BOTM 240: King Arthur.
Once upon a time, Britain was part of a cosmopolitan empire. Now, since the collapse of that empire, the land had fallen into a Dark Age. You, Arthur Pendragon, have been hailed as the leader of your people, by virtue of having pulled a sword from a stone. (Or was it because some watery tart threw the sword at you? Truth can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from legend.) But be warned! Your mentor has taught you that this land is surrounded by avaricious neighbors who would conquer it. (Or was he explaining that these neighbors have a vital part to play and are eager to unite with Britain? Or did he mean that they just want to be left alone? Merlin can be difficult to understand when he's giving one of those "prophetic" lectures.)
You begin the game at war with one of those neighbors, an old rival. (Or is she an old flame? Perhaps your half-sister? Truth must await the invention of the tabloid press.) Rumor has it that she has taken her followers and withdrawn to a place not of this Earth. From there, she intends to rebuild her power until she can usurp your throne and place her own son upon it. (Is he also your son? Truth must await the invention of a paternity test.) Rumor also has it that she has enchanted powerful monsters to do her bidding. None who have come near have ever returned alive!
Will you be the guardian of your people? Will you forge a United Kingdom? Or will one of your rivals succeed in doing so?
Disclaimers:
1. This map will probably look very familiar. I make no guarantees about the accuracy of this representation. My time was limited and I'm just beginning to learn the skills of a mapmaker. Besides, there have to be a few surprises for you!
2. The AI have been selected from approximately one millennium of British history. Throwing them all together may seem a bit odd, but then again, you're playing one leader through six millennia. Time is clearly a flexible concept in this game!
3. Renaming leaders and civilizations may have resulted in some minor bugs. For example, I noticed in play testing that announcements are sometimes given using the default adjective for a civilization, instead of the one I have designated. The river design tool in World Builder is also rather finicky, and you may see some rivers flowing through ocean squares. None of this should affect game play. If you notice any other bugs, let me know in the spoiler threads.
4. I have not been educated in the United Kingdom, so my understanding of the history may be missing some of the subtleties. Never fear! I have supplemented my formal education by watching many movies on the subject. Surely Hollywood wouldn't lead me astray!
Game settings:
Playing as: Arthur of Romano-Britain
Rivals: 8 AIs
Difficulty: Noble
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: Unrestricted leaders, no goody huts, no random events
Victory Conditions: All enabled. Espionage Cultural Victories count as Cultural Victories.
Map settings:
Map: Custom
World Wrap: None
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Medium
Map latitudes: 45°N to 70°N
Arthur 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: Redcoat (replaces Rifleman)
Where the rifleman has +25% strength against mounted units, the redcoat has +25% against both mounted and gunpowder units.
Unique Building: Stock Exchange (replaces Bank)
The stock exchange gives an amazing +65% gold in the city it's built in, as opposed to +50% for the bank.
Starting screenshot
This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):
Challenger Class Equalizers:
You play on deity level. Why would you do something the easy way, when you can choose the most difficult way possible? The AI still only have noble level starting units. Just do nothing for a few turns, if you think they don't have enough of an advantage.
To Enter the Competition:
This competition will open at 00:01 am on 1 Aug 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 6 Sep 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.
Breathes
, eats
.
