News: GOTM153 Zululand Emperor Domination - Pre-Game Discussion

[Più Freddo]

GOTM153 Zululand Emperor Domination

In game number 153 of the classic game of the month series you will rule as Shaka over the Zulu, who are expansionist and militaristic and start the game with the knowledge of Pottery and Warrior Code.

This is a Emperor-level game, and this month we sponsor the domination victory condition. This means that you must bring 2/3 of the land and coastal tiles under the sway of your civilization, which must also have at least 2/3 of total world population. The Zulu unique unit is the Impi, a replacement for the Spearman which moves faster.

There is a surprise in the game. Keep you eyes open!

We continue to use a modified form of the standard PTW scenario, and although no bugs have been reported in some time, it is possible that play testing has not been exhaustive. Any in-game event or behaviour that a player feels is unintended should be reported to the GOTM staff immediately.

Here is your start position:

Scope of the Game:

Civilization|Zululand
Difficulty|Emperor
Map size|Standard, 100x100 Tiles
Map topology|Pangaea, 70% Water
Climate|Warm and Arid
Rivals|7 Pre-Selected AI Tribes
Barbarians|Roaming
Required victory condition|Domination
Submissions due by 2 November 2016 |PLEASE NOTE THE DATE

Game relase page

 

[tR1cKy]

Judging from what is visible, the spot doesn't have enough shields for a 4-turner. So the question is: where to send the scout? One possibility is to the north, hoping to locate a food bonus on the floodplains, but we would still need at least one bonus grassland. The other option is either S-E or S-W, to see what lurks behind the fog. Chances are that we'll have to move one tile or five

 

[AlanH]

The game release page, with a download link, is available here

 

[Lanzelot]

Judging from what is visible, the spot doesn't have enough shields for a 4-turner.

The question is: is it even possible at all, to make a (despotic) 4-turner with three floodplains? I think not: we would need one tile with 2 food and 3 shields, so taking the despo penalty into account, that would have to be 4 shields! A mined BG with coal or uranium would be the only possibility, but if you are still in Despotism by the time you can see coal and uranium, you have done something wrong...

 

[hth]

Map topology|Pangaea, 70% Water
Climate|Warm and Arid
Rivals|7 Pre-Selected AI Tribes
Barbarians|Roaming

But the game release page said only about continents? Possible it was wrong copied.

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Wrk N, then scout S, then settle at place if nothing spotted.

 

[denyd]

Not sure I'll have time for this one with the Hittites eating most of my free time. I'd probably move my scout E-SE to the mountain to expose the most tiles as possible before deciding on what to do with my settler/worker. My builds would be scout-warrior-scout. I'd probably avoid building Impis (unless I have Immortals next door) and try to get to Knights before moving to war mode. With luck my scouts & trading will get me through the Ancient Age even in techs.

 

[tR1cKy]

The question is: is it even possible at all, to make a (despotic) 4-turner with three floodplains? I think not: [snip]

You're right, and that's exactly the reason of my statement. With no food bonuses around, you would need 3 FPs only to reach 5 FPT, and at that point you would inevitably fall short on shields.

So either there is a food bonus lurking in the shadows, plus at least one BG, or there's no 4-turner until out of Despo. One single game tile might be enough, supposing there are at least 2 BGs around. With a moo in place of the game, only one BG is necessary. Same story for a wheat FP.