Well I would agree first of all that there are indeed many benefits to be gained from having multiple difficulty levels for the GOTM. I just feel that those benefits are not as good as what we would have to give up to get them
For example, having multiple difficulties would give everyone a better chance to win and play at their most comfortable level. Players used to chieftan or warlord could stay in their comfort level, and those masochistic players who enjoy deity could stay there. So why do I object to such a seemingly nice plan?
Well, I suppose I feel that it goes against the spirit of the GOTM game. To me, the game isn't really about score at all(though when I'm having a good game like this month I'll certainly see how well I can do!
). It's more about reading how others handled the same situations in the spoilers thread, and talking with other players about what I could have done to improve. It's meant to be a casual contest, and I honestly think most people take it that way. We all want to win, but coming in 90th place doesn't seem to deter many people. In fact, the near-unanimous comment on the spoiler threads after a loss is "I can't wait for the next GOTM so I can do better!" My impression (and I could be wrong here) is that most people seem happy with the current system, knowing that some games will be quite easy and others impossibly hard. But it's not really about the games at all; it's about the shared experience of playing the same game.
Consider the situation if the proposal goes through and we have multiple difficulties. Now I'm not going to go into any details since this isn't the spoilers thread, but let me say I would have played the current GOTM drastically differently if the game had been on say emperor instead of warlord. Pace of expansion, opposition of AI, buying vs. researching techs, overall speed of tech acquisition: all of these things change enormously between difficulty levels. I honestly feel that these change the game enough to make it not the same for all. Would players in GOTM#2 have had the same experience with the Romans if some had been playing on monarch (the actual level) and others on warlord (new proposal)? I don't think that would have been the case; we would need a spoilers thread for each difficulty level if you wanted to hear from people who were experiencing the same situations as you. At least in my opinion
Ok, now for another aspect of the GOTM: how about the LEARNING aspect of the games? All you have to do is look at our esteemed moderator Matrix to see that playing in the GOTM each month can make you a better player
If everyone plays different levels in their comfort level, they are less likely to improve at the game. OK, I know everyone isn't interested in being the best out there. But at least to me, GOTM is about playing out of your comfort zone in the interest of comparing yourself to other players. Sure you might get destroyed in 350BC (which I fully expect would happen to me in a Deity game
) but if so, have you really lost anything? No one will make fun of you for losing, and if you read what others did, it might help you out in another game. My single-player games are for practicing at a comfortable level; GOTM is my wildcard game that could be anything. I'm not saying everyone has to agree with me on that, but it works for me.
Finally, the last reason why we need to keep the GOTM is because it's the only time everyone is playing the EXACT SAME game. Keep it simple, right? It's the same reason why American colleges require an SAT score - that's the only test that EVERY high school student in the country takes, so it provides a better way to evaluate applicants than grades, which can fluctuate widely in different areas. More than one difficulty destroys the very simplicity which is why we're playing the game in the first place! Keep it simple and keep it in one game.
I thought of something else. Here's what spork said about it:
Choosing a level would amount to something like choosing a victory type to aim for. It would be a strategic decision based on your preferences, style and strengths. There would be tradeoffs, like the many other tradeoffs that make Civ3 decisions so interesting. At the start of each month you'd wonder "Do I go for a longshot and try to get a conquest in Diety, or do I play it safe an milk a Monarch game, hoping that the people who try to shoot the moon all fail?"
It sounds nice, but this presents its own problems. What if you are one of the players who is in it just for score (though I don't think we have many of those) and you choose incorrectly before the game starts? Then you've lost your chance to win even before the game starts! Weighing tradeoffs vs. your playing style is just a bad idea for GOTM; we will have players thinking "Well GOTM#4 is an archipelago map, and since I don't have much experience with those I better go down a level of difficulty." Or "I love large maps! I'll play a harder game because I always play large or huge ones" This is not the intention of GOTM; in my opinion, varying difficulties will cause players to attempt to min/max their score by selecting difficulty based on their personal experiences in prior games. In other words, we get people focusing MORE on score and LESS on the community aspect of the game (which I feel is the best part) simply because they have a lot more control over their score. Why not just have everyone on the same map, playing the same game, and trying to do their best with what they start out with as chosen by Matrix. Keep it simple!
I recognize not everyone will agree with me, and that's fine with me. This is not intended as a bashing of the proposition of multiple difficulties, but more as an argument trying to explain why I feel the way I do. Judging from the poll though, I think most people are in agreement with me (not that that means I'm right; democracy is just tyranny of the majority after all). This is the best Civ3 competiton game on the Internet and more people are playing every month (even if submissions aren't going up; a lot of people didn't submit #4 and #5 because they lost). So something must be going right, and I see no reason to change what is a good system and a thriving game. Best of luck to all in the rest of GOTM#6!
) than what you're used to. 
