Welcome aboard, one and all!
I've also been lurking in all of the active TDGs here, including D'Artagnan's other training game.
As for Snoopy's graphics modpack, I haven't used it, but I've been thinking about downloading it, anyway. So if I need to download it to play this SG, that's fine with me.
Last night I decided that I'd better at least give emporer a try, in the interest of not totally humiliating myself. I actually wound up starting several games. I began as the Chinese, because I've played them more than anyone else. The first few games were disasters. (My cities rioted almost as fast as I could found them. I began to wonder if my settlers had found a luxury not listed in the civilopedia -- tequila).
Then I decided to jump headfirst into the unknown:
Emperor -- never played it before last night
Restless barbs -- never had them as restless
Rome -- never played them before
Otherwise, continents, 70% water, everyone else random.
I am pleased to report that by 1225 BC, I'd founded 7 cities, made contact with three civs, traded with them (though not as well as I'd have liked), located horses and iron, pulled off the republic slingshot, and was known as the "Magnificent Romans." And all with (iirc) only one or two instances of civil disorder! All in all, I was very pleased.
Civ choice I think will be, in part, governed by our victory conditions. There are some traits that will be useful almost no matter what, though.
Industrious -- Come on, who doesn't like faster workers?
Commercial -- Kind of like industrious. How could you not like more money and lower corruption?
Agricultural -- More food = faster growth. 'Nuff said?
Militaristic -- So that we can get in touch with our inner warmongers.
As to UU, I vote for an offensive unit that can trigger our golden age in the MA. Too early and we don't get much out of it. Too late and the game will have already been won.
Edited: to add Militaristic. Also, I'd like to do some warmongering, so conquest is good as a victory condition. Space shuttle, though, gives us the opportunity to work through all of the ages of the game.
I agree that pangaea would not be ideal as it takes away one aspect of the game - boats. Then again, archipelago has a little too much emphasis on that in my opinion so continents would be great.
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) is that it's a bit lame. Lethal bombardment sounds nice in theory but in practice you would need at least four (if all hit) to kill just one veteran enemy troop. And since usually at least one third of the shots miss you would need a whole lot of them to kill troops fortified in cities. Feels like a lot of work for very little profit.
) let's vote. 
