[BTS] News: BOTM 280: Alexander, Emperor - Starts October 5

[kcd_swede]

BOTM 280: Alexander of Greece.

[img=right]https://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm280civ.jpg[/img]

You will play as Alexander the Great of Greece at Emperor difficulty level. There are some important things to consider before you start:
(1) You and all your opponents and barbarians begin in the Medieval Era, starting with all technologies up through the classical era.
(2) You are playing at EPIC game speed, so the turn count will be close to normal, but it will feel slower except for unit mobility/year.
(3) All your opponents and the barbarians start with an already founded city that is also a Holy City for different religions.

That last one could help diplomatically if you wisely choose your faith, or it could just be setting you way back culturally and otherwise. I didn't do it just to be evil, but to ensure that the competition is balanced and not determined by luck in getting an early religion randomly assigned as would normally happen in advanced starts.

I strongly suggest you try out a practise Classical Era game on Epic speed before you start playing this one, so you can get a feel for the play differences.

Oh yeah... you will have until the 15th of November to submit due to the Epic speed and to my tardiness in getting this started.
As always, good luck and have fun!


Game settings:
Playing as: Alexander of Greece
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Emperor
Starting Era: Medieval
Speed: Epic
Options: No goody huts, no random events
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: Inland Sea
World Wrap: None
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea level: Low
Map latitudes: -60°S to 60°N


Alexander is Philosophical and Aggressive, and you start with Mysticism, Meditation, Polytheism, Priesthood, Monotheism, Monarchy, Literature, Code of Laws, Drama, Fishing, The Wheel, Agriculture, Pottery, Aesthetics, Sailing, Writing, Mathematics, Alphabet, Calendar, Currency, Hunting, Mining, Archery, Masonry, Animal Husbandry, Bronze Working, Horseback Riding, Iron Working, Metal Casting, Compass and Construction.

The Philosophical trait gives +100% great people birth rate and double production speed of University

The Aggressive trait gives free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units and double production speed of Barracks and Drydock

Unique unit: Phalanx (replaces Axeman)
Compared to the axeman, the phalanx is much less vulnerable to chariot attacks, having +100% defence against them.

Unique Building: Odeon (replaces Colosseum)
The odeon gives an amazing +2 happiness and +3 culture in its city. It can also turn 2 citizens into artists, and givesn and extra +1 happy from hit singles.

Starting screenshot

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




Adventurer Class bonuses:
No Adventurer save

Challenger Class Equalizers:
No Challenger save

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open at 00:01 am on 5 Oct 2024, 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 15 Nov 2024.

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.

 

[kcd_swede]

I put together a map with same settings.... the terrain and opponents are different. You can go into the worldbuilder and mess around with it, or just play a bit to get a feel for the conditions and see what to expect. (attached game is for practise/fun only, not part of the BOTM280 competition).

 

[High King J.J.]

I'm not familiar with the single unit graphics, especially from straight up angle. Is that the settler on the forest shore tile and worker 1S on the grassland hill? I'll explore with all units befre deciding to settle on the river and sea shore, 3 possibilities.
I need to review which wonders can't be built. I guess no Pyramids, GWall, GLighthouse, Artemis, Oracle etc.
Good thing there's a practise save. If I didn't know better I might think the mapmaker isn't totally .

 

[LowtherCastle]

All seven religions have been founded with holy cities, even though not all those technologies have been discovered?

Oh, I guess nvm, assuming the test save answers that question.

 

[kcd_swede]

I'm not familiar with the single unit graphics, especially from straight up angle. Is that the settler on the forest shore tile and worker 1S on the grassland hill? I'll explore with all units befre deciding to settle on the river and sea shore, 3 possibilities.
I need to review which wonders can't be built. I guess no Pyramids, GWall, GLighthouse, Artemis, Oracle etc.
Good thing there's a practise save. If I didn't know better I might think the mapmaker isn't totally .

2 settlers, 2 archers, 1 worker and 1 explorer are standard issue for these settings. The two settlers occupy the same position on the forest.

 

[ariosto]

Interesting settings, I will give it a try. Never played non-ancient starts before. Thanks for the practice save!

We can adopt Hereditary Rule, Slavery, Caste System and Organized Religion on T0. So we can move settlers one turn with no losses. There are no religions left, so OR is probably out. Given that we are PHI T0 CS might be worth it. Although, even start with slavery feels really slow. Interesting decision already!
Granary and Lighthouse are available in every city. This makes costal cities a bit better than usual.
CRE feels much more needed than in normal game. Not sure, if it is because of epic, or because of medieval start. Plus there are no religions left, let alone Stonehenge. We can tech music, though. Adopting CS early on for artists is another option.
Talking about wonders, we can build Hanging Gardens, Great Library, Colossus, Chichen Itza, MoM and Shwedagon Paya T0.

Starting position also looks interesting. I can see three possible city locations here, all of them have their advantages

• Coastal fish. We can chop WB, so it is relatively fast. But there is no PH there.
• PH between Cows and Pigs. Pros: PIGS. Cons: need road for trade connection, and we have only one worker. Although we need just one road to fix this.
• PH near floodplains. Looks like amazing future bureau cap. Cons: there is no visible food . May consider sacrificing PH and settle this one W or NW?

A lot of options here

 

[Jimmy Thunder]

I really liked the two-settler start. Gives you lots too think about.