RLC#5. Suleiman.

[pigswill]

So here we are again, still following in the footsteps of The Master.

This time round I shall fail miserably on deity, or if I´m really lucky fail cheerfully .

Our leader for this game (just in case you didn´t read the title ) is Suleiman of the Ottomans.

Usual screenshots omitted.....

The Ottomans start with agriculture and the wheel. A pretty decent combination in my opinion.

Our Unique Unit is the Janissery. A musket replacements with bonusses (or it it boni?) against melee, archery and mounted units. I haven´t played the Ottomans much before and this doesn´t appear to be one of the stronger UUs at higher difficulties but I´d be pleased to be proven wrong.

Our Unique Building is the Hammam, a super aqueduct that gives +2 happy on top of the usual +2 health. This does appear to be a significant improvement on standard.

Our Unique Leader is Suleiman. As well as his magnificent demeanour he adds Philosophical to give us a slight chance of keeping up in the tech race through strategic bulbing. He even has Imperialistic which could come in useful. Cheaper settlers for the initial land grab and cheaper Generals on the off chance we get involved in some nasty warfare during the game.



I have to confess this wasn´t my first random start, something like my fourth. Now I don´t even have the excuse of a hopeless start.

Settings: deity, normal speed, ancient start, pangea, default settings, no huts/events.

 

[georgjorge]

Seems great fun! Any chance of a save to shadow this one?

 

[enKage]

I want screenies

OK here is the start:

Spoiler :

pooooor no river, no PH and a warrior basically will not reveal anything useful

 

[RagingHordes]

@enKage: if you don't use smylies I can't take you seraieously!

Good start, but a start is not everything in life. Where will you take this?
Engineering Rush comes to mind because of silly Sully. Oracle CoL? (1Corn = 3 Scientists = decent Engineering date...)

EDIT: An ambitious man who enjoys quicker starts might settle the North Corn.

 

[pigswill]

No river but 2 wet corn and gold ain´t too bad.

Moving warrior NE onto gold hill will hopefully reveal some seaside tiles (it looks like coast to the north and lots of plains everywhere else).

Hopefully photobucket will start working for me. I´m staying with my in-laws in Brazil and using their PC and all the software´s in portugese so that´s an additional challenge.

Plains hill start is good of course for the free hammer and rivers are also nice but the main thing is to whip out a decent start.

 

[pigswill]

My in-laws are wonderful people but they´re even more computer illiterate than I am. After installing a couple of years worth of windows updates including IE10 things seem to be working. I´ve now added the starting screenshot (TM) to the first post.

I reckon its time to move the warrior NE to see what we can see of the sea.



There could be seafood in the hidden tile but its not guaranteed. I´m not keen on the suggestion of settling on the northern corn because we don´t have that many good tiles around and I don´t really want to lose the little food we have . There´s still three tiles hidden to the east if we settle in place which could contain anything or nothing. My guess is to SIP but what do I know .

 

[enKage]

I would only consider 1E to ran away from those plains, but since it would cost 1 turn, I would prefer SIP. Anyway, I smell copper or horses those plains. Capital would b caped to size 5 (3 tiles + 2 scietist) and still allows some whipping. Should be moved later, but it is reasonably strong little city

 

[vranasm]

gosh I hate all those pangea games spammed everywhere... like there are no other interesting options?

I would SIp and tech mining.

Seems like very good start.

Why capped size 5 enkage? the gold means capital has 6 cap. Or you mean make 7->5 whip cycle? doesn't hear much effective, but I think we are going too forward with this.

I would do next tS until mining is finished, it gives like ~7 turns of scouting, we should see better what's around.

 

[enKage]

Capital has 6 max happiness minus 1 for whipp unhappinies, at leasttill monarchy. It has 3 great tiles to work + grasshill, may be more after BW/AH. Supposing 1 wet corn would be given away periodically, I assume it will constanty work 3 tiles + 2 scientist Or something.... I am confused now....

Anyway, it is quite good for a long time but buearo capital would have to be founded later (if needed)

 

[oranje willem]

Mining -> bronze working seems a strong opening here. Double wet corn and gold is really really good, but it often means poor land around it.

 

[RagingHordes]

Beauro is not for every game. I think this may be one of those games where you go for the alternative teching method - good ideas and War extortion! *sound of war drums*

 

[kossin]

That's a lot of brown tiles (9)

Good luck, maybe you can try the Engineering bulb line as already suggested!

 

[RagingHordes]

Oh, I hate to see you sad, kossin!

Well, hey, you know... it's a good map and we can improve those brown tiles. By the time we get to them, it will all be alright! It will work out!

Cheer up, will you? You're breaking my heart! the of

 

[pigswill]

Started playing. Settled in place. As suggested played up to mining which took 9 turns due to the complete absence of commerce tiles so far. Somewhat conventionally I started with a fifteen turn worker.

Our warrior is half way through a clockwise circuit. Not much has happened so far surprisingly enough.

Met Sury´s scout in 3750bc (T6) strolling through the Southern jungles. Didn´t declare war.



Somebody founded Buddhism in 3680bc, but it wasn´t anybody we know yet.

Met Darius´scout also strolling through the southern jungles.



As our scouting warrior hasn´t met any beasties yet he´ll almost certainly meet a bear next turn as he continues the grand tour.



Looks like we have a minature península, more akin to a pimple than a proper chunk of land but its one less direction for barbs to attack from.

Mining is done. I could go for masonry, stone and great wall but its 11 turns for masonry then ?6 turns for quarry. Worker finishes in 6, doesnt leave much time for farming corm and building roads before starting a quarry so I´m not sure of cost-benefit ratio on this approach.

Warrior will continue his cicruit, probably send the next warrior to check out the stone coast and hope there´s some seafood there.

If I don´t go for masonry then probably 17 turn BW. 6 turns for worker, 5 turns to farm northern corn, do I build gold-mine or farm second corn? I´m tempted to go for gold, slows down growth of course but speeds up commerce. I´ll probably be advised to go for second corn before the gold.

 

[vranasm]

that is some.... not so interesting surroundings...

actually I see there only 1 semigood spot 3E from capital for overlap on corn and getting the ivory...

otoh ivory....muhahaha...did I hear War Elephants?

 

[Killroyan]

There could still be seafood around the elephant but even with fish that is a lot of plains. Good luck with this.

 

[enKage]

fsh blocks engineering bulbs, so it is not worth to settle early imo

 

[Packers5280]

Mids could come into play with the stone and Suleiman's philosophical trait. But warfare maybe more preferable with phants and/or bulbing engineering.

 

[pigswill]

Still a bit early for definite plans. Elepults and engineering sling are both breakout options but I need to finish the initial circuit and maybe meet a few more neighbours before making any médium term decisions.

The short term decision is whether to research masonry for great wall or go for BW to whip out settlers and workers (and maybe find copper).

I suspect that its probably safer to go for BW and if we have some not too distant neighbours to the wesr barbs may not be such a problem.

 

[georgjorge]

With both Stone and Gold, you should have the option of going for either Oracle (always strong) or Pyramids (strong with Philosophical and early war) if that decision seems favorable.

Bronze Working seems good, whipping isn't as strong as it would be without the gold but eight forests are enough to justify the cost.