COTM34: Pre-Game Discussion

[civ_steve]

COTM 34: Hittites

We'll revisit the first civ we ever played in Conquest of the Month, Mursilis and his Hittites. A standard continents map, set at 5 billion years, and Monarch difficulty setting should give your 3-Man chariots some room to roll and ample targets to roll over!

Here is the COTM34 game info:

Civilization: Hittites
Rivals: 8 pre-selected.
Barbarians: Restless
Difficulty: Monarch
Land Form: Continents, 70% ocean, Standard map.
Geology:5 billion years old, Normal and Temperate.
AI Aggression: Normal.





Conquest-Class Bonuses:

1. +50 Gold
2. +1 Scout, +1 Archer
3. +Warrior Code

Predator-Class Equalisers:

1. -Pottery
2. AI upgraded to Emperor Unit Support Bonuses
3. 3-Man Chariots require Horses AND Iron

 

[PaperBeetle]

Still on the EXPs eh? I've never played Hittite before, but that 3-man cart doesn't look like much to write home about... a horse with an extra def point and an aversion to rough terrain.
Looks like we are standing on a beegee though, and that's a wheat S,SW, but I fear it is on a plain rather than grass. So plenty of shields to play with here.

 

[socralynnek]

I consider the Hittites to be one of the weakest civs overall.

The UU is not really useful. OK, it comes early, and two r three of them can take an early Monarch city. Let's see whether we have he horses to build them early on.

If we have horses and a nearby neighbor, this could become a very fast game.
As I see no food ressource, conquering a city with one early could be the way to go.

 

[denyd]

Ah, Mursilis, my introduction to C3C, with the beginning of the Hittites in Space saga (which I might have to raise from the grave).

If the SW hill is on the river, I'll probably move there and settle while my worker mines & roads the BG.

Research will be Writing->CoL->Philosophy for a Republic slingshot

Early builds will be a 2-3 scouts for exploration and a warrior for MP duty. Then a settler, granary and settlers if thats a wheat on GL, I'll try for a 5 turn settler factory).

Short-term goals, expand, explore and tech broker to remain in the tech lead.
Mid-term goals find iron and build swords & MDI for continental conquest.
Long-term goal, probably space ship launch for old times sake.

 

[Vegasgustan]

If the SW hill is on the river, I'll probably move there and settle while my worker mines & roads the BG.

Just curious, what would be so wrong with just going to the hill directly south that IS on the river? I have not played Civ in forever so maybe I just completely rusty.

I guess that is what happens when your wife is pregnant! I really want to finish this one and maybe the current GOTM. Now if I could only stop having to rub my wife's feet and back and stop having to go to the store at 11:00 pm for an Entenman's Donut Fix....I love her though, so it is not so bad.

Here's hopin'!

 

[PaperBeetle]

SW is on the river. Its advantage over S is that it has an extra bg, given what we can see now. But I suppose there's no need to decide between those two locations until the scout has had a look around.

 

[denyd]

PB is exactly right on SW vs S - Right now my scout is probably going N to the mountain (gets the most tiles visible)

 

[DBear]

Missed CotM1, nice to get another chance w/the Hittites. Looks like I'll start on the sw hill. Instead of using the 3-man chariots, I'll probably use the wonder GA, since this is monarch. With the Hittites being commercial expansionists, either the Colossus or the Lighthouse by itself will start it.

 

[civ_steve]

I've updated the first post with the Conquest and Predator Class modifiers. Game should be out very soon ...

 

[Più Freddo]

Just curious, what would be so wrong with just going to the hill directly south that IS on the river?

When you have the save, you can tell if a tile is on the river, since it then has one extra commerce. But on the picture this is not visible. That is the reason for the "if".

I guess that is what happens when your wife is pregnant!

Play now! When baby's there you'll need all your spare time for sleeping.

 

[FacuK]

Play now! When baby's there you'll need all your spare time for sleeping.

Sure! I could not ever finish a COTM in time!

 

[Chamnix]

Predator-Class Equalisers:
...
3-Man Chariots require Horses AND Iron

Since 3MC replaces both chariot and horseman, if we have horses but not iron, can we build any mounted units pre-cavalry ?

 

[denyd]

Sounds like no (except AC)

I suggest that the predators either find iron or start stringing their bows.

 

[civ_steve]

Since 3MC replaces both chariot and horseman, if we have horses but not iron, can we build any mounted units pre-cavalry ?

Well ... the Predator penalties are designed to create an extra hurdle to overcome without changing the strategic flow of the game. You can assume that all 3 classes have some access to Horses and Iron, or no direct access to Horses and Iron. hmm, would I do that ...

 

[denyd]

Don't worry, Civ_Steve would never put us on a peninsula between Greece (Athens on a hill) and Rome (with iron under the capital on a hill) and expect us to archer our way out of the box.

 

[pimserplink]

For me the start will be:

Scout onto sw hill (to make sure its the best move for settler) then to northern mountain; worker mines/roads bg on the spot. Pretty sure I'll chop for a granary early in Hattusas. Early expansion probably to the south as we are so far north.

Hopefully I won't suffer the same kind of brain cramp as last cotm. I never finished coz I fumble-saved a conquests game over the top of my cotm save file.

 

[Più Freddo]

Civ_Steve would never put us on a peninsula between Greece (Athens on a hill) and Rome (with iron under the capital on a hill) and expect us to archer our way out of the box.

I suppose you mean isthmus rather than peninsula.

In fact, I think Civ_Steve almost always places us on a peninsula.

 

[AutomatedTeller]

I think I'll go domination or conquest on this one - expansionist/commercial build infrastructure *so* slowly that just building units makes sense...

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?

 

[dark_pretender]

after beating for first time the AI in emperor level and now that I can beat it in monarch easily than in the past I have decided to play my first COTM I checked the rules and it says that I must download the save and then once finished the game I must send my last save right? so thats everthing I need to do?

 

[civ_steve]

or can 3-man chariots be built even after horse back riding shows up?

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

@darkpretender - pretty much. We play C3C straight; all you need is to be patched up to the last patch, v1.22, and a copy of the starting save. Play the game with no replays of any turns, save after your victory or defeat (the 'let me play a few more turns' option), the turn before your conquest, or the turn you decide to retire and submit the final save. Submit option is in the upper left side of the gotm.civfanatics.net page, and also under each game in the 'Current Games' section. Welcome to COTM!