Great comments and questions, very helpful. Keep 'em coming!
If I was playing that as a real game I would settle Dalian and Seoul as my first two cities, build the three cities in Manchuria, and possibly just let one be captured by barbarians. Also, if the UHV area rectangle was at its most southern point at the Dalian city location then Seoul would not be part of, "Manchuria." Thus if one UHV condition required Seoul then there would be no value in settling in Korea for the Manchuria condition.
I would have loved to settle Dalian, but in this game it's solidly Chinese. It does raise the interesting question of whether to muscle up the Korean starting army so that an early war against China is thinkable.
A Confucian Academy by 1400 is pretty historically accurate.
In 1394, King Taejo (Yi Seong-Gye) adopted Confucianism as Korea's official religion. (He also moved the capital to Hanseong/Seoul and build the Gyeongbokgung Palace)
Is the Mayan UP affecting gameplay at all?
I was thinking Taejo when I decided on 1400, but forgot to mention that as the rationale.
On the UP: *smacks forehead* I totally forgot about the Mayan UP, probably because I'm so used to playing civs and strategies where the UP doesn't have such powerful, cumulative influence.
So, yeah, I'm pretty sure it was making a difference. After founding four cities and turning down my Science rate to 30% (both acts I delayed as long as possible), I was still able to tech along at a pretty powerful rate. (Though I'm sure the four scientists I hired after quickly chopping two libraries helped too.) Even without beelining, I was able to reach Music by 1200.
And then one of my four cities flipped when the Mongols spawned. I knew it was coming, but hadn't prepared before I remembered it was coming.
No. The Turkish area around the Black Sea certainly is not.
Another forehead-smacking moment; how could I forget that stupid Black Sea UHV, which has tripped me up multiple times?
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Okay, based on the questions here and events in the second test game, here is what I'm thinking for Manchuria (in this test game). See the attached map. Again, white is Japan in the Korean/Mayan game start; red is China; brown is the Mongol spawn area within the proposed Manchurian borders.
EDIT: Oops, crap; just assume I included the Liaodong peninsula (Dalian) inside the Manchurian borders.
It's an expansive treatment of the territory. What with the marshes in the east; the Mongols in the west; and the Chinese (who will likely be squatting in Dalian) in the south, there's not a lot of room for peaceful, long-term colonization. Defined expansively, though, Manchuria does give the player some (hopefully) "interesting choices."
1. Go peaceful (1): This means squeezing three cities in Manchuria and not caring about whether they are economical, since their only purpose is to house necessary temples. Probably a losing strategy over the long term, though.
2. Go peaceful (2): This means building three cities in Manchuria, building temples quickly, researching Music ASAP, and racing to complete an Academy by 1200. That would be an early establishment of "official" Confucianism, but that's okay.
3. Go peaceful (3): Building three cities in Manchuria, accepting the loss of one to the Mongols, and putting a fifth city (for the fourth temple) elsewhere. Like, Australia? Siberia? Well, if people could advocate a Siam strategy for Carthage ...
4. Go warlike (1): This means fighting for control of Dalian (which is historically accurate) so you can fit the other two cities in the non-Mongol portions. This could still be hard, if Beijing's cultural radiation is as expansive as it is likely to be. As noted above, this would argue for giving the Koreans some kind of small starting army.
(BTW, I made one abortive start (screwed up in WB) which suggests just how much territory the Chinese might have under their control: cultural borders reached all the way across northern Korea to touch the Pacific, so that Korean units could not even get into Manchuria without an open borders agreement. The more expansive the Chinese borders, the harder it is to go for a peaceful game. OTOH, if China is imploding under barbarian assaults, there might be LOTS of room for the Koreans.
5. Go warlike (2): This means going peaceful at first, but then fighting tooth and nail against the Mongols to retain a flipped city, if that's the only way to keep that fourth temple in being long enough to score the Academy.
So far, I'm liking the Manchurian UHV proposal because it gives room for improvisation and different games based on how the borders are arranged when the Korean start.
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Now, back to the Mayan UP.
If the Koreans are going to replace the Mayans, one might want to give the Koreans the Mayan power. There are some game play reasons. Given how squeezed-in Korea is, they might need the leg up. The whole "Astronomy" thing, which is supposed to justify the Mayan UP, might be applicable to Korea, too (see
Cheomseongdae, e.g.). The basic UP might remain but be modified. Perhaps instead of a 40% discount, it could be a 25% discount. Or maybe it could be a 40% discount on any techs already discovered by the Chinese.
For the time being, though, I've decided I'm going run two separate games, to at least get an idea of how powerful the Mayan UP is in this context. One will use the Mayans, and the other will use the Ethiopians. Unless I'm missing something (again!), the Ethiopians don't have any unique units or buildings that would make an important difference. (Well, there is the Stele, but I'll just avoid building it.)
To bring them both in line with each other as best I can, I'm giving the Ethiopian and Mayan starts both the same sets of starting techs and units. I think it's silly to have a 1st century BC civilization that is right next to China and does NOT have Bronze Working, at least, so I'm giving them that. Also Animal Husbandry. Complete list:
Units: 2 Settlers, 3 Workers, 2 Archers, 1 Confucian Missionary. (Which means a peaceful game, at least in this iteration of the test.)
Techs: Mysticism; Meditation; Polytheism; Priesthood; Fishing; The Wheel; Agriculture; Animal Husbandry; Writing; Hunting; Mining; Archery; Masonry; Pottery; Bronze Working; Horseback Riding.
I decided to go with Horseback Riding because it's possibly a tradable tech, and it's not useful unless/until the Koreans break out of the peninsula and are able to seize the Horse resource; something which is likely only possible if Beijing is conquered or sacked by barbarians.