First time hosting one of these, editing the wb file and using photobucket...so be kind if something doesn't work properly.
Also my apologies to CivIVMonger who chose the same leader for his prince series this week, but had some problems with his initial post so I'm not sure if he will retry or choose another leader. I liked this map too much to pass on it.
Anyway, on to Nobles Club XXXII: Louis XIV of France. He's IND and CRE and starts with Agriculture and The Wheel. IND is very powerful and a well-liked trait. +50% wonder production and double production speed of the forge. Creative is probably my 4th favorite trait and helps with early border expansions...+2 per city and double production speed of library, theatre, and colosseum.
His unique building is the Salon. A replacement for the Observatory, it gives +1 free artist. Not my favorite, but can be useful if you're going for the culture win.
His unique unit is the Musketeer. A replacement for the Musketman, it costs the same hammers but has 2 movement instead of 1. Strong unit if you research gunpowder fast and good pillagers as well.
The starting position...INLAND SEA MAP, standard size, medium water level setting. Default on the remaining options. For those not familiar with this map type, it has a roughly oval shaped sea in the middle of the map surrounded by land. It is a flat map, so it does not wrap in any direction. I made a couple of small changes and toned down the start position a little bit because it looked too much like NC XXXI.
small SPOILER comment on the map:
Finally, a cut/paste of the standard NC doctrine:
There are no hard and fast rules here, fun and learning are our primary goals, but we do request that you update your progress at various points in the game, using the Spoiler feature of the boards.
Tentative posting updates are suggested at:
4000 BC (starting thoughts, no spoiler required for that discussion)
1000 BC or so (how you decided to progress up the early tech/build paths, which AIs you have met, etc)
500 AD or so (after establishing some cities and a possible plan of action)
1200 AD or so (mid-game, Lib race, wars or peace, or whichever happened or didnt, met other continent if applicable, etc)
1600 AD (or when you have decided on a course of action and a specific victory condition)
End of game (Victory!!! or defeat, no shame in losing, especially if you tried a higher level. Learning is what we focus on, not fastest win or biggest empire)
Remember, these are only guidelines. What we really want are your thoughts as the game goes on, so if your strats don't fall into line with those dates, feel free to adjust your reports accordingly.
We also welcome players to ask for specific game advice, as we have a number or stronger players who lurk and help out with solid tips, and of course, we help each other. Replies to specific questions should also be in spoilers, with a simple "@" in front of the person the answer is directed towards.
Special Thanks go to Bleys and TMIT, who really made this series a great one, r_rolo, mapmaker extraordinaire, for his maps for most of the series, and all of you for playing.
The WB-save is attached (zipped, they are bigger than standard saves). To play, simply download and unzip it into your BTS/Saves/WorldBuilder folder. Start the game, and load your favorite MOD (if you use one, if not, I suggest checking out the BUFFY MOD), select "Play Scenario", and look for "NC XXXII Louis XIV". This allows you to play with your favorite MOD at the Level and Speed of your choice. From Quick-Warlord to Marathon-Prince, all are welcome! We stuck with the name "Nobles Club" because it has a cool ring to it.
The WB save is attached; I created it by using TMIT's instructions, so if there are any problems it is his fault. j/k. It should work at all difficulty levels and speeds (now that I fixed the wb) -- and the starting warrior is not in the same location every time, but I will figure that out before I host another one.
Fingers crossed, hope everything works ok!
Edit: Ok, I think I fixed the wb file. I somehow only saved a couple of necessary changes (beginunit was still in there as was handicap= so the game would not level correctly. And the max turns was not set to 0 either). Apologies to anyone who downloaded the original or the one in post 4. What a mess! Darn you TMIT!
cas
Also my apologies to CivIVMonger who chose the same leader for his prince series this week, but had some problems with his initial post so I'm not sure if he will retry or choose another leader. I liked this map too much to pass on it.
Anyway, on to Nobles Club XXXII: Louis XIV of France. He's IND and CRE and starts with Agriculture and The Wheel. IND is very powerful and a well-liked trait. +50% wonder production and double production speed of the forge. Creative is probably my 4th favorite trait and helps with early border expansions...+2 per city and double production speed of library, theatre, and colosseum.
His unique building is the Salon. A replacement for the Observatory, it gives +1 free artist. Not my favorite, but can be useful if you're going for the culture win.
Spoiler :
His unique unit is the Musketeer. A replacement for the Musketman, it costs the same hammers but has 2 movement instead of 1. Strong unit if you research gunpowder fast and good pillagers as well.
Spoiler :
The starting position...INLAND SEA MAP, standard size, medium water level setting. Default on the remaining options. For those not familiar with this map type, it has a roughly oval shaped sea in the middle of the map surrounded by land. It is a flat map, so it does not wrap in any direction. I made a couple of small changes and toned down the start position a little bit because it looked too much like NC XXXI.
Spoiler :
small SPOILER comment on the map:
Spoiler :
The starting area is pretty good and you have two strong traits (IND/CRE) but the random AI's are strong in both tech and expansion. Don't sacrifice expansion trying to build every single wonder or you will probably regret it late-game. I'd say this one will be a little harder than average. I'm interested to see how everyone does.
Finally, a cut/paste of the standard NC doctrine:
There are no hard and fast rules here, fun and learning are our primary goals, but we do request that you update your progress at various points in the game, using the Spoiler feature of the boards.
Tentative posting updates are suggested at:
4000 BC (starting thoughts, no spoiler required for that discussion)
1000 BC or so (how you decided to progress up the early tech/build paths, which AIs you have met, etc)
500 AD or so (after establishing some cities and a possible plan of action)
1200 AD or so (mid-game, Lib race, wars or peace, or whichever happened or didnt, met other continent if applicable, etc)
1600 AD (or when you have decided on a course of action and a specific victory condition)
End of game (Victory!!! or defeat, no shame in losing, especially if you tried a higher level. Learning is what we focus on, not fastest win or biggest empire)
Remember, these are only guidelines. What we really want are your thoughts as the game goes on, so if your strats don't fall into line with those dates, feel free to adjust your reports accordingly.
We also welcome players to ask for specific game advice, as we have a number or stronger players who lurk and help out with solid tips, and of course, we help each other. Replies to specific questions should also be in spoilers, with a simple "@" in front of the person the answer is directed towards.
Special Thanks go to Bleys and TMIT, who really made this series a great one, r_rolo, mapmaker extraordinaire, for his maps for most of the series, and all of you for playing.
The WB-save is attached (zipped, they are bigger than standard saves). To play, simply download and unzip it into your BTS/Saves/WorldBuilder folder. Start the game, and load your favorite MOD (if you use one, if not, I suggest checking out the BUFFY MOD), select "Play Scenario", and look for "NC XXXII Louis XIV". This allows you to play with your favorite MOD at the Level and Speed of your choice. From Quick-Warlord to Marathon-Prince, all are welcome! We stuck with the name "Nobles Club" because it has a cool ring to it.
The WB save is attached; I created it by using TMIT's instructions, so if there are any problems it is his fault. j/k. It should work at all difficulty levels and speeds (now that I fixed the wb) -- and the starting warrior is not in the same location every time, but I will figure that out before I host another one.
Fingers crossed, hope everything works ok!
Edit: Ok, I think I fixed the wb file. I somehow only saved a couple of necessary changes (beginunit was still in there as was handicap= so the game would not level correctly. And the max turns was not set to 0 either). Apologies to anyone who downloaded the original or the one in post 4. What a mess! Darn you TMIT!
cas