SGOTM 13 - Pre-game discussions

[AlanH]

If you have a strong preference, I suggest you check with the guys in that team if they would be happy to invite you. A team with eight or more members already *may* not be the best one to ask

If you get an invitation and want to take it up, please let me know and I'll update the list. Otherwise, I'll assign the unassigned players when we can see where the reinforcements are required.

 

[Gumbolt]

Phoenix Rising already has 10 players. I don't think we will be adding any more players unless already invited.

If a team of 8 or more is completely active you will be waiting a month or so between each turnset you play. Chances are if you don't know anyone in any of the teams theres no harm in letting Alan use his wisdom in allocating you. If you really wanted to join a particular team you could post in their SGOTM 12 thread .

I would like to think barbs have been left on as this is meant to be a more standard map. I would hope most could cope with a few archers and barb galleys at this level.

 

[cripp7]

@GB
You also have to remember about the ones who drop out or just disappear

 

[Gumbolt]

Alan!

Quick question on the announcment you made in S&T section. Can you not provide a link in the announcement you made? Not everyone may know how to find this section on the forum.

 

[AlanH]

If you mean the announcement that appears at the top of *every* forum under the Civ4 set, including this one, it links to a post. That post links to the Sign-up thread.

 

[AlanH]

Moderator Action: Discussion of test maps has been split from this thread.

Those posts are now here

 

[DynamicSpirit]

1. Random events are on?
2. Tribal villages?
3. Barbs?

The only non-default option is that vassals are disabled. You can deduce that means the answer to all your questions is 'yes'

 

[adrianj]

The only non-default option is that vassals are disabled. You can deduce that means the answer to all your questions is 'yes'

Random Events AND Tribal Villages are ON? Is that the final decision or is this up for discussion?

 

[DynamicSpirit]

In principle, any aspect of the map that is not visible in the published starting screenshot could be changed right up to the point that the maps are issued to the teams, but obviously late changes do imply more work for the staff. I think that to change game options now is possible but would require very strong reasons.

Remember btw that you do start on a tiny islands region of the map. That means that (other than if there are any tribal villages on the starting tiny island), going out and finding tribal villages early on would require a significant diversion of resources from other empire-building tasks.

 

[babybluepants]

I guess I can live with huts, given our start location, but I would definitely vote for Random Events OFF. They are against the spirit of competition, IMNSHO.

Last time (SG11), Plastic Ducks popped gems in Delhi. It didn't make a whiff of difference, because they utterly out-played everyone regardless of this. If it had been a close race, however, this particular event is the equivalent of 3-4t (?) off the research finish date.

 

[Mitchum]

I think both tribal villages and random events can easily sway the game enough one way or the other to be a critical factor in determining the top three finishers. Do we want to add additional random "luck" to these competitions?

Last time (SG11), Plastic Ducks popped gems in Delhi. It didn't make a whiff of difference, because they utterly out-played everyone regardless of this. If it had been a close race, however, this particular event is the equivalent of 3-4t (?) off the research finish date.

Even with random events turned off, can't you pop gems in a mined hill?

 

[pnp_dredd]

I never play with Random Events. Is it possible that an early random event could result in one team gaining a game-breaking advantage?

 

[babybluepants]

Even with random events turned off, can't you pop gems in a mined hill?

Oops, can you? Poor example, then...

Edit: Still, I'm strongly against random events.

 

[beestar]

I'd like to add my own voice in favour of removing both random events and huts. They're just too ... random. What if one of the AI pops the 'Vedic Aryan barbarians' events and gets itself wiped out?

And those Quests are annoying too ... some give out ridiculous awards.

 

[adrianj]

The Random Events can of worms again...
My preference is that they be turned off. But I'm pretty sure this discussion has been had on numerous occasions, and if DS explicitly wishes there to be some randomness in order for this game to play more like a "normal" game then I'm happy with that.
Might need to split this topic into it's own thread as well?

 

[shyuhe]

I'm not sure if everyone knows this, but BUFFY by default limits the available pool of random events. If I'm remembering correctly, the Vedic Aryan event is turned off, as are some of the other more game break events.

 

[Mad Professor]

Goody huts can make a few turns difference to a result, but not a lot. Some random events though can make a significant difference. I'm a little more nervous about them. These two things put together are not going to make the difference between first a last by a long shot, but they might swap first and second around if there was otherwise only 3-4 turns difference between them.

This is not an easy subject. One could argue that the RNG in battles could have the same effect. There is some luck in the game - it's not just skill alone even though we'd like to make it as much just skill as possible to decide between the teams. A bad string of RNG results in a critical battle could mean quite a few turns slower result if it means a city is not taken, and you have to get in another stack to take it, or you never in fact take it until some much later date. The answer is to send a stack that can take care of some bad luck and not rely on winning every battle - that's just good planning! However, the RNG could make the difference between some teams in a game with a military emphasis like this one, and there's nothing much we can do about that.

 

[LowtherCastle]

In general, I don't think random events are game changers if you understand the mechanics of them. There might be a few events or quests that should be disabled by the mapmakers, depending on the map characteristics.

 

[srad]

I would like too see both options off (but I don't consider them as game breakers).

 

[Fluroscent]

Random events off please! Even if they are unlikely to cause severe differences in the results, they are still a poorly balanced and poorly implemented feature that has no place in a SGOTM.

-Slave revolt in the early game can be quite disruptive. And don't say not to use slavery then..
-Bribe AI vs AI into a war only to see the war end the very next turn due to a wounded soldier
-Black pearls on the clams from a very early stage = huge advantage
-Etc etc etc.

That the old mine resource popping is there regardless is NOT a good argument to keep random events on.

None of these are fun, none of these are necessary. I am going to seriously consider unsigning for this SGOTM if they are left in. I have no desire to be forced to learn the mechanics of random events to maximize/minimize the random chances of stuff happening.

Huts, less of an issue since it seems we cannot pop any before sailing. But why is it on? Yes it is the default option, but veteran gamers prefer playing forum games without them for a reason.