[intro]
Once again the moon had come full circle, and the hour of Prediction was near. Leaving his Gallic warriors asleep in the camp, Ambiorix retreated into the misty forest, carefully holding what seemed to be a round object, covered by a cloth.
In a clearing near a small stream he sat down. A blue-greenish haze rose from the water, and the moon peeked from behind the clouds when he uncovered the magic object : a large crystal ball, with an '18' written on it in frosted glass.
His muscles became tense as he concentrated and peered into the ball - it seemed to contain marble slivers that obstructed the view, but as he peered harder, they seemed to dissolve and an image was appearing. Ambiorix didn't dare clear his throat or make a sound as the image became clearer and clearer - it was the map of GOTM 20, but at first too far away to see any details. then the image came closer and closer and revealed...
... nothing but FOG units !
Aahaaaargh ! Ambiorix rose in frustration. The ball would not help him, he realised. He laid down near the stream, using the ball as a neck-rest and started to think. How would GOTM 20 be like ? He'd better come up with something good, he realised.
[/intro]
Let's see what we have to base our prediction upon : previous GOTM's, about 2000 years of Spanish history, and a very subjective impression of Spanish culture - okay, could be worse.
History first : most important events that come to mind are :
- isolated location due to natural borders (sea, Pyrenees)
- the reconquista : battling the Moors out of the peninsula.
- the discovery of America right thereafter (1492), in search of trade/luxuries
- the incredible wealth that came from the new lands : tons of gold and silver, which they used mainly to build castles. I'm not a history expert, but apparantly a common saying was that the Spaniards had found a way to 'turn gold into stone'. Add to that the general attitude that the spanish rather liked paying for having something build, rather than building it themselves.
- the forging of an empire where 'the sun didn't set'.
- wars with all possible civilizations for colonies (against France in Louisiana, against the Americans in Cuba, against Portugal and the Aztecs in S-America, ...) and within Europe.
The previous GOTM shows that Cracker can be quite creative in setting up starting units, AI-traits and map-conditions, so if we blend all the above in one soup we get (drums) :
a hot, wet, half-continents-half-archipelago deity-game where Spain is on a large island or small continent with only one other civ. this might very well be the Arabs (nice for the civ3 and Mac players), but I'm rather betting on the agressive Zulu. I somehow have a feeling that something special will be done with the starting location : an extra settler, or two settlers at different, distant locations, to create an instant-colony. Don't know if the latter is technically possible but it would be quite something if it were - just imagine the pregame discussion on whether the capitol and palace should go to the first or the second settler ! Im also guessing the starting location has flood plains, plains and mountains.
In any case, the extra settler and isolated oponent would help lesser mortals (like myself) to stay alive at this level.
From the starting island it will be possible to reach small isolated islands (Azores, Canary islands, Madeira, Baleares, ...) and do some island-hopping to the big promised land, covered in gold and luxuries (and jungle), where we meet a crippled Aztec population, or a barbarian one. The island hopping could be done by literally reaching one island after another, or via shallow waters (sea-tiles or even coastal-tiles) where a suicide galley/galleon could rest.
On another contintent are our other opponents (perhaps Americans, Germans, French, English and some others to balance civ-traits and UU's), also hopping-mad to go island-hunting.
Spain might also be at the 'right' of the map, so searching for luxuries eastwards would get us to the west (confused yet ?).
If a civ is modded, it might be the English, who could provide a swarm of privateers (mimicking the pirates that attacked the silver-fleet, and maybe also a hint to the sinking of the Armada).
If Spain gets an extra unit, it would be the inquisator, who would somehow enhance the chance of a cultural flip.
On a less serious note :
- the surrounding sea will be teeming with fish, aching to jump into a paella
- the game won't let you play between noon and 4 PM
- Every now and then a dialog will pop up with 'I want some tapas' or 'I want some sherry', after which you have to type that word to continue. If you don't, three guys from Monty Python will barge through the door, dressed in spanish inquisition clothes screaming... <and now YOU continue....>
)
