Post a (tough) Deity map for me to play

[Fish Man]

But CR2 Grenadiers with Amphi might be cool in a Ragnar isolation . Maybe try something different than cannons if it works out. Also, my win rate for isolation is not as good as people might think, I sometimes lose even with good land~

Maybe also self-imposed restriction, like winning in under 250 turns?

 

[gaash2]

Stay away from that Raggy map (for YT) Lain
Waaay too easy for you, way too much good land.

Imo AcaMetis uses "semi-iso" too loose as well,
it's full isolation cos ideas like "but you need Optics for contact, or similar" just mean..
well it's full Iso then.

ISO is still much harder than non iso (except maybe some semi iso) regardless of leader or land except in extreme cases unlikely to not come from heavily cooked map.

 

[codehappy]

Love your Civ 4 videos Lain -- extraordinarily entertaining, and you're a great player.

Ever consider playing some of the offbeat map scripts included with the game? For example, a random game on Fantasy Realms map script with Irrational resource appearance? It's... quite different, to say the least.

If you've never played this script, terrain types and resources are completely randomized -- you can get wacky things like tundra jungle corn, e.g. -- and both settling land and getting the most from your tiles can play out quite differently from a normal map script.

You'll occasionally get tiles with absolutely great yields (grassland riverside oasis, plains floodplains gold, etc.) but those mega tiles are rare: much more often you'll have weird terrain/resource combinations that are only as good or somewhat worse than usual. Fantasy Realms maps by nature have more tundra and desert than regular map scripts, and you can get jungle just about anywhere: though it's usually scattered and not in giant bands. For that reason it's often a challenging map script, and it's certainly a change of pace.

 

[AcaMetis]

Okay, so how's this for a more challenging map? The start for Pacal II of the Mayan empire:

Spoiler :

Map Setting:

Spoiler :

Fractal, Arid climate, NHNE, all else default

Isolated?

Spoiler :

Non-iso.

Why it's worth playing? Not to spoil too much, I'll just say "give it five turns and some thought". If anyone wants further detail I can provide in a spoiler block .

 

[krikav]

AcaMetis, tried the Pacal map and I agree that it's quite a challenge.

 

[krikav]

Have you tried to play NC 191 Frederick?

 

[Fish Man]

Have you tried to play NC 191 Frederick?

The one where it’s semi-iso with Nappy? If so, yes, and I believe he won.

 

[gaash2]

Spoiler Pacal map looks like decent challenge for ... :

a non iso, though being pacal definitely helps on this start

 

[Snowbird]

Okay, so how's this for a more challenging map? The start for Pacal II of the Mayan empire:

Not to spoil too much, I'll just say "give it five turns and some thought". If anyone wants further detail I can provide in a spoiler block .

Spoiler :

Holkan rush?

 

[krikav]

The one where it’s semi-iso with Nappy? If so, yes, and I believe he won.

Wow, I have to watch that lets play!

 

[krikav]

Spoiler :

Holkan rush?

T10 ish spoiler:

Spoiler :

I did a few quick attempts at just that, both with and without workersteal and warrior-choking. Had no success what so ever, not enough of an edge to leverage for me at least.

 

[AcaMetis]

My take on the Pacal map:

Spoiler :

Holkans look great for this map, especially since they're immune to the +1 First Strike that Keshiks get, but to punch through archers backed by cultural defences you need something better than a 4 unit. And once Walls come into play, you definitely need siege as well. My plan is to tech up to Construction (Financial coast/cottages ), trade for Jumbos (our friendly neighbour trades extra strategic resources at Cautious) and Elepult. If for whatever reason that trade cannot work, Swordpult with a few Axe and Holkan stack defenders. Either way whip like a madman to make up for low city count/production, will be taken care of by at least one of Capture Mids/get Hereditary Rule/Ball Court. Of course I couldn't actually pull it off to save my life, but I think it's a reasonable plan...
Incidentally, just curious: An AI getting 1280 BC Civil Service through Oracle. or ?

 

[Snowbird]

Spoiler :

I don't like holkans (especially on slow start) but what else is to do in there?

Worker steal cost me, but since he mostly builds chariots...

That is somewhat workable (at least got a tiny corner of land).

 

[Fish Man]

Got an even more excruciating one than that Pacal save.

Spoiler :

Isolated?

Spoiler :

No. But there will be...complications...in expanding beyond ~4 cities.

 

[AcaMetis]

Interested in taking a look, but I don't see a save?

 

[Fish Man]

Oh shoot sorry, will attach in a bit! Silly me...

 

[Fish Man]

OK here it is. As a bonus I've also attached an isolation save with a truly tiny island.

 

[Lain]

@codehappy : Thanks for the praise! Offbeat map scripts sound like a good idea to mix it up a bit once in a while. Will definitely try the Fantasy Realm thing soon!

Also thanks for the new maps. Started playing Pacal and ouch . Not so nice.

@Undefeatable : The thing about maximizing scores is, that it would require (more) tremendous time and effort. I tend to invest that in the early game a bit more and then speed up once I feel the game is going well. Just as a compromise. I think many people would consider it fairly boring to watch micromanagement for several more hours when I could win the game in minutes or with much quicker turns. It's something that I tend to do offline a bit more though, can certainly be fun when playing yourself.

 

[AcaMetis]

The people ask for hard maps, and whenever I don't make miscalculations...

Speaking of which, here's one that...shouldn't be a cakewalk. The start for Julius Caesar:

Spoiler :

Map settings:

Spoiler :

Fractal, Rocky Climate, NHNE, all else default.

Iso?

Spoiler :

Semi-iso, by my definition of the term. Others might classify it as non-iso? Not sure. You're not alone, is the point

Why it's worth playing? This one...well, it should have an interesting early game in any case. Beyond that...it depends.

Spoiler :

If there was a way to make the AI less when it comes to placing their cities...

 

[gaash2]

@codehappy : Thanks for the praise! Offbeat map scripts sound like a good idea to mix it up a bit once in a while. Will definitely try the Fantasy Realm thing soon!

Also thanks for the new maps. Started playing Pacal and ouch . Not so nice.

@Undefeatable : The thing about maximizing scores is, that it would require (more) tremendous time and effort. I tend to invest that in the early game a bit more and then speed up once I feel the game is going well. Just as a compromise. I think many people would consider it fairly boring to watch micromanagement for several more hours when I could win the game in minutes or with much quicker turns. It's something that I tend to do offline a bit more though, can certainly be fun when playing yourself.

Is Pacal going to be on video? And def agree please do not play slower haha!