Scouting Appropriations

[Krill]

This thread is not meant to be a long term thread, it is aimed solely at the garnering as many opinions about our current and short term scouting requirements, and how best to fulfill our needs.

The current CDP involves us building a further 2 axes, enough to defend our current lands and the next two settlers. However, it does not involve us gaining much more than that. We have enough knowledge of the map to dotmap another 4-6 cities, so our main aims are, as discussed before, to discover other teams.

We need to balance the requirements of exploration against the requirements to continue expanding. We should have sailing by t81 at the latest, earlier if we can trade for it. We may have horses from around t85. Exactly how much do we want to dedicate to exploring, and at what cost?

Remember, that while we will have a production capacity of slightly more than 50 hpt from t79 onwards, that we still have other requirements, settlers, workers, defenses. Going overboard on expansion is just as bad as too little.

 

[Ronnie1]

It seems to me that the other team(s) (Kaz), have the ability to freeze us out because we only know them....I personally think we should get a WB out ASAP and head towards Kaz.

 

[General_W]

hmm - I have mixed feelings about a workboat.
I think our ground exploration is going to pay big dividends here eventually... but we're also going to want trade routes by sea.

Also - it's worth considering - that exploring around the coasts will give us a leg up on getting the circumnavigation bonus.

so yeah... I'd support getting at least 1 workboat out asap.

 

[regoarrarr]

If we assume kaz has 1 if not 2 wb's already out (10-20-30 turns ago) it's going to be tough to beat them to circumnav

 

[Krill]

You guys are assuming we can circumnavigate with workboats?

 

[Ronnie1]

I doubt we can circumnav with WB's....but we can expose coastline and create trade routes.

 

[General_W]

You guys are assuming we can circumnavigate with workboats?

No. I'm saying that if our Workboats can cross half the map (or more) by sailing along the coast, then there's a lot less distance to cover over the open sea with Caravels.

 

[azzaman333]

I don't like the idea of using a WB to scout, a galley or a trireme so it can defend itself IMO.

 

[Krill]

Can you guys define asap? As in before or after a settler for city 5?

 

[General_W]

I'd say after the Settler for City 5.

so "asap" was probably the wrong way to put it.

 

[Ronnie1]

I actually favor NOW....we could build 2 WB's in IS after the Axe, and then the Settler for city #5. We send 1st WB towards Kaz homeland and the 2nd after the Kaz boat so we find whatever they do.

Even if IS grows into a red face...red faces don't matter during settler production.

CK finishes Settler for City #4 and then takes up the Axe building that would have come from IS.

 

[Dreylin]

Personally, I would like to see someone heading down the valley immediately South of JD - where Barentsz almost went. I'm itching for that, but realise that development is needed also.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

I very much do NOT want to send WB exploring.

A trireme is only 20 hammers more than a WB and it kills barb galleys - I dunno when those start showing up, but it can't be that long from now. For the extra 3-4 turns it takes to build, we will have a scout that can circumnavigate the island even with barb galleys and can kill invading galleys as well.

There is so much land in this game, I am sure that we will run into lots and lots of barb galleys...

 

[Krill]

Well, the forge is complete, so we need to know what to build in IS by the time we get our turn. We need 1 workboat in the next 10 turns for sheep, or we delay growth there for no good reason, really, and hence the date for the Collosus. (I'll post the poll for the name sometime this week). We need one axe from IS (and one from JD) to defend JD and the workers/settler as they road to city 5. That allows the axe that is currently loitering around JD to head south or south east, SE makes most sense as it should have 2XP and hence isn;t that far off woodsman 2.

If we build 2 workboats (in addition to what we need for sheep), then we have to delay the settler from finishing turn 71, to finishing turn 78, a delay of 7 turns in settling city 5. It also stops growth in IS to size 8 for another couple of turns. So it delays growth in IS, in city 5, it delays getting chariots out, and it delays worker improvements to all cities to the east and south of IS.

We can have sailing researched by turn 75, by our own efforts, or traded for it from Kaz by turn 71/72 for IW (doubt we can trade for it, it's possible, but I wouldn't devise any plans that hinged on it).

If we settle the yellow site at a safe pace (getting those two axes from JD and IS, city 5 settled t75), we can have horses hooked and chariots being built by turn 78.

I know what I want to do, but what does everyone else think we should do, given this infomation?

 

[Memphus]

i think we can wait. build the empire!

 

[General_W]

Thanks for that summary Krill... Though I think you said "workboat" a couple times when you meant "worker" - threw me off a little.

After reading that, I'm more inclined to wait on the naval scouting. I think we really need to do it... but at this late stage, it's probably better to do that with Galleys anyway.

So yeah - don't delay the settlement of City 5... and let's just hold off on the navy thing till we've got sailing and the core up and running.

 

[Krill]

Nah, when I said workboats that's what I meant; we don't need any more workers for a short while, they can wait until around t80.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

I think we need naval scouts, but not yet and I really don't want to send workboats out.

Have open borders with kaz would help - we could tell if they are on the same landmass as us - I suspect they are, and so 2 naval scouts are of limited utility, as we KNOW Kaz is to our east and south.

I'd rather get the settlers out and have our collosus city make some naval scouts after it's done with collosus - but that's me.

 

[General_W]

We need 1 workboat in the next 10 turns for sheep

Then what does this mean?

 

[Memphus]

that the sheep ctiy has fish. which needs a WB. IS can build this WB extremely fast, thus accelerate the sheep's city's growth.