COTM 05 Pre-Game Discussion

[Roland Ehnström]

No spoiler info please

Um, I havn't even downloaded the save yet - the above is just guesses.

-- Roland

 

[akots]

Solenoozerec in Russian means something like "Man living in a place (hut, village, town, city, metropolis) called Salt Lake" apparently with a salt lake near by.

I'll wait for a few days before downloading just in case ...

 

[bradleyfeanor]

Well, if three are going for an Ancient Age Conquest, maybe I will make it four. Could be fun. My only other option would be 100k, since I have never tried it.

Is the only rule for AAC that we ourselves cannot enter the MA? Or is there more to it than that?

EDIT: PS: If the people trying the Ancient Age conquest change the class they are playing (open or conquest) given the change in attributes, please post. Right now I guess I will go with open, since that is what the Big Dog is playing.

 

[RFHolloway]

... And this months sponsored variant is Ancient Age Conquest... (its beginning to sound more and more like SGOTM!). Sounds like the answer to the preditor thread was if preditor doesn't appeal then pick the sponsored variant!

Not that I'm going head to head with sirpleb again! COTM4 was a good enough performance for me - even if I did rush the end (playing again from 400AD to see if could have finished fast enough with a more aggresive strategy)

I thought it might be worth a pop at my first 20k, will have a scout around first though.

 

[Xevious]

Just something I noted in a quick practice game that might not be intuitively obvious. You can capture workers with a Chasqui scout WITHOUT triggering a GA. As long as you can keep your scout from accidentally winning a fight this might be a good way to get some an early free worker or two. In my practice game I stole the worker and then gave the civ (Ottomans in this case) Ceremonial Burial as soon as I could to make peace.

 

[smackster]

I'll go for the open class AAC too, just for the fun of comparing my pitiful attempt against SirPleb. Now let me think about the tactics a bit, horses and lots of them, try to keep AI out of MA, cut their iron, forget the republic slingshot, seems pretty simple.

smackster

 

[Ronald]

The AAC sounds like a fun game. I will try that too.

Ronald

 

[WackenOpenAir]

I just wanted to do this gotm, now everyone is gonna play AAC and if i don't, i will be a loser even if i get gold

 

[grs]

Nah, I guess I go diplo again

 

[denyd]

With all those conquest/domination attempts by the elites, I might be able to get the lowest scoring space race medal (if there is such a thing).

 

[solenoozerec]

Solenoozerec in Russian means something like "Man living in a place (hut, village, town, city, metropolis) called Salt Lake" apparently with a salt lake near by.

Correct, brother
This is my last post and my last visit of this forum before I finish the game (though, do not know when I will start it yet). AAC means no visiting any spoilers including the first one until game is over, right?
Since there are so many people going for AAC, my last suggestion is to use an optional image that will identify those who play it in spoilers:

at http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads8/aac.gif

 

[SirPleb]

that the AAC appeals to a few people! We should thank (or blame ) solenoozerec for this idea, and Birdjaguar for making it a challenge

I suggest that the only rule for AAC be as bradleyfeanor said, "we ourselves cannot enter the MA". I.e. we may not learn every required Ancient tech. This seems a tad more interesting than saying that we may not learn any Middle Ages tech - this way we really don't enter the Middle Ages and we can't directly see what Middle Ages tech any other Civ has. I think that the goal is a conquest or domination win but that this doesn't have to be a rule. (If anyone can get a space, diplomatic, or 20k win out of this that would be quite something 100k culture seems possible but tedious, and histographic without railroads seems pointless.)

About heading for Monarchy: I've tried it on a couple of maps and I think it is worthwhile to get there via the Philosophy slingshot. While researching directly toward it along the Ceremonial Burial, Mysticism, Polytheism path it is a good bet to be able to get Alphabet and Warrior Code from other Civs or from huts. After learning Polytheism it may be that Writing is available for trade. If it is not, researching Writing and then Philosophy to get Monarchy for free is still cheaper than researching just Monarchy. The tricky part in an AAC game will be trading for the other techs one wants without giving away much, i.e. minimizing the amount the other Civs get helped in their research.

This is probably my last post on this thread, I'm going in soon, see you in the spoiler!

I just wanted to do this gotm, now everyone is gonna play AAC and if i don't, i will be a loser even if i get gold

No you won't! From what we know in advance (it might look different later) I think the AAC approach has a fair shot at the gold. So does non-AAC and so does an approach which starts AAC and then gives up on it. If you get the gold you will have earned it!

 

[Birdjaguar]

...and Birdjaguar for making it a challenge

If this means I have to compete against Sir Pleb for an AAC win, I think I'll spend the month in OT debating the exisitence of god. At least I have a chance there.

 

[smackster]

No you won't! From what we know in advance (it might look different later) I think the AAC approach has a fair shot at the gold. So does non-AAC and so does an approach which starts AAC and then gives up on it. If you get the gold you will have earned it!

The good thing about a voluntary variant, is in this case, if its going really badly you can throw it out and move in the MA to finish the game, and still get a reasonable score. That is what I'll do if I find my horses facing Muskets.

 

[denyd]

There are a couple of conditions I would expect to precude an AAC game being sucessful.

1. If the start has no iron or horses anywhere within reach.
2. Having the Greeks, Carthage (top defenders that don't need iron) nearby
3. Having Rome, Persia, Celts or Rome far from your core with iron
4. Having a remote tribe (think Australia) that would need caravels to find

As for victory conditions, using ICS on a panagea map (with Temple of Artemis) and libraries & colleseums for all, a 100K win should be possible if they Ruler was inclined to refrain from an all out warmonger game.

Edit: BTW: I don't think that any of the no-way conditions will be found in COTM 5 - I'm expecting the immediate neighbors to be the Maya, Aztecs, America, Iroquois with Spain, Portugal & England on the far away coast.

 

[AlanH]

4. Having a remote tribe (think Australia) that would need caravels to find

[snip]

with Spain, Portugal & England on the far away coast.

I though a pangeia was a single continent? Would there be a far away/remote anything across the ocean?

 

[denyd]

I've played a couple of panagea games where there was a single AI on an island (see League of Ordinary Gentlemen). It seems that the amount of water %, if it's high, will cause that isolated AI case to occur. I had it happen to me once (I was the Gilligan) with the Aztecs on a Standard game trying a HOF game. Needless to say, I abandoned it as soon as I found out the conditions. Since Ainwood reviews these games, it's quite unlikely he'd have chosen those conditions for the Inca (for the Dutch yes).

 

[Doc Tsiolkovski]

I just wanted to do this gotm, now everyone is gonna play AAC

Na, 20k OCC culture

 

[eldar]

I had thought about the 100K attempt, myself. Get a settler out fast, get Masonry by hook or by crook, and start a pre-build for ToA in my second city.

Neil.

 

[CivEconomist]

I'm truly looking foward to starting this, my first GotM. I feel somewhat intimidated I think by all the strategizing. I don't think I ever really get the kind of score needed for upper level finishes (course I've never tried before either) I think I should practice milking a bit, hmm... anyway I can't think of a much better starting location to give my first shot. Question btw: is it still 300 posts to use a custom avatar?