PolyCast Episode 306: "Up To Interpretation"

[DanQ]

Over to you. The three hundred-and-sixth episode of PolyCast, "Up To Interpretation", features regular co-hosts Daniel "DanQ" Quick, Stephanie "Makahlua", Philip "TheMeInTeam" Bellew and Jason "MegaBearsFan" Grade with returning guest Michael "UberMarklar" Bryant. It carries a runtime of 59m59s.

The summary of topics is as follows:

- 02m34s | News
The "Spring 2018 Developer Update" for Civilization: Rise and Fall arrived, but not the patch it highlights... not yet.
- 26m25s | Open Mic
For all the conversation about one topic on Episode 305, the bit on another is what takes centre stage.
- 33m03s | Forum Talk
Getting to the bottom of inconsistent, even conflicting, trading practices by CivVI: R&F's Artificial Intelligence (AI) and dealing with getting war declared on you by an ally (44m26s) lead, understanding joint attacks from AI for divergent or even no discernible reason follows (46m59s).

- Intro/Outro | Assorted
Herding sheeple and coffee dunking.

PolyCast is a bi-weekly audio production recording live every other Saturday throughout the year, in an ongoing effort to give the Civilization community an interactive voice; sibling show ModCast focuses on Civ modding, TurnCast on Civ multiplay.

 

[alancsilver]

Dan:

Looks like there might be an error with the RSS feed.
My podcast player is reporting an error and I am seeing this

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[DanQ]

Dan:

Looks like there might be an error with the RSS feed.
My podcast player is reporting an error and I am seeing this

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Thanks for the heads-up -- corrected.

Enjoy the listen!

 

[alancsilver]

Awesome! Thanks much for the quick fix!

 

[DanQ]

Awesome! Thanks much for the quick fix!

Welcome... pardon any inconvenience.

Also, "quick" in "quick fix"... (My last name is Quick.)

 

[Uberfrog]

It's nice that Firaxis have delayed the Spring Patch enough to keep the speculations and preliminary discussion in this podcast relevant over a week after recording! So often patches sneak in under the PolyCast radar, but this time we have plenty of time to sit and wait. I enjoyed the panel's discussion about the forthcoming patch... now we just need it to arrive so we can judge it properly!

I think aircraft and aerodromes are in a difficult place to balance as units on the tactical map. It does seem harsh (and expensive) that every air unit gets instantly deleted as soon as so much as a Warrior walks across the runway, but at the same time I think a systems of hit points or some defence on behalf of the aircraft (as TMIT rightly points out, if this was based on melee combat strength the air unit would always put up a heck of a fight, if not win outright) would turn aerodromes into quasi-Encampments that are extremely punishing to attack. Being in a position to raid an airstrip should be a tactical victory for the invader, and I have to say I probably lean towards MadDjinn's argument that it's up to you to defend your planes before the enemy gets to hit them. But I'd settle for the air units fleeing to any available slot in another city as suggested on this episode.

Also regarding diplomacy screens and trading, I couldn't agree more with the suggestion that incoming trade offers (and in fact any form of interaction) should appear as a notification first, instead of interrupting you unannounced between turns. It's a surprisingly obnoxious feature that really shouldn't still be there.

 

[Victoria]

every air unit gets instantly deleted as soon as so much as a Qarrior walks across the runway,

Was a shame that deployed fighters on airbases were not discussed also, its like half a discussion based on the knowledge in the thread.

 

[legalizefreedom]

I'm not so much against whatever way the air units ground combat is decided, but the idea that they are treated like civilians... The worst part is that apparently no one even knew it was like this until it happened. That's telling in two ways: it doesn't happen very often and was never properly communicated anywhere (add it to the list, right TMIT?). This adds credence to my theory that it hasn't been fully considered by the devs.

 

[DanQ]

It's nice that Firaxis have delayed the Spring Patch enough to keep the speculations and preliminary discussion in this podcast relevant over a week after recording! So often patches sneak in under the PolyCast radar, but this time we have plenty of time to sit and wait. I enjoyed the panel's discussion about the forthcoming patch... now we just need it to arrive so we can judge it properly!

It's the evening before the recording of the next episode, and still no patch. So we can anticipate a (near) free-from-conversation on the topic!