News: GOTM 35 Pre-Game Discussion

[AlanH]

GOTM 35: England

Onwards and upwards, to Monarch level, on a Normal speed, Standard size world.

As it's my first attempt at creating a map, it had to be England, and Elizabeth. Be gentle with me

Game settings:

Civilization: England (Leader: Elizabeth; Traits: Philosophical, Financial)
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Monarch
Map: Fractal
Mapsize: Standard
Climate: Temperate
Sea Level: High
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: standard
Victory Conditions: all enabled

Elizabeth:

Elizabeth is Philosophical and Financial; starting with fishing and mining. Your Great People birth rate is increased 100 percent, and you double the production speed of University. Financial adds 1 commerce on plots with at least 2 commerce.

Unique unit: Redcoat (replaces Rifleman)

+25% vs. Mounted Units
+25% vs. Gunpowder Units

Starting screenshot

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



Tribal Huts:

There were two near the start. I've popped them for you, so you start with 81 gold.

Adventurer Class bonuses:

1. Worker. You have a worker, sharing a tile with the Warrior)
2. Second Warrior On the same tile as the Settler.

Challenger Class Equalisers:

1. No techs. All forgotten.
2. No 81 gold. You gambled it away.

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open on 1 October 2008. From that date, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save here.
Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 1 November 2008.

Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Civilization 4 (NOT Warlords or BTS), patched to version 1.74, and with the HOF mod version 1.74.003 installed. You can download the HOF mod here. Players using windows vista are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here

Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Civilization 4 (NOT Warlords), patched to version 1.74, and with the Mac HOF mod version 1.74.002 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 the Saves Available thread or Private Messages for any technical queries, eg. if you have trouble opening the game. Do NOT post in this or the Saves Available thread once you have successfully opened the starting save.

 

[JungleIII]

Cool... good play level, start with gold in the bank AND that means goodie huts around maybe, AND a good leader for some good scores - REAL competition. Looks like a fun game to play - Thanks AlanH!

 

[Gosha190]

"I've popped them for you, so you start with 81 gold"

 

[jesusin]

Someday we should start with -1000 gold in the bank

It would be the "get out of bankruptcy" challenge. Our warrior/scout would go on strike very soon...

 

[K.K.]

I'm tempted to give it a try, but I've never played on Monarch level before and have played only 2 Prince games (won both though). I guess I'm qualified for Adventurer class...

 

[kcd_swede]

Financial leader with almost nothing but river tiles in the starting screenshot? Cottage spam, anyone?

Where to settle, though? I don't want to settle an FP! (Or wait... I don't need to worry about flooding in Vanilla, do I? Does settling an fp give you health penalty, or just having them in BFC is enough for that?) Figure to move warrior first either SW or SE. Also, start spot has little production capacity. I'd like to keep fresh water health bonus, though. Think its worth giving up some river for some hills by moving 1NW? Hmmm... I'll have to consider this more carefully. Maybe settling in place to max the river tile is worth doing, and its time for me to finally learn how to pop-rush effectively.

Looks to be an interesting game!

 

[Gosha190]

Does settling an fp give you health penalty, or just having them in BFC is enough for that?)

each 2 fp in BFC gives you 1 health penalty

 

[DynamicSpirit]

Financial leader with almost nothing but river tiles in the starting screenshot? Cottage spam, anyone?

I was going to have a go at a specialist econonmy in this one. I guess I need to leave that for next time now.

Where to settle, though? I don't want to settle an FP! (Or wait... I don't need to worry about flooding in Vanilla, do I? Does settling an fp give you health penalty, or just having them in BFC is enough for that?)

I think the bigger issue that if you settle on a flood plain, you lose 1 food.

Figure to move warrior first either SW or SE. Also, start spot has little production capacity. I'd like to keep fresh water health bonus, though. Think its worth giving up some river for some hills by moving 1NW? Hmmm... I'll have to consider this more carefully. Maybe settling in place to max the river tile is worth doing, and its time for me to finally learn how to pop-rush effectively.

Looks to be an interesting game!

Agreed. It's certainly a starting screenshot with lots of options and no obvious one place to settle. I'm pondering warrior NE, because it looks like it might be coast up there and it may be worth seeing how the land shape looks. For the settler I'm tempted by the plains hill for the early production boost while keeping all the foods. However that'd mean my settler and warrior end up a long way apart and it looks like moving to the hill could bring in a fair bit of desert, so that may prove a mistake.

 

[jesusin]

each 2 fp in BFC gives you 1 health penalty

I seem to remember it was 0.4 unhealthiness for each FP, though.

 

[Gosha190]

I seem to remember it was 0.4 unhealthiness for each FP, though.

hmmm... and how will you handle with your digit?

each 10 fp will give 4 penalty to health?

forest tile in BFC gives +0.5 health, fp tile in BFC gives -0.5 health. It looks like more real digit.

PS seems I'm wrong with fp digit... (in Lexad I trust!)

 

[kcd_swede]

I think the bigger issue that if you settle on a flood plain, you lose 1 food.

Yes, well that goes without saying. Which is why I didn't say it. I've been thinking about settling on a forest N or E... but I hate burning a forest like that. In the long run, the extra food from the fp is worth more than a forest chop, though. But it does add 1 turn to get settled (like losing 3 turns on Epic). I'm heavily biased towards settling on the first turn. I could go for the ph if those were fp instead of desert in the fog... but I wouldn't count on that.

As for seeing the coast, I think the panoramic view of all that tundra can wait until my borders pop. Moving warrior SE or SW seem to be the only choices that could affect my final decision on settle location.

Right now I lean towards 1NW to settle. But that could change if I do some test games... or even if I don't.

 

[kcd_swede]

each 2 fp in BFC gives you 1 health penalty

Thx. Shouldn't become too much of an issue unless we start clear-cutting the forests.

 

[nokem]

Warrior 1SE - I want to see if there are any goodies in the column 2E of the settler. If not I'm tending towards 1NW for settling: saves a floodplain, doesn't lose a forest and the city will chain-irrigate the rice

 

[Lexad]

On FP in BFC - jesusin is correct.

 

[Gosha190]

On FP in BFC - jesusin is correct.

so 2 FP do not consume 1 health?

PS my upper post is changed.

 

[Conquistador 63]

each 10 fp will give 4 penalty to health?

In a game I'm playing now I captured an AI capital with 11fp in BFC - and yes it has -4 due to FP - equals to 4.4 rounded down.

About the initial moves, since:
1. we're on a high seas fractal map;
2. we start with fishing and are financial (3 from coast tiles);
3. I've developed an addiction to GLhouse and trade route economies ,

I plan to move warrior 1SE and if nothing special shows up, I plan to move 1S then settle 1SE next turn, on the forest grassland (river mouth on the coast?), leaving those resources up north for next city.

 

[nokem]

river mouth on the coast?

I can see the river breaks up a bit to the edge of the visible area. Is that the sign of an estuary in the fog 2SE? My tile recognition is not good enough.

 

[vixafox]

I am leaning towards settling 1NW. It gains an extra hill for production and an extra flood plain for food, without losing a forest. It also loses the square 2S, 1W, which looks a lot like useless desert to me. Starting techs will be Agriculture, BW, Pottery.

 

[Ronnie1]

I can see the river breaks up a bit to the edge of the visible area. Is that the sign of an estuary in the fog 2SE? My tile recognition is not good enough.

I think that is what he is pointing to. If that is coast, then C63's start plan looks like a solid option. I will probably move the warrior SE also, and then settler 1S+1E to the forest. Then i can settle that spot or move 1 more square either S or E depending on what shows up.

 

[The-Hawk]

Can someone explain the cow award? Is it the same as time victory, ie cow goes to highest score at 2050 AD?