Civ6 GotM Suggestion thread

[leif erikson]

We have created games for all the R&F and GS civilization in both difficulties. As we look ahead, we decided to give you a chance to request the games you would like to play for Game of the Month. We want to make Gathering Storm the standard for game creation with all dlc enabled.

Please tell us:
The Leader and Civilization
The Victory Condition
Map Type and Size
Difficulty Level
Game Speed
Options such as Goodie Huts, Barbarian settings and disaster intensity

We reserve the right to modify your ideas as large maps cannot always be played by players without high speed systems. Variety is a good thing, so we prefer a rotating the civilizations played as well as map type and difficulty levels.

As issues come up, we will work through them.

 

[kcd_swede]

I think you guys are doing a great job of mixing things up already, and cant think of any specific civ or map setting or vc that I'm missing. One thing I would like to see, though, is an occasional game with non-default settings (number of civs and city states for a given map size). I'd like to see what happens if you push the needle in either direction.

 

[Victoria]

The maps you make are great and the games are fun
You have been also great in choices of combinations
No complaints from me whatsoever

 

[guslaet]

Well, in order to be able to play other games, I only play the GOTM's. I play them all (even though I rarely have the time to post results). And I think they are fine.
Since we've gone through all the expansions, it would be nice if the leader selection started to be really random now including all of them.

And what about electing and including a few choice Civs from the Workshop, like Sukitract's, for instance? Perhaps with some agreed criterion (including balance regarding the official ones, 3D leaders, etc.)

 

[leif erikson]

And what about electing and including a few choice Civs from the Workshop, like Sukitract's, for instance? Perhaps with some agreed criterion (including balance regarding the official ones, 3D leaders, etc.)

Sorry, Game of the Month has always used the vanilla version with expansions only. Many people are uncomfortable with mods and the only time we have used them is for security purposes. Unfortunately, we do not have the .dll for Civ6 and so have been unable to create a security mod or a parser to put together a submission system.

 

[Velvet glove]

My preference would be not so large maps so there aren't excessive numbers of units and cities to manage, and the game can be completed in a more reasonable time but I don't mind the occasional epic game with max size and number of civs. Difficulty would be deity as I like a challenge even if I lose, but some prefer lighter games so variety there is good and it's fun to take it easy sometimes. But maybe it's possible to have different difficulties so we all play the same game but each at the difficulty they prefer - like by creating several saves using the same map seed and civ picks? Variety with everything else is good too.

I'm new and don't know if you are doing this already, but themed games are nice, which may involve some pre-editing of the map. Not necessarily to civs' strengths, for example Incas can start on an island and search for the promised land of the canyons.

Also, I saw that mods are not allowed and disabled them, but is there harm in allowing some select approved UI only ones? For example the trade routes with many cities become an endless list but there is a trade route mod that allows sorting by production, food, etc. and makes it easy to find what you want without much effort. Or there is a mod that shows the science per turn, culture per turn, etc that you can normally see in the rankings screen, but it displays it under each leader's portrait so you can get that info from a glance without having to go to rankings and move the mouse around. I would go through the extra effort if needed, but it would be a nice convenience to have.

 

[leif erikson]

We have discussed the use of mods and the problem is that many mods change game play. The easiest answer is to just say no mods are allowed as we do not know exactly what the different mods do within the game to mechanics or rules sets.

Themed games are difficult to create as the map mod tools (WorldBuilder) really are not available without the use of mods, which we do not use. Some day they may get a useful map editor out that we can use.

 

[arthur486]

@Velvet glove Science, culture & the rest is already under the leader portrait, you just have to enable the setting in the game options. Creating several 60tM, with different difficulty levels would not allow us to compare results, as we don't have enough submissions for that. Playing on Deity is very different than on King, and you have to vary your strategies. The best way to cut down micromanagement is to play in 6otM style, that is imagine that the other players (we) are your competition, not the AI, and try to beat us by winning the game as quickly as possible.

 

[Victoria]

are your competition, not the AI, and try to beat us by winning the game as quickly as possible.

? is GOTM a competition... maybe for some. To me first and foremost the games are fun to play so I play them. Second because others play you can compare and learn, this is why you should tell what you did and how you got there and answer any questions people ask. I make too many mistakes to play GOTM as a competition, sometimes I play a straight game, sometimes I play it a few times to learn what I could have done better. I do not want to be registered as a 'winner' and anyway there are exploits and ways to cheat regardless so its not serious until the dll can be altered to make it so.

 

[arthur486]

Of course it's not a competition per se and there are exploits, but since the game objective is to win, you strive do to it as quickly as possible, given the constraints (victory type, try out something new, don't use known exploits etc.). For me, trying to win "quickly" and comparing notes with other players is what makes it interesting. Otherwise, what's the point? I know that I can win any king-level 6otM on the first go without breaking a sweat, so the AI is not the real opponent for me, but time is. The problem is, to compare notes and times, you need a level playing field.

 

[Velvet glove]

@leif erikson I understand. It's difficult to know if a mod that claims to be UI only is really UI only or it influences indirectly some things in the background. I don't know what's going on under the hood of the game but from seeing how UI elements often don't update like on the tech screen you need to click on another tech and back, it certainly isn't robust coding so is potentially vulnerable in that regard.

@arthur486 Thanks, I wasn't aware of the vanilla game ribbon. And it also provides different information - the current cash/faith/etc balances which are very good to know in some situations. For the difficulty even with few submission I'd think it's interesting to compare across the difficulty levels and the main objective seems to have fun and the competition is there to help with that rather than the reverse and so it would work overall, but of course you have a much better overview of the whole thing and I'll happily go with what the organizers say.

 

[Minou]

I love GOTM because it forces me to avoid reload. I don’t reload combats but ok normal games I will reload if I misclick or forget to change policies before ending turn, so GOTM makes me slow down and think more each turn. It is also fun to see his others play the same map - I have learned a hundred little things from reading others reports.

One thing I would love to see is a One City Challenge game. It could even just be a normal game with that as recommended win condition so people who find it too difficult could play normally. Personally I love OCC for many reasons:

Much easier to keep track of everything with one city instead of 20+.

Really fun to plan out every tiles use in the early game, maxing adjacency, planning wonders, weighing a farm versus a neighborhood etc.

Legit chance the AI will actually win (in normal games you either get killed by 4 Warriors very early or walk right over the AI).

Last but not least who doesn’t love a 35 pop super city with 500 science and 200 production and all the districts?

 

[Minou]

By the way I would love to see OCC China in particular as their wonder building ability is great for getting up and running.

 

[Victoria]

OCC can be a bit tricky if you are just learning the game, especially on higher levels

 

[Bangau]

I would love an OCC challenge, but I doubt there are many out here that would actually play it. Maybe 5 or so players? It could be done as a 'special' GOTM to try it out once. Maybe with two starting options: one on prince level, one on deity.

 

[arthur486]

I would imagine a OCC game with a lower difficulty level (king-ish?), any victory condition goes, and the option to play it as OCC or "normally". This way, if you want a low difficulty level micromanagement extravaganza, you've got one . If you are still learning the ropes, play it as MCC (multiple city challenge ).

 

[leif erikson]

The biggest problem with setting up an OCC game is, once again, the lack of a good WorldBuilder so we can "create" a start location that will help players have a chance to be somewhat successful. Creating a save that is going to do nothing but create frustration for many players will not help them to play and learn and enjoy the experience.

Players can now set themselves a goal of OCC any time they want, but they have to take what they get for a starting location.

 

[Velvet glove]

One thing that can help is to use a custom script or a mod for the map generation as it applies only to the pre-game part. The save will then work normally on an unmodded game. I just created a very non-standard map including size with the Got Lakes mod, then quit the game, deleted the mod, and the save loaded and worked perfectly fine without it.

 

[Eyswein]

? is GOTM a competition... maybe for some. To me first and foremost the games are fun to play so I play them. Second because others play you can compare and learn, this is why you should tell what you did and how you got there and answer any questions people ask. I make too many mistakes to play GOTM as a competition, sometimes I play a straight game, sometimes I play it a few times to learn what I could have done better. I do not want to be registered as a 'winner' and anyway there are exploits and ways to cheat regardless so its not serious until the dll can be altered to make it so.

I think the compare and learn aspect is the best part of GOTM! I've definitely improved my game when folks put in details - how to start in any game and specific things that speed a particular win condition are always useful to all - and try to do the same every time I post now. I also play slower to focus on both strategy and tactics than I would in a game I can restart.

As far as what I'd like to see, I think the using of the new and different map types has been awesome on the last few. I'd like to see more of that - at least until it almost becomes routine, then mix it up. I tend to like standard game speed. Nothing specific on any particular leader/difficulty/disaster - mixing these up are nice. A unique requirement would also be good - such not just win by domination, but win a domination without war - i.e. with Eleanor's special ability that some did previously. I find any peaceful game difficult and almost always make war a key component of any strategy.

 

[Velvet glove]

I think the compare and learn aspect is the best part of GOTM! I've definitely improved my game when folks put in details -

This is the most interesting aspect for me too. If there is anything I'd request for the gotms is to get to more details somehow. The Qs posted in the Opening Actions and AAR threads are ok for a basic overview but don't lead to any details.

A more detailed reporting template could help - being optional so people who don't want to bother don't have to - or maybe people can be encouraged to have a Let's play thread where they can post anything they want throughout the play so they don't forget it, and at the end we can have a look at one another's threads. It's much easier to write down thoughts ongoing and to describe the interesting situations and choices than to think back about what happened after it's over.