I've seen a few people complain about the extra stuff required to play the GOTM's nowadays.

What do you think of them? Like 'em? Hate 'em?

Things like: Extra units, terrain graphics, civ behavior tweaks, ...

Other than not being able to play GOTM17 because of lag I love it.

Love it, but I'm not sure about the latest addition that forces me to swap graphics files, IF I ever get to play another game than gotm that is...

I like some of the features, but others kinda bother me.

Likes:
Maps with thought out features that make you think ahead.
The whole community. (Yes even those who go out of their way to be argumentative)

Dislikes:
Increasing level of mod on GOTM. I would like to see more games with the base rules. I understand why things like Mobilization are turned off, but the GOTM is getting further away from the actual game and becoming more of a mod competition.
I don't like the ghost advantages given to certain civs. It is interesting, but I don't think it adds much to the game.

Actually, I'm waiting for the raging dinosaurs (PTW barbarian substitute) to show up in the predator class on a large continent map with only 1 opponent. I tried a game with them late last year and it was brutal. They're like Siphai in the Ancient Age.

I also enjoyed a tournament game recently that started at 4000BC with all techs through the end of the Industrial Age.
We so rarely get to build radar artillery, stealth planes, modern wonders, nukes, etc, it was a treat. The game went too fast, but with different circumstances (only culture victory allowed, etc), it would have been great. (Imagine Zulu or Aztec with nukes!!)

The enhancements have added an appreciable degree of freshness to Civ 3 for me. As long the additions don't cause the game to run unstably, keep them coming!

Don't mind the changes. In fact, just recently tried the test of time world map scenario. Had plains and grassland that produce next to no food and fish that provides 7 food!!A very interesting change to what I am use to. It feels like a different game and it feels good experiencing some exploration fun again - hmm... what's that terrian there? That banana like thing. Gotta see what it does. And hmm... where would this research lead me to. Got to do some planning on what tech is better.

I like all the add on's, however I voted unsure, just because I hope it does not get to be to much for new people to download. I started playing in gotm 17 and have only had to download a little each month, I can only imagine how long it would take to do it all at once:eek:

GOTM has been really refreshing for me. A big part of that is the map design/choice of civs/civ locations, but the mods are also an essential part of the "Whatever will cracker think of next?" aspect of GOTM that makes it so much fun.

To be honest, I'm neither here nor there about the mods to the game of the month, as I have been unable to play it, as since installing the patches my Civ has been a gibbering idiot. For a more prolonged version of this complaint see 'Bastard Patches'. It is vaguely operational, but it is also extremely hard to use as none of the menus say what they should. I would like some advise on how I might sort this out, as at present my best guess is that I will have to uninstall Civ3 and PTW and then reinstall them so as to have a funcitonal game again.:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :cry: :confused:

Love It ! I like the challenge of the game but what I prefer most is the more than helping community sharing tactics , exploits and stories. It just help me building more ideas and approaches to the game.

Keep em comming!

Been playing civ3 for a while when stumbled across the CFC sometime through GOTM 16 and read all the spoiler threads... Seeing all these games progress and the differnt victory conditions everyone achieved, reading about the killer squids, well I had to get involved.

The units such as the FOG and volcanoes with their "slave" populations and the effort to create a environment really adds a fantastic feel and a bit of mystery to the game... Something that was kinda lacking for me since civ2..

I have been thinking about this a lot recently, and I would lilke to say a few things about the modifications.

The stated purpose of GOTM/QSC is to help people improve their Civ3 abilities. I submit that the increasing number of GOTM mods is counter to this purpose. It causes us to learn skills that are really only appropriate to GOTM. I agree that there is still a lot of value in terms of basic lessons, but there are some things that change.
I really do like many of the mods. They make things fun and are quite refreshing at times.
The staff spends an incredible amount of time putting together the modded starts.

Given these points. I would like to make a suggestion. I would like to see a GOTM rotation of 4 games or so. Every 4th game is heavily modded (like the Mediteranian Melee). The other 3 are minimally modded. By minimally, I mean that they only have the basic rules changes made to even things out.

Disable War Mobilization
Add turns to build Outpost/Radar Tower...
Activate upgrade paths
Other purely version specifics

This would not include things like

Changing the units available to civs
Giving certain civs extra advantages

This idea would allow us to have some games that are very close to normal civ games, and a regularly scheduled game that would be a refreshing change. It would also reduce the burden on the GOTM staff.

I find them fun and refreshing (as somebody else stated) so I look forward to the heavy modded games, but I thinkjeffelammar's idea is a very sound compromise. I'd be willing to play 3 lightly modded games in anticipation of the 4th.

I'm not sure I have played enough gotm's yet to know all sides to this debate. I find the amount of time the GOTM staff puts into these games truly amazing and I want to thank them for it.

I have a question for them though ... what purpose do the modifications serve? (Alexman's thread on ways to improve the AI also falls in this category.)

I have some speculation as to why modifications beyond evening the playing field between versions is being done, but it would be nice to hear from the staff that works so hard to provide us these mods.

I don't know what ratio to recommend, btw, but I too think that there should be some minimally modified games as GOTMs.

Thanks,
forged

As many post before this one, I agree with the freshness of the games.
Although I never tried modding anything myself (seems tedious and boring to me and would take away to much of my civ time :lol: ), I like to play the things other people invest so much time in! I don't understand the modmakers, but bless them :worship: for putting in the hours to provide the laziest of people (read: ME :D ) a good time!!!

I will not question the 'heavyness' of the modded GOTM's. I'll just play anything Cracker (and team) comes up with!
For me, the GOTM games are no platform to get better at the game (although they have that effect), but to have fun!!

Mmmmm, getting overly sentimental and preaching again! Ah well, so be it!

I love the mods because they allow Mac users to participate in the wider community :thumbsup:

...something that [plasma] Firaxis doesn't seem to care about...

Also, it's fun to have the game tailored to an historical scenario.

p.s. what's the difference between "not sure" and "no opinion"? :crazyeye:

Well, after I stopped being admin of this I wanted to do some other things. (I fell upon multiplayer, specifically PBEM's.) But a few months ago I wanted to play the GOTM again, but was actually disappointed because of the add-ons. :( I like playing normal games. I started a GOTM back then (one with barbarians with weird names which had something to do with a puzzle), but I didn't finish that one because I enjoyed a standard game much more. Since then I'm hoping that one day they'll bring a standard game for the GOTM again, which I can enjoy as much as any other game, but then compare my results to that of others again. ;)

But I see I'm in an impressive minority, so it's a lost cause. :( The GOTM staff has to serve the majority after all...

I didn't like the resource mod to GOTM 20 because they added no value to the game and they were just there to stop people cheating. Also, they were very annoying to have to switch between GOTM resources and Vanilla resources all the time. However, the new GOTM 21 resources are great and the nifty install program takes care of the drudgery of backing up files, renaming etc... good stuff.

Originally posted by Matrix
Well, after I stopped being admin of this I wanted to do some other things. (I fell upon multiplayer, specifically PBEM's.) But a few months ago I wanted to play the GOTM again, but was actually disappointed because of the add-ons. :( I like playing normal games. I started a GOTM back then (one with barbarians with weird names which had something to do with a puzzle), but I didn't finish that one because I enjoyed a standard game much more. Since then I'm hoping that one day they'll bring a standard game for the GOTM again, which I can enjoy as much as any other game, but then compare my results to that of others again. ;)

But I see I'm in an impressive minority, so it's a lost cause. :( The GOTM staff has to serve the majority after all...

Matrix, I guess I'm in that minority with you. Personally, I haven't really been able to get into a GOTM game in a while. I think really since before you left (That also includes me taking like a 6-8 month hiatus from Civ3.). So basically, I stopped playing them I guess a bit before you stepped down, and then started trying to get back into it with that first squid addon.

To me though, GOTM has really changed. Personally, I find it almost too restrictive and to the dot. I liked the ease of it back then, where you could basically come in play the game as you could, post about it if you wanted, etc. Now there's so much documentation, it takes forever just to read it all to start up with GOTM anymore compared to back then when you hd a short page to read and you knew everything you needed to know.

Anyways, that's just my 2 cents.

The mods don't bother me to much. I have done my own mods for a world map game. It started with Singer's world map. At this point it is far from the original map including several new civs.

=====================

Where I feel the line is being crossed is giving added *UNDOCUMENTED* changes such as the extra ship Rome got in the Ottoman GOTM. When I play I know that fog is out there. I expect squids. I don't expect Rome that doesn't play as Rome should in a typical game.

What appears as extra settlers for the Zulu in GOTM#20 also crosses the line for me.


I will give Cracker credit for some good fixes:
1) The Jason scoring system and the end of milking games.
2) The new install program with last month.


My number one dislike - the new graphic resources. With my partial color-blindness I am now spending a lot of time in a very slow painfull map check for resources, when I use to find them in seconds with the graphics mod I used.

I love them all and will play them all. I really like the new Load Program.

I like add-ons but the last additional resource may be more different. The squid looks very well but I hate it because they stay real terror of the sea.:mad:

Speaking personally,

GotM21 has gone a bit too far with the modded resources - I can cope with them, but I don't want to!


Ted

The mods are outstanding. Incredible effort, great results, and unending thanks for the installation wizard.

But....I like the suggestion of rotating normal and modded games. I can't always afford the extra in-game play time or pre-game discussion time that the mods call for.

Just a note. I don't think there is anyone out there who doesn't appreciate the effort that is put into providing us with this great time sink :)

The issue is that there are several people who believe that the Game of the Month should remain closer to the default version of the game.

Cracker et al, do a lot of work for nothing more than recognition. I respect that, I am just making requests on changes I would like to see.

The main reason I play the GOTM is get all the extra mods and variations. I've played 100's of generic Civ games and the GOTm forces me to use other resources, experience new challenges, and use other civs that I would have never played.

I would like to see us play some of the crazy senarios like the dinosaur one (assuming that one exists). Aslo, alot more options are coming with the new Conquests release. I look forward to what Cracker does with all of those new things.

Originally posted by scubagtr
The main reason I play the GOTM is get all the extra mods and variations. I've played 100's of generic Civ games and the GOTm forces me to use other resources, experience new challenges, and use other civs that I would have never played.

I would like to see us play some of the crazy senarios like the dinosaur one (assuming that one exists). Aslo, alot more options are coming with the new Conquests release. I look forward to what Cracker does with all of those new things.

That's exactly opposite of how I feel. To me, that's why we have a mods forum and scenarios, etc. If I want to play different rules, I can do that anytime. But when GOTM was started, it was under the premise that it was to hone the skills of players on the original game. Slowly, it has drifted away from that basic premise that it was started on.

While I appreciate the effort cracker and co. put into the GOTM by including the add-ons, etc, I feel it is no longer a GOTM but rather a Mod competition.

This is more a competition of who can cope with the changes made to the default rules the best rather than the skill of actually playing under the default rules we've always known. That is just my 2 cents.

I see your view. I guess it's hard to make everyone happy. But all I know is that I will continue to play the GOTM, no matter what Cracker does it them. If they go back to completely unmoded or heavily moded.

But I guess that there will be a series of different variations ranging from completely unmodded to new resources, civs, etc like GOTM21.

Originally posted by scubagtr
I see your view. I guess it's hard to make everyone happy. But all I know is that I will continue to play the GOTM, no matter what Cracker does it them. If they go back to completely unmoded or heavily moded.

Me too, but the great thing about this setup is that I can also insert input as to the format I would like to see.

For some reason I don't feel like I have any influence over what happens in Firaxis/Atari :)

rangers85,

I fell your assessment may be abit harsh and off base with respect to effect the the GOTM changes may have on the game. It is possible to lose sight of the big picture if your over focus on the fact that there is "a change of some sort" and this makes the game and "Oo, yucky mod".

First of all, most of the true mod games alter the game so severely that you can no longer recognize fundamental strategy elements. Embedded in many of these mod games is fundamental elimination of strategic concepts such as corruption balance, cultural presence, and limited strategic upgrades.

The GOTM game enhancements clearly do not attempt to do this but may target strategic play areas to make them much more of a prevalent feature of the game.

As some examples:

What impact does adding a new civ like the Minoans/Peltast have on the normal strategic play of the game?
From a game play mechanics standpoint, the answer is "virtually no impact". They just represent something new and interesting but the play sort of like a genetic cross between Hammurabi and Shaka. Yes, this is something new but it fundamentally does not change strategy principles.

What impact does adding the Azap and Muslim Caravel have on the game strategy?
From a game play mechanics standpoint, the answer is "absolutely none". This change was implemented solely to address some of the concerns raised by Muslim players about having Christian symbol units insensitively implemented for Muslim Civilizations. Yes, this is something new but it fundamentally does not change strategy principles.

What impact does adding the Fog and Squid have on the game strategy?
Technically these features do impact strategy, but only when you take them out of context. We could accomplish some of the same things by using larger or huge maps with very low land ratios and this would just make the game file larger and harder to move around. Essentially these features just shift the strategic risk of larger scale games and put them into smaller boxes.

What impact do the GOTM21 resources have on the game strategy?
This impact is primarily one of taking the grassland effects and making them look like deserts, hills, and in some cases plains, and mountains. The strategic impact slows down the worker tasking benefits of the human being and makes these decisions more critical to game play. I can't talk too much about this game at this time duw to spoiler constraints but you also have to open your eyes to the fact that this game was advertised six months in advance to be something that is clearly different from other GOTM games and as such the included modifications to resources where a part of the "expected something different." You will generally not see lots of random resource mods in GOTM games but as an advance warning this issue is being addressed by features in the Civ3Conq game expansion so it will all become somewhat standard anyway. You just get to play it for free now and in advance so that you can begin to see the impacts that it will have on game play.


You have to put the GOTM enhancements in context of what they are and not draw a parallel with the MOD games you see in creation and customization. Well over 95% of the mod games end up fundamentally altering the way the game is played by eliminating strategic choice elements that the mod makers generally do not like; while the GOTM changes are specifically chosen not to do this.

Again do not take any one game out of context. There is no reason that competent Civ players should have to be denied access to playing with some of the cool units and added features of the game as long as they can be added to the game as elements of appropriate surprize presented by your opponents. The existing game units and features provide us with a set of reference limits to operate within while preserving the strategic balance of the game at whatever level of functionality that it might have. The fact that you might have the opportunity the play as the Ottomans with the Sipahi and also play against the Hapspurgs with Dragoon at the same power as the Sipahi does not in my ming constitute a Mod as much as it represents a special game play opportunity that can only be present when you have a human brain driving the game setup instead of relying entirely on the automated game randomization effects.

----------------------------------------------

rangers85,

I also have to put these observations in the context that you have not played and submitted any of the GOTM games in teh past 6 months regardless of the level of changes in the game. You comments here become mostly the inputs of a self-selected non-participant rather than the inputs and opinions of a game participant which is what I think the intent of the discussion thread was focused on.

I encourage you to get off the pot and play the games and then make an informed input into the process.

My assessment would be different if according the database you had played at least one QSC or one GOTM game in the past 6 months.

Originally posted by cracker

I encourage you to get off the pot and play the games and then make an informed input into the process.

My assessment would be different if according the database you had played at least one QSC or one GOTM game in the past 6 months.

Cracker,
Is a post like that supposed to encourage me to play? I began playing last month but never finished it to submit. I'm up to about 750 BC this month. Yet, just because I haven't finished one and turned it in means my opinions mean nothing?

I was merely comparing the GOTM as it stands today, to the GOTM as it was back in the days Matrix did it.

My two main points are that GOTM was so much simpler to join onto back in the days Matrix (Which I find it interesting you addressed me in a harsh manner and called me out, yet did not even acknowledge Matrix who basically said the same jist I did) did it, and that GOTM now does not follow the default rules, which was the premise of GOTM.

However, if I am not allowed to voice my opinion about the current state of the GOTM, then I guess GOTM has changed even more than I thought it had.

Back in those days, you didn't have to download all these files to play. You didn't have to learn different ways of playing each month to keep up. We used the default rules that came from the out of the box version (except stuff that was changed in patches) and it stayed that way from month to month.

Cracker, while I appreciate the work you put into GOTM, what ultimately I am bringing up is that the GOTM is not following the set premise anymore that it was set up to follow. When it first started, the premise was to play by default rules, putting everyone on a level playing field, and not having bonuses to AI civs.

What impact does adding a new civ like the Minoans/Peltast have on the normal strategic play of the game?
From a game play mechanics standpoint, the answer is "virtually no impact". They just represent something new and interesting but the play sort of like a genetic cross between Hammurabi and Shaka. Yes, this is something new but it fundamentally does not change strategy principles.

True, while on the surface, it doesn't impact the game itself. But are the Minoans part of the default rules. No, which is what I am trying to bring up, GOTM is no longer following the default rules and no longer is following the premise that GOTM was founded upon. While you may see it as something "new and interesting," I see it as having to learn something new to survive. This adds one variable to the test of who was the best player this month. we are not used to the Minoans, therefore, their play style will affect the outcome of the game.

What impact does adding the Azap and Muslim Caravel have on the game strategy?
From a game play mechanics standpoint, the answer is "absolutely none". This change was implemented solely to address some of the concerns raised by Muslim players about having Christian symbol units insensitively implemented for Muslim Civilizations. Yes, this is something new but it fundamentally does not change strategy principles.


Yes, this doesn't impact the game at all. Yet, it is something that serves little to no benefit yet is required. I could really care less whether a unit has a christian symbol on it or not. What's next, making a synagogue for Jewish civs? A mosque for Muslim civs. To me, this is something that is really unneeded and just not needed.

What impact does adding the Fog and Squid have on the game strategy?
Technically these features do impact strategy, but only when you take them out of context. We could accomplish some of the same things by using larger or huge maps with very low land ratios and this would just make the game file larger and harder to move around. Essentially these features just shift the strategic risk of larger scale games and put them into smaller boxes.

Once again, not the fact of these affecting strategies or not, but that it moves away from default so I won't rehash that.

What impact do the GOTM21 resources have on the game strategy?
This impact is primarily one of taking the grassland effects and making them look like deserts, hills, and in some cases plains, and mountains. The strategic impact slows down the worker tasking benefits of the human being and makes these decisions more critical to game play. I can't talk too much about this game at this time duw to spoiler constraints but you also have to open your eyes to the fact that this game was advertised six months in advance to be something that is clearly different from other GOTM games and as such the included modifications to resources where a part of the "expected something different." You will generally not see lots of random resource mods in GOTM games but as an advance warning this issue is being addressed by features in the Civ3Conq game expansion so it will all become somewhat standard anyway. You just get to play it for free now and in advance so that you can begin to see the impacts that it will have on game play.

Maybe these are going to be in Conquests, but as it is now, they aren't part of the default rules we know now. True it was advertised, but in addition, the same premise moves it away from default rules. These resources add an additional variable that will affect who ends up winning this month on who can cope with the changed resources the best. Something I'm not a fan of.

You have to put the GOTM enhancements in context of what they are and not draw a parallel with the MOD games you see in creation and customization. Well over 95% of the mod games end up fundamentally altering the way the game is played by eliminating strategic choice elements that the mod makers generally do not like; while the GOTM changes are specifically chosen not to do this.

Well then obviously our ideas of a Mod Game differs. Me, as well as the way the game is, recognizes a mod game as anything that varies from the default rules. Whether they "fundamentally alter" the game or not, it still changes the way the game is played in one way or another and as such is a Mod Game. You obviously classify a mod game as something that changes the game completely from how it is now, which in my mind is not the level it takes to be classified a mod game. Therefore, that's why I called it a mod game, because it changes from the default rules.


Anyways cracker, I hope this isn't the way you welcome people back to the GOTM community. True, I haven't played it near as much over my hiatus from CivFanatics, but I am merely commenting upon how much the GOTM has moved away from the reason it was founded. It is no longer the GOTM that I used to play, and thus the reason for my posting in this thread. If you don't like input from a variety of sources, I'd suggest closing down the option of adding new topics to this board, but rather limit it to mods opening topics. Until then, I will continue posting my input in threads that it pertains to.

EDIT: Fixed a messed up quote.

Originally posted by rangers85
Cracker, while I appreciate the work you put into GOTM, what ultimately I am bringing up is that the GOTM is not following the set premise anymore that it was set up to follow.

The votes for "How do you like the GOTM enhancements?" in the poll on this thread are about 5:1 positive vs negative. You're going to need more of a reason than "Gee, it didn't used to be like this," to stop something which is getting such an overwhelmingly positive response.

David, I will also add to your interpretation of the poll data by indicating that the membership ID for each person who voted in the poll is recorded in the forums database.

One reason that we do fewer of these anonymous polls is that we see an underlying group of participants (a new form of cave troll if you will) you vote in these polls without participating in the games in any way. It is not that we want know who these people are but we honestly want to do things to address the needs and phonias if at all possible.

Unfortunately, we see over 1/2 of the same background member IDs voting in the "I hate it" column as being players who actively do not play the games for a whole variety of other excuses before the enhancement issue gave them a lightning rod to latch onto for dear life.

-----------------------------------

We also have to look at the game results data to see how these changes effect the players and realize the the top players are virtually unaffected because they adapt so well to almost every situation and have such a strong command of the in game assessment tools.

The data shows that the less expereinced players are virtually uneffected because they do not have the game specifics memorized and do not necessarily have any specific strategies preplanned. In essence the less experienced players benefit for a reasonable set of new things being in the game because everything is sort of new to them anyway. Essentially, a few new things help to equalize the playing field between the new players and the older players but putting the players on a more even playing fiels in terms of specific experience.

The players who may be more effected by the game enhancements are the intermediate to upper intermediate players who may be initially playing slightly above their base decision skills be relying on memorized sequences and patterns. Again we are not seeing this to be a performance issue as much as it is a comfort zone issue that seems to be balancing itself out over time.

Short post: I love it. It revamped my interest in the game as a -- sometimes forgotten -- Mac player. Great job, team.

One day I will finish a game and submit it...

I don't have a problem too much with the graphics, but most of those aren't even necessary. I can understand the Civ3 1.29f and MacIntosh players having to download graphics so they can use the civs that come with PTW (Spain, Celts, Carthage, etc.). It would be nice if PTW players didn't need to download anything, though.
But, because of the muslim thing, I can understand that, because sometimes you should be 'politically correct' when it is feasible. And since we would install those graphics anyways, the other graphics aren't too much of a problem (especially since you have that program that self-installs all the files :goodjob: ).

What I still don't understand is the need to give bonuses to certain AI players and other undocumented changes.
What does that add to the gameplay? Some of these situations would NEVER happen in any normal game of Civ3, so some of the 'lessons' learned from that game, or strategy changes wouldn't apply in any other situation, except for other GOTM's.

IMO, Open should be totally unmodded (except for the necessary graphics). Predator you give the AI bonuses, and Conquest give the human bonuses.

I don't even know what difficulty level I'm playing anymore, when playing the GOTM.

Originally posted by Bamspeedy
I don't even know what difficulty level I'm playing anymore, when playing the GOTM. You're playing whatever difficulty level the game says when you load it. ;)

I am totally unimpressed with the Conquest and Predator modifications. I guess they have a psychological effect, and a tiny (less than 5%) effect on your final score. But if you ignore the interesting little details and look at the big picture, GOTM20 is still a deity game and GOTM21 is still a monarch game.


Back to the original topic, I used to hate the add-ons because of all the install work they required. Now that we have an exe installer I can finally sit back and enjoy them. :goodjob:

Originally posted by Bamspeedy
What I still don't understand is the need to give bonuses to certain AI players and other undocumented changes. What does that add to the gameplay? Some of these situations would NEVER happen in any normal game of Civ3

Isn't that the answer? By increasing the variety of the situations that occur, the games become more interesting and less repetitive.

I think the poll should have more options. I don't love or hate them. I mostly like them.

In the last GOTM, the resources were hard to tell apart and of course I installed them over the originals. :) Not everything is perfect, but I think the mods must have Something to do with the fact that submitted games have gone from what 20 to 250. Maybe 9 of those 20 are the ones that voted they didn't like it...

Originally posted by DaveMcW
I am totally unimpressed with the Conquest and Predator modifications. I guess they have a psychological effect, and a tiny (less than 5%) effect on your final score. But if you ignore the interesting little details and look at the big picture, GOTM20 is still a deity game and GOTM21 is still a monarch game.


I would have thought that the Predator barbarians in GOTM20 would have made a significant difference. I was very impressed that you got through the QSC period with just as good a position as the Open players.

This isn't the place for GOTM21 spoilers, but it seems fair to say that the Predator setting gave the AI players a significantly stronger start than the normal Monarch level, but without significant production advantages, the human can overtake them pretty quickly. I'm hoping for larger Predator handicaps in the future.

Other than visual problems of which tastes differ, my only complaint is the undocumented additions and plain old undocumented changes, the later is more bothersome since you usually don't figure this out until its already bitten you.

You will generally not see lots of random resource mods in GOTM games but as an advance warning this issue is being addressed by features in the Civ3Conq game expansion so it will all become somewhat standard anyway. You just get to play it for free now and in advance so that you can begin to see the impacts that it will have on game play.

This is interesting Cracker. I am assuming here that you are also talking about luxuries as well as rescources. In the early game choice between governments (monarchy and republic) the only factor that carries any significant weight is whether you are going to be fighting prolonged wars or not. As even if you do not have access to many luxs at this stage its generally not difficult to acquire them for your republic. Given that there are new government types in Conquests this suggests to me that having all luxuries in any given map is going to be a thing of the past and it is going to make it necessary to be more aware of the map conditions in order to make a wise choice of government.
I hope this doesnt seem like I am fishing....well , even if I am sort of. But am I right?