GOTM 45 Pre-Game discussion

[Nata]

Yay, finally I can play for my people! Gotta win this one, whatever the score.

But yes, some hint on the world size and some idea on water/land ratio would be great, for practice games at least.

I beleive there would be good land south, and that we can afford to move settler for 2-3 turns as we seem to be in the far corner of the world.

 

[Vegasgustan]

I am on the south kick as well. Hey, maybe there will be coal and iron in those there mountains/hills and we can have us an Iron Works. That is always a nice thing to have around in a pinch. Well, I think I am going for either a domination win or just for giggles a UN win. We will have to see how the sands fall through the hourglass.

 

[IronKnight]

I think we are starting in Siberia!

Have to move south, but first use the scout & worker. Probably move one unit SW & the other SE.

 

[Redbad]

It seems like a kind of pity that the starting image doesn't provide much basis for discussion. There's more or less only one way to go and that's south. Not only for the settler to find a more food-rich environment, but also for the scout for using his 2-movement ability to find civs and huts and finally also fo the worker for improving more food-rich tiles.

Build orders as stated by Piu Freddo underline a warlike goal. I however would not put my cards on archers but on horsemen. Not only because it can upgrade to the UU eventually, but also this being pangaea means we have to cover distances.

Research then could be firstly the wheel and secondly towards monarchy or republic. Maybe republic is better because we won't conquer the world with horsemen and thus have to make some progress towards military tradition.

 

[budweiser]

I'm going to try this one. I'll probably settle 1 south on the hill or should I spend two turns walking?

Two turns probably would be better.

 

[ainwood]

It seems like a kind of pity that the starting image doesn't provide much basis for discussion. There's more or less only one way to go and that's south. Not only for the settler to find a more food-rich environment, but also for the scout for using his 2-movement ability to find civs and huts and finally also fo the worker for improving more food-rich tiles.

Yes - it is a shame - I could have moved the starting location to generate more discussion, but there were reasons for putting it where it is.

I will say however that this is NOT a trail of bread-crumbs start. Players should follow standard types of thinking in order to decide where to move the scouot / worker first-up, and on deciding where to settle.

 

[Nata]

...I'll probably settle 1 south on the hill

Is it really a hill? Looks more like a mountain with no snow. So it seems unless we go North we'll have to move for at least 2 turns.

 

[bio_hazard]

I'd love some advice on playing Russia- have never played this civ and have very little experience with expansionists.

Does anyone have a link to the pre-game discussion and AA spoiler for GOTM 15, which was also Monarch/Russia? I know the start is very different, but I'd like to see how people play this nation.

A few other questions:

Is there any mid/late game advantages to expansionism that I'm missing? Or is it all about getting those goody huts? Seems like on a crowded map this trait is next to useless...

Do people plan to aim for Literature quickly to start building cheap libraries?

Are Cossacks good enough to wait for if going for a military victory condition, or just sort of a nice bonus if you were going to use cavalry anyway?

Thanks a bunch

 

[leif erikson]

Does anyone have a link to the pre-game discussion and AA spoiler for GOTM 15, which was also Monarch/Russia? I know the start is very different, but I'd like to see how people play this nation.

Here is a link to the QSC results for GOTM 15 You can download all the player timelines from here. Good luck.

 

[Xerol]

There's a chance of game north - so worker N, scout SW, settler moves depending on what's revealed. If there is a Game up there, then I'll settle north and pump out a single settler before switching over to a scout/military pump, while the settler can move south and begin a more expansionist strategy. If no game is revealed by a single worker move, then the settler will go either S or SE (South if the scout reveals some good tiles more to the west, SE if it doesn't.)

 

[MeteorPunch]

I will say however that this is NOT a trail of bread-crumbs start. Players should follow standard types of thinking in order to decide where to move the scouot / worker first-up, and on deciding where to settle.

Thanks for the little hint, Ainwood.

The breadcrumbs lead south, but the best land may be to the east or west. It may pay off to go setter S, worker W, scout E. This would reveal the most nice land.

 

[Redbad]

Is it really a hill? Looks more like a mountain with no snow. So it seems unless we go North we'll have to move for at least 2 turns.

It definitly is:
hills: NW, S and E
mountains: W, SW and SE
wooded tundra: N and Ne

 

[DBear]

Could someone remind me what the cossack's stats are in PTW? All I can think off is 6.3.3 + blitz, but that's in Conquests...

And I think I'll head south too. Do my eyes deceive me or is that river?

 

[Xerol]

6.4.3, no blitz, if I remember correctly. Not all that great, but the defense point makes a difference.

 

[bio_hazard]

@Leif-- Thanks for the link- that's perfect!

 

[eldar]

Eep, they are the not-so-great 6-4-3 variant (just checked in the Civilopedia) I thought that was changed before C3C, but obviously I was wrong!

[Edit] Oh and can we have this start instead please? I only rolled it to check the Civilopedia as well....

 

[azzaman333]

What a fantastic start.

Ill send my worker north, scout south, and settler could settle on spot or be moved (depending on game in tundra)
As i have had some good games with russia, i hope my score wont be so low its hilarious.

 

[Jove]

Arrrr, my gut tells me SW will be the way to go. The start location, this far north, with such hard-scrabble land, it seems the only thing to do will be drinking vodka until September when the sun finally goes down. But seriously, if Ainwood is encouraging 'normal thinking', the thing to do is get the heck out of this place! There just has to be some grasslands out there.
The military start is tempting... with 11 rivals and such a mysterious start, it is hard to say too much.
And, um, the land is warm in summer? Sorta 5 billion years old? Maybe a pangea? Is Ainwood fooling around, or are these hints?

 

[S.P.Q.R.]

Maybe he's hinting at lots of desert further south?

 

[Sabre]

Well, there is no way I'm going to settle to the north of the mountains. Not only is it a weak spot even if there is a game, it places my capital out of center of any ring I might want to set up. The only alternative to an off center capital would be an early palace jump and that just seems a waste. The tile to the SSE looks to be grass and with a river in that area I'll probably be settling one of the hills to the south. My scout will move S and if that site looks good, my settler will follow. If it only looks average, my settler will move SW and will choose which hill to settle (or move further if the scout determines it best) after the scout moves S and W on turn 2. The furs can go in my first ring eventually. On Monarch, the luxury won't be needed right away and better city sites towards the competition will get priority. I doubt an AI will steal those furs any time soon. My first tech will probably be Alphabet - depends on who the other civs are - I like to work towards Republic and since you can usually get Philosophy or Code of Laws first, trading to tech parity isn't hard. My first builds will be something along the lines of scout, warrior and then either settler or granary.

Are we popping settlers or workers from huts in this game? Not that I won't get anything but maps, but it's nice to know what I'm missing.