[BNW] Enjoyable Deity Games

[Nizef]

Here is a recap of the games in the Enjoyable Deity Games Experience (EDGE) series so far:

1. Korea (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
2. the Shoshone (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
3. America (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
4. Denmark (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
5. Byzantium (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
6. Germany (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
7. Polynesia (Small Continents Plus, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
8. Brazil (Continents, Standard speed, Large size, Modded with RAS)
9. Mongolia (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
10. Spain (Terra, Standard speed, Large size, Modded with RAS)
11. Carthage (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
12. the Aztecs (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
13. England (Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
14. Korea 2 (Small Continents, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
15. Venice (Fractal, Epic speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
16. Egypt (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
17. the Huns (Oval, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
18. Japan (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script)
19. China (Pangaea, Epic speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
20. Babylon (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script)
21. Polynesia 2 (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script)
22. Korea 3 (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script)
23. Russia (Hellblazers Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded both with RAS and Hellblazers map script)
24. Portugal (Pangaea, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
25. France (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
26. Germany 2 (Lakes, Epic speed, Standard size, Unmodded)
27. England 2 (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Modded with RAS)
28. Sweden (Fractal, Standard speed, Standard size, Unmodded).

 

[mbbcam]

Thanks for rolling the England game. Unfortunately I think it is going to be a loooong time before I can attempt it. But I appreciate the effort.

 

[penguin74]

havent played much lately, but England was always my favorite, so may give that a try tonight.

 

[Nizef]

havent played much lately, but England was always my favorite, so may give that a try tonight.

Great! Hopefully you will enjoy it!

 

[Nizef]

The sand-in-mouth-syndrome
Here comes a game, with one of the civs I like a lot, that was inspired by the Austria-HOF game by vadalaz last week (in the Fastest Domination Victory thread). In EDGE29 the task is to play Arabia on an unmodded standard sized Sandstorm map with standard speed. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. Most AIs are easily accessible for conquest, only your neighbour to the W requires some extraordinary measures. Make sure to settle your first expansion to the SW along the river - researching Animal Husbandry will tell you why. After failing my early DomV try, I tried an ultra-peaceful game and didn't go to war all game, despite some -hmm- interesting neighbours. Without any nearby NW, I still managed a fantastic religion: with Tithe, I was making 50-60 gpt by midgame! Combined with the Bazaars it was easy to buy Factories in three cities instantly. The strategic resources were distributed unevenly: there is no Coal nearby, so you have to buy that but OTOH there is Oil in abundance. With 4 city tall play I set myself up for both CV and SV. At the end I reached the SV first. You can make anything out of this one. Try it out and let the AIs taste the sand! Enjoy!

 

[Nizef]

Yet another mountain?
Would you like a slightly different map? If that is the case, then you should try EDGE30 with Pacal. It is a Tectonics map (Tectonic map script v. 4) with standard speed and size. The starting location has, as you can see, been improved with Really Advanced Setup (RAS). QC is turned on and all VCs are enabled. Make sure that you expand fast enough to get all the best locations for yourself. You will most likely get a strong religion if you want to. However, this one is no push over: in my game the eastern neighbour was expanding like there is no tomorrow and the western neighbour, albeit usually peaceful, didn't live up to his reputation... and DomV is a pain on this map (at least until Paratroopers or XComs). Go for a CV, DipV or SV and it will be very doable, even enjoyable! Grow into a cultural powerhouse or trust your diplomats or scientists to bring you the glory. Please, please, try it out! Enjoy!

 

[Nizef]

Going to the carnival city
To round off my trilogy of religious civs, I wanted to share a game that I played half a year ago. This is EDGE31 and we are playing as Ethiopia on an unmodded and standard sized Pangaea map with standard speed. QC is on and all VCs are enabled. This is a fantastic roll, that gives you flexibility to do whatever you want: conquer the world or sit back as OCC or anything in between. All AI capitals are founded on flatland and it is reasonably easy to move around. Just as a hint. Furthermore two of your closest neighbours are easy targets even for mediocre warmongers. When I look back at it now, I wonder why I haven't uploaded this one before. The only drawback I can remember is that (unlike most EDGE games) Korea is in the game and they have a good starting position. As you can see, your starting position is also good, but I opted for an unlikely eastward three-move opening before I settled. The reason is that I settled perhaps the best capital location I have ever seen: hill on a river, between two mountains, 5 Salt tiles in range and the possibility for a 16-tile Hydroplant later in the game. This way I also got 2 tiles with Horses, 1 Cattle, 1 Sheep and 1 Banana in range. It sounds unreal doesn't it? Remember: this is an unmodded roll! In my game I violently expanded my empire early on and the headline refers to the first victim. All in all, this is enjoyable whatever you opt to do. You will have fun!

 

[Nizef]

Tip of the week

Unavoidable happiness: Korea (#1) and Brazil (#8)
Dinner at your place (only you, me and my 25 XComs): Mongolia (#9) and Germany2 (#26)
It is the religion, stupid: Arabia (#29) and the Mayans (#30)

 

[Nizef]

Problem solved
Assyria has been a problem for me. I usually fail to make good use of the Siege towers, but here in EDGE32 every piece of the puzzle finally come together to form a beautiful DomV (or any other VC if you would like that better). The map is an unmodded Pangaea roll with standard speed and size. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled. It is so smooth that also those of us (like me) who are not very good Deity warmongers, will be able to pull this one off. On t100 I already had two capitals down and captured two other cities along the way. That is plenty for me. If you are thinking of breaking speed records, I would say that it is possible but there are two capitals that are surrounded by bad terrain, just so that you know. OTOH you have a nearby NW that will improve the strength of your army. As a side effect I also managed a religion with both Pagodas and Mosques! That is so nice when you go down the warpath. Go for it and rise to the level of conquering geniuses. Heh. But I am sure you will like this one!

 

[Nizef]

Teaming up with Santa Claus
As we all know Poland is very, very strong. Here in EDGE33 the task is to play them on an standard sized Fractal map with standard speed. The map has been slightly modded with RAS. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled as usual. Poland is so strong that even when you expect it the least, you move into the next era and Santa gives you a free policy. With a friendly neighbour and enough room for 4-6 cities, this is more like Christmas than Halloween. Make sure to scout around early, because there are some crazy choke points on the map. In my game I reached Education on t102 and it continued as smoothly until my neighbours capital was conquered. At that point I built an army I took the capital for myself. After that it was too late for a very fast SV, so I enjoyed some more skirmishing.before the blue guy up north tried a full blown attack, but his Riflemen (a lot of them) were not very effective against my Infantry... I won a very lazy and unfocused SV on t291, but with better focus I should have shaved off at least 25-30 turns. It is so unfair on the AIs when the human player teams up with Santa. I think it was the first time I filled out the entire Ideology tree on Deity, mostly for fun, but anyway. The map also makes CV a viable option and of course you can go for DomV if you like it better. DipV is probably the hardest, as only 4 (!) CS made it to the end of my game. This one is so smooth that you will win almost whatever you do! Try this one, you will not regret it!

 

[Nizef]

Among movie stars
EDGE34 is a special case. You are playing India on a small Pangaea map with standard speed. As you can see from the starting position, the map has been modded with RAS. QC is turned on and all VCs are enabled. It is special because the aim is to win a CV while conforming to the Bollywood Achievement rules. That means that you can't have more than 3 cities during the whole game. In my case, I founded one expo and conquered another one. If you haven't tried this on Deity, this is the map to do it! No need to say anything more, you know what to do here. Enjoy!

 

[Nizef]

As hard as a rock, hallelujah
This one, I have to admit, is not mainstream in this thread. On the contrary, it is much, much harder than most of the other games here and one could correctly argue that this one should not have a place in this thread at all. Anyway, here we have EDGE35, one of the more irritating experiences I have encountered for a long time. The task is to play as the Aztecs on an unmodded and standard sized Hellblazer's Pangaea map with standard speed. QC and QM are turned on, all VCs are enabled and the strategic balance option is used (guarranteed Coal and Aluminium). Here are many of the ingredients needed for an enjoyable experience: enough luxuries, room to expand, capital with observatory (settle t1), nice growth potential, two friendly neighbours and one that is in the middle of the pack and you can get a religion if you want to (not really needed, but anyway). Heck, you can even settle FoY if you want to! In one of my tries, I reached Education on t97 (probably a personal record). And still, this has been a very frustrating experience: AIs seem to expand at a frantic pace and they spam even more units than normal. Also, the pace at which they research new techs is just unbelievable. In one of my tries, I reach the Industrial era on t154 (very good for my standard and usually more than enough for a smooth game), and I was still only the sixth to reach it! It would actually be very interesting, if one (or some) of the better players on this forum would take on this challenge and show me how it should be done. I could probably get away with a four city SV, but that is of course not what Montezuma is about: an SV with him is like picking up a gorgeous partner at the bar, go home hand in hand and ... watch TV together in silence. So please, if any of you have the time, try this one and show me how a DomV should be mastered here.

 

[Nizef]

Tip of the week

Surprising map: Carthage (#11) and Sweden (#28)
Highly enjoyable: the Shoshone (#2) and England2 (#27)

 

[Nizef]

A mostly African affair
EDGE36 is a game with Morocco on an unmodded standard sized Sandstorm map. The pace is Epic, QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled. The opponents have been handpicked, mostly for being African civs but there are a couple of others to fill out the starting grid. So, yes, Shaka is in the game. You have one suitable neighbour (Suitable for what? Well find it out!) and there is a nearby NW that makes religion a possibility. I am back to the original mainstream setup criterias, as described in the first post. Draw your own circles in the sand. Enjoy!

 

[Nizef]

Peaceful times
This one is a part of my road to Veni Vidi Vici. In EDGE37 the task is to play Babylon on a Large Islands map. The size is Standard, as is the speed as well. QC and QM are turned on and all VCs are enabled. You will have an island that is big enough for 3 sizable cities, all with desent production. A fourth city would have sped up the finishing time, but OTOH with these three cities I was out of trouble. Coal is in short supply but otherwise you will have what you need. I managed a totally peaceful SV on t296 and so will you if you try this one. There were only 2-3 times during the whole game when an AI was even plotting against me. Go for a SV or a CV and this will be as smooth as GotM160. This is a very easy introduction to Deity. Try it out and enjoy the peaceful corner of your world!

 

[Nizef]

EDGE#38: The spanish toilet brush
I am fully aware that what I will be writing next, tells more about the writer than about the reader. Bare with me! A few weeks back, around the time I was playing this game, we had some funny local news here in Finland about a flying squirrel (Pteromys volans). Picture this: some 10 km from the absolute city centre in Helsinki, this squirrel had somehow got itself into the sewer system (probably through the sewer ventilation shaft of the building) and ended up in the toilet of an ordinary family. It had absolutely no chance of climbing up by itself and what happened next tells something about the local attitude towards nature. Instead of going bananas about the intruder, one of the family members reached out towards the squirrel with the toilet brush. The squirrel happily got a grip of the brush and was pulled out of the toilet. It seemed a little cold so the friendly family gave it a warm shower (yes, it is true!) before releasing it back into the garden. At the same time I was playing a game on the Inland sea map. With my humor I somehow felt that this map template reminds me of a toilet seen from above, you know, a fairly roundly shaped body of water in the middle... Yeah, it is a stretch but still that is what I was thinking. So after this extraordinary introduction, I would like to present EDGE38 to you. The task is to play Spain on an unmodded standard sized Inland sea map with standard speed. All VCs are enabled and QC and QM are turned on as usual. It is such a good start, that my first idea was to go for a CV with a dominant religion. My neighbours had different ideas of how this would go though, and at the end I stumbled over the finishing line with a HOF-compatible SV on t334 as part of my race for Veni, Vidi, Vici. However, there is potential for so much more. Give it a try. You might have a very different game!

 

[Nizef]

EDGE#39: The cultural cradle
EDGE39 is a hammer. The task is to play Greece on an unmodded Fractal map with standard size and Epic speed. As you may have noticed, I play a lot on Epic speed. It many times gives the game a sort of balance in the early phase when you are catching up. I strongly recommend you give it a shot, especially with a fantastic start like this. For once, even I had to SIP. Funnily enough, there is actually a t1 settle that might be even better! Anyway, QC and QM are turned on as usual and all VCs are enabled. This was one of the most eventful games I have had for a while. Picture this: there is a nearby NW to settle but I needed to hurry and there is also place for 4-5 core cities. I settled four myself and took a nearby capital as a fifth very early (beelined Construction). Then it is the map itself: it is Fractal so missing a couple of AIs doesn´t seem odd. But wait a minute!? Scout for yourself and find out. I also started near the two warmongers, which is always fun. They were cooperating nicely by fighting each other and with my two early UUs, there was no real danger for the glourious Greek empire. Later they were both wiped out by the cultural AIs. Yes, this way around! The obvious task with this setup of AIs was to go for a cultural victory. That I managed with a HOF-compatible win on t444, with which I was very happy: there are some really strong cultural spammers in this game and I had to overcome 68.000 culture to actually win the game. And yet, I had to build a substantial army just to keep the "peaceful" AIs from running me down and I engaged in a few wars myself. Only three and a half AIs made it to the end and they were all typically cultural AIs! The "half" one, you can probably figure out for yourself. You will like this one, if you try it!

 

[Nizef]

EDGE#40: The 20-tile hydroplant
As I live in the country of Santa Claus, it would be totally inappropriate not to share one of the most fantastic starts I have had during the year. In EDGE40 the task is to play Carthage on a Fractal map with Epic speed. If you have Epic allergy, I am sorry - this one is not for you. But the rest of us will enjoy a remarkable start. As you can see, SIP would mean no coastal capital, which of course is less than optimal with Dido. Move your Warrior southwards and found your capital on t1 instead. This way you will actually get a coastal capital with potential for a 20-tile hydroplant. You will most likely settle four or five cities yourself and you have a nice area that is kind of cut off by terrain and city states for you to enjoy without stinking AI settlers. The vicinity of Tyre is very valuable for strategic resources and Antananarivo and Panama will be good prospects for allies for the same reason. I won a SV on t432 but it went right down to the wire: one of the scientific AIs had the same amount of techs as I at the end and they were spamming nasty units at a pace that would make Shaka´s carpets of doom feel like a convenient little oddity. But neverhteless, I set out to be aggressive fairly early and captured five good cities for my empire before recognizing that DomV most likely will not happen. A scientific AI with a pop48 capital and 15 other cities is nothing to take lightly! Anyway, this game was very enjoyable and I can recommend it to anybody who likes to be versatile (sea/land/war/science). Merry Christmas and enjoy this eventful game setup!

 

[Nizef]

Tip of the season

Culture this: Byzantium (#5), Brazil (#8) and Greece (#39)
Kill that: Germany (#6), Venice (#15) and Assyria (#32)
Rising blood pressure guarranteed: the Aztecs (#35)

 

[Nizef]

EDGE#41: Blue Jeans and Rocket Artillery
I will round off my trilogy of games on Epic speed with EDGE41, where the task is to play as Indonesia on an unmodded and standard sized Archipelago map. As always, all VCs are enabled and QC and QM are turned on. What do we have here? It is one of the most fantastic starts you will ever get on a watery map. After scouting around you will agree with me, as if the Salt tiles were not enough (because there is more!) In my game I went for a CV, which I reached on t495. It took me so long mostly because there are some nasty cultural spammers in the game (I needed to overcome 79.000 culture). Furthermore, the strategic resources are few and far between (there is Aluminium and Horses but Coal has to come from Antananarivo or somewhere else). Fortunately we are playing as Indonesia, so founding 1-2 cities later in the game is no problem at all. I chose to upload this one because, like #39 and #40, this one is versatile and eventful and you will need to take offensive action during the game and at least I also had to defend a couple of times. You will have to adapt to a rapidly changing political landscape. This is fun, go for the glory and give yourself a fantastic win!