[SPOILER] Pacal II of Byzantium - Tredje

[Tredje]

Hello Sylon! It's good to have you back.

Regarding the ToA I used to think that it wasn't worth building, but I have slowly come to change my opinion of it. With Marble it is reasonably cheap, and while the extra TR income isn't that big of a deal, you get an extra priest and GM points, which are both good. I wouldn't go out of my way to build it, but since we have Polytheism, and soon Marble as well, I might sink a few chops into it.

Lord Camembert was just a name that popped into my head when I was naming my scouting Warrior. But it is a fun theme, now that I think of it. We can have Captain Gorgonzola, Baron Gouda and maybe the Duke of Cheddar.

On the diplomatic front I just received an email from Nakor, whom I have been exchanging a few mails with so far:

Goeiedag, Pacal,

The first era of war has come. It seems there is a city planted near a lake and it's location isn't loved by the Shakirites...
Let's hope everyone else will keep his head cool and stay our of this.

We'd be happy to spread your faith once you have send us a missionary somewhere in the future.

Kyan we have also met, but we haven't had a lot of response from him. How are you faring in that area?

Kind regards,
Co-trainers Gaspar and Nakor, Totaal Voetbal

By Shakirites I am assuming he means Gingereagle who plays Shaka. The phrase "there is a city" leads me to think that the target is not Nakor, but someone else. I will send him a mail to enquire further. The area in question seems to be close to a lake, of which I have discovered three so far, all of which run vertically down the map. Here is a screenshot. These two have Clams/Whale, while I have seen one with Fish instead.

[Tredje]

Small diplomatic update:

Goeiedag, Pacal,

Indeed Shaka is the agressor. He has attacked a city from the empire known as Crazy.
There was some dispute about a city near a lake site.
It seems like these lake sides are much wanted in this world. Have you any plans regarding lakes?

Seems like both our interactions with Kyan have been the same.
Then again, he probably won't need any allies this game...

Kind regards,
Co-trainers Gaspar and Nakor, Totaal Voetbal

So Shaka is the aggressor, but I am not sure who he refers to as the "Crazy" empire. Regarding the lake sites they are so far from the core of my kingdom that I haven't made any plans regarding them yet. And again Nakor/Gaspar are harping on the India issue, which is something they have done in almost every mail so far. They really seem to want to incite some resentment towards India. So far I haven't made any remarks on the issue myself.

[Sylon]

It looks like Nakor and Gaspar are on the same page as we are regarding India. Particularly Nakor, who has been around for several games and got the short end of the stick against them. I've got a feeling about half the ill will towards India is actually pent up frustration at the 'same old civs' syndrome so many of this forum's games suffer from.

Of course, we don't have to tell them that. There's the risk that they might leak it to India and force our hand diplomatically.

Also, the lakes seem interesting. But I'm not sure if we can actually hook up any of the resources- can work boats be built on lakes?

Your point on the ToA is a good one, particularly on this map- we've got more than enough forests as it is. We'll want to put the Temple in a city which will not be working any other specialists... How about building it in Gimel? Aleph may build other wonders in the future, diluting the GP point pool, and Gimel is a holy city, with the potential for a future shrine- Note that shrines produce 2 Great Prophet points per turn.

I have no idea who 'Crazy' is... Possibly Whosit? It plays on his reputation as an eccentric player.

[Tredje]

Turn 47 update:

Currency is in, and I am teching Archery in one turn. My military numbers are way too low, I need to get some Archers/Axemen out. Speaking of Axemen: I was 1 turn from finishing the Copper mine when a Barb Warrior entered my lands and forced me to evacuate the Worker. I have three Warriors in the vicinity, so hopefully he suicides on one of them.

Stone got hooked up while a forest was chopped in Gimel. By working hammer tiles that enabled me to build the Stonehenge in one turn, which I did of course. I have a Settler out to settle my 5th city just south of the capital. It's not the best site, but I can't spare sending any Warriors out into the fog right now. As you an probably tell I need a bigger army. That is my main objective right now.

If you are wondering why Beth is producing Wealth, I just chopped a forest and want it to go into an Archer next turn. Also notice that none of my two religions have spread yet. That's just ridiculous. Curses on the RNG!

[Sylon]

Religious spread seems to be normal to me. It tends to spread quite slowly in my games, and I have to spread it myself via missionaries. Perhaps you're thinking of religion spread with a Shrine built?

[Tredje]

You are probably right that the spreading of religions has been normal so far. I would just like to add that in my experience "normal" means absolutely unpredictable and extremely frustrating. Sometimes I get an early spread to most of my cities, sometimes it takes ages to get a single spread. And since I have founded two religions now, I definitely think it should have spread sooner. But guess what, this turn Hinduism spread to Daleth. Hehe, I guess complaining actually does work.

[Tredje]

I've been somewhat preoccupied during the last couple of days, but we have been playing 1 or 2 turns a day, which I really like. I planned to do a bigger turn 50 update, but we are already at turn 52 or 53 I think. Therefore I will try to make an update tomorrow where I post screenshots of my empire+cities. For now I'm just going to say that I have been growing my cities a little (I have 5 now), and that I just founded Confucianism.

[Tredje]

Turn 54, and I finally have an update ready:

As I said earlier, I have 5 cities now (Kyan and Nakor/Gaspar also have 5 by now.) I just finished CoL and I am now teching Metal Casting for the forges and +2 happy in my cities. I have 8 Workers, with 2 more being chopped this turn. I haven't used the whip much yet because I think working good tiles is better. If my cities had less good tiles, it would have been different.

Overview:



Aleph, my capital. Aleph was pumping Settlers/Workers before it got a Granary + Library, and is now back to building a Settler. Once MC finishes it will get a Forge to grow 2 pop more. It is working two cottages, with more coming. Its primary function will be research.



Beth. Right now I have hired two scientists here to get a GS for an Academy in Aleph. A very good city, which will probably get cottages as well. I am inclined to make it a hybrid production/science city.



Gimel, my Wonder-Spamming city (so far.) It has excellent production and a decent food surplus. It is building the ToA atm, with 4 turns remaining. After the ToA it will focus on production of Settlers and some military.



Daleth. Also a very good city. It has food, production and commerce. Right now it has gotten a barracks and will pump out an Axeman or two. I will probably cottage some around this city, because with Marble/Dyes/Fur it will have a decent science output later. Needs a Library.



He. My fifth city and recently settled. It is not in as good a site as my other four cities, but in this game we are blessed with really good city spots. Just chopped a Granary. I think I will use He to chop/build Workers/Settlers for now.



Demographics. Note that I am doing good in most of the important categories. Also note that someone has twice the soldier count of me. I am not too worried though, since espionage tells me that both Kyan and Nakor/Gaspar are close to me in power. I am guessing Shaka of the Incas who is at war with someone is the one in the lead.



My main priority for the upcoming turns will be to start expanding again, while getting a larger army. I am not certain in which direction to expand. I want to secure the good land both to the North and West before Kyan and Nakor/Gaspar does, but I also don't want to get too close. There might be some good sites to the East or South, and I have some units headed in those directions.

My current tech goals are CS, Calendar and Guilds, probably in that order. CS for Bureaucracy, Calendar for the many resources I have and Guilds for Cataphracts. The reason I don't want Cataphracts yet is that the map is so big that I do not want to fight a war until I can benefit from it (i.e. when cities I could capture wouldn't be a drag on my economy.) I might jump back a bit between tech paths though, as I did just now when going MC before CS. I valued forges over early Bureaucracy. Any questions/comments from Sylon or other lurkers are appreciated.

[Sylon]

Looks pretty good to me. My only question is this: why are you working that oasis tile in Beth when there's a perfectly good pastured cows tile? Surely 1F2H is more important than 3C at this point in the game?

[Tredje]

You are completely right Sylon, and I am now working the Cow instead of the Oasis.

Turn 59 update:

So, what is a guy to do when his production city has exactly 50 production this turn, and the Great Wall costs 100? Yes, he builds it in one turn. Apart from being an opportunist, my reasoning is as follows: It gives the city 2 more Great People points, bringing it up to 9. Even if I were to get a Great Spy, I could use it for a GA later. Furthermore the +100% Great General points could come in handy if I have to fight a defensive war later. All in all I think it's worth it for such a small investment.



Next turn I will found my sixth city, and I will have a Settler ready for my seventh in 2 turns. I will have a GS in 2 turns, then one more turn for him to move to the capital, and once the Academy is built I will turn my science slider back on. My military is now bigger than Kyan's and Nakor/Gaspar's. It's time to get back to expanding. I should also try to spread Hinduism soon so that I can switch to a religion.