MSTK1 - Monarch (Training?) Game

[Bede]

Thanks for the invite. I'll take the caboose spot.

 

[MSTK]

Should we let Melhisedek in?

I think so, but what do the others think?

 

[Melhisedek]

It's no biggie guys, I'm reading this training day game:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=81351

and thought perhaps this was the same kind of game I'm not expecting to discuss every single move like they do, but some general info on what is expected of me in my turns This would be my first SG as well so I have all recepies for disaster I could play just 5 turns if you decide to take me in

 

[dalgo]

Should we let Melhisedek in?

I think so, but what do the others think?

That's OK by me

 

[Symphony D.]

I'm cool with letting Melhisedek in. We have somewhat of a scattering of play levels anyway, so I figure give him a chance. Plus if somebody has to drop for whatever reason there's another person.

What about map settings and such?

 

[Bede]

You won't find a more enthusiatic player than Melchisedek so welcome to him by all means.

Slot him after me in the rotation and all should be well.

 

[Melhisedek]

You won't find a more enthusiatic player than Melchisedek so welcome to him by all means.

Slot him after me in the rotation and all should be well.

That is probably not true, but was damn nice thing to say I hope I won't let you down!

 

[MjM]

Heres my $0.02 on the map settings:

Size: Large ( or maybe even huge because i love huge games )
Continents 70% H2O
No Barbs or Sedentary since we are expansionst
Climate: Normal
Tempature: Temperate
Old world (5 bill)

Civ: Americia
Random enemies
All VC's (except wonder) And Cultural Conversion.

 

[MSTK]

Okay, we have all of the slots.

I won't be able to play next week (I'll still have interweb, though), so if someone can start off the game for me, I'll join in as the last in the roster.

I'm taking to liking MjM's suggestions. But why "no barbarians"?

 

[dalgo]

I agree with MjM except for the barbs (no barbs means no goody huts). I like huge maps too.

 

[Symphony D.]

At this level, the AI doesn't get much from Barbs, while we stand to lose if they're off, what with being Expansionist. I'd suggest Sedentary or up. Maybe Roaming.

I'd also suggest Wet climate if we're doing 5 Billion. The rest is fine. America... gonna be interesting. I guess I'll look into rolling some starts in a little while.

How does this sound to everyone?

Size: Large
Type: Continents
Oceans: 70%
Barbarians: Sedentary
Climate: Wet
Tempature: Temperate
Age: 5 Billion
Civ: Americia
Default Rules - Respawn AI & Culturally Linked Start Locs

 

[Symphony D.]

Okay, start proposals with the above options. I got these all pretty quick and they present some interesting options.

Start 1: Strong shield start with a food bonus, near the coast as well. No visible water source though, so setting up a good settler factory may be difficult unless one is nearby.

Start 2: Strong food start (cow, floodplains, river) with luxuries. But low in shields (one visible BG, some forest to the East and West). Might be able to set up a 4-turn Settler factory (definitely 6), but the Jungle to the North will hinder expansion in that direction.

Start 3: Not immediately a strong food or shield start, though decent in both and with good water supply. The gold hills make for great city locations too (COTM13 taught me that one). Looks to be a very powerful position for a core in the Industrial Age.

Start 4: Very strong starting city position with a gold hill and a lot of BGs. No water so it'd need an Aquaduct though - a drawback. Free goody hut too.

Start 5: Balanced start with food (cow), water, and shields (BGs). Probably best overall in terms of balance.

Personally I like 3 most for some reason, with 5 in second place. Of course anyone else is free to come up with their own, but I thought these were pretty decent for Monarch.

 

[dalgo]

I like 3 best also. Settle on the spot to retain both bg and build second town to the west for lux? Build order scout x 3, settler then more scouts? (send any warriors home for mp).

5 is also good, I take it that's fresh water. Plenty of bg and get the cow on first expansion. 4 looks like it is on the end of a peninsula which I don't like (fewer core towns), 2 is too close to the jungle and 1 might lack water.

 

[Symphony D.]

I'd also like to try and get a feel for if anybody has any preferred victory conditions because that's going to impact layout. I'm thinking XXXO placement right now because odds are, as America, we're going to want to be in the latter part of the game when we're truly flexing our muscles and XXO in thecore will hamper us. That makes maximum utilization of water in the Start 3 a little tricky to plan for however.

If we go XXXO, it'd probably be best to move the Settler 1SE and put the Worker on the BG to the East to mine. Regarding initial build order, depending on what we see, it might still be wise to get a granary operational. I'm tentatively thinking Scout / Scout / Settler / Warrior / Granary. Although it is Monarch, the AI gets gutsy sometimes and does send that random Warrior to kill you. It's just worse higher up. Happened to me a few times when I first went to Emperor, so I view it more as a defensive issue than a MP one.

If Start 3 gets more votes I can run it for 10 or 20 turns and see how it shakes out.

[EDIT] Tile 1NW of where the Scout is in Start 3 will be a coastal city (you can just barely see it at the edges of the fog) with water access and a gold hill. Perfect city for the Colossus. Could be an excellent super science city.

 

[MSTK]

I like Starts 3 and 5. 5 seems to yield the most bonuses, but I have a habbit of shirking away from mountains

 

[Bede]

Three or five look good, but I have to prefer 5.

And if you are going to move the settler in 5 go one north to capture the riverside commerce from the start.

 

[Whomp]

lurker's comment: Anybody have any ideas why I like Amurrica so much?

I didn't hear anyone else answer your question Bede. Is it because the Americans are such a good training civ? I will put it in spoiler tags so these guys can answer but here's mine. I may be wrong too.

Spoiler :

There are no crutches with the Americans. They have a late GA, basically no UU, no cheap buildings however they make good traders and the workers work faster. Understanding trading and workers are two critical steps in getting better.

I'm glad you all have Melhisedek in this game. He will be a monarch player before this game's out!
Good luck all.

 

[Symphony D.]

So far we have:

Start 3: 2
Start 5: 1
3 or 5: 1

Personally I can see going for 5 as well, but something about 3 just speaks to me. What about the rest of the team? TC216, MjM, Melhisedek?

I'd like to get the ball rolling on this. Also, how many turns are we going to do each to start off? 20 or 10? We also need a roster. Given that I have the starts I can go first but it'd be good to know who goes when.

Also, any thoughts on tech strategy? Since we've got huts to pop we should try and reach some conclusion on what to go for first, if anything.

 

[MSTK]

Is it possible to see the location on the minimap? I want to see where we are in relation to the world. It's a big hint.

Oh, and if i'm not here in teh next few days, pleace start without me.

 

[Symphony D.]

Start 3:

Start 5:

Both Southern hemisphere, roughly the same latitude.