COTM 13 Pre-game Thread

[Renata]

Ahem. *taps microphone* Is this thing on?

Ah, yes. See, it's like this. I had so much fun with COTM 9 that I decided I'd like to try this whole mapmaking gig again. Ainwood, of course, was absolutely thrilled to get the month off. Sadly, this unaccustomed joy must have shorted out his brain, because he didn't give me so much as a single "thou shalt not" for guidance.

Silly of him.

So, I made a very nice map. It plays like a dream ... on Monarch.

COTM13: France

• Deity
• standard world
• 7 opponents
• continents, 60% water
• wet/warm/3 billion
• No barbs (what, you were expecting raging? )

Seriously, for those of you who play both GOTM and COTM and who find Deity a bit much to handle, I do apologize for subjecting you to two such games in a row. I take full blame.

For those of you who enjoy a challenge now and again, I hope this game lives up to expectations. If you do like it, please spread the credit around to Mad-bax, Karasu and A Space Oddity, all of whom contributed mightily to any playability this map may have. (The first version was not pretty. )

Starting bonuses for Conquest players:
Extra units: one settler and two scouts
Extra cash: 25g for unit support
Extra starting tech: pottery
AI/AI trade rate is reduced to emperor level.

The challenge for Predator players:
To work hard for your golden age. The golden age trigger is removed from the Musketeer, and the Industrious flag is removed from the Hoover Dam and Manhattan Project great wonders.

Vive la France!

Renata

 

[MeteorPunch]

Looks like fun, the musketeers are one of my favorites. Now do we settle on the hill, or 1 NW?

 

[ainwood]

Stuckified.....

Well, doesn't quite look like an easy 4-turn warrior/settler factory. There is a bit of gold around, and with a commercial civ, it might be possible to get some good research going. 1NW does seem a good option, but the general lack of food is concerning. Might want to have a look around first - worker west to mountain?

 

[juballs2001]

wow. looks like a challenge

 

[solenoozerec]

I am still very deeply in GOTM43 and there is a pre game discussion for this one.

Bad news:
Second deity in a raw;
60% water
no food resources
no lux resources

What are good news?
I think of only one – Renata designed this map, so all deity AI may be somewhere very far. They will fly away to space before they destroy us.

Plan: no plan yet, but I will settle at the spot unless interesting and confident information will arrive from fog-gazers.

Second Ainwood in that we might have a tiny chance to try a slingshot.

 

[Darkness]

Now do we settle on the hill, or 1 NW?

On the hill. Moving one NW would gain nothing, IMHO

 

[cas]

Maybe I can take a couple of things learned in GOTM43 deity and make it to gunpowder so I can build a muskateer. Heh.

Any chance we can see the location on the world map ? Probably won't make a difference with the Renata custom design...

Vive la France ? More likely 'Mort la France' in my game.

cas

 

[Renata]

I was planning to do that and forget to grab the relevant screenshot. You're in the lower right part of the map, not right in the corner but not too far away, either. I'll add the minimap later tonight if have time.

Renata

 

[Gato Loco]

Pardon me if I'm wrong but it looks like there's just hills and plains-forest to the NW. I'd rather settle in place and hope those grassland-forests chop down to reveal BGs. It looks like timing forest chops will be a big deal, since the timber's pretty much the only resource we have to start. The question is whether to go for the slingshot directly and risk not getting pottery in a trade. On the bright side, once we're out of despotism and the city's siize 12 with irrigation and mines everywhere, it'll be a shield powerhouse. Of course, it'll probably belong to someone else at that point.

 

[WarDance]

That mountain to the east is beckoning... I may have to go climb and have a look

 

[Renata]

I added a minimap to the first post.

Renata

 

[DaveMcW]

There are so many research strategies to choose from. And thanks to that 5-trade gold hill, most will actually work. The research numbers are beaker cost.

Pottery (80) for an early granary. If you want to trade for pottery instead, you can use the Pyramids as a prebuild (just don't chop any forest).

Writing (320), Philosophy (240) for a very good chance at a free tech.

Mathematics (320), Currency (640) for 2 techs the AI often ignores.

and of course,
Writing (320), Code of Laws (400), Philosophy (240), Republic,
which is possible if no AI starts with Alphabet.


Tip: if your first build is 2 warriors, road the bonus grassland before mining.

 

[Dynamic]

Deity...Very interesting what will be a predator "bonus"?

 

[Obormot]

Deity is cool. I enjoyed playing GOTM43. It's really more fun to play when you don't know the outcome of the game right from the beginning.

 

[Megalou]

In all fairness, there haven't been that many deity games lately. So . Now we even get one presumably without early food bonuses - I doubt many people will have the guts to leave that hill. If you do, how long will it be until you can work it - heck with no food bonus to compensate for the food shortage you get when you work it?

I'll have a closer look at the fog once the saves are out, but I doubt that I'll move even for a deer.

Republic slingshot could be tough, and these words will probably leave an echo in that respect:

It plays like a dream ... on Monarch.

I for one will not research pottery unless no AI has it. I'll hope for food bonuses in the fog for 2nd and 3rd towns and then granaries will still be delayed. Settler production in capitals has been getting too automatic for me anyway. It shouldn't be too bad to let the capital grow. We can give it a little luxury tax that the smaller towns won't even be affected by.

In the long run, I will probably focus on taking control of the home continent and then improvise for some kind of late victory - unless the game proves easier than it looks.

 

[Offa]

Well this could be a quick one. Settle on the spot, later find cows just out of sight, fail the republic slingshot, and decide to get Half-Life 2 after all.

 

[budweiser]

I surrender!

 

[Ronald]

Wow, 2 deity games in a row. Hopefully Ihave time enough to play them both. I will most probably settle on the hill (unless some of our experienced fog gazers see a cow somewhere).
The commerce bonus will make research feasible. I f no other civ has alphabeth, I think a republic slingshot is possible.

 

[solenoozerec]

As it pointed out by DaveMcW, there are several research strategies and at least two of them can be combined in the beginning.
We could go to writing first and then depending on AI research pace go directly to philosophy or try a slingshot (for Monarchy or Republic).
I will not research pottery to increase chances of a slingshot.

Since it is COTM and deity, earlier contacts will be important particularly if map is curvy, so I will start producing warriors and my worker will road southern bg according to a DaveMcW tip. It is also very likely that I will produce a settler before granary (but it depends on the map).
First two warriors will go east and north. South is pointless and west is too rocky.

I also expect this game to be the longest among those that I ever played, but there is a good chance that I will have enough time in June even if GOTM43 will eat a part of June. So I am ing.

 

[Hannabir]

Where! Is! The! Food!!

Move north ...?

Oh well, Warrior-Granary-Settler will go in 21 turns.