COTM34: Pre-Game Discussion

[greygamer]

I have to assume we have horses nearby - it seems odd to think a civ with a chariot UU wouldn't be able to build them until the MA - or can 3-man chariots be built even after horse back riding shows up?

I think so. From memory the Civpedia says they upgrade to Knights, I am playing the Mesopotamia scenario at the moment with the Hittites, the UU has a defence of 2 so is the best choice til swordsmen are an option. Then it's speed vs attack. Regardless I like to build plenty of seige units to go with my forces. What you build will really depend on how close aggressive our neighbours are.

I believe so. They cost the same as Horsemen, but get the '2' defense.

Not necessarily I think Babylonian bowmen get a worse defence when they upgrade to longbows (only 1).

 

[civ_steve]

My meaning was the 3-man chariot costs the same as a Horseman, and has the same or better stats ('2' defense improves the Horseman's '1' defense) with the drawback of the chariot's terrain restrictions. The LongBow gets a much better '4' attack vs the Bowman's '2', and costs more as well and is clearly a superior offensive weapon at a time when a '2' defense is declining in value.

 

[greygamer]

The LongBow gets a much better '4' attack vs the Bowman's '2', and costs more as well and is clearly a superior offensive weapon at a time when a '2' defense is declining in value.

Still I always thought it was strange that the Babs threw away some armour, 2 is still better than 1. Means you have to stack it with a defensive unit. Depends on your definition of 'better' I suppose.

 

[PaperBeetle]

The baby bowman is a funny little unit; the defensive freeshot actually makes it a better defender than the spear. But longbows rock, so I'd take that upgrade any day of the week.

As for the 3MC, in addition to its movement restriction, it also compares poorly to the horse in respect of the fact that it puts one in 'danger' of a despotic GA. Incidentally, it is one of those backwards-upgrading units like the Dutch pike. That is to say the horse upgrades to the 3MC, not the other way around. In normal play, you would never see that in action, but with the predator bonus in this game, you could build horses when iron is unhooked, then hook iron and upgrade them all (for free) to the earlier unit.

 

[Desertsnow]

Hm, Monarch. Maybe I'll give it a shot, but I've never played Hittites.

 

[greygamer]

As for the 3MC, in addition to its movement restriction, it also compares poorly to the horse in respect of the fact that it puts one in 'danger' of a despotic GA.

Good point, so a possible research path would be to get horseback riding and monarchy before building those chariots. I like to use them as 'fast' defenders with a counterattack possibility, they can retreat after combat or fortify after combat. Swordsmen and catapults would probably be the backbone of the Hittite army though.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I am a new member, and I am considering entering this COTM. I use several things in my play style that could be considered exploits. I have read the rules considering exploits and what I do is not represented there. How would I go about getting a ruling? Or should I just take my chances?

 

[AutomatedTeller]

Just ask here it is better to ask than to play through and find your game excluded.

 

[TheOverseer714]

Ok, one thing I do with captured enemy cities is to set them to producing workers and not letting them grow until the population is down to 1 citizen. All those workers are unsupported, as they are foreign, and by the end of a successful game, I have dozens or even hundreds(on a huge world with 15 AI tribes) of workers who are free, thus letting me have a larger military. Is this an exploit, and would it be within the spirit of the game?

 

[PaperBeetle]

Welcome! :drumroll:

I am sure it is not considered exploitative. It's not like you don't have to pay to build them after all, and slaves work at half speed. But I also rely entirely on slavery by the end of the game, and would absolutely recommend the practice (except in the real world of course).

 

[AutomatedTeller]

That's not only not an exploit, it's a common practice That and starving the cities down to 1 citizen with specialists.

 

[civ_steve]

Ok, one thing I do with captured enemy cities is to set them to producing workers and not letting them grow until the population is down to 1 citizen ... Is this an exploit, and would it be within the spirit of the game?

Quick answer - no, this isn't an exploit, and yes, it is within the spirit of the game. Players will often starve the native population of a captured city to reduce the future risk of a Culture Flip. Building workers and not paying gold for foreign workers is an inherent aspect of the game.

If you have other 'strategies' that you are concerned about, you may PM me or another GOTM moderator for a ruling. It is expected that any new strategy that might be exploitive should be OK'd before use.

 

[TheOverseer714]

I'm doing this one already in COTM34, so if it disqualifies me, so be it. I have had difficulty hanging on to captured cities due to a pathetic culture rating, so just before it flips to the other side, I evacuate all troops and let the enemy recapture it, then I destroy the few defenders and capture it again, minus several unhappy citizens. I can then start whittling the population further. Desperate measure only, due to this being my first Monarch level game

 

[Più Freddo]

I have had difficulty hanging on to captured cities due to a pathetic culture rating, so just before it flips to the other side, I evacuate all troops and let the enemy recapture it, then I destroy the few defenders and capture it again, minus several unhappy citizens. I can then start whittling the population further. Desperate measure only

No, this is common practice.

 

[civ_steve]

There are a number of things you could do with such a city. You could gift it to another civ, one that you might want to get into war with the civ you're at war with. Just be sure there are not troops of yours in the city if you were to gift it; the resulting teleport to your capital is banned by GOTM rules.

... so just before it flips to the other side ...

This statment does bother me a bit. With GOTM you are not permitted to replay ANY part of your game (with few exceptions, most of which are due to hardware problems). If a captured city flipped, and you went back a turn to move troops out and allow the city to be captured ... this would be disallowed.