News: WOTM 74, Noble, starts Oct 1

[neilmeister]

WOTM 74: Monty of Civ4.

Monty is not new to Civ6, I am pretty sure he has been around for a lot longer than that, so we are going to play Monty, Civ4 Warlords style.

I know that you all love pushing boats around, so I give you an Archipelago map. It is Snaky Continents though, so I promise you won't need too many boats.

The starting area surrounds are revealed, and it is not edited at all as it already contains some real choices, though the rest of the map is.

Game settings:
Playing as: Monty of Aztec
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Noble
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: No barbarians, no goody huts
Victory Conditions: All enabled

Map settings:
Map: Archipelago - Snaky Continents
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Mapsize: Worldsize_standard
Climate: Climate_temperate
Sea level: Sealevel_medium


Monty is Aggressive and Spiritual, and you start with Mysticism and Hunting.

The Aggressive trait gives free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units and double production speed of Barracks and Drydock

The Spiritual trait gives no anarchy and double production speed of Temple

Unique unit: Jaguar (replaces Swordsman)
The Jaguar benefits from: base strength = 5, requires access to nothing, free promotions: woodsman1, and 35 hammers to build (on normal speed). This compares with the Swordsman which has: base strength = 6, requires access to iron, and 40 hammers to build (on normal speed).

Unique Building: Sacrificial Altar (replaces Courthouse)
Same as a Courthouse except the whip anger lasts half as long.... so whip like crazy!

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 1 Oct 2016, 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 15 Nov 2016.

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

Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Warlords (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Beyond the Sword), patched to version 2.13, and with the HOF mod version 2.13.003 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 Warlords (NOT Civ4 Vanilla or Beyond the Sword), patched to version 2.13, and with the Mac HOF mod version 2.13.001 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.

 

[lymond]

oh my eyes! stop the bleeding! that VI Monty

Man, Monty is absolutely the most used leader in XOTMs

that corn to the NW is unfortunately placed..have to think on this one, but otherwise SIP seems fine

 

[neilmeister]

Man, Monty is absolutely the most used leader in XOTMs

Yes, with this game he joins Hatty & Alex on 12, across all variants, but this is only the second WOTM with him. I was perusing the Civ6 box in the shop and he obviously features very prominently and it made me contemplate the questionable strategies companies use in regard to DLC.

He is by far the most used opponent, by a long margin.

Sorry if you are a bit bored of him.

 

[lymond]

I'll forgive you if you move that corn

 

[Dhoomstriker]

Very nice, there are a lot of settling choices here!

1. Settle in place, but then City #2 cannot have both the north-west Corn and either of the other two Gold Resources--a choice must be made between the two.

2. Settle 1 W for the PH start and to make use of the north-west Corn, but then the south-east Corn and the other two Gold Resources also cannot be both used in City #2.

3. a) Settle 1 NE on a Flood Plains square to get the south-east, wet Corn and 2 Gold Resources in the big fat cross, leaving room for a City at 1 NW of the Clam, which gets Clam, dry Corn, and shares the best Gold Resource (PH Riv Gold), giving us 2 Gold Resources and ignoring the weakest Gold Resource (Des H non-Riv Gold).

3. b) Or, perhaps better, if my fog-gazing is accurate and that's Coast at 1 N of the north-west Corn, settle City #2 at 1 E of the north-west Corn, requiring a bit of a trek for a Work Boat to arrive at the Clam but allowing for all 3 Gold Resources to fall within the big fat crosses of the first two Cities.

4. Settle 1 NW + 1 N on a Flood Plains square for 3 Flood Plains squares (only -1 Health instead of -2 Health) for dry Corn plus 3 Gold Resources--not the fastest of starts, but a good way to get a Commerce-heavy capital. City #2 can be settled at 2 E of the Clam for an Oasis-like Lake (once a Lighthouse has been built) and to share one of the Gold Resources to allow the capital to grow.

5. The reverse placement of option #4, which means no unhealthiness from only having 2 Flood Plains in the big fat cross, gives a capital with not too much raw production, but does give a decent amount of Food and Cottageable land.


That Civ 6 photo sure doesn't do Monte a lot of justice.

Warlords is a pretty decent expansion for Monte:
We get Woodsman I and Combat I for free on our Jaguars
Our Jaguars get the 10% City Attack bonus
We have cheap Barracks, allowing for instant Woodsman II units or an instant Cover Promotion (25% against Archery units)
One downside is that the Woodsman III Promotion only exists in BtS, so while Woodsman II is a good Promotion, it is still a dead end in the Warlords' Promotion tree.
Warlords has Anarchy during Golden Ages, so the Spiritual Trait is stronger here than it is in BtS

Spoiler :

Also, a Sacrificial Altar is brilliant!

Whipping Unhappiness will wear off at twice the rate, even for existing Whipping Unhappiness that you obtained before owning the Building!


Given the Difficulty Level, plus the Gold Resources, I think that a rare self-teching of Iron Working is going to make for a strong opening here, with the map description implying that we are not isolated (and even if we are isolated, it won't hurt to get a veteran army of Barbarian-promoted Jaguars).

So, Agriculture -> Mining -> Bronze Working -> Iron Working is an option, without needing The Wheel to connect-up a Strategic Resource.

 

[neilmeister]

I'll forgive you if you move that corn

That's a negative Ghost Rider

That Civ 6 photo sure doesn't do Monte a lot of justice.

Yes, I definitely agree

 

[Thomas Lee]

Here's to hoping I can achieve a graceful defeat if not a win.

 

[Dhoomstriker]

May we please have Spoiler Threads set up for this game?