News: GOTM95 Pre-Game Discussion - Saves are Re-Available!

[civ_steve]

GOTM 95 Pre-Game Discussion!

[img=right]http://gotm.civfanatics.net/games/images/gotm95civ.jpg[/img]

Time for our quarterly high difficulty game. This month you'll be playing as Russia - against 5 Deity AI. You might need those Cossacks to put your world under Russian control! Good Luck!

The saves will be available >>here<< on Sept. 16th.

Civilization: Russia
Rivals: 5 preset
Barbarians: Restless
Difficulty: Deity
Land Form: Archipelago, 70% ocean, Standard map.
Geology: 3 billion years old, Normal, Cold

Conquest-Class Bonuses:

1. Free The Wheel
2. Extra 100 Gold
3. Extra Worker
4. Bonus Luxury Nearby

Open-Class Bonuses:

1. Bonus Luxury Nearby

Predator-Class Challenges:

1. No Pottery
2. No Bonus Luxury
3. UU Wont Generate GA

A reminder: do not post any game information to this thread after you have downloaded the save file. Absolutely no spoiler information for this or any GOTM is to be posted in this thread!

 

[Megalou]

Lovely! I shall not resist this.

I guess this time at least we don't have to consider moving the settler. There might even be a three-quarter circle for an RCP with the radius 3.

What might be considered is zero research for one turn until the visible hut has been popped. As I recall, Ceremonial Burial is number one in the tech pop order, Bronze Working number two, Pottery number three, Warrior Code number four and Masory number five. (Is this right? Or is this a rare pre-game discussion where a veteran like me will actually learn something?) If I am right about the first two techs, I think I shall not start with zero research. Instead I might, if we are alone, postpone popping.

 

[MinutiaRules]

Will another BG or an oasis or sugar make this a four turner 4 - 6? But isn't it 10 turns for a chop in PTW? Seems like a lot for one worker to accomplish.

... As I recall, Ceremonial Burial is number one in the tech pop order, Bronze Working number two, Pottery number three, Warrior Code number four and Masory number five. ...

Megalou my question is as follows: is there a way to increase the chances for a free worker? Thanks.

 

[Megalou]

Not being in the process of building one is the only one I know of. If you are building a worker somewhere when popping, you will not pop a worker, IIRC. The same goes for settlers. I think the possibility to pop settlers is still turned off in GOTM, though. Towns should still be popable.

If you have no military, you will not pop barbs. You probably won't pop barbs anyway because of the expansionist trait.

 

[civ_steve]

The Saves are up! Good Luck!

I will be on travel starting in less than 12 hours, so if there are ANY problems you encounter with downloading the start files, let me know right away, or I can't do much until the weekend.

 

[Megalou]

Those Predator obstacles are toooough! I don't see how they would not mar the final score, so I think I'll play as the multipotent King Chicken this time.

Unless there are several other luxuries, one less nearby luxury makes a huge difference on deity. And "no pottery" is likely to mean that we have to research it (unlike eg "no Warrior Code").

Note, however, that this is not a complaint because I know there are many players (mostly former players) who like to play with a handicap and don't care so much about the score. I'm just saying what I think I will choose.

 

[Lanzelot]

Not being in the process of building one is the only one I know of. If you are building a worker somewhere when popping, you will not pop a worker, IIRC. The same goes for settlers. I think the possibility to pop settlers is still turned off in GOTM, though. Towns should still be popable.

If you have no military, you will not pop barbs. You probably won't pop barbs anyway because of the expansionist trait.

Does EXP completely rule out poping barbs, or does it only reduce the probability? I think I read somewhere something like "EXP = better chances for poping something useful". And how does Deity influence this? In my last Deity I poped like 10 huts and all of them spit out barbs...
(Hmm, I think we definitely need a Military Academy article on this topic... It would already be quite useful to know, if your assumption about the worker/settler is correct.)

Otherwise: I'm not so sure whether moving the settler here is completely out of the question. For example, moving 2SW would allow a full ring of RCP3 while keeping the two bonus food and the lake. And it utilizes a desert square. (Of course it depends on what scout and worker find out. If there's only desert to the W, then it probably doesn't make sense.) Being on the coast is not that important, because we can't build curraghs in PTW. And by the time we get galleys, we should have a coastal town.

BTW: what is this S-S-SE? Another wheat or incense? (Need a better monitor...)
Lanzelot

 

[civ_steve]

I'm fairly certain that EXP means no barbs from goody huts.

And I'm fairly certain that if you are building a Worker or Settler in ANY of your cities, you have no chance to pop a Worker or Settler from a goody hut.

Also, whatever Technology you are researching can not be popped from a goody hut as well. This can be used to increase the likelihood that you will get a desired Tech if that is what the goody hut produces. Unlike production you can't switch research back and forth between techs without losing the research already done, so plan for this if you want to try it.

 

[AlanH]

Apologies, folks. I've inadvertently removed the saves from the server!

I've PM'd Civ_Steve to ask him to re-upload them. Fingers crossed that he'll have them, and hear me!

 

[Megalou]

I'm fairly certain that EXP means no barbs from goody huts.

Yes. The phrase "passive minor barbarians are friendlier" can be taken literally. There won't be any barbs.

Also, whatever Technology you are researching can not be popped from a goody hut as well. This can be used to increase the likelihood that you will get a desired Tech if that is what the goody hut produces. Unlike production you can't switch research back and forth between techs without losing the research already done, so plan for this if you want to try it.

I'm still not sure if there is a random factor here or if my list of tech order holds. I think you get the cheapest tech that you are not researching yourself and that's why one ends up popping Horseback riding so often even though it is a second layer tech.

 

[Optional]

(Hmm, I think we definitely need a Military Academy article on this topic...

There has been an article for Conquests: http://www.civfanatics.com/civ3/strategy/goodyhuts.php. But PTW will be somewhat different. I participated in the Babelonian game, the last GOTM that is, and stumbled across a deserted village twice. That would never happen in Conquests.
Then these GOTM games are different because you can't pop any settlers, so I guess we just have to trust CivSteve in what he says about what that does.

One way that I know to ensure you don't pop barbs (if your not expansionist, because then it can never happen anyway) is to settle a town right next to it. But also popping a settler is than impossible. Err.. this works at least like that for Conquests.

 

[Megalou]

Those differences between the game versions are interesting, Optional, thanks. Good luck with the huts, provided you're not luckier than me. But in reference to a query from Lanzelot: The pop yield will be more meagre because of the level of difficulty. We are unlikely to pop towns. (I have no idea how unlikely, but I think civ_steve has, or he would not have placed that nearby hut there.)

 

[Racinante]

Alan,
I have the open save if you need it. I did not download either of the other two versions.

 

[AlanH]

Thanks. If we don't hear from Steve in the next 24 hours, I may ask you to email it to me.

 

[civ_steve]

OK, I see the issue. I'm on travel right now and don't have access to my home computer (where the saves are). I'll be back tomorrow night, in about 24 hours. I can re-upload them. AlanH - can you extend the contest another 4 days to cover the outage?

 

[civ_steve]

I believe everything is back in place! (including me!) Please let me know if there are any problems accessing the saves.