ChrTh
Happy Yule!
EDIT: I'VE DECIDED TO SHELVE THE CONCEPT UNTIL AFTER THE C3C RELEASE (AND MY ACQUISITION OF THE GAME AT CHRISTMAS). LOOK FOR THIS THREAD TO RE-EMERGE THEN.
I'm looking into starting a series of succession games, 1 at each level (Monarch, Emperor, Deity, in that order) as a stepping stone approach to learning how to win at Deity without killing everything in sight--yep, the AP stands for Always Peace.
Here are the variant rules:
We can never declare war on another Civ, nor can we enter into a diplomatic agreement that could lead to war (such as an MPP). We also can't take the normal actions that could lead to war (planting spy, stealing techs, demanding AI leave, etc.)
We can not build ground units that have a higher attack than defense rating (e.g. swords, archers, etc.); units that have equal values are permitted (e.g. Warriors, Guerillas). Naval and air units are not subjected to this restriction, but should only be used for defensive or transport purposes.
If a Civ declares war on us, we can only fight a defensive war (only attack troops in our territory) with the following exception and exception to the exception:
Exception: Any cities whose cultural borders are contiguous to our own at the start of hostilities can be razed (and replaced by a settler, if desired). Note, however, that we will not have 'offensive' troops with which to do this, so our defensive troops have better be good. In addition, if a city of ours was captured military, we can liberate them (but not if it was cultural flip).
Exception to the Exception: We can not assault a bordering Civ's territory if doing so would trigger an MPP.
Barracks are permissible as we are pacifists, not idiots.
Domination and Conquest are not turned off, as there's nothing stopping the other Civs from being militaristic. A diplomatic victory is not considered a loss.
No purchasing/capturing of other Civs' workers.
This will be done in PTW latest patchset. Civs are up for discussion, but I believe the French, the Carthaginians, and the Americans are well suited (Industrious will help us build up our cities much faster), although it's a group decision. Obviously we can't utilize a Civ that is militaristic, or has a UU with attack greater than defense (although its arguable we could, we just can never build the UU).
Maps will likely be Continents or Pangaea (at least for the earlier difficulties).
For the roster, I would prefer a commitment of all 3 games; before you think that's going to take too long, remember that when you're not fighting constantly turns go by much faster. If you're not sure if you can do all 3, just indicate your desire to play and if not enough people commit to all 3, I'll start the first game with the normal roster. Minimum roster size is 6. Monarch AP will be roughly equivalent to Emperor-Minus in difficulty, Emperor will be roughly equal to Deity or Deity-Minus (depends on start and opponents), and Deity is going to be realllllly tough (which is why we're stepping up one level at a time), so judge your own ability appropriately when deciding whether or not to sign up.
As always, suggestions, etc., are welcome both by joiners and lurkers. This is not the definitive game thread, so I didn't include exploits, etc. Those will be in the individual game threads.
I'm looking into starting a series of succession games, 1 at each level (Monarch, Emperor, Deity, in that order) as a stepping stone approach to learning how to win at Deity without killing everything in sight--yep, the AP stands for Always Peace.
Here are the variant rules:
We can never declare war on another Civ, nor can we enter into a diplomatic agreement that could lead to war (such as an MPP). We also can't take the normal actions that could lead to war (planting spy, stealing techs, demanding AI leave, etc.)
We can not build ground units that have a higher attack than defense rating (e.g. swords, archers, etc.); units that have equal values are permitted (e.g. Warriors, Guerillas). Naval and air units are not subjected to this restriction, but should only be used for defensive or transport purposes.
If a Civ declares war on us, we can only fight a defensive war (only attack troops in our territory) with the following exception and exception to the exception:
Exception: Any cities whose cultural borders are contiguous to our own at the start of hostilities can be razed (and replaced by a settler, if desired). Note, however, that we will not have 'offensive' troops with which to do this, so our defensive troops have better be good. In addition, if a city of ours was captured military, we can liberate them (but not if it was cultural flip).
Exception to the Exception: We can not assault a bordering Civ's territory if doing so would trigger an MPP.
Barracks are permissible as we are pacifists, not idiots.
Domination and Conquest are not turned off, as there's nothing stopping the other Civs from being militaristic. A diplomatic victory is not considered a loss.
No purchasing/capturing of other Civs' workers.
This will be done in PTW latest patchset. Civs are up for discussion, but I believe the French, the Carthaginians, and the Americans are well suited (Industrious will help us build up our cities much faster), although it's a group decision. Obviously we can't utilize a Civ that is militaristic, or has a UU with attack greater than defense (although its arguable we could, we just can never build the UU).
Maps will likely be Continents or Pangaea (at least for the earlier difficulties).
For the roster, I would prefer a commitment of all 3 games; before you think that's going to take too long, remember that when you're not fighting constantly turns go by much faster. If you're not sure if you can do all 3, just indicate your desire to play and if not enough people commit to all 3, I'll start the first game with the normal roster. Minimum roster size is 6. Monarch AP will be roughly equivalent to Emperor-Minus in difficulty, Emperor will be roughly equal to Deity or Deity-Minus (depends on start and opponents), and Deity is going to be realllllly tough (which is why we're stepping up one level at a time), so judge your own ability appropriately when deciding whether or not to sign up.
As always, suggestions, etc., are welcome both by joiners and lurkers. This is not the definitive game thread, so I didn't include exploits, etc. Those will be in the individual game threads.
I don't know if I can commit to all the games yet, so consider this a definite maybe. 
