[Vanilla] News: GOTM 131 starts Christmas Eve!!!

[neilmeister]

GOTM 131: Qin Shi Huang of China.

Hi All.... its Christmas, and what better gift could I give to everyone than a Vanilla GOTM. We haven't had one in 6 months, I think it's about time.

Seeing its Christmas, how about a Financial/Industrious leader... no, not the Incans, they didnt get those traits until Warlords! In Vanilla it is Qin and the Chinese!

The map is an Inland Sea, so those bloodthirsty enough can fight away.... builders can happily trade with everyone while having a side/corner that is easy to defend... something for everyone.

Who doesn't love a Cho-Ko-Nu anyway?

Game settings:
Playing as: Qin Shi Huang of China
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Emperor
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: No barbarians
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: Inland Sea
World Wrap: None
Mapsize: Worldsize_standard
Climate: Climate_temperate
Sea level: Sealevel_medium


Qin Shi Huang is Industrious and Financial, and you start with Agriculture and Mining.
The Industrious trait gives +50% wonder production and double production speed of Forge

The Financial trait gives +1 commerce on any plot that already has at least 2 commerce

Unique unit: Cho-Ko-Nu (replaces Crossbowman)
The Cho-Ko-Nu benefits from: 2 first strikes, and can cause collateral damage (max. 60% to 5 units). This compares with the Crossbowman which has: 1 first strike, and cannot cause collateral damage.


Starting screenshot

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




To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open at 00:01 am on 24 Dec 2017, 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 10 Feb 2018.

Here is a link to a list of the differences between Vanilla, Warlords and BtS.

Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Civ4 Vanilla (NOT Beyond the Sword or Warlords), patched to version 1.74, and with the HOF mod version 1.74.004 installed. You can download the HOF mod here. Players using Windows Vista or Windows 7 are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.

If you have not installed BtS, you will need to update the relevant DLL files in order to match the Locked Assets checks. These are available here.**

Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Civ4 Vanilla (NOT Beyond the Sword or Warlords), patched to version 1.74, and with the Mac HOF mod version 1.74.002 installed. You can download the Mac 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.

 

[Deckhand]

Settle 1W: plains, start working gems from beginning (+1 ), gain bananas, lose hill.
move warrior SE first to see if food for settling on PH S,SE of settler.
Is working corn better than gems? 1 > 2 ?

 

[neilmeister]

Is working corn better than gems? 1 > 2 ?

Corn = faster worker = faster use of farmed corn = win

 

[Jovan Kukic]

Download links are missing.

 

[neilmeister]

Fixed

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Settle 1W: plains, start working gems from beginning (+1 ), gain bananas, lose hill.
move warrior SE first to see if food for settling on PH S,SE of settler.
Is working corn better than gems? 1 > 2 ?

Corn = faster worker = faster use of farmed corn = win

I can't play vanilla, but I agree with neilmeister that you want to work the corn at the start (and also improve the corn before the gems once you have a worker). Working the unmined gems at the start will slow down worker production, which will hurt you massively. And you already know the two key techs to work both the corn and the gems, so commerce/science isn't a priority right at the beginning of the game.

Nice one neil - to get the game up for Xmas!

 

[LowtherCastle]

Settle 1W: plains, start working gems from beginning (+1 ), gain bananas, lose hill.
move warrior SE first to see if food for settling on PH S,SE of settler.
Is working corn better than gems? 1 > 2 ?

It's actually +1f or +1c, since the corn is on the river. No brainer.

 

[Cactus Pete]

Thanks, neil. Great to have another Vanilla GOTM.

 

[Folket]

It's actually +1f or +1c, since the corn is on the river. No brainer.

On the screenshot it looks like gems give 3 commerce. So it would be 1f or 2c.

 

[LowtherCastle]

On the screenshot it looks like gems give 3 commerce. So it would be 1f or 2c.

Of course you're right. My bad.

 

[lymond]

No debate on working corn for worker, but I'm kinda concerned about jungle gyms..erm..gems. Might be worth improving it first not so much for the commerce as to prevent possible infestation of wild herbage. (hmm...wild herbaqe). Of course, it's possible this overgrowth could occur before the arrival of the worker...totally random and luck based, but it would be pretty devastating.

 

[LowtherCastle]

Station the warrior on the gems. Guaranteed no jungle growth. Here's what Gyathaar says:

jungle has a 16% growth probability...
the chance increase for each of the tiles it borders in north, south, east and west (not northwest, etc)
after this the chance is raised by another 25% of the original chance (and then dropped to half if the tile has a road)
This chance is measured in 1/100 percent..

chance of jungle growing in any turn surrounded by n jungle tiles (n = 0,1,2,3 or 4) and no road or units on tile:

probability = 16 * n *1.25 * 0.01%

so when surrounded by 4 jungle tiles :
16*4 * 1.25 * 0.01% = 0.8% per turn

surrounded by 2 jungle tiles :
16*2 * 1.25 * 0.01% = 0.4% per turn

chance of jungle growing in a tile surrounded by 2 other jungle tiles (assuming no jungle growth in surrounding tiles) over 17 turns:

(1-(1 - 0.004)^17) * 100% = 6.59%


chance of jungle growing in a tile surrounded by 4 other jungle tiles over 20 turns:

(1-(1 - 0.008)^20) * 100% = 14.8% chance (or 1 in 6.7 )

(unless I misread something in the code)

So it looks like about 6.5% even if you mine the gems first.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

For a faster start and a reduced chance of a Jungle growing on the Gems square, why not send the Settler 2 NW and settle on top of the G Riv Banana Jungle square? That'll give +1 Hammer per turn for the initial Worker, allowing you to work the Gems square for 5 turns until your Cultural Borders expand, getting the same number of Hammers as working the Corn but also getting some Commerce back, to make up for 1 turn without having settled.

The biggest downside that I see is giving up the large production bonus from working Hills that you can get by settling in place.

Settling 2 N on the G Riv For also looks interesting, as you keep the important Resources, have a good number of Hills squares to work, and may net something interesting in the fog, while still being able to work the Corn after settling.

Either way, it will be fun to play as a Chinese Leader without being dragged down by the Protective Trait.

 

[Deckhand]

BFC doesn't prevent jungle growth?
unmined gems are 3 because we are financial

I think I will move warrior NW (on way to gems) to see if gain any hills settling 1 W.