Turn 97, 630 BC

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by nbarclay
I like the idea of a pike for two reasons: (1) it gives us more total power if Vox forks Tempest and Arashi and (2) it gives us a better chance of freeing up a pair of pikes for an anti-road offensive in the west (in case our eastern galleys and/or pikemen are too tied up for an eastern strike in the same timeframe).

I agree with that. Especially since a Cat cannot get to the critical tile, H8.

[nbarclay]

Originally posted by notyoueither
We are nowhere near safe, and short rushes at Tornado for offensive power would be money very well spent.

/Edit. And Cats elsewhere.

If most of Vox's force crumbles against the walls of Arashi, and if nothing new lands around Hurricane or is left in a position to, I think we'll have more than enough production to deal with Vox without supplementing our production with rushing. And Tornado is a terrible place to do short rushing; depending on how it's configured, it can build three-turn medieval infantry or (at the expense of other cities' growth rates) two-turn horsemen.

[notyoueither]

Really? 1 turn on MedInf, switch to WC, rush, back to MedInf. That gives a reliable 2 turn MedInf. How much?

/Edit. Sorry. Switch to Pike and rush. How much?

[nbarclay]

If we'd get Tornado up to 15 shields for the high-production half of the cycle, we'd be looking at 60 gold per third of a medieval infantry (compared with the city's normal production rate), or 180 gold per extra medieval infantry. At that price, for less than the cost of having two extra medieval infantry, we could rush the remainder of an aqueduct in Tempest after a one-turn start.

[notyoueither]

Hmm. I count 64 gold on the second turn to rush a Pike, then switch to MedInf for a net 2 turn MedInf.

Costs 64 gold every 2 turns, or 32 per turn.

[nbarclay]

Your calculations are based on 14 production; I based mine on the best-case (in terms of cost solely for that one city) assumption of putting production up to 15 for the first turn.

The cost is 30 or 32 per turn, but you only get one extra medieval infantry per six turns out of the deal (three per six turns instead of two per six turns). So the cost is 180 or 192 per extra medieval infantry. That's an awful lot to pay for a combat unit.

[notyoueither]

Well, this is not critical for this turn, but I for one do not see extra attacking ability at 32 per turn being a bad investment.

Over 12 turns, that's 6 vets instead of 4.

Given that we are still Weak, I think this is going to be a very near run thing in the best case. Of course, the issue may be largely decided this turn or next at Arashi, but I am not counting any chickens before they hatch (or pull their switch blades and rough up Vox for that matter).

[nbarclay]

I just checked our culture, and we're over half of Vox's but not by much. Still, with a temple and the Great Lighthouse, we probably won't be losing ground in percentage terms.

[notyoueither]

Posted for amusement value.

[nbarclay]

Note that I said "I'm hoping." If Vox is still strong compared with us, I agree that we need to keep rushing units. If they're average, or especially if they're weak, I'd rather focus on upgrading whatever is left of our seven remaining swordsmen to medieval infantry and then on research or on infrastructure investment.

[asleepathewheel]

Originally posted by notyoueither
Posted for amusement value.

I saw that avatar, hilarious.


Good job with the turn guys. Maybe Vox will hold a turn chat while they are attacking Arashi and let us in

[nbarclay]

Shall I go ahead and finish the turn, using the pike short-rush alternative?

[notyoueither]

I say go.

[asleepathewheel]

(as if my vote matters, I'm just along for the ride, especially tonight )

[Aeson]

Switch on the 'ask after completing unit' option...

As for the Pike, I think we have to plan for the worst at this time. If we break into the build queue and see that Arashi has slaughtered Vox Immortals then we could switch Bolderberg to a Horseman, but if Vox does well or bypasses Arashi, we need more Pikes.