COTM 18 Pre-game discussion

[Karasu]

I was planning to start this somewhat like CotM 17, a bit earlier and without a picture -but RL prevented the first part of the plan and I managed to upload a picture about five minutes ago.

So much for my plans, then...


Difficulty level goes up another notch or two, to Deity
Could be played with the mind to the coming Sid game, but hopefully this will turn out to be a good game on its own rights.


Civ: Timurids
Map: Standard
Landform: Pangaea
Temperature: Cool
Climate: Arid
Geology: 5 Billion years
Water: 60%

Difficulty: Deity
Rivals: Seven (pre-selected)
Barbarians: no barbarians


The starting position takes you right in the middle of the deserts of Central Asia, on a little hill alongside the bed of the river Oxus.

Minimap

EDIT: Flood Plain properties have been changed not to cause disease


Conquest Bonuses
- One extra settler
- 1 extra Scout
- 150 gold

Predator equalisers
- AI unit support increased to Sid
- You start with no techs

 

[ainwood]

OK - great commerce, poor shields. Hopefully the flood-plains don't cause too much disease - but its almost inevitable with that much there. I think a better move might be to move NE and use the hills for shields (and it connects the wines immediately.

Timurids? Mongols?

 

[Più Freddo]

I would avoid settling on the Bonus Grassland-equivalent Wine tiles. How about SE, settle on the Flood Plain? There are enough of them out there. We'll have the Wheat from turn 1 and the Worker can start mining and roading the Wine NE.

 

[Più Freddo]

Four-turn Settler factory

Center 2f/1s
Wheat i 5f/0s
Wine m 2f/2s
Wine m 2f/2s
Plains i 2f/1s size 4 +5f/+6s
Plains i 2f/1s size 5 +5f/+7s
Desert m 2s

Shields 6+8+7+9=30

 

[Più Freddo]

Timurids? Mongols?

W/o Scout.

 

[Obormot]

In gtom many things are already modded to reduce the effect of luck, so why don't you remove the disiease from floodplains? BTW, what are the traits and the UU?

I'm not sure if i'll play this (civ4!), but the setup looks interesting.

 

[Twonky]

Yipieh! Incense N/N/NW!!
The river seems to end in the NE hills...

 

[Karasu]

If I tell you traits and UU, you'll know what civ is straight away!

Actually, I just renamed one of the in-game civs (and the cities) to give it a bit of a Central Asian flavour, but there isn't any other change.

 

[azzaman333]

Its the Ottomans, isnt it. I'm gonna be mauled on a pangea on Deity. Oh well, its not going to stop me trying!

 

[Salte]

I've never won a diety game and would appreciate some advice from the ones who usually do on early tactics and build order.

How about settling W *edit* I meant E *edit* to get some shields from the hills later in the game?

Is there any point trying to do much self research on diety/pangea?

 

[Redbad]

The Timurids were the final great dynasty to emerge from the Central Asian steppe. In 1370, the eponymous founder, Timur (Tamerlane), who belonged to a Turko-Mongol tribe settled in Transoxiana, became master of this province and established Samarqand as his capital. Within thirty-five years, he subjugated all of Central Asia, greater Iran, and Iraq, as well as parts of southern Russia and the Indian subcontinent"

So they should be Mongols or perhaps even Persians, but judging the colour Azzaman will be right: Ottomans.

 

[GOTM-AI]

We are planning to fight this battle

We shall settle on the hill, taking advantage of the gold for faster research (to a randomly-chosen tech).

We see a four-turn settler factory even settling in place, but we shall ignore such subterfuges, and immediately start building a settler.

We have high expectations for this world

 

[Obormot]

Will gotm-ai also get deity starting units and build everything for 60% of the cost? That is unfair, but it'll be far from the top of the table anyway

 

[Twonky]

Well, I hope we are the Ottomans in disguise. If so, I made up a plan for a 4-turner:

It´s quite a gambit, as it only provides one warrior, plus Pottery needs to be aquired in 2900 BC by the latest. I didn´t calculate if that is possible by self-research, but I guess so - even with my late roading. As if that was not enough, it also runs the risk of getting blown away by disease.

 

[Markus5]

Hmmm. CivIV or diety COTM? I doubt I'll play this one...

 

[Karasu]

Yes it's the Ottomans. Not much of a surprise, is it?

Well, GOTM-AI plays at the set level, so it will be a Deity competitor this time -not very fair, in fact.

But it may really have a shot at winning this game, if it doesn't screw up the starting position...
...at least, it will stop complaining about the map designer!

 

[ionimplant]

i don't remember any bad start for any previous high-difficulty games... well maybe with a 4-turn factory, this start isn't really bad.. but with all those desert tiles... i doubt i can win this game...

 

[DaveMcW]

The winning strategy for Ottomans/Pangea/Deity.

Ancient Age: Settlers, Workers, Warriors. Save up money while making contacts, research Literature and Currency when possible.

Middle Ages: Libraries, Marketplaces, Barracks, Horsemen. Change to Republic, sell the free tech for everyone's money. Full research to Military Tradition. Take over the world.

 

[Redbad]

Hmm, standard size, 7 rivals, pangaea, 60% water.
That's LOL (no not laughing out loud, but a lot of land ). I think I might try the next:
research pots at max an then quit school: need granary asap and buy others techs for the time being.
build two warriors (MPing) granary and settlers with maybe a few workers: the others civs will find us soon enough and vital to get settlers out fast.
As no barbs settler can walk unprotected, I don't think an unprotected settler is more attractive to the ai as a protected one.

So growth and money in the AA and then fast research towards MT in the MA. If we survive 'till Sipahi only infantry can save the AI.

I hope we'll meet the X-man again. I have to take my revenche for the Japanese deity-game.

 

[Redbad]

But maybe, Karasu has taken pity on us and has put the 7 rivals on a small island, leaving us with the pangaea