[BTS] News: BOTM 232 - Justinian, Monarch - Starts 5 Mar

[DynamicSpirit]

BOTM 232: Justinian of Byzantium.

[img=right]https://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm232civ.jpg[/img]

Your change to play Byzantium. Since this is a rare game for which goody huts remain on the map, I figured you may as well get the chance to take advantage of them. You therefore start with 2 scouts, in addition to your usual starting units.

Game settings:
Playing as: Justinian of Byzantium
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Monarch
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: None
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: Continents
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Medium
Map latitudes: -90°S to 90°N


Justinian is Spiritual and Imperialistic, and you start with Mysticism and The Wheel.

The Spiritual trait gives no anarchy and double production speed of Temple and Cristo Redentor

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

Unique unit: Cataphract (replaces Knight)
The cataphract is much stronger than the knight, having a base strength of 12. But unlike the knight, it's not immune to first strikes.

Unique Building: Hippodrome (replaces Theatre)
The hippodrome works a bit differently from the theatre. The +3 culture/turn is still there. But for happiness, where the theatre gives +1 happy with dye, the hippodrome gives +1 happy out of the box, and an extra +1 with horse: Dye has no effect. The hippodrome also gives +1 happy for each 5% culture rate you have, as opposed to +1 per 10% culture rate for the theatre. But it's not all good: Unlike the theatre, the hippodrome won't let you turn any citizens into artists.

Starting screenshot

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




Challenger Class Equalizers:
You play on emperor level (but the AI still has monarch starting units) and you don't have the extra starting scouts - just the settler and warrior.

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open at 00:01 am on 5 Mar 2022, 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 5 Apr 2022.

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.

 

[LowtherCastle]

And random events! Hmm... Emperor gives a tangible advantage in terms of tech trading but those two scouts look delicious in the early game, for defogging as much as goodie hut mining. Thing is, they quickly come at a cost once we build some units and harvest some workers. Cataphracts are killer.

 

[Powerfaker]

I think we want to settle closer to the river. .Maybe on a dye to settle coastal with seafood, or 2NE, or one more turn further on the PH.. But there could also be a trash tiles, the eastern scout will help a lot with that decision.
This start looks reasonably promising with much green and a corn ......

 

[High King J.J.]

And random events!

As if we didn't have enough random events in real life already... I wonder if we'll have nuclear meltdowns due to civil unrest or maybe because invaders fire on firemen while a nuclear plant burns? In the game of course, nobody sane would do that in real life...
I will scout first before deciding where to settle. Will probably move somewhere.
I guess the hippodrome won't give extra happiness from dyes because it would give that from hippos instead? But since there isn't a hippo resource it gives happiness out of the box.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Speaking of which, I wonder if our Russian civvers are able to access civfanatics.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Spoiler threads are up!

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Speaking of which, I wonder if our Russian civvers are able to access civfanatics.

Yeah, as I recall, long ago, I think there used to be quite a large Russian contingent playing GOTMs. But I don't recall seeing any of those guys for some years so I guess they drifted away. I'm not sure if any of the current players are Russian and I'm just not aware of it. If any are - my personal feelings are that, despite my utter horror at what Putin and his barbaric Government are doing in Ukraine, as individuals, anyone of whatever nationality should be welcome to play GOTMs. After all it's not normally any individual's fault what kind of Government they have. (Subject of course to whatever sanctions are imposed, though I've not seen anything sanction-wise that impacts non-profit community games).

 

[MirrorGuard]

I wonder if our Russian civvers are able to access civfanatics

The Great Firewall is located in China, not Russia.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

The Great Firewall is located in China, not Russia.

The Great Firewall probably wants to be close to its relative, the Great Wall...

 

[High King J.J.]

I believe the Great Firewall is a national wonder, one that has been recently built in Russia too. They may not have fully implemented it yet but since dictatorships fear freedom of information I think it's only a matter of time.
I don't know if Russian players play the GOTMs these days but I agree everyone should be welcome to play GOTMs (as long as they play by the rules).

I have seen long time propaganda spammers polluting the off-topic forums for years and some of them apparently are Russians. I don't care to follow those threads because I'm disgusted by the forums allowing such lies, and I'd be banned if I commented on those threads anyway. But that's enough from me.
There's one smilie that I think shows best what's been happening. Even the shield has blue and yellow colors.

 

[SittinDown]

GTFW - -50% War weariness in all cities, -25% science.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Well I definitely wasn’t trying to start any sort of a political or other kind of a discussion here. I just saw that maybe youtube would be turned off and so I wondered. I’ve had some great online friendships with some people from Russia here at Civfanatics and I miss them.

 

[MirrorGuard]

Well I definitely wasn’t trying to start any sort of a political or other kind of a discussion here.

It's Putin who gave the order, not you. Even if your true intention was to start a political discussion, I would still blame him.

They may not have fully implemented it yet but since dictatorships fear freedom of information I think it's only a matter of time.

I believe every wonder has its deeply entrenched cultural and historical origin, including the GFW.

 

[LincolnOfRome]

The most obvious place for me seems to be the riverside plains hill. I don't lose access to the dye or corn, and the initial worker will come two turns quicker than SIP. Last time I played random events on a GOTM, I had only warriors and chariots when a hoard of barbarian spearmen attacked. I'll have to learn archery if no bronze is around.

 

[Powerfaker]

It's awfully quiet
@DynamicSpirit Still alive??

 

[LowtherCastle]

It's awfully quiet
@DynamicSpirit Still alive??

Whether he is or not he’s probably fooling.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

It's awfully quiet
@DynamicSpirit Still alive??

I have heard rumours that he is still alive somewhere in the UK but sadly still totally submerged by work-deadline issues at the moment, which may explain the current very regrettable lack of GOTMs.

Of course it's possible those rumours are false and he has treacherously defected from Civ to SimCity or maybe RollerCoaster Tycoon or some other so-called strategy game

 

[LowtherCastle]

I have heard rumours that he is still alive somewhere in the UK but sadly still totally submerged by work-deadline issues at the moment, which may explain the current very regrettable lack of GOTMs.

Of course it's possible those rumours are false and he has treacherously defected from Civ to SimCity or maybe RollerCoaster Tycoon or some other so-called strategy game

The latter rumors sound defective.

 

[Powerfaker]

Of course it's possible those rumours are false and he has treacherously defected from Civ to SimCity or maybe RollerCoaster Tycoon or some other so-called strategy game

..... And that's why we have to call out from time to time, to stop you from doing so

 

[Pangaea]

I have heard rumours that he is still alive somewhere in the UK but sadly still totally submerged by work-deadline issues at the moment, which may explain the current very regrettable lack of GOTMs.

Is it your boss that wears a pink tie?