"Conquest, Open, or Predator?" Division Discussion

[Renata]

@ Peanut: I the Luggage. Couldn't you just see those treasure chest lids taking a bite out of anyone reaching in?


Predator for me from now on, unless the variant or restrictions happen to be something I don't like, in which case I may well invent something of my own. I get too lazy without the challenge.

Renata

 

[Darkness]

I think I'll just make game-by-game decisions. Predator for the easy levels and open for the harder levels, I think.... I'll just decide when I see the starting location posted by cracker....

 

[CdB]

I will keep playing with standard Open Class at any level. GOTM challenge is sufficient enough and I learn in all games. I will try to go for the early archer rush. I still need to manage better my game and do not need the pressure of Predator opponent.

 

[pterrok]

Well, have any of you ever played in the Tournament? There is a VERY interesting revelation going on over there in this thread.

Go to page 2 and read the 12th post down by Cracker. "Looking forward to what you will see in the coming three months." (Or read the whole thread if you have the time!) I'm not pasting the whole thing into here so that Cracker can make an official announcement when the time is ripe.

 

[mabellino]

I played conqest for GOTM20 because I've never played a deity game before.. I also played GOTM19 and that was my first game above warlord.. I lost both games but got into the modern age which is better than I had done previously!
I'm going to play open on all difficulty levels except Deity unless people percieve an emperor game to be a "difficult" emperor.. (apparently GOTM19 was seen as less difficult than normal emperor)
I personally feel I will learn more by playing a slightly harder game and I've just moved up to regent for my non-GOTM games..

 

[OneFastWarrior]

Well, since the only games I have finished since I started playing gotm back on gotm 17 have been the gotm's. and I lost them all

I must be a wimp and be the only player stating that "I will only play conquest until I have 1, maybe 2 victories under my belt"

I have been learning more each month and now I have gotten into SG's also to help my learning.

I can feel a win coming, I really can

 

[cracker]

Originally posted by OneFastWarrior
I can feel a win coming, I really can

I can feel it too. Keep up the good play and you will be rewarded by rising to the challenge while having fun. Remember also that 17, 18, 19, and 20 were on an upward ramp interms of difficulty level.

I think you would be amazed at where you are if you take a time warp back to February and look at how you would play your last game before Gotm17 if you had it all to do over again.

Good luck in Gotm21.

 

[OneFastWarrior]

Originally posted by cracker


I think you would be amazed at where you are if you take a time warp back to February and look at how you would play your last game before Gotm17 if you had it all to do over again.

Good luck in Gotm21.

Trust me, I am amazed almost everytime I go back to a game I had been playing, this is one of the reasons that I have not completed any other games than gotm. I go back and look at a game I had started and wonder, "what was I thinking?"

Tahnks for the encouragement Cracker, I really enjoy these gotm's. In fact I really was enjoying gotm20 until I made a huge mistake. but 4 months ago, I would not have realized my mistake(s)

 

[King Of America]

I'll be playing Conquest for a bit longer, too. The bonuses helped stay competitive for the first part of the game, but I've got to pick up my mid-game (suggestions are welcome).

 

[cracker]

Here is a link to the

Gotm21-Mediterranean Melee Conquest Class Bonus Descriptions

to help faciltate making final decisions as to what level you may play at in the upcoming game.

 

[Ghostwind]

I had never won on Deity until I played GOTM20 (my first GOTM)on conquest. Having said that, I usually quit Deity games because I end up so far behind technologically. Because this was a GOTM, I stuck it out and caught up in time to win the space race. I wonder now if I could have done that on my regular games.

Is it normal to get killed technologically for most of the game on Deity?

Anyhow, I didn't really use any of the conquest helpers except, obviously, the settler and worker (having not done my research, I didn't know what treasure and defender did, so I left them alone). From now on I'll play 'Open' all the time. I doubt I am ready for Predator, in any case.

I have no clue what this 'tournament' stuff is. I guess I'll have to look around and see.

I've only been playing Civ III for a few months, but I played Civ II for years and years. Honestly, I am thinking maybe I actually like Civ II a little better.

Ghostwind (post #2!)

 

[simonsezz]

First I'd like to thank cracker and company for the great site and all the work. I'd actually mothballed civ for Warcraft3 till i got into this site and played a WW11 mod which led to game of the month 19, my first..a win......which led to buying PTW which led to gotm 20 in ptw open class, not done but will be another win...which will lead to playing 5 new civs in next 5 months...never played greeks and next are vikings arabs koreans and mongols...just got ptw last month so with gotm haven't even thought of trying these yet. Sooo much more interesting to play with the mods, tweaks, and well considered built in challenges as well as to compare my results to others..... not incredible yet but winning and improving, thanks in no small part to a lot of the threads re: opening play sequences, AI attitudes, etc. thanks cracker and all you regulars as well.
In closing and ON topic for the thread, not sure yet but I think I'll stick to open for now till I can improve in the rankings a bit, only 133rd in gotm 19, but i've always hated how slow those creaky galleys are so it's very tempting........guess I'll wait for full game parameters announcement before deciding for sure.
Only negative comment is I probably would try predator if there was a scoring bonus to help offset my lack of experience....would seem to be just as easy to add a bonus for predator as the penalty for conquest? Also would make comparing between class scores more meaningful and accurate imho. Just a thought.

 

[drewshark]

I think I will play Open Class until I can win consistently on Deity. I did pull out my first win on deity in GOTM 20 and it has been a huge confidence builder (I have a feeling that was a big goal of Cracker in this Deity game). Anyway, I will continue on Open until I can win a game in each of the six victory conditions. I have won every GOTM game via Domination, Space Ship or Diplomacy. I have never won by conquest, due to domination triggering or by cultural, usually the ship needs to be launched first to prevent a loss. Until, I learn these things as well as better micromanagement and setting up a proper settler factory, I think Open class is where I belong and will stay.

 

[denyd]

After playing GOTM 20 on Conquest, since I'd never won a diety level game, I'll think I'll play open for GOTM 21. The additional benefits of conquest should be more than I need to win at Monarch. I normally win at monarch, but I haven't got enough games under my belt to be ready for predator yet.

I'd also like to thank Cracker & Co for a very enjoyable GOTM 20. I'm not sure if I'll win or lose (at about 900AD0 or even finish, but it's been a very fun and educational game so far.

 

[Gnat]

Yet another wimp who will play Conquest until he gets one or two wins under his belt.

I believe the Conquest bonuses made a big difference to GOTM20, until I lost it in the middle game. Once I can get the later stages more settled and playing better, then I will move up to Open.

However, if the level of the game is below Emperor, I believe I will forgo the Conquest bonuses, since I think my game has improved enough (just through 2 GOTMs), to give me a better chance of winning those.

 

[cracker]

One thing to emphasize in the decision to play Conquest, Open, or Predator Class games is that the process has a built in self-assessment "Quality Control" factor.

If you play in any game and score in the upper 50% of the general game rankings, then you give up the ability to play the reduced difficulty Conquest Class games for score.

The key point here is that a player who can score in the upper 50% of the player pool compared to all other players should not be playing games down at the Conquest Class game level for comparison to other players.

You will probably see som clearer examples of this self limiting process when we publish the Gotm20 results.

One thing that this slef limiting process means is that players in the middle of the player pool should probably play in the open class or higher in order to preserve the option of playing an open class game when and if a really difficult game setup comes along. If a moderate skill level player just plays down at Conquest in an attempt to artificially boost their overal ranking in the player pool, then you will see the limit kick in and basically cutoff their ability to play the Conquest Class game when they really need it.

Determining if you have scored in the top 50% of any prior GOTM game is a fairly simple task that you can complete by just checking your previous game results in the results tables.

 

[kryszcztov]

This is not 100% sure, but I think I will play Open in the next GOTMs. I'm starting to do quite fine on Deity, but I don't need extra pressure or challenge, even on lower levels. In fact, I want GOTMs to be a challenge to do the best of any game, difficult or easy. For GOTM 21 on Monarch, I'm pretty confident I will win the game (I just have to avoid calling an undecided UN vote ; it scares me to lose a Diplomatic victory where I just have to continue a little and launch my spaceship), but I'll go for Open to see how I do, compared to other players, without the need to make extra effort (special rules or victory...). BTW, I may try those Epic games too, and I think I'll use them to try special games.

Continue the good work. Long live GOTM !

 

[DaveShack]

I'm another example of a player who hasn't been keeping up with the increasing difficulty levels: 2 spaceship losses, and 2 times the AIs ganged up on me.

On the plus side, this has forced me to learn the game and not just randomly try things to see what works. As a result, I'm now winning Monarch more often than not, instead of struggling on Regent.

I'll try Open this time around, and this time I'll have the discipline to wait for last month's QSC results before starting. Of course being away from home until 7/8 will help with that too... So this month there will be at least one data point on the success of pushing people beyond their normal limits as a learning process.

 

[TheFounder]

I'll play easiest class - Conquest, because I'm new here. But I don't think, that there may be some difficulty in it for me... All serious players play in harder classes, so I could even win in Conquest!

 

[cracker]

Originally posted by TheFounder
I'll play easiest class - Conquest, because I'm new here. But I don't think, that there may be some difficulty in it for me... All serious players play in harder classes, so I could even win in Conquest!

Founder, since you say that you easily win 3 out of 5 games on Diety, I would definately not recommned that you play Conquest. Being new here has nothing to do with the process of honestly assessing your skill level and choosing the game that is appropriate for you experience and abilities.

The Conquest Class is not designed for you and would reflect the process of making an inappropriate choice for any player that might reasonably feel comfortable at Monarch level or above.

The Conquest class game in this month's event should be reserved for those players who are some what less experienced or playing at Warlord or perhaps an early Regent skill level.