GOTM 39 Pre-Game Discussion:

[Redbad]

What happens if the settler goes N and settles ON the game? I know the forest clears, but do you still get the terrain bonus from the game? I seem to remember skimming an old thread about luxuries and not wanting to settle on them since you couldn't strategically disconnect them (implying that they were otherwise intact).

I'm playing mac, and just installed the 1.29b2 update. I'm sure you guys are sick of having to answer this every month, but what's the next step once the save becomes available?

Thanks!

As to the first question: it's not a good idea: The game gives a food bonus of 2 which will be gone if a city is planted on top of it.

The second question is something AlanH specilizes on. He has infinite patience for newbies and is more than happy to answer it.

 

[WillowBrook]

@Randy:
I'm quite sure the southern dark green tiles are jungle - I've been using this terrain mod for a few games. And the W-NW tile is definitely forest.

@anyone:
Any tips/strategies for optimizing the game with less food than a 4-turn settler factory requires?

 

[Redbad]

@anyone:
Any tips/strategies for optimizing the game with less food than a 4-turn settler factory requires?

Imho there is really no alternative for irrigating the chopped game. There are few situations under despotism were you get more than 2 food from a tile, so one should treasure every possibility that occurs.
The irrigated game gives four food under despotism. This means it cuts off one turn for growth for a city that's working on it. When there's a granary in a city it grows after 10 food. 10 can not be divided by 4. So to use the game efficiently you need to have 2 (or more) cities which have the game in their radius.

When nothing else turns up (no bonusses) one can make a 3-turn workerpump with the game at size 3 or a 6-turn settlerpump at sizes 4 and 5.

Be aware that it will be a MM-hell

 

[AlanH]

Total newbie here- just registered.

Welcome aboard!

I'm playing mac,

Ahah! A player of taste and sophistication

and just installed the 1.29b2 update.

Good move.

I'm sure you guys are sick of having to answer this every month

Not at all. I wishmore Mac players would pop up.

but what's the next step once the save becomes available?

You don't need to wait for the save. Your next step is to download and install the GOTM modes so that you have all the civs and extra units that we add to version 1.29 to make it comparable with Play the World. You'll find the All in One Mac OS X installer link in my signature - you are running OS X, aren't you? Download and run the installer just like any OS X installer, and you'll be able to continue to use your Civ3 software for random games until the GOTM 39 start file arrives on Saturday.

Your upgraded software will also play random games with the extra civs using bluebox's GOTM scenario, or GOTM start files older than GOTM 32, but you have to swap two resources files to do that.

For any Windows version 1.29f users who have lurked here this far, the Windows version of this installer, with the same features, is also linked in my sig.

The installer file is 25 MBytes, so get started on the download now, and good luck in the game

 

[Redbad]

@ AlanH

Alan, are you spoiled for this game, cause you posted the starting situation?
This game could turn out to be a conquest dream, in which you are currently specializing ?

 

[AlanH]

@Redbad: Thanks for your concern. No, I'm not spoilered, and yes, I'll be competing.

ainwood left the saves and pre-game post on my doorstep as he waved farewell. I posted this thread, downloaded a start file and started playing it, in clean-room conditions with no extra knowledge of the map. I don't know the Jason best dates yet, and I'm avoiding joining in these discussions on start tactics, of course. I wanted to be ahead as far as possible, and at least to explore the whole map as a result of unspoilt play before Saturday. I'll then be able to set up the Jason scoring for submissions, and provide any support that's needed. So far I think I'm on track to achieve that, though of course I've had to play the start before I had the benefit of all these pearls of wisdom.

Conquest? Hmm! Let's wait and see

 

[bio_hazard]

Thanks Redbad and AlanH!

AlanH- I'm running 10.2.8. Will running the GOTM updater effect a game currently in progress?

Here's a speculative map question: are big continents typically centered in the world map in these GOTM setups? In other words, since we seem to have popped up a bit east of center, is that a reliable indication that we are near the eastern edge of the continent? That we are more likely to contact our 'colleagues' by heading N, S, or W?

 

[denyd]

Since COTM8 is already 12 days old, GOTM 39 wins the toss for my game this month. Looks like Mursilis will be sending old Otto off in search of a victory. This being a monarch level game, lots of victory conditions are possible and it might be a time to try the only one I've never completed in a GOTM setting, 100K culture. Cheaper libraries/universities will be a big help and a couple of late AA wars will hopefully provide a couple of GL's to help obtain some key wonders. I have to agree with a couple of the other posters on going for the Great Library. Waiting for Panzers to get our GA, is way too long. With the GLib and either Leo's or Sun Tzu's a mid MA GA is perfectly timed for those universities & big culture wonders. That's also a great time to get a jump on the AI tech wise and go for Smith's (my favorite wonder). Free markets & banks usually means a big treasury, which will come in handy for rushing culture improvements in corrupt cities. This also looks like one of those games that is going to need a palace jump to set up a second core of productive cities.

 

[AlanH]

AlanH- I'm running 10.2.8.

My word! You'll be two major releases behind in a few months Seriously, Panther's worth every cent.

Will running the GOTM updater effect a game currently in progress?

It should have no adverse operational effect. The new units are separate files that never get accessed by a standard game. If you want to be doubly sure you can make a duplicate of your Civ3 application folder and apply the GOTM installer to that, but it really shouldn't be necessary.

It installs a new Civilopedia containing a lot of new stuff about GOTM-mod-specific units, civs and such. That could be misleading I guess, as it includes features like Differential Naval Movement that are not relevant to a standard game, or even to current Classic GOTMs. If you want to revert to the out-of-the-box 'pedia you'll find 'civilopedia.txt' stashed away in a '/Before GOTM/' folder. Just rename the one in /Text/ or move it somewhere else to preserve it, and then drag the original from /Before GOTM/ into /Text/ to replace it.

 

[Balton]

AlanH:

I just received my Rev.C PowerBook G4 12". 1.33 Ghz with 1.25 Gb RAM. I plan to attach this baby to my 22" Vestel LCD-TV to play Civ3 particularly.

I also installed Civ3 but cannot find the v 1.21 updater at all. I do have the 1.29b2. But I think I will need the 1.21 updater b4 applying the 1.29b2. Am I right??

Also as for the game, we have a looong holiday (4.5 days) next week here in Istanbul hence I will have time to play GOTM 39, hopefully on my Mac.

cheers

 

[AlanH]

Hi Balton, welcome

No, you don't need the 1.21 updater unless you want to use the editor, which only works with 1.21g. As far as I know the 1.29b2 updater should work with any English language CD version.

The 1.21g updater used to be on MacSoft's site .... yes, here it is.

 

[Banthafodder]

I forgot how to switch views of AI's on the Foreign Advisors screen. With 11 AI's I'll probably need to do this from time to time. How is that done again?

 

[ControlFreak]

What happens if the settler goes N and settles ON the game? I know the forest clears, but do you still get the terrain bonus from the game? I seem to remember skimming an old thread about luxuries and not wanting to settle on them since you couldn't strategically disconnect them (implying that they were otherwise intact).

Welcome to CFC and GOTM. You picked a great spot for your first two posts.
Let me expand on Redbad's answer. A town will always give you 2 food from the center square, no more, no less. Therefore, most players avoid settling on food bonuses because they would be reduced to basic grassland. In fact, many people use this the other way to turn desert, tundra or even a hill into a two food tile that would normally only be a 1 food tile.

Towns also give at least one sheild. If you settle on a bonus grassland, you still get one shield so it looks wasted. But when you grow to a city, you get one more shield than the terrain provides. If you settled on grass, you still get 1s, but if you settle on BG, you get 2s. IIRC, if you settled on an iron, you would get two shields from the City Center.

Towns also give at least one gold. I think the Capital give three. Settling a town on a luxury would give you the extra gold in the center square. Settling by a river also gives you an extra gold in the center.

Any tips/strategies for optimizing the game with less food than a 4-turn settler factory requires?

Redbad is right. Micromanagement is going to be an every turn thing. If you don't share the food tile with another city you could use the irrigated game and a forest for two turns, switch the forest to grassland for the third turn. You grow on the third turn and the governor picks the forest again. Still grow every three turns but you convert the two wasted food into 4 shields.

I've been spoiled with a lot of high food or high sheild starts in the GOTM's I've played. This game is going to be a different story. There are no sheild bonuses that I can tell and only the one food bonus.

My initial build looks to be two scouts and a granary unless I find a high food site nearby. With all the AI running around, I'm sure pottery will be available but after getting screwed without pottery in some other GOTM's I will still reserach it at max.

Question, can fog gazers tell if the tile W-W of the city is forest also or grassland? Forests look to be the only way to get early sheilds in the capital and I already know I'm chopping down one of them. (I'm assuming W-NW is a forest)

 

[Tone]

@ Banthafodder

PtW is easy as there is a button to click on in the top left.

It's a long time since I've played vanilla civ so maybe I should keep quiet but is it right click on a leaderhead to replace them with another known civ?

Alternatively eliminate the civs you know quicker than you meet new ones!

 

[AlanH]

I forgot how to switch views of AI's on the Foreign Advisors screen. With 11 AI's I'll probably need to do this from time to time. How is that done again?

Shift-right-click an existing leader or a space where one should be to see a menu of hidden ones. Select one to put in that place. On a Mac with a one-button mouse that's shift-control-click.

 

[solenoozerec]

@ Banthafodder

PtW is easy as there is a button to click on in the top left.

It's a long time since I've played vanilla civ so maybe I should keep quiet but is it right click on a leaderhead to replace them with another known civ?

Alternatively eliminate the civs you know quicker than you meet new ones!

A third alternative is to press D button on the right of the panel that shows slider and curently slected unit. This will give a list of all civs (without faces, though).

 

[WillowBrook]

My initial build looks to be two scouts and a granary unless I find a high food site nearby.

I thought only expansionist civs could build scouts. Or is that changed for GOTMs? Or do you mean warriors that will be used as scouts? Or am I once again completely confused?

 

[Markus5]

Anyone else playing the Conquest version?
How would your initial strategy change with an extra worker, scout and 50g?
The forest will chop faster, and the squares will get improved faster. The unit pump will be up faster. The gold will allow faster research for the first techs. The scout can go walk-about to see our neighborhood sooner and meet our new friends sooner.

 

[Roland Deschain]

At the risk of sounding like a stupid newbie (which I am), what are those green sparkly things on the grassland? I've never seen those in the games I've played.

Thanks,
Stupid Newbie

 

[Durkz]

that shows how many food/shields does the base tile produce. green thingy is food and the blue thingy (there are no blue thingies in picture) tells you how much shields does the tile produce. You have option in preferences to switch this type of view on off.