CDG Series Discussion Thread

Shark Diver said:

Before I start rolling a map, I wanted to make sure I disable the right map packs. Here are screen shots of the DLC I have on this laptop.

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Can one of you Really Smart Guys (RSGs) tell me exactly which ones to disable so that everyone can participate?

Also, do I need to change anything else?

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When I did mine, I turned off everything that says "Map Pack" on the end and "Conquest of the new world deluxe". You want to leave wonders of ancient world on because TOA is awesome, and any leaders you want to fight against. Otherwise, remove the leaders also because some of us don't have all the leaders either. So the only ones checked should be (if no DLC civs are needed):

God's and Kings,
Brave New World,
Spain and Inca, and
Wonders of the Ancient World

There is no point in having the extras in there. If I am wrong on any of this, someone please step in and correct me.

Thanks, that actually makes sense. I'm going to go with the 6 native American tribes (including Brazil here) and conquerors Spain and Portugal. I thought about adding a 9th civ (England) for historical accuracy, but since I'm going with a Fractal map (favors odd mountain ranges I think), land can get a bit too scarce and several of these civs are notorious forward settlers and nobody gets screwed more than Incas by a Shoshone land-grab.

Shark Diver said:

Can one of you Really Smart Guys (RSGs) tell me exactly which ones to disable so that everyone can participate?

Click to expand...

You do not need them all, but the ones that cause people trouble are:
The Explorers Map Pack
Scrambled Nations Map Pack
Scrambled Continents Map Pack

Shark Diver said:

Thanks, that actually makes sense. I'm going to go with the 6 native American tribes (including Brazil here) and conquerors Spain and Portugal. I thought about adding a 9th civ (England) for historical accuracy, but since I'm going with a Fractal map (favors odd mountain ranges I think), land can get a bit too scarce and several of these civs are notorious forward settlers and nobody gets screwed more than Incas by a Shoshone land-grab.

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That sounds like a treat

So what did you guys decide about codifying achievements? Do you decide them all in advance or what? Have you had any difficulty keeping the achievements interesting at this difficulty level? (as opposed to Immortal and below where you can clown around and still win easily)

^^The achievements are usually pretty well sorted out in this thread. Whoever posts the maps posts the achievements at the same time. Aiming I guess for about ~15 points max. Poster of the game has a fair amount of discretion.

There was one game where the achievements were not decided in advance, and that was a very poor experience.

Even with all the dialog in advance, questions still come up.

The achievements so far have been kept quite interesting!

I'm wondering what areas of game skill are left to be tested. I'm half considering working on a map to be submitted, but it seems that the only things left to do are heavy modification. I was thinking of a Celts map with really suitable dirt for them, where they're in the middle of a Pangaea or Oval, and having the AIs surrounding them, each on their own perfect dirt, with the idea that this little tribe of forest dwellers either converts everyone to their culture or slaughters them for their former attacks.

Any ideas about particular achievements to do with a Celtic religion and a choice of CV or DomV?

Hey all,

I'm going to spend the next couple of hours rolling maps for the Inca game. I've got about 3 so far that would be good maps, but haven't quite found exactly what I'm looking for. In any event, I'll post the game in the next couple of hours (assuming I can remember how to do so).

There were some good suggestions on achievements, and I'll use some of those along with my own idea of pop related achievement.

Last question: if anyone wants to save me some time and effort, please post a quick bulletpoint set of instructions for how to post a saved game from a Mac? It's been a long time and I'm not very smart when it comes to this techie stuff.

Shark Diver said:

Hey all,

I'm going to spend the next couple of hours rolling maps for the Inca game. I've got about 3 so far that would be good maps, but haven't quite found exactly what I'm looking for. In any event, I'll post the game in the next couple of hours (assuming I can remember how to do so).

There were some good suggestions on achievements, and I'll use some of those along with my own idea of pop related achievement.

Last question: if anyone wants to save me some time and effort, please post a quick bulletpoint set of instructions for how to post a saved game from a Mac? It's been a long time and I'm not very smart when it comes to this techie stuff.

Click to expand...

I would copy and paste Beetle's map post, and change the things that are different. That is what I did for my Venice map. As for dealing with the Save, I am not sure where it is stored on a mac but all you have to do is attach the save file to the post. It is saved in your MAC though, somewhere...

Sorry this was really not helpful at all...

On a Mac, the save-files are in:

Documents/Aspyr/Sid Meiers Civilization V/saves/single/*
(unless you manually changed the directory)

Just choose the save-file as attachment, similar to adding a screenshot e.g. (the paper-clip icon)

After you´ve picked the correct file on the "Manage attachment", just upload and post. It will appear as in this post

donkeyfish said:

On a Mac, the save-files are in:

Documents/Aspyr/Sid Meiers Civilization V/saves/single/*
(unless you manually changed the directory)

Just choose the save-file as attachment, similar to adding a screenshot e.g. (the paper-clip icon)

After you´ve picked the correct file on the "Manage attachment", just upload and post. It will appear as in this post

Click to expand...

Got it, thanks guys. Map will be posted within the hour (I hope).

Thanks for posting SD! Very humorous write up!

Wild_Woojsha said:

I would copy and paste Beetle's map post, and change the things that are different.

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If you use the QUOTE button instead of copy/paste from the browser, you get all the formatting codes including the SPOILER text. That is what I did to get started from one of Acken’s DCL posts.

Since no one else has replied back to you on this, so I will put in my two bits...

consentient said:

I'm wondering what areas of game skill are left to be tested.

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I can understand how that would be a big part of your initial goals for the CDG series. I don’t really think testing areas of game skill is really necessary though. I would guess that we can come up with an interesting scenario for each civ at least once.

...it seems that the only things left to do are heavy modification.

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I don’t think heavy modification is desirable, let alone necessary.

I was thinking of a Celts map with really suitable dirt for them, where they're in the middle of a Pangaea or Oval, and having the AIs surrounding them

Click to expand...

That sounds quite interesting to me. Have you experimented with the Boral map and, if so, does it wrap left to right? One nice feature of the Lakes map I discovered for Denmark is that pretty much every civ is in the middle. I really would like an all-land map that wraps up and down as well as left to right.

...each on their own perfect dirt...

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That part of course requires IGE. The Deity AIs get so much of a buff though, each start for them is already “perfect”. (Well, except that some times they lack the resource for their UU.)

...with the idea that this little tribe of forest dwellers either converts everyone to their culture or slaughters them for their former attacks.

Click to expand...

Love it!

Any ideas about particular achievements to do with a Celtic religion and a choice of CV or DomV?

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I would borrow religious points from other games, but adding a point for each AI civ eliminated. Maybe two points if the Celts are the civ that kills them off? Both VC should be allowed IMHO.

Also, please run them with that pike-to-muskets mod you used for Persia!

Do people have interest for extremely heavily modified map? Difficulty would be easy or hard(not very easy or very hard) etc..No bonuses for major civs but city states and barbarians would have some starting bonuses. it would be after apocalypse but everyone would start on ancient era

BlackWizard said:

Do people have interest for extremely heavily modified map? Difficulty would be easy or hard(not very easy or very hard) etc..No bonuses for major civs but city states and barbarians would have some starting bonuses. it would be after apocalypse but everyone would start on ancient era

Click to expand...

The first and only time I tried Mods, they didn't quite work perfectly but I'm more than happy to try out some others (and hope that I can figure out how to make them work). I do like the occasional variety. Heavily modded? Maybe for rare occasions like April 1st, but it seems that some of the mods I've read about totally change the game.

But I'm open to anything. If you think you have a good idea, go into more detail. I'm confident the fine folks on this thread will not be too shy to give a yeah or nay.

I don't like heavily modified maps. It's fine if you move some NW or modify starting dirt slightly, but heavily modified ones like the April 1st Venice is fine only once a year. My experience is that modifications would just create a strange game where there is more frustrations than needed.

Sclb said:

I don't like heavily modified maps. It's fine if you move some NW or modify starting dirt slightly, but heavily modified ones like the April 1st Venice is fine only once a year. My experience is that modifications would just create a strange game where there is more frustrations than needed.

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then you have some really strange experiences. Most maps that do get modified within the realm of playable end up more fun in the long run

stormtrooper412 said:

Most maps that do get modified within the realm of playable end up more fun in the long run

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To me, “within the realm of playability” means that a player might not realize that the map was modified. Several of the DCLs and CDGs fall into that category -- and all indications are that most mods were subtle enough that they could be overlooked. I think that is fine. But I am of the same mind as Sclb -- that the Venice type heavy modifications should be very rare.

beetle said:

To me, “within the realm of playability” means that a player might not realize that the map was modified. Several of the DCLs and CDGs fall into that category -- and all indications are that most mods were subtle enough that they could be overlooked. I think that is fine. But I am of the same mind as Sclb -- that the Venice type heavy modifications should be very rare.

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Those Venice maps are something special, because Venice is a special CIV. Any map-editing I plan on doing in the future would only involve slight shaping of the terrain to accomplish a goal and removing the ever-annoying ice blockage from the map. IGE has a feature that allows you to see the whole map without ruining it, which is perfect for chasing the Ice away. I think IGE can be used to make a map hard enough to knock everyone on their backs (every map knocks me down, I'm terrible at this game still) while looking like it was rolled naturally.

However, I think super-crazy maps that are modified but use the base game could be a good idea for a separate series, as I think we could have a real Civ Chili cookoff of cooked maps for those interested in that level of insanity. Anything else and we'll be moved to the Modding forum...

beetle said:

To me, “within the realm of playability” means that a player might not realize that the map was modified. Several of the DCLs and CDGs fall into that category -- and all indications are that most mods were subtle enough that they could be overlooked. I think that is fine. But I am of the same mind as Sclb -- that the Venice type heavy modifications should be very rare.

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I didn't say I disagree, I just don't see where can the frustrations be? I mean, the heavily altered maps were *supposed* to be just for fun, what can POSSIBLY frustrate you in that kind of setup