Would somebody please tell me what is the point of these random events? -1 diplo hit for no reason at all. How is this strategy?
After unfortifying both units (seriously Sullla, it isn't that hard to unfortify them when you're done debugging), a warrior move SW reveals this.
There is no reason (other than the lost turn) NOT to move. The five marked spaces contain nothing of note. The southernmost forest isn't visible, but forest can't contain any early strong resource. But by moving east, we trade four bare grassland for at least four river tiles, more choppable forest, and perhaps something else good. I moved the settler SE - N into the forest to reveal the extra tile X.
Banana bingo. Ok, it's not quite a jackpot, but it's matching at least three numbers of the powerball.
This is a very strong city site. SIX hills, cow, and plenty of food to work them all. Loads of river for Financial cottages. Not to mention +15 hammers from a Levee if we get that far.
NOW I've got a plan. This spot SCREAMS for Bureaucracy. But Oracle to Civil Service is usually a bridge too far on Deity difficulty. Time to pull out one of my pet tricks: the Great MERCHANT slingshot to Civil Service. It goes like this from the list of Great Merchant techs:
Currency (research it on the way to Code of Laws; you need Math anyway)
Banking (too late to matter)
Economics (late)
Corporation (late)
Metal Casting (block by avoiding Bronze Working)
Code of Laws (research)
Mining (research)
Constitution (late)
Wheel (research)
Pottery (research)
Sailing (research)
Paper (late)
Railroad (late)
Industrialism (late)
Monarchy (either research it, or avoid both Priesthood and Monotheism)
Civil Service (bingo!)
Usually the problem with this plan is the need to avoid Bronze Working, or else you have to get Metal Casting which is not easy. Oracle to MC doesn't work because Priesthood opens up Monarchy to a Merchant bulb ahead of CS.
But we have a great setup here where skipping Bronze is perfectly viable.
1) There are no forests that require chopping. Often you can't even get to your hills for mines before Bronze, but we got four bare hills here.
2) This city is strong, but not hugely over-fooded. Whipping will NOT be essential early on. At the size 5 happy cap, I will be perfectly content to work the cow and four hills.
So tech beeline for this is Mining - Pottery - Writing - Alphabet - Mathematics - Currency (build market and run merchants) - Code of Laws. I can slip in a few techs off the beeline without hurting anything: Hunting (do not dare pop huts on Deity without a scout), Animal Husbandry (cow, duh), Archery (even though the Holkan is resourceless, it still requires Bronze).
First research to Hunting. It makes AH cheaper and enables scouts. Worker First as usual. I resisted the temptation to pop the southwest hut with the warrior. Leave it for a scout.
On turn 12, my warrior met three neighbors all at the same time: Mansa Musa, Asoka, and Huayna Capac. Peaceful leaders, yeah, I thought so. :) And Huayna is 2 iBasePeaceWeight while Asoka and Mansa are 8 and 9 so hopefully they won't like each other. Although of the three, only Asoka is safe at Pleased, the other two can declare war. Then Mehmed and Ragnar showed up. Ok. Lots of Financial leaders here though.
Mutal grew to size 4 while building a scout, then started on a second worker. Then grew to size 5 while building an archer, then started a settler.
The Great Wall fell on turn 37. Hmm, guess I actually could have had it with a real beeline? 15 turns to Masonry via Mining, and then could I have gotten the Wall within 22 turns of building?
Here's an overview as my first settler came out.
Wow, this map is a bit on the tough side. There's not much elbow room, and look at the huge lack of food resources.
My first settler is going to the C. 1N of the C is very slightly better long-term, being on a hill. But any culture to pop the border is going to take a very long time so I settled with the horses in first-ring and corn in second. The horses would provide enough power to build the library and get the corn.
My second settler would plant on the ivory up north. (I'm actually not sure if I would've thought of that without the circle there). Definitely the best spot in the area - instant and unbreakable ivory hookup and can take the corn since Mutal has other good tiles.
Outside the capital, there's one corn within reach to the east (where my first settler is going, to the C) and then _nothing_ for food to two full city lengths south of the capital. Happy resources are scarce too; I can grab that ivory up north OK, but then nothing else.
One worker connected a road quickly towards Ottomans for trade routes. At the capital, I put cottages on top of both the dyes and bananas - best thing to do with them till Calendar.
Would somebody please tell me what is the point of these random events? -1 diplo hit for no reason at all. How is this strategy?
Nice. They made peace shortly later though.
Sick, Feudalism in 775 BC. At least I did snag a couple trades for Mathematics. And Currency got me Alphabet and Monarchy. (Priesthood was dangerous because access to Monarchy blocks the Merchant-CS bulb, but I knew Mehmed would trade Monarchy to me.)
So I got out to six cities, and here they are.
