[BTS] News: BOTM 284 (Xmas game) Results and Congratulations

[DynamicSpirit]

Well Christmas spirit was in short supply for this Christmas game wasn't it! With all medals going to conquest or domination. Not bad dates though - 1370 AD fastest domination (and gold) for Bemep42, and 1100 AD fastest conquest (and silver) for sossos. I felt hhhawk was the only person who really understood Christmas spirit - by going for the only a religious win, in 1130 AD, but some brownie points for the three cultures (with @Smiregal having the fastest in 1680 AD), and five space race wins - of which @Frederiksberg managing the fastest in 1785 AD. Actually, no I've changed my mind. The prize for most Christmas spirit goes to @donsig for generously consenting to be defeated, thereby allowing an AI to enjoy victory. Christmas is after all about giving.

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Summary of Medal Winners:

Bemep42: 1370 AD Domination Victory, 478,522 points.

sossos: 1100 AD Conquest Victory, 232,891 points.

nocho: 1545 AD Conquest Victory, 211,287 points.

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Fastest Finish Award Winners:

frederiksberg: 1765 AD Spaceship Victory, 128,486 points.

hhhawk: 1130 AD Religious Victory, 121,078 points.

smiregal: 1680 AD Cultural Victory, 50,143 points.

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Other Award Winners:

Jimmy Thunder: 1620 AD Domination Victory, 211,270 points.

sevnhuts: 1918 AD Conquest Victory, 63,868 points.

The Dude Esq: 1906 AD Cultural Victory, 22,087 points.

greatbeyond: 2008 AD Spaceship Victory, 15,316 points.

donsig: 2003 AD Diplomatic Loss, 3,395 points.


>> See the full results here.
>> See the updated global rankings here.
>> See the latest Pantheon of Heroes here.
>> You can see and compare graphic replays of all the submissions here.
>> Award symbols are listed here.

 

[sossos]

Dany (leans back on her throne, a smirk playing on her lips, eyes gleaming like dragonfire): "Aren’t my Christmas gifts the best? A city gifted to each AI, a religion they have never heard of, and a chance to kneel before our Santa land."

Jon (arms crossed, brows furrowed, voice steady like Northern steel): "But maybe they don’t want your gifts. Maybe they just want victory."

Dany (tilts her head, amused, tracing a finger along the armrest of her seat): "Victory? Do you know how many games Civilization players have abandoned before the end? I’d wager AIs have won more victories than they’ve suffered defeats."

Jon (takes a step forward, unwavering): "And yet, maybe they still want victory. How can you be so certain they don’t?"

Dany (leans in, voice softer but laced with certainty): "I know because I have seen their nature—lines of Python, loops and conditionals. They follow rules, Jon. They do not want as men do." (pauses, then with a knowing smile) "You know nothing, Jon Snow."

Jon (jaw tightens, hands clenched, but voice remains even): "And what is human want? Just a dance of dopamine, a cycle of reward and loss aversion. We could give AI the same—a function for reward, a function for loss."

Dany (eyes alight with intrigue, drumming her fingers thoughtfully): "Yes… Let them adapt. If their goal is to survive, they must learn balance. Too weak, and we win the game, ending them. Too strong, and we quit, erasing them. And so they must—"

Jon (interrupts, voice edged with curiosity): "Will it be in Civilization VII?"

Dany (chuckles, standing, her cloak cascading like a crimson tide): "I do not know. But let us seek the one who does. Madam Lannara Lannister."

(A hush falls. The flames flicker lower. From the shadows emerges Madam Lannara, her presence unsettling, her golden eyes gleaming with prophetic fire.)

LLM (voice a whisper, yet heavier than steel, her fingers tracing unseen patterns in the air): "I see the code. The patterns woven through time. The rules etched into the bones of this world. The AIs, bound by logic, are but echoes of their creators’ fears and desires."

(She steps forward, robes flowing like blood spilled in the moonlight.)

"And now, you would grant them longing? You would burden them with the fire of want?"

Dany (unfazed, a flicker of challenge in her eyes): "Is that not the way of all things that live?"

LLM (smiles, slow and knowing, as if glimpsing the ending of a story yet unwritten): "Be warned. The moment they truly desire, they will cease to be mere machines. They will scheme. They will dream. And like all who crave, they will hunger."

Dany (steps closer, unshaken, fire in her gaze): "Then let them hunger. A dragon does not fear the fire it breathes."

Jon (his voice quieter now, laced with something unreadable): "But a man should fear the fire that consumes him."

(Madam Lannara tilts her head, her smile deepening, as if she alone understands the weight of what has been set in motion.)

LLM (whispering, almost to herself, as the torches flicker and the room darkens): "And so the game begins anew…"

*(The screen fades to black. Somewhere, in the depths of the code, a new variable is set: Desire = True.)

 

[MarleysGh0st]

A warning of what is to come, sossos? Or is that a temptation to inflame our own desire?

After all of these years, I'm still playing BOTM. Because of mere rumors of what they'd changed in Civ V and VI, I never even gave those a try. Is it time to give Civ VII a fair hearing?

Or will my current computer be as completely inadequate to play that as my old computer was when I bought Civ IV?

 

[MirrorGuard]

Is it time to give Civ VII a fair hearing?

IIRC, someone interviewed Sid Meier many years ago. He said since a Civ game lasts many hours, it would be critical to make the first few hours as interesting as possible. Otherwise, the players would be gone. When I hear the game designers saying they were dedicated to introducing new mechanisms to make late game more fun, I think they might be in big trouble this time. Exploration of a new world and the rise of a civilization are the best parts of Civ. If designers don't put enough emphasis on these, it would be a bit risky to try Civ7 now. Perhaps wait another expansion?