(0) I dunno what that galley in the south is doing there, just sitting around, I tell them to go keep exploring.
Switch Alexandria to settler. We need to resettle the egyptian lands, or the russians take them! Rome to settler as well.
What does Pisae need a harbor for? Switch to library.
Same question for Antium. Doesn't need health nor does the trade income help. I leave it for now, it's only 2 turns left. Turn on governor for a lot (like 50%) faster build, only 1 turn now.
Why market in Ravenna? Switch to library.
Courthouse in Arpinum...ok, I understand, but BEFORE lighthouse? Anyway, it's almost done now. A lighthouse would actually mean more money for us, thanks to the big commerce from sea tiles; courthouse is only 2 gpt.
Whaling Station: Courthouse->Lighthouse. Same reasoning.
Cumae: turn growth back on.
Arretium: some micro to get lighthouse faster => in the end faster growth as well.
Turn on governor in Neapolis for some more production, at equal rest.
One note...please, be a bit more careful about city management. We have 10 cities, and I just switched production and/or tiles in *every single one* of them!! When you don't use the governors, you have to pay attention whenever the city grows, or something else influences its tile outcome.
Every religion in the world is already founded. There are some civs out there badly ahead of us! Victoria has every single tech available to us now, ahead at least 8, likely more. However, her score is low. With some more growth (both bigger cities and more cities), we should be able to get a lot more research going. We're 2nd in land area, only 4th in population, and 7th in GNP! I know the AI likes cottages a lot, but still, we need to use the lands we have!!
On the positive side, we have twice the average production, and 50% more in food. Should be able to catch up.
Alexandria is only at 5 commerce before courthouse effect, so it looks very bearable to settle more cities on the other continent. Later we can build the FP somewhere there, centrally. Even the few tiles we can see now offer no less than 4 resources we don't have yet, it would be a terrible waste to let this fall to Russia because of not bringing settlers. For now that means: I won't take/raze anything before we have some of those around!
Phew, I think I've never written so much about a turn 0.
Finally: I end the turn!
(1) Optics finished, next is Monarchy. Eventually for knights.
That egyptian galley next to our continent is about to pillage some of our fish. Can't help it, but we need to be careful about the longbow.
Antium and Pisae build caravels; both to circumnavigate and to protect our water resources.
We're running a deficit of 25, but I guess Hatty will pay that for us.
Peter now has Engineering, doesn't want to give it to us though.
(2) Lose 1 praetorian while killing a stack of egyptians near Alexandria. One sword is left for them. They didn't pillage our fishing though.
Bombardment of Thebes starts.
(3) We get a great Prophet. Use him on Theology. No previously invisible techs appear for Victoria, we're down only 6 now!
The fun at Thebes starts. Bombed to 0, Praetorians charge, kill 2 longbow, 1 axer, 2 archer, 1 horse archer. There is one spearman left only, and we have one more praetorian, who happens to have shock promotion. Now what do we do...I leave the spearman alone. Without a settler, taking Thebes doesn't do much good.
Notice that there's a forced scientist in Alexandria, slowing down our settler. Turn him off, but it's too late now to save a turn.
(4) Monarchy comes in. Next will be Feudalism. Theology (from last turn's prophet) + Music to Peter for Engineering + 20g.
Rush settler in Alexandria (saves 1 turn).
That galley finally dropped the longbow, it kills our charging Praetorian, at 0.2 health.
2 of Thebes' praetorians promoted to Medic I, the whole stack rests for 1 turn to wait for the settler. Thebes just got a great Merchant, but it won't help them any more. Maybe they get a tech from it, doesn't really matter.
(5) Victoria just circumnavigated.
There's a new war chariot in Thebes, slays our city raider III against overwhelming odds, hardly taking a scratch.
Thebes goes down, we get a load of money (around 200), and the egyptian borders barely change.
I like the location of Thebes, the settler goes there. Giza on the west coast will be the next target, but probably not in my turns.
(6) Kill the intruding longbow and raze the city Hatty just founded.
After all the egyptian borders did move back, cost us 1 turn of settler movement though. But we cannot found in egyptian territory anyway.
Memphis will be tough to take, it's on a hill, with tons of longbows.
(7) troop movement. Antium starts on a settler for our home continent. There are 2 settlers on egyptian soil now, waiting for the raze of Giza.
(8) Giza down to 12%. Upon razing it we could immediately found 2 cities, and we have overwhelming forces there. No need to wait - charge!
Lose a city raider III to a longbow - bad luck. City raider II takes out the next, then one with shock kills a spearman. Finally take the city against the badly injured longbow with a freshman. One note on promotions I chose: I tried not to mix city raider with other promotions, to get specialized forces. The CR will go to CR3 (or die) before anything else, the combat I take shock or medic I, possibly other things, but no CR.
Found Circei on the former Thebes location. Found Setia on the Giza spot.
Since we now have spices on our own, I cancel the deal with Peter. I sell him a fish though.
"Give a man a fish, and you feed him for one day. Teach him how to fish and he won't pay you 4gpt any more!"
Memphis has huge borders, that one should definitely go down before peace. We need to pillage their ivory near former Thebes, it's still in their borders and we won't get it any time soon. We got some happiness problems at home.
(9) Rome builds settler, goes to settle on our own continent. The one Antium's building should be shipped over later.
Ivory pillaged. There are some russians walking through the now empty terrain, dunno what they want. No settler though. Troops moving towards Memphis.
(10) egyptian galley sinks our caravel. No comment.
There was one thing I was worried about in Memphis: they had a Barrage II catapult. Now it's standing unguarded right BETWEEN our two incoming stacks of praetorians. Not that I mind... A combat I (freshman) was supposed to take it out, but apparently commited suicide at the sight. I can't imagine any other reason for this result. Next freshman kills it flawlessly.
Memphis will probably fall in 3-4 turns. We should get the settler from Antium over as soon as it's done, resettle somewhere in the area of Memphis if the egyptian borders permit it, and one city in the triangle between Memphis, Novgorod and Circei (ex-Thebes).
Our forces approaching Memphis are so far 8 praetorians, with 1 more further away, plus 5 catapults. Memphis has 4 longbows (several with city garrison) and an axer. A suicide catapult might be necessary, to avoid waiting any longer before peace.
To avoid war weariness and also because of the border situation, I suggest to fight Russia for a while afterwards.
Victoria now considers us her worst enemy. I guess she was rather fond of Hatty...oh well, that's life. No trades for us though.
Feudalism is due in 2 turns, I queued Guilds, feel free to change that if you want.
Hmm...it's 1360AD. I must've missed a turn somewhere...dunno where. Strange. Sorry about that.
Can someone reset the player name back to Rat09? I don't know how, and we're called Dimy at the moment.
Xarathas, this is for you!
we get the message that the Great Library has been built in another country
I sign Open Borders with her and find out she is far ahead of us in tech! She has 7 or 8 techs we don't have yet. There's nothing we can trade with her.
