News: C3C COTM 97 Pre-Game Discussion

[AlanH]

COTM97 - Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie

[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/games/images/cotm97civ.jpg[/img]

June's COTM is brought to you by the one and only mad-bax, inspired by a Succession Game hosted by A Space Oddity some 9 years ago. Those who remember A Space Oddity will not be surprised that it features the Netherlands as the playable civilisation - for the first time since 2007.

The VOC or "Dutch East India trading company" was the world first global corporation. As a trading company it's influence was global. Granted wide ranging powers, the VOC minted it's own coin, established colonies in remote areas of the world, imprisoned people it didn't like, waged wars on countries it didn't like and negotiated treaties with them when it didn't work out. How will you wield this power? Will you trade your way to greatness, or will you simply wipe your competitors from the map? Only time will tell.

The staff have decided to only offer "OPEN" difficulty saves for future games. We are committed to doing our very best to provide an interesting game experience for all. This one is at Regent level, to try to entice our players back again. But rest assured, future games will not be so relaxing

Your starting save will be available here on June 1st, and submissions will close on July 13th..

Game Parameters:

Map Size: 130 X 130 (Large)
Map Type: Customised Archipelago
Difficulty: Regent
Opponents: 11

Everything else you can discover for yourself.

Here is the starting position. Click it for the bigger picture:



Good luck, have fun, and be sure to post about your experiences.

 

[Più Freddo]

We're standing on a Gold Hill, which sucks. All effort has been made to make us settle in place. We're by the Coast, plus one Commerce, we're on Fresh Water, plus one Food. We lose the Sugar if we cross the river. The Fish hints at a landmass in the west. Coast in the north could be land's end. But most value of both Gold and Hill will be void on the Capital tile.

Worker to Mountain?

 

[Kulko]

What do we lose when we settle there? I thought gold bonuses are kept in a city.

Edit: Ok I chelked it myself. you only get one extra commerce for seetling on the gold, instead of +4 Which opens up my second question. What is so bad about losing a bg (Sugar on plain) that you would not consider moving to the other side of the river?

 

[a space oddity]

Wow, I'm honoured! Now I feel like I almost have to play this one.

 

[AlanH]

You do! I thought I had made that pretty clear I even painted the title orange, and everything!

 

[Più Freddo]

Edit: Ok I chelked it myself. you only get one extra commerce for seetling on the gold, instead of +4

Are you sure that it isn't the extra commerce for a Seafaring tribe on Coast? And surely Sugar is a strong tile, 2-2-2 under Despotism? Like a BG on a River.

 

[Kulko]

I started a celtics game I had runnign anyway and restarted until I got a gold hill.

Grass on river 3/1/3
Grass on river with Tobacco 3/1/3
Plains on lake 3/1/3
Goldhill on lake 3/1/4

From the last two positions I Uploaded Screenshots and attached them.

As for the Sugar, yes its a good tile, but not a cow on a BG. OTOH moving will gain us 3 more gold, a strong shield producing tile as well as the potential of whatever lies out there in the fog in the west.

 

[Più Freddo]

It will take ages before the Capital will work a Golden Hill. Just too little food and too many Worker turns. The best use of them in the early game is to found a non-capital city on them. But that seems to be out of question.

Founding on the Hill gives one extra gold, as does founding by the Coast because of the Seafaring trait. Will one of these be lost under Despotism? I think so.

Yes, Sugar is what it is, but perhaps there aren't all that many tiles around at all? It could be a very sparse Archipelago. And anyway the Sugar tile is just one of several baits that seem to have been placed.

Perhaps it would be worth it to have a look-see.

 

[Memento]

Your starting save will be available here on June 1st

It is a problem to start it now?

 

[Più Freddo]

Having a pre-game discussion is also nice. The game schedule was posted in the how-often-and-how-long thread. I think it is a good idea to stick to it.

It could well be that mad-bax is still play-testing the map and making smaller adjustments.

 

[Kulko]

As PIu Freddo said, the save is posted in advance so that there could be some discussion on how to go about them.

Also I read the original SG thread and I think I will play by the original VOC rules.

1. all deals must be kept.
2. I must declare on any seafaring civs that have a harbour immediately
3. slaves are only allowed to work in the colonies. All others must be joined or sold.
4. play for UN victory ( to be revised depending on how many seafaring civs turn up)

 

[Memento]

Having a pre-game discussion is also nice.

We had pre-game discussion in all games before and every time the save was there.

 

[Più Freddo]

Not really. If you open the save you're no allowed to talk. And it was just a few recent games after civ_steve lost track of the schedule.

 

[Più Freddo]

Also I read the original SG thread and I think I will play by the original VOC rules.

1. all deals must be kept.
2. I must declare on any seafaring civs that have a harbour immediately
3. slaves are only allowed to work in the colonies. All others must be joined or sold.
4. play for UN victory ( to be revised depending on how many seafaring civs turn up)

What about

5. Approaching Barbarians must be let into cities and left alone by any stationed troops

 

[AlanH]

It is a problem to start it now?

Yes. It would cease to be a pre-game discussion.

 

[Più Freddo]

Grass on river 3/1/3
Grass on river with Tobacco 3/1/3
Plains on lake 3/1/3
Goldhill on lake 3/1/4

I tested Netherlands Gold Hill by River on Coast and it appears to give 3/1/6.

I was wrong.

 

[Memento]

Not really. If you open the save you're no allowed to talk. And it was just a few recent games after civ_steve lost track of the schedule.

I don´t will talk, i will only play. 5 days waiting is ...
Now i have the time to play. Next week not.
But ok, have fun with talk.

 

[AlanH]

The game lasts six weeks.

 

[Acronym]

Looking forward to this after the last COTM; I've been playing at Regent & more recently Monarch, so it's good to have the COTM's moving up the difficulties in pace (although I'll be left far behind before too long, I'm sure!).

Appreciate the pre-game discussion, too - I think I would have moved 1E and just settled on the forest so as not to lose anything, but I suppose with an Archipelago, having a coastal capital is pretty important (and the whole point of this 'VOC' back-story!).

Off to seek out Space Oddity's SG, if it is still to be found on the boards...
[Edit:] Anyone got a link to the SG this is based on, out of interest's sake? Can't find it with a quick search of the boards.

 

[AlanH]

"Quick search" is probably the key to your problem. When you just put a search term in, you get the default settings, which only look back six months. You need to use Advanced Search, and look back to the beginning. Looking in Civ3 Succession Games for posts by 'Space, I found Space-2: Resurrection of the VoC, from January 2004.