BOTM 41: Gilgamesh (Sumeria)
Game Details:
The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world's oldest works of literature preserved to this day. Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, was 1/3 mortal, and 2/3 divine (how the math was done there... must be lost in antiquity ) He faced down demons and gods and a various assortment of mythical creatures. As such, this is probably the earliest known work in the genre of epic fantasy literature. BOTM41 will allow you to relive the heroic deeds of Gilgamesh in a setting inspired by this ancient story. As per the original, you may meet Enkidu (a wild man), Shamash (the Bull of Heaven), Humbaba (fire-breathing demon), or Utnaphistan of the deep. These characters will behave like barbarians should you meet them. Note, I had to use a Wall St metaphorical switch to find an appropriate icon for the Bull of Heaven... and some poetic liscense on the rest of the icons. For fun* I even added some Beowolf's.
Beware! While you should not encounter these characters from the Gilgamesh epic earlier than normal barbarian animals would begin to appear, I can't actually guarantee that. You might encounter them a little earlier. But I have tried to ensure you should survive the encounter... unless you happen to lose your starting settler.*
IMPORTANT WARNING CLARIFIED: LEAVING A CITY UNDEFENDED EVEN FOR A SHORT WHILE IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BEHAVIOUR AND MAY BE PUNISHED SEVERELY. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!
Good luck.
And HAVE FUN!
Game settings:
Civilization: Gilgamesh of Sumeria
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Noble
Map: Fantasy (Irrational resources)/Flat wrap
Mapsize: Standard
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Epic
Options: None
Victory Conditions: All enabled
*Never trust a mapmaker
Gilgamesh:
Gilgamesh is Protective and Creative and starts with Agriculture and The Wheel. The Protective trait gives free Drill 1 and City Garrison 1 on archery and gunpowder units and increases +100% production on Walls and Castles. Creative gives +2 to each city, as well as +100% production on theatres, coliseums, and libraries.
Unique unit: Vulture (replaces Axeman)
The Vulture has a strength of 6 instead of 5 for the axeman, but only gets +25% combat bonus against melee units instead of +50%.
Unique building: Ziggurat (replaces Courthouse)
The Ziggurat is 25% cheaper to build than a courthouse, and is available at Priesthood instead of Code of Laws for courthouse.
Starting screenshot
This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):
Adventurer Class bonuses:
A worker and a scout have joined your cause. They are on the same tile as the settler. They bring with them the additional knowledge of hunting and mining.
Challenger Class Equalizers:
Your warrior has run away with the knowledge of agriculture and the wheel... you start with only the settler, and no technologies. In addition, that wily warrior invented bronze working which he donated to all of your rivals in exchange for the secrets of immortality... which he promptly forgot, (and then died). All AI start with bronzeworking in addition to their normal starting technologies. BE SURE YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THE ABOVE IMPORTANT WARNING BEFORE CHOOSING THIS SAVE.
To Enter the Competition:
This competition will open at 00:01 am on 15 April 2011, server local time (UTC-6:00). From that date and time, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save >>>here<<<.
Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 15 May 2011.
Software Versions
Windows: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Warlords or Civ4 vanilla), patched to version 3.19, and with the BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the BUFFY mod here. Players using Windows Vista are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.
Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Warlords or Civ4 vanilla), patched to version 3.19, and with the MacBUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the MacBUFFY mod here.
While playing...
Remember - for your entry to be accepted, it MUST be your first attempt to play this game, and you MUST NOT replay any turns. If you make a mistake while playing, you have to live with it, learn from it, and carry on the game without replaying.
We will open 'spoiler' threads during the month for players to discuss what happens in their games. Do not discuss any details of your game outside those threads.