[BTS] BOTM 207 Results and Congratulations

[DynamicSpirit]

So... 7 entries and only 3 winners... Tsk tsk. Comes to quite a thing doesn't it when less than half the GOTM community can defeat a measly little emperor game . (Except Seraiel who bravely took the challenger save). Y'know I might have to stop making maps if you guys can't cope with a few ickle difficulties.

Seriously, that was obviously a tougher game than I expected so well done! Basically if you won the game, you got a medal. @nocho gold for the only conquest, @krikav silver for the only diplo, and @Smiregal the bronze and the cow for the only space. @kcd_swede carried on to the bitter end to be rewarded by both ambulances. (His save is rather impressive - a domination loss to the Zulus, who had managed to vassal every other AI!). And @damnrunner - nice write-up in the spoilers. Where was your game?

Well done everyone!


Summary of Medal Winners:

nocho: 1650 AD Conquest Victory, 144,473 points.

krikav: 1615 AD Diplomatic Victory, 60,098 points.

smiregal: 1932 AD Spaceship Victory, 38,342 points.


Other Award Winners:

kcd_swede: 1956 AD Domination Loss, 1,809 points.


>> See the full results here.
>> See the updated global rankings here.
>> See the latest Pantheon of Heroes here.
>> You can see and compare graphic replays of all the submissions here.
>> Award symbols are listed here.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Here's where everyone settled.

So what was wrong with the spot the settler was standing on?

The Small Print:
The numbers by each player's name indicate the turn settled on (starting turn is 0). Players are colour coded by game class (challenger=red, adventurer=blue). Symbols indicate victory condition, if there's no symbol then the player either retired or was defeated. The yellow border indicates the land that was visible at the start of the game.

 

[kcd_swede]

Fastest domination award to Shaka.

 

[nocho]

I really enjoyed this one! Too bad that there were so few submissions, I guess it was quite a tough game for emperor. My game was also rather tough until breaking through the Mongols and then the Zulus were still a pretty hard nut to crack, not entirely surprised they took the fastest domination award as kcd says.

 

[LowtherCastle]

I looked at the settlement diagram and couldn’t for the life of me remember having played this game. That was odd. I looked on my computer and sure enough I had downloaded it. But I never opened it up and played it.

I remember opening 208 and thinking oh they skipped an emperor game and jumped. Straight to immortal. Of course now I understand why.

So of course I tried it out a little bit and it does look quite fun. Sorry I missed it.

 

[krikav]

Is there a cycle to difficulties..?
Are there other things that alternate too?

 

[kcd_swede]

Is there a cycle to difficulties..?
Are there other things that alternate too?

The rough outline is one low level (noble-monarch) starting on the 1st, and one high level (emp-deity) starting on the 15th each month. Not strictly followed in order as sometimes the map might be ridiculously inappropriate for the selected difficulty.

There are also special edition games around some holidays. I smell April 1 coming up...

And you could face an advanced unit in the ancient era, like a Humbaba, every now and then (but only on days ending in a "y").

 

[LowtherCastle]

There are also special edition games around some holidays. I smell April 1 coming up...

I suddenly noticed a seductive fragrance in the air…

 

[Xcalibrator]

I suddenly noticed a seductive fragrance in the air…

I usually think of Humbaba as smelling rather musky.

Regarding cycles of difficulty, etc., I hope there will be some smaller maps in our future--usually don't have time to finish standard or <cringe> large.

 

[Pangaea]

So... 7 entries and only 3 winners... Tsk tsk. Comes to quite a thing doesn't it when less than half the GOTM community can defeat a measly little emperor game . (Except Seraiel who bravely took the challenger save). Y'know I might have to stop making maps if you guys can't cope with a few ickle difficulties.

Can only speak for myself ofc, but I usually submit even if I don't have time to finish. It's never the case that I can't win (unless Deity), it's always due to not having enough time. Most likely that is the case for many others too. But for some reason I submit anyway, although it looks pretty ugly. "Oh, he 'lost' 14 games? Wow"

Congratulations to the winners and especially nocho with a solid win here

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Can only speak for myself ofc, but I usually submit even if I don't have time to finish. It's never the case that I can't win (unless Deity), it's always due to not having enough time. Most likely that is the case for many others too. But for some reason I submit anyway, although it looks pretty ugly. "Oh, he 'lost' 14 games? Wow"

Congratulations to the winners and especially nocho with a solid win here

I'm guessing you realised the paragraph I'm replying to was a joke. But I'm glad you submit anyway. And I don't think it looks ugly when your record shows losses/retired games submitted. When I see lost/retired games actually tend to respect the person more because it shows honesty - and that they aren't someone who only submits when they've won.

On a side note, I've sometimes idly wondered to myself whether on the submission page we should have an optional checkbox for retired games for people to say whether they retired because they had run out of time or because it wasn't going to be fun to play through to an inevitable loss (obviously that would be totally dependent on people's honesty).

 

[Powerfaker]

On a side note, I've sometimes idly wondered to myself whether on the submission page we should have an optional checkbox for retired games for people to say whether they retired because they had run out of time or because it wasn't going to be fun to play through to an inevitable loss (obviously that would be totally dependent on people's honesty).

I'm one of those who tend not to submit unfinished games. I do report about the ones I regard a loss in the spoiler threads, so I don't mind sharing that.
I think what holds me back from submitting these games is the loss awards. I don't really want my unfinished games to be judged in any way. They're just unfinished. And yes, playing out lost games to the end is a waste of time, so they will be among unfinished too. But you've dropped out of the competition and that's all there should be to it.
For the statistics and to show the mapmakers they're appreciated I would happily donate my unfinished files.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I'm one of those who tend not to submit unfinished games. I do report about the ones I regard a loss in the spoiler threads, so I don't mind sharing that.
I think what holds me back from submitting these games is the loss awards. I don't really want my unfinished games to be judged in any way. They're just unfinished. And yes, playing out lost games to the end is a waste of time, so they will be among unfinished too. But you've dropped out of the competition and that's all there should be to it.
For the statistics and to show the mapmakers they're appreciated I would happily donate my unfinished files.

Ah fair enough, thanks for the explanation.

If it makes any difference, you won't get any 'loss' awards for unfinished games. The two loss awards are the red ambulance (lowest scoring defeat) and the green ambulance (highest scoring defeat) - and those are specifically for defeats - they don't get given to retired games (to my mind, they kinda, in a fun way, honour people who play through to the end, although I appreciate not everyone would see them in that light). As an example, in this game, kcd_swede won the red ambulance despite there being several entries with lower scores - because all the lower scoring ones were retired games, not actual losses, and therefore didn't count for any awards.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Ah fair enough, thanks for the explanation.

If it makes any difference, you won't get any 'loss' awards for unfinished games. The two loss awards are the red ambulance (lowest scoring defeat) and the green ambulance (highest scoring defeat) - and those are specifically for defeats - they don't get given to retired games (to my mind, they kinda, in a fun way, honour people who play through to the end, although I appreciate not everyone would see them in that light). As an example, in this game, kcd_swede won the red ambulance despite there being several entries with lower scores - because all the lower scoring ones were retired games, not actual losses, and therefore didn't count for any awards.

I’m only submitting my defeats if they compete for the gold ambulance. (Just kidding)

 

[Powerfaker]

Ah, I wasn't aware the ambulances were specificly for played out defeats. That clears my objection. But then there is not a need for a retired games checkbox right?

 

[MarleysGh0st]

On a side note, I've sometimes idly wondered to myself whether on the submission page we should have an optional checkbox for retired games for people to say whether they retired because they had run out of time or because it wasn't going to be fun to play through to an inevitable loss (obviously that would be totally dependent on people's honesty).

I've missed a few games when I've been traveling (remember what it was like in the BC, when we could travel?) but all of my retired games fall into that inevitable loss category.

 

[LowtherCastle]

The rough outline is one low level (noble-monarch) starting on the 1st, and one high level (emp-deity) starting on the 15th each month. Not strictly followed in order as sometimes the map might be ridiculously inappropriate for the selected difficulty.

There are also special edition games around some holidays. I smell April 1 coming up...

And you could face an advanced unit in the ancient era, like a Humbaba, every now and then (but only on days ending in a "y").

So . . . April 1st Special discussion thread . . . ?

 

[kcd_swede]

So . . . April 1st Special discussion thread . . . ?

What are you talking about? That's been up for almost a week.

Spoiler :

April Fool's!!!

 

[Qactus]

@DynamicSpirit (and the other mapmakers)

I've never submitted a BOTM simply because I've never finished one. Nevertheless I really do appreciate playing them and sometimes comparing with notes from others.

Not finishing games for me is not at all specific to BOTM, it's the same for all the Strategy&Tips and homegrown games I start as well. It is just that the next map usually captures my attention and I abandon the game I was playing.

This particular game was a rare example where I abandoned the game because things were not going well - I had stolen a worker from Mongols while also settling towards them to claim the copper and failed to make peace.

But the recent Viking one for example I was in the middle of a super fun coastal raid and was really enjoying the game when the inevitable happened - It was suddenly much more compelling to ponder where to put my second city and how to shape my early tech path on a fresh map rather than move all those galleys and berzerkers around.

It's always like this, and realistically you won't ever see a submission from me. But rest assured that I highly enjoy the BOTM format as a quiet lurker and I'm really grateful for the work you keep putting into it.

 

[LowtherCastle]

In the recent past my reason for not submitting has been more mundane. My daughter suggested I use my phone as a hotspot. So I canceled my Internet provider. Then the phone wasn’t compatible with hotspots. Too old. So I had to go to Dunkin’ Donuts to upload. Hassle. Now I have a new phone and it’s a hotspot. so I try to remember to submit my efforts even when incomplete to acknowledge my appreciation for you administrators and map creators.