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

[War Master in Training]

Interesting strategy points. I probably should have slow built GLH but I can still do that a little later I think.

Any tips on how to communicate better with the shadow game? I can take a look at a couple others again but it is still my first time trying this so pointers are appreciated.

 

[Gumbolt]

Worth putting OF into GLH where it does not work out to completing axes. I think on Noble unless the AI started on the coast they will struggle to build GLH pre 1000bc. Maybe even 1ad, Look how late the Great Wall went. On immortal that can go 2000bc or earlier.

 

[War Master in Training]

T67 I notice that Rostov is ready to 2 pop whip so I do that.

Spoiler egypt offer :

I don't see any downsides and it could maybe increase commerce and relations.
T68 I realize that egypt and inca have not yet met each other somehow.

Things are looking good. I am almost ready for an axe rush. I think I am getting the hang of whiping micro. I think I will start whiping Moscow's pop into both GLH and axes. I may prioritize the lighthouse itself over the next axe in order to get the benifits of extra faster. St Petersburg lines up perfectly to put into another axe while finishing the last turn of growth so I can whip optimally there. I need to be a bit tactiful in these next turns about how I squeze more workers out into the work force.

Note: I finished my first cottage

 

[Fippy]

Overall and in most games, you should open borders with all AIs.

 

[Gumbolt]

I can only see about 3 workers? Posting saves would get you better feedback.

 

[Gumbolt]

I think you will look back on your start and wonder why you didn't have 4 cities by 2000bc instead of 2 at 1800bc. Or 3 at 2040BC. Your capital was a perfect settler pump. With 1-2 chops you could of had settlers in under 6 turns without any whipping. Same for workers. With a bit of chopping you could of had 2 or maybe 3 workers ready by 2000bc.

Your scouting could of been a lot better too. The scout just needed to explore the coastline then head past Incas and continue to track the coast north.

Worker use. You had 7 roads built by 1800bc. Roads should really be low priority. Connect copper stops warriors from being built. Little or no barbs on Noble difficulty. Especially with Incans blocking off the land.

I think St Petersburg would of made a great GLH city.

The incans here are just a distraction. Let them build 2-3 cities while you spam cities and use trade routes for commerce. Axe rush here was probably the wrong call with imperialist. I doubt you will lose this as Noble level and only 4 AI to kill off.Chances are with 7-8 cities you will have more cities than all the AI on the map.

You need more happiness resources too.

 

[War Master in Training]

I have stupid few workers. That is my biggest mistake this game.

T70 I begin working on the GLH in Moscow. I can get my remaining needed settlers and workers from my other cities.

T71 I have 5 workers and am making one more before I finishe building my cities. Iron working is getting close. My army is almost big enough to take on the inca.

Spoiler empire :

T72 Finally meet a new civ.

T73 Since most of my forest around the capital is exausted but it has unlimmited food I am whiping other builds into GLH.

 

[Gumbolt]

Okay now we have a save.

To get coastal trade routes with the Ai you need to explore the coastline. As you have not fully done this if the Egyptians have a coastal city where your scout is you won't get the foreign trade routes.

You have double gold north of the Incans. I would settle on the gold for happiness. Also settle the dye/rice (Include lakes). Settle on the wine too. Cow and marble site could be good. Marble for fail gold. Wheat/whale site looks good too. If you are going GLH spam coastal cities like crazy. Don't forget the 2 cities above Moscow too.

I would chop out GLH in St Petersburg. Moscow needs 1-2 more mines if settler pump.

Maths would of been so good here instead of IW. All those chops are only worth 20H here.Tech wise Monarchy or calendar will help? IW was not much use here. Calendar requires maths.

All your other cities with 4 pop and granary can whip settlers at size 4 once they have 10 hammers. I would likely chop or whip the 52H granary too.

You can settle 10-15+ cities here. If you don't the AI will take the land.

A galley would be useful too. Speeds up settlers.

Cancel the spear. If you were planning axe rush you would of been whipping all the 4 pop cities for axes. Plus chopping axes like crazy.

5-6 workers here is fine. The issue was lack of workers up to 2000bc. Same was true for settlers. You realised the mistake and tried to fix. If you spam more cities you will need to whip more workers.

Oracle should be a good wonder at some point once you have more cities and maths.

 

[War Master in Training]

Monarchy feels a bit out of the way. I could research Aplhabet to trade my way up to it but I think Mathimatics -> Calendar is the way to go (aplhabet does let me keep tabs on how close other civs are to longbowmen). Iron working opens up the north so I can start settler spamming there.

 

[War Master in Training]

T73 I am considering moving the GLH building to St Petersburg. Moscow only has a little over 30 in it. Moscow is a worker and settler pump to fill out a handful more locations.
T74 I whip settler in capital, it has so much food I fully agree that I need more resources quick. I put overflow into a work boat for my next city.

Spoiler fogbusting :

I moved my northern axeman to a nice fogbusting position where it can defend the bottleneck that all barbarians are funneled through due to the great wall of inca.
T75 I have entered the clasical era with iron working. I begin to research mathimatics into calender because I need to get those resources online.

Spoiler iron discovered! :

City placement on the coast changes a little to accomodate.
Settler is heading to the southernmost part of the continent for that city. Work boat will be on its heels.
T76 I tell capital to make a worker. It needs time to recover from whip .

Spoiler Egypt :

Egypt's land is good. Also deffended about as well as the inca. I think the strategy is to either invade the inca now or to focus on expansion a little bit longer and get about 4 more cities (including the two filler cities in the north of the penensula). Rush can begin as soon as the GLH is done.

 

[soundjata]

hm you don't need GLH at all.
You could just rush, now (make army)

 

[War Master in Training]

hm you don't need GLH at all.
You could just rush, now (make army)

that was my original plan. I would have done it by now, but it has been pointed out to me that it will be quite a while before Noble difficulty AI will be ready to defend.

I also realized I forgot to attatch my save to the last post.

 

[Gumbolt]

Well if you are going axe rush you needed to be whipping and chopping axes. Least you would get some capture gold to help towards science.

Not sure why you need a 6th worker here or the axe.

I would be rexing with settlers or rushing. GLH is great here if you plan a lot of coastal cities.There is so much empty land here. You can settle 2 cities above capital. 2 cites to the south. You need the gold for happiness. Your capital is struggling.

I would be whipping all size 4 cities for settlers and capital can slow build them. You need a defender in yaros for happiness. Hooking up copper means you now have to spend 35 hammers for a city guard instead of 15H for a warrior

You built a mine near Rostov when you needed the road for foreign trade routes with Incans.Road the forest to connect Incan road to your network. Foreign trade routes are worth 2C compared to 1C internally.

Get used to running slider at 100% or 0%.

Your game needs direction here.

 

[pigswill]

One of the hardest things for a relatively inexperienced player to grasp in the concept of focus: look at a map, consider your leader and civ, available resources, opponents etc then decide on a plan and implement the plan, focusing on each element of the plan 100%. A more experienced player might look at the situation in 2000bc and say e.g. 'first axe rush Inca to stop getting blocked in, then build Great Lighthouse then chop/whip settlers prioritising coastal sites'. A less experienced player is likely to half-do all of these at once.