darski
Regent in Training
I find that so annoying - all those hills and mountains but not a shred of iron. Nasty, nasty RNG's.
Surrounded by Insanity
- Thread starter Mumpulus
- Start date
capnvonbaron
Democratia gladii
AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGH! 
How much does anyone want to bet that Xerxes has three sources of iron?
How much does anyone want to bet that Xerxes has three sources of iron?
Sharwood
Rich, doctor nephew
Pfff, are you kidding? As if he has ONLY three.AAAAAARRRRRRRRGGH!
How much does anyone want to bet that Xerxes has three sources of iron?
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
Omg, so good luck and/or skill and now no iron...
Gonna search for source? Continue city building and advancing towards hilly area(west((left)))?
You created armie with your leader with purpose of swordmen army, am I correct or did you rush some improvement instead??
Gonna continue?
Sorry for asking questions, that are noobish, but I want to know
Gonna search for source? Continue city building and advancing towards hilly area(west((left)))?
You created armie with your leader with purpose of swordmen army, am I correct or did you rush some improvement instead??
Gonna continue?
Sorry for asking questions, that are noobish, but I want to know
Mumpulus
King
Mes sujets fidèles,
Mes compatriotes courageux,
Citoyens de Paris,
et peuple de la France,
C'est vrai ce que vous avez entendu: nos sages ont cherché tout notre pays et n'ont trouvé de fer. Notre grand domaine s'étend maintenant des plaines désolées du nord à la jungle épaisse du sud, des montagnes de l'ouest à l'océan de l'est, mais nous manquons de cette ressource de base dont nous avons tellement besoin.
Mais nous continuerons notre recherche. Notre empire continuera à augmenter. Nos sages trouveront d'autres moyens de nous donner l'avantage.
Nos généraux me disent que bien que l'ennemi soit féroce, la force de notre armée s'y égale. Nous combattrons n'importe quel ennemi qui ose nous approcher, et nous les vaincrons.
Nos sages me disent qu'il y a de riches gisements de fer à trouver. Nous rechercherons les quatre coins de la terre et nous les trouverons.
Nos forgerons me disent qu'ils sont prêts à créer les armes les plus fortes jamais faites. Nous les emploierons pour démontrer la force de l'empire français.
Laissez-moi vous dire comment nous traiterons ceci, cet échec. Nous accélèrerons nos efforts d'expansion. Nous trouverons de meilleurs moyens de stocker la nourriture de sorte que la population de notre ville s'accroitra plus rapidement, et plus de colons peuvent être envoyés pour fonder de nouvelles villes. Nous trouverons des moyens de construire les armes qui n'exigent pas du fer — nous emploierons le bois abondant et les roches omniprésentes à la place — pour apporter la terreur sur les têtes de nos ennemies.
Laissez-moi vous dire comment nous trouverons le fer dont nous aurons besoin. Nous enverrons quatre divisions de lanciers aux quatre coins de la terre. Les Lanciers Épiciers iront au sud, les Lanciers de Bovin iront à l'est, les Lanciers de Quentin iront à l'ouest, et les Lanciers de Paris iront au nord. Sur leur chemin, ils laisseront des sentinelles derrière. De sommet à sommet ils renverront un signal quand du fer a été trouvé.
Tandis que nous faisons tout ceci, nos militaires continueront à nous protéger comme ils ont avant. L'armée menée par notre grand héros Napoléon est prête, mais nous attendrons pour le déployer jusqu'à ce que ses guerriers aient été équipés des meilleures armes que nous pouvons faire.
De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans l'équipement, nous compenserons avec une meilleure formation. De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans les nombres, nous compenserons avec la meilleure tactique. De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans la force, nous compenserons avec nos esprits. Nos grands généraux continueront à diriger nos soldats de sorte qu'aucun ennemi ne puisse nous toucher.
Mais s'il y aurait besoin, soyez assurés que Napoléon est prêt à s'engager. Si l'ennemi menace de casser nos lignes, nous recueillerons nos plus bons archers et notre armée écrasera n'importe qui qui ose nous causer de soucis.
Il y a ceux qui demanderaient s'il y a un futur pour notre peuple. Il y a ceux qui craignent que nos armées soient débordées. Il y a ceux qui voient déjà le saccage par l'ennemi, à travers nos champs et nos villes magnifiques. Il y a ceux qui voient déjà Paris brulant dans la nuit.
À eux je dis ceci : La lumière ardente qui allume le ciel est la splendeur de notre grandeur. Les forces de saccage seront françaises, et les champs et les villes saccagés seront Aztèque, Persan, Chinois et Égyptien. Nos armées règneront, elles émergeront victorieux. Et notre peuple prospèrera, maintenant et à l'avenir.
Les dieux ont infligé nos frères avec la folie, et ainsi nous les combattons !
Les dieux nous ont refusé le fer, et ainsi nous le recherchons !
Les dieux nous ont donné le monde, et ainsi nous le conquerrons !
* * * * *
My loyal subjects,
My brave countrymen,
Citizens of Paris,
and People of France,
What you have heard is true: our sages have searched our lands and have found no iron. Our great realm now stretches from the barren plains in the north to the thick jungle in the south, from the mountains in the west to the ocean in the east, and yet we lack this basic resource that we so direly need.
But we will continue our search. Our empire will continue to expand. Our sages will find other ways to give us the upper hand.
Our generals tell me that although the enemy is fierce, our army's strength matches theirs. We will take on any enemy who dares to approach us, and we will defeat them.
Our sages tell me that there are rich iron deposits to be found. We will search the four corners of the earth and find them.
Our blacksmiths tell me they are ready to create the strongest weapons ever made. We will use them to demonstrate the might of the French empire.
Let me tell you how we will deal with this, this mere setback. We will speed up our efforts to expand. We will find better ways of storing food so that our city's population may grow faster, and more settlers may be sent out to found new cities. We will find ways to construct weapons that do not require iron — we will use the abundant wood and ubiquitous rocks instead — to bring terror upon our enemies' heads.
Let me tell you how we will find the iron we will need. We will send out four spearmen divisions to the four corners of the earth. The Spearmen of Épices will go south, the Spearmen of Bovin will go east, the Spearmen of Quentin will go west, and the Spearmen of Paris will go north. On the way, they will leave sentries behind. From mountain top to mountain top they will send back a signal when iron has been found.
While we do all this, our military will continue to protect us like it has before. The army led by our great leader Napoleon is ready, but we will wait to deploy it until its warriors have been equipped with the best weapons we can make.
What we now lack in equipment, we will make up for with better training. What we now lack in numbers, we will make up for with better tactics. What we now lack in strength, we will make up for with our wits. Our great generals will continue to direct our soldiers so that no enemy can touch us.
But should the need arise, rest assured that Napoleon is ready to step forward. Should the enemy threaten to break our lines, we will gather our finest archers and our army will crush anyone who dares to cause us worry.
There are those who would ask if there is any future for our people. There are those who fear that our armies will be overrun. There are those who already see the enemy rampage through our fields and through our magnificent cities. There are those who already see Paris burning in the night.
To them I say this: The fiery light that lights the sky is the splendor of our greatness. The rampaging forces will be French, and the fields and cities rampaged will be Aztec, Persian, Chinese and Egyptian. Our armies will prevail, they will emerge victorious. And our people will prosper, now and in the future.
The gods have inflicted our brethren with insanity, and so we fight them!
The gods have denied us iron, and so we search for it!
The gods have given us a world, and so we will conquer it!
Mes compatriotes courageux,
Citoyens de Paris,
et peuple de la France,
C'est vrai ce que vous avez entendu: nos sages ont cherché tout notre pays et n'ont trouvé de fer. Notre grand domaine s'étend maintenant des plaines désolées du nord à la jungle épaisse du sud, des montagnes de l'ouest à l'océan de l'est, mais nous manquons de cette ressource de base dont nous avons tellement besoin.
Mais nous continuerons notre recherche. Notre empire continuera à augmenter. Nos sages trouveront d'autres moyens de nous donner l'avantage.
Nos généraux me disent que bien que l'ennemi soit féroce, la force de notre armée s'y égale. Nous combattrons n'importe quel ennemi qui ose nous approcher, et nous les vaincrons.
Nos sages me disent qu'il y a de riches gisements de fer à trouver. Nous rechercherons les quatre coins de la terre et nous les trouverons.
Nos forgerons me disent qu'ils sont prêts à créer les armes les plus fortes jamais faites. Nous les emploierons pour démontrer la force de l'empire français.
Laissez-moi vous dire comment nous traiterons ceci, cet échec. Nous accélèrerons nos efforts d'expansion. Nous trouverons de meilleurs moyens de stocker la nourriture de sorte que la population de notre ville s'accroitra plus rapidement, et plus de colons peuvent être envoyés pour fonder de nouvelles villes. Nous trouverons des moyens de construire les armes qui n'exigent pas du fer — nous emploierons le bois abondant et les roches omniprésentes à la place — pour apporter la terreur sur les têtes de nos ennemies.
Laissez-moi vous dire comment nous trouverons le fer dont nous aurons besoin. Nous enverrons quatre divisions de lanciers aux quatre coins de la terre. Les Lanciers Épiciers iront au sud, les Lanciers de Bovin iront à l'est, les Lanciers de Quentin iront à l'ouest, et les Lanciers de Paris iront au nord. Sur leur chemin, ils laisseront des sentinelles derrière. De sommet à sommet ils renverront un signal quand du fer a été trouvé.
Tandis que nous faisons tout ceci, nos militaires continueront à nous protéger comme ils ont avant. L'armée menée par notre grand héros Napoléon est prête, mais nous attendrons pour le déployer jusqu'à ce que ses guerriers aient été équipés des meilleures armes que nous pouvons faire.
De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans l'équipement, nous compenserons avec une meilleure formation. De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans les nombres, nous compenserons avec la meilleure tactique. De ce que nous manquons maintenant dans la force, nous compenserons avec nos esprits. Nos grands généraux continueront à diriger nos soldats de sorte qu'aucun ennemi ne puisse nous toucher.
Mais s'il y aurait besoin, soyez assurés que Napoléon est prêt à s'engager. Si l'ennemi menace de casser nos lignes, nous recueillerons nos plus bons archers et notre armée écrasera n'importe qui qui ose nous causer de soucis.
Il y a ceux qui demanderaient s'il y a un futur pour notre peuple. Il y a ceux qui craignent que nos armées soient débordées. Il y a ceux qui voient déjà le saccage par l'ennemi, à travers nos champs et nos villes magnifiques. Il y a ceux qui voient déjà Paris brulant dans la nuit.
À eux je dis ceci : La lumière ardente qui allume le ciel est la splendeur de notre grandeur. Les forces de saccage seront françaises, et les champs et les villes saccagés seront Aztèque, Persan, Chinois et Égyptien. Nos armées règneront, elles émergeront victorieux. Et notre peuple prospèrera, maintenant et à l'avenir.
Les dieux ont infligé nos frères avec la folie, et ainsi nous les combattons !
Les dieux nous ont refusé le fer, et ainsi nous le recherchons !
Les dieux nous ont donné le monde, et ainsi nous le conquerrons !
* * * * *
My loyal subjects,
My brave countrymen,
Citizens of Paris,
and People of France,
What you have heard is true: our sages have searched our lands and have found no iron. Our great realm now stretches from the barren plains in the north to the thick jungle in the south, from the mountains in the west to the ocean in the east, and yet we lack this basic resource that we so direly need.
But we will continue our search. Our empire will continue to expand. Our sages will find other ways to give us the upper hand.
Our generals tell me that although the enemy is fierce, our army's strength matches theirs. We will take on any enemy who dares to approach us, and we will defeat them.
Our sages tell me that there are rich iron deposits to be found. We will search the four corners of the earth and find them.
Our blacksmiths tell me they are ready to create the strongest weapons ever made. We will use them to demonstrate the might of the French empire.
Let me tell you how we will deal with this, this mere setback. We will speed up our efforts to expand. We will find better ways of storing food so that our city's population may grow faster, and more settlers may be sent out to found new cities. We will find ways to construct weapons that do not require iron — we will use the abundant wood and ubiquitous rocks instead — to bring terror upon our enemies' heads.
Let me tell you how we will find the iron we will need. We will send out four spearmen divisions to the four corners of the earth. The Spearmen of Épices will go south, the Spearmen of Bovin will go east, the Spearmen of Quentin will go west, and the Spearmen of Paris will go north. On the way, they will leave sentries behind. From mountain top to mountain top they will send back a signal when iron has been found.
While we do all this, our military will continue to protect us like it has before. The army led by our great leader Napoleon is ready, but we will wait to deploy it until its warriors have been equipped with the best weapons we can make.
What we now lack in equipment, we will make up for with better training. What we now lack in numbers, we will make up for with better tactics. What we now lack in strength, we will make up for with our wits. Our great generals will continue to direct our soldiers so that no enemy can touch us.
But should the need arise, rest assured that Napoleon is ready to step forward. Should the enemy threaten to break our lines, we will gather our finest archers and our army will crush anyone who dares to cause us worry.
There are those who would ask if there is any future for our people. There are those who fear that our armies will be overrun. There are those who already see the enemy rampage through our fields and through our magnificent cities. There are those who already see Paris burning in the night.
To them I say this: The fiery light that lights the sky is the splendor of our greatness. The rampaging forces will be French, and the fields and cities rampaged will be Aztec, Persian, Chinese and Egyptian. Our armies will prevail, they will emerge victorious. And our people will prosper, now and in the future.
The gods have inflicted our brethren with insanity, and so we fight them!
The gods have denied us iron, and so we search for it!
The gods have given us a world, and so we will conquer it!
Mumpulus
King
Answers to questions and concerns should be in "Joan's speech" above. 
I've written the speech in English, then translated to French. Neither is my native language, so any constructive input will be greatly appreciated. I'd like to remove any spelling, grammatical or idiomatic errors. PM me if you spot any error and you have a good suggestion for improvement. I'm not going to change the contents though, you'll have to live with that.
I've written the speech in English, then translated to French. Neither is my native language, so any constructive input will be greatly appreciated. I'd like to remove any spelling, grammatical or idiomatic errors. PM me if you spot any error and you have a good suggestion for improvement. I'm not going to change the contents though, you'll have to live with that.
Tough break on the Iron. This game is very hard, even with it. As long as you can get some in the empire by the time you learn Feudalism, it won't be too bad. It does hurt your attack, but not the defense.
MDI and Pikes, those are the fear and not long after Knights. In my game they finished the KT in 250AD. I hope elsewhere, but I have seen many AC units. At least I have Iron and will move to the MA soon.
MDI and Pikes, those are the fear and not long after Knights. In my game they finished the KT in 250AD. I hope elsewhere, but I have seen many AC units. At least I have Iron and will move to the MA soon.
kingfire87
Warlord
Excellent storytelling. I absolutely love the wikipedia format of reporting battles. Keep it coming! *Subscription.*
Sharwood
Rich, doctor nephew
Great speech. You should consider a career as a demagogue.
TheOverseer714
Overseer
Excellent writing! I'm no english teacher, but your speech reads as flawless to me. I copy and pasted it to "Word" and it found 2 commas it thought should be semicolons, but that was all. I've been lurking all along, but I felt it was time to add my thumbs up to this story. Keep up the good work! 
Mumpulus
King
For years, the French sages had been perfecting the technique to forge iron. At the same time, they had looked all over the French empire, throughout all the many mountain ridges and hills. They had found no iron deposits large enough to be of practical use.
This news spread fast among the people, and all of a sudden they were struck with fear. Even though the French military had always held off the enemy with ease, everyone knew that they would need better weapons eventually, because the enemy would likewise come at them with better weapons too. That was only a matter of time.
The French empire was vast, and there was even knowledge of the lands beyond the borders. And yet there was no iron. As the days went by, the French people became desperate. Panic was about to break out.
It was then that Joan, ruler of the French, gave her famous speech to the people of Paris. The speech was passed on from historian to historian until it was finally written down. Many thousands of people saw and heard her deliver her speech. They were inspired by it, and they themselves inspired others in turn. The French people regained faith, and Joan's plans were set in motion.
[size=-2]France in 1325BC, with the 4 searching spearman divisions highlighted[/size]
The Lanciers Épiciers immediately sent back word that they had discovered an Aztec city. That would not hold them back to continue along the mountain ridge.
Not much later, the Lanciers de Quentin sent back word of a strange, but beautiful fabric created by a jungle tribe, from the cocoon of small butterfly-like animals.
[size=-2]The outset of the expedition of the Lanciers de Quentin, 1300BC[/size]
The Lanciers de Bovin sent back word of the heavenly odors produced by burning incense.
[size=-2]The outset of the expedition of the Lanciers de Bovin, 1275BC[/size]
The search continued for a hundred years, and then, finally the mountain fires were lit at Bovin:
[size=-2]The end of the expedition of the Lanciers de Bovin, 1175BC[/size]
Another 25 years later, French sages unlocked the secrets of another technology.
In the same year, the town of Ancêtres was founded in the plains where the ancestors of the French people had started their journey.
[size=-2]North France in 1125BC, with the position of the Lanciers de Paris marked in the far north[/size]
This news spread fast among the people, and all of a sudden they were struck with fear. Even though the French military had always held off the enemy with ease, everyone knew that they would need better weapons eventually, because the enemy would likewise come at them with better weapons too. That was only a matter of time.
The French empire was vast, and there was even knowledge of the lands beyond the borders. And yet there was no iron. As the days went by, the French people became desperate. Panic was about to break out.
It was then that Joan, ruler of the French, gave her famous speech to the people of Paris. The speech was passed on from historian to historian until it was finally written down. Many thousands of people saw and heard her deliver her speech. They were inspired by it, and they themselves inspired others in turn. The French people regained faith, and Joan's plans were set in motion.
[size=-2]France in 1325BC, with the 4 searching spearman divisions highlighted[/size]
The Lanciers Épiciers immediately sent back word that they had discovered an Aztec city. That would not hold them back to continue along the mountain ridge.
Not much later, the Lanciers de Quentin sent back word of a strange, but beautiful fabric created by a jungle tribe, from the cocoon of small butterfly-like animals.
[size=-2]The outset of the expedition of the Lanciers de Quentin, 1300BC[/size]
The Lanciers de Bovin sent back word of the heavenly odors produced by burning incense.
[size=-2]The outset of the expedition of the Lanciers de Bovin, 1275BC[/size]
The search continued for a hundred years, and then, finally the mountain fires were lit at Bovin:
[size=-2]The end of the expedition of the Lanciers de Bovin, 1175BC[/size]
Another 25 years later, French sages unlocked the secrets of another technology.
In the same year, the town of Ancêtres was founded in the plains where the ancestors of the French people had started their journey.
[size=-2]North France in 1125BC, with the position of the Lanciers de Paris marked in the far north[/size]
Sharwood
Rich, doctor nephew
I assume you'll be making a few new colonies now, to take advantage of these discoveries. Good thing the iron wasn't across the continent.
Mumpulus
King
Some pictures with findings...
I've marked up the last picture with road segments (numbered them too), planned cities (red) and planned colony (yellow). I think I'll go for the silks by city.
I've marked up the last picture with road segments (numbered them too), planned cities (red) and planned colony (yellow). I think I'll go for the silks by city.
Sharwood
Rich, doctor nephew
Good plan. I'd also suggest making the Aztecs your first target, if you haven't decided to do so already.
That is a lot of mountain roads to build. Looks like you have 5 nations, I can't tell is the light green is Az or not. I am surprised to see so much land exposed in AW. I guess you were desperate for Iron.
By the time I had that much land exposed I had 7 enemies and praying no more are on my land mass. That was due to the length of time it took to have it exposed. They had managed to fill the continent, I suspect.
Looking forward to seeing what they send, once they get into the Middle Age. By that I mean numbers, not types. Anyway, here's hoping no other civs are on your land.
By the time I had that much land exposed I had 7 enemies and praying no more are on my land mass. That was due to the length of time it took to have it exposed. They had managed to fill the continent, I suspect.
Looking forward to seeing what they send, once they get into the Middle Age. By that I mean numbers, not types. Anyway, here's hoping no other civs are on your land.
capnvonbaron
Democratia gladii
For the love of Sid! That iron could hardly be in a more inconvenient spot. Two volcanos just waiting to wipe out the first colony you spot there. Lousy mountain roads just begging to be blocked by the no good AI. Is there no chance of iron in the mountains north/northeast of Ancetres? Is Tlaxcala sitting on an iron hill? Just food for thought. I'll shuddup now 
darski
Regent in Training
I know the rule is supposed to be that a volcano erupts onto the same tiles every time but I have had it change on me so i don't have a lot of hope for that iron colony.
As the old saying goes: These are the times that try men's souls. Ain't that the truth!
As the old saying goes: These are the times that try men's souls. Ain't that the truth!
Mumpulus
King
26 worker turns of roading to do. I'll be making some more workers in Paris after the granary finishes there. I'll have iron soon enough.
The explorer in Aztec land has shown heavy settler traffic, so it seems the AI is in an expansion phase right now. There's a lot of land to settle on a large map. The land form is pangaea, so all civs will be on my land (unless there's an island, which could take away one or two). And they'll probably come to meet me soon. Luckily, they'll have a long way to travel. I have 5 enemies right now: Aztec (green), China (light purple), Persia (teal), Egypt (yellow) and Maya (blue). That means I can expect 6 more contacts some time soon.
That is why I couldn't wait for iron any longer. By the time I get to the MA, I would be overrun without iron. The numbers have been very low until now, at least compared to the numbers we got at DG and deity in my SGs and in my previous story. But those numbers will increase, that's a given. (In case people haven't noticed: I'm keeping a kill tally in the first post of this thread.)
Those volcanoes could erupt again, but they can only wipe out the colony itself and/or maybe one road segment. I'll found another town 2 tiles east of the iron, and I'll have roads on the hills between incense town and that town. One more road segment then, and I'll have a backup route. Chances of an eruption are low, and chances of it hitting the colony are even lower. I don't think that'll be a problem. The road could be blocked by an AI, but as long as the road is outside of our territory, that's not a problem either.
There was a chance of iron closer to Ancêtres, but the spearman that found the iron has continued its tour and has found none.
Tlaxcala is not sitting on anything. I used Ctrl-Shift-M every turn during the exploration; that's how I found the wines hidden under the Aztec capital.
Actually, it could have been much worse. I expect to have the iron hooked up inside 20 or maybe even 15 turns, so I'll be fine.
I'm more concerned with the poor lands surrounding me. Plains and desert to the north, jungle to the west, and mountains to the east. I'll fill up the plains north towards the cow and the BGs I found there. There's also a river there, flowing north, but that is across more mountains, so that will be for later probably. The Egyptian UU has shown up there, so settling won't go very fast.
I'll also settle towards the silks, but that will require a lot of resources, as those towns will definitely be on the front. The incense should be easy, although the Egyptians are moving around to that area now.
The Persians are increasing the pressure in the south, so expansion there will be hard. I'll need the army to work comfortably there. Maybe I'll found one or two more hill towns there, but that'll be it until I have iron.
Optional
Deity
Perhaps there's a small relief: it looks like there's just sea - and no hostile civs - northeast of France. Although I have a problem being sure of that, since the picture of the world map is so small. The position of France could be less central than planned. Although it's a common downside of a central position that the terrain is not so good: lots of jungle and desert is to be expected. You're unlucky with the mountains, though.
The volcanoes are good for the story; more cliffhangers! And they both can indeed still erupt on the iron. I probably wouldn't let a huge gang of workers do the connection; although I've always had a warning in my games, the game makers claim that a volcano can erupt spontaniously.
The volcanoes are good for the story; more cliffhangers! And they both can indeed still erupt on the iron. I probably wouldn't let a huge gang of workers do the connection; although I've always had a warning in my games, the game makers claim that a volcano can erupt spontaniously.
Ah, I some how had in my head you were playing on continents. I ran into 3 more in my game and realized it is a pan game as well. I used the same settings as you, a large map. I went with Smoke though.
I was offered contact with the Zulu, the largest according to all the msgs, so it looks like they are the farthest away from me, whew.
Even with Iron, it will be hard to not get over run. This is about as hard of an AWE as I have had. I went till 90BC without a leader. I finally got some and even replaced my original army with one as I was town limited at 20 towns.
Your start looks extra rough with so many mountains, no river and jungle near. I am pretty sure they will not be able to beat me now, but I am not sure I can beat them as time will be a big factor.
Pan maps makes worker use difficult, you need to keep them out of harms way and cover them, so lots of tiles will not be worked in a timely fashion.
I was offered contact with the Zulu, the largest according to all the msgs, so it looks like they are the farthest away from me, whew.
Even with Iron, it will be hard to not get over run. This is about as hard of an AWE as I have had. I went till 90BC without a leader. I finally got some and even replaced my original army with one as I was town limited at 20 towns.
Your start looks extra rough with so many mountains, no river and jungle near. I am pretty sure they will not be able to beat me now, but I am not sure I can beat them as time will be a big factor.
Pan maps makes worker use difficult, you need to keep them out of harms way and cover them, so lots of tiles will not be worked in a timely fashion.
