Retrieving an old thread praising my lamentable performance...
I am now looking for games I played long ago, including some of the early missions. After Behdet for which I had no trace left from the past, I had a look at Abedju and Abu. I made Abedju last year and am a bit surprised by the low score: some 20,000. Unfortunately, due to our network limits here, I could not download my own file.
So I looked at my own Abu, 3 years old. I was satisfied with a decent performance, however this ‘pretty Abu’ suffers several drawbacks I can now correct. Comparing the two files can help recent players to improve drastically a game which looked –but apparently only- good enough.
The classic features were therefore revised:
-housing blocks and entertainment, food
-industrial blocks, exports and trade, money earning
-specificities of Abu
As in Behdet, my first strategy is to get overindebted to see my Kingdom rating decrease and ensure that I would not win by accident.
HOUSING BLOCK and ENTERTAINMENT
In the old version, the blocks are not perfectly stable: the entertainers may miss one side of a block from time to time, what is proven by the existence of 4 music schools spread anywhere. It shows an empirical extension of the city.
In the new version, after some mapping trials, I eventually decided to orientate the blocks from SW to NE, and one music and dance schools do the job perfectly for 4 pavilions.
In the new version, I wanted to set my longest stable block of manors: 20x9 tiles (roads excluded). I miss the mortuary, the library and the senet, but am allowed the magistrate and dentist, so know that I can develop common manors.
I set the houses supposed to become manors first. They are separated with a blank tile, so that I can force them to evolve into 2x2 buildings and not erratic 1x1 houses.
Afdter, when I am ready for manors, I set the workers’ housing block, also separating the houses with 2 empty tiles. When these houses have evolved to residence status, once they are subject to education, I set the new ones in the vacant places.
It seemed to me that I had packed my first city, with 5,000 inhabitants. Nonetheless, my new Abu contains without much effort 7,500 people of whom 3,100 live in 31 manors.
There is a potential accident with the southern most manor; for 5 years, the Osiris priest missed it, then he did properly for 5 years. In fact, I should have remembered that: the 20 long block is the limit I can reach. Otherwise, both blocks never faced any accident of any kind.
Food: I decided to concentrate only on grain (because I need the straw) and peas, because they are imported. I would reveal a bit short of peas, I can import the 2,500 from Men-Nefer. Contrarily to my first version, I religiously ignored lettuce (Men-Nefer has much better to buy) and fish.
INDUSTRIAL BLOCK
Abu is for this quite interesting because everything has to be centralised. Two cities trade by road (Timna and Abydos), two by sea (Men-Nefer and Behdet).
- the reeds are sold by sea (Behdet) but papyrus is bought by all caravans.
- one city buys linen by road, one by sea. Same with beer. And same quantities.
- one city sells clay by road, one by sea.
The exports in my first city were horrible: 500 debens on the first year (4,500 in the second version); then 7,000 (14,500), then 14,500 (17,500). After its stabilises around 15,000 against 25,000+ in the new version.
The reeds are immediately dispatched to the neighbouring factories but the papyrus is delivered near the entry point. The caravans move fast enough to make the necessary trips for buying and selling whatever wished as long as every trip is not too long, especially for Timna. Same for the ships, as I need the clay and reeds to be delivered (4 boat trips per year). The pottery and brick industries are so close to the docks, as the papyrus factories.
Similarly, the beer and linen industries are on the continent as they require much space, while their delivery storage yards (SY) are on the islands.
I am a bit surprised by the opening of Selima Oasis which buys everything and have to add extra industries. My ferry gets a bit jammed but the ferry trip is short, so transfers are acceptably quick.
I rarely sell luxuries as it disturbs my trade system but eventually sell granite when Abydos does not have enough papyrus to keep occupied. I also eventually sell sandstone, but the more valuable granite SY is closer to the Kingdom road and sandstone is bought only when there is a shortage of granite.
I start the game with one dock, but must quickly add a second one to fasten the rotation of the ships.
SPECIFICITIES of ABU
In the new version, I ignore the Temple Complex for Ptah. I make enough bricks for sale, altogether with the other items. I neither especially need Ptah’s blessings.
The crocodile is interesting. However fenced, it tends from time to time to go along a long wall to eat walkers. Two, at max. three policemen kill the nasty wanderer.
You are never told, in Abu, whenever the flooding will be good or not. It is rather good anyway and an statistical mix of minor and major blessings are enough to feed both the beer and linen industries and the people, especially when ignoring the lettuce farms.
I could have got a much better Kingdom rating (100) as I had been for long below the required Culture rating of 35, but I noticed too late.
I never bothered to set any military: when you start the mission, its description says ‘no military activity’, what means not even a single troop request.
Conclusion:
Mission completed in 10 years (but, as said before, it is voluntarily delayed, so meaningless)
Population: 7,500
Treasury 200,000 (+60,000 per year)
PR 100, KR 53, CR 35 (max without mortuary)
Score: 93,000 (105,000 with one more year at 100% speed without touching anything).
Abu is a very interesting mission.
posted 01-30-01 16:22 ET (US)
And one i'm terrible at except in competition where progressives are required.