2009 Contest Smalltalk

  • Dear fellow members,


    May this thread be the right place to share all your thoughts, impressions, ideas and strategies regarding our 2009 contest, which you do not deem important enough to be worth a separate topic. :)


    Have fun!

  • Fun, so far. As a White Dove, I have made it to July 20th, one month from the founding of the House, and am a Trader, soon to be Merchant, and an honored guild member.


    Wealth has increased over 200,000 above the starting value. An iron goods workshop will be finished in three more weeks, and two brickyards are nearly ready. A cog is under construction in the shipyard. The church is funded for expansion, but the town lacks wells.


    A half dozen (all legal captures) pirates were hung at sea, and their ships appropriated; I sail a fleet of one snaikka and seven crayers, trading nearly everywhere; two lack captains. Eighteen cities have given permissions to build, three more are pending. A new office will be under construction in a few days. A treasure awaits discovery as well.


    Satisfactory progress, I think. August lies ahead; five offices must be built. The Mediterranean beckons with whispers of high profits and new markets, and there are rumors of lands far to the west ...

  • Two more months into the game; trading is a a pretty easy level overall. I am more used to patrician trading patterns. The pirates are pretty much pushovers, too. After the initial flurry of crayers, there are a couple of holk convoys, with cogs in tow, a solitary cog, and a three cog convoy at the anniversary date. There were, rather; I sank some of the minor convoys, don't want the smaller ships at all. The holks I'll harvest later.


    Marriage on the 18th of September 1330 yielded a cog at 70% health; the wife is perfect though.


    Luebeck is humming with activity, built a merchant house, the fourth workshop is under construction, two sawmills in operation, and a number of brickyards, four wells. Rostock has four brickyards so far, Gdansk has a cattleyard being built, Torun a sheep farm under construction. Ripen is so productive I think everyone will build there; I have a couple of smelters, sawmills, and brickyards there, more coming. Aalborg finishes up the lineup, with smelters and brickyards so far under construction.


    Still trading manually. Three ships were sent to the Mediterranean. One returned from Tunisia with a cloth contract, the other two are due back shortly. I built two cogs, captured three cogs from the pirates. Shipyard is at three lanterns now.


    Beginnings are such fun ...

  • Made promotion as Daring Patrician on November 1st, and am number 1 on the Mayor election list. CV passed a million in October.


    Running seventeen ships, with thirteen captains. Shipyard is fast now with repairs, and up to the 480 size cogs. 31 businesses running, with quite a few under construction as well. Housing consruction is a nuisance.


    Pirates' ships are almost valueless now, at least to me. All are fully extended, and a snaikka from the shipyard will carry nearly as much and is cheaper to operate. I will use a few (former) pirate cogs for outrigger duty, and as leaders for nearer bulk Med trading. I will shift to crayers when the 350 models are available, and the 250 model snaikkas. No auto routes set up yet ... only the trade offices sell or buy automatically.


    The ultimate dove contest would have no captures at all, only builds.


    Three ships are busy exploring the Med. Bordeaux, Barcelona, Tobruk, Tunisia so far; cloth contracts in the last two. Skins, pitch, beer; and me with no good hunter lodge city. The International version of the game is different than the German version; iron goods can be desired in nearby cities, the distribution of trade goods is more random.


    But honey is the sweetest trading good of all. ;)

  • It's lonely in this section. But I speak no German. I used Google to try to post some stats from the six months point in the Smalltalk section. I think I can give Gehtnix a good run for his money.


    If my translation there was bad, I sure would appreciate someone correcting it.


    My shipyard can now build holks. I will build some for mass transport, but plan to use mostly 350 model crayers for the speed advantage. A second shipyard will be developed in Torun. I will begin there with snaikkas, not to use as transports, but as protection ships for the planned convoys of holks. A snaikka with cannon (so far, just bombards are available) is very effective alone, and with four or five, the convoy is well protected in encountering pirates. Shutzschnigge, ha ha.


    Profits are good, and I will make Lord Mayor easily.

  • Up to February 3, and I am mayor with a talley of 41 votes. It took some manipulation, but I have Windau as my new town mission, with fish, grain and timber.


    Oddly enough, the towns switched back and forth from Memel to Windau on fast forwards. I wonder what the program is that makes the selections? Anyone get a different city than Memel or Windau on the first selection?


    In checking ahead and planning, I had to grab enough wine from the Med and move enough around the Hanse to eliminate pottery as a selection for Windau/Memel. I have nine cattleyards; I had to withhold some trade to get the timber selection, generating an artificial shortage. I am pleased now with the symmetry. Rostock and Gdansk need a lot of timber, and I can do a great deal of reciprocal trade. To date, I concentrated on bricks and hemp in Rostock, and built no fisheries other than three in Ripen. I built no grain farms (other than one in Ripen for its breweries), just stocked up for the winter, so I will be able now to supply my Baltic cities, and also dump it in the north. Similarly, the breweries of Gdansk can be supplied with raw materials from Windau, and I can easily add pitch for more timber consumption, dumping the surplus of beer and pitch in the Med.


    Meanwhile, the pirates are getting nasty, all bombards now. I have a Hanseatic arms race going on. Money was not a problem, not with my iron goods trade, so I did not have to do the pirates nest raid.


    Onward ...

  • Zitat

    Original von Steersman
    It's lonely in this section.


    Hi Steersman,


    yes, very much so. Glad to keep you company from time to time,


    best, Charlotte :)

    "Wir sind verletzt, aber wir stehen wieder auf."


    Berlin - Breitscheidplatz, zum 19. Dezember 2016.


    P2 1.1/P4 2.0.4

  • Hi Davylad,


    welcome! As I can see, you are doing fine.
    Best regards,


    Charlotte

    "Wir sind verletzt, aber wir stehen wieder auf."


    Berlin - Breitscheidplatz, zum 19. Dezember 2016.


    P2 1.1/P4 2.0.4

  • Thanks for the welcome charlotte.


    As I don't speak much german, have I posted my progress in the right thread?

  • Zitat

    Original von Davylad
    ... have I posted my progress in the right thread?


    Yes, this is the right thread.


    Welcome! :wave2:

    Das Ganze ist mehr als die Summe seiner Teile.
    Aristoteles

    Dieser Beitrag wurde bereits 1 Mal editiert, zuletzt von Charlotte ()

  • Cool and thanks. I may be in for a rough ride as I have decided to not have an efficient skin production. My final trading office is Thorn.


    So I will have 2 beer, 2 fish, 2 wool and 4 tile producing towns. I hope this works because a year into the game to discover that that is a mistake will be a bit of a problem.


    I think tiles are so important in this contest and have chosen the cities with this in mind.


    Good luck all.


    Is there a standings thread so I can see how I am doing?

  • Been extremely busy for the last year or so, and thought I would check out the forum. I've downloaded the contest and will give it a go. Since it is on the simplistic side, I'd thought I'd give it a try. My P3 skills area quite a bit rusty! I've posted a note on the TSR forum as we have a few new players there who might give it a go as well. :)

  • Welcome back, Man of the C! :)


    Great to see that you give the 'Lubeck Tournament' a try! :170:


    ...and thanks for leaving a note in TSR, we are always glad to see some more international pirates and doves on our table of results.


    Enjoy it! :cheers:

  • WOW, I think I'll change my name to OLD Man of the C. My re-learning curve is a bit staggering. I read a few reports from the submitters I don't know how you doves make so much money so quickly! I'm thru the first 3 months, but it's been a bumpy ride! :giggle:

  • Greetings, one and all. Just to see if I were worthy of the pseudonym I use, I took on the contest, Dove style, with an additional restriction: No ship captures whatsoever, simply trade and build -- everything! I sank pirates, no use of their ships to inflate my wealth. The only ship not built was my bride's dowry of a fine cog, the Xenia. Travellers and Treasures were my only other sources of income, all maps marked with the "X" of course. No loans, either made or taken.


    I found it difficult, indeed. I did not miss any promotions, including the first one to trader. I did demote, though, with the move to the new hometown of Danzig, with a move upwards later in the month to my starting spot.


    And yes, I made it to Patrician, in December; and later, the office of Mayor of Danzig ... in 1330. That, I think, is a pretty notable achievement. Anyone care to try to match it? 8)

  • Bloody Hell, Baltic Trader.


    ~Xavier de la Mer was my pat board sig.


    How the hell ya doing (sorry for the hijack)

  • Xavier! I wondered how you had been! Long time ...


    The old Patrician board has no monitors, hijacked by spammers, and filled now with pornography. Sad, really sad.


    All we need now is for Quis to show up, Merman, and Lord Mayor Alex. :giggle:

  • Sorry about the porn. I have to make a living somehow. :giggle:


    You've taken Danzig eh? You've got 42 days on me and Wasa.


    Use them well......


    Good Luck

  • Actually BT, rereading your achievement, I have to say well done.


    It is indeed a magnificent achievement but in this case completely unneccessary. Spawned pirate captures are fair game yet you choose to hinder yourself.


    Never the less, you managed it so well done and good luck.


    42 days isn't an awful lot.


    I bet you still sack the sailors though ;(. They've got family to feed, have you no shame?? ;)