Gotm22-Vikings Speculation Thread

[Darkness]

I think this game will feature a lot of water (berserks ) and we'll probably start near the north of the map, with a lot of tundra/hills/mountains around us to simulate the original Viking settings (scandinavia).
Opponents will probably feature: Celts, Germans, Russians, England, Rome and Greece...
I hope this will be a standard size or small map as I will be pressed for time to play (vacation ).
The level will be emperor, I think. (LKendter's summation of the level of recent games convinced me)

One question remains:
cracker, are you going to pre-pop the GH's, like you've done in recent games? If so, you'll be taking most of the expansionist trait away, which would be a bad idea, IMHO.
I know not pre-popping the GH's really opens up a lot of things to chance in the early game, but it seems a lot less fun to play with a civ who has, effectively, only one trait....

 

[tao]

Originally posted by worlddomination
Wouldn't it be nice with some "authentic" viking resources? ....... As for luxuries, amber would almost be a given, no?

How about virgins for happiness?

 

[flexo]

I just hope they'll put in some new names for the cities instead of the once that came with the game. Thoose where ... ehh ... yes lets just say they left something to be desired.

To maximize the berserker I'm hoping for a extreme island hoppin' game. But that wouldn't be compatible with the viking "homeland" that much.

About the cold, mountins and arid comments. Think you all confused scandinavia with Norway and northern Sweden. Perhaps time to take another peek at the maps people. We are not living in constant snow and with polar bear roaming the streets

Other civs? Russia (a given), Germany, England, France. Perhaps America and Iroq on a far away island. Greeks and Ottomans (they went down there a few times). Even Babylon might be included. That is 9, that might do it.

A 10 civ game on a standard map.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Originally posted by Darkness
One question remains:
cracker, are you going to pre-pop the GH's, like you've done in recent games? If so, you'll be taking most of the expansionist trait away, which would be a bad idea, IMHO.
I know not pre-popping the GH's really opens up a lot of things to chance in the early game, but it seems a lot less fun to play with a civ who has, effectively, only one trait....

I'm pretty sure huts were only pre-popped in recent games when the hut(s) was (were) close to the starting position - the idea being that everyone got the same results, thus a level playing field for the very early game.

Although I have seen goody huts in all the GOTM's I've played, I haven't been first in popping them for a couple of games - so I'm quite happy about getting an Expansionist civ for a change. Now, if I can remember not to be building settlers when I pop them, I'm in with a chance...

Oh yes, reason I listed Ottomans as a possible Civ is the amount of trading/warfare going on with the Moors down in Spain and Morroco. OK, the Moors aren't the Ottomans, but they're a pretty close fit for the GOTM.

 

[Karasu]

A few random comments.

Oh dear, the speculation thread is here already and, as usual, I haven't completed GOTM21!!!

The victory condition for the Tournament will be Culture 100k.

Map: flex0 is right, of course. Southern Scandinavia is not that bad after all... But I believe that land movement out of the starting region will not be that easy.

A new tech, which I had already dreamed about for the Celts game, will finally be introduced: BEER BREWING (and drinking), as a prerequisite for the Berserkers...

Looking forward to seeing the starting position.

EDIT: Ops! I forgot the Trolls!

 

[Dianthus]

I'm hoping for lots of cows, to keep my hardy Viking warriors well supplied with horned helmets

 

[ControlFreak]

My first two great leaders:

BTW I wonder if this would be a good map to pull out the Northern Hemisphere map. Our starting area would be grassy pastures with a lot of tundra in the northern part of our pennisula. All other civs hav no tundra?

 

[Svar]

Originally posted by Dianthus
I'm hoping for lots of cows, to keep my hardy Viking warriors well supplied with horned helmets

Not to mention milk. The Scandinavians have been drinking milk for thousands of years.

 

[flexo]

Hagar the horrible is going to be your first leader ... ok ... Think I'll go for Snorre or someone instead.

Well Russia might have its fair share of the thundra (if they are in the game). South sweden and denmark is very nice, currently a bit above toasty warm.

The question might be: Should GOTM maps immitate the real world? Might be fun for a game here and there.

The main problem here is that we can't utilize the vikings to the max unless Cracker and staff do some tweaking and make Galleys > Longboats and allow them to travell on river squares. That would be so sweet

Originally posted by Svar


Not to mention milk. The Scandinavians having drinking milk for thousands of years.

Still do, I drink almost 3/4 of a liter of pure milk every day. MMMM ..




a furore normanorum libera nos, o domine!

 

[sourboy]

Originally posted by Dianthus
I'm hoping for lots of cows, to keep my hardy Viking warriors well supplied with horned helmets

Vikings never had horns on their helmets - it's a myth.
You must be trying to start a new trend...

 

[Dianthus]

Originally posted by sourboy
Vikings never had horns on their helmets - it's a myth.
You must be trying to start a new trend...

Sure they do, just take a look the Hagar the Horrible pic above! It's a gross generalization, obviously, but those are the best kind

 

[Svar]

I have started about 6 games as the Scandinavians on Regent level and about 1/3 of the time one of the early popped GHs yielded a settler. Now while this is great for my test game how will everybody feel if 1/3 of their fellow gamers get a 3500 BC settler and you don't?

 

[DaviddesJ]

Originally posted by Svar
I have started about 6 games as the Scandinavians on Regent level and about 1/3 of the time one of the early popped GHs yielded a settler. Now while this is great for my test game how will everybody feel if 1/3 of their fellow gamers get a 3500 BC settler and you don't?

If that happens, I'd rather be the one who doesn't. Getting a 2nd settler early would make the game too easy.

 

[hotrod0823]

I think the primary reason for the "hut" bonuses that have been allocated in the last 3 GOTM's are to avoid having an unfair advantage of an early settler. It really cuts the difficulty down and would make the game play at a lower level.

Having said all that maybe the huts are far enough away to make getting a settler less likely. Chances are if they are further away you will have settlers out and about when it comes time to pop the hut or the hut will be far enough away that if it is a settler is will take time to bring him home to a reasonable location.

I think early huts will be dispersed in the form of starting units to even the playing field or to make distinctions between pred, open or conquest.

hotrod

 

[Svar]

Does anyone know if bowman upgrade into berserkers? If they do then the horsemen to cavalry gambit can be executed much earlier with the help of galleys (longboats) in the proper terrain.

 

[hotrod0823]

Bowmen don't but archers do . There was a problem with an early release of PTW but they have fixed it. You can upgrade archers to zerks. It is expensive but can be done.

 

[mad-bax]

Originally posted by Karasu

The victory condition for the Tournament will be Culture 100k.

Truly perverse Karasu. Diplo would be equally funny.

I haven't given this much thought and I've never played as Scandanavia but....

I would say it would be a standard cold archipeligo map (doh). I also have a feeling it might be regent with a horrible start. The conquest players will get a couple of workers, open players nothing, and the predators will get restless barbs and play against civs with deity starting units.

I think the tournament condition will be conquest (again doh!)

Not very original huh?

 

[jeffelammar]

After this month, do you think there's any chance of a Tiny map. I looked back, and GOTM has never done a Tiny map.

I'm sure there are lots of arguments for why a Tiny map is not right for competition, but I think it might be fun for one GOTM to take place in a Tiny world.

 

[Ronald]

Since the vikings were the first to discover america and cracker always teaches some history lessons I would expect the following setup:

Northern hemisphere with Vikings, Germans, France, Russia on our home continent (if it is another large map it could include Rome and Greece as well)

English and celts on islands to the west.

Americans, Iroquois and Aztecs on the American continent further to the west.

Since Atlantis was introduced in gotm21, they may have another big island between England and the American continent.

Map setting continents, normal, 4 billion years.

100k cultural victory for medal play (who in the right mind would go for culural victory with the vikings if it was not required)

Difficulty either emperor or regent. I would vote for regent.

Mapsize standard (hopefully not again large)

 

[jeffelammar]

Originally posted by Ronald

100k cultural victory for medal play (who in the right mind would go for culural victory with the vikings if it was not required)

I for one hope not. I will probably go for 100K this game, but if the medal goal is 100K, I may have to go for something else just to be different.