scoutsout said:
Fair enough. But let me see if I can make my point with a little "Socratic Method":
1. What type(s) of terrain are hardly worth worker turns in despotism?
I'll go with hills and mountains.
2. What's the fastest way to work a hill in Despotism?
Build a city on it.
3. You're going to move the settler anyway... do you
a) Risk a wasted scout move? ... or...
b) Risk a wasted settler move?
Under these circumstances, I'd say scout. Here's why: Every turn that the settler does not build a city is a one-turn setback for the entire empire. Every citizen, scrap of food, gold piece, shield, horseman, sword and worker that we will ever produce is delayed by one turn for every one turn delay in building this first city. So in this case, I'd prioritize my settler's move as more valuable than the scout's.
One of my first reactions to this start was to send the settler SW onto the hill to settle. On further reflection, I think we send the scout up first. If the scout goes up and we discover another lux or a resource, say 1 S and 1 SE of current position, it may make more sense to send the settler 1 S to settle, thus (possibly) capturing two luxes in the first nine squares. If we send the settler up and make the same discovery, we have to choose between (a) settling on the hill and capturing three of the same lux (wine); or (b) capturing two luxes.
The odds of us
not being able to capture the other two wines that we can see are pretty slim. There's nothing wrong with having two furs, but we won't be able to trade them for a while. So for the time being, their value is: +1 food, +1 commerce, + happiness. And we don't get any happiness out of the second or third wine.
Yes, I know that putting the settler up there is a calculated risk (that I'll miss something), but I don't think putting the scout up there qualifies as a stupid gamble. If I'm wrong, I'm hoping you'll explain why.
With all that riverside and lux commerce... It's high time you guys gave the ol' Republic Slingshot a try at this level.
I'm all for it.
[Edited: I was unable to make my list look quite as nice as scoutsout's, so there may be some slight differences.]