PolyCast Episode 344: Just Shut Up and Go With It!

[CanusAlbinus]

The three hundred-and-forty-fourth episode of PolyCast, “Just Shut Up and Go with It“, features regular co-hosts CanusAlbinus, Stephanie “Makahlua”, Philip “TheMeInTeam”, and Jason “MegaBearsFan” Grade with guest co-host DanQ and discusses the following:

Open Mic
- 00h02m40s | Details on the Future of PolyCast

News
- 00h06m26s | Discussion of a Polygon Article about Maps in Civilization VI
- 00h22m00s | Peace in Mozambique includes a Live Orchestral Rendition of Baba Yetu
- 00h27m50s | Ed Beach to Appear on a PAX West Panel August 30, 2019

Senate
- 00h35m55s | Analysis of the Unique Unit Elimination Thread on CivFanatics.

Misc.
- 01h21m29s | A Retrospective on Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri after 20 Years
- 01h31m36s | A 2K Survey from August of Civilization Players

PolyCast is a bi-weekly audio production recording live every other Saturday at 12 Noon US Eastern Time throughout the year, in an ongoing effort to give the Civilization community an interactive voice; sibling show ModCast focuses on Civ modding, TurnCast on Civ multiplayer.


The next live recording is scheduled for September 7, 2019.

 

[Victoria]

I recommend a listen to the Unique Unit Elimination Thread analysis - It answers why there is such a difference in voting and choice. Even with investigation so much is missed about the benefits of units and a lack of knowledge playing the civs. Also the rules of the voting thread.
Not sure how many panel members play much anymore and that degrades the interest in it being a civ Polycast. Its also a lot of unenthusiasm when it comes to talking about civ.

 

[Whiterussian]

I only just realised how much i missed DanQ on Polycast...
@Canus i hope you get well soon!

 

[CanusAlbinus]

I recommend a listen to the Unique Unit Elimination Thread analysis - It answers why there is such a difference in voting and choice. Even with investigation so much is missed about the benefits of units and a lack of knowledge playing the civs. Also the rules of the voting thread.
Not sure how many panel members play much anymore and that degrades the interest in it being a civ Polycast. Its also a lot of unenthusiasm when it comes to talking about civ.

Believe it or not, only one of us doesn't play Civ actively, and he does his due diligence keeping up with things on the forum. It should be mentioned that all of us are working full-time jobs and have outside responsibilities that make playing large amounts of Civ difficult.

The lack of enthusiasm in this case is due to a number of things that mostly boil down to the format of the show. We're used to having editing done afterward and thus we have a habit of pausing for a few seconds between statements from alternating members. Having shifted to a live format, this is awkward and somewhat annoying, but it is also a problem that (hopefully) will be resolved in a few shows when we're more used to it.

To be entirely fair, the UU discussion actually lasted much longer than it was supposed to. The topic was originally supposed to focus on the top 8 and bottom 8 of the list, but we got derailed somewhere. I hope to avoid that type of problem in the future (again, new format, need more experience!).

I'm sorry if you felt the show was not up to snuff. We will be working to do better in the future!

 

[TheMeInTeam]

I only just realised how much i missed DanQ on Polycast...
@Canus i hope you get well soon!

Even though the new team is good, I miss all the old members that were around when I was. People bring different things to the table and while each of us has replaced a roster slot of a regular at some point (sort of excepting Maki), we have our own takes and don't actually replace the person who left outright. DanQ, MadDjinn, QNL, Imran, etc...they all brought something to the show. In a perfect world we could keep everyone at the same time and somehow not have that turn into a cluster. But it's like people have lives outside of gaming or something. Unfortunate.

I recommend a listen to the Unique Unit Elimination Thread analysis - It answers why there is such a difference in voting and choice. Even with investigation so much is missed about the benefits of units and a lack of knowledge playing the civs. Also the rules of the voting thread.

I've had beef with voting thread rationale *actually used* dating back even to the Civ 5 times. It's SUPPOSED to be a flat strength/usefulness rating, but that isn't how votes actually happen and despite that said votes are still counted. Note that when a unit being available is a central consideration to its usefulness, which is why stuff like the Minas Gereas being so high is egregious. I'd also like to point out that in a thread rating the strength *and* usefulness of UUs, you seriously claimed that the ability to generate builders shouldn't count. Is that supposed to not be useful? Last I checked it was helping put Aztec pretty high in people's tier lists for Civs.

It's true that Civ 6 has a ton of units, some of them DLC, and that makes it hard to have played every single unit and know its nuances even if I were more active. Still, there are obviously inconsistencies in the UU ratings/reasoning for them (which you aren't even allowed to point out & debate in such threads in any detail ).

 

[Eagle Pursuit]

A beef about the Minas Gireas: I played Brazil shortly after that thread. And while it can be unlocked quite early, you still can't build any until you get Coal.

 

[Victoria]

Having shifted to a live format, this is awkward and somewhat annoying, but it is also a problem that (hopefully) will be resolved in a few shows when we're more used to it.

Thanks, that answers the silences anyway. But when even themeinteams sarcasm is delivered in a really slow bored voice it loses its biting lustre.
The fact that Legions and toa’s Build forts (the toas fort has special abilities and is +4 era) is not the point, because they can build a fort means they can repair tiles. The toa is zero maintenance and the Naru has been dropped from 3 to 2 maintenance are things worthy of note if it’s going to be informative. The fact that Toas move at sea 4 tiles which for attacks is often faster than horse is also of note as is their ability to retreat to sea and aid sea combat. It is only when you see a whole unit do you appreciate it.
The city states conversation felt particularly lost. Is there benefit in using live? It seems the shift is showing cracks that may often otherwise be hidden?

 

[TheMeInTeam]

Editing is a powerful drug, as someone who used to post a ton of YT videos...some with editing and others w/o. It's also a crippling time commitment. I do expect that we'll do substantially better after adjusting to the expectations of a live format. While that gap can't be closed entirely, experience can mitigate it.

Though it's also true that since MadDjinn left and I only play rarely we don't have someone with elite game knowledge right now. I say this despite that I can beat deity, because I can't beat deity in competitive timeframes. I can give advice when it comes to reasoning how to make choices in the moment of a game, or unit micro, but I don't have all the details of each UU on hand in memory, and you NEED that to make specific rankings or tips about using units...especially in real time when considering between multiple things in a tier. Plus that segment was already running long.

It's sort of like how in Civ 4 protective was actually a pretty strong trait for a while due to how overflow worked, even though most players would claim it was always bad. Or how many players just straight up underestimated both the efficiency of skirmishers *and* their direct threat, because in SP nobody plays that way.

 

[DanQ]

I only just realised how much i missed DanQ on Polycast...

Thank you for the kind words, WR.

I was glad that my schedule, and that of the show's, aligned so that I could follow through on my intent to being a guest should I be invited.