From A to Z: #3 Augustus

[totteswede]

Oracle is not gonna be at a safe date for sure. The safe bet would probably have been going for AG-AH-TW-Pottery-BW-Masonry (or some such) and settle the red spot, doing failgold and aiming for Mids.

Personally I'd take the gamble for Oracle, settle the blue spot, tech AG-BW-TW-Religous techs and Pottery while building/chopping Oracle for MC, while working farmed FP and gold at size 2.
Oracle date is probably gonna be around 1500 BC so a gamble for sure. Farm pigs until after Oracle when you have time for AH (and settling red spot).

 

[TheMeInTeam]

I don't understand why everyone is hating on oracle here. It's always a gamble but it's one of the stronger wonders to gamble on.

I decided to shadow this, but instead of using AC and Rome, I'm using Sid of the Minors (no traits, no starting techs, no uniques). I was able to tech AG, Mining, BW, Mysticism, Meditation, PH, and Writing, finishing Oracle by t66 without heavy micro. I also had the gold city built and improved. T66 is more of a gamble than usual, but consider:

- I couldn't work the lake (no fishing).
- I didn't have anything to boost wonder construction.
- I didn't have mining at the start and had to tech it.

Of course, that wasn't my real attempt at this game, but I had to see the timing of the wonder starting with absolutely nothing .

 

[pomthom]

I would settle the Gold first because I don't think the Stone is in danger at all (famous last words), although I'm not a big fan of your blue spot. Why not 1E of Gold which is coastal and with better tiles? Incense doesn't justify all those brown tiles IMO. You should check for seafood first of course.

NB: careful, it might seem so but the Gold site would not be connected to the Cap via river because the Cap is not connected to the river

Also I agree with Thrar about settling the Stone: 1E or 1NE (for fresh water) of Corn seems a lot stronger IMO, and you can still grab the Cows later. Sure it's further away but you'll have the Gold city to pay for it. Your red spot is all very very browny...

 

[Fippy]

Not hating on Oracle, but having let's say MC is so much less powerful than having Pyramids.
In the last sgotm if you read Plastic Ducks thread, they even settled a stone island early for them.
They won the competition.
Here you have stone and Ind in front of you, and some peoples think they are no must have.
Blasphemy, nothing else :b

 

[pomthom]

Actually I would self build the Mids because actual good city spots can claim the Stone here and because letting another AI build them for you is a big gamble on Fractal (vs Pangaea)

 

[Izuul]

Wheel and 1 road will connect the city. I went Ag >ah >tw an settled the gold. 2nd worker after settler is prob a good idea here since improvements around gold city all take extra turns.

 

[enKage]

I don't understand why everyone is hating on oracle here. It's always a gamble but it's one of the stronger wonders to gamble on.

I decided to shadow this, but instead of using AC and Rome, I'm using Sid of the Minors (no traits, no starting techs, no uniques). I was able to tech AG, Mining, BW, Mysticism, Meditation, PH, and Writing, finishing Oracle by t66 without heavy micro. I also had the gold city built and improved. T66 is more of a gamble than usual, but consider:

- I couldn't work the lake (no fishing).
- I didn't have anything to boost wonder construction.
- I didn't have mining at the start and had to tech it.

Of course, that wasn't my real attempt at this game, but I had to see the timing of the wonder starting with absolutely nothing .

Nice to know you shadow it, I would only like to remind, that there is 1 year after your last let's play and I will be happy to see a new one with this game :]

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Two masonry resources for industrious leader. Nice :]

Why not settle stone / corn instead of stone/cows? 1 less tech to know, I know a little more far the spot is, but at least less land to fogbust.
I cannot decide which wonder to go, have you considered Oracle - GE gambit? I am not experienced enough to know how early Mids go on Immo, but I suppose the engineer should be worked at Oracle city to double greatpeople points. That makes it even more risky as great prophet can pop.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Here you have stone and Ind in front of you, and some peoples think they are no must have.
Blasphemy, nothing else :b

You're also Rome and can throw stone to an AI. Captured mids are great; captured oracle less so.

Nice to know you shadow it, I would only like to remind, that there is 1 year after your last let's play and I will be happy to see a new one with this game :]

No recording for this. I upgraded my OS from Mint 13 to Mint 16 (much better graphics support). I have to redo my pulseaudio configuration so that I can record game + voice, and I have to redownload and install SimpleScreenRecorder (AFAIK, the only decent game screen capture software on the entirety of Linux, but at least there's one!). Finally, I have to troubleshoot and source whatever is causing that audio nonsense at the start of my HOMM V videos.

There is a finite amount of time in a given day that I am willing to spend on troubleshooting anything, so it's a gradual process.

 

[Izuul]

GE rush is cheapened a bit when you have an IND leader and access to both resources.

 

[Fippy]

You're also Rome and can throw stone to an AI. Captured mids are great; captured oracle less so.

Oracle also offers only 25% of what Pyramids do over a whole game and could be lost, unless you are isolated. If it's even 25%...

 

[Robert FIN]

Good start. Too good... There must be something bad!! To Mid, to Oracle or to Praetstomp? Interesting game it'll be ! Btw, +1 to Auggy nickname! Made me laugh .

 

[Htadus]

^^
Yeah I agree. Excellent area. I am waiting to find out what is wrong with this map. Is Humbaba going to show up.

 

[Seraiel]

I like how Fippy simply ignores the arguments for Oracle, for Oracle and Mids and against capture Mids to post this highly intriguing (and false) information:

Oracle also offers only 25% of what Pyramids do over a whole game and could be lost, unless you are isolated. If it's even 25%...

 

[TheMeInTeam]

That 25% of mids comment was so silly I didn't bother to address it ^_^. As if we even have a valid frame of reference for PV in this game. Mids has both a higher initial investment (if self built) and takes longer to pay it back. Does it pay it back faster than noobtorians fleecing cities and techs?

 

[Fippy]

Oh come on TmiT, we know you cannot resist commenting and you did not disappoint me :b
"Noobtorians" are not crossing my mind, Gwaja would not attack sister Lizzy with silly UUs.

 

[Strickl3r]

Oracling Metal Casting is not a game breaker. Also mids can be build easier in 2nd city, so we don't pollute the great person pool. A Prophet in my opinion is just soooo very bad and with the oracle it is often 60/40 in favor for the prophet(if we build a libary in time and work 2 GS for a while), which is a huge, if not the the largest investment we have to pay for building the oracle.

€: Not saying oracling is bad, but an academy + philo bulb save is just so much stronger.

 

[Seraiel]

Oh come on TmiT, we know you cannot resist commenting and you did not disappoint me :b
"Noobtorians" are not crossing my mind, Gwaja would not attack sister Lizzy with silly UUs.

Of course, Gwaja wouldn't attack sister Lizzy, she's a nice girl just like you, right?

Oracling Metal Casting is not a game breaker. Also mids can be build easier in 2nd city, so we don't pollute the great person pool. A Prophet in my opinion is just soooo very bad and with the oracle it is often 60/40 in favor for the prophet(if we build a libary in time and work 2 GS for a while), which is a huge, if not the the largest investment we have to pay for building the oracle.

€: Not saying oracling is bad, but an academy + philo bulb save is just so much stronger.

In war games, getting a Prophet to bulb Theology is a very strong move. Gives a very high-beaker tech that can be traded against most of what's available at that time, and one needs either Theocracy or Vassalage to get 5 XP "Ownagetorians" from Barracks, with of course Theocracy being the better option if having a religion, because the combination of Buro + Theocracy + Religion is stronger than Vassalage + yes... what.

 

[Strickl3r]

Yes that's probably the best use. And it has some value, but does it beat a GS? I don't really think so.

Also it is not always an option, since you need mono and that is not always available so there are still a lot of games where you just have to settle the guy and that is just, well mediocre at best.

 

[sampsa]

I really hope we see some shadows.

 

[Seraiel]

Yes that's probably the best use. And it has some value, but does it beat a GS? I don't really think so.

Also it is not always an option, since you need mono and that is not always available so there are still a lot of games where you just have to settle the guy and that is just, well mediocre at best.

It does not beat a GS, but it also doesn't make getting a GS impossible.

Settling is a poor choice, yes, but getting Mono is usually quite simple imo. One AI will always research it really early and from what I know, AI always trades Monotheism (probably for the same reasons it always trades Monarchy / Scientific Method) .

Researching Poly instead of Meditation before Oracle then has good synergy as it sometimes makes Mono available even before Oracle itself (like if an AI gets really early Alpha but lacks BW + x ) , which of course helps with the needed chops in that case.