SGOTM6 - Celts. Sign Up Thread.

Sign-ups are now being accepted for SGOTM6. Please indicate your intention to play by posting in this thread. The information required to place you in a suitable team is as follows:-

1. The version of the software you wish to play.
2. The level (regent, monarch, etc.) you are comfortable playing in a solo game.
3. If you wish to stay with the team you belonged to in a previous game.

Note:-

A. Conquests version 1.22 is supported in this game. However, participants who chose to play this version of the software will play for a separate award.
B. All teams must now play the sponsored variant.
C. All saved game files uploaded to the server are now parsed through software that extracts and archives data about save, including reload count for each turn set. I've told you nicely.

The game will start on the 7th February.

OK so here is the start.
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/SGOTM6-START.jpg

Map Parameters
Playable Civ - Celts
World size - 100 wide by 130 high.
Difficulty Emperor (approximately)
Landform Contiguous Pangea
The map is handbuilt, and therefore may not have a standard configuration.

Here are a couple of links you might find useful.

The Constitution (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=1733966&postcount=61)
The GOTM Reference Thread. (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=71788)

This Months' sponsored variant is Cultural Celtic Communists the rules for which are as follows.

1. The only allowed governments are despotism and communism.
2. You must win by 100K victory condition.


Rule changes and modifications made to the various software versions will be documented in the maintenance thread that will be posted on 29th January. However, for those people that played (and are still playing) SGOTM5, the rules will be the same as for that game. Civilisation traits have not been altered for C3C.

Spoiler information will absolutely NOT be tolerated in this thread.

Finally, have fun everyone. The game should be a challenge whatever your level. :)

Looks I'm the first to sign up for this one and hoping to play with the same team as last month (if they'll have me).

I have all three versions available to me and feel comfortable with game from emperor on down.

If someone wants an extra challenge for their team, I'd be happy to join. If all teams are happy, I don't want to force myself in. I'll keep an eye on it either way.

EDIT:
1. I can play PTW 1.27 or C3C 1.22
2. I'm comfortable playing Regent. I've been playing Monarch. Haven't won yet but I'm learning something new every game that makes me better. I could play any level but the higher we go the more help I'll need.
3. I don't have a team...see above.

- I can play all 3 versions
- comfortable with Monarch (trying Emporer, but no wins yet)
- I have a new team of 4, but will PM the roster in case someone changes their minds.

signing up.

R&L's team.

I think we need to be ptw due to one member not having C3C.

Comfortable solo at Emperor.

Yeah!!
Finally... It is here :goodjob: :D
Going to look for the rest of Smackters to sign up...

I will play again.

1. I will play which ever software version I am allocated to, but I prefer PTW.

2. I am reasonably comfortable playing most levels. It's just comparing my games to human players that unsettles me.

3. I would like to keep our team going, if the guys wish to continue. However, mad-bax, feel free to shift me if you think the team needs strengthening.

BTW: WackenOpenAir asked (on the sgotm5 thread) to get signed up.

Well done mad-bax for keeping to the promised end of January :)
I'd be very happy to continue with my fellow Peanuts.
Current level, somewhere between Monarch and Emperor, if there's reallocations.
I suppose we better discuss the software, PTW or Conquests are both fine with me.

Borther Bede of the Western Isles offers his services.

1) PTW, C3C preferred.
2) Emperor
3) Enjoy meeting the new players

Xteam have some recovering to do after our current bruising encounter as the Russians. I'm game, but I don't know whether the rest of the gang will be :hmm:. If we don't have a quorum, I'm happy to play with new partners.

Vanilla 1.29 as I'm still a Mac-only freak. I'll try any difficulty level but still struggle at Deity.

Yes please!
1. Any
2. Emperor (I still need a 'nice' start to win at Deity!)
3. Anyone who'll have me! :)

I'd like to be with the Smacksters again if that isn t a problem.

I Still play emperor.

1. Prefer C3C, but could do PTW
2. I feel comfortable on emperor or demigod depending on map difficulty
3. I very much enjoyed playing with jeffelammar, but would also be open to a new team if that is necessary.

1. C3C or PTW are good.
2. Deity for the most part.
3. Any team would be fantastic.

Looks interesting, I'm game. :mischief:

I have all versions of the software.

Will try any level of difficulty but with which can I succeed? Monarch to Emperor?

Prefer to remain with the X Team. After SGOTM05, we have some improving to do. :p

Please sign me up!

1. I will soon own Conquests and consequently PTW (it's ordered but might take two weeks to get here), but given my lack of experience with C3C, I'd prefer to stick with Vanilla or PTW (I have all the GOTM mods installed and working for Vanilla).

2. I haven't actually played much Civ III, but I feel comfortable on emporer. (Once upon a time, I played way too many hours of Civ I and then Civ II, so Civ III's been more of an adjustment than a learning curve. The GOTM's are almost the only games I've completed.)

3. I'd really like to be part of a team that does a lot of strategy discussing and comes to a consensus on how to do things, as well as provides good guidance for less experienced players.

Edit: I should mention up front that real life circumstances may limit my ability to fully participate after mid-April. I expect I'll still be able to play, but my time will be more limitted and access not as consistant.

sign me up 2

1) Can play both PTW and C3C. :)
2) Im comfortable playing emperor but i can win on diety sometimes ( trying to do the transition)
3) my first SGOTM :blush:

1) Conquests 1.22
2) Emp or DG
3) This is my first SGOTM. Will play on any team that will discuss options and then agree upon, and execute, a single strategy.


I am not in this for any medal but rather for the experience. Not to say I won't be competitive, so sign me up for team Underdog.

What the heck.

1) Any version.
2) I'm pretty rusty, and was never that great. If you need to give a team a handicap, I could be good. (Monarch. Have played some Emperor. Usually lost patience with those long turns late in the game, but since I don't have to play all the turns, should be better :) ).
3) My first SGOTM.

A sign up.

1. Conquests prefered.
2. Comfortable at DG.
3. Wouldnt mind playing with Smackster again, but I leave this open.

1.) Everything goes. Rather not Conquests, as it seems to easy.
2.) Not afraid of any level. Comfortable depends on the start ;)
3.) Team Offa again is fine. But I'm not picky.

OK I'm in for this one...

1) I would prefer to play Conquests, haven't played PTW for some time.
2) Comfortable at Emperor, can beat DG given good start.
3) Missed last SGOTM so i'm happy to be inserted anywhere really.

Gator is reporting for duty with Xteam.

1. Any version now. (I think I still prefer PTW to C3C though)
2. Emporer, (can beat PTW diety with a good start)
Just got c3c, so haven't played enough conquests to know my skill level in that.
3. Same team sounds good, but like others I am also willing to play with new people too.
4. I like variants, so would prefer to play variant (but playing is more important than having my way)

4. I like variants, so would prefer to play variant (but playing is more important than having my way)
According to mad-bax...
B. All teams must now play the sponsored variant.

signing up :wavey:

1. C3C
2. diety
3. any

just a clarification on the awards: highest score, fastest finish, or both?

I will ba happy to re-join team Peanut for SGOTM6.
Any version of software is good for me.
Emparor is my comfortable level

OK, I'll give this one a try. Hope I'm not too far out of my depth here.

1. Would strongly prefer C3C, but can play any.
2. Doing pretty well so far on Monarch, haven't been brave enough to try Emperor yet.
3. Any team that's willing to wade through my turn reports. :)

Please sign up the CDZ team:

1. Kingreno
2. Melifluous
3. Anarres
4. col
5. carlosMM
6. akots

Software: C3C patch 1.22.

civ_steve checking in!

1.) I can play any version
2.) ... any level
3.) 3rd member of Team Peanut so far! :)

Please sign up the CDZ team:

1. Kingreno
2. Melifluous
3. Anarres
4. col
5. carlosMM
6. akots

Software: C3C patch 1.22.

No - I think I'll have to name this team "The Bandits" :joke:

The awards will be for fastest finish not highest score. The wooden spoon will be awarded to the quickest loss, or if everyone wins then the greatest number of turns to win. I haven't decided whether there will be separate wooden spoons for C3C and "Legacy" Civ. It depends on how many teams are formed.

Signing up for The Bandits ;)

1. PTW (I'm the one forcing R&L's team to play PTW)
2. Monarch
3. R&L's team

1. PTW (actually any version)
2. Monarch - solo, Emperor - SG
3. R&L's team - (Team Cats and Dogs) :)
- Elmarae
- rrau
- RowAndLive
- jb1964

1. I can do any, but I'm much more familiar with PTW than C3C or vanilla.
2. Monarch
3. I'd be happy to stay with team jeffelammar, but a different team would also be fine.

Signing up for any version and for Team Offa. If M-B wants to split up teams, that's fine too.

Signing up for Team Offa, with the qualification noted below. Let's stick with PtW as Offa and Klarius have suggested.

I'm afraid that I'll be travelling, and unavailable to play, for about three and a half weeks, starting almost exactly when the game does (Feb. 8, in my case) :(. My hope is that a 100K challenge will necessarily last a lot longer than our last two games, so that I'll be able to make a reasonable contribution in March.

Signing up.

PTW only. Emperor. Any team, I too like meeting new people.

1. Doesn't matter
2. I can beat Emperor easily and take down Demigod if I get a good start
3. Doesn't matter

Back in the saddle again. I started on team Offa but have been away for a while.
Comfortable on demi-god and diety if I really crack down and watch every move.
I have either version.

I would like to give it a go if anyone will have me.
I will be out of town from Feb 8-13 so I won't be civing (or acting civ).
1. I have Complete so I assume I have it all so either is fine. C3C preferred.
2. Winning at DG now so anything below works. Caveat: I have never attempted (or considered) a culture win on any level.
3. I am kind of :crazyeye: so someone who makes me laugh and have some fun along the way would be a huge positive! If they have game? Bonus!

I havent played any SGOTM before.. but would not mind trying if any team want me :)

1) PtW or C3C (but C3C preferred)
2) i am starting to get relatively comfortable with sid. Have 1 gotm 100k award and a 1090AD chieftain 100k win submitted for HoF if that matters :p
3) any team that would take me :)

1. Can play any version, but would prefer not to have to take my C3C CD out so PTW and C3C would be my preference
2. I feel comfortable at Demi-god. I'll never feel comfortable at Deity, but I have a few wins.
3. Would like to meet new people.

MB, given my time restraints, please don't make me a team leader.

Signing up for ze bandits!

:mischief:

Melifluous

Same as Meli!


Akots send me. :cool:

Signing up for team smackster again :)

Conquests preferred really, but will play PTW if that's what the rest of the team wants.

A bit rusty these days, but comfortable at Emperor-DG atleast.

First timer @ SGOTM... sounds interesting.

1. Can play all versions,

2. Can usually win on Monarch, but am getting back into civ after a year long lay-off, so will be tactically rusty. Very rarely play cultural - back in the Medal play days, not since.

3. No team preference ... new to SGOTM...

I'll play ... if only to see AlanH build temples.

I'm on a Mac, so it must be Civ1.29. Any team that will have me is fine.

I'm comfortable at emporer but have won diety games.

I'll play ... if only to see AlanH build temples.
:lol: Xteam will certainly struggle with this one. Mind, celts are religious/militaristic, so I'll have less trouble with cheap temples - as long as I can build cheap barracks as well - never could resist a cut-price bargain :D

Update on Xteam's gluttons for punishment:

DJMGator13
leif erikson
AlanH
Gyathaar (talked into it by Gator, and can't back out now)
Mistfit (currently a definite maybe not ... or is that a maybe definitely not?)
Capt Buttkick (building a house, and not indicated either way yet)

OK, I'd like to play.
1. Civ3 vanila 129.f
2. Comfortable with Diety, but I never had culture win experience, also hate Communist goverment in Civ 3. Will play, however, "variant".
3. I like our SGOTM5 team Ivan and will be happy to play with Conehead and AdreanE again as team leader or "normal" player.

Update on Xteam's gluttons for punishment:

DJMGator13
leif erikson
AlanH
Gyathaar (talked into it by Gator, and can't back out now)
Mistfit (currently a definite maybe not ... or is that a maybe definitely not?)
Capt Buttkick (building a house, and not indicated either way yet)

How'd you get Gyathaar? He indicated PTW or C3C.

How'd you get Gyathaar? He indicated PTW or C3C.
I really have no problems with vanilla either.. except lazyness since have to install more addons.. so didnt list that :p

How'd you get Gyathaar? He indicated PTW or C3C.
Gator's silver tongue :p

We needed someone kulchered on Xteam, having demonstrated our consummate inability to build culture in SGOTM4. Gator 01 has a strong overlap with the Xteam philistines, and we are making very slow cultural progress in that game as well, whose target is also 100k.

Count me in for a c3c game (or ptw)
I've had a 3 month sabbatical while playing the Sims 2 (I know!) so class myself as a rusty Monarch. Culture games are my fave type as I'm more of a pacifist at heart.. team me up with a couple of blood thirsty warmongerers please!

Signing up for ze bandits!

:mischief:

Melifluous

I'll balance up this team. :cool:

Sign me up!

1 - Any version
2 - Diety with a decent start
3 - Any group - I'm not fussy. :)

Team Smackster!

Team Smackster!

I am happy to see you here my friend ;)

SGOTM newbie, but played some SG already

1. any, C3C preferred
2. comfy @emperor, ok @DG, nervous @deity
3. -

I'm in. And hope the rest of the team also.

Mac 1.29, of course.

2nd Team tao member signing up, hopefully Demiurge and Zwingli will too.

solo haven't played higher than Monarch
currently playing on 1.29f although have PTW 1.21 (patched to GOTM not SGOTM) and C3C 1.15 (although I'll probably have to do a dual install to 1.22 soon)

Havent played any SGOTM before... But would be nice give it a try if any team need my services. Else, i will be lurking around!

1) Any version.
2) Comfortable with Monarch but also not bad at emperor.
3) any team mad enough to take me.

Am I right in thinking that Mad-Bax will assign those of us who are n00b's , or don't have a specific team, or do we need to try and get into a team ourselves?

I intend to join.
c3c prefered.
level: Emperor is the level I'm comfortable with. Enjoy peaceful development.
Big fan of SGL and privateers

1st attemp for SG

Signing up for my first SGOTM.
1. Can play either PtW or C3C, with no particular preference.
2. Extremely comfortable at Monarch, handling Emperor in an SG is no problem. Have recently won an SG with 100K/Domination as the Celts (no research/wonders).
3. No team preferences.

Am I right in thinking that Mad-Bax will assign those of us who are n00b's , or don't have a specific team, or do we need to try and get into a team ourselves?

mad-bax will take care of you

I'm sorry for the inconveince but because of recent events I withdraw my sign-up.

Wanderer: Don't worry, I have a nice team for you. ;)
MjM: No worries, thank you very much for letting me know. I hope you can play in the next game. :)

Oh Dear ! Is it sign-up time again ? Well ... what would Team Peanut be without its nutty mascot ... ?

.... probably higher up the results ladder that's what !

Team Smackster signing in, playing C3C

Smackster
Wotan
Dmanahko
Tarkeel
Grahamiam

Team Offa.

1. Prefer C3C, but can do PTW.
2. Emperor, but I'm fine in higher SGs.
3. Any team will do.

1. Either C3C or PTW, C3C preferred
2. Comfortable at emperor, probably could beat demigod if I found the time (although I'm not sure how to search for something nonphysical)
3. Whatever team

Update on Xteam's gluttons for punishment:

DJMGator13
leif erikson
AlanH
Gyathaar (talked into it by Gator, and can't back out now)
Mistfit (currently a definite maybe not ... or is that a maybe definitely not?)
Capt Buttkick (building a house, and not indicated either way yet)I can be a replacement if someone can't make it... I figured you might want someone who some of you have played with before... :mischief:

(I wasn't gonna join, but I decided that I might...)

@Tomoyo: We've had a definite 'no' from Capt Buttkick now, and an offer from WillowBrook, but s/he's gone quiet since I threatened to take her/him up on it. Mistfit's last clear statement was a 'no', and I'm thinking we need six to keep the momentum up and to have a variety of views during discussions, so I guess we have at least one vacancy.

@Tomoyo: We've had a definite 'no' from Capt Buttkick now, and an offer from WillowBrook, but s/he's gone quiet since I threatened to take her/him up on it. Mistfit's last clear statement was a 'no', and I'm thinking we need six to keep the momentum up and to have a variety of views during discussions, so I guess we have at least one vacancy.

Sorry - COTM 9 has distracted me. :blush: WillowBrook reporting for XTeam duty, if the team will have her. And, yes, she can burn incense. :)

Both Tomoyo and WillowBrook are provisionally placed on the Xteam Roster.

It would be helpful for me if the team captains of established teams can confirm the software version they will play as a team. I know most of them, but some will switch to conquests I presume.

I will post the final rosters on 5th Feb and I need an answer by the end of the 6th.

Provisional rosters can be viewed in >>THIS FILE<< (http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads9/SGOTM_Rosters5.zip) for those that can read an Excel document. If you find any information in this file is innacurate, then please let me know.

I am waiting for sign-ups from two previous members of team tao. If they do not materialise I will have to reassign someone.

If you don't like the team you are in, let me know by PM and I'll do my best to accomodate you.

Submissions are NOT closed of course. Anyone who wished to play can still sign up.

Bad-Max,
I'm not so smart. Does "Civ Complete" have PTW? :blush:
If not I would prefer C3C.

M-B,
I believe you can convert all members of team Smackster to conquest, since we decided we all will play conquests version of SGOTM.

Thank you!
D.

Whomp: Civ-Complete does have PTW. However if you want to play conquests that is fine I'll move you. Just let me know for sure.

Thanks mad-bax. Either will be fine then. I sometimes get messed up on the acronyms.

Both Tomoyo and WillowBrook are provisionally placed on the Xteam Roster.

It would be helpful for me if the team captains of established teams can confirm the software version they will play as a team. I know most of them, but some will switch to conquests I presume.

OK. Mistfit has cried off, so Xteam, faithful to Vanilla v.1.29 to the end, will be:

DJMGator13
leif erikson
WillowBrook
Tomoyo
Gyathaar
AlanH

Here's a big welcome to our new players. :wavey:

I'm not sure how the difficulty is determined for each team, but looking at the roster, it looks like I'm the only one with Regent attached to my name. I would hate for the rest of the team to have a ho-hum game on account of me. I'm up for the challenge of Emperor if everyone else is. (I'm doing pretty good in my 2 Monarch SG's)

The venerable team Bede:
Bede
eldar
Pied Piper
mabellino
Minute Man
Tubby Rower

I am a definite no for the next go 'round. I need to win that dang lotto to free up some more time. Whomever it is that gets on the XTeam be prepared to get deep in discussion. They are a very fun team to be on!

@ Peanut

Have you tried your Avatar as a .gif transparency? No need to respond...use it if you like it
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads9/MrPeanut.gif
http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads9/MrPeanut.gif

I'm not sure how the difficulty is determined for each team, but looking at the roster, it looks like I'm the only one with Regent attached to my name. I would hate for the rest of the team to have a ho-hum game on account of me.

Don't sweat the difficulty level, Bede will help you get through the game just fine. Just don't let him revolt to a Republic ;)

Don't sweat the difficulty level, Bede will help you get through the game just fine. That's one of the reasons why I'm not worried about the difficulty level. Bede is in 2 of my SG's and is very insightful and patient.

After a further considering of the game set, I realize that forced-labor is the only option of rush-built. plus the time commited, I decide to withdraw.

Sorry.

Great, thanks for the link, Mad...

Hmm - looks like I had better get 1.29 - I just realized I don't have it, after my last forced machine re-build.

If 1.29f is a problem Wanderer I'll move you. No sweat.
Tubby Rower: Bede has PM'd me. He asked me to put you on his team. :)

I am a bit confused. Levels, I assume level of comfort, are marked in the column to the right of version. Demigod doesn't show anywhere, and some vanilla players have Sid as level. Is that just a ranking you assigned arbitrarily?

Also, I don't know if this is a result of the recent thread about improving SGOTMs, but some teams seem rather stacked, assuming that the above is correct. For instance, Team offa's and CDZ both are Deity+ on average, smackster and staff are Deity, while most other teams are around Emperor(edited from average - oops!). And considering all of this, why would grahamiam be moved to smackster's team from jeffelammar when the teams are more even with him still on jeffelammar.

I'm not sure how the difficulty is determined for each team, but looking at the roster, it looks like I'm the only one with Regent attached to my name. I would hate for the rest of the team to have a ho-hum game on account of me. I'm up for the challenge of Emperor if everyone else is. (I'm doing pretty good in my 2 Monarch SG's)

The venerable team Bede:
Bede
eldar
Pied Piper
mabellino
Minute Man
Tubby Rower

Rule number 1 for a Bede game: There is no such thing as "ho-hum". If nothing else I can be counted on to forget the variant at least once....(vide M60's comment)
Rule number 2: This is for fun and comradery, not virtual walnettoes.

And I did indeed PM m-b specifically requesting a team of newcomers to the SGOTM.

Yep, team Offa is a bit too strong. Hopefully they will play vanilla or PTW. :evil:

It's an honor for those chosen. Pied Piper is a great teammate. You chose well Brother Bede.

@bed_head: I assume that, although the teams seem stacked, it is better to let people choose their teams than to force them into other teams. I suppose if people have played in a SG together before, they will play better, (but I don't see how that's the case with the Xteam... :p :mischief:) and aren't all competitions stacked since some people play better than others?

Well, I was most curious about it when teams hadn't been specified here, as in the case of grahamiam.

Smacksters are established team but we needed an additional player.
Past 2 SGOTMs showed that it is very hard for unexperienced player to play for our team.
Grahamiam was invited to play for Team Smackster and final team roster was submitted to M-B.
Please do not blaim Mad Bax. These are internal Team Smackster affairs. :)

Please keep me on team Peanut.

I am not blaming anyone, just trying to satisfy my curiosity and thirst for competition.

I'd like to join in on this game:

1. Monarch but can play higher levels.
2. Vanilla Civ III.
3. Are there any Mac teams out there who would like a new team mate?

I'm hoping to learn some things, have some fun and win, of course. :D

The relative strength of teams is a good discussion point, and I will allow it in this thread.

Originally I sweated blood trying to keep teams balanced, but now I am finding that putting teams together that get along is more important.

This is the first game that I have released the rankings I use for individual players, and it was not an accident. ;)

I am a bit confused. Levels, I assume level of comfort, are marked in the column to the right of version. Demigod doesn't show anywhere, and some vanilla players have Sid as level. Is that just a ranking you assigned arbitrarily?



Players who feel comfortable at DemiGod are given Deity ranking. Sid players are those players that either say they are comfortable at Sid and I can't tell otherwise, or are players that are Clearly exceptional players. I don't pretend it's accurate, and have tried all sorts of maths based on GOTM ranking and Hof Results, but it's all rubbish, and we get half a dozen new players every game anyway. So I just make a judgement. One reason I have published them is to allow people to adjust their rank if they feel I think too much or too little of their standard of play, ;)

The other reason I have published them is because teams have begun seperate out into teams of roughly the same standard within them (if you see what I mean). This means that some teams are stronger than others. I have also previously placed regent and Monarch level players on these teams, and it has always been a failure. The elite often lose patience, and the "weaker" (if I can cut the bull and just say that) player feels under enormous pressure to perform. In the end they drop out and don't come back.

Particularly I am concerned about about the strength of CDZ and Offa. Offa won SGOTM4 and will win SGOTM5, it's already a done deal. I am hoping that some of the stronger teams will understand my predicament and resolve the issue themselves. I haven't forced the issue yet, because frankly I don't want to lose these people from the competition.

Another issue I have is that majority of players new to SGOTM fall in the Monarch/Emperor range. It is difficult to share them ALL between the established teams because there are too many, and so I end up having to form new teams, of Monarch/Emperor level players. Thank Goodness for Bede who makes my life so much easier in this respect.

So either we accept that teams will gravitate to being composed of people who "get on" in which case the teams are stacked (as they are for this, and have been for all the games exept SGOTM1), or we break up teams.

I think I would prefer even teams. I've been thinking that we should maybe have a rule whereby a team that wins a laurel (or maybe 2) should be disbanded. I only worry that this would mean we would lose the players that only want to play because of the people they play with.

Unfortunately I don't get very much feedback on how the rules should be developed. I have no stake in them actually. I really don't care what they are, so long as the playing community can live with them (if not actually agree with them).

So, what are your thoughts?

EDIT: I have attached the latest roster to this post.

i'd prefer even teams too. the goal would be to have only teams who can compete for the title. however, i don't believe that's possible. you need to break most teams and the elite players need to guide their team to win, which would probably help the newer players but result in some form of delegation. i believe you should do that in normal SG's.
also i'd be reluctant to force established teams to break up.

for the "weaker" teams, look at it this way:
it's no shame to lose to a deity+ team, but all the better if you can challenge or even beat them :D

I am very flattered that you regard my team as a concern ;) . This is of course due to my team-mates :king: :king: :king: :king: , who quite frankly are too good by half at this game.

For myself I would be quite happy for you to disperse, split up or dilute our team. It is after all, just for fun. The one thing which I don't favour would be putting one regent level player in with us, as that might be stressful for that player, even though we are all really nice. Hell, I find it stressful doing a turnset for our team :eek: ,and as it is K changes half my builds and worker assignments at the end of the turn (rightly of course).

Even teams would be the ideal case, but the ideal solution is hardly achieved. And excellent war mongers may only be good builders. And vice versa.

IMHO reliabilty is at least as important as the level you feel comfortable at. Mixed teams may form a proper sequence of their players of different strengths and the team discussion should also help the "weaker" players to advance. This IMHO is also one of the desired outcomes of the SGOTMs (as it should be with succession games).

I.e. I have no problems of mixed players. Well, not really chieftain or warlord players neither knowing nor willing to learn(!) details of the game mechanics. ;)

CDZ is only here because one of our friends asked if we would like to join, and because we like a challenge. In fact, I was quite looking forward to seeing if we can beat Team Offa. :)

My take on the results is that ALL results are somewhat meaningless. People compete because they have fun, especially in SG's. This allows us to enjoy the team aspect of the SG with the added challenge of the competition. Actually winning means nothing compared to the team aspect though.

I would personally be happier for you to remove all rankings from the competition and just have teams compete against themselves to see how fast they can do it. At least then we stay in our teams. If it is decided the competition is more important than the team aspect (i.e. the competition must be balalnced so teams are broken up) then I'd rather not play.

I am almost certain that the team as a whole would not compete if we were forced to break up, but some individuals may be ok with being on other teams. Of course I don't actually represent the CDZ team, so they may all disagree with me and be happy to go to other teams or to take new people on the CDZ team.

Anyway, this is just my frank and honest opinion, I am sure I am in the minority here. :)

There is more than 1 way to even up the teams. In regular GOTM this is done via the Conquest, Open, and Predator classes. Instead of formally setting different starts, perhaps the "elite" teams could discuss an additional handicap. This might be what MB means when he says:
I am hoping that some of the stronger teams will understand my predicament and resolve the issue themselves

A couple potential handicaps I could envision for SGOTM6:
1. You must always stay in despotism (I'm not sure this is a real handicap).
2. No ICS city placement.
3. You may never build temples (or you cant after 1000BC or you can't pop rush a temple)
4. No Pop-rush after 1000BC.

LOL, that's scary! But not necessarily a bad idea. :)

@mad-bax: I'm just following your advice. Have to dig out the post from an earlier thread. :)

IMO, the Ranking spreadsheet is somewhat subjective. It is quite possible to change the ranking of a third of the players in it. And I second Anarres regarding that I will not play if the team is split. My experience regarding your team-forming decisions is not always positive.

IMHO, Staff team and Team smackster are more than formidable opponents and there is no need to play a "variant or variants" in this case unless these two teams will play something special as well. ;)

My objective in this, as in the GoTMs, is to improve. In the case of the SGOTMs I want to get better at team membership as well as at the game itself. Because of this I actually don't want teams to be at equal strength.

The fact that there are strong teams in the competition just gives a tough target to aim for, like having Ronald and SirPleb and Kuningas in the GOTMs. The elite players provide a 'gold standard' that probably doesn't vary a lot, whereas if the team strengths were somehow, magically kept in step from game to game, we'd probably never know if we were doing better (or worse :eek: ).

PS. Re. rankings, one Deity win doesn't make a deity class player ;)

Oh i just looked at your excep stat,

I wont complain about you ranking me deity instead of sid ;), however the software version is not entirely correct, it should be "any" for me.

Hell, I find it stressful doing a turnset for our team :eek:
:D
Yes, and that i think is a good strength of our team. We all are equally good, and none of use want to screw up. I play sgotm with our team more carefull than my own gotm games.

If we should handicap ourselves, i think it would be a good option to play by gozpel's morale standards. :p

The staff team might be halfway formidable if we could ever get all our horses pulling in the same direction, but with all our varied responsibilities around here and elsewhere, we're usually more like a team of housecats (two striving earnestly forward in completely different directions, one chasing a bird, two trying to take a nap, and one licking itself. I'll let the reader decide who is who. :D )

Now that I've amused myself ...

What Alan said, is what I'm thinking, more or less.

Renata

I am new to these competitions and the site so take what I say with a grain of salt.
I am excited to learn, improve and have fun. Bede should be applauded for doing what he is doing and I think it's an honor for his team. For me, it would be a treat to be able to play with players of this caliber. The group will have a lot of fun. I also realize this can not be forced as some people like "civing" together and striving for that laurel on their head.
Rather than giving teams a bogey I think you could break teams out a few ways.

Category 1.--The "Majors" or predator class. Let the outstanding players compete. Annares said he relishes beating Team Offa. I say bully up and let the games begin. Don't frustrate these players they are the core group.

Category 2. Let's call this the "Minors" and could consist of a serpentine draft. Team leaders would draft his/her team. This would be for those that are interested in playing with different people and/or a level below but still in thirst of competition. This could even out the teams and make for some interesting tales. Team leaders would draft their team from people they either like and/or think can help them win this class (team chemistry). It would be fun to say I have "X" ranking in league competition. I'm sure we could come up with a rating system. Hey maybe these "David's" could even beat Team Offa for the double dip :mischief: !!!! New stars could emerge from this competition. Maybe even give out honors like Rookie of the year, Most improved etc.

Category 3. --This could be the"training wheel" class or non-compete. It would be focused on Regents and/or Monarchs or those just in it to have fun. If one of the predator players could volunteer every so often this could be an accelerant to more players in SGOTM. Team leaders from the "Minors" class could search out future talent from this pool and see these players move up to the "Minors".

I'm just here to have fun, and I like my current team (R&L) and we've played several sg's together for close to a year now, so even though we aren't in the elite I don't want to break up our team.

@Renata - I think you forgot to include yourself in the descriptions - you're the cat chasing it's tail (see your avatar ;) )

I don't think we have that many teams to use Whomp's proposal...
I've been thinking about whether we should turn into Pro league and use drafts in a way it is done in NBA or NHL??? :lol:
Another issue we are going to face this time around - splitting SGOTM into PTW/Vanilla vs. Conquests...
Akots, Annares and Co are not going to be able to compete with Team Offa simply because they will play different games...
So we have XTeam and Offa in PTW/Vanilla and Smackster and CDZ (or were they called bandits) in C3C. I don't recall whether Staff plays PTW or C3C.
I guess what i am trying to say we are not going to have a true competition even between those few strong deity level teams.
It will be even worse if lets say out of all teams 7 or 8 will play C3C and only 3 or 4 will play PTW/Vanilla.
As much as I prefer C3C to PTW i'd rather have all the teams to be in the same competition... I've been thinking if we could do something with those Apple people and force them to use PCs with C3C version of game :mischief: . Those mac-fanatics keeping the rest of us in ancient ages. :lol:

I've been thinking if we could do something with those Apple people and force them to use PCs with C3C version of game :mischief: . Those mac-fanatics keeping the rest of us in ancient ages. :lol:
:rotfl: Hell will freeze over before I part with enough folding money to buy a PC ugly enough just to run C3C. If you guys want to go ahead and play C3C, I'm not stopping you, and my team mates on Xteam are free to play C3C if they prefer. If all the PC players want to focus on C3C (and I suspect they don't) then either we have a small select band of Mac fanatics playing as a separate lone team, or SGOTM becomes C3C-only and Billie Gates wins another round in his battle for world supremacy. But be warned. If we're exiled now we'll prolly be back when Civ4 hits the streets.

[PS] What's so all-fired great about C3C anyway?

I agree it would be nice if we'd all play the same verions.

C3C has some GREAT advantages: Fast forest cut & usefull specialists.
The removal of CRP can be seen as a disadvantage if you just compare power, but i see it as an advantage because it makes the game more reasonable. That is what imo makes C3C much better.

That said, i don't mind playing any version in sgotm if it solves problems.

I think it's much ado about nothing. Are there many players who quit or refuse to participate because Team Offa is stacked? Probably not. If Bede wants to work with people new to SGOTM, more power to him. If annares and crew wants to play on the same team every time, and it's fun for them, why not? Xteam is probably the only one with a waiting list because of the extensive discussions/spam taking place with a lot of learning opportunities as a result.

Me? I just look for team mates who play within a reasonable time in a somewhat intelligent manner and don't get overly emotional in what at the end is simply a game. And if they have to leave mid-game as a result of RL, then fine, just don't forget to first say goodbye.

The bottom line is we should all be having fun by the end. Every team can't be the New York Yankees or Manchester United or whatever fill-in-the-blank-perennial-great-team you can think of. And to most here that's not an issue, IMHO. To try to impose more conditions even with the best of intentions will just give players reasons to stay away. For all the hard work that goes into creating and maintaining this competition, that would be a shame.

Offa won SGOTM4 and will win SGOTM5, it's already a done deal.
Just like in RL, who cares? What I want to know is the point spread. We are all going for the same victory condition, so team performance is determined by the number of turns taken. Then for each team just add a handicap of X turns times the ranking of all team members. The team with the lowest number wins the moral victory (as opposed to a laurel victory?).

The question then becomes what is X (point spread) and is everyone happy with the rankings. ;)

I'm not too concerned about keeping the teams even. Partly this is because I'm not playing to win (although I'm trying to win), I'm playing to have fun and to learn. The people who have contributed most to the success of the games our team has played have been the people who discuss the goal, agree on a plan, and attempt to stick to it. These are not necessarily the people who have the highest ranking after their names. I think the group dynamic is more important than the individual rankings in determining who does well.

It's something of a tough call, M-B. I saw some of the threads where mismatches were going on and it wasn't pretty. Definitely better to keep teams together where the players get along.

Could create a handicap system. Don't base it on an arbitrary skill level but in actual performance within SGOTM. For each player, tally up how many turns their team trailed the fastest team for every SGOTM that player has participated in. Divide by the number of SGOTM's they've participated in to come up with a base handicap. Actual handicap for that player might be a % of that base, perhaps 80%. Average the handicaps of the players on the current team to form a team handicap. This is subtracted from the eventual turn number they finish their game on to obtain a final turn number for comparison to other teams.

A Team of mid-level players still has to outperform to beat a team of exceptional players (to overcome the 20% reduction in handicap.) This might encourage teams of exceptional players to take on less experienced players to improve their team handicap (but probably not if they really mesh well together.) Newcomers would have to be assigned a handicap based on perceived ability (subjective assessment.) And future handicaps are based on comparison to the fastest game (which might not be the winning game.)

Just a suggestion, but this might allow the results to be shaken up a bit without requiring Teams to be broken up.

@MadBax ... it would seem that the dread Civ 3 patch problem has reared it's head. I know my C3C game is working, but after a patch to try and get Vanilla to 1.29f, I have the infamous (insert CD) problem. PTW plays fine, so I am going to wait until at least completing COTM09 before trying to re-install to fix.

Please move me to a PTW 1.27f or C3C 1.22 team ... sorry for the truoble, and thanks!

I just look for team mates who play within a reasonable time in a somewhat intelligent manner and don't get overly emotional in what at the end is simply a game. And if they have to leave mid-game as a result of RL, then fine, just don't forget to first say goodbye.
I couldn't agree more. I play to enjoy the game, to take part in interesting discussions and to pick up new ideas on game play. It's a good job that I don't play to win otherwise I'd be really fed up :D

The bottom line is we should all be having fun by the end. Every team can't be ... Manchester United...
...and I certainly wouldn't want to be them :p

Huh you mean Scumchester United! And even the Mancs aren't going to beat Chelsea this season!

Sorry about the off topic

Variety is the spice of life IMHO, I've played on 2 different SGOTM teams and learnt different things from each of them. I'm looking forward to being one of the Venerable Bede's chosen ones... kinda makes you feel wanted!

Good luck to all players and watch out cos we're gonna open up a can of whoop ass!

I don't care what the teams are, but looking at the roster of the CDZ and Offa teams makes me shudder. :eek:

These are the people that newbies read about!

Whomp's idea could have some merit if our player base continues to grow, though...

If anything *is* changed, a combination of Pied Piper's and civ_steve's suggestions sounds quite nice: one award for the stakes race and another for the handicap. We wouldn't need civ_steve's 80% factor in that case.

Renata

Wanderer, That's OK and done.

Didn't realize not all teams have 6 players, so yes the team ranking would have to be divided by the number of players to form an average, and then X (the point spread) should increase proportionately. If you want to get technical X could be nonlinear but that would be too confusing. Simple is better.

May I propose a tilted halo for the graphic symbol for the moral victory? It need not be a gold ring, perhaps a circle of stars? Any gifted graphic artist want to take a stab at this?

This x stuff, and different % handicaps for different teams:

Its brown and comes out of a bull.

I would suggest stopping the rediculous idea's.
Just split teams or do not.

I think you have the cart before the bull.

This proposal has nothing to do with forming the teams,
we are just talking about a little side bet here,
for a moral victory once compatible teams have been formed.

Personally, I feel the worst thing to do would be overcomplicate it. If SGOTM moves away from any balanced competition, that is fine with me, and probably won't have too much of an effect. However, the SG forum is for playing as a team and GOTM for competition, and SGOTM was a nice compromise. It seems to be moving more towards SG. As I do not have any viable, simple, and fair solution, I will withdraw any comment that could be percieved as complaint.

I will withdraw any comment that could be percieved as complaint.

Why? Your opinion is at least as important as mine or anyone elses. Whatever ends up being done, not everyone will agree with it.

The system we have now is good, and I realized I have no way to improve it. So, I guess I meant by that comment that I'm behind whatever decision you make.

If any of the information in this Roster list is wrong, please PM me as soon as you can please. Errors get more and more difficult to correct as we approach the game release.

Thank you.


Team barbslinger
Software: Conquests 1.22
barbslinger
M60A3TTS
chunkymonkey
el_filet
TimBentley
tomasjj

Teame Bede
Software: Conquests 1.22
Bede
eldar
Pied Piper
mabellino
Minute Man
Tubby Rower

Team CDZ
Software: Conquests 1.22
akots
annares
Melifluous
carlosMM
col
Kingreno

Team jeffelammar
Software: Conquests 1.22
jeffelammar
bed_head7
denyd
Whomp
CKS
Wanderer

Team Smackster
Software: Conquests 1.22
dmanakho
grahamiam
smackster
Tarkeel
Wotan

Team Staff
Software: Conquests 1.22
ainwood
Karasu
mad-bax
Renata
Zagnut

Team Offa
Software: PTW 1.27
klarius
Northern Pike
Offa
gozpel
WackenOpenAir

Team Peanut
Software PTW 1.27
civ_steve
Kaiser Berger
Keith Larson
MailMan
Mathilda
Peanut

Team R&L
Software: PTW 1.27
Durkz
MOTH
rrau
Elmarae
jb1964
RowAndLive

Team Ivan
Software: Vanilla 1.29
I.Larkin
AdrianE
conehead234
ÆnigmÆffect
Yamamoto

Team tao
Software: Vanilla 1.29
tao
Sabre
Keath
Tone
Furiey

Team Xteam
Software: Vanilla 1.29
Gyathaar
AlanH
DJMGator13
leif erikson
Tomoyo
WillowBrook

It is generally a good idea for the team leaders (or someone else :p ) to PM all of the members of their team to make sure that they are all up to speed and taking notice.

There may be one or two sign-ups between now and Monday. If there are, then I will assign them to the current 5 man teams as best I can.

CDZ if you wanna compete with us, would it maybe be a good idea for you to play ptw ?

CDZ is only here because one of our friends asked if we would like to join, and because we like a challenge. In fact, I was quite looking forward to seeing if we can beat Team Offa. :)

Why don't you play C3C instead...

You guys want to chalenge us ;)

also, i don't know if my whole team is able to play c3c. Your team certainly is able to play PTW since it comes with C3C

Why don't you play C3C instead...

Don't worry Akots...
Even if Offa plays PTW, team Smackster will provide you some fierce competition.
Or have we been discounted already? :hmm:

I've always wanted to try one of these, and always end up getting here after it starts. If there's room for me on someone's team I'd love to give this a shot. I can play PTW or C3C. Otherwise, I'll try to remember to get in on this next month.

Xevious, if you let me know what level you play comfortably I'll place you.

Thanks.

I'd say I'm comfortable at Emperor.

OK Xevious. I am going to place you on team Offa. They only have 5 players and one of them is travelling for the next month. I'll post my intention in their thread. Give it a couple of hours and you can go and introduce yourself.

They are a crack team, but I know you of old and know you will cope. :)

Did I see a message somewhere saying the save was available? I can't find a link ... :feeling very blonde:

Great, thank you! :)

Did I see a message somewhere saying the save was available? I can't find a link ... :feeling very blonde:
Yes. Go here (http://gotm.civfanatics.net/submit/sgotm_submission_list.php). There's a link against your team name that says "Start". After you upload the first and subsequent saves the same link will give the date of the latest save and access to that save.

I realise I am too late to sign up for this, however as a newbie this month's COTM has got me hooked again..;-) If there's a replacement needed somewhere or there's still a spot available in a team I'd like the opportunity, otherwise I'll wait for the next one. comfortable @ monarch level, both PTW and C3C

voe: Let me see what I can do. The Policy I adopt is to place players where I want them before the start of the game, but once the game starts I ask the permission of the team captains by private message. There is only one team with 5 players now, so I will ask the captain and then get back to you.

Welcome to CFC BTW. You show extremely good taste by posting here first. ;)
I hope you have a long and enjoyable stay here. :)

voe:

Unfortunately I have been unable to place you for this game, for which I apologise.
Please do register for the next game though. It will be an interesting, if rather difficult game compared to the current game, which I hope you will enjoy (even if you have to watch the interturns from behind the sofa ;) )

OK, thanks for trying, I'll wait for the next one

CDZ if you wanna compete with us, would it maybe be a good idea for you to play ptw ?I missed this before, but just to be clear:

RCP is sooooo unbelievably terrible I will NEVER play a PTW game again. :)

Having said that, if I played the PTW save in C3C it *would* use the new corruption algorithms, so even then we would not be comparable because you could use RCP and we couldn't...

Umm! Offa has switched (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=2546598&postcount=46) to C3C, so you are competing.

You can't change software versions in SGOTMs. The server will reject any file that's played with a version other than the one defined by the start save.