Recent content by Simple Machine

Looks like fun :) I decided to try this on deity. Settled 2nd city 3N of capital on T45. Tokugawa settled pretty close to my borders, so I gifted him a city with liberation bonus on T62, right up against Hatty's borders. Same turn I settled my own 3rd city, 2N3E of capital to share the...

@sampsa and @Gumbolt: For a merchant to bulb civil service, you also need to clear out Currency, in addition to Alpha and Sailing, right? Not to mention Monarchy, if you go through Priesthood to get CoL. Maybe you can self-tech Alpha-Currency-CoL, then use a scientist for a golden age to switch...

Returning to this after a couple weeks. Other priorities had gotten in the way but I am back now. I only played from T75 to T91 here, and suffice to say, things have been ... eventful ...

I present here a challenge to test your early empire optimization abilities. The start looks like this, with you playing as Tokugawa of Japan: Your task is simple: reach Civil Service by turn 100 (375 BC). To make your life simpler, there are no barbarians and no AIs. In other words, it's...

Thanks for all the responses :) @notslin Thanks for playing! I haven't read past your T127 spoiler as I haven't played that far yet. I do feel that even a 10-turn later attack date can have significant ramifications for war success, especially on Deity where a strong techer (like Asoka) can get...

Continued on with the wheel/pottery opening. I was concerned that Asoka would steal my ivory, so I prioritized getting another settler party out of Washington there: After Writing, I flicked in Mysticism and then saved money -- plan is to wait until I have a library in at least capital and PH...

I decided to play both ways and compare: Option 1: Tech mining-BW, capital builds worker/worker/warrior/settler, with the warrior being done on a chop, then both workers chopping out the settler. Settle on PH crab (make sure has road connection first). Then tech wheel-pottery, develop cottages &...

However, what do you think about the value of getting city #2 out and a 2nd worker very quickly? If I go worker/worker/settler and tech Mining-BW-Wheel, then I can time it so that I build the one road needed to connect the PH crab city before settling it. That 2nd city will instantly net 2...

Yeah this is a decision I am never sure how to make -- if I wasn't going to go Mining-BW my alternative would definitely be Wheel-Pottery, but going pottery first comes at a significant production cost, which delays future cities (and a workboat for the crabs?) and also an extra warrior or two...

Moving the settler 1E reveals:

Moved warrior 1SE: As suspected, we indeed have ocean to the south. I do see that going 1SE would make for an objectively better capital with more river tiles, but don't you worry about losing seafood? Also, supposing we are cramped for space, I like knowing that I can guarantee back-fill 1-2+...

My initial thought is to settle 1 NE, on that riverside grassland forest. That keeps a lot of flood plains in the capital, the unhealthiness from which is offset by our trait. Also, gazing at the fog, it looks like the tile 2S1W of the warrior is coast, and so it may be nice to move inland a bit...