News: BOTM07 Pregame Discussion

[DynamicSpirit]

BOTM 07: Dutch

[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/civ4games/images/botm07civ.jpg[/img]

This month it's back to monarch - because both the GOTM and the WOTM heading up to immortal/deity level, and I thought running three very difficult XOTMs at the same time wasn't a good idea.

Game Details:

Game settings:
Civilization: Dutch (Leader: Willem van Oranje; Traits: Creative, Financial)
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Monarch
Map: Custom Continents
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Tropical
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: No barbarians
Victory Conditions: all enabled

Willem van Oranje:
Willem van Oranje is Creative and Financial; starting with fishing and agriculture. Creative gives +2 culture per city per turn and double speed production of libraries, theatres and colosseums. Financial gives +1 gold on all worked tiles that already give at least 2 gold.

Unique unit: East Indiaman (replaces galleon)
Compared to the galleon, the East Indiaman, is stronger, having base strength of 6 (4 for the galleon), and can carry more units - 4 instead of 3. It also has the bonus of being able to explore rival's territory.

Unique building: Dike (replaces levee)
Whereas a levee gives +1 production to all river tiles in a city's radius, the dike also gives +1 production to water tiles.

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



Adventurer Class bonuses:

1. Archer. For additional defence, your warrior has been replaced with an archer
2. Worker. You have a worker (sharing a tile with the settler)
3. The Wheel. Your clever worker has discovered the wheel for you.

Challenger Class Equalisers:

1. Dead warrior. Your settler and warrior have had an argument, which finished when the settler killed the warrior. You start with only a settler.
2. 3600BC. The argument lasted 10 turns. Your game starts on turn 10 at 3600BC (4000BC = turn 0). Your settler is still in the same place, having done nothing (except kill the warrior). Of course all the AI civs have doubtless been busy building their first cities and getting on with their games (one of them just founded buddhism).

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open on 15 June 2008. From that date, you'll be able to get the starting saves here. Use the same URL to submit your completed entry, which you must do by 15 July 2008.

Civ version

This game MUST be played in Beyond the Sword (NOT Warlords or vanilla Civ), patched to version 3.13, for Windows only, and with the HOF mod version 3.13.001 installed. You can download the HOF 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. Please use this Saves Available thread for any technical queries, eg. if you have trouble opening the game, NOT for discussions about what happens in your game.

 

[Lexad]

OK, Dutch + Continents + Early religions waving goodbye due to 10 turns delay - how about Religious victory for the Gauntlet? Sounds good to me.

 

[Ronnie1]

I'm liking the plains tile SE for the capitol. It reduces the number of floodplains (less) and brings more forests and hills into play. Hopefully we'll find a few more resources to the south making it an even better spot. The difficulty level should be very winnable in "relatively" quick times given the financial trait. Should be a fun 1!

EDIT: @DS, Hints as to water level maybe?

 

[jesusin]

Yuck! 10 lost turns! Who would be as crazy as to take the challenger's save?

OK, Dutch + Continents + Early religions waving goodbye due to 10 turns delay - how about Religious victory for the Gauntlet? Sounds good to me.

All right. There we go!


________________________________________


This is a wonderful starting position for a Space, Cultural or UN victory, with a dozen cottages and a financial leader.

I am thinking about settling 1E. It loses some of the (unseen) FPs, but gets 2 hills on the fat cross. Settling in place might be too hammer-poor.

 

[JungleIII]

Thanks Dynamic Spirit - backing back down a level is a big help for us common players. A lot of us ended our diety and Immortal games in a couple of days (with no hope games) and have been twiddling our thumbs for weeks!

I will try to move warrior north to see if there is coast in sight, and the settler south east to see if something better is available. I will move to settle after that.

With no barbs, I will grow my capital to size 2 and then pop out worker, settler, warrior, settler and get those three strong first cities up and running with one of them my coastal city... which is so necessary for the Dutch UU and Civ.

Sound like a good game!

 

[JungleIII]

TEST Game to try your starting moves...

As mentioned above... not a great starting spot. I will be moving...

 

[Conquistador 63]

I agree with JungleIII - given the map script, I'll probably try to get a coastal capitol - GLhouse should be one of my top priorities. Warrior will move NE, it looks like coast in that direction. Does settling on the river spice give 3 ? I guess so.

 

[Lexad]

Does settling on the river spice give 3$?

Yep, it does. And settling on grass banana will give you 3 food - consider which is better. Or neither.

 

[Niklas]

Yay, no barbarians! Finally a game I might feel like playing.

Let's just hope the time is there too...

 

[Ronnie1]

Yay, no barbarians!

Where do your troops gain experience?

 

[Niklas]

Troops? What are those?

 

[budweiser]

I am going to try an cultural win with artist spam.

One question, does no barbs mean no animals?

If so, that removes the immediate need to build archers and escort settlers. Just dont forget to keep up your power ranking vs the ai. What other factors besides units contribute to that rating?

I almost always settle in place and will likely do that here. That location screams cottages.

 

[Lexad]

One question, does no barbs mean no animals?

Yes, it does

 

[Living Parasite]

Like the settings, just wish there was barbs, but alas I will make the best of it. The start position looks good for a financial leader, but it simply lacks production, which is paramount to a capital. I think I'll be moving either 1 E or SE depending on what the reveals up north. I think I'm going to try to win with domination or conquest, really want to try out those East Indiaman.

 

[Lexad]

Offtop

Btw, jesusin, have you seen this?

 

[DuncanIdaho v.1]

I have played games where the Dutch AI has done astonishingly well (tech-wise) by founding and spreading almost all religions to their cities and building monasteries.

One game had Willem with three cities in so-so locations, six religions in each of those cities, and keeping up (or exceeding) in tech scores with the rest. A strange strategy, but it works, apparently.

 

[Mesix]

BOTM 07: Dutch

Willem van Oranje:
Willem van Oranje is Creative and Financial; starting with fishing and agriculture. Creative gives +2 culture per city per turn and double speed production of libraries, theatres and colosseums. Financial gives +1 gold on all worked tiles that already give at least 2 gold.

Actually, financial gives +1 commerce on all worked tiles that alredy give at least one commerce.

Commerce only becomes gold if you run your slider at 0%.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

Your settler is still in the same place, having done nothing (except kill the warrior).

It would be nice if our Settler were given super powers... for a cost of 10 turns, it will win any fight. It should also have the power to capture a city.

Sitting on the Spice Resource sounded neat until I looked at the screenshot and saw that we'd be missing out on all of the visible Flood Plains squares by doing so.

Moving the settler 1E would let you settle on the first turn (or on the eleventh turn), gain two Grassland Hills River squares, still keep all of the visible Flood Plains squares (not counting fog-gazing), and keep the two visible Resources.

Is that coastline or a Desert square to the NE + N of the Warrior?

 

[Lexad]

Actually, financial gives +1 commerce on all worked tiles that alredy give at least one commerce

Commerce - yes. Already give one - no; need two at least.

 

[jesusin]

Offtop

Btw, jesusin, have you seen this?

There go my chances to get a good result at BOTM07...