Bede01:Funny thing happened...

[Cuivienen]

I decided to play 20 instead of ten. I had more time than I expected. Here goes:

3000 BC (IT) -- Everything looks good. *Enter*

2950 BC (1) -- Rome: Settler --> Granary
2900 BC (2) -- The Arabs show up with Bronze Working.
2850 BC (3) -- Veii founded on the northern site. Starts a Warrior.
2800 BC (4) -- ...
2750 BC (5) -- ...
2710 BC (6) -- The Arabs will trade BW and 25 gold for Alphabet. Done.
2670 BC (7) -- Ivory road completes. Veii: Warrior --> Spear. Spot Tundra to the far south.
2630 BC (8) -- Worker irrigates the Plains Ivory to get some shields into Veii. Spot a goody hut in the south.
2590 BC (9) -- Barbs attack Warrior on a Mountain. They die.
2550 BC (10) -- More barbs die. Warrior is Vet. Pop southern goody hut -- more barbs. We spot coastline north of the desert.
2510 BC (11) -- ...
2470 BC (12) -- Warrior survives barb attacks, is Vet. Irrigation completes.
2430 BC (13) -- Spot a barb camp the north. 3 Arab Warriors pass by Veii heading north.
2390 BC (14) -- Veii: Spearman --> Granary. Some MMing will get the Granary before growth.
2350 BC (15) -- Spot Jungle north of the desert. The Arabs kill a Warrior in the barb camp. Spot an erupted Volcano to the far south.
2310 BC (16) -- The Arabs destroy the barb camp. They have Masonry.
2270 BC (17) -- Rome: Granary --> Settler
2230 BC (18) -- ...
2190 BC (19) -- ...
2150 BC (20) -- Hope I counted right. Not much happened these last turns.

Veii is on a high-shield MM to complete its Grnary before growth. It can be returned to normal in a few turns. Rome grows next turn and will complete its Settler in three. We have no warrior to guard the Settler, but there are no barbs near the southern city-site, either.

 

[Cuivienen]

The Save

 

[scoutsout]

Originally posted by Cuivienen
I decided to play 20 instead of ten

It looks to me like you and Barbslinger have got us off to a pretty good start!

On your "Highest Priority" site (Red dot) do you think we ought to put a granary there too? Three cities capable of making workers and/or settlers sound good?

 

[barbslinger]

Originally posted by scoutsout
On your "Highest Priority" site (Red dot) do you think we ought to put a granary there too? Three cities capable of making workers and/or settlers sound good?

Workers, Workers, Workers. We have a lot of land to fill up.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

Veii should be a worker factory. I would start a granary on red dot and let it crank out settlers.

I would build two more settlers out of Rome (including the one just finishing) and then start a Zeus pre-build.

The south east has several nice city locations - 1NW of the cow, a couple of sites along the southeast river. I would try to settle blue dot after red dot. Expand towards the competition.

 

[Bede]

building and planning.

Got it, play tonight. At least one more town by tomorrow.

 

[Bede]

Rome Rising

Bede 01 2150BC

Pay a courtesy call on Abu and here's his offer for Masonry

Henceforth he shall be known as Abu the Extortionist

No need to manage the cities, alles in ordnung.

T1 2110
Exploring the coasts, looks like a really big lake to the NE.

Assign new Roman woman to roaded grassland to maximize gpt

T2 2070
Here's the NE

It's not a lake but a bay with a nicely placed hill to choke off interlopers from the East.

Rome equips a settler, starts training a warrior.

T2 2030
Warrior and settler set out for new town site.

A the E has learned how to meditate:

The man has no sense of the fitness of things. Sell it or we'll take it!

T2 1990
Dispatch spear from Veii to waltz with Arab warrior on a vector towards Rome.

Abu is annoyed that our explorer is nosing around his eastern city.

T3 1950

Start granary

Rome trains a warrior, starts an archer. Abu is making me nervous with his wandering warrior and I want some offense on the border.

T5 1910
Exploration is revealing desert, jungle and mountains to the North and East and prime lands to the south, with two volcanoes.

NE

South

Now Abu boots us from the Mecca suburbs

and I politely ask him to remove his warrior.

Veii finishes its granary, will grow in 1, starts training a worker due in 2. (pop2, 5fpt, 5spt)


T6 1870
Exploring warriors find barb camps north and south.

North camp takes out Arab warrior.

T7 1830
Our warrior collects fines from camp in south.

As Abu is leaving peacefully shift build at Rome from archer to warrior for settler coverage.

People are impressed and we get a vestibule for the cave.

T8 1790
Hit northern barb camp, kill a barb but our warrior is critically wounded and can't collect.

Southern warrior fortifies to heal before hitting a fortified survivor from the dispersed camp.

We learn Writing and trade it for Masonry and Abu's treasury to start run on Mathematics, due in 22 at -2gpt. We have 348 in the treasury to play with.

Open an embassy with Abu for 30g.

And here's the details on Mecca

3spt 4fpt, 5gpt, science at 100%, settler and spear in garrison, building settler due in 7, no improvements.

T9 1750
Warrior in Arabia heads east to shadow Arabian settler.

Healed warrior in south seeks his spurs on camp survivor but fails and dies.

Wounded warrior in north moves onto mountain to recover,

Warrior at Veii moves west to waltz with Arabs.

T10 1725
Warriors converge on Mecca.

T11 1700
No sign of Arab settler team.

T12 1675
Still no sign

T13 1650
Healed warrior heads back to barb camp and counts five Thracian warriors. Will head warrior back to choke hill.

Rome equips a settler and starts Pyramids to prebuild SoZ. Turn research down to Math due in 23, will have accumulated about 100 shields by then ( halfway to Zeus).

T14 1625
Settler heads west.

T15 1600
Arab settler team went to coast NE of Mecca. Mecca's borders have now expanded. Blue dot site will be under cultural pressure, but will be worth having as forward base against Arab incursion

T16 1575

T17 1550
Exploring warrior in north spies grassland on other side of barb camp,

T18 1525
Veii grows and riots so lux tax raised to 10% (treasury at 317 +2 gpt Math due in 15)

T19 1500
3 Thracian warriors and 1 horseman destroy themselves on our warrior promoted to elite.

Found Cumae pushing at Arab borders (dastardly and slightly exploitative), start temple, assign citizen to forest, sacrificing growth to speed temple.

Elite, but wounded warrior fortifies in jungle to heal. There is one Thracian warrior left in the camp,

Adjust science spending to try and get 100 shields at Rome before Math completes. It appears the ToZ could well be ours, unless there is a Shaka in the jungle with elephants.

Worker at Veii is irrigating plains towards Cumae. Temple at Veii is due in four (citizens are on high carb diet), worker will finish in 2, then can cross river to irrigate wheat, and finish just before or right after border expands in seven.

There is a ton of land to the south just waiting for some Roman settlers, lots of river bank sites, at least one herd of cattle, no luxuries I can see, but there must be some in the far SE. The best part is no competition for it yet.

The Romans in 1550

Room to Roman

Rectangles are notional only. Better urban engineers please adjust.


Order of go:
barbslinger
Cuivienen
Bede-resting quietly
scoutsout--up, take 20 if you like or it fits
Sir Bugsy-waiting to build a settler factory

 

[scoutsout]

And lo, did Romulus walk beside the River Tiber, and he did cast his gaze into the forest, did behold a goody-hut. "What shall I do?" quoth Romulus. Quoth Barbslinger, between rounds with the X-man on another plane: "CB is chosen prior to settling". And Rome was founded, that it might grow mighty, and strong. And the unwashed villagers did bring Rome an offering of the secrets of pottery, that the Romans might store their grain, and ferment their barley, and save it for the days to come. Quoth the villagers: "Better to be drunk on the fruit of the vine, than the blood of thine enemies." Hah, what do they know....

Thence did Barbslinger train skilled warriors, and sent them forth into the hinterlands. "Sally forth and find us our next enem... er... "friend", and seek ye quickly the mysteries of the goody-hut. And the warriors did find many badlands, and some good lands. They saw great beasts with shiny tusks. The brave warriors did speak with the vassals of he who would become known as "Abu the Extortionist".

Upon seeing the mighty elephants with their shiny tusks of Ivory, a troubador did speak with his mouth (and not his Fender guitar) and did plead with Romulus to build a temple to a lesser god, that the lesser god might bestow upon young Rome mounted Cavalry, with which to dominate the children of even lesser gods. (such as the aforementioned "Abu the soon-to-be dethroned").

Thence sallied forth comrade Cuivienen, who did outfit settlers, that they might spread Rome's influence to far reaches of the hinterlands. (okay...they made it as far as the food bonus tiles.) Thence did Cuivienen train Rome's first "Killer Spearman", that he might smite the Modern Armor someday... and he did begin work on another Granary, that more hops and barley might be stored for future brew-ha-ha's.... Under Cuivienen's guidance, the brave warriors did smite the barbarians of the hinterlands, and collect tribute for the coffers of Rome.

Rome's Bard then guided Romulus' settler to found a new city, Antium. Thence did Brother Bede begin to advise youn Romulus, and acquired many of Abu's riches and the secrets Masonry, that we might pretend to build a great pyramid, while planning to throw bricks throught the rose-colored-stained-glass windows of Abu-the-infidel. And Brother Bede did sneak a peek upon the throne of Abu-the-boneheaded, and did note that Abu was outfitting settlers of his own...but Bede the Brave did manage to found a new city, Cumae, right in the face of Abu-the-never-to-get-his-Ansar-Warriors...

And Brother Bede did turn his gaze southward, and said to young Scout, "Behold, there is much land to the south that must be come to know Pax Romana.

To which Scout replied: "Got it. I'll play my turns in la mañana."

 

[Gengis Khan]

*drumroll* And the award for the best "got it" to date goes to..........

 

[scoutsout]

What do you guys think about this as a future city site?

 

[Bede]

How fast can you spit a settler out of Veii?

Settling there would save the cost of the temple at Veii and get the wheat in play.

If the settler will equip in three, it's five to trek and build, so it will match the border expansion at Veii, and get us a block against poaching Arabs as well.

A warrior at the town west could blockade the Arabs if you want to risk a ticked off Abu.

Good eye, scoutsout.

 

[scoutsout]

Lemme get this straight, you want me to sacrifice the shields in the temple to make a settler? I hate the thought of wasting shields... especially at this level... (that's the builder in me talking...) But if the team concurs, I'll scrap the temple...

Edit: Isn't our cost for a temple 60 shields? And a settler 30?

 

[Sir Bugsy]

That was great!

It is nice to see that the C3C AI still is making moves like building a settler at pop 1 to grow in 7 and produce in 7.

We have some prime land to the south. Proposed dot map to follow.

 

[Bede]

Scout,
Guess the rabid atheist, land-grabbing farmer in me got the better of my judgement!

Temple at Veii willl be worth the cost however it falls out as the town wiil grow really fast, no matter how we slice it.

Just make sure we can blockade Ahab from those itty-bitty white whales.

"Call me Ishmael"

 

[scoutsout]

Originally posted by Sir Bugsy
We have some prime land to the south. Proposed dot map to follow.

...dotmaps... I love dotmaps!... I feel like a real urban planner now, making maps safe for primary colors...

I had started one... there are some decent looking riverside sites over there... I'll wait to see what you post Bugs...

 

[Sir Bugsy]

Green dot has the potential to be a major shield producer.

Same with pink dot, although that will require a duct to get past size 6. (I'm avoiding the volcanos down there.)

I also like Bede's red rectangle - my blue dot. Some nice land there.

Red dot has some potential as well with the FPs.

Black dot is a fishing village, and the orange dots are filler sites.

 

[Bede]

Nice job Bugs

Could you teach me how to draw those Maltese Crosses, quickly?
I always manage to fumble finger 'em.

 

[scoutsout]

Nice plan Sir Bugs...

Can we take a quick straw pole on Veii? Temple or Settler?

 

[Sir Bugsy]

The aqua dot should probably be the next spot settled, just for denial purposes. That can be a powerhouse too, with three food tiles and some mountains for shields.

Brown dot is a filler spot for later.

This red dot is a longer term investment. With irrigated tiles and rails, this one can be a good producer.

 

[Sir Bugsy]

I say let the temple at Veii finish and then start building settlers.