Micro Challenge IV

[Izuul]

I got it with the granary. I wasted a good many attempts missing one obvious little thing on the first turn. Once i noticed what i was missing i got it on the next try.

Spoiler :

I forgot to screen cap the granary, but it's definitely there. The obvious little detail that i was missing was putting 1T into farming the bananas before moving into the forest. That's such an obvious thing too, but since i was completing ignoring the bananas in the original, non-granary method, i had kind of gotten set into the habit of not doing it.

 

[iggymnrr]

Monty Hall?

Spoiler :

Monty asks you to pick one of three doors. You oblige and pick door #1, move the worker onto the bananas. But before revealing what is behind door #1, Monty opens one of the other two doors and asks if you want to switch or stay with your original choice, farm the bananas. If this is a Monty situation, door #2 seems to be: continue on to camp the phants. Door #3 is: start something and move to forest and chop. Is Monty about to open one if the other two doors? If so it is always right to switch. But which of the other two doors will he open before asking?

 

[Robert FIN]

I'm a prince lvl player. What will be my target? Normal? Hard? NIGHTMARE??

 

[iggymnrr]

I'm a prince lvl player. What will be my target? Normal? Hard? NIGHTMARE??

Spoiler :

The big tile is the pigs. They can't be improved before turn 5 when borders pop. Make sure a worker is able to improve them ASAP. Then try for as much as you can.

 

[Izuul]

I still find it pretty interesting that the non-granary method is competitive with the granary method.

Spoiler :

I was shy 1 worker turn shy of being able to finish on T31 without a granary. Obviously having the granary leaves your capitol with a stronger infrastructure, but it also leaves you with some pretty wicked whip anger at the end after whipping 5 times i the span of 20 turns. The advantage to the other method is that you can get your first settler out on T13 and settled on T15 which is just in time to produce a settler of it's own to claim the western gems.

If you were actually to play this one out, having the granary would make your position a bit stronger and the whip anger could be managed somewhat with the ivory and getting the gems online, but the other method isn't terribly far behind. Tile improvements are fairly similar. Granary method has the bananas farmed whereas non-granary can have 2 cities connected.

 

[Izuul]

All cities and gems connected on T49

Spoiler :

 

[chessplaya]

Claimed 8 gems with granary. Maybe I'll try connecting them tomorrow.

Spoiler :

 

[Izuul]

Maybe Kossin or somebody can explain something to me regarding whipping settlers with an IMP leader.

A standard whip with no bonuses produces 30 A granary can be 1-pop whipped after investing exactly 30 hammers.

An IMP whip of a settler should produce 45. This should allow a settler to be 1-pop whipped at 55/100, yet i noticed while doing this challenge that you actually must have 56/100 before you are able to whip a settler.

What's going on here?

 

[kossin]

I'm not 100% certain but it's due to how the game rounds the cost during calculation. One would need to check what's the exact formula for production in a city.

Another example: galleon (80H) with a forge. 2-pop whip generates 75H (2*30*1.25), yet you need to invest 6H for the 2-pop whip to be available.

 

[Si_Lurker]

I got to 3 cities (6 gems) but can't do 4.

Spoiler :

I started: worker move to banana, farm banana, capital switch to granary. After banana done, worker moves to pigs, next turn border pops, worker moves on pigs and starts pasture.

Grow to 3 and then 4, worker improves elephants and chops. At pop 4 2-pop whip settler, next turn chop comes in, overflow and it goes in 2nd settler. after 2 turns or so whip 2nd settler.

Now I can't repeat the process (grow to 4 and whip 2 more settlers) before turn 32.

Strategy with granary first seems weaker. Can someone please post 4-city solution?

 

[kossin]

Try optimizing the opening

 

[RJM]

Finally managed to get all 8 gems, but need extra time to complete the granary.

 

[Si_Lurker]

I also tried: improve corn for 1t, then move to forest, chop.

City starts granary. Chop into settler, then border pops, improve pig.

Wait till pop2, switch to settler, whip, overflow into settler. Grow, whip.

I manage to settle north and east but I can't get 2 additional settler done by turn 32.

 

[rfcfanatic]

6 gems by turn 28 and Granary by turn 31 my best so far.

 

[pomthom]

My god. Is this how SGOTMs feel like?? This is my 20th try or something...

 

[pomthom]

Questions:

Spoiler :

(i) Do OF hammers always need to be invested in Settlers so that I maximize the IMP bonus?
(ii) When do I need to complete the Granary: ASAP, at the very end, somewhere in the middle?​

My first moves are: (start on Granary) 1 turn in Banana farm, move to forest, chop forest (put 1 turn in Settler to get the chop hammers then go back to Granary). Then I have 1 last move before border pop:

(iii) Should I put 1 turn in Phant Camp or 1 turn in Phant road?
(iv) Are my first moves correct?​

 

[pomthom]

Other question:

Spoiler :

(v) Should the Settlers be timed to go out just before the AIs send their settling parties respectively? (ie turns 20, 25, 31 & 32) or should they be sent out ASAP?​

 

[kossin]

I'll try to get out the solutions to both MC4 & 5 in the next couple of days, having a few days off after business trip.

The difference with SGOTM is that there's nobody to give you a goal. You have to set them yourself and then try to meet/surpass them

 

[pomthom]

The difference with SGOTM is that there's nobody to give you a goal. You have to set them yourself and then try to meet/surpass them

Well that doesn't sound easier

 

[kossin]

Solution​

Spoiler :

Here's one way to do it. There are other solutions, for instance it's possible to complete an Archer in the capital as well by the deadline.

Maybe not as difficult as some of the previous challenges but you can blame me for trying to 'script' the AI to make it interesting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUZtL7QhSX8