RB PBEM #10 [SPOILERS] - Meatbalz

[meatbalz]

also, now that i've made contact, i've started keeping track of relations on the first page, second post

[meatbalz]

another turn came and went... it was a good one for me though, with writing coming in and my 2nd new city, Group, being founded at long last.



there's a few things noticeable in the picture:

- top left you can see Riemann the work boat going around the NW island counter-clockwise. no contact from Sumeria yet.
- writing is in. i'm very uncertain about what to research next. maths or IW are leading candidates. i actually have 2T to decide since next turn i'll be switching to slavery
- plan for chaos: whip a settler after putting 1T into it. i haven't simmed it (might do it) but i'll put the overflow into a madrassa while i grow back. it'll probably be done sooner than the 6T it'll take for the happiness to wear off. i might be able to squeeze a 1T chariot in there depending on overflows.
- plan for superstring: naturally produce the galley, then whip either a worker or settler, not sure which yet. again, i have 2T to think it over
- plan for group: whip the granary as soon as i can. worker pastures sheep, then starts chopping (if i go for maths)


demographics show i'm now thoroughly average (it might say i'm 5th and 4th but in reality my MFG+crop yield is = to opponent average):



still, all in all a good turn . any input on possible advantages of rsch path, and what i should whip in superstring, would be greatly appreciated.

[Rowain]

Grats to the nice Lighthouse

[meatbalz]

current line of thinking:

i put up my first cottage next turn, which superstring will grow onto once i exit anarchy
capital grows into unhappiness @ S8 and whips a settler T43, who will get in the galley superstring produces on T44. the overflow goes into a madrassa, then a chariot or 2. regrown pop gets assigned to scientists/priests depending on whether i chase judaism or not.
superstring i have a good idea what to do with now but would like pros&cons from lurkers.
group will be on granary duty for a while yet. i'll likely speed it with a chop, whip, and then grow onto hill mines.
i have to pray sumeria contacts me before they see my city pop up on that island on their doorstep - such is the life of a xenophobe :neenernee
tech path - again i think i've made up my mind but would like to get any lurker input on IW vs maths vs mono

[meatbalz]

and to rowain: yes, i thought there was something i'd missed out on my turn report

score 1 for paranoia, i genuinely thought i'd lose it so went after it with everything i had.

not sure if anyone had even gotten around to starting it, or whether i beat all 5 other civs to it by 1 turn. would be great if it's the latter regardless, that solves a big chunk of my early economy issues and puts me 1/5th of the way towards my "ideal game plan" i posted early on.

more good news - top of the GM tech preference list is... Currency. that means i have 2 choices:
1) run no GP in Chaos + ensure i get a merchant, but delay currency
2) run extra GPs in Chaos, probably scientists, meaning i get something like 50:50 odds at currency almost 2x as quick, or an academy as a fall-back

[Rowain]

It is hard for alurker handing out advice. Afterall it should be your decisions vs those of the other players .

For the techs as yourself what the techs do and how soon you need their benefits.
ie. do you plan to chop a lot ? do you need to cut down jungle/need metal soon? etc.

[meatbalz]

T44 update:

Chaos 3x-whipped as planned. Overflow goes into madrassa, due in 3T. Growth also due in 3T, extra pop becomes scientist.
Superstring will start a settler and whip asap. Just produced a galley.
Group still on granary, due to be whipped in... 5T i think.

Workers: Minkowski and Feigenbaum mine around Group, Gauss (currently on wheat tile) will double back towards Superstring and chop a grass forest.




Riemann the work boat is uncovering more of the NW island and wow do I like what I see.




That's the main motivation for wanting a Settler asap, despite the fact it sets the growth curve in Superstring back significantly. Short-term sacrifice for the potential for greater long-term benefits: I've been married to that style of play in the early game and I'm not changing now. It's a food-rich map so in theory I'll have plenty of time to catch up.

Tech: I'm going after Judaism. I should be going for Maths. Make of it what you will. My best guess is my main competition for it is Cyneheard

Relations: Great news - Genghis offered OB with the clause that only work boats have ROP. Which is great. Why doesn't he write me a warm fuzzy email

Demographics: what's another word for shit?



Nah, shit'll do.

[meatbalz]

i'm starting to pursue another line of thinking.

Superstring badly needs to pop borders. But I need settlers even more urgently. And short term my economy is doing ok.

What I COULD do is - I get 46 hammers of overflow in Chaos from the whip. That means 19 production would get me a 1T settler. I can get 20 if I switch the pigs back from Superstring for 1T.

Switching settler-producing duty over would allow Superstring to whip a 1T monument, immediately regrowing to size 4 next turn in time to get the pigs back. Overflow into a 1T chariot then another chariot while I grow.

With Superstring popping borders Group can work the wheat tile Gauss is standing on.

The net of all this is that the madrassa in Chaos gets significantly delayed, until the end of T50... but I get a settler much sooner.

If my maths is correct, then I'll take that trade-off. It gets the stone-deer-cows-gems site settled T49, and the fish-crab-deer-cows site settled T51 (depending on what Riemann the work boat sees, I may settle 1S for fish-crab-deer-wheat instead). I may need to delay by 1T to make sure I have adequate military cover (because my chariot from Superstring can't get up there in time to protect the first city if I settle it asap), so perhaps T50/52 is more reasonable.

To make that timeline work, that also means Gauss will road the forest E of Group instead of doubling back + chopping.

When I finish work I'll play my turn and see whether that 46 hammer overflow does indeed carry over and can get me the settler in 1T.

Other issue: this is a pipe dream, but if I do land Judaism I want it close to Sumeria to secure that site. They have early religion so I will need to watch culture. Delaying settling that city means I need to delay Mono, making it more likely I get beaten to it with every turn...

[meatbalz]

unfortunately i hadn't taken into account of the fact that the 46 overflow included the next turn's production... bottom line, the settler takes 2T instead of 1T. fine, i still decided to go for it. the madrassa will have to wait 1-2 turns longer.

i also noticed my espionage vs TT is 32 vs 24, presumably meaning he's met someone else. anyway, mono due in 4T (1T delay to wait for the settler). fingers crossed.

and one more thing - i still don't have OB in game. not sure how that works in PBEM.

[meatbalz]

T46 update

Not much to report.

- Chaos completed a settler and has 8 overflow to put into a madrassa.
- Superstring whipped a monument, regrew to size 4 immediately, and has 19 overflow to put into a 1T chariot, then will have 7 overflow into a work boat, which also completes in 1T thanks to a chop. In 2T the city will be at size 5 and starts a worker, which completes T50 by taking the ivory from chaos for 1T.
- Group is plodding along on granary (whipped T50)->monument
- City4 is scheduled to be founded T49
- City5 is scheduled to be founded T52/53 depending on what i decide to do with my workers

Research set to monotheism, due in 3T now after running 0 science for 1 turn.

Actually, there is one new thing to report:



Wowzers.

Score is great, as in, i'm dead last & long may that continue. Demographics are awful, probably the worst out there at the moment.



My GNP stat is deceiving though - I'm pretty confident I'm researching fastest, I'm working a cottage already, and every city I put down increases my lead. I'll have either currency or an academy in under 20 turns.

Relations are more of an issue. OB haven't gone through and Sumeria hasn't contacted me. I would LOVE to hear from them. Their triremes + my early naval exploration mean we could control that central island for many turns. I'd probably gift them a settler or city in exchange for protection and we'd carve that island up between ourselves (it looks like there's room for a few cities), if only they would write to me Perhaps the radio silence'll change when Ilios is back since we know each other from RBP3.

Anyway, Reimann is well-positioned to make contact with other civs now. Should be an exciting next few turns.