Into the Desert feedback

[GoodGame]

I had my entire military destroyed by sand lions in two turns.

Yeah this one is tricky at the start. Seems like I restart it a lot to avoid the worker getting mauled by barb units invading the cultural sphere.


Seems like the trick of making this scenario easy is to use the latitudal rivers to spread the faith before the council meeting. I placed one settler on the north river, founded Empyrean there, and before I knew it, the Svaltar were converted. I'm thinking have one city on each river, and the dark elves and dwarves will be converted before the meeting.

 

[deanej]

Tried this a couple of times as the Calabim but keep getting tripped up at the hidden nationality step. How do you get hidden nationality within the 75 turns? Most of the techs take forever to research, so I'm a very long ways away from getting to them. Am I supposed to be using only my starting nighthawk?

Also, any recommendations on what to do with the settlers that are given after razing Dirage? Any cities founded don't seem like they're going to be productive any time soon.

Any other strategies you would like to share would also be welcome (such as what to research, since everything takes so long, or how I could make it go faster). Also, got a python exception when razing Dirage:
Traceback (most recent call last):

File "CvEventInterface", line 23, in onEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 213, in handleEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 1964, in onCityRazed

File "ScenarioFunctions", line 1547, in onCityRazed

AttributeError: 'CyTeam' object has no attribute 'setDefensivePact'
ERR: Python function onEvent failed, module CvEventInterface

 

[Kiwi Tyrant]

I played this one as the calm Calabim, due entirely to the way Decius was treated by his freak of a father in Fall of Cuantine. Revenge is best served cold, father, and you're going to pay big time!!!

I found this too, to be relatively easy on Emperor level. Love these advanced start-up's.

Spoiler :

* Amongst the initial Civic's available is Slavery. Definitely chose this for a whipping start!

* Used Supplies for a Hunting Lodge (instead of normal library option), just to build a Hawk to put on my starting Hunter. This worked out awesome for spotting and keeping tab's on the Hill Giant's, who seemed to be moving more than 1 tile at a time?

* With the 2 free settler's, I placed both on the river; north to get the copper, and south to get a couple of horses and wheat. I read that there was iron somewhere south too, but never got around to studying it (so it never showed). Game was finished in 149 turn's.

* The initial Moroi that start's with 'Vampirism' is your key man. As you 'feed' and other unit's kill barb's, you'll be able to pass it on long before you can actually make Vampire's!

* Raze Dirage and get free Nightwatch. I personally made sure it got some quick XP to get the Mobility1 promotion. Then I 'declared nationality' and immediately sent it out to spread CoE to the Khazad (gift everything to get open border's with the stubborn little stub's), Kane, and the dark elves. Due to lack of road's, I could'nt reach the Elohim in time before the 75 turn's is up. However, I did get 3 opponent's to switch to CoE.

* Turn 75 tick's over and I'm expecting auto declaration's of war etc. etc. NOTHING!!!
Just a message telling you to basically wipe out all cities with the Empyrean religion.
You can actually declare when you are ready, on any one enemy, and the other's don't even band together or offer a united front or anything. So I just got all CoE convert's to declare war on the main Malakim guy (yellow). I took him out (the other's did next to nothing) and then systematically razed any other cities that heathen religion had spread to, including my past 'friends'....

Not even Hyborem would turn on me like that father........ I personally want to see you writhing in a Breeding Pit with a hundred, leprous, hermaphrodite Orc's, spewing some mutant swine disease. Only then will I smile, close my eye's and look away, toward's the next scenario......

 

[Antinous]

Jesus Christ! You don't hold much of a grudge, do you Kiwi?

 

[Moos]

Also, got a python exception when razing Dirage:
Traceback (most recent call last):

File "CvEventInterface", line 23, in onEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 213, in handleEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 1964, in onCityRazed

File "ScenarioFunctions", line 1547, in onCityRazed

AttributeError: 'CyTeam' object has no attribute 'setDefensivePact'
ERR: Python function onEvent failed, module CvEventInterface

I also encounter this error and promptly gets a CtD.

 

[deanej]

I believe the method needed is "signDefensivePact", not "setDefensivePact".

 

[Dragoon1]

I played as Calabim. During the assault on Dirage an Khazad unit passed by and finished of the last defender. Capturing Dirage.

 

[deanej]

Can anyone help me with this scenario? I can't seem to raze Dirage. It's filled with goblin archers and none of my units stand a chance. I gave my moroi death II hoping that spectres would cause the units to scatter, but they do not. Are barbarian units immune to fear, or is this a bug? Could someone please help?

 

[Dragoon1]

I cleared it by bating the defenders. My forces stayed 2 tiles away from the city and each round I parked a lonely specter next to the city. AI kept attacking until there was only one Hill Giant and Warrior left. Than the Dwarf made their dick move.

 

[deanej]

Could someone help me with razing Dirage? I tried Dragoon1's strategy of using a sprecter but it didn't work: the AI refused to attack it. I've attached a save (I later moved my forces over to prevent reinforcements from getting in).

 

[Dragoon1]

Could someone help me with razing Dirage? I tried Dragoon1's strategy of using a sprecter but it didn't work: the AI refused to attack it. I've attached a save (I later moved my forces over to prevent reinforcements from getting in).

It works! The AI is dumb, but not so dumb to jeopardize the safety of its city while your stack is right next to the city.
First you need to move your stack outside the cityradius and your stack should not have more than 3 units. Now cast the spectre and move it next to the city. The bab archers will attack it. Either they die or they win in which case next turn your newly summoned spectre will retaliate.

Spoiler :

After all archers plus a warrior died I gathered the troops and attacked Dirage. First with a spectre and than with blood a mori.
I uploaded the autosave and a save after razing Dirage.

Notice I founded Esus that turn, so build Gibbon Goetia asap. You want his cool Shadow 3 summon Mistform.
BTW east from Dirage is a river with a lot of flooded plains and some hills. Wouldn't be that a great place for a city with granary, smoke house, and a breeding pit to feed your vampires? Make sure all your vampires have the spectre summon promotion, and a few regeneration. Also build as many death mana nodes as you can.
Each node will increase spectre strength by one. You can easily have 3 death mana, that will give you strength 6 spectres. 10 Vampires with spectre summon can wipe out any city on the map.

 

[deanej]

I had tried from near that position earlier, so I started from an autosave a few turns back and tried again, this time with only a stack of three Moroi near Dirage. Didn't work. The AI did attack the specter this time, but the rate of units suiciding themselves was equal to the rate of reinforcements coming in. After no more reinforcements were available, the AI stopped attacking it. I've attached an autosave from around that point.

Where do I build the three death nodes? I only see two mana in the area, only one of which I will be able to harness. The planned city sites are where the two roads lead to. Should I put one near the mana on the coast instead of near the copper? Didn't notice that specters had death affinity - is this documented anywhere? It doesn't show up on the unit when I mouse over it (though it may be in the pedia; should check again).

 

[Dragoon1]

There are 3 Mana nodes close to you. There is the one next to your city, one on the coast that will eventually end-up in your cultural borders and a third west of you capital near the cooper.
You can build a city below the mountain to have cooper and mana in your city cross, but you need to boost culture because it is already a bit late in the game and the Malakim city grown big already.
A bit of advice, even it is now to late to benefit from it in time. You start with a Horseman. Horseman have a +40% vs archery units, with promotions you can push this to +120%.
You should have send your Horseman out exploring the world right from the beginning.
With combat and cover promotions it would be likely now a powerful archer killer.

The fact that you did noticed the third mana node next to you, after 50 turns gives you a hid you didn't explored aggressively enough.

In the manual that you can find here
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=265888
is the death affinity of the Spectres noted. You should search through the entire document for the word affinity to get an overview which units has affinity to which mana.

 

[JFSebastian]

If you head towards Dirage immediately, you can easily dispatch the single Hill Giant defending it. There are a couple of Graveyards on the way. Using the Moroi with Raise Skeleton on one will give you a small stack of skeletons to soften him up. Your Decius/Hunter, who you may be able to level up on the way, gets a nice bonus against Hill Giants (animals).

 

[deanej]

I could start again. Taking Dirage from the start is easy, but then your cities aren't ready for anything when you get the weaken Malakim objective. It doesn't seem like I can easily get Dirage and still be ready for the later objectives.

Also, if you make the horseman an archer killer, what's to prevent the hill giant or the warrior from defending, slaughtering the horseman and leaving you with nothing against the archers?

 

[Dragoon1]

I could start again. Taking Dirage from the start is easy, but then your cities aren't ready for anything when you get the weaken Malakim objective. It doesn't seem like I can easily get Dirage and still be ready for the later objectives.

You hurt only yourself if you wait razing Dirage because after you get 2 settlers.
The is no pressure for the latter objectives. The weaken Malakim for 75 turns can't be failed. In fact you can start the war with Varn Gosman at your discretion.

Also, if you make the horseman an archer killer, what's to prevent the hill giant or the warrior from defending, slaughtering the horseman and leaving you with nothing against the archers?

Backup? How about you don't let the horseman go in alone but with support from mori? You could even bring an archer with Hill Defend promotion.

Come on you could came up with this yourself or?

 

[deanej]

Well, in normal civ the game selects the best defender for any attacker. So an attacking horseman with a huge bonus vs. archers would get the hill giant defending, and the Mori would get the archers...

I'm a bit of a permanoob when it comes to civ in general. I spend most of my time modding, and the little time spent playing is split between RFC and FFH, so I'm not that great at either. I think next time I'll just prepare for the war instead of doing what Flauros says. Seems like it's not worth the effort to do the latter (I must admit I was trying to roleplay the scenarios).

 

[deanej]

After doing this, I encounter a new python exception:

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "CvEventInterface", line 23, in onEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 212, in handleEvent

File "CvEventManager", line 1963, in onCityRazed

File "ScenarioFunctions", line 1547, in onCityRazed

NameError: global name 'getID' is not defined
ERR: Python function onEvent failed, module CvEventInterface

 

[TC01]

	pPlayer = gc.getPlayer(0) #Varn
--------------------------------------------------------
	eTeam = gc.getTeam(pPlayer.getTeam())
--------------------------------------------------------
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(getID(2), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(getID(3), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(getID(5), true)

These are the lines of code where this error occurs. Apparently the game doesn't like "getID". I think, instead of using "getID" to retrieve the player number, you'd need something like this:

	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getTeam(gc.getPlayer(2).getTeam()), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getTeam(gc.getPlayer(3).getTeam()), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getTeam(gc.getPlayer(5).getTeam()), true)

I'm assuming this would be the right method. I don't know if defensive pacts are signed by team to team or by team to player. Team to player would look like this:

	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getPlayer(2), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getPlayer(3), true)
	eTeam.signDefensivePact(gc.getPlayer(5), true)

 

[GordonF]

Well, this was a rather interesting game. I am playing as the Malakim, and decided to milk the hell out of that period before finding Varn. Attaching Decius to my Hunter, he became my hero and I managed to capture a barb city that formed to my north (in the foresty/hilly/grassy area-- perfect site for a production city). I spread Empyrean to Kane (the other Malakim) and the Elohim, and both Flauros and Sval war-dec'd me. I haven't played the game normally past the "Spread within 75 turns" so I interpretted that as "win a religious victory in 75 turns or lose" (if it isn't, please correct me ). Switching to RoK, I got open borders with the Dwarves and spread it to them too, before switching back and bribing them to convert to Emp.

And then, Kane vassalized Flauros (and would later vassalize the Dwarves too). I managed to defeat and vassalize the Sval, and "encouraged" them to convert to Emp too. So now all that was left was stubborn old Flauros (as a vassal of Kane, he was unable to declare war on me, but the -10 diplo modifier made it impossible for me to convert him to Emp).

Feeling pretty good, I moved my heroic hunter (now Beastmaster Awesome) onto the Mirror and BAM! Kane and Flauros and Dwarves wardec me. Ouch. So, I reload (I swear I never do this, but COME ON.)

Taking an alternate strategy, I notice that the religious victory is still enabled and proceed to Inquisition every city on the map (except Flauros who is still clinging to OO), and win a religious victory. I get a nice little dialog box with Varn (guess he found his way out of the desert on his own), and the next scenario unlocks.

Aside from the reloading, would you say this is cheating, a glitch, or just an alternative way of beating the scenario?