chemistry is next on the bulb list, and then MilScience is a quick step next. I'm near another GG for a Military Academy, and Agg grenadiers would nicely solve my rifle problem for now. Then, I bulb Scientific Method and go full-bore to Communism, trading my advantages of being up Liberalism and Mr. Monkeconomy not liking SciMeth. WIth the next produced GSci (or whatever) and the GSpy, I then can launch a godlen age and settle into my end workshop economy civics of Representation/Bureaucracy/CasteSytem/State Property/Theocracy. Then, it's Steel and head-breaking ho.

It's a plan, albeit one with weaknesses. But it just might work, eh? Numbers I'm iffier on. I've not been planning any of this stuff out in great detail, just sort of playing by feel throughout. I have no idea how to quantify my economy, for example, it's just been "enough" all the time thus far. I think I can cap out running all scientists/artists/spies at about a thousand beakers per turn.

[Commodore]

Turns 137-140 Wherin I tempt fate by posting a big empire-wideupdate. First, of interest, the whole kit and caboodle, now (as of EoT139) with a great wall for more greater production of making benefit great general!


On the same turn, I took a snapshot at the sustainable 30% research level. I'm not going hungry anywhere, either...I need a little more population in my cities, but I'll never match Scooter without more land. Still, respectable and I weirdly enough still have a slight beaker lead. GSci bulbs of Philo, Education, Chemistry, and Scientific Method are more efficient than GPro bulbs of Theology, CoL, and Civil Service.


Starting with by far the least among my cities, the shiny new Braavos really needs to break Mayan culture on the gems and banana. Until then, it's a pretty marginal place. Preparing for the workshop economy, this will be a nicely fertile spot once everything is up and running. The odeon, as ever, is a wonderful super-monument for popping third-ring fast in a dangerously flatland spot.


Norvos is as it has always been, quiet and steady. Nothing is expected of this little place but to provide lots and lots of troops to die on the lines and resources for the hungry core, and that's what its doing, so keep it up.


Speaking of hungry, the pressed city of Pentos is about to at last gain pigs thanks to the capital's fifth-ring borders 80+ culture. Beyond that, another shield city, although it's going to be nicer with SP watermills and workshops soon. Just have to hold of Scooter a little while yet, eh?


Holding off Scooter is the raison de artists of Myr, although the strong city is worth more than just a buffer. The river is critical here, giving hill-quality defenses from any Indian strikes. I expect when the first cavalry blow falls, it will be upon Norvos or here.


There is an outside chance of them targetting New Tyrosh, however. This poor city, as mentioned earlier, is only now back up to snuff. It's a pretty simple plan here, just keep growing, fill out the rest of the infra holes, and grow cottages.
[img]htts://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28594063/34T140/Civ4ScreenShot1418.JPG[/img]

Lys has grown its cottages very very nicely. Three more citizens working the farm and a couple workshops ought to really make this place pop, but as can be seen, this Taoist holy city is an excellent commercial center even so.


Finally, and the greatest of these, Volantis. Um. Need I say anything? Need a little more population to fill out those extra slots, and work at least the oil lake tile (soon, soon). If I had a thousand gold to burn this city would be able to leverage out two thousand beakers itself, and if I had Sushi or Mills pushing up food I could work even more. That's an insane specialist output, by the way. Only disapointment is in this bugger continually producing Great Scientists. But meh, I'll work with it.


So that's the Free Cities. If scooter is following his theme well, he's on number eight with Chang here. I believe Pindicator is sitting at six or seven cities, all fairly marginal for some reason or another. Finally, cultural borders are weird.


Still! I can now make dudes with iron bombs who shred rifles! Ignore, please, the looming threat of Military Tradition down there. Moar bomb-tossers, please!


Communism soon...probably just not soon enough.

[AutomatedTeller]

thanks!!

[Commodore]

Turns 141-146There arose upon the world of Shadow a new era in those days, the Era of Science. Chemistry led to the development of newer and better Gunpowder weapons, wielded confidently by the men of the Free Cities to oppose the terrible rifles of India.


Indeed, these new Grenadiers were more than a match for the riflemen of Scooter if they struck him first, although the threat of new carbine-wielding cavalry kept Free Citizen soldiers from raiding too recklessly.


In those days the power and repute of Volantis was the awe of the whole world. South of Pentos Mayans defected in droves, and swine pastures were ceded to the Free Cities' aegis in those days.


Maya indeed was very cautious and careful towards the Free Cities, even ignoring the new city of Braavos contesting their claims within the jungle, for the threat of India's wealth and power was great indeed.


Even while the whole of Shadow trembled, though, the Free Cities still sought greater knowledge. Scientific method was developed in those days, obsoleting the Great Library's systems of authoritative inquiry, but spurring the scientists of the universities to still greater discoveries.


In Maya, the discoveries were coming too late. Great generals were born in fighting the great power of India, but rifles and carbines were proving too much.


Nonetheless, the savages of Pindicator gave a brave defense against the ravages of Scooter.


The Commodore cautiously made haste to threaten India's newest citadels, but their defenses were great indeed and many many men were needed.


And so, the Final Wars began, when noble Free Citizens and the fierce Mayans made common cause against the might of the Indian foes.


But the lurking Watchers of the World knew the wars would be in vain.

[Commodore]

re: Banter Thread



Net loss for me, but still fun.