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such beautiful lands!
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Works for me ;) Clearly not quite Matrix's but then again, less of a target on my back. He's got a lock on #1 now - and he can still expand. I look forward to finding your place and witnessing the shitshow.
Stapel is moving catapults north so my end may be near. Or not. We'll see if Matrix pulls off a 3-way alliance against me or not. The shadow of last game weighs against me even while he builds the very thing that got me the win... |
T110, 125 AD
https://i.imgur.com/9eKCfEN.png Back in 2nd place, probably for good. https://i.imgur.com/v6A6yKz.png PP and BrunchTime are closing in on my score while still expanding. Matrix grabbed the iron to his SW and killed our expeditionary force with catapults + chariots, which I did not see coming. https://i.imgur.com/NMHbcpH.png Elephants are trickling out. Unit production from 2.5 cities is limited: 2 galleys have proven to be more than I can fill up. Meanwhile Matrix is 8 turns from crossbows, Ynnek has just started to build units seriously and I expect a backstab from Stapel. I feel like I gotta prepare for a backstab from both. Either way, I'll need a much bigger army - Matrix HAS to be choked down and my allies, if they are, don't seem to take the threat as urgently... https://i.imgur.com/NKt2a8a.png Within the next 10 turns we'll have visibility on Matrix's cities, which will prove to be HUGE for the war. https://i.imgur.com/eG3G7QR.png It's currently quite low-stakes over there. He scouted with a chariot, daring me to attack it with an axe so that he could send more chariots back in. Our woodsman 2 jaguar dares him right back. |
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T115, 250 AD
Diplo update. We're now down to 3rd place, behind Matrix and [swordman] BrunchTime the greek who has completed the Temple of Artemis. That's a sweet, sweet 1000 gold in our pockets from wonder fail gold. https://i.imgur.com/5Ellncn.png [ynnek] Ynnek has made it easy for me to go out to Matrix's lands and he will start pumping out catapults shortly. Having 2 low-food expansions initially hampered his development but he's coming around well. [doomsol] Matrix held me off long enough to get triremes into play. With the initial axe team dead, and with seas becoming perilous, I have chosen a strategic withdrawal. We'll go the long way around. This has been precipitated by: [afro] Stapel, who wasn't quite playing both sides, but he was wishy-washy and/or stalling for someone to grow weak enough. I wished for an alliance to stifle Matrix now. He considered that an unreasonable demand. Things get lost in translation, no hard feelings, not my first choice, but we need to grow. Since he won't join, he has to go. The fireworks begin in 5 turns @Flintoff, the ivory city. The long way 'round it is, through the byzantines. [ninja] |
T120, 375 AD
https://i.imgur.com/RGVeLoo.png The race tightens as we drop to 3rd place. https://i.imgur.com/lUR1Bu9.png [swordman] BrunchTime the greek is showing off his new wonder and high food output, shooting past PP and over Matrix. The part where he builds ToA does play into my hand. https://i.imgur.com/BkCm3Rp.png [ynnek] Ynnek has his food developped and it starts to show. Time will tell whether he keeps biding his time to grab my lands while the toys are away down south. I'll have to make troop relays so as not to send everything away all the time. https://i.imgur.com/KAnlQVo.png [afro] Stapel kept showing outrage at the idea of me wanting to clarify his position and pick a side. When I proposed that we stay at peace until 500 AD while we attacked Matrix together, he understood 'stay at peace with EVERYONE until 500 AD', which would have left me hanging with troops halfway across the pond, a difficult supply line, Ynnek not showing up and Stapel's army coming north rather than south, eyeballing whoever weakens first between Ynnek and I. Not gonna happen. https://i.imgur.com/xEj25Ib.png We will end our disagreement ... forcefully. https://i.imgur.com/v6OFn2e.png First combat is a loss despite 76%, but our scout also won defending a 99.6% attack from Matrix. Anyways I'm glad I took it now, as 2 more axes might have populated the jungle next turn. https://i.imgur.com/ubP1dGP.png Large amounts of reinforcements are right behind. [doomsol] Reversing the whole amphibious invasion of the Netherlands was painstakingly long. Matrix barely pressed the issue though. Everyone is back safe. I suspect we'll meet again in Stapel's capital. He's free to develop for a while and he knows it. I'll try and stay competitive with higher population, fewer whips, bureaucracy (next turn) and the extra land from Stapel. Everything rides on making Stapel's lands work ASAP, really. Matrix is a good builder-style player: the catch-up will be a bumpy ride. |
T135, 500AD
Today was a good day. https://i.imgur.com/JRl8i4s.png [afro] Stapel mustered his forces and tried to weaken our army with catapult collateral when there was 1 turn of bombardment to go, so we used that last turn to finish off the walls, promote a healer (healed all but 1) and let loose on the next turn. https://i.imgur.com/dr2AHql.png With great success. Total losses: 1 elephant riding in, 1 catapult at the gates. [doomsol] Matrix's army is sure to be marching East right now so we'll send a 2-galley war party to scour the coast and try to "bluff" our way into making him doubt, or double back, or allow us an easy capture. https://i.imgur.com/eObBrBb.png Still 3rd. Matrix researches Theology - either for Theocracy, or for further ends ... https://i.imgur.com/i2KMQzJ.png That GA could get him further down the Nationalism line, either by bulbing Divine Right or Nationalism itself. https://i.imgur.com/k5aj5fa.png That's a big gambit in quite some time, if it is indeed his plan. Plus, a cuirassier rush would have a tough time against an army of elephants. https://i.imgur.com/AxcNXEU.png First to Alpha and CS, making spies, will try to steal machinery and currency from Matrix ASAP. Stapel has HBR but no more elephants to use it on. We'll soon have saturated our useful tiles in the homeland ; new conquests are a timely addition. Babaorum is working 8 cottages while Aquarium has 4 specialists at size 6. All of the great people options would be nice: spy for Matrix's techs (or Brunch's), scientist for an academy, or GE for a wonder. Bureaucracy in the capital hoisted it to 35 hammers (rival best MFG is ~65 empire-wide) while Petitbonum remains a crazy mix of whip output + hammered military. Some hammers are being whip-overflown into mausoleum, slowly building up the next wonder fail gold. With conquest $ pouring in on top of the last payday, we'll keep running at 100% science until Education. Then, a quick whipping of universities will keep me in the game a while longer. |
T140, 600 AD
https://i.imgur.com/80r09Xz.png Keep in mind, there's 2 golden ages active. [afro] https://i.imgur.com/SjCn0ob.png I keep baiting Stapel, he keeps taking bad 25-30% fights, chipping away at his own army. https://i.imgur.com/yNMuJsH.png We have a medic scout general and a few woods3 jags to heal everyone up right quick, too. 2 down, copper town will fall in line soon. This will fulfill an old promise to Ynnek [ynnek] [doomsol] https://i.imgur.com/XMwR11y.png I was way overthinking this, as is tradition. He just burned his artist into a MoM GA. https://i.imgur.com/Z7YXJXI.png Which leaves me a bit richer, but without a wonder to dump into. https://i.imgur.com/Sp6zRC6.png Score is lacking but we'll soar again within 20-30 turns with the new conquests coming online. GE will make gardens in the capital. https://i.imgur.com/DiK0Hkz.png No one has engineering for pikemen ... yet ... or even closing in on longbows. The future looks good for the ele-pult wave. We'll try and reach macemen+trebs by the time we hit Matrix. |
T145, 700AD
[doomsol] There is some highway fuckery going on here as Matrix started gobbling up Stapel from behind. https://i.imgur.com/iKM2GmN.png https://i.imgur.com/LB3NCXv.png [afro] Stapel missed 3 turns after conceding his copper town and moving his troops back to the treeline chokepoint. It cost me 3 units to power through that spot, which is further reason why he should have settled there in the first place. Chances are Stapel just got demoralized and gave up. That he would concede everything to Matrix is very poor sportsmanship but hey, we the irreducible gaulois will prevail. [ynnek] As part of millenia-old agreements, Ynnek received Alésia. We'll resume the march South in a turn or two. https://i.imgur.com/0Ryp44J.png |
T150, 800 AD
https://i.imgur.com/oMyN0rG.png I feel fucked. I got greedy and delayed Hanging Gardens by a preposterous 5 turns to include all of the new cities coming online. Obviously, that led to PP building it on the very same turn I was going to. So that's that. And it's fully my fault. Bright side: our economy still runs on wonder fail gold for a few more turns. https://i.imgur.com/8k011aS.png That's a solid blow to our score as PP catches up to Brunch and Matrix keeps running away - now with a free lunch of half of Stapel's empire. https://i.imgur.com/IKQLp9Y.png So we are nearing the moment of truth and Stapel's forces are daunting. https://i.imgur.com/uxvuIWG.png If he had put even half of that force up on the plain hill forest, I'd never have gotten through. But he'd rather gift the leading player with half his shit ... bleh. Ok, no more bitterness. Done. We have our work cut out for us. |
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