Serdoa's SPOILER-Thread: I am legend?

[Serdoa]

Remember my GNP being shit? Well:



This also is after whipping 2 pop away. I have no clue what others did (I could look, but who cares) but if I hadn't whipped you could add another 6 food and some hammers. I assume I might be second or third to 4 cities, probably second to 5 as well (no one has 5, but I assume Lewwyn will soon).

[Serdoa]

As for my GNP: It is shit again! (Well, I think, I haven't really looked)

In other, not as important, news: I took a city of him. Won a 70% fight with my spear against his warrior, but I had another warrior nearby and an Axe, Chariot and another Spear are on the way or already next to the city. I don't like the spot, but I also can't really raze and resettle it, I'm too far back already. I'll go up to 8 cities if he doesn't take it back in 4 turns. And if he accepts peace (probably not) I would even go up to 9. 

I'm awfully behind on workers too unfortunately. I'm not sure what I actually did with my hammers... or rather, I really should have taken IMP. Having PRO/FIN (I'm PRO/FIN right?) is nice but I'm missing an expansion-trait. Which would have been no issue if the map-size was what I thought it would be, not half of it. Oh well. 

(Pindi, I still love you. I really hate the hate mapmakers get for the maps they do. I do have some criticism of the size, but as I said before, that has not to do with your map-making but with our not clearly enough stated map-size-wishes.)

Anyhow, I don't think he will take it back. Power-numbers suggest similar military to mine and mine is basically all next to that city. If he doesn't empty all his cities he can't really do that - and that would open him up to Rusten and Noble who both signaled willingness to attack him or keep peace with me at least (as far as you can gouge that with "War with SD" diplo-messages). 

I would however like peace, I have no intention to press further, though I could as I believe I could take another city of him if I really wanted. No reason though, but this one was simply placed badly. It's 8 tiles from my capital and also in a spot that - just because how the land is shaped - should not be his. It would make a dent into my borders - never a good idea. 

Also: RB meta has become very weird...

[Old Harry]

Also: RB meta has become very weird...

Oooh, which bit?

[Serdoa]

- pink-dotting all over the place. Everyone of my neighbors done so, some on several fronts. Many of these cities don't even seem to serve a purpose other than "lets grab the land and hope no one calls me on it"
- playing on small maps; I do understand why that is easier, but it also changes trait balance imo (that's also why never all traits can be balanced against each other as that always has to factor the map settings in)
- being generally very aggressive, fighting early wars all the time

Not all in this game of course, only the pink-dotting occurred. And I admit I am the one fighting the early wars, though that is a direct consequence of the pink-dotting.

[Serdoa]

For those interested (go read an other thread...) I've taken SDs city and made peace afterwards. He first killed my warrior, an attack I expected but decided it would be fine either way. Warrior on jungle against Chariot, that is a 78:22 fight, but in reality it is 1 hit more I needed on him than he on me. 6 hits vs 5. Anyhow, if I won that warrior would have been pretty beat up most likely. He won, but his Chariot was beat up and I could have taken it out with my Axe that was next to it. But he had another 2 Axes nearby. Not an issue really, as I had a Chariot one tile of the city, so he would either have to attack into my axe, most likely losing at least one of his or damaging it very badly or move both next to the city, which I could than have attacked with the Chariot. But the terrain there is shit for me (Jungle Hill) which would have made it a 50/50.

Anyhow, he didn't press on in a position I believe he could have retaken the city if he really wanted to, but of course he could not know if I have a chariot, an axe or only another spear nearby. So we made peace, I have a city more + another that I built last turn so while I am still lagging behind in food like crazy (~60 to nearly 100 of I suppose Lewwyn who has 10 to my 7 cities), I am not as bad off as before and at least one or the other might not have expected that and may rethink a possible aggression.

That said: Fuck, am I sandwiched or what? Pink-dotted from all 3 neighbours (I mean SD isn't even a neighbour if he didn't settle that city...). I have not a single corn in my vicinity either and due to the pink-dots felt the need to get some military. I should hopefully go up in food soonish with another city planted in 2 turns - but quite honestly, I don't think I have any chance to compete with Lewwyn or Rusten in this game. That is mostly my bad and rusty play though, I simply did dumb things after being disheartened by those pink-dots that did make my position worse than it had to be. Having not really great land didn't help (I do believe my land is worse than that of others, but I admit that could be bias) and having to settle 3 sub-par cities to at least hinder my enemies to settle even more pink-dots did not help. But not improving a pig for several turns (because it is on the border and I had not way to get a worker there AND secure him), slow-building a settler in the cap at 2 pop or building a cottage on floodplains as first improvement for a new city is just dumb. That of course comes from a bad headspace I was in and is the reason that one should play with a teammate if at all possible. Or be better at motivating yourself - but frankly I have not played Civ4 in several years, I did not expect to ever play it again and just did so on the request of Noble, so I'm kinda fine with being bad, just a little sad as I think others here regarded my play higher than I ever did myself and I've probably disappointed them. If so, I'm sorry. I'm disappointed myself - but I'm honestly also not willing to invest more than 5-10 minutes per turn and nothing between those and that is simply not enough to have any coherent strategy that spans more than ... 2 or 3 turns at best.

[Miguelito]

Hope you are enjoying playing the game, anyways?

[Serdoa]

I guess my thread would be more engaging with pictures? Oh well, another time, when I think about it.

My demos are still looking bad, but I think it might not be AS bad as it looks, just pretty bad...



 I have a hard time gauging how much I'm really behind in food. I am quite a bit behind for certain, but Lewwyn (I assume it is him) skews the demos with his 10 cities to everyone else 7. But he should be the one with 96 while the average is 81. IIRC the average does not include my numbers, so that should be the average of the other 5. So 81 * 5 = 405 - 96 = 309 / 4 = ~77. I'm myself on 66 at EOT, but will go up to 76 next turn. So I believe I am not AS far behind as it looks. 

My biggest issue currently is happiness - I could grow to 6, but I have not enough happy to do so. I just got the silver. I do have two fur, but in shitty locations for me to settle, as both are in my backlines that I did not want to settle first for obvious reasons - even though from land quality it would have been better imo. I don't have another happy to achieve after that though. Incense, Spices and Sugar are clearly closer to Rusten, NoGas and SD than me, Gold was snatched by NoGas. I will have Whales, but that requires Optics, not really in the cards right now. And Wine, which requires Monarchy, also not available easily to me.

I did however get a religion - as SDs city has Judaism in it. That city still is in a bad spot and if it wasn't for me being behind so much, I would've razed it. But I can't forego 160 free hammers (Granary in the city was kept) + religion, even though I am sure it will bite me in the ass down the line. I will however bring some more units into it, as I fully expect SD to go ballistic for losing it, even though he simply would have had to plant it one tile further north to not encroach in my territory in a way that it would cost me another 2-3 cities. He might not have known how the land is shaped exactly, but ... well, a picture says more than a 1000 words:



That inland sea is basically the mid point in which we all meet. Well, SD, NoGas and I should meet. As you can see, Rusten has encroached from the west and took a city that as well should have been mine. That city I took from SD I don't even really want. 1N would be fine and would let me get the horses. But as it is, I could not do anything there anymore - or open a strategic nightmare by letting him have full reign of the inland sea which would mean he could easily ferry units INTO my core territory (yes, that in the southeast there is already close to my core). 

I would like to punish Rusten as well of course - and of course I would like to raze NoGas GLH-city. But the truth is, I need Rusten to be a contender so that he and Lewwyn can go to war over who wins this game and I need NoGas to be kept as a potential attacker, so that I am a weak, but capable blocker to Rusten and Lewwyn, making it unenticing to attack me from their PoV. And at the same time, I have to appear strong enough that NoGas rather go for SD than me with their Cataphracts. 

Oh, also I think NoGas have gotten a pretty easy playing field in terms of settling. I seem to be their closest land neighbor in the southwest, while SD is further back in the west. Bob is to their east but my warrior is defogging there and it seems there is water between them. No one to their immediate north or south. Pretty cool for them. I instead had them to my northeast, Rusten to my northwest and SD to my north, with a small water-backline to my south. I might overvalue what possibilities they had in their north though to be fair.

Anyhow, that's the current state. I've not yet crashed my economy, but I'm close. I'll get Maths soon and hobble to Currency afterwards I guess. And then who knows. Maybe others are at 150 food when I reach 100. Maybe I catch up? Maybe I whip 20 HA and go be a nuisance to someone 

[Rowain]

Fine, but only if you all write in my thread in PBEM78.

[Tarkeel]

Are we trying to freak out your opponents with something there? (I'll probably lurk through when I can find the time)

[Old Harry]

I don't want to play werewolf. Am I still allowed to post?