Trait Comparison Game I: Byzantium.

Hi friends.
This is a civ learning game (and hopefully, series of games), centered about experimental trait comparison.
To compare individual traits we pick a game (i.e. map, civs and opponent leaders) and alter our leader in the way that he/she has one fixed and one loose trait. Let me illustrate this by example.
This time our civ is Byzantium. I selected it because of strong but not game-changing uniques. As for fixed trait, I just wrote them all on a sheet of paper and flipped a coin. Agressive won.
So players are free to chose any agressive leader of Byzantium.

To do so, download a WBsave (attached), open it in a text editor, find 143rd line (by default it is
LeaderType=LEADER_BOUDICA) aulusIII/imm/epic
, and replace LEADER_BOUDICA with whoever you prefer from this list:
LEADER_ALEXANDER : Ai Shizuka , Betato/Immortal/epic,
LEADER_TOKUGAWA : Earthling/Deity/Epic
LEADER_STALIN : Lansky
LEADER_MONTEZUMA : Ghpstage/Emp/Marathon
LEADER_RAGNAR : michmbk/immortal/epic
LEADER_GENGHIS_KHAN : TheMeInTeam/Imm/Normal
LEADER_KUBLAI_KHAN : Huajozu/monarch/Epic nanomage/imm/marathon
LEADER_HAMMURABI : Learningciv
LEADER_SHAKA : Soirana/Immortal/Epic

It would be preferrable if 1 player picks one leader, but still it is not strict - do whatever you want and have fun.
IMHO it does not really matter what difficulty you select, but i strongly recommend to play it at the level which is difficult for you, to make you try to get the most you can from your traits and still have great chance to lose.
Default difficulty is Immortal, because it's such level for me.
You are free to change it, but remember that free immortal bunch of units is not going to dissipate. (EDIT: and freee deity settler is not going to appear too )
Default speed is marathon because i like it. Of course you are free to select one you like more.
Map script is tectonics.
Huts and events are off.
Report dates are roughly 2000BC, 1AD, lib, victory and anything else you would consider worth reporting. When beginning a game please inform me what leader you have chosen, i'll try to track it and update this post correspondingly.

Hopefully, if we have enough games played, we'll see what trait fitted the map most and why. Even if not, we'll still have fun comparing the games.
Now to the game.
Start

and save.
View attachment TCGIByzantium.zip
Any problem let me know. Have fun!

Props for being able to choose from more than two variants by flipping a coin. Unless it was something along the lines of where the coin actually landed

Anyway, I would try Kublai on Monarch/Epic, Im a sucker for Creative. If thats too low I suppose I could play on Emperor, although Id probably get raped pretty decently.

say you have 3 variants. this means flip coin 2 times possible results are 00, 01, 10 and 11. first 3 are our 3 variants, the last is reflip
EDIT: and on difficulty, you are not really playing monarch. AI's have a whole bunch of free units regardless of what difficulty did you select, and this includes 1 free worker.

Still seems like rolling a die would be faster. Or googling random number generator. Or programming one. Not my place to question your methods though.

nanomage said:

say you have 3 variants. this means flip coin 2 times possible results are 00, 01, 10 and 11. first 3 are our 3 variants, the last is reflip
EDIT: and on difficulty, you are not really playing monarch. AI's have a whole bunch of free units regardless of what difficulty did you select, and this includes 1 free worker.

Click to expand...

I'm pretty certain this is the bit that is giving me the hardest time moving up to Immortal, I find a big difference in the settling dates for an AIs second city between emperor and Immortal. I'm gonna play this as Monty on Marathon/Emperor and gonna be looking for some worker stealing opportunities .

Alright, I guess it couldn't hurt to get back into some series of games, sorry to the LHC folks but they have a new game like every week and I couldn't keep up, and this one sounds like a really cool variant.

I've always had a soft spot for old Tokuwaga. If no one else calls him you can watch me give this one a try on Deity/Epic, maybe fail spectacularly but all because of that darn Protective trait... (Though it doesn't seem that changing difficulty here will change the AI starting bonuses, unless you incorporated that fix? Without the extra settler it certainly shouldn't be too bad, and I can try to make my game worthy). I can't promise to be really quick though so if anyone else gets started and well into the game go ahead, my update might not be for a couple of days.

I will take Temujin, at IMM/Normal.

I wanna play too but I don't understand this:

To do so, download a WBsave (attached), open it in a text editor, find 143rd line (by default it is
LeaderType=LEADER_BOUDICA)

I'd like to play Alex, but:

1- I'm just playing my first Immortal games, so if some better player wants Alex, be my guest.

2- I have to finish the Bismarck game first and I think I'll start a step-by-step game (like JBossch at Deity) to get some advice to tackle Immortal, so it may take a few days.

Crusher1 said:

I wanna play too but I don't understand this:

To do so, download a WBsave (attached), open it in a text editor, find 143rd line (by default it is
LeaderType=LEADER_BOUDICA)

Click to expand...

Open the save in notepad (right click --> open with)
Then find the leader line "LeaderType=LEADER_BOUDICA" (Easiest if you use cntrl F and find 'leader'.)
Change BOUDICA to any leader you want and save it.

If you can't do it say the leader you want to use and I'll change it for you

Random leader gives me.... Hammurabi!!!

Well I like Org but I prefer it paired with certain other traits.

Will update soon

Won't get a chance for a couple days but I'd give Stalin a go at Immortal and either normal or epic depending on my mood when I start.

2Crusher1.

Ghpstage said:

Open the save in notepad (right click --> open with)
Then find the leader line "LeaderType=LEADER_BOUDICA" (Easiest if you use cntrl F and find 'leader'.)
Change BOUDICA to any leader you want and save it.

If you can't do it say the leader you want to use and I'll change it for you

Click to expand...

Ghpstage is totally right, I just have nothing to add. If you are still having problems tell me and i'll change it for you.

I'll go Alexander / Immortal / epic, though normally play emperor.. let's give it a try

Checkpoint 1 - Hammurabi to 1920BC

Immortal/Marathon



~2000BC is an odd date for first checkpoint.

Immortal Epic Shaka.

It looks like everyone's been taken but Ragnar, so if he's still out there, I'll take him and to truly test myself, I'll go immortal epic - make this my first immortal game. I should be able to at least start tonight.

boudica is still free, and of course new player are welcome to select any leader.
i was just worrying that everyone will pick ragnar and noone will want to play unpopular ones like stalin or GK, but it looks almost every leader has found a player.

Ai Shizuka said:

I'd like to play Alex, but:

1- I'm just playing my first Immortal games, so if some better player wants Alex, be my guest.

2- I have to finish the Bismarck game first and I think I'll start a step-by-step game (like JBossch at Deity) to get some advice to tackle Immortal, so it may take a few days.

Click to expand...

Not to change the topic of the thread, but if you do a step by step game on immortal, I'd definitely play along, since you and I have been moving up at about the same pace to date, and this game will be my first at immortal when I give it a go tonight.

2Learningciv