Turnplayer Thread #3

[regoarrarr]

Blue Dot doesn't get founded till T125 from my calculations

[Sullla]

Alright, T119. Remember, I'm going away for the weekend tomorrow, and someone else will have to cover T120.

- We discovered Construction tech at the start of the turn. I have dialed down research to 0% in anticipation of banking funds for a run at Engineering. It looks like we need about 6t of 100% research to discover the tech, so roughly 3t of 0% research will pay for that. (We may be able to cut this number down if Rabbits accept our offer to sell them old technologies.) I think 9t is probably about right for the overall time to discover Engineering.

We make 89gpt currently at 0% science, and have 61g in Treasury. Another side benefit of running gold now is the possibility to do emergency upgrades if Imperio would decide to attack us...

- China Beach finished its archer, and has begun Worker (5t) as requested by several team members. The new archer is moving up north to Saxon the Beach. I was able to log into the game and move Betty Hur the 2 tiles east as suggested right before last turn ended, and then she moved another tile NE this turn. Barb axe moved back into the fog, and Betty is now in a very good position to whack him when he emerges onto a non-forest tile.

- Cape Town finished its mace, with heavy overflow. I have queued up a War Elephant (1t) which will finish instantly, although using up most of that overflow. sunrise, do you want to suggest a change? My gut feeling is to go elephant (1t) -> cat (2t) -> cat (1t) to get the max benefit over the next four turns. I'll post Imperio's current unit count in a minute, so everyone can see what we're potentially up against.

- Something Fishy completed its settler, and I assigned it to Forge. I will repeat a call for lighthouse here, however, as it can be finished in a mere 2t, or even 1t if we choose to work the grassland hill mine! Thoughts?

- OK, some worker stuff:



Our two workers at the Cape are chilling for the moment; when we get down close to the end of the turn timer, I want someone to move them both one tile East, and road the box marked in yellow. This is a very important tile to have roaded, as it allows us to threaten Chichen Itza very quickly in the event of a war; if we have Engineering, we can get a 1-move stack next to the city in just 2t! That's the most important tile around Cape Town that we don't have roaded yet.

I'd also like to see our workers farm the plains tile next to that, marked with a blue X. Farming takes up relatively little worker action (4t total, 2t with paired workers) and it would give Cape Town another 2/1/0 tile to work. Then we could safely proceed to chop the forest 1t south of the city, without hurting its shield production. Unless Imperio immediately starts moving their military towards us, which again we'll see coming, these are the immediate worker actions I recommend at the Cape.

Afterwards, the workers can start building the grand Pink/Cape road; I drew in the four tiles where I think it should go. Please feel free to make suggestions, especially sunrise, if you see a better route from a tactical perspective.

- Winston invested one "free" turn into a cottage at Airstrip One this turn. He is actually moving to the forest hill two tiles north of China Beach.

- With Something Fishy whipped, that reduced the urgent need to build a cottage on the grassland tile. Therefore, John the Savage moved to the DYES tile outside the city instead. He should chop and road the tile, in preparation for a plantation. Remember, Banana told us they would have Calendar in 5t, so we may as well start getting our plantation resources prepped!

- Our units on the eastern continent got a view of the PAL/Rabbits conflict this turn:



There's quite a siege going on, and Rabbits are giving a good account of themselves. (If you've been wondering why PAL hadn't finished off Rabbits as yet, here's the reason!) PAL is slowing bombing down the cultural defenses, and waiting to attack until that point is reached. However, PAL now has a war chariot and a few maces circling around Digger's Burrow into the backline Rabbit cities, which can't be good for them. Still, it looks like PAL won't be wrapping this up for a while yet, which is definitely good news for us.

- Here is the latest count of Imperio's potential strike force:

2 chariots
1 horse archer
3 war elephants
4 cats

They have been adding several cats over the past few turns. As a further anti-cat measure, we may want to have Airstrip One pop out a couple quick horse archers after it finishes its forge. At max shields/zero growth, with a forge in place, Airstrip One can produce 2t horse archers. Hopefully that won't be needed, but we can do it if we have to.

I should also point out that Imperio has about 250g in the bank, and could possibly upgrade those chariots to horse archers. Hopefully they won't do that... All of their units are still sitting in place in Mutal/Lakamha, no movement at all. We will know instantly when they are preparing to attack, as their movement will be a dead giveaway.

Alright, should be all for the moment. Stats will follow later tonight. As always, feedback and comments are what make this team work, so fire away.

[Swiss Pauli]

My comments:

- Fishy: I like half-price Lighthouses for growing whip-fodder pop, but I don't mind a forge either.

- Workers at Cape: isn't that road only need to threaten the Chicken in 2Ts with a 1 move stackpre Engineering? If we do decide to road it then we should double move the workers over 119-120 to avoid tempting Imperio into a worker steal.

- Plains farm at Cape: would the irrigation be cut if/when Imperio declares war? An alternative would be to alternate the citizen between the plains forest (1/2/0) across the channel and the lake (2/0/2) if we chop the forest 1S of the city (which I think we should do).

- I'd put the last leg of the Desert Highway on the plains tile to link with the road from Green Acres.

I can't guarantee I'll be available on Sunday, so I won't be volunteering to cover T120.

[sooooo]

Thing to do this weekend:

1) Write phd thesis
2) Look after 1 year old son
3) Play turn 120 and keep an eye on those Mayans!

(I can cover the weekend)

Will comment on the game this evening when I log in.

[regoarrarr]

I guess it doesn't matter if we are double moving the workers if the next tile we're moving to them is that plains tile (to farm), since that is also on the border.

I also agree with the last leg of the desert highway on the plains tile, since that will also save us a worker turn, right? (Roads = 3t on desert?)

[ruff_hi]

I drew in the four tiles where I think it should go. Please feel free to make suggestions, especially sunrise, if you see a better route from a tactical perspective.

- I'd put the last leg of the Desert Highway on the plains tile to link with the road from Green Acres.

I would agree with swiss here - 1 tile E of the burgundy sign. IIRC, roading deserts cost extra worker cycles.

[Kylearan]

Hi,

Thing to do this weekend:

1) Write phd thesis
[...]
3) Play turn 120 and keep an eye on those Mayans!

I'm glad I'm not the only one using CIV as an excuse for procrastinating my phd

*goes back to playing Epic 24*

-Kylearan

[Dreylin]

If we can double-move the workers and keep them out of range of Imperio 2-movers, then I'm fine with having both working on the front lines, however in general I'd be more comfortable only having one Worker somewhat exposed.

Certainly agree with the altered linking road, however we may want to borrow a spear for guard duty incase Templars get frisky.

Lighthouse at SF does only provide a 1-food benefit initially, but it would also make the coastal tiles worthwhile and available for use if we do end up outgrowing our workforce again ... I say finish it in 1turn, then put it on maximum growth while starting the forge.

[sooooo]

The "1 turn lighthouse" is presumably due to massive overflow from the triple whip. I'd rather use that overflow constructively for a forge or barracks than for a building that adds 1 food to the city.

[regoarrarr]

I agree with soooo - forge then lighthouse

[T-hawk]

I had a dream last night about this game. We all gathered around a laptop, in a school classroom somewhere, and somehow we could just play all our turns in a row without any of the other teams doing anything. We couldn't attack the other teams because it'd be double-moving, so we won a domination victory by claiming all of the Terra continent.

I think I'm thinking about this game a bit too much.

[mostly-harmless]

All of their units are still sitting in place in Mutal/Lakamha, no movement at all. We will know instantly when they are preparing to attack, as their movement will be a dead giveaway.

Imperio moved 2 cats and 1 phant north from Lakamha.
The only unit that can hit us at the moment is a chariot sitting in Chichen Itza. This is a potential threat to our workers. I suggest to cover them with a spear from Cape Town.

Ah, yes. Banana met Imperio.

And PAL got a huge increase in treasury. Could that be the aborted attempt on the Hanging Gardens? (+250gold) Surely it can't be all from 0% science?

@T-Hawk: How did we all look? Blurred faces?

mh

[sooooo]

If we are going to farm, then why not farm the grass 1SE of Cape Town. That gives us a +1 growth surplus and then after growth (we are not far away) we can work a plains forest. An extra hammer!

[Sullla]

sooooo, that's an excellent idea, and I recommend the turnplayer for next turn (you? ) go ahead and get to work on it. Now, some more food for thought tonight before I hit the sack. First a quick update on our tech status vis a vis the other teams:

Templars
Techs they have we lack: none
Techs we have they lack: Civil Service, Construction*, Compass
Currently researching: Theology, likely to have it in a couple of turns

Imperio
Techs they have we lack: Feudalism*
Techs we have they lack: Machinery
Currently researching: unknown

PAL
Techs they have we lack: Philosophy*
Techs we have they lack: Compass
Currently researching: Paper

Banana
Techs they have we lack: none
Techs we have they lack: Currency
Currently researching: Calendar

Rabbits
Techs they have we lack:
Techs we have they lack: Aesthetics*, Literature*, Mathematics*, Alphabet, Code of Laws, Civil Service, Monotheism*, Monarchy*, Metal Casting, Machinery, Compass, Horseback Riding*
Currently researching: who cares?

The * indicates a self-researched and therefore tradeable tech. As everyone can see, we are doing quite well in the overall tech business, lacing only PAL's Philosophy monopoly and Imperio's Feudalism monopoly. Great work on the tech trades over the past dozen or so turns.

Second, and probably more importantly, as mh said above Imperio started moving their small stack in Lakamha. I've gone ahead and drawn up some possible invasion routes that they may take:



There are essentially two possible paths. The southern one (marked in black) has the units from Mutal and Lakamha meet up on the tile where the longbow and chariot are currently fortified, then head straight west. This path has Imperio reach Cape Town on T124, and able to attack one turn later on T125. This is not a very good route to take, because it spends a lot of time within our borders, but who knows, maybe Imperio will head this way. It does put them closer to our horses.

The northern route (in yellow) is much safer and better protected. Imperio's stack can reach Cape Town slightly earlier this way, getting next to the city on T123 and able to attack on T124; I actually have this mislabeled on the map. (I am a little discomfitted by the fact that Templars have quoted us as having an NAP until T124. Let's hope that's a coincidence and not evidence of a Templar/Imperio plot!)

The one wildcard is boxed in blue: there is an Imperio worker building a road in the middle of the desert to nowhere. That is, nowhere except right into Templar territory! If Imperio's stack moves W/SW next turn, then they're likely planning a move against Templars. That would be wonderful for us, but seems unlikely.

Now Imperio's strike force as currently constituted stands at 3 elephants, 4 cats, 1 horse archer, and 2 chariots. With that amount of force they have no chance of breaking the defense of Cape Town, which already has 1 mace, 1 horse archer, 1 axe, 3 spears, 4 archers, and will add 1 elephant/2 cats over the next four turns. (We can also upgrade our axe to mace for 125g if threatened, and have horse archers under production in Pink for further reinforcement.) Imperio is thus really stupid, or planning something sneaky in the future. Guess we'll find out. Watch their unit movements real closely the next few turns.

[Sullla]

Stats:

General

Current Turn:
Turn 119 - 100 AD
Turn Timer expires at approx (UTC)

Active Turn Player:
Sullla

Tech:
Engineering (110t)
0% research (10 [13] beakers/turn) @ +88gpt
0/1430 beakers overall

Gold
61g in treasury

Cities

Airstrip One [size 10] [guarded by Xena and Mariah]:
Forge (4t), National Epic (7t)
Infrastructure: Palace, Granary, Barracks, Library, Academy, Great Library
Great Scientist 104/200, +8 GPP/turn, due in 12t
Holding at zero growth until next cottage is finished.

Pink Dot [size 7] [guarded by Britney's Spears and Adria and Athena]:
Horse Archer (3t)
Infrastructure: Barracks, Granary, Aqueduct, Hanging Gardens
Building some insurance military.

China Beach [size 6] [guarded by Ms Piggy]:
Worker (5t) [anger duration 7t]
Infrastructure: Granary, Library, Barracks
Worker next turn.

Cape Town [size 5] [guarded by Diana and Fyre Errow and Gillian and Jamie Lynn's Spears and Hannah and Christina and Aphrodite and Demeter and Affirmed and Akara]:
War Elephant (1t)
Infrastructure: Barracks, Heroic Epic, Walls

Something Fishy [size 3] [guarded by Svava]:
Forge (24t) [anger duration 7t and 17t]
Infrastructure: Granary, Library, Courthouse
Make sure to reconfigure to work hill tiles next turn after growth!

Green Acres [size 5] [guarded by Robyn Hood]:
Worker (2t) [anger duration 9t]
Infrastructure: Granary, Library, Lighthouse

Mellow Yellow [size 3] [guarded by Hera]:
Forge (23t), Library (8t) [anger duration 6t]
Infrastructure: Granary

Saxon the Beach [size 2] [guarded by Betty Hur]:
Granary (27t), Moai Statues (61t)
Infrastructure: none

Non-Combat Units

Settler [Blue Barry]:
Moving to Blue dot location in north (6t)

Scout [Sharon]:
Scouting out the eastern continent

Worker [Winston]:
Moving to China Beach
Moving (2t) (sneaking in a "free" cottaging turn)

Worker [Bernard]:
Build cottages at Airstrip One
Cottaging (3t)

Worker [Mustapha Mond]:
Build road to Saxon the Beach
Roading (done!)

Worker [O'Brien]:
Building a crucial road before Imperio attacks
Roading (done!)

Worker [Helmholtz]:
Building a crucial road before Imperio attacks
Roading (done!)

Worker [Parsons]:
Build cottages at Pink
Cottaging (2t)

Worker [Syme]:
Build cottages at Pink
Cottaging (2t)

Worker [John the Savage]:
Chop/road Something Fishy's dyes in preparation for Calendar trade
Moving to tile (done!)

Military Units

Galley [RBS Discovery]:
Patrolling the Channel

Maceman [Akara]:
Guard Cape Town

Axeman [Gillian]:
Guarding Cape Town (for now)
Heading to Twin Peaks eventually

Axeman [Adria]:
Guard Pink Dot

Spearman [Mariah]:
Guard Airstrip One

Spearman [Christina]:
Guard Cape Town

Spearman [Hannah]:
Guard Cape Town

Spearman [Jamie Lynn's Spears]:
Guard Cape Town
Current turn: protect exposed workers from sneak-attack

Spearman [Britney's Spears]:
Guard workers at Pink Dot to keep Templar chariot honest

Horse Archer [Affirmed]:
Guard Cape Town

Chariot [Betty Hur]:
Resting and healing up in Saxon the Beach
10XP - our most heroic unit!

Chariot [Lady Godiva]:
Moving east to get intel on Imperio/Templar cities

Archer [Ms Piggy]:
Guard China Beach

Archer [Diana]:
Guard Cape Town

Archer [Billy Jean Tell]:
Exploring Imperio territory

Archer [Robyn Hood]:
Guard Green Acres

Archer [Svava]:
Guard Something Fishy

Archer [Fyre Errow]:
Guarding Cape Town (for now)
Heading to Twin Peaks eventually

Archer [Hera]:
Guard Mellow Yellow

Archer [Athena]:
Guard Pink Dot

Archer [Aphrodite]:
Guard Cape Town

Archer [Demeter]:
Guard Cape Town

Archer [Persepone]:
Guard Saxon the Beach
Currently moving to city (3t)

Warrior [Xena]:
Guard Airstrip One

Warrior [Jennifer]:
Exploring the eastern continent

Screenshots from T119

fill in later

Foreign Builds from C&D

Templars
Jerusalem = (169 * (154 + 100)) / (3 * 462) = 31 shields (+7)
Infrastructure: Palace, Barracks
Damascus = (149 * (154 + 100)) / (3 * 487) = 26 shields (+26)
Infrastructure: Terrace, Barracks
Jericho = (183 * (154 + 100)) / (3 * 553) = 28 shields (+2)
Infrastructure: Walls
Acre = (133 * (154 + 100)) / (3 * 629) = 18 shields (+4)
Infrastructure: none

Damascus gets a big boost in shields; either lots of overflow, building a settler/worker, or a doubled building (forge?) Otherwise, not a whole lot from Templars.

Imperio
Mutal = N/A, zero shields invested
Infrastructure: Palace, Barracks, Granary, Monument, Stonehenge, Oracle
Lakamha = N/A, zero shields invested
Infrastructure: Barracks, Monument, Islamic shrine
Chichen Itza = (214 * (200 + 100)) / (3 * 714) = 30 shields (+4)
Infrastructure: Granary, Monument, Lighthouse, Barracks
Uxmal = (224 * (200 + 100)) / (3 * 774) = 29 shields (+10)
Infrastructure: Monument
Mayapan = (274 * (200 + 100)) / (3 * 762) = 36 shields (+7)
Infrastructure: Monument, Barracks
Calakmul = (243 * (200 + 100)) / (3 * 786) = 31 shields (+5)
Infrastructure: Monument

Mutal finishes a catapult, which we can see via line of sight into the city. Lakamha doesn't appear to have finished a visible unit, so I'm calling *SPY* on this one. It would also fit with Imperio having had a spy get caught two turns ago. Their other four cities are all right around 30 shields, oddly.

PAL
The Warning = (352 * (52 + 100)) / (3 * 313) = 57 shields (+24)
Infrastructure: Granary, Barracks, Lighthouse, Library, Academy
Heliopolis = (44 * (52 + 100)) / (3 * 319) = 7 shields (-89)
Infrastructure: Granary
Alexandria = (492 * (52 + 100)) / (3 * 304) = 82 shields (+20)
Infrastructure: Granary

The Warning is a shield monster! PAL is definitely getting good use out of the Bureaucracy bonus there. Not sure what happened at Helio, it didn't finish a building, according to a view of the city... Alexandria might be building a forge, and getting the doubled production bonus. Hard to see how it could get so many shields otherwise, only being size 5.

Rabbits
Caerbannog = N/A, zero shields invested
Infrastructure: Palace, Barracks, Library, Great Wall
Digger's Burrow = (366 * (48 + 100)) / (3 * 420) = 43 shields (+35)
Infrastructure: Barracks, Monument, Granary, Walls
Phrygian = (79 * (48 + 100)) / (3 * 438) = 9 shields (+3)
Infrastructure: none

Caerbannog churns out another cheap unit. Digger's Burrow is working on... something big, I guess.


Population census:
PAL 46->44 (size 10,7,6,6,5,5,3,3)
RB 41 (10,7,3,6,5,5,3,2)
Imp 36 (10,7,6,5,4,3)
Ban 26 (9,8,5,3,1)
Tem 20 (6,6,5,2,1)
Rab 9 (5,3,1)


Treasury report: