Polarizing Polynesia

[woodshadows]

I agree with its trading bonuses on continents (as I said, they meet other civs earlier), but it still isn't enough for me. I'm not a warmongerer player - normally - and I usually adapt myself to the civ, but Polynesia is not my cup of tea. They get a bonus for exploration and for settling places while they should keep themselves tall: that is what annoys me the most, probably. That's just my opinion, though, and I probably won't change my mind. It is also not because they aren't very strong (which is my opinion: if I were to make a list of civs base on my opinion on their strenghts, Polynesia would be for sure in my top 10 worse civs - for me there are much better bonuses than theirs), but because I dislike the civ overall: the music, the leader screen, the AI, the flavour, the UU/UI and even the city names. But specially the music, and that is an important part for me.

what's wrong with the leader screen? kamehameha's glorious thighs dont do it for you?

 

[Petiscator]

Hahaha you bet. I'm not saying it is not of a great quality - all leader screens are amazing, but what bugs me is the way he speaks when he is hostile (which, in my games, he is more often than not), shaking the spear and giving that look... Might be because when diplomacy screen shows up, you hear their music, and I dislike it

 

[woodshadows]

it seems like when choosing their depiction of the maori warrior they went with the disheveled/obese modern versions who perform for tourists.. since i sort of doubt the original maori warriors were obese.. i kind of picture them more muscular/lean, but who knows maybe its a genetic thing.

 

[Dark_Jedi06]

The leaderhead looks stupid and is annoying...the bright orange/yellow is ugly and the city names that are actually island names is dumb.

 

[SnowKomodo]

OK, I'm back. And here to explain why Polynesia works for me. This post is just going to be about the little stuff. If you don't care about the little stuff then skip this and wait for my next post where I get into strategy.

Victory conditions: First of all, I should say that the fact that Kamehameha isn't the strongest is why I love playing with him so much. I like going into a game not having an immediate advantage in hills (Inca) or in producing GG's (China), for example. I love the uniqueness without the advantage - being forced to create strategy out of what you are given. That really appeals to me. Polynesia still offers versatility with a little bit of unknown excitement. Having said that, just because it is hardly the strongest civ doesn't mean it is weak. They can be very strong if you play your cards right. More on that in the next post.

Theme: The colors. I looove orange, and the light yellow gives it a touch that really suits Polynesia. It's reminds me of the sunset. The music is great. So relaxing, so enjoyable to listen to. The aesthetics of the moai are wonderful to look at. I value a pretty looking game more than anything and I feel that Polynesia does it best.

Relatability: I would imagine few others share this reason. I grew up on an archipelago (well, one island of it) so Polynesia is the closest it gets on a personal level. I'm definitely digging the laid-back vibe Kamehameha shows. If I was conquering the world, I'd want to do it with him and a bunch of beach-side cities. Crack open a few coconuts and lay on the sand reveling in my victories of the day.

Historical background: Kamehameha is one interesting fella. I was inspired to learn more about him thanks to civ. The thought of conquering stars in the middle of the vast outer space (islands in the middle of the Pacific) is as romantic as it gets in human history.

 

[iconocast]

nice thread was hopeing some one would make a polly discussion

i want to like them i do, i like cultural vic and i like the uu. but i just dont get them. can some one explain to me. i think they should be viable on pangea or fractal as they have a coastal start preference. are u supposed to go really wide? dose the culture from statues just kick in late mid game? i always seem
comeing from oceanic its the closest we have to a local civ.so i would like to see what im doing wrong

atm i go liberty, and go wide along the coast. dip into honour for some barb hunting

 

[iconocast]

it seems like when choosing their depiction of the maori warrior they went with the disheveled/obese modern versions who perform for tourists.. since i sort of doubt the original maori warriors were obese.. i kind of picture them more muscular/lean, but who knows maybe its a genetic thing.

to me it looks like there based on the newzealand maori's, they are built like bears not realy lean but big bones with alot of body mass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand

 

[SnowKomodo]

to me it looks like there based on the newzealand maori's, they are built like bears not realy lean but big bones with alot of body mass.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand

Maori's by definition are the indigenous Polynesians of New Zealand so they would be the only ones to base it off in the first place

 

[iconocast]

Maori's by definition are the indigenous Polynesians of New Zealand so they would be the only ones to base it off in the first place

i thought it encompassed a large group of sea faring ppls ranging from newzealand to Easter island and Hawaii arnt they all maori's?

and would love if u guys write up some what to do and what nots for polly. like when should i build moais

 

[SnowKomodo]

Now that I got the little stuff out of the way here is one of my strategies with Polynesia. We all know how strong they are on archipelago maps so I'm going to talk about continents. I'm not claiming this to be an amazing, must-try strategy but it's something that challenges me and I enjoy it a whole lot:

Expansion: Rapid
Cities: All coastal
Potential victory type: Time/Diplo/Science. Domination not recommended.
Social Policies: Liberty. Commerce (for hammers). Patronage, only if you play diplo. Rationalism always strong.

UA. Can embark and move over oceans immediately. +1 sight when embarked: I like to build a maori warrior immediately. With my starting maori warrior, I send him in the water and then down the coastline as far as I think necessary. Then he hops back up on land and heads back to the capital. The other maori does the same, but heads the opposite direction. The extra sight is a useful touch. I've noticed that I tend to meet city-states I would have otherwise not met first before other civs - even better if they grant me faith - and you'll often nab up an extra ruin or two. If there are barb ships then I can just hop on land/into the ocean from the coast. As my warriors head back to the capital they gain some XP and are usually back in time to defend my workers, hunt nearby encampments, etc. Other than the +1 sight which is useful the entire game, that's honestly all I use the immediate embarkation for on continents maps. Not game-breaking by any stretch, but a massive breath of fresh air in plotting early strategy and for map awareness.

UA. 10% combat strength bonus if within two tiles of a moai: This is why I argue that Polynesia is a defensive civ and therefore geared for any victory type but domination. Some people say that 10% is nothing, but I guarantee you that it does make a difference in the early game. The Persians have a 10% combat boost during a golden age. With Polynesia, you are guaranteed to have that 10% boost every time another civ rushes in and attacks you. No need to rely on a golden age for the boost. (Not at all comparing civs, just the specific 10%). But, is 10% not good enough for you?

UU. Maori warrior: The enemy is -10% effective. Stacked with the the 10% from the moai, you are essentially Ethiopia's entire 20% unique ability. You want to build around 5-6 maori warriors before they become extinct, # of warriors depending on your economic situation. It may seem like a lot, but if you can pull it off without stunting production/growth/gold too much then it ensures an impenetrable fortress throughout the rest of the game, since the promotion carries.

UI. Moai: The culture from the moai means you can expand and keep up with culture policy costs at a decent rate. The chain of moai brings even more culture. The moai chains definitely do not harm tiles as much as people make them out to be. Once you research flight, the moai's rake in gold. It always seems to arrive at an important time in the game.

Ultimately, I love the idea of forcing yourself to only settle on the coast. Something about that strategy makes it fun and the moai UI certainly benefits from it. If anything, coastal settling only makes Polynesia more effective. It's really useful if you manage to establish a religion. You want your pantheon to be God of the Sea (unless you completely luck out on coastal resources in which case go for a food/production related one or Messenger of the Gods. I wouldn't recommend Faith Healers but man, you will be hard to take down)

 

[SnowKomodo]

i thought it encompassed a large group of sea faring ppls ranging from newzealand to Easter island and Hawaii arnt they all maori's?

and would love if u guys write up some what to do and what nots for polly. like when should i build moais

It's actually a little bit of what I said, and little bit of what you said. The wiki page explains it best: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Māori_people

As for when to build moais, I would build them as soon as you unlock Construction. If a civ attacks you early, you don't want to be missing out on the combat strength benefits of the moai. That doesn't mean you need to work the moai tiles - you can manage ones you deem more relevant. Just make sure your workers have already improved your luxury resources. That's more important.

 

[asmartlittleman]

Polynesia is a solid civ. They are not overpowering but exploration can help especially if you get goodie huts. Meeting city states is also nice. The UI is also good. Coastal cities will have tiles with no river or resource on them. The UI is basically an artist specialist minus the food cost and you will get the food and production for the base tile. So you don't have to stunt your growth while having an artist specialist minus the great person points. This is helpful early to mid game since you still need to grow.

 

[iconocast]

hrrrm interesting okay so put the statues up for defense but dont work them.
i think i was working them to early, causeing the city to lose food production.

started a new game and decided to settle 1 tile inland on all citys except capital, what do u think of that idear? or is it better to settle on coast for harbours and such.
i went liberty- honour opener-piety

 

[kaspergm]

what's wrong with the leader screen? kamehameha's glorious thighs dont do it for you?

He deffinitely is the most hunky CiV leader.

 

[SnowKomodo]

hrrrm interesting okay so put the statues up for defense but dont work them.
i think i was working them to early, causeing the city to lose food production.

started a new game and decided to settle 1 tile inland on all citys except capital, what do u think of that idear? or is it better to settle on coast for harbours and such.
i went liberty- honour opener-piety

I've never tried settling 1 tile inland so tell me how that goes. If you find that works then fantastic.

The reason I like to settle directly on the coast is not just because of the extra production from harbor/seaports but because I like to unlock the Commerce SP with Polynesia. That gives me +3 production ('Merchant Navy') from coastal cities and +1 gold to harbors/seaports ('Trade Unions'). If I'm doing the 'all-coastal' strategy to maximize Polynesia's defense and moai bonuses then I need to be able to keep up with production and this allows me to do that.
(Not that anybody mentioned it but on a side note: Even though the extra gold from Trade Unions doesn't completely pay off the harbors and seaports, it actually does: if you are unlocking the the Commerce policy to start off with you are saving money. Since you are by the coast you have moai and that means gold once flight is researched.)

Curious about two things:

1. Why do you have a warrior? The logo shows a regular warrior but as far as I know Polynesia doesn't have them because the maori warrior replaces it. Did a city-state gift it to you?

2. Have you decided what kind of victory you are shooting for? There are a million different ways to play civ, but at least from my personal experiences I've found that piety is only truly useful for cultural victories.

 

[Drawmeus]

It's actually a little bit of what I said, and little bit of what you said. The wiki page explains it best: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Māori_people

As for when to build moais, I would build them as soon as you unlock Construction. If a civ attacks you early, you don't want to be missing out on the combat strength benefits of the moai. That doesn't mean you need to work the moai tiles - you can manage ones you deem more relevant. Just make sure your workers have already improved your luxury resources. That's more important.

I think this is the key point. The Moais allow you to derive benefit from tiles you weren't going to work. No other improvement in the game lets you get benefit from more tiles than you have population.

 

[SnowKomodo]

I think this is the key point. The Moais allow you to derive benefit from tiles you weren't going to work. No other improvement in the game lets you get benefit from more tiles than you have population.

Yup, but the great thing is you have the option of having a few cities that specializes in culture more effectively than your average civ. Even if you don't do that/are not able to: if your main cities develop properly you'll be able to develop a few of the moai tiles that you weren't able to in the early stages of the game

 

[Snoopaloop]

Love the color scheme. That is the highest praise I have for them.

 

[iconocast]

I've never tried settling 1 tile inland so tell me how that goes. If you find that works then fantastic.

The reason I like to settle directly on the coast is not just because of the extra production from harbor/seaports but because I like to unlock the Commerce SP with Polynesia. That gives me +3 production ('Merchant Navy') from coastal cities and +1 gold to harbors/seaports ('Trade Unions'). If I'm doing the 'all-coastal' strategy to maximize Polynesia's defense and moai bonuses then I need to be able to keep up with production and this allows me to do that.
(Not that anybody mentioned it but on a side note: Even though the extra gold from Trade Unions doesn't completely pay off the harbors and seaports, it actually does: if you are unlocking the the Commerce policy to start off with you are saving money. Since you are by the coast you have moai and that means gold once flight is researched.)

Curious about two things:

1. Why do you have a warrior? The logo shows a regular warrior but as far as I know Polynesia doesn't have them because the maori warrior replaces it. Did a city-state gift it to you?

2. Have you decided what kind of victory you are shooting for? There are a million different ways to play civ, but at least from my personal experiences I've found that piety is only truly useful for cultural victories.

cs gifted me the warriors, planted the great prohets on the iron cause china dow me so needed iron fast.

was going to see how much culture i could get from 1 tile inland but after seeing the stuff u get from commerce and harbours im realy thinking its just best to settle on the coast.
one thing i have noticed is that golden ages will make the maois +3 add up fast

 

[BlueSignofDeath]

This topic, combined with this cheesy Shark Vs. Surfer Boy "B" movie has me highly tempted to play Polynesia....:surf: