City Management

[Zeviz]

Next turn we are about to finish archer and start Settler at the capital in max production configuration.

I think Settler is more useful than worker, because we have a very low happy cap, so capital needs just one more tile improved, and new city needs just 3 or 4 tiles (depending on whether we are planning to whip it).

[Sullla]

Zeviz (and all) - I posted some thoughts on what to build next in the capital and where to go next overall in the "Where Should We Settle?" thread. I put it there since it's mostly about which spot to grab with a settler. If you're reading this, feedback/discussion would be appreciated.

[ruff_hi]

Given that Templars are punching out the Q units - should we swap both of our cities to warrior builds? Archers aren't much chop against Qs, but warriors will certainly hold their own.

[mostly-harmless]

Pink Dot will get to size 2 next turn.
I would rely on the whip to get a couple of warriors out IF necessary. For now, I would not interrupt the current builds.

mh

[Zeviz]

I agree with MH's suggestion.

[Sullla]

Thirded. A single whip = 30 shields = 2 warriors. Anyone who has ever played MP knows that warriors are useless on the attack after the first 15-20 turns of the game. Quechuas are slightly better, but still no threat to a competent human player. If the Templars do choose to attack, the plains will run red with the blood of their units.

About the best they could do is slow down our expansion and pillage some tiles. For that reason, it's best to stay at peace right now. Now if the Templars should build a sixth and seventh quechua, then we absolutely can and should start shifting builds around, because that's an undisguised declaration of war.

[ruff_hi]

Originally posted by Sullla
Let's discuss how to move our workers and what to build in our two cities when their current projects end, shall we? It's a good time to do so, given that both will be finishing shortly.

Workers first - I think we should have both of them farm the rice. As a job that takes 5 total worker turns, one of them will be done after two turns, and can then be moved back to the capital region - just in time to either start building cottages at Airstrip One, or go to improve our third city. The other worker can remain at Pink and continue improving tiles - almost certainly mining some of the grassland hills.

Capital - the settler will be due in 3 turns. I think the general agreement was for a third worker after that (which will take a mere 5 turns!) By the time those two complete, we should have some cottages up and running, and can swap over to a high-food configuration and grow to size 5, while working the cottages. Sound good to everyone?

Pink - it will grow to size 3 next turn. My personal feeling would be to work the lake tile (2/0/2) to continue max growth and pull in some additional commerce. With a farm on the rice, it will take an additional 4 turns to grow to size 4, and the barracks will finish right about that point as well. Then, we can decide what to build next: a fourth worker? Military? It will depend on the situation at hand.

I think it's obvious that the first build in the Blue dot city will be a work boat.

Thoughts, comments, alternative ways of planning things? Don't take my word as canon law. We just need to have a short-range plan and make sure everyone is on the same page.

I think farming the rice with both works is fine. It will delay cottages at the capital, but not by much.

Re Blue Dot: do we send the first or second workboat around to meet the other two teams? Or do we wait for a galley and send a scout along too?

[Sullla]

We actually don't lose any turns on cottages - farming the rice will only take two turns, and we can't even start cottages until we discover Pottery... in two turns.

[mostly-harmless]

Originally posted by Sullla
We actually don't lose any turns on cottages - farming the rice will only take two turns, and we can't even start cottages until we discover Pottery... in two turns.

Yes, but it also takes the worker at least two turns to get back to the capital.
Anyway, rice first it is.

mh

[mostly-harmless]

3rd worker in Airstrip One after the settler sounds good.

Lake tile @ Pink Dot sounds good. We should have mine ready when Pink Dot gets to size 4.

Work Boat @ Blue Dot sounds good.

mh

[Zeviz]

Pink Dot will hit its happiness cap pretty soon. So should we wait to train a worker there while Capital grows to the cap? Or should we put Pink Dot straight on Settler. (PAL already got their Settler #4, so we are about a city behind them. And we have nothing to worry about from Templars, because they sound terrified of our military might. )

[Sullla]

Let's see...

- Pink will grow to size 4 (the happy cap) in 4 more turns. It will also take exactly 4 turns to finish the barracks there. We can do an open call on what to build there next at that point. Worker, settler, or military are the likely three options.

- I personally do not support an immediate swap to high food at the capital, simply because we don't have good tiles to work there as yet. Our only option would be to switch to grassland forest tiles (2/1/0), which are definitely a dropoff from our current grassland hill river tiles (1/3/1). Ideally, we will build a worker next (5 turns) and will have two grassland cottages ready to go as we grow to the next size.

- Settler next at Pink? The one nit is that we have to defend any city we found. I suppose we could found a backline city, but didn't we want to go for the twin peaks area next to seal off the border with Imperio? If that's the case, some military or a fourth worker might be better options. Don't forget the possibility that we might need to found another city to claim iron!

[Zeviz]

I agree that Capital needs cottages, so training a worker first is probably good.

For the next city, I suggest a back-line cottage city to try and keep up financially. The reason I am less conserned about Twin Peaks spot now is that Templars are too scared of us to found so close to our capital, and Imperio are too busy building Oracle and expanding into the fertile lands to their south to throw us a gauntlet with a city on our doorstep.

[sooooo]

I agree with worker next for capital. Then I would swap it to archers until it reaches size 5.

I actually think we should send both of our current workers north and build another worker at Pink Dot when the barracks is finished.

Pink dot, for now, has decent tiles to work and I think does not urgently need workers attending it. I would make it build the settler for when IW comes in, but we can squeeze a worker in beforehand methinks. Actually, the worker that Pink Dot built can be used to chop a grassland forest hill, putting the hammers into its settler.

Meanwhile, our capital desperately needs worker attention (cottages) and our new city too (cow pasture and roads). Probably it's more efficient to build the pasture before the roads?

So to summarise:

Send both workers north. One begins a cottage at the capital, the other goes to blue dot and builds a cow pasture.

Capital begins worker next turn. Then, in five turns after that, it builds 2 archers while growing to size 5. The worker the capital built now roads towards blue dot or helps cottaging as it sees fit. The first archer goes toward Pink Dot, the other heads east (or north).

Pink dot begins worker in 3 turns when barracks is done. Worker completes in 9 turns from now, goes to a hill and chops (that's the chop action, not build a mine option). Pink Dot is now on a settler. I haven't worked it out, but that settler should complete shortly after IW comes in.

[mostly-harmless]

Sooooo's plan sounds solid.
Minor point: A road to Blue Dot is not really that important for now, as trade routes will be established via the river.

mh