PolyCast Episode 72: "The Other End of the Stick"

[DanQ]

What's with it anyway? The seventy-second episode of PolyCast is now netcasting. "The Other End of the Stick" features regular co-hosts Daniel "DanQ" Quick, Makahlua, Imran Sidiqui and Annalee "Cartimandua" Barney with returning guest co-hosts Gloria "condor223" Carson and Chris "Pinchak".

The summary of topics is as follows:

- 01m55s | Forum Talk
Do you roleplay in your Civilization IV games, thoughts on the Janissary Unique Unit, what of Quechuas, and is there a way to exclude particular Civ leaders.
- 17m26s | Senate
Having too much money in the bank, surviving a jungle start, all about the "We Fear You Are Becoming Too Advanced" limit, and on the Pyramids: the great debate of cost versus production.
- 32m20s | Vault
Most vassals on a single turn and the Top 100 Game Creators including Bruce Shelley, Brian Reynolds and Sid Meier.
- 39m25s | Theatre
A recent CivIV: BtS gameplay experience where the Religious Diplomatic Victory was just out of reach again and again.

- Intro/Outro | Miscellaneous
Who has been able to stay away from whom, and why this is a good thing.

PolyCast is a bi-weekly audio production in an ongoing effort to give the Civ community an interactive voice on game strategy. A nominee in the "Best Produced" and "Gaming" categories of the 2008 Podcast Awards, sibling show ModCast focuses on Civ modding and RevCast focuses on Civilization: Revolution.

As always, enjoy.

 

[TheMeInTeam]

As a former guest host, I will make some comments...well because I CAN! Ha!

- I like killer mode ! Wait no...builder...builder...

- Muskets are fine on offense of course but Jans are better . Work them in treb/musket or go musket/cannon ---> it's sick. Rifles are not worth it if your opponent gets rifles! You can DRAFT muskets if you *need* them fast. You can get more than 30 in 10 turns by build/draft.

- I find it funny that Nolan likes the Aztecs and Indians!

- Quechas ARE overrated on fast speeds, but still among the most powerful UU's out there

- Plain warriors are fine vs archer barbs early on .

- Note that all civs have the exact same chance to be rolled. However, the leader is picked at random from that civ, such that leaders from civs that have multiple leaders are more rare.

- Don't gift gold freely unless you're trying to get the +4 trade. Let them demand it and get the +1. Once they're at +4 gifting gold does nearly nothing .

- Beating jungle starts fast means fast iron working. You can hit alphabet w/ oracle and trade for it on monarch + (below that, just research it yourself). If you have high food low hammers, whip or use workshops as needed! I do recommend against serfdom though...by feudalism you'll already have 2x workers/city.

- Bureaucracy + academy + library with good use of GPP can often keep up with pyramids!

- A very typical way to get multiple vassals the same turn is to beat down the master of a vassal SO BADLY that it is willing to cap. The vassals almost always will too.

- Oooh, a mention of the King's Quest series! They were good but I did like Space Quest better...the lead character was just so amusingly asinine.

- AP buildings do not affect # votes at all (it's based on pop in cities with the AP religion). The easiest way is to either grow or us SPIES to first revolt out of the AP religion, flip the AI out of the AP religion (aka free religion), then convert back. Now his votes are halved and you're in a lot better shape...so if you want to win off that old save...that's one route to go! You could just capture cities/vassal too.

 

[DanQ]

- I like killer mode ! Wait no...builder...builder...

- I find it funny that Nolan likes the Aztecs and Indians!

How's that then?

- A very typical way to get multiple vassals the same turn is to beat down the master of a vassal SO BADLY that it is willing to cap. The vassals almost always will too.

Ah yes.

- AP buildings do not affect # votes at all (it's based on pop in cities with the AP religion).

on all of our parts on that one...

The easiest way is to either grow or us SPIES to first revolt out of the AP religion, flip the AI out of the AP religion (aka free religion), then convert back. Now his votes are halved and you're in a lot better shape...so if you want to win off that old save...that's one route to go! You could just capture cities/vassal too.

Forgot about the forced conversion through espionage completely. That's probably the preferred route to ultimately achieve victory here, and diplomatically, as a war would put severe pressure on Nolan given military disparities and the fact that she's on the same continent with the AI and I'm not. (Related aside: not mentioned during the account on this episode itself, but vassals were disabled the game's setup.)

Thank you for the detailed and timely feedback, Phillip!

 

[Rusty Edge]

We had an entire episode with the regular cohost cast.

I didn't hear Dan sing.

I didn't hear Makkie mention caffienated beverages.

I didn't hear Cartimadua say "I think he's doing something wrong ".

I didn't hear Imran say "That's what she said".


Even so, it was a great show. Interesting, informative. The panel and TMIT seemed to pick up most of the points I would have contributed. All UUs matter on Marathon. Losing those wonder races can put you on a pile of cash. I like the idea to be able have random leaders with restrictions such as NO Sitting Bull, No Protective, Contemporary leaders, rival leaders, etc. By rival leaders I mean that if France were in the game England would be , too. If Rome were in then Carthage also, Greece and Persia, America and Native America, China and Mongolia, Aztecs and Maya..


And who doesn't love Q?

 

[DanQ]

We had an entire episode with the regular cohost cast.

I didn't hear Dan sing.

I didn't hear Makkie mention caffienated beverages.

I didn't hear Cartimadua say "I think he's doing something wrong ".

I didn't hear Imran say "That's what she said".

Well -- I hadn't thought of it that way.

Even so, it was a great show. Interesting, informative.

And who doesn't love Q?

 

[Rusty Edge]

Well -- I hadn't thought of it that way.

Well, Yeah, any great comedy series develops catch phrases & go to gags ... Remember the original Saturday Night Live with Chevvy Chase...er.. you wouldn't have been allowed to stay up that late. Maybe you've seen the re-runs or dvds?
He used to do the news, "I'm Chevvy Chase ... and you're not."

I keep expecting to hear " Imran Sidiqui ... and you're not."

 

[Rusty Edge]

I listened to the show again today. When I see a jungle start I'm dismayed, because I'll have to waste turns uncovering my grasslands before I can even think about building cottages. To me the bright spots are that 1) I'm probably in position with my core cities to build a spaceship, instead of conquering a equitorial city to do it, and 2) there are probably elephants nearby in case I nee to go "killer mode" to recover a wonder I might lose by a turn or two due to lame production.

 

[DanQ]

Well, Yeah, any great comedy series develops catch phrases & go to gags ... Remember the original Saturday Night Live with Chevvy Chase...er.. you wouldn't have been allowed to stay up that late.

I listened to the show again today.

Repeat listener -- .

When I see a jungle start I'm dismayed, because I'll have to waste turns uncovering my grasslands before I can even think about building cottages. To me the bright spots are that 1) I'm probably in position with my core cities to build a spaceship, instead of conquering a equitorial city to do it, and 2) there are probably elephants nearby in case I nee to go "killer mode" to recover a wonder I might lose by a turn or two due to lame production.

Elephants...

The next to only time I'm thinking about a Space Victory is when I'm thinking about denying it to an AI by winning by some other means.

 

[Rusty Edge]

I'm amazed that this thread is eclipsed by the previous episode. People will think you still didn't get this one produced, Dan.

Maybe a space victory is more of a Boomer thing, since we were led to believe that space colonization and tourism would occur in our lifetimes, not unlike disposable paper clothing. Still, I would have thought Star Wars and Star Trek might have helped generate interest in space.

and I'm often a repeat listener, it's sort of like radio, I try to pay close attention the first time, after that it's backround as I multi-task.

 

[DanQ]

I'm amazed that this thread is eclipsed by the previous episode. People will think you still didn't get this one produced, Dan.

-- perhaps it's just a reflection of the greater popularity of the previous episode. Still, perhaps a drop in Episode 71's thread in follow-up to this effect is warranted.

and I'm often a repeat listener, it's sort of like radio, I try to pay close attention the first time, after that it's backround as I multi-task.

Ah. I'm in a unique position of hearing the episode several times over prior to release, but in chunks. I then listen to it from beginning to end when post-production is complete, but often just the once.

 

[TheDS]

I'll just go ahead and take about 2/3 of the credit for that, and give Dan's editing (which made me look even better) the rest of it.

 

[DanQ]

I'll just go ahead and take about 2/3 of the credit for that, and give Dan's editing (which made me look even better) the rest of it.