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Ok, so that's just odd.

Too far away to benefit from Ynnek's culture, yet I can't raze it from barbs.

https://i.imgur.com/TGEzaZB.png

I gave it to him. Let's see if he can gift it to Rome so I can raze it from Rome instead [devil]

Well, shit. No city razing. I don't want it, maintenance will be a bitch. I don't see why he'd want it either, it'll be a sickly step-child of a city with my culture cannibalizing its tiles. I threw that ball over to his camp. If he wants it he can have it. For my part, I'll settle on gold and claim cow either way.

Philo has been reached, and with it, pacifism. However! no religion from philosophy. Has someone timed Oracle to perfectly fit the research of CoL, grabbing both it and Philo in one fell swoop ?? Either way, no matter, I've got Matrix's religion to work with.
https://i.imgur.com/THiEHW7.png

At 100%, my science expenditure is over 200 BPT. #2 GDP is 105. After I convert to full SE in the capital, 10 scientists with lib+academy+rep = 105 BPT. Do the math however you like, my economic lead is solid. Now, we'll just have to back it up with units. Gold and Horses are connected, 4 immortals will be sailing North. Barbs beware.

Also, since we're here, I just received a GE [estwing] in the capital who was kind enough to build GLH. Il n'y a rien de trop beau, like they say in Québec. The next GP should be mostly scientists, 2-3 of which will be used to bulb optics and astro, then more for paper-edu-print.

Operation Heavy Metal

• Finalize deal with ynnek — https://i.imgur.com/ai9i0Vp.png approved
• Settle gold — +2 [:)]
• Settle silver — underway [tubs]
• Headbang vigorously — The brain injury IRL has been healing faster and faster for the past 3 weeks [music]

Operation Ludicrous Speed [ynnek]

Phase 1:

• Build GLib — done: T118 [book]
• Build Parthenon — done: T120
• Build Iron-Man suit — Adam beat me to it :cool:

Phase 2:

• Acquire religion — christianity is in, no religion from philo.
• Spread pacifism to a 10+ specialists, NE capital — Growing pop
• Re-write entire MCU with Ghandi as protagonist — Weird Al beat me to it :rolleyes:

Phase 3:

• Ridicule the #2 GPT — currently 204 vs 105 (before anarchy) [surf]
• Broker peace among half of the civs — This one might be tough: Rome is dead, all hell will break loose. [duelist]
• Obliterate half of the universe under the guise of pacifism — Team America beat me to it [python]

Diplomacy is a powder keg right now.

https://i.imgur.com/THiEHW7.png : I'll send you luxes if you stop supplying https://i.imgur.com/ai9i0Vp.png with horses and silver.

https://i.imgur.com/pPPx2tq.png : Sure you can move your chariots through, just make damn sure they clear the blast zone before fireworks go off. It'd be a real shame if they got caught in the crossfire.

https://i.imgur.com/ai9i0Vp.png : Thanks for stone, I got walls now. Care to join the war?

He has catapults, walls and slavery. That means his reinforcements will be much superior ; his troops stand a chance. Not a good one at 2v1 though. Meanwhile, I'm not getting in there before gunpowder and cannons. Due to lightbulb priorities, the scholar caste assures me the benefits of bureaucracy would be minimal and insist that I focus on guilds, gunpowder and steel before Civil Service. It would not be sensible to risk an even fight now and they will have catas/trebs/macemen before I do.

Meanwhile, the Québécois scholar caste is ~5 turns from full force, the military caste has 2 training facilities bursting with fresh ships and troops, and the religious caste is about to make funding them a breeze. Once that is done and the palace moved to the mass-priest city, then I'll go CS for bureaucracy and raise hell with cannons.

My unfinished, half-assed, unoptimized, only-specialists, 0% research rate is 89 BPT. Compared to the opponent average of 88 GPT (total, before maintenance), I have a comfortable lead in tech rate. Between that and great people spawning every 6-7 turns for lightbulbing, I'll be at cannons before https://i.imgur.com/THiEHW7.png and https://i.imgur.com/pPPx2tq.png can send an army through my trireme buffer. More pictures soon, when it all starts moving.

Ain't she a beaut!

https://i.imgur.com/ENgh5v7.png?2

105 BPT, 129 GPP. I can run a 0% idle economy like that for a while and bulb Astronomy, Gunpowder, Engineering and Steel on the double.

One of them has reached a GNP of 171, which is half my GNP @100% science rate. In that sense, the game is mine to lose, now. One of them caught up in raw hammers while a) my capital dropped to none and b) Moai is 1 turn from completion. So that, too, is in the pocket.

https://i.imgur.com/mwzR1HB.png

3 caravels are sent to explore the oceans, with 2 explorers aboard.

https://i.imgur.com/prWoVbB.png

Notice another decisive victory by Propain over Portugal. Herwood has fallen from #2 to #8 in a stunning upset after having grabbed CoL+Philo early - which gave him a solid lead on the Finn continent. Perhaps this inflated his score beyond his actual power and painted a target on his back. Does that remind you of anyone? :rolleyes:

https://i.imgur.com/tvuUsVd.png

Silver is almost connected but my defenders have yet to arrive on site. It'll be a tense 3 turns while Matrix has a chariot parked on the border and that archer has yet to spawn. Once reinforcements arrive, it'll be better.

https://i.imgur.com/BfkaH1p.png

Should I not have built that archer first instead of a granary? Well sure. But those are expensive colonies to maintain. So: double or nothing.

With silver connecting in the next turn or 2 and a lightbulbing of Astro coming right behind to secure the trade route, I'll take the risk of him capturing everything rather than delay growth and profitability.

Oh yeah, Killer declared war on Ynnek, Maarten cancelled his deals 10 turns ago and is most likely about to do the same. So there's that.

Quests have been appearing and I fucked them all up. There was the good old "build 9 libraries" quest, which would have given me a free scientist in the GLib specialist capital. Would've been amazing. Then this turn I got the "build 9 forges" quest, which gives an even better engineer specialist. Also in the capital, which would've been incredible.

In other news, Astronomy was lightbulbed with 2 GSci just now. Then I went and read about the quests, learning that they expire when you reach astro. And I was almost there with libraries, too. Not to mention that the GSci's would've been best used as settled specialists in the long run. Oh well.

https://i.imgur.com/ai9i0Vp.png told me that the war was so bad that he wouldn't even be asking for reinforcements. Killer and Matrix have stacked up together and supposedly have something like 20 units parked at his doorstep. I'll divert a chariot next turn to have a look.

In his trademark fashion, https://i.imgur.com/pPPx2tq.png went gun-ho from the start, built 2 core cities that are a sight to behold with very high, sustained military production. Somehow, he didn't invade his first neighbor but rather had Matrix build him a gift city and skipped ahead to Rome's throat. Sure. Then Matrix captured Rome. How is that good for Herr Killer??

In parallel, https://i.imgur.com/THiEHW7.png opened with a religion and massed a bunch of protective archers to hold his own for a while. Then he managed to ride along on the Killer warbeast, grabbed Rome and restrained Killer's expansion to dubious jungle terrain. What could he promise Killer that would stay his blade long enough to get catas and elephants, cities and prosperity to dwarf him?

Are they both hoping to make the other overextend, exhaust himself and crash?

Or are they so afraid of my score that they feel the need to form a permanent alliance?

Anyways, I'll grab banks and mercantilism ASAP for the "no foreign trade routes, +1 free specialist" civic and deny them trade route income - that'll hit them by a good 40-50 gpt altogether, maybe more.

The caravels have found 2 foreign landmasses in the ocean so far. 2 caravels, 1 on each side will push forward for circumnavigation. 2-3 more will take time to investigate landmasses. That should make for good pictures soon.

The firt naval combat is about to take place as a bloodthirsty Victarion Greyjoy eyes a helpless barbie galley.

https://i.imgur.com/HcvKkEp.png

Between 1 and 3 landmasses have been found thus far. A settling party will be dispatched on the double to take advantage of the sugar luxury resource. Sugar will give me +1 health with grocer, meaning +3 health apothecaries. Can't wait.

https://i.imgur.com/DRBrrWu.png

And now for the war reports.

A joint taskforce of 23 units, mainly CR2 catapults and axemen, have lain siege to Babylon.

https://i.imgur.com/brZ8Pe3.png

15 defenders are keeping Babylon in play. A half dozen more will reach it this turn.

https://i.imgur.com/Mc91PR1.png

Time to place your bets. The Québécois military caste has 2.3:1 odds on Killer attacking and winning this turn, whereas our builder caste believes they will wait another turn and miss their chance at 1.8:1 odds. None of the scholar caste are betting, having been too busy perfecting naval means of transporting settlers across the ocean.

https://i.imgur.com/ghgt5gV.png

With a LOT of whipping, Ynnek is on the very edge of holding his own. Most of the offensive force are CR axemen and his bowmen have extra strength against melee units. There's enough spears to hold off the elephants. Meanwhile, Matrix seems to be building up an economy in the hopes of holding his own against my research rate - how else would he have so few troops in there. Killer has tons of guys but his reinforcements have to snake around jungles and mountains.

In the long run, I don't think Ynnek can sustain the push. In the short term, the odds are slightly against him. But for that window between him hopefully surviving Killer's onslaught and Matrix bludgeonning him apart with macemen later, he'll have kept the entire continent in the dark ages. Hats off.

Update: Killer attacked and lost a single catapult. Just friggin 1. That's bullshit-level luck, but at the same time I guess it was a foregone conclusion.

Then Matrix barged in on the 3 remaining injured units (combined HP of about 2.4). That didn't require any luck whatsoever.

https://i.imgur.com/XkwlMdf.png

The Babylonian empire is routed. It's only a matter of time now.

The next question is: will they invade my colony to deny the luxes? Gonna have to jump on that sugar FAST for insurance, and limit growth for now.

Met Mali, or as the finn simply put it: "Tampellan Valtakunta". https://i.imgur.com/TYzyPAS.png Jeke is on the fast track to a cultural victory. Tech-wise, he has music and drama but nothing military. Not even iron working or metal casting for the malinese UB.

He wants stone to build jewish cathedrals (+50% culture) and Notre-Dame [mischief] plus secrecy about his location. His island is a landmass much larger and richer than mine, with 6+ silk, sugar, marble and I've barely scratched the surface. Nor has he, it's WAY under-developped.

He seems like a ripe target for whoever lands troops there first.