beginner GOTM'er

[Ben E Gas]

Hello,

I'm new to the GOTM games. I just began GOTM20. So far it is great. I'm impressed. But I have a few questions that I couldn't find the answers to.

-When is my final save game due?
-Is that all I have to send in?
-How do I send in the history & score?
-I think I'm supposed to send in my save game, one turn before I win....or lose. How do I know when that will be? Sometimes it just happens without my control.
And if I send in the save game one turn after the end of the game, how exactly do I go about doing this? Do I just click on continue game?
-When joining discussion threads, how do I know when I'm welcome to join the discussion thread?


Thanks for your help,
Ben E. Gas

 

[JonathanValjean]

Welcome to the GOTM! You are going to love it! It is THE best thing in all of Civ Land, in my opinion.

Follow this link. It should answer all your questions.

http://gotm.civfanatics.net/gen/faq.shtml

 

[Borealis]

Welcome to the GOTM!

Many of the answers to your questions can be found at the following link:

GOTM FAQ Webpage

This, and other pages on the GOTM website, should help answer your questions regarding when to submit, and how to submit.

Most discussion threads are open for you to join at any time, with two exceptions:

1) After starting the GOTM, you should avoid posting in the 'pregame discussion thread' to save the moderators extra work in sorting out spoiler and non-spoiler posts.

2) The spoiler threads for the current GOTM will be opened up, and have a title, usually "Full Continent Map + Middle Ages" to give you a heads-up on how much you need to know before reading it. Cracker will have a post at the beginning of the thread detailing all the specific conditions you need to read and post in that thread, and any questions about that should be directed to him at gotm@civfanatics.net or via PM.

If you find anything that you can't answer on the FAQ page, the FAQ thread in the forum is one resource. Contacting the staff directly can be done through PM or email- cracker, Phillip_Martin, or myself would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Some of them are answered in that link, but others aren't.

For spoiler threads, you should get a general feeling about whether or not you can participate by the thread title. If you are uncertain, read Cracker's first post in that thread (you should read it all anyways, just to make sure you don't go beyond the limits of the spoiler thread, and understand the limitations).

In the GOTM web site, there is a link for 'submitting games' that has an automated form you should fill out with your name, score, victory condition, etc, and a spot for you to send your save from the turn before you lost (use the last auto-save), or the turn after you won (choose 'I want to keep playing', then save). Make sure you name those saves with words that use your CFC username,which game, and date.
Something like:
BenEGasGOTM20, 1500 AD.SAV
(the exact format should be stated in the automated form).

If you need to manually send the save directly to someone, then make sure you indicate your civfanatics username, and all the final game info (date of finish, victory condition, score, etc.)

 

[Dianthus]

The others have pointed you in the right direction, but I'm going to show off and prove I know the answers

Originally posted by Ben E Gas

-When is my final save game due?

Midnight the last day of the month. I've seen cracker post that midnight is for the latest timezone, so you might have some extra time after midnight in your timezone if you're cutting it fine. My first GOTM I only found this site on about 27th/28th, so I only had 2 or 3 long sessions before I lost then submitted!

Originally posted by Ben E Gas

-Is that all I have to send in?

There is a form to fill in that requests your name, save file(s), score, finish date, victory/loss type.

Originally posted by Ben E Gas

-How do I send in the history & score?

As above. When you say "history" I assume you mean the .sav file? You don't have to keep a log unless you're entering the QSC, but it's worth noting down key events so you can make accurate postings in the spoilers.

Originally posted by Ben E Gas

-I think I'm supposed to send in my save game, one turn before I win....or lose. How do I know when that will be? Sometimes it just happens without my control.

And if I send in the save game one turn after the end of the game, how exactly do I go about doing this? Do I just click on continue game?

Either is OK. I normally have trouble knowing when I'm going to lose, so the game could end at any point . When it asks if you want to continue say yes, then save. If you forget (I've accidentally said "no I don't want to continue") then you can always use the autosave for the turn prior to the finish. It's worth zipping this up as the autosaves are uncompressed.

You're also supposed to keep save files on or around certain points in case there are any queries from the GOTM staff. The dates are :

2000 BC
1000 BC
10 AD
1000 AD

 

[AlanH]

[Deleted - Cross-posted with everyone else ]

 

[Ben E Gas]

Thank you everyone. That was a big help.

I look forward to finishing the GOTM. A great feature of Civ3. Congrats to the creators.

I don't use the auto save function. Maybe I should enable it just in case.

Another question:

-What is stopping people from cheating? ie playing the game, loseing, then playing again after knowing what happens. Or using a trainer., etc.

 

[Bamspeedy]

Ben, your last question about cheaters can be easily answered by looking at one of the recent threads in this forum. There are ways to see how often people reload, and if they use any external tools.

Any more information about that can be found in other threads, or PMing a staff member (although they probably won't reveal all the ways they have of finding cheaters, to prevent people from finding ways to get around it).

 

[Renata]

Originally posted by Ben E Gas


I don't use the auto save function. Maybe I should enable it just in case.

It's a good idea, unless you're already in the habit of saving frequently. The autosave saved my bacon in GOTM17, when I had a crash-type situation many dozens of turns from my most recent manual save.

Renata

 

[Svar]

This looks like a good thread to ask this question. This is my first GOTM and I started playing but forgot that I was supposed save at 2000 BC. I play at home and after I discovered the error I was already at 1350 BC so I saved there. Than because of some action happening during the game I didn't get the 1000 BC save until 950 BC. I played until 10 AD the first day so was able to get that one right. That was also the first save that I restarted from. Will I have a problem submitting this game when I finish for score?

 

[JonathanValjean]

Originally posted by Svar
This looks like a good thread to ask this question. This is my first GOTM and I started playing but forgot that I was supposed save at 2000 BC. I play at home and after I discovered the error I was already at 1350 BC so I saved there. Than because of some action happening during the game I didn't get the 1000 BC save until 950 BC. I played until 10 AD the first day so was able to get that one right. That was also the first save that I restarted from. Will I have a problem submitting this game when I finish for score?

Welcome to CFC and to the GOTM! Although I'm not a staff member, I have seen similar incidents in the past. Essentially, it is a good idea to have those saves in case the GOTM staff has questions about your game. I think you are just fine, especially since you do have the 950BC save. Play on! Good luck!

 

[ipris]

thanks for that answer jonathanvljean... i was curious myself.

 

[alamo]

Originally posted by Ben E Gas
....
-When joining discussion threads, how do I know when I'm welcome to join the discussion thread?
...

Welcome, Ben E Gas.

This has got to be the BEST question I have ever heard from a new person.

Most people just barge right on it and post if they get the urge.

Sometimes discretion is the better part of honor, though, especially in the OT forum.

I await your post in the how-I-got-my-name thread.

Where did THAT come from?

 

[AlanH]

Originally posted by alamo

Sometimes discretion is the better part of honor, though, especially in the OT forum.

After that warning, I hardly dare post this question, but what is the OT forum? I've seen it mentioned a couple of times, but I never did find one with those initials.

 

[alamo]

Scroll to the bottom at the top level forum page:

Off-Topic Forum Abandon all hope ye who enter - u prolly waste ur hole day!

I especially like this 1: Star Trek Quiz #3

The main danger are those inflamator posters who start a provocative thread and leave. They just bait people to start flaming each other.

B4 I forget: FAQ Thread

The acronym list is helpful, among other things (post 11).

 

[AlanH]

Thanks for clearing that up for me Alamo. I nearly got sucked in and disappeared without trace, but I'm back now, almost unscathed.