COTM116 Byzantines - Pre-game discussion

COTM116 Theodora of Byzantium - Demigod - Pre-game discussion



COTM116 is a demigod-level game designed by greatbeyond where you play as Theodora of Byzantium.

The great Roman empire has been split in two. Theodora, you have been chosen to lead the eastern Roman empire with it's capital to be in Constantinople. As a going-away present, Caesar has granted you a Legionary and a total of 40 gold. You won't however be able to build any other Legionaries. The bond between Rome and the new empire will remain strong, as you will share a permanent alliance… for better or worse. Caesar can declare war or negotiate peace without asking for your input, as you will be able to as well. You may however safely ignore his demands. There will be 11 civilizations trying to destroy you. Will you suffer the same fate as Constantine XI Palaiologos, “who was last seen casting off his imperial regalia and throwing himself into hand-to-hand combat after the walls of the city were taken”?

Will you become the cultural center of the world? Will you build the Hagia Sophia, a world wonder that will earn 10 culture per turn, make 4 citizens in the city it is built happy and 1 in every other city. It will reduce war weariness, reduce the effect of propaganda, increase Luxury trade, and act as a tourist attraction. You must have Republic as a government and have researched Theology. Will the Byzantine people be able to enjoy it's beauty through the ages or will barbarians of some other tribe convert it to a different use?

Other changes

• Removed all goody huts
• Changed marshes to 25% disease chance
• Changed flood plains to 10% disease chance
• Changed AI cost factor to 10 which is the same as the human player
• Courthouses grant a 50% tax increase
• Courthouse production factor has been set from 0 to 1, meaning shield production will go up by 25%

The normal changes COTM apply to this game and so Iron locations are fixed.

Starting Location



Scope of the Game


Submissions are due by September 30th, 2015.

PLEASE NOTE THE DATE!

Più Freddo;13926480 said:

[*]Changed AI cost factor to 10 which is the same as the human player

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Does that mean there won't be any difference in the Demigod AI and the Regent AI. That sounds quite improbable but I see no other interpretation of this line.
????

The starting location screenshot:


Some other info on the base scenario, Standard world size, 60% land, barbs are restless, 4 million years old and temperate. I have changed the names of the military leaders mentioned at key points in Byzantine history. You will have communications with Rome from the start of the game as a result of the locked alliance.

Opening the save will allow you to see the AIs so I will tell you that there are 11 "enemy" civs", Rome (who you are locked into a permanent alliance with), and the human player. The AI civs were chosen to represent those civs that over the years of it's existence gave the Byzantine empire it's greatest threats to survival.

The game will not pay like regent (I hope) but it may not be quite as difficult as an unmodified demigod game. I was tempted to settle the capital in place for you, but thought someone might want to move away from the generous start. After all Constantinople must sit astride the Bosphorus Strait, shouldn't it?

A locked alliance means that you declare war or peace for both you and the civilization you are allied with. Either the human or the AI may do so, so it may not be quite as helpful at times as it should be. Having the AI declare war/make peace with another AI you want to eliminate/be friends with, may mean a reputation hit if an agreement is broken. It is possible for either the human or the ally to win on their own.
There is a cooperative alliance setting that I have not seen used where both civs win together.

I have playtested the scenario through to 3 different victory conditions and personally I wonder if it might not be too easy for demigod. I guess that is for the players to decide. This is where feedback is important. A game with very little chance of winning is one I don't get much enjoyment out of. A game where there is little chance of losing may not seem fun either. Anybody for an "always war game? I know it seems extreme but looking at the victory conditions most people submit with, is seems conquest and domination are the favorites.

A quick explanation for those haven't played with the editor a lot or wonder where changes are made when creating scenarios.

In creating scenarios there are ways to make a game play either slightly easier or harder than the base difficulty level other than the obvious of making starting locations "good" or "bad", eliminating key resources or providing extras, isolating the AI or human player, aggression levels, increasing/decreasing unit strengths, creating or modifying buildings and their attributes, etc..

There are also ways to adjust the game mechanics rule sets using the editor

The difficulty level is determined by several factors:

the number of free Defensive and offensive units the AI starts with
ex demigod; 6 def, 3 off, 2 settlers, 3 workers
emperor; 4 def, 2 off, 1 settler, 2 workers

unit support bonuses
ex demigod; 12 free units , 3 free units per city
emperor; 8 free units, 2 free units per city

max transition time between government changes
cost factor
AI to AI trade ratio

There are more differences and settings, to see them all use the editor. The editor help file also explains some of these, though it doesn't explain the depth of effect it may have on a game. Some changes don't seem to have the impact that others do. My goal when creating a scenario is to change them to achieve an intended goal such as making it easier for the human to win, addressing an imbalance in a particular civ, or perhaps giving a particular civ a more historical feeling. Sometimes the changes don't work as intended and indeed some times an errant key press changes a setting without it being noticed (a couple of games ago the "road movement" setting being changed by a @#$% scroll of the mouse wheel).

Would you please tell us how much Hagia Sofia costs?

We seem to have three BG:s (including the Wine on Hill), which together with a Forest or Hill, the Cattle and the city centre will produce 10 shields per turn for six turns per Settler. That's a three-Warriors-per-Settler Combo Factory.

Unless there's some other Food Bonus hidden away.

what is the shield cost of the Hagia Sophia? (Piu was faster...)
Looks like another very interesting modified game...
t_x

The Hagia Sophia cost is 50 (500 shields), a little cheaper than the Sistine Chapel cost of 60. I did not remove the Sistine Chapel so you may have a very happy empire.

wouldn´t it be more comparable to Bach´s?
t_x

templar_x said:

wouldn´t it be more comparable to Bach´s?
t_x

Click to expand...

The common thing between the 2 Is the research Theology, although the happiness is one of Bach's features.

greatbeyond said:

The Hagia Sophia cost is 50 (500 shields)

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So for 20k Culture, it's 50 spcpt, better than a Cathedral or a Colosseum!

First question: will the Legionary trigger our Golden Age?

greatbeyond said:

A locked alliance means that you declare war or peace for both you and the civilization you are allied with. Either the human or the AI may do so, so it may not be quite as helpful at times as it should be. Having the AI declare war/make peace with another AI you want to eliminate/be friends with, may mean a reputation hit if an agreement is broken. It is possible for either the human or the ally to win on their own.
There is a cooperative alliance setting that I have not seen used where both civs win together.

Click to expand...

I while ago as preparation for COTM115 I created a little test game with a Locked Alliance. However, I was surprised to see that it did not behave as expected, e.g. when I declared war to a third party, my alliance partner did not declare war. Only when someone declared war on me, my alliance partner also went into war automatically, pretty much like in a Mutual Protection Pact. And similarly, when I made peace with someone, my alliance partner did not necessarily make peace at the same time. In my test scenario I had chosen "Victory Type = Individual" in the alliance settings. So I guess this is what it means:

• "Individual" = you can make war and peace independently of each other, and both parties can pursue a victory condition on their own.
• "Coalition" = war and peace are made for both at the same time, and both parties win or lose together.

So the important question is: which setting did you use in this game? Your description above appears contradictory, i.e. the first sentence "you declare war or peace for both you and the civilization you are allied with" seems to indicate that you have chosen "Coalition", but the sentence "It is possible for either the human or the ally to win on their own" rather seems to indicate you have chosen "Individual"?!

Lanzelot said:

First question: will the Legionary trigger our Golden Age?

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I don't think so. Because we're getting Legionary only on the beginning and it can't be produced later, so the byzantine UU is still the same for us, so I think it should be used to get the GA.

The Release page for this game is now available here.

The Legionary will start a golden age. I just checked to confirm it. I tried to find a way in the settings to eliminate this ability, but in doing so it would eliminate it for the Romans. I wonder if a unique unit from any civ will start a golden age no matter which civ you assign it to. A matter for further testing.

I suppose the best path would have been to duplicate the Legionary and assign it only to Byzantium,though it is too late to do so now. You could always just delete him or use him just for barbs.

IIRC The locked alliance works similar to the MPP in that you only declare war when another civ attacks your alliance partner. However, when your ally signs a peace agreement you automatically do the same. If you declare war on another civ your ally will not automatically declare war until the enemy civ attacks you. Peace is the same in both instances.

greatbeyond said:

The Legionary will start a golden age. I just checked to confirm it.

Click to expand...

Now that's an unexpected news. Anyways triggering the GA will now be very convenient.

I think I wouldn't settle on the spot but move 1SW. Otherwise Constantinople losses too much land tiles or couldn't build the Colossus.

Cotta you have already finished the game??? i have not yet started...
building the Colossus on Demigod usually is near to impossible as the HP. with this setting however it seems all probable that you would get it if you go for it.
t_x

Was a good game.
Think Ill try it one more time.

templar_x said:

Cotta you have already finished the game??? i have not yet started...

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I'm quicker but you're better...

the one is for sure, the other i surely will not take as a given...
t_x