News: COTM63 Pre-Game Discussion

[civ_steve]

COTM 63: Persia!

Back to some basics - Persia and its Immortals! Well, the map settings are not exactly basic - you'll have a lot less territory to fight over, and a lot of it wont be prime real estate. Good Luck!

Civilization: Persia
Rivals: 6 pre-selected
Barbarians: Restless
Difficulty: Monarch
Land Form: Pangaea, 80% ocean, Standard map.
Geology:3 billion years old, Arid and Warm.
AI Aggression: Normal

Conquest-Class Bonuses:

1. 
   Free Pottery
   2 Free Warriors
   100 Free Gold

Open-Class Bonuses
None

Predator-Class Obstacles:

1. 
   No Bronze Working
   AI get 2 more Bonus Unit Support, and 1 more Unit Support/City
   Galleys Cost increased to 40 Shields

 

[MinutiaRules]

Like that gold but will there be a chance to work it? So okay month after month I waste moves in these GOTMs thinking that there could be a better place to settle just nearby. Only to find out that I should have settled in place. So this time when I settle in place it will be a mistake, right? But is that a shield underneath? If not then wrkr E then decide. If so then S NW, decide if wrkr SW.

 

[Rustwork]

i hate settling one square from water unless i have a good reason (like extra food). i will first move my worker to the mountain north. this will give me a great view of what is around. i think that knowledge is worth losing a turn or two of work. my next decision will depend entirely on what i see.

the bonus doesn't tell me much other than a need to boost our early development, along with some military. not too revealing. maybe some early conflict.

the obstacle suggests that transporting units over water will become important. or this might indicate that our contacts will be far across the ocean and we should expect many attempts to fail. as an obstacle to tranporting units early in the game i don't see it having a wide impact. but, to limit the ability to make contacts would be a challenge for all victory types.

i'm guessing that we are isolated. although not as isolated as last month. maybe a small island, but with a rival or two this time. i don't think a domination will be realistic without better boat technology. we might have iron on our land mass, but i think we will have to fight for it.

i'll begin research on pottery. i'll attempt the republic slingshot, but i'm skeptical, no extra gold if we have no rivers or lakes.. if research seems slow i'll go straight for philosophy and then take maps free.

 

[templar_x]

why would i need galleys on a pangaea, no matter if they cost 30 or 40s? don´t tell me we are again isolated from the others... i´m really developing some kind of an island complex.

i, too, will invest that move of the worker 1 north. with those settings, you need any intelligence you can get.

may be a stupid question, but what is "bonus unit support"? just "bonus units"?

templar_x

 

[Paul#42]

Yep, worker N is definetly an option.
The gold mountain won't help before Republic...

may be a stupid question, but what is "bonus unit support"? just "bonus units"?

It means the AI gets less unit support costs, two for the empire and one more per town.
So they can build more units till we finally reach their pangaea and have trouble finding a landing spot... Marines!

But I'd be surprised if we had another Gilligan setting right away...

 

[Più Freddo]

worker N is definetly an option

The alternative being settling in place and expecting to jump the palace right after founding the second city. There are three Warriors before the first Settler with which to scout.

 

[templar_x]

Paul - thanks for the explanation of this "empire unit support" thing. is there something like this in the regular game, too? not that i think that it matters much whether a SID AI can support 2000 or 2100 units before it gets broke

templar_x

 

[Paul#42]

Yes it is. It's based on difficulty level (bonus for the AI) and government type (for all players).
Take a look at the civ help or the war academy for details.

 

[templar_x]

i will. i must confess that in such a long time playing that game i never noticed there is any other support parameter but towns/cities/metropoles.

and that i am not much of a guide reader but i will go for that info now.

thanks again
templar_x

 

[Lanzelot]

why would i need galleys on a pangaea, no matter if they cost 30 or 40s?

This makes me quite uneasy as well...
I wasted two scouting moves with the settler and 5 or 6 with my worker in the previous game, and I don't feel like doing it again... I think, Più's advice may be good, minimizing the risk of wasting time for looking for something that does not exist.
Or perhaps a compromise: invest the worker move onto the mountain to check whether there's something better close by, and if not settle in place and do an early jump if the scouts find something better in mid-range?!

In case the starting position is as good as it gets: some suggested to first improve the BG 1E. Isn't roading the sugar 1SW better?!

Lanzelot

 

[MeteorPunch]

Pretty certain we are on a small island. A few of the north tiles, NE and NW appear to be coastal. Worker 1 N to be sure.

Also of course:

Predator-Class Obstacles:

1. No Bronze Working
AI get 2 more Bonus Unit Support, and 1 more Unit Support/City
Galleys Cost increased to 40 Shields

Why Galleys on a Pangaea? Oh right...

 

[pimserplink]

Moving the worker to the mountain north might mean it has to move 2 more turns to get back into good early production. I think I'll take a chance and settle 1NW, inland but solid food and shields. The worker can begin work on the starting tile.

At 80% water, we could be on a long peninsula, with galleys useful for cutting down travel times between spurs.

 

[Racinante]

Saves are up.