SGOTM4 - Team Smackster

[Tarkeel]

@DH: We are industrial and commercial, and the only industrial wonders in the start are Pyramids and Great Wall (possibly Hanging Gardens, but don't think so).

As for what wonder next, we'll have to see what the oracle cascade takes.. But I think we should be able to get lighthouse in, the AI is usually sloppy in researching literature since it's optional.

BTW, I got the game, but won't play for many hours yet, so keep commenting.

 

[dmanakho]

Oh, I am gaining confidence in myself again, only one dissapointment from Wotan!!!!!

I have a brilliant idea, but i have to run right now, and idea is so good (well that's what i think at least) and shady at the same time, so by a virtue of me been paranoid i'd like to PM my plan to each of you instead of posting in the thread....
I am going to the seminar today, won't be back until late afternoon US eastern time.

@Wotan: Are you sure literature should be next the technology????? May be we should put something between Math and literature.....

again, let's decide on next wonder. I believe Oracle will be built during Tarkeel turns if he starts MMg with that 3rd hill.

@Tarkeel; AIs are sloppy in researching literature in conquest, in PTW they do it quite often... our last SGOTM and few other classic GOTMs i played showed it

 

[Wotan]

Library @ 3 culture is too much to postpone longer than necessary...

 

[smackster]

Agreed get Literature and build Library next. After doing that we don't have to decide on our next wonder for some time, just get building one, clearly the Lighthouse would be nice for multiple reasons, but the culture of the Great Library is attractive. If available I would tend towards the lighthouse, as I'm sceptical that we would get the Great Library before the AI.

There is of course the chance that the AI will beat us to the Oracle, but hopefully not now.

I now put Scout and DH on the active list. It will be Scouts turn tonight, after Tarkeel, after myself, but its ok to play it at the weekend. I think a little break to think about the game will not harm us. After this I'll keep a strict 24/72 hour, I got it/skip. Note that team smackster has never had a 72 hour skip, you have been warned.

Roster

Wotan
Dmanakho (just played)
Tarkeel (got it)
smackster (will play tonight)
Scoutsout(on deck, weekend duty)
DH(hopefully has fully working PTW)

 

[smackster]

Are you sure you can build the FP as soon as you have enough cities, and not the next turn? How many cities do we need on this map for the FP.

 

[Tarkeel]

Won't make it today I'm afraid can do a swap if you want smackster

Edit: BTW, does anyone know if PTW swaps you away from forbidden palace if your number of cities drops below the required # for building it? If not, settle enough cities in one turn, start FP for some free culture.. Not sure many teams will think of doing that.

 

[dmanakho]

Are you sure you can build the FP as soon as you have enough cities, and not the next turn? How many cities do we need on this map for the FP.

Yes YOU CAN!!!! I tested it personally, you need 8 cities, we need to build only 3 more settlers.... everything as i said previously
IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!

...Not sure many teams will think of doing that.

That is why i was paranoid, now most of them will know in matter of days
(oh those lurkers)

EDIT: @Mad-Bax: Could you pretend you didn't see previous 3 posts and those that will follow.... If Staff team implements the same idea we would know who it came from

MORE EDITS: @More at Mad-Bax: Just wanted to ask you if you had a chance to put scoutsout in our team roster, he will play this weekend. Thank you!

 

[smackster]

No rush Tarkeel, just play it when you can.

Yes YOU CAN!!!! I tested it personally, you need 8 cities, we need to build only 3 more settlers.... everything as i said previously
IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!

Very engenious plan, as my grandmother used to say "you are not just a silly face after all"

We could build it in Utica, when there is a gap in wonders, or a cascade that leaves us without (have to get the settlers waiting in place). I wonder how quickly Utica would build it. Usually FP time is based on number of cities, so with only 5, may be very quick.

Generally I wait for a leader to get the FP and put it in a totally corrupt location to start another core. But in games where I don't seem to have a chance for a leader, I start it in a core city, and then when I do get my leader, move the palace so that I have two regular cores.

That's not an exploit as I move the palace to a place that has another core of cities, and not far away from any others.

But in this game, if we say rushed the palace in the Rome area, then we would exploit the corruption bug. However, I would want to do it this way if the bug did not exist, so its annoying not to be able to use a legit tactic because of a bug.

Certainly need MBs advice on this one.

Are you sure this has not been done in 5CC games before?

smackster

 

[dmanakho]

We could build it in Utica, when there is a gap in wonders, or a cascade that leaves us without (have to get the settlers waiting in place). I wonder how quickly Utica would build it. Usually FP time is based on number of cities, so with only 5, may be very quick.

This is not true. YOu mix FP with a regular palace.. FP always costs 200shields and will be build in Utica in less than 20 turns...

I'd suggest we build it as soon as possible... Benefits of FP is hard to underestimate. Plus, adding 9th citizen on hill in Utica adds corruption and doesn't add new shields, so that citizen is practically wasted, adding FP will decrease corruption to virtually nothing, hence allowing to build all subsequent wonders faster. I would suggest the following radical order: after oracle complete build library in Utica then GL (I bet you we won't be able to build Lighthouse, although always worth to try) then FP ASAP, then it should be turn for Hanging Hardens or Colliseum.

But in this game, if we say rushed the palace in the Rome area, then we would exploit the corruption bug. However, I would want to do it this way if the bug did not exist, so its annoying not to be able to use a legit tactic because of a bug.

I am sure our Chief Strategist Wotan will have something to say on that.

Certainly need MBs advice on this one.

I think so too

Are you sure this has not been done in 5CC games before?

I have no idea, i am just a newbie, well relative newbie anyways.

 

[Tarkeel]

D-man: Did you test disbanding the 3 support cities and growing the FP city? did it change?

 

[dmanakho]

D-man: Did you test disbanding the 3 support cities and growing the FP city? did it change?

I tested it all the way through... Building 3 support cities, start building FP, disbanding support cities, clicking next turn, waiting all the turns until FP is built and been pleasantly suprprised at the end see FP built with virtually no corruption in that city in my test game.

I encourage everybody to test it too, just to make sure...

 

[smackster]

This is not true. YOu mix FP with a regular palace.. FP always costs 200shields and will be build in Utica in less than 20 turns...

Must be the palace pre-build that is based on number of cities. I had the unfortunate experience of having a palace pre-build going for a wonder, and getting sneaked attacked and finding the palace completing earlier than expected because of the loss of cities.

 

[dmanakho]

Must be the palace pre-build that is based on number of cities. I had the unfortunate experience of having a palace pre-build going for a wonder, and getting sneaked attacked and finding the palace completing earlier than expected because of the loss of cities.

Yep, that can happen...

@Tarkeel: Please build up some military force.

@Smackster: You really ought to start skirmish Romans for leader hunting and even if we send Romans into the GA, its better if it is a despotic GA.

May be we can use one of the old techniques on leader farming, something like fortifying troops on top of the mountains and leaving unprotected worker in southern valley as a bait... Wotan is good at doing just that.

DH and Scoutsout will play after Smackster, I hope they are checking the thread and will follow the flow of the game.

 

[smackster]

After we take out Rome, I don't mind leader farming. But archers against legions is not a good situation for doing that, we have to clear the iron first. If we can't clear it on the first attack, then we may well be the ones forced into a despotic GA, as we will have to build some defence.

 

[DeceasedHorse]

I am watching, still waiting on my copy of the game though.

 

[Wotan]

Plus, adding 9th citizen on hill in Utica adds corruption and doesn't add new shields, so that citizen is practically wasted.

Not true! Two shields and two beakers/gold, max one goes to corruption so minimum 1 shield and 1 beaker/gold gained.

FP, is a great idea. I agree it should go in just after GL. We might be able to time it so we do not actually waste all three Settlers... If we are to resettle one city to the Iron/Wool in Roman lands, only two are actually destroyed wo any benefit but FP.

Roman war. We need plenty of Catapults if we are to successfully leader farm. With only Archer the chance of survival depends on the enemy being low on HPs. We might be able to use "mutton valley" to our advantage, there are a few grassland in it we could turn into killing fields. But maybe the fight will be brought to Roman lands and then it is not feasible.

@DH, so we might skip you again? If you have not recieved your new Civ disc before the weekend?

 

[smackster]

Don't rely on Cats doing any damage to Rome (the city that is). However, I do like cats in the open, as a way to weaken legions as they come to us.

Consider, when we attack their city our troops are all defence 1 (no spearmen, and we don't want a GA yet). So using cats for city bombardment will be doubly useless as the legions that they have will attack our weak defenders.

Everything seems to rest on that iron mission. Where is the SAS when you need them.

smackster

edit : its 2.00am so I'm going to bed

 

[mad-bax]

In reply to a PM by smackster:

Scoutsout has been added to your roster.

The remote palace rule for GOTM applies, in the sense that there is no need to specifically lift it for this game.

The rule says: "You must not rebuild the palace in a location remote from the majority of your empire in order to gain a significant corruption advantage"

Therefore, so long as you can justify the move in another way you are not in violation of the rule.

 

[dmanakho]

Catapults are the key to success against Rome, so Tarkeel please build some.
I start thinking that we won't have enough troops for the Smackster to start this war, so it might be DH or Scout who will have to do it.
We may want to battle roman legions with archers and catapults in the valley's grasslands and disconnect the iron while we do that and then when Rome has no spare troops left try to attack the city.

I am also worried about Ivory coast, Romans will definetely have MapMaking soon, doesn't matter whether we trade it to them or now and they will try to settle on ivory.

Smackster suggested before to road that tundra and then we should probably place few units there to control shoreland.

 

[Tarkeel]

I have a slight problem atm... After noticing I couldn't see the sheep, I went over and reinstalled GOTM 21-25 packs.. and it's still not there. Any ideas what's wrong?

Edit: Ok, now I got the sheep.. but all the others are completely messed.. and I swapped both of the resource files though.