The State of the World, 1838 AD
Here's a look at the map of Greater Spain:
As far as Sid's Sushi Co. goes, I currently have 9 seafood resources (no, whales don't count). I could potentially get another source of fish if I settle a city up on that northwestern peninsula (there's now a source of uranium there for a little production, too) and four more seafood tiles available from Augustus' island. No rice, that's all on the other continent. I guess it'll be Sid's Sashimi Co. this time around.
Speaking of Augustus' island:
If we decide to conquer it, I wouldn't anticipate changing much besides razing and relocating Velitrae 2 tiles to the north. Unless anyone has some better ideas; that western fish tile is going to waste, after all.
Just to be thorough, here's a look at the other continent:
Conquering Augustus' island might not be a bad idea. It would make a good launching point for the invasion; troops could be landed there as part of a build-up.
And yes, I now have visibility into Sury's and Gillgamesh's cities. I may elevate the EP assignments on Liz and George so I have that with them as well. As you'll see, I learned something very valuable from it.
Domestic advisor:
Wall Street will be done in a few turns. I think finishing off the war soon would be good. In fact, it may be a good idea to pause long enough for a Golden Age where I can build up some cash, then switch into US and buy infrastructure in the formerly-Byzantine cities. I could also use that period to spread Judaism overseas. I could finish off Augustus when that's all over and done with.
I haven't liberated the Byzantine territory yet. The colony costs aren't really that bad:
Keep in mind that, IIRC, three of the cities need courthouses, so that will lower it further. However, I am running State Property, and if I switch to Free Market to found Sid's Sushi Co. in a few turns (after I research Medicine), then that could throw this off. If I can afford the territory, though, which I think I can, I'd prefer to keep it. Domination is easier if the territory is yours rather than a vassal's.
Civics:
Switching to Free Speech will also raise income, but if I pursue a domination win then I anticipate running Nationalism more than FS. Also, Assembly Line and Fascism are priority techs, the former for factories, the Pentagon, and Infantry, the latter for the free GG, Police State, and Mt. Rushmore.
Foreign Advisor, relations at a glance:
So Sury is my only friend now, but a close one.
Active trade deals:
So here's a potential problem of going to war with Gilgamesh: he's a prominent trade partner. I declare on him and I (temporarily) lose health from the rice--not a big deal--and happiness from the wine and furs, which is. In addition, I lose the 19 gpt he's giving me for sugar. The war against him would be a long one with a lot of war weariness. Don't forget he has the Statue of Zeus, which as Scarredroman pointed out is located in London, so that city would have to be captured first, and it's kind of in an awkward spot.
Info - trade and civics:
One potential problem with Sid's Sushi Co. is that the two biggest civs are running State Property, and a third is running Mercantilism. Granted I could use espionage to force them out, but they could always switch back. I've had civs do that to me, and it's unpleasant. Here I think my late-game economy is humming along, and suddenly the next turn I'm losing wads of cash and have to lower the science slider by 10% or even 20%.
Technologies:
So clearly I now have a tech lead, and it's growing. Gilgamesh, despite his size, is researching at a very slow rate--did you notice that? He spent most of the round researching Communism. And look at the turns he's go left on Steam Power! More on that in a moment.
Military Advisor:
I have a good-sized navy, but most of those Frigates are busy guarding my seafood tiles now. I anticipate having to build more ships for a cross-continental invasion.
I'm about half-way to my next Great General. I earned one in this round and used him for a Military Academy in Oporto, the West Point city. I'll probably get the free GG from Fascism before I earn my next one, and I think he should also build a MA, this one in Arretium, the other captured Roman city that has a Military Instructor. I think Seville, the Heroic Epic city, also has a Military Academy, so the next earned GG will be just for fun. I'll attach him to my best City Raider, give him Leadership, and who knows, maybe he'll earn me another Great General after that.
Victory Conditions:
So I'm ahead of Gilgamesh in land and population but I still have a long way to go for the domination win, which I think will take me well into the 1900s and possibly beyond. But have a close look at the next victory condition and who my competitor is there.
Now look at what's going on in one of Sumer's cities, Kish:
Don't worry about the SoL, unless Gilly pops a Great Engineer I've got him beat by fourteen turns. No, the thing to notice is culture, and the fact that Gilly's culture slider is at
90%. That's right, Gilgamesh is pursuing a cultural victory, of all things! Of the three cities listed in the victory screen above, Kish as 170 turns to go before it achieves Legendary status; Uruk has 133 (though it's currently building a Taoist Pagoda, so that number will lower soon); and Lagash has 273 turns to go. Yeah, the third legendary city is always a pain, isn't it? That's were Gilly built the Hermitage, so he's not completely out to lunch on how to get it done.
Lagash, however, is right on the tip of Sumer's southwest coast. Just a hop, skip, and jump away from Augustus' territory. So close, so easy to invade...
(Let me also take a moment to say that as time goes on I find I more and more prefer BtS' way of doing espionage. Moving a few Spies around the map in vanilla and BtS got tiresome. It's very nice to be able to devote EPs to a target and then just examine their cities at your leisure.)
And have a look at the power chart:
Yes, I'm closing in on Gilgamesh in terms of power. I don't have the screenshot of the production graph, but in that regard it's no contest. You can see that in the next screenshot:
See the second item? My production is nearly double Gilgamesh's. I can produce units, and highly-promoted ones, like there's no tomorrow.
So I think we're a go for the domination win, especially since we don't want Gilly pulling a cultural rabbit out of his hat and winning that way. The only question is how I should go about it. I just recently obtained access to the industrial-era units: Cannons, Riflemen, Cavalry, and Grenadiers. Do I use them as the means to take on Sumer? Or do I use them against Rome (after a brief period of peace for a Golden Age?) and then wait to take on Sumer with superior units like Infantry, Artillery, Destroyers, Transports, and even Marines, Tanks, and Battleships?
). I have to go look back at the maps, but if there is a civ that can be conquered in a very short time, then they'd be the best to try the above strategy.
. here tho city 3 wouldn't end up terribly slow compared to 2 (all assuming nobody beats him up of course). he put hermitage in there a long time ago because it showed up in the build queue i suppose, poor AI.
