[BTS] News: BOTM 191 starts 7April

[Deckhand]

BOTM 191: JULIUS of Rome.

[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm191civ.jpg[/img]
Random Leaders, Random Map, No Options.
Julius Caesar of Rome, Noble level.
Great opportunity for players that don't normally play GOTM.

Game settings:
Playing as: Julius of Rome
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Noble
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: None (yes huts, yes events)
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: RandomScriptMap
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Worldsize_standard
Climate: Climate_rocky
Sea level: Sealevel_medium

Julius is Organized and Imperialistic, and you start with Fishing and Mining.
The Organized trait gives -50% civic upkeep and double production speed of Courthouse, Factory and Lighthouse

The Imperialistic trait gives +100% great general emergence and +50% production of settlers

Unique unit: Praetorian (replaces Swordsman)
The Praetorian benefits from: base strength = 8, 0% city attack bonus, and 45 hammers to build (on normal speed). This compares with the Swordsman which has: base strength = 6, 10% city attack bonus, and 40 hammers to build (on normal speed).

Unique Building: Forum (replaces Market)
+25% :greatperson: generation, in addition to Market's: +25% , two possible merchant specialists, and from fur, ivory, silk, whale

Starting screenshot

This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):




Note that in this game, any espionage-culture victories will be counted as cultural victories.

Adventurer Class bonuses:
"Sorry" (air quotes) - no Adventurer save this month.
Contender is Rome at Noble difficulty, what more could you want?

Challenger Class Equalizers:
You play at Deity difficulty level. However, barbarians don't have any starting techs.
And the AIs start with Noble units.

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open at 00:01 am on 7 Apr 2020, server local time (UTC-6:00). From that date and time, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save >>>here<<<.

Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 10 May 2020.

Here is a link to a list of the differences between Vanilla, Warlords and BtS.

Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the BUFFY mod version 3.19.005 installed. You can download the BUFFY mod here. Players using Windows Vista or Windows 7 are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.


Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Warlords), patched to version 3.19, and with the Mac BUFFY mod version 3.19.003 installed. You can download the Mac BUFFY mod here.
While playing...

Remember - for your entry to be accepted, it MUST be your first attempt to play this game, and you MUST NOT replay any turns. If you make a mistake while playing, you have to live with it, learn from it, and carry on the game without replaying.

We will open 'spoiler' threads during the month for players to discuss what happens in their games. Do not discuss any details of your game outside those threads.

 

[shakabrade]

You play at Deity difficulty level. However, barbarians don't have any starting techs.

Does this mean that AIs start with Deity starting units?

 

[Powerfaker]

Lovely food Paradise. Better hurry to writing to handle fast rexing…..

Any other option than SIP? Too much forest to march through inland. 1E to abandon ocean tiles for slightly more land not that good. Workboat 3T longer moving + kills forest. Warrior NE should reveal a lot. This looks like a peninsula anyway, 2N is water too.

We had no enemy for our vultures. Let's pray there is some for our pretorians on this …… anything can happen map

 

[LowtherCastle]

Guess this is my opportunity since I never play CIV...normally...

Great. Lots of food when it’s hammers that produce settlers faster.

Noble or deity. That’ll be an interesting comparison on highest score.

Nothing like a start that tempts you to tech all the starting techs...

 

[LowtherCastle]

Do not discuss any details of your game outside those threads.

Gee thanks. More rules inhibiting all my social interaction...



“Honey,” she whispers, “you seem ... socially distant...”

“Yeah, got my attention elsewhere...”

“What’s her name?” No longer whispering.

“Victoria, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it...”

“Is this a threat to us???” Worried now.

“Darling, she’s a threat to my entire empire...”

Sobbing...

 

[MarleysGh0st]

Suggest to her that she play the game, too, LowtherCastle. Then she'll understand all about Victoria!

 

[Deckhand]

Does this mean that AIs start with Deity starting units?

No they don't. So, not real deity.

…… anything can happen map

What I learned with Random settings:

• You can get a game with only two or three total players - so I changed that to the normal 7 and standard size.
  
• When regenerating the map in worldbuilder, random is applied each time. Some were islands, some were Pangaea ... And then there is the one I used.
  
• Same with leaders. iirc there were different leaders each time. I liked this map and this leader.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Suggest to her that she play the game, too, LowtherCastle. Then she'll understand all about Victoria!

She’d probably play on Monarch the whole time, pick only women as opponents, and murder than brutally every time

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Lovely food Paradise. Better hurry to writing to handle fast rexing…..

Any other option than SIP? Too much forest to march through inland. 1E to abandon ocean tiles for slightly more land not that good. Workboat 3T longer moving + kills forest. Warrior NE should reveal a lot. This looks like a peninsula anyway, 2N is water too.

Yeah, 1E doesn't look brilliant, losing a turn to settle and the forest. I'm not massively bothered about the longer time for a workboat to reach the fish because with that corn and pigs, there's not so much need to prioritise an early workboat anyway. The most significant benefit of 1E is that, if the map turns out to be favourable to the great lighthouse, 1E looks like it has more production to build it faster. That might even be useful later on to build other wonders, but I know that's a long-shot guess when we know nothing about the map type. Also, 1E gives a better chance for those clams to be used by a 2nd city - may be useful if that's an island to the NW. Not sure whether that's enough to offset the advantages of settling in place though.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

Sounds exciting! please do Mac save

 

[WastinTime]

Noble or deity. That’ll be an interesting comparison on highest score.

I think they always score the challenger games at the same difficulty as contender.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

What are „random leaders”? Does it simply mean that mapmaker did not pick them? Or unrestricted leaders? Random personalities?

I was thinking of playing a test game while we wait for the screenshot but was not sure what it means.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

What are „random leaders”? Does it simply mean that mapmaker did not pick them? Or unrestricted leaders? Random personalities?

Unrestricted leaders/random personalities would show up as a specific game option (the script that generates the game announcements automatically reads that information from the game files, although the mapmaker can edit that text before posting). Since the starting post specifically states that there are no options selected for this game, I think we can surmise that 'random leaders' simply means that @Deckhand didn't choose any particular leaders.

 

[LowtherCastle]

I think they always score the challenger games at the same difficulty as contender.

Right. I’m curious who has the better chance at the Gold... Probably deity, I suppose.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

Tha

Unrestricted leaders/random personalities would show up as a specific game option (the script that generates the game announcements automatically reads that information from the game files, although the mapmaker can edit that text before posting). Since the starting post specifically states that there are no options selected for this game, I think we can surmise that 'random leaders' simply means that @Deckhand didn't choose any particular leaders.

Thanks

 

[Fine_Distinction]

Lovely food Paradise. Better hurry to writing to handle fast rexing…..

why do you need writing for fast rexing?

 

[shakabrade]

why do you need writing for fast rexing?

Because REXing drains the economy and you need some means of research. Writing enables Libraries which provide two scientist slots which add 7.5 (for 2 scientist, Libarary bonus, no Representation). That scientist research can lift you to Alphabet, enabling you to build research and trade techs and then you get to Currency and your worries are over.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

Because REXing drains the economy and you need some means of research. Writing enables Libraries which provide two scientist slots which add 7.5 (for 2 scientist, Libarary bonus, no Representation). That scientist research can lift you to Alphabet, enabling you to build research and trade techs and then you get to Currency and your worries are over.

Makes sense, thanks

 

[zbgayumn]

Anybody having issues running the game on Steam all of a sudden? I get a splash screen stuck over part of the game screen that just stays there. I also just had a crash, which hasn't happened in at least a couple hundred game hours.

 

[Fine_Distinction]

I

Anybody having issues running the game on Steam all of a sudden? I get a splash screen stuck over part of the game screen that just stays there. I also just had a crash, which hasn't happened in at least a couple hundred game hours.

haven't noticed anything with Steam recently, but have not played since yesterday. I have crashes occasionally, I think when I keep game open in the background for a long time (like several days). hth