Noble Shadow Game - How well can I play when I am being thoughtful about my decisions? Time to learn!

[a pen-dragon]

Imperialistic bonus to settler production is only for raw right? The bonus doesn't get doubled.

Yes.

I think the best time to switch to slavery would be while my first settler is going out.

Yes, if by that you mean after the settler has been built and is moving.

there is a bonus to research speed for techs that have two arrows going into them from already researched techs right?

There is a bonus in general for each tech you have that has an arrow pointing towards your current research.

I agree with Fishing being best, but I think you overvalue AH. Researching a relatively expensive tech for one tile is a huge investment for little return, especially if the city the AH resource is meant for already has good food (here fish). You have phants (and copper), meaning you do not need to worry about resources for a rush.

Your rush options are spamming axes (and one or two spears) after getting two or three cities OR getting construction and horseback riding, maybe a fourth city and build a few elephants, catapults and axes. Rushing HC relatively early would be good, due to your relatively limited land.

Edit: your land also has good food and production, but no rivers and few flat grassland tiles, meaning low commerce potential, favouring earlier attacks.

 

[War Master in Training]

One thing that I am torn between is whether to get sailing or pottery first. At first I was leaning sailing but a granary first will probably do more early on when the only tiles I am working are resources (I don't need the 3 lake tiles yet). Then I think worker needs to farm wheat -> chop grass forest -> build farm there (connects an irrigation line to wheat for future). Then I can make a cottage then mine (while chopping)

 

[a pen-dragon]

Sailing will do little for you short-term. You can not yet sign open borders for foreign trade routes and lighthouses are a lower priority than expansion.

OTOH TW will allow roads to connect your resources (most importantly the ivory), and pottery allows cottages and granaries, with granaries being much more powerful than lighthouses, and cottages being good medium term for your econ.

build farm there (connects an irrigation line to wheat for future)

It is way too early for that, you have sufficient food and your worker has better things to do.

 

[War Master in Training]

T30

Spoiler City :

I think as soon as I finish the second work boat I should make the next city. (the more southern one). Then I can get lower priority techs like AH and sailing. I should probably make a worker after the settler, or two. Granary can come after that.
Edit: I pivoted to spending 3 turns on a warrior for happiness. Will speed things up nicely. They way things look I might just make the settler without the second work boat and make it right after the warrior. The city will grow to happy cap just as the warrior finishes training.

 

[sampsa]

Whip settler size 4! More cities is much more important than anything else.

 

[War Master in Training]

T37

Spoiler first settler :

building a granary than a worker in the capitol (whip). Going to revolt to slavery this turn. worker comes down to mine copper. Once I get a couple workers I think I will make a second settler for the blue circle since I think it is still the best remaining spot even if it has to share tiles with city 2.

 

[War Master in Training]

Spoiler T39 :

I think I want to always whip for at least 2 pop so that I get less per . Work boat up next.

Got nice overflow into a 1 turn boat

 

[War Master in Training]

T41
built work boat, initialy sent it to work fish but decided to send it to second city.
T49
my warrior opened a hut and it spawned three barbarians warriors. The warrior is already weak from an animal fight, so I pivot the capitol from building a lighthouse to training an axeman.

 

[War Master in Training]

T55
finished writing. I think mathematics is the only thing worth getting for me now.

Spoiler Empire :

Current plan is to make one more city then rush production of axes. I don't know what to prioritize for research. Maybe Alphabet is worth it to start backfilling religion techs. Archery seems unhelpful right now.

 

[sampsa]

Well, a ton of mistakes already. You are playing way too fast!

Having two cities with no settler in production on T55 with an IMP leader is abysmal. Even 3 cities would be bad.

 

[War Master in Training]

I am going back to turn 37 because at that point I reverted back to how I usualy play and the whole point of this game is to play differently. First time doing a shadow game went a bit off the rails with how quickly I played after that.
T38 Granery can't be whiped just yet. Going to wait another turn. Animal Husbandry being researched to build a third city near pigs. Will make the settler directly after the granery this time.
T39 Settling and like before I am building a copper mine. Whiping the granary for 2 pop.

Spoiler city :

Last time I was a little hasty and put the overflow into a 1 turn work boat with the idea of having extra to produce a worker/settler. Now I see two probably better options:
I can put the overflow into settler, and the +50% bonus should kick in. I can then switch to the boat, whip after pop growth, and put overflow into the settler again (or just build the boat, recover pop, and whip the settler directly)
or, I can do the same thing with a worker which I also really need.

 

[soundjata]

The great abusehouse looks great on this map.

But we need focus.

Whipping a granary is counterproductive at this stage because it does not accelerate your current objective: Rapid EXpansion!
You need a strong justification for building (a fortiori whipping) anything else than settlers

 

[War Master in Training]

I hadn't even thought about GLH. I guess I would need to build it in my capital after getting a couple more cities down to spam axes for the rush. How would you recomomend going about that? (would have to quickly research masonry but that isn't much of a detor when the main tech goals have been reached)

 

[soundjata]

You cannot axe rush and build GLH at the same time. It's one or the other.

Because you have room for several good cities, you dont have to go to war too soon.

The usual way to build GLH is a couple of workers chopping everything nearby, work a few mines and whip a couple of stuff (lighthouse, settlers) into the wonder.
Research sailing and masonry ASAP (before TW)

 

[War Master in Training]

The great abusehouse looks great on this map.

But we need focus.

Whipping a granary is counterproductive at this stage because it does not accelerate your current objective: Rapid EXpansion!
You need a strong justification for building (a fortiori whipping) anything else than settlers

I think I understand better now that you edited it.

You cannot axe rush and build GLH at the same time. It's one or the other.

Because you have room for several good cities, you dont have to go to war too soon.

The usual way to build GLH is a couple of workers chopping everything nearby, work a few mines and whip a couple of stuff (lighthouse, settlers) into the wonder.
Research sailing and masonry ASAP (before TW)

What is "TW"?

here are the spots I see as potential cities I can make before rush:

Spoiler city locations :

Could I get any confirmation about quality of the plan of putting overflow into settler, building workboat while regaining population, then finishing settler with a whip?

 

[Gumbolt]

So you built a second city then built/whipped anything apart from a further settler. Ideally 3-4 cities by 2000bc. If imperialist then settler pump can be good. You can 4-2 pop whip settlers.

With OF this adds 50% for settler production. Same for chops I would of gone double settler. Or tried to whip one. I think you are too early on granaries here.

I guess you could axe rush incas?

Why take clams before fish workboat wise? Fish gives 5 food without lighthouse.

Lighthouse in St Peters too early. GLH could be good here too but i doubt the AI will get it this early.

Right now you just need to grab more land with cities. Once you have a third city be thinking about more workers too.

You are mining copper when you probably should be chopping forest. Road on wheat was not needed you have coastal trade routes and plenty health. Worker use food resources - chopping - cottages - mines pretty much last unless you want copper to attack AI.

You have played this very quickly.

 

[War Master in Training]

T41 With overflow put into a settler, I transfer the city to making a work boat so that it can grow pop back.
T42 Moscow reaches size 4, I whip the settler with 2 pop.
T43 I finish reaserch of AH. I start researching sailing. (this time I won't be so eager to build lighthouses though)
I also spend this turn putting the whip overflow into another settler. I move worker to get into position to improve pig.
T44 St. Petersburg border expands. I switch from settler to work boat to recover again.
This time I plan to complete the work boat so I can send it to one of the other cities. the question is, which one?

Spoiler Oops, I told the settler to go to the wrong place and lost a turn of settler movement :

Is there something more productive than a granery St. Petersburg should work on? next turn I can tell it to switch to a worker since it will be able to work two tiles.
My instinct is to fish the southern clams first, than western fish, than eastern fish for optimal tile sharing in the meantime. are there any flaws to that order? Bigger question is where do I make the second and third work boats? I think probably chop them out of non capital cities.

 

[War Master in Training]

T45 told Petersburg to stop making granery and to make a worker. Realising it only takes one more turn for it to make a settler than a worker due to how much base production it has. I switch to telling it to build a settler. I can pump workers a little later I think. I move my fog busting warior out a little further to find an new potential city location.
T46 settling at the purple circle. Moscow reached size three, I will let it finish the work boat before making it finish the settler. I tell the new city to make a warior, we need more military units and it can't make much of anythig yet. Realising my previous turn's decision of making a settler instead of a worker might have been bad because chopping could have gotten the settler out quickly anyway.
T48 pasture is completed and I am very tourn as to how I should us the woker next. Best guess I have on what is optimal is to chop tile to NE on grass hills.

Spoiler pictures :

I am much more unsure about city placement for the last two cities. Green looks okay. I can't make out which of the purple spots would be best or if I should just settle somewhere else to the west.

 

[soundjata]

TW = the wheel. You dont need roads when you start on the coast and aim towards sailing.

Sheep city I would place 2S of the lake. Maximizes green forests and gets the floodplain.

You need more workers. chop those forests!

 

[War Master in Training]

I need so many workers lol.
T48 I tell worker to chop. We can connect the city another time. we need to make more workers to do that. Also I think I sent the workboat to go to Novgorod.
T50 I tell fogbusting warior to go to green location. Settler also just finished so sending it there as well. Capac's borders have expanded so little time remains to claim the spot.
T51 finished sailing, starting masonry. Novgorod border popped, so fish is now waiting for the work boat.

Spoiler Novgorod :

I think a lighthouse is necesary for it to be a good city, so I will build that after the warior is finished.