[BTS] News: BOTM 216 - Noble, Bismarck - Starts 1 July

[DynamicSpirit]

BOTM 216: Bismarck of Germany.

Something a bit different... a fantasy realm map!

Game settings:
Playing as: Bismarck of Germany
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Noble
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: No goody huts
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: Fantasy realm
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Medium
Map latitudes: -90°S to 90°N


Bismarck is Expansive and Industrious, and you start with Hunting and Mining.

The Expansive trait gives +2 health/city and +25% hammers for worker production and double production speed of Granary and Harbor

The Industrious trait gives +50% wonder production and double production speed of Forge

Unique unit: Panzer (replaces Tank)
The Panzer benefits from: 50% combat bonus against armor units. This compares with the Tank which has: no directly comparable benefits.

Unique Building: Assembly Plant (replaces Factory)
Not a huge benefit over the factory... the assembly plant lets you assign 4 citizens as engineers (only 2 for the factory).

Starting screenshot

This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):





Challenger Class Equalizers:
You play on immortal difficulty - but AI still starts with noble level starting units

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open at 00:01 am on 1 Jul 2021, 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 2 Aug 2021.

Here is a link to a list of the differences between Vanilla, Warlords and BtS.

Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the BUFFY mod version 3.19.005 installed. You can download the BUFFY mod here. Players using Windows Vista or Windows 7 are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.


Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the Mac BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the Mac BUFFY 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.

 

[MarleysGh0st]

Our wheat is under a jungle. That would slow down our early growth a bit.

I suppose farming the incense floodplain tundra would work, but I'm hoping the scout can turn up something nice upriver.

 

[WastinTime]

Isn't the incense on ice? Does that affect its farm-ability? Same with the other 'floodplain'

 

[Conquistador 63]

@MarleysGh0st: to me it looks like 1N of the scout is the northern edge of the map. Good point about the jungle wheat.

@WastinTime: from my experience in recent BOTMs, the ice floodplains can be improved, but it will take us more worker turns.

I think I’ll move the scout eastwards, and if nothing special shows up there, I’ll settle 1NW. Might play a culture game this time, for a change.

 

[lymond]

Isn't the incense on ice? Does that affect its farm-ability? Same with the other 'floodplain'

Ice Floodplains can be farmed, watermilled or workshopped.

Not a particular fan of this script. The odd tiles are interesting, but you get a lot of non-standard bad tiles anywhere - like a jungled wheat in the starting position. Of course, a friendly map maker could edit this but chose not to in this case.

Ice Marble would only yield an extra hammer to city center if one settles on it.

Looks like we have another Ice FP due W, and possibly another FP of sort 1N2E. Appears to be some more jungle tiles to the E Tundra tile below the wheat tile.

More food looks unlikely outside of the odd food resource on an FP, which can happen here, or something in more jungle.

Probably send Scout 1SE and then on the desert hill - although view will be obscured some by jungle. May opt to move the Settler quite a bit here.

One positive thing is the forested marble will speed up the worker.

 

[WastinTime]

One positive thing is the forested marble will speed up the worker.

Right. I get so frustrated when I have a 25% worker bonus and get nothing for it on the 1st, most important, and sometimes only worker built all game. So I'd probably settle next to the marble.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Agree Lymond. My CIV fantasies never look like this map type. I would have called it Dystopia.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Right. I get so frustrated when I have a 25% worker bonus and get nothing for it on the 1st, most important, and sometimes only worker built all game. So I'd probably settle next to the marble.

Self-frustration or self-flagellation? The irony is, Cactus Pete once said he often starts with two workers out the gate…

If there ever was an appropriate scenario, this might be it. I’m tempted…

 

[LowtherCastle]

to me it looks like 1N of the scout is the northern edge of the map.

Cylindrical map according to the description. Coastline? My phone has lousy resolution.

EDIT: No! I opened up a cylindrical fantasy rum map and you are right. The map is flat with east west wrap. So I guess you’re right that’s the top of the map.

 

[WastinTime]

The irony is, Cactus Pete once said he often starts with two workers out the gate…

With all due respect to that stack of gold medals, those medals just mean highest score. Not fastest finish.
Not sure you can correlate a 2 worker start with a gold medal.

If there ever was an appropriate scenario, this might be it. I’m tempted…

Why does this particular scenario tempt you to try a 2 worker start? Cus the ice tiles make longer improve times?

 

[LowtherCastle]

With all due respect to that stack of gold medals, those medals just mean highest score. Not fastest finish.
Not sure you can correlate a 2 worker start with a gold medal.


Why does this particular scenario tempt you to try a 2 worker start? Cus the ice tiles make longer improve times?

Para 1. Of course, gold medal is typically a much longer game than fastest finish. Fastest finish could be pretty early on this game. I think the AIs will be slow to develop unless the map Maker gave them a boost.


Para 2. Yes. Plus worker steals will begin late on Noble (Much earlier on immortal of course) and could be pretty far away to start with. Furthermore we start with a scout. And the workers only require 12 turns at the beginning.

The basic theory on workers is similar to your theory that enabled you to get to 15 million points. You theorized that the limiting factor in early REX was available gold. I’m theorizing that the limiting factor in early development in general is worker turns.

In fact in your games worker turns are such a PITA that you prefer to let the deity AI make improvements for you and then capture cities. (As part of your strategy.) Right?

 

[LowtherCastle]

Not a particular fan of this script. The odd tiles are interesting, but you get a lot of non-standard bad tiles anywhere - like a jungled wheat in the starting position. Of course, a friendly map maker could edit this but chose not to in this case.

Interesting, I noticed fantasy comes in three options, logical, irrational, and crazy. It seems irrational is the default and that’s what we’re familiar with. I tried crazy a few times and one time there were something like 50 gold tiles on the entire map. That was fantasy to my taste.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Spoiler threads are up!

 

[Totem]

I'm a novice at Civ 4, but I'm going to try this one just for fun. Maybe I can make an AAR detailing how everything will have gone wrong

Edit: Well, I'm afraid I didn't make it past BC before I got burnt out and uninterested in CIV. I'll still make an AAR if you all are interested.

 

[Tobiyogi]

Ugly map! However, I love challenges, Bismarck as a leader and fantasy realm in general. To be honest, with a start like this, I would re-roll But why not? If it is only on "Immortal light", that should work out.
So thanks to Dynamic Spirit !
I just hope there is no Mansa or Pacal starting with those crazy tiles like Plains Oasis (4/1/3) plus grassland gold.

Do you remember @DynamicSpirit what you chose for resource distribution? Irrational or Crazy?

Btw, why start with a worker at all? I don't see anything to improve really. The time our poor worker has farmed a FP-ice (9 turns?), we are already at size 2 or 3 anyway. I really consider growing to size 2 first and work the commerce a bit. Or even walk around for a better spot just like Lain once did....

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Do you remember @DynamicSpirit what you chose for resource distribution? Irrational or Crazy?

Funnily enough, yes, I do remember exactly which resource distribution I chose

 

[Tobiyogi]

Funnily enough, yes, I do remember exactly which resource distribution I chose

Of course you cannot tell. No prob, I can read the map.