Time for a big update!
So is the game still alive. Yes it is! Slowly but surely we're plodding on. Let's get you all up to speed.
Getting into the AD's
IN 25 AD the world looks like this:
Rik has 4 cities diplo tells me so I need to speed up expansion a bit. I just started research on alphabet. Although this appears to be useless in a 2 player game the espionage makes it an interesting choice still. If only for defensive purposes: wouldn't wanna have Rik with City Visibility because I neglected espionage.
The barbs continue to be a big hassle throughout the game as the screenie shows. Thanks again Killer! Rik has built the Great Wall in 450 BC so his life has prolly gotten a lot easier.
Rik is still blocking my trade. It's more a nuisance than a real problem but I'm running into the health cap because I can't access fish and clams. There's another clam at the other end of the continent however (yellow arrow) so I plan to settle there as well.
On the F9 screens it shows that Rik has built up a huge population. Strangely he's (and has been) behind on commerce and the production seems rather balanced when compared over more turns. I'm convinced that a tech lead will be crucial in a 1v1, better units we'll be decisive in a war. So I started the Great Lib to maintain the GNP/tech advantage.
A screenie from after Alphabet was done showed me having a comfortable tech lead:
