Round 2: 2880 BC to 1200 BC
It's always interesting to see how the recommendations I'm given play out. As you'll see, a lot of you had extremely good instincts, I think, regarding this map, the resources, and the AI. So give yourselves a collective pat on the back.
I started the round committed to nabbing the copper city site with my Settler. First off, that meant I needed to change research to Mysticism so I could build a monument. I also heeded the advice to whip a Warrior to escort the Settler to the copper site:
The whipping sacrificed a citizen from one of the farmed sugar tiles, which raised the research time on Mysticism from 6 to 7 turns. It would take the Warrior exactly 6 turns to reach the copper site 1S of the sugar, so I removed the citizen from the corn and had him work the abandoned sugar site instead, for the 1 commerce--which put Mysticism back to 6 turns. It also added a turn to the Worker build, but I since there was some hammer overflow going towards the Worker from the whip, I figured that evened out. Besides, what the heck can I build in 1 turn in a new city at this stage of the game?
A few turns later, the research was finished...
I then changed over to the track suggested by Jet:
No, normally I wouldn't go this route, which is shunned by most human players. But as Elendal pointed out, exploiting
all of the leader's characteristics is the purpose of the ALCs. Numidian Cavalry require Archery, so off in that route we go.
I frankly don't have a problem with this, because I'm switching one tech trail for another. Specifically, I would normally at this point in the game be researching Polytheism and then Priesthood, and I would have researched Mysticism long before this.
Why?
My usual preference for the Stonehenge/Oracle combo. I've decided to forgo both. Of the four early cities, only two require a quick border pop--Coppertino and Golden Clam (assuming I'll put the latter 1S of the gold, as suggested, instead of 1NE of it). Stonehenge seems kind of expensive just to accomplish that, especially with the potential for an early religion to spread around.
And while I cherish the Oracle, it's liberating, in some respects, not to pursue it. As aelf said, it looks like I'm on the warmonger's continent, but one which will likely have a single religion. So it looks like I will be able to buddy up with my fellow Buddhists at first for good tech trades, and then extort them later. This means I don't have to worry about wonder-building until I go after the Great Library. Like I said, liberating, especially since marble is in an inconvenient spot.
Back to the game.
On that same turn, I founded my second city:
The first build was a Monument, of course, and I sent my lone worker down to chop that forest west of the city to hurry it.
Shortly after that, I got news of another religion being founded:
No one on my continent has converted, so I think that both Hinduism and Judaism are on the other continent. I'm hoping that bodes well--two or more religions on the other continent should lead to religious strife rather than a big love-fest.
Speaking of religion, the founder of Buddhism came by for a visit:
Well, since no other religion had been adopted by the other neighbours, and since I had no reason to aggravate Toku this early in the game, I converted. It earned me a +1 diplomatic bonus with him right away, and by the end of the round, I had a steadily-growing "brothers and sisters of the faith" bonus with him, and he became "Pleased". Which I'm hoping will mean that Toku will be willing to tech trade. Well worth the only cost, which was one turn of anarchy. And the happiness ceiling in the capital, of course, has gone up by 1.
In 1400 BC, Utica--now building a work boat for the clams--popped its borders.
Of course I had a road already built by my two Workers connecting it to the capital and to the copper, and a Worker sitting on the copper (at the cost of 1 Worker turn) ready to start the mine that turn.
And I had completed the next Settler in Carthage and sent him north to the horses:
You might have noticed that I was building an Archer in the capital. I didn't have Writing yet for a library, and that will have to wait until after the capital produces one more Settler for Golden Clam. My exploratory Warriors had spotted barb Warriors wandering around, so I decided it was prudent to build the best military unit I had available at the time, just in case. Hey, I researched Archery, I may as well take advantage of it.
Speaking of the Warriors, my Woodsman II went south through the jungle and forests towards Japan and Zululand, while my other unpromoted Warrior turned around and went northeast to explore the upper portion of the continent, including Mongolia. It's taking him a while to get there, though. Maybe I should done that the other way around...
When the Archer was one turn from completion, I whipped so the overflow would go towards an Axeman:
I did the same in Utica with the Work Boat. I haven't seen many barbs around my cities yet, but that doesn't mean they ain't comin'.
When I finished researching Writing in 1200 BC, I decided to go see the neighbours for Open Borders agreements. All agreed, including Tokugawa, who was now "Pleased" with me, his sole Buddhist buddy thus far. Going to see Shaka revealed something interesting:
Awwwww... no copper for your cute widdle Impis? Poor Shaka--no wonder you look annoyed. This is what I was talking about, where everyone's instincts about claiming copper
before the AI got there were bang-on. Very shortly after Utica was founded, Shaka founded a city 4S 1E from it. I'm convinced that Zulu Settler was heading to the copper site, saw my borders, threw up its hands, and founded a city where it did. Shaka is actually looking to be very hemmed in by me and Tokugawa, so I expect him to be a problem. Toku and Kublai, on the other hand, appear to have plenty of room to expand--for now.
Anyway, 1200 BC is where I stopped, even though there's a couple of things I haven't done that we agreed to (like founding Golden Clam). But I stopped because we need to discuss what to research next (along with anything else you want to bring up).
I see three main choices for research:
- Iron Working (13 turns): this would allow us to continue expanding to our west, into the jungle. We could claim the marble, reduce barb activity, and reveal the third of the early and vital strategic resources. However, the AI usually researches IW pretty early on, so it's often preferable to trade for this tech rather than duplicate the AI's work. But if Toku or Kublai have IW, they might grab that marble first, putting the GL in jeopardy. And IW would tell us if Shaka has any, since he can build his Impis with it. Hmmm...
- Alphabet (21 turns): Enables tech trading, leads to Literature for the Great Library. 'nuff said. (I'll need Polytheism for Literature, but maybe I'll be able to trade for it.)
- Horseback Riding (18 turns): Will allow the unique unit to be built, along with stables. I researched Archery early to enable the UU, so it may make sense to continue on this path.
So, let me know what you think I should research next. I'm leaning towards Iron Working for now and hoping that a library in Carthage will soon help with the more expensive HBR and Alphabet. Other options include Polytheism (7 turns) and Masonry (4 turns).
In addition, are we still agreed on 1S of the gold for Golden Clam? 1NE of the gold means we could work the clams immediately, without a border pop, especially since there'll be a Work Boat already there.
Below is the map--first the northern portion:
And the south:
And a look at each of my three cities, so you can comment on the builds.
I may start renaming the cities. Carthage and Utica are easy enough to remember, but "Hadrumetum"? It's not as bad as those Aztec names, but still...
The saved game file is below.