Frequently Asked Questions - (FAQ)

[Ribannah]

Originally posted by Aeson
There is no bonus for finishing with multiple victory conditions, other than the recognition that it was done.

What if you have the fastest time for two or more victory conditions?

 

[Aeson]

Aeson, that is not possible. The game has a set order by which it checks the victory conditions, the player cannot influence that order.

It is possible. Understand the set order and then avoid the victory condition you don't want to get...

Edit: Your second post seems to contradict your first post.

If someone submits a game as won by one victory condition, when in reality it wasn't won by that victory condition, then we try to figure out what victory condition (or loss) they finished with. This is what I meant by 'possible'. We certainly don't score games by victory conditions they didn't attain.

By 'possible' I didn't mean that we will go through each submission and check to see if other victory conditions are possible to set up. It's far too time consuming, and the player can do this on their own, setting up the victory condition they want to submit as.

What if you have the fastest time for two or more victory conditions?

Then you get the award for the one you submitted as.

 

[Ribannah]

You have totally lost me now. I have no clue as to what you are saying.

Maybe an example will help.

It is 1395 AD, and I'm about to complete the last space part.
Also, one of my cities' border is about to expand, to put me over the domination limit.

What I want to be able to do is this: let both things happen, thereby meeting two victory conditions.

The game will just provide one victory pop-up (domination?), but that doesn't mean that only that particular victory is 'triggered'. Both are. There is just a tiny bug preventing two pop-up screens to appear.

Therefore, I'd like:

(1) Recognition for the time in two victory departments,
(2) A Jason score based on the latest date (spaceship most likely)

 

[Shillen]

What they're saying is you should have it possible to meet either victory condition in the turn before you win. IE if you want the spaceship victory then you need to sell off whatever temple causes the expansion, or if it's a wonder then you might even have to abandon a city. If you want domination then just don't finish the last spaceship part. But you should be able to do both on the last turn if you want to get credit for multiple victory conditions. But you must pick only one victory condition to submit. And you can only get an award for one of the victory conditions, not both. Think of it as giving more people chances at awards if you want, rather than giving multiple awards to one person.

 

[Ribannah]

Like I said I have already played my last turn, meeting two victory conditions at once.

I'm still assuming that the Jason score will be based on the type with the latest victory date (spaceship in the example), regardless of whether or not I can qualify for two fastest times competitions.

 

[cracker]

The scored result you receive will be based on the game you submit and the victory conditions that you declare at the time of submission that can be confirmed.

I do not think it is responsible to ask the staff to try to read your mind or unravel a convoluted sequence of "if this then that" what ifs.

We are dealling with several hundred game submissions each month and at some point we may have to add the "Prima dona" special award category for the player who has excelled in earning the recognition for being the highest maintenance individual that the staff have had to deal with in the past 30 to 60 days.

Look at this process as sort of being the credits you build for review when we try to decide what the inscription on your headstone will be. Not many people are currently in the running for the "Royal Pain in the Ass" award each month but if we were going to ask each staff member to list the 5 players who they thought were in the running for this award, I am not sure if the independent lists would show alot of variation.

Let us all make at least a minimal effort to avoid being on the RPITA list.

 

[Ribannah]

Originally posted by cracker
The scored result you receive will be based on the game you submit and the victory conditions that you declare at the time of submission that can be confirmed.

The game I submit shows two victory conditions met, and two declared that can both be confirmed. So this means ....?

I do not think it is responsible to ask the staff to try to read your mind or unravel a convoluted sequence of "if this then that" what ifs.

That is exactly why I have PLAYED my final turn.

----
Edit: Removed superfluous remarks. I have chosen one of the two victory conditions as the primary one.

 

[Hurricane]

Really, Ribannah. The only thing you lose by not being able to submit more than one victory is that you are limited to only one award. Since you have access to the Jason score calculator, it is an easy match to check beforehand which victory will give you the most points. If you prefer a medal instead of higher points, you should probably wait until the deadline and read other people's spoilers, so that you get an idea of which vistory will guarantee you an award. I don't think this should be too hard or time-consuming if you want an award really hard.

Personally, I don't care for awards or top positions, as long as I had fun. But that's just me, of course.

 

[Ribannah]

Originally posted by Hurricane
If you prefer a medal instead of higher points, you should probably wait until the deadline and read other people's spoilers, so that you get an idea of which vistory will guarantee you an award.

 

[Hurricane]

Good catch, Ribannah. You have to submit your game before you can read the final spoiler thread, so you can only guess (based on the first spoiler threads), which victories are less popular.

 

[Moonsinger]

I just got PTW last weekend and I was just wondering about the different between "Prefered Government" and "Shunned Government" as stated in the PTW manual. Does anyone know what effect it has to the game? Thanks in advance.

 

[alexman]

It affects the AI's attitude towards civs in that government. See Bamspeedy's AI attitude article for details.

It does not have any other effect in the game, AFAIK.

 

[Renata]

Where can I find the Jason score calculator for GOTM 18?

Renata

 

[Ronald]

You can find it at:

http://gotm.civfanatics.net/games/calculator.shtml

best regards

Ronald

 

[steveywong]

Hi all, this is my first post as i am new to GOTM. i have my civ3 all set up ready for gotm19 and if i have followed the info, it should be out on the 1st of May - but i am in china, wot time zone is it released in?

I also want to know several things:

1) are u SURE u can detect people who save and reload and replay? or are u just saying that to stop people doing that? (not that i am going to do it)

2) wot "tests" must be completed and how do they work before we are allowed to view the spoiler thingmys?

3) what stops someone from playing the game twice (or more) and submitting it more than twice (or more) under different user names each time? hmmm...im sure im missing something here its confusing me

or instead of submitting the first played game, DONT submit and just play it again from fresh and then you know where EVERYTHING is then. OR is this what people actually do and it is actually allowed?

i am sure i am definetly missing something here.

thanks.

 

[Ribannah]

No, that is not allowed. But what you are missing (in addition to the whole idea of fairness ) is the following: if you play the game in such a hurry that you can complete it twice before the deadline, chances are that your second game will not be much better. You certainly will not have learned anything to help you do better next month! The same holds for any other type of cheating. Any blatant cheat (rare, but last year we had an occasion where someone used an editor to IIRC give himself a lot of extra Settlers) will be easy to spot anyway.

When you are allowed to read a spoiler thread is clearly stated in the first post of that thread. For instance, you must have knowledge of the map and/or researched a certain technology.

 

[steveywong]

Originally posted by Ribannah
No, that is not allowed. But what you are missing (in addition to the whole idea of fairness ) is the following: if you play the game in such a hurry that you can complete it twice before the deadline, chances are that your second game will not be much better. You certainly will not have learned anything to help you do better next month! The same holds for any other type of cheating. Any blatant cheat (rare, but last year we had an occasion where someone used an editor to IIRC give himself a lot of extra Settlers) will be easy to spot anyway.

When you are allowed to read a spoiler thread is clearly stated in the first post of that thread. For instance, you must have knowledge of the map and/or researched a certain technology.

i completely understand wot u mean by the not learning thing - but wot realy does stop someone from exploring the land from the outset and just doing whatever and making note of where this is, where that is - i.e. in GOTM19, i reckon many people will explore south then reliase it was a mistake and then just restart - wot stops people from doing that?

a simple way to get the first advantage could go like this: first time round, run ur pieces abt to explore the land to find the best possible start position. then restart the game. on the other hand, i have read abt the lag problems of the previous ones - is the lag secretly intentional then?

i am still confused about the spoiler thing though - will i be asked to answer questions before i can log into the spoiler forum? or is there some kind of password which i mst obtain from the organisers once i have sent them screenshots and evidence of my postion in the game?

excuse me if it sounds like im nit-picking little holes , but i just want to find out eveyrthing before i play. i have certainly learnt a lot by reading the forums!

 

[Ribannah]

Originally posted by steveywong
i completely understand wot u mean by the not learning thing - but wot realy does stop someone from exploring the land from the outset and just doing whatever and making note of where this is, where that is - i.e. in GOTM19, i reckon many people will explore south then reliase it was a mistake and then just restart - wot stops people from doing that? A simple way to get the first advantage could go like this: first time round, run ur pieces abt to explore the land to find the best possible start position. then restart the game.

Technically, nothing would stop you. But you will never learn to play a sound opening sequence that way and therefore even with full knowledge of the map, you will never come close to winning a prize.

i am still confused about the spoiler thing though - will i be asked to answer questions before i can log into the spoiler forum?

There is no spoiler forum, there are spoiler threads. Look on this very page, and you will find the ones for GOTM#18. Read the first posts and you will see how it works - based entirely on trust.

excuse me if it sounds like im nit-picking little holes , but i just want to find out eveyrthing before i play. i have certainly learnt a lot by reading the forums!

Remember that the essence of the Game of the Month is that we help each other to improve our game, by providing timelines, discussing strategies etc., and you'll do fine.

 

[steveywong]

i have kind of looked at the posts of the spoiler threads already, and other places all make mention of answering two tests but its not clear, and now u say it is based on trust?? so are there questions or not? so i can look at them anytime EVEN if i havent even reached that point in the game, so for example i could read abt a sudden invasion from a civilization and hence prepare for it?

aiiyaaahh!! this is doin my nut in.

however, i am just looking forward to playing the game. oh yeah, wot time zone does it come out in? it is said that it comes out on the first on each month - but which time zone?

 

[Ribannah]

Originally posted by steveywong
iso i can look at them anytime EVEN if i havent even reached that point in the game, so for example i could read abt a sudden invasion from a civilization and hence prepare for it?

I think you should be able to answer that one yourself now.