Gotm26-Asian Melee Speculation thread

It is time to open the player speculation thread for Gotm26-Asian Melee and see what your best guesses will be as to how this game will take shape.

The playable civ in this game will be the Han Dynasty and the game will use the Gotm25-Mongols setup with no additional setup required.

This game will be a unique play experience unlike any other game of Civ3 that you may have played in the past and you will have a number of unique decisions to make in your opening play sequences.

The game will again be one of the most spectacular and unique game experiences you may have played in Civ3. It will give every player the opportunity to experience new and exciting challenges that you may never have experienced in any previous game.

Players who have not played Gotm24-Korea or Gotm25_Mongols due to any number of personal choices and schedule issues, should download and install the appropriate game packs and use those games tests and practice games to get ready for Gotm26-Asian Melee.

It should also be lots of fun for experienced players and new players alike!!

What do you think you will see in terms of map characteristics and civ opponents for this game?

What events and experiences do you hope to see recreated or extrapolated in this timeline version of the world as it would evolve centered around the Han Dynasty?

I have some anxiety about Asian Melee. I did poorly on both the Mediterrean Melee and the Mongols. I loved the Korean game and anticipate both an awesome map and an intricate diplomacy. I should step down from Open play but I really enjoy comparing my results on an even footing.

I expect the Mongols to have all the UU from this months game and to big a huge pain in the #*@#!. I'm hoping that the Han will have a unique worker so I can build an actual wall of forts to keep the Hordes away. I also expect to have to exercise Tsung Su's philosophy of eternal war, with offensives against the weak and appeasment of the strong. I don't usually like to wage early war but I'm betting I'll have to.

Can't wait

Peanut's crystal ball says ...

As the Emperor of the Han Dynasty we will start at the eastern end of a large continent, struggling for survival against the regular depredations of fierce barbarian tribes. We will need many fortifications to keep our people safe. Perhaps we will build a great wall ?

The GOTM gods will gift us a land rich in rivers with grass, wheat, cattle and flood plains, with many resources and luxuries ready to be seized by the bold and adventurous. However speed will be of the essence, lest these riches be stolen from under our noses by insolent upstarts.

Early on, we will be challenged to subjugate by the sword the small but strong princedoms on our borders - perhaps the Vietnamese and the Khmers. Later we will face the threat of aggressive Mongol Hordes sweeping in from the north-west. Our dominance of the world will be quickly threatened by our wily and technically skilled Korean neighbour, and we will face a growing threat from whichever princedom comes to dominate the nearby Japanese islands.

Our blossoming civilization will invent many startling discoveries - writing, maps, civil service, gunpowder. We will be the envy of our ignorant and uncivilized neighbours.

As we grow and expand, we will encounter and trade with strange civilizations to the west - firstly the Indians with their awe-inspiring war elephants, and later the Arab and Ottoman empires who are themselves locked into a life-and-death struggle in the far west of the world. Rumours of other nations further west in a mythical land called Europe turn out to be false - they are but a barbarian rabble compared to the might and sophistication of the Han. Across the wide eastern ocean a land is believed to lie, filled only with savages. It remains undiscovered and probably does not exist.

Victory will only come when the Han Emperors come to dominate the civilized world, and all nations come bearing tribute and offering trembling obeisance at the foot of the majestic imperial throne. All will acknowledge the glory of the Han !

.. or maybe not ... remember Peanut bought said crystal ball for $4.99 from the remainders & bargains bin ...

"I expect the Mongols to have all the UU from this months game and to big a huge pain in the #*@#!. "

If the AI is controling the Mongal UU's they should not be a problem - the AI will not attack in sufficient numbers to make the bombard ability effective. Once they lose bombard the biggest problem you have is speed of attack, take the units out quickly and this is also not a problem, especially if you use the Chinese Rider UU

Ciao!

Unfortunately I did not have the time to a proper GOTM25, but I played a bit to have a look at it.
I have PTW 1.27 and installed all that wa requested to play with the new UUs.
However, when I reached the scientific advance needed to have the first unique UU (I'm sorry I don't have the game here and can't be more precise), I never had the chance to build them, even if I also had all the necessary resources (horses and iron if I remember correctly). The Civilopaedia had the new units and told me when I could build them, but I had only the possibility to build the usual units.
What was wrong?
Would it be a problem for GOTM26?

Stefano

Hi,

I would guess that it will have a lot of twists. Pangaea would be too easy, I expect at least 2 larger continents with a need for naval invasion (i.e. unless you do it you'll be at a distinct disadvantage). Resources and trade will play an essential role, as will strategic military alliances. We will have difficult terrain on our continent with a lot of desert just outside our core empire, possibly a few floodplained rivers (Yang Tse Kiang - the yellow river?). Thus once we have eliminated the occasional minor tribe we'll have a reasonable core, but then things will become difficult.

The indians will sit behind a large mountain range, the mongols on the other side of a desert, the koreans (and perhaps vietnamese?) behind vast jungles, all of which form natural boundaries that need to be overcome in order to achieve expansion. Troop movement and logistics will be a nightmare, as we will clearly be the center of the world and every border will need to be defended.

Finding a good FP position will be crucial and difficult.

Lets see, I guess we'll have Mongols, Koreans and Rajahs close with early UUs, then Russians, Ottos, Arabs with later uniques, and although I can't remember exactly which unit becomes available when, I would expect that the layout is such that we will have to face UUs at all times. Just when we managed to dominate a closeby civ with early UU, a further one steps up with its freshly trained Keshik or Ansar or such.

We might even have a third continent somewhere further off with english, spanish, portugese, dutch (a random collection of seafaring europeans) that will be carefully timed to "discover" us at just the right point in history to make life more complicated. They might also be ahead of us in tech at that time, but too far away to be valid military targets, so trade ought to be a key. I'd build a huge map for this, but keep the landmass small and place lots of ocean between us and them, perhaps even bring back these fog units to help timing the first contact.

This brings me to victory condition: I expect it will be domination. However, it might be much more challenging to achieve a diplomatic win, with all the aggressive neighbors.

I guess the only things we can rely on are a good starting position and hours of fun! I can't wait!

Cheers,
Hammurodi