The Cultural Department - Term 1

[Justus II]

I appreciate and enthusiastically support our Domestic Advisor's position on libraries. It is important that we move forward with our National Literacy Campaign.

I will try to attend the next chat session, it depends on how close to schedule I get home from work, unfortunately, as being Deputy Cultural Advisor does not yet pay a full-time income, I have to maintain my real job.
But I am very interested in the cultural aspects of the game now, I am in the middle of trying for a culture victory in GOTM6 (my first attempt).

I am going to stay in Fox Nest for now, where I can continue to promote the construction of the Great Library.

 

[Cyc]

The year is 1125BC, and Phoenatica’s Total Cultural Score is 218. Listed below are the individual culture points:

Fox Nest -----> The Great Palace – 130, temple – 28
Shailonegha-----> temple – 32
PDX -----> temple – 28
Eyr, Khatovar, Pherris, and Civinator are all at zero.

At the present time, 6 tribes are building The Pyramids, and we are one of them. Building a temple in Eyr and Civinator are also current projects.

All of the other 10 known tribes of the world are impressed with our culture and all are polite, except for two of them. The Babs, who have just declared war on us, and the yanks, who must sense our eagerness to rid the earth of them.

Yes, we have been gearing up for war since dawn, when Shaitan saw the poll results and went about instructing our main departments to make preparations. We have spent the day turning the great ship of Phoenician Destiny in that direction. And this was a good thing, as the Babs in their purposeful strut approached us and demanded our map. I am grateful that we turned them down as within the same breath, they declared war on us. Because the Babs are so far away, they don’t pose much of a threat at this time, so we can concentrate on the Northern Territory. Our army at this point in time is average compared to the rest of the world, with the exception of the Indians and the Babs, who are stronger.

Pherris and Civinator are the two new additions to Phoenatica. Military training and iron production will take place in the well-named city of Pherris and once connected to the rest of the nation, Civinator will bring dyes to our capital.

Of the eleven known tribes, Phoenatica’s World Ranking is 7th, and we can attribute this fact to our high level of culture. The small incremental steps past the other tribes to 1st place will not take much time, I’m sure.

A big thanks to Grey Fox, our President, and Eyrei, our Domestic Leader for a fine job of guiding us through these early times as we crawl through the darkness. We are doing remarkably well in the big picture and will soon become a world power.

 

[Cyc]

The DOC Press Conference:

Statement - The DOC does not acknowledge the cabinet vote for the two new minister positions as the cabinet seat have not been defined well enough and posted atop the voting poll. This is an atrocity to the citizens of Phoenatica and to the polling process in general

 

[Cyc]

DOC Press Conference:

Statement: The DOC acknowledges the editing of the first official Cabinet Vote. The newly listed responsibilities and privileges are in-line with the standards that should be used for future Cabinet Votes. The DOC cannot stress enough the importance of clarity and definition in all matters requiring a vote. Also noted and recorded is the extension of the Cabinet Vote through Sunday night, ending at Midnight.

On a personal note: The Cultural Minister hopes that he did not offend others in his vigorous attempt to protect the people.

 

[eyrei]

I appreciate the Culture Minister's diligence on this matter. I should have been more precise, but I am at work, and am trying to keep my posts as short as possible to avoid getting caught.

 

[Cyc]

Today it seemed the whole world was against us…but I was wrong. It was only six out of the other 10 known nations….. what a relief. Now we stand a chance….

The Year is 875bc
Total Cultural Value
Is 298



The individual city cultural values are listed below:

Fox Nest----------------------- The Palace – 150, temple – 48
Shailonegha------------------- temple – 52
PDX---------------------------- temple – 48
Eyr, Khatovar, Pherris, and Civanatoria are at zero.

Here is a screenshot of our seven cities:

 

[Cyc]

Although the turn session took 2.5 hours to play, we only took 9 turns. Our prosperous nation is bringing in 15 gold per turn, increasing our bank to 470 gold. Our armies are average to most of the known world, yet inferior to the Babs and the Yanks, our two main concerns in this new World War. All of the other 10 nations are impressed with our culture, but only four of them are polite. These being – The Zulus, The Chinese, The Indians, and our close neighbors The Egyptians.

Our World Ranking is 249, which gives us a sixth place standing of the 11 known nations. Once again we would have to contribute this to our nation's Culture. It is keeping us aloft, just above mid-point in the pack. The Greeks, Americans, Romans, Egyptians, Iroquois, Babs, Aztecs, and Chinese all join us in a race to complete the Pyramids. We will jump this track once we complete Literature and start building the Great Library along with the Americans who have just started it in a small northern town. At the moment, India appears to be the only nation building the Oracle.

I have included two more screenshots. The first being the northern portion of the known world and the second being the southern portion.

 

[Cyc]

All in all it was a very trying day as one nation after another kept joining the Babylonian cohorts in the war against us. As we scrambled to adjust, we changed our production efforts to an even more military stance, only this move was of a more defensive nature. Keep in mind we will get THE IMMORTALS in three turns (at least production/upgrading will start). At this time, we will have landed on all fours, so to speak, balanced, and ready to face the world.

the southern portion:

 

[Cyc]

Some opinions posted by the DOC –

Agree with not stopping at 3 American cities in the war. Take all of them. edit: i need to slow down on the drinking.
An alliance with the Egyptians (if there is to be one) should be against the Greeks, and definitely not against the Americans.
There should be a spearman being built in Khatovar (this was discussed and decided before the game was saved) so that it can accompany the settler it builds next, unless the military promises to send an immortal with the settler.
The warrior E of PDX should be moved to the mountain next. Under the warrior to the N of PDX, one of the 3 workers should be sent south to Khatovar to build a road to Civanatoria.
The worker by Pherris should be moved 1 tile SW to build a road to connect Pherris to the main road. Then 1 tile west to connect the incense. Do not connect Shailo.
The warrior north of Eyr should go W, then NW to guard the coastal area.
We are sorry to have seen the one lone warrior in the Northern Territory perish, and hope that the other lone warrior in the E keeps healthy for the rest of his journey.

Alliance with Egypt, if any, should be against the Greeks. This situation could possibly cause a reverse domino effect, making the mil. alliances between Greece and the Romans and Aztecs have the two latter nations attack Egypt. Then the Aztec alliance with the Iroquois would trigger, that would trigger the Iroquois/Babylonian alliance, and hopefully triggering the Babylonian/American alliance. If the Babs brought the Americans into this scenario, it might avert some of their troops east to Egypt, and not towards us. This is a long shot, but it worked one way, why not the other?

The alliance should definitely not be against the yanks, as it will be easier to take cities from the yanks than from the Egyptians. Why send the Egyptians North?

 

[Justus II]

I stand in full support of our President, our military, and of course our Minister of Culture during this time of national emergency. World events change so quickly, (especially when I am out of town a couple of days )
I support the decisions mentioned so far, and would pursue an alliance with egypt if at all possible. Someone mentioned in another thread that their demands are tied to the amount in our treasury. I have noticed that before, and if so it might be worth trading/buying tech, then waiting a few turns until we can upgrade some immortals (i.e. spend our treasury) and then try to ally. This may reduce the cost.

I understand the need to switch most cities over to military production for the time being, but think we must maintain our pursuit of the Great Library. If not, once someone finishes pyramids, we could be faced with a cascade of nations switching to the GL, and if we are not already far along we will not catch up.
The remaining cities should focus on military output.

 

[Falcon02]

Justus II, I don't think there's anything to worry about with the GL, it seems to me the majority of the people (or at least officials, since I haven't seen many people respond to this specific issue) support keeping the GL building (stockpiling in the Pyramids). We still have plans to switch to another wonder if anyone beat us to it.

 

[Bill_in_PDX]

Originally posted by Cyc
Some opinions posted by the DOC –

The alliance should definitely not be against the yanks, as it will be easier to take cities from the yanks than from the Egyptians. Why send the Egyptians North?

I disagree with my honorable and wise fellow cabinet member.

I think an alliance now against the Americans is preferable as they are the only country that can threaten us in reality.

If we assume that we must get an alliance with Egypt or they too will be against us (and I believe that) then we will still need several turns to mount even a basic attack force, and it will be well after twenty turns before we could credibly begin to take over all of the US.

I am beginning to fear that we are spending too much effort focusing on our upgrade path for our warriors rather than facing the reality of how this game is turning against us. This continent is too big to realize our manifest destiny any time soon. We need to focus on building an efficient large empire that will support multiple victory paths.

If the Americans are building horsemen, and they undoubtedly are, considering the horse hooked up near PDX, then we will soon be facing a mobile invasion forced from the east and slow moving but powerful legionaires from the south. I feel it is best to neutralize the American threat now, which would still leave the most efficient American cities to us.

Most important is an alliance with Egypt against someone, but second to that, I feel the Americans are preferrable. I am open to persuasion.

Let's get a warrior out to the American horse though no matter what.

Bill

 

[Cyc]

In reviewing this thread, i noticed i may have been a little brief in stating my opinions. Specifically, i felt that if an alliance with egypt was struck, it should be against our foes to the SE, the Greeks. In signing this deal, we would wish them luck and immediately (if not sooner) return home to prepare to attack the yanks. i still feel the best course of action would be a clock-wise sweep across the north (starting with the General's rush for the great city of Washington) and then on into Egypt.

Welcome back, Justus II.

 

[Justus II]

Cyc,

Where did you get that picture at the top of this thread? Was that an in-game screenshot, or did you create it? I like it, good theme for the Department of Culture!

 

[Cyc]

The Year is 850bc
Total Culture Value – 306

Individual Culture Values Listed Below

Fox Nest –-----> The Great Palace 152, temple 50
Shailonegha –-> temple 54
PDX –-----------> temple 50
All Others – zero


Today was a short but eventful day, as the attendance of the Chat Session matched the activity of the discussion boards yesterday. Our President Grey Fox had other business to attend, our esteemed Vice-President/Domestic Leader had a rare occasion for a D&D game, I believe we never heard from the moderator, and so on down the line. The Military Office Representative showed up briefly, but the main stays for the session were our Trade Minister, our Cultural Minister, and the newly appointed Skilord covering the Domestic Department. It was decided that Skilord should take the helm, as the department he represented was highest on the list for chain of command. And an excellent job he did.


IMMORTALS! What else can I say? As our fine worker connected the iron to Pherris, which had just completed a barracks, we were ready to upgrade the 3 warriors to IMMORTALS. This was done immediately and they now await orders. Beyond all the cheering I thought I had heard trumpets in the background.


The session only lasted one complete turn, but during that turn we were able to secure a trade deal with Cleopatra. Our Trade Minister will probably explain the details of the deal in his Department thread. Basically our move was to entangle Egypt in a long-term arrangement involving money for techs. This appears to have worked and it’s to our advantage. As we are not buying peace from Babylon or any other nation, and still intend to move military forces onto American soil, we needed some kind of assurance that Egypt would not join our list of enemies. At the moment this appears to have been accomplished. Kudos to Bill, our masterful Trade Minister.

That’s pretty much it. We moved the settler in Eyr down the road towards Fox Next on its way East. We moved the worker off the iron by Pherris SW to build a road connecting the iron and Pherris to the main road. Brought our workers north of PDX to safety from an American advance. Had our warrior in the East elude a Grecian archer and not much more.

Even though we upgraded 3 warriors to IMMORTALS, our military strength weakened some as now the Yanks and the Greeks have stronger armies. Our World Ranking is 252 and we are tied for 6th place with the Americans. Fox Nest is the top city in the world (hooray!). We are second in population, and first in approval rating with a 60%.

10 nations are now building the Pyramids, two are building the Great Library, and still only one building the Oracle. Our construction of the Pyramids in Fox Nest is the sole Phoenician cultural activity. That about wraps it up for this Cultural Report.

 

[Cyc]

The DOC proudly hangs this graphic representaion of our nation's Cultural Value in the department thread. This work is done by one of the many artists soon to be displayed in the Phoenatica Cultural Art Museum.

At this time, the DOC would like to offer the current President and Leaders not only honorary membership to the Museum, but seats on the Museum advisory board as well. The Museum Curator will be Cyc, our Cultural Minister. The Museum is scheduled to open soon.

 

[Cyc]

 

[Cyc]

 

[Cyc]

The Year is 490bc
Total Culture Value – 507
Individual Culture Points:

Fox Nest – The Great Palace 186, temple 84, The Great Library 6
Shailonegha – temple 90
PDX – temple 84
Pherris – library 48
Civanatoria, Khatovar, Eyr, Philadelphia, and New York are all at zero.

Phoenatica is the world leader in the Cultural arena, keeping us in 5th place with a World Ranking of 314. Fox Nest is still numero uno as a world-class city and as a nation we hold the number one spot in 7 world categories. The Yanks, Romans, Greeks, Chinese, and Zulus are now admirers of our Culture, and all other nations are still impressed.

Only two Great Wonders have been completed at this time – The Pyramids by the Iroquois and The Great Library by the glorious nation of Phoenatica. All of the other nations are building the Oracle, although we are not. India is currently working on The Great Lighthouse.

Our Military forces have in deed given Abe a bloody nose, as we have captured two of his leading cities, Philadelphia and New York. Our forces are now marching on the capital.

In reviewing the maps, the DOC would suggest moving a defensive unit to the Shailonegha area, working on road construction and repair, and eventually after the enemy forces have been cleared from the Great Valley Area to the south, clearing it of jungle and developing it.

And finally, it seems we have squandered our chances at “shoring up” our lakeside real estate with defensive fortifications. The Egyptians have moved in quickly and taken some prime spots. Because of their location, one Egyptian city borders the capital and the other threatens the extended borders of Khatovar. For this reason, the DOC strongly suggests that a library be built in Khatovar after the completion of the spearman. This will allow Khatovar to secure its outer perimeter in a timely manner. The DOC feels this is a must as earlier suggestions to secure the area were put on a back burner and now the enemy is at our front door. The DOC does not believe pop rushing is warranted in this situation. Khatovar can then return to settler/unit production after the library.

 

[ssmith619]

I am highly in favor of building a library right after the spearman in Khatovar. Although yes, the Egyptians have taken some prime real estate, it is incredibly close to our capital city (the highest culture producing city) and three other cities that have the ability to become culture strongholds. In the distant future we may be able to overcome the city with our high culture, since it is so far away from the Egyptian capital. I also believe that we should found a city southwest of Lisht, for that would increase our chances greatly of taking the city with culture. It is also a fairly good spot, real estate wise. It has two luxuries (forgive me, I cannot remember their names, not silk...ugh, the name escapes me, I'm sure as soon as I press Submit Reply I'll remember) and a fair amount of shielded grasslandsd to the west.

I'd also like to take this oppurtinity to introduce myself as a self-proclaimed culture monger. I have been informed that I may be a DOC representative to the chat meetings. Hope to work with you all in the future!