[PB37 SPOILER] Coeurva, Bacchus -- Cyrus of Carthage

[Bacchus]

That's quite a statement about spare worker power he thinks he has, isn't roading jungle a three-turn affair?

I have to say I'm failing to understand something here. If he settled plainshill, wouldn't it make sense to road from the other side of the lake? That would connect copper as well, but more importantly be a much more natural branch of the presumably existing capital-harmondale road. Anyway, Ames-Ace can occupy the forested hill and hopefully cause some delay.

Savant doesn't have an axe yet, right? If we put pressure on his road network we might be able to get our axe to that city first, if it's problematic.

I wouldn't skip a settler to start an arms race though.

[Coeurva]

That's quite a statement about spare worker power he thinks he has, isn't roading jungle a three-turn affair?

If you count the turn consumed by moving into the jungle, it is. The cost for roading isn't higher, though. I checked. The cost for chopping is higher than with forests -- 4t.

I've also verified that moving into an oasis consumes 2 movement. This makes no sense whatsoever (regular deserts consume one), unless I guess the camels refuse to move away from the watering hole.

I have to say I'm failing to understand something here. If he settled plainshill, wouldn't it make sense to road from the other side of the lake? That would connect copper as well, but more importantly be a much more natural branch of the presumably existing capital-harmondale road.

Looking at the last screenshot of Harmondale, there seems to be a road leading 7 of the city but not 9; likewise, there seems to be no road leading 1 of Ironfist; and since Ironfist hasn't grown for about ten turns, I suppose that's where he's been building his settler. The only explanation for his eastern approach is that the settler is already underway and the road speeds him up, or that he's assuming that we could disrupt the worker/pillage the road if he built it from the west instead, or both.

I'll be more puzzled if the rest of the road isn't finished yet, though. We'll see next turn.

Savant doesn't have an axe yet, right?

Probably not, unless a warrior has died to obscure the 6,000 increase. The apparent lack of a road from Ironfist towards Harmondale also suggests unconnected copper, since it's on the way, but that might be wishful thinking (roading 44 is also possible, for instance).

I wouldn't skip a settler to start an arms race though.

Alright, makes sense. I wasn't looking forward to Ancient war, but I'm trying to think of options I'd usually steer clear of... While I believe 3-4 axes could capture the city he'll settle, he's not likely to accept peace afterwards if he can throw C1 + Shock axes at it in retaliation -- produced at a hill city with 20% cultural defense three tiles away. We'd also have to whip without a granary and chop a forest to make that happen.

[Bacchus]

Alright, makes sense. I wasn't looking forward to Ancient war, but I'm trying to think of options I'd usually steer clear of...

This is a sound approach, but here it's a bit like trying to look for an exciting sacrifice barely at the end of a standard opening in chess. Some untrodden paths are just so against the principles, that any worthy finding at the end of them is incredibly unlikely. Here especially because Agg.

We can instead consider some outfield plays like a rush to Music though, artist bombing could be quite powerful here. Some other nice things on the way there -- Epics, Statue of Zeus.

[Coeurva]

T51

Savant is no slouch, obviously. The situation is as expected. All we can do is pillage one tile of road (which will be outside his borders) if we want to, which will deny this city copper for a while, until he whips the obligatory barracks. Do we want to?

I suppose we'll grab the grass forest hill with our settler; at least we'll have roads in place from the start. Pasture the pigs, chop out a work boat, scout Long Island, return once Sailing comes in.


Core cities. Both workers chop next turn, then we start the settler on T53 (T57 done). Sicil could also build a 5t worker or 6t settler here (IMP is nice to have). Suggested course of action: whip granary at 13/26f, 40/60h; regrow in 2t; build worker, build settler (~T66 done). Let's just focus on what Cyrus does best (the in-game one).


CML's warrior still hanging out. He'll spot B-West's borders across the coast.


First place in Approval Rate.


Power. Note 4,000 increase from CML. Chariot? Strangely belated Wheel? Not a barracks, since he didn't gain culture. Savant has two barracks now, by the way (culture graph), but still no axes.





EDIT: Alternative plan: Whip axes like crazy in Rhapsody. We can get 4 of them across the next six turns, I think. This is not an exaggeration. Let Sicil produce the next settler. Attack Savant before his city connects copper. Get bogged down in never-ending Ancient war against the player who can build C1 Shock axes from every city.

Hrgh.

Yeah, let me look up what the Statue of Zeus does in RtR... (It gives +3 XP to every unit. Very good with CHM. Could definitely see us going there.)

[Coeurva]

A change in plans as I look at the screenshots and ponder Savant's imminent settlement.

Screw the granary at Sicil. If I wanted to build granaries, I'd have chosen PRO. Instead, we're building the settler starting right now (I'll blatantly disregard having ended my turn already; the hypocrisy of growing experience, I suppose; since neither of my neighbours has logged in yet, it's no matter anyway), to settle two cities on ~T58, then whip the granary. We'll strain our economy as Writing comes in (expect T60, 2t delayed from last estimate), use T60 - T80 for pecuniary recuperation and military build-up (both direly needed), and use the Academy to kick into gear afterwards. Not to say we'll save gold at 0% throughout these turns; Sailing in particular would be helpful before the Academy.

W1 will road the tile 3 of him, then move 1, road. W3 and W4 chop, road the tile they're on, move 9, road, move 9, road. And there's our road network. (W3 might want to cottage at some point instead, but the rough idea is this.)

W1 will then be free to improve the northern drycorn for city #5. Chop/whip library, grab fish, cottage up. W4 (perhaps W3) improves city #6 (pigs/whale).

EDIT: #5 can be founded so that it overlaps grass hill cow (unimproved; in fact, not even within our borders yet) and plains cow pasture at Sicil, but loses clams for seafood (would still have drycorn + fish). So, two options again. I'll take a screenshot next turn.

What do you think?

EDIT: Also note that Savant's city will block off Ames-Ace on his way home except for the copper corridor. I'd have liked to return Arithmetician towards Sicil right now, but visibility on Savant's city and fogbusting #6 will be more important. Ace could have taken over both of these tasks, were it not for the upcoming obstacle.

[Coeurva]

T52

Savant and ipecac are founding on the banana 3 of plains hill, which is a terrific city as well, and more defensible. It does open up the plains hill for settlement again, but that would be a city without first-ring food, and at the mercy of Savant's culture in picking up corn. The distance would be minimal, too.

Somehow the warrior move discovered the borders of two of CML's cities:

I've also made a point to defog a potential gathering spot for chariots (222 of Vermin). No chariots there. CML's soldier graph stayed flat this turn. Nonetheless, we need soldiers. Axe arrives eot. Vermin needs a spear sometime soon; roading 4 of Vermin allows said spear to cover both cities (counter-forking tile). I've gone with connecting Vermin 1t earlier and B-West's sheep 1t later.

Founding B-West has amplified our GNP by establishing a trade route, but we're still in last place (22, rival worst 23, best 40). MFG is 24 (#1), food is 43 (#2, tied for first). The city needs a name.

I'll have less time for reports, but I'll still try to update for every turn.

[Bacchus]

Been away for a while. Good news on Savant's settlement, and maybe going for plains hill is still ok, the city will at least pay for itself whilst working the river silver and will be able to knock out a workboat which can explore the sea, and later return to the whales perhaps. It settles the border in a nice way, and achieves various higher-level things whilst being a somewhat shit city on its own merits. Settling northwest of Sicil also seems to work though. It's a really big strategic decision, actually, as it will really shift our focus to one or the other sea for the mid-term, but we kinda have to take a guess.

Like the idea of fortifying a unit at the chokepoint with CML.

On CML's powergraph, he needs Wheel to build chariots, so they can't preceed it.

Economy is in dire straits, but we are just about to set out improving it, timing seems to work.

[Coeurva]

It's a really big strategic decision, actually, as it will really shift our focus to one or the other sea for the mid-term, but we kinda have to take a guess.

We're producing a settler in Sicil currently, arriving on T57. So we can settle both cities, or forgo the settler in Rhapsody in favour of completing the granary. While I'm in favour of the six-cities plan (since the northwestern one will be rather safe until Savant researches Sailing, and we can use Arithmetician for a coastal sentry to spot any galley in advance, and Savant probably won't know about the city's location for a while in the first place, unless his scouting work boat spots it), if you think that six cities will wreck our economy, Rhapsody can certainly get to work on the "granary -> cottage all the tiles" plan immediately as well.

EDIT: We need to decide what to produce at Rhapsody now, i.e. on T53.

On CML's powergraph, he needs Wheel to build chariots, so they can't preceed it.

Well, I'm not sure if he didn't get Wheel much earlier and the 4,000 increase was obscured by some other event, as delaying that tech to T50 would be rather strange.

Economy is in dire straits, but we are just about to set out improving it, timing seems to work.

T55 simultaneously connects Sicil and Vermin. T60 will see improved silver at Vermin + one cottage at Rhapsody, with another in the making. If we can just get to Writing, we can fix the economy by running Scientists. Or so I believe.

The 40 Rival Best GNP almost assuredly is Gavagai; subtract 10 culture/turn. So we're not that far back (Rival Average being 27 supports this), but certainly in need of improvement.

[Bacchus]

I think we can manage 6 cities, wouldn't Writing come in pretty much in line with their founding? Then we can switch off for a while whilst libraries are being built.

[Coeurva]

Yeah, that was my plan as well (buried somewhere, as usual, in post #235). I'd like to grab Sailing early, though -- half our cities will benefit from lighthouses, and I think we'll want to try for circumnavigation.

T53


Screenshot of me pretending I'm mackoti (not a very convincing effort, aside from the settler swarm). Let's do this. I think we shouldn't settle the plains hill near Savant for now, since Savant appears to favour the whip (Ironfist is down to size2 again!) and building barracks in every city a.s.a.p. -- so he'll steal silver from us with his earlier culture, and then the city will be worthless, not to mention the cost of stuffing it full of axes to guard against his potential 2-turn conquest from the fog (hill + jungle block sight). Rather, we'll leave the onus of founding a frontier city 2 tiles away from foreign borders on Savant.

CML has built Stonehenge (thus the huge score increase). Not in his capital, either; I suspect the city closest towards us to be the site (unless that's his capital and I'm not recognizing it yet). I've sent the axe south, by the way -- we're a bit light on the garrisons while the warrior is exploring, and I want to get rid of that barb warrior east of Vermin. Savant doesn't seem all that aggressive (knock on wood), but that might change once he sees six cities. The axe raises our soldier count to 35,000, which is Rival Average (we're ranked #6).

Ames-Ace was mercifully teleported towards us, which means we can found X-6 with a warrior in place. Arithmetician will stay fortified as a sentry, I think, just to see what Savant is doing -- and to pose the threat of whacking any worker wandering onto the corn without an escort -- more to bind his resources, since we've seen how careful they both are towards us; I doubt they'll actually walk a lone worker next to the warrior.

X-5 west or east? Apart from the clam <-> cows tradeoff mentioned above, X-5 West has easier access towards the western landmasses in the fog, but X-5 east has better access to Harmondale (double-edged sword, alright).

Saving gold again... we're 1g short of teching Writing in time on 100%, so we'll have to dial the science rate back to reach it on the start of T58; otherwise, maintenance costs will delay Writing further.

EDIT: Nonsense. The game decided to grow onto the grass forest hill rather than the oasis (1h more... and 2c less). I've corrected that, which should allow us to grab Writing on T58 and 100% research. Also improves our GNP from "terrible" to "terrible" (Rival Avg. jumped to 32, but CML's Henge, the Hinduism founder, and Gavagai's CRE all distort those numbers for the purpose of measuring beakers).

EDIT: The last game I've seen played as Bismarck was OT4E in PB34, where he also built "the Three Rabbits" (Oracle, Mids, Colossus) with Henge on top, and chariot-rushed wetbandit/ipecac next to him.