Superslug: Monarch #1, take two-

[superslug]

I came home from work this morning with every intention of going straight to bed and leaving Mapfinder to continue running for a few more hours. Not a minute after I laid down I glanced at my monitor and noticed that a registration reminder for another program had popped up, stopping Mapfinder.

As I sat up to close the window and restart Mapfinder I saw the index.html file and just about crapped my pants at the number of .sav's I saw. Now I have no choice but to go through them screenshot by screenshot and probably play a few since I'm now too excited to sleep.

So, screw you Norton Systemworks! You just messed up the weekend sleep schedule of a third shifter because of a damn little popup. I hope you burn and rot in hell forever and ever you bastard...

 

[superslug]

[dance] Finally found a map! [dance]

 

[superslug]

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads6/superslugmonarch350bc.jpg

Okay, so here's my humble little at 350bc:

This is the turn I completed the Temple of Artemis, one of two wonders I consider essential. (The other is Leonardo's Workshop.) Since I'm about to get out of despotism have ToA, I anticipate a nice land grab looming.

While I'm usually content with a luxury or two at this stage, I have three!

AI I've met are Russia, Sumeria and the Zulu. I do have two curraghs out and about looking for others.

The domination limit for this map is over 4400!

 

[superslug]

310ad: Map suspended.

I say suspended rather than quit because I've archived the .sav's and may come back to it, but I know full well I can do better.

 

[superslug]

Even with Mapfinder, it's very difficult to find the right map. Granted, it takes less tries, but I just tossed another six hours of playtime out the window.

I've come to the conclusion that the game settings I've been using don't suit my playstyle.

I'm going to drop the number of AI down to eight, disable huts and switch to playing as the Netherlands.

 

[superslug]

Okay, my new AI are the Maya, the Aztecs, the Inca, the Iroquois, the Indians, the French, the Zulu and the Mongols.

 

[boogaboo]

Y don't you wait for a settler to join your despotism at start?
I think this is not only true for conquest games, since it really boosts the start.

I see you are going for violent AIs but not... industrious?
I like violence on the computer as much as I hate it in real life..
I wonder y, and I wonder alone.
I wonder if my next game will finally allow me to go Aztec..

 

[superslug]

I've lost dozens of settlers to barbarians the last few days and popped almost no techs. Forget the huts...

As far as the AI goes, I have to admit, I picked these eight because of one thing they have in common: I like to beat up on them. I know that's not maybe the best way to pick AI, but I'm not used yet to being able to choose them, and the whole point of this game is to enjoy it.

I did kind of go heavy on the agricultural trait though. The more cities they build, the more cities they build for me before they die!

 

[boogaboo]

So..
Don't open those huts early!!
But do have that extra city on the start, if you want a good HoF game.

I got used to choosing my AI.
you should decide what the game will look like..
I guess slug went for the aggression levels.. and super for the agricultural..

good morning

 

[superslug]

Originally posted by boogaboo
you should decide what the game will look like..

The game's going to look like a bloodbath as my cavalry mow the AI down like grass!

Well, I may go back to making more logical picks for the AI in the very near future and may even go back to enabling huts. These settings are just what I'm trying today. I'm tinkering around until I find a map I'm comfortable with. The speed with which Mapfinder generates maps, I have more time to be fussy about my starting plays...

 

[superslug]

Just an update in terms of my initial strategy now:
I'm looking for a 4300+ map that gives me at least 4 bonus foods and three early luxuries. Okay, I'm looking for multiple maps like this since I plan on keep playing openings. The map settings are only one requirement...

In regards to initial building, it goes a little something like this:
City 1: Settler factory, focusing on inlands
City 2: Pyramids, then FP or Leonardo's
City 3: ToA, then FP or Leonardo's
City 4: Warriors/Workers
City 5: Carrughs
City 6: Settler factory, focusing on coastlines
City 7: Luxury
City 8: Luxury
City 9: Luxury

I'm coming across a number of maps where all this is possible. I'm planning on not adopting one full time though until I get one where I can rush the Pyramids and/or ToA with SGL's...

In regards to the switch to the Dutch, the agricultural trait explains itself. The cheaper, faster boats make communications go that much faster. Additionally, a huge archipelago map makes coastal tiles desirable to pursue given the number of "freebie" sea tiles. The extra commerce on coastal cities and cheaper harbors makes this viable.

 

[superslug]

EDIT: Incidental double post, but I'm sure I'll use it later...

EDIT2: Okay, it's later. Anyway, I let Mapfinder run for 36 consecutive hours Sunday/Monday and then spent eight hours weeding out the duds from the minimum domination candidate list. I'm currently playing a map that leaves me lots of expansion room, three luxuries probably soon to be four. I got lucky and generated an SGL which I used to rush the Pyramids. I also completed the ToA, so if I get Leonardo's, I'll be posting an update and continuing this game.

 

[superslug]

Well, the RNG has proven it's not always an enemy to humans. I generated a second SGL upon research of Republic. Since I've got a tech lead over the five AI my token fleet of curraghs and galleys has met, rushing Leonardo's should not be a problem. The chances of this being the map have increased dramatically.

Under the circumstances, I'm going to attempt building Sun Tzu's as well.

 

[superslug]

130bc: The Indians break a Right of Passage by declaring war on me and razing an undefended town to the ground. Tech swapping enables me to get the Iroquois and the French in an alliance against them. I'll build a few horsemen and send them their way, but I seriously hope this is only a momentary setback. I really like this map!

 

[superslug]

30ad: I got a peace treaty out of the Indians, as well as a good chunk of gold for Monarchy. France and the Iroquois were obviously upset by this, but I gifted them minor techs to get my diplomatic standing kosher.

The settler rush will now resume, although all tundra towns will focus exclusively on production of horsemen. India won't catch me with my pants down again...

I recently noticed that my expanse is devoid of Iron, but I can always trade for that when it's time for the Cavalry upgrade. I'm pretty sure India has Iron, so that just adds to the growing list of reasons why they'll be target number one should I continue this game to the combat phase.

 

[superslug]

My next 18 hours are accounted for rather, and while I haven't even played all the starts the last session generated, I'm going to let Mapfinder fun while I'm gone...just in case!

 

[superslug]

The iron void didn't really bother me. The lack of saltpeter tossed this game right out the window...

 

[superslug]

I've always played continents or pangaea in I, II and III....now I'm trying archipelago.
In III, I've always played someone Industrious....and now I'm not.
I've always automated at least some of my workers, if only Ctrl-N or Shift-A....and now I'm not.
I've read Bamspeedy's Deity Settlers a dozen times.....and just not completely figured it out.
I've always eventually gotten tired of generating maps before settling for one less than perfect.....and now I'm not.
I've never made a priority of Philosophy other than getting to Republic....and now I get a free tech for it.
I've never been able to pick my AI.....and now I can.

The sheer number of changes to my playing environment for this current campaign make me feel like I'm playing Civ for the very first time again.

I'm a Hall of Famer at the biggest Civ community in the known universe. I beta tested Conquests on six different levels. I played so much CivI I broke my Nintendo. When I read the strategy guide for III and it said "We suggest you start a level lower than what you could beat on II" I remembered the strategy guide for II said "We suggest you start a level lower than what you could beat on I".....and I feel like I'm playing Civ for the very first time!

Doom. Unreal Tournament. Wolfenstein. The Sims. SimCity2000. Minesweeper. Tetris. Asteroids. Paperboy. Super Mario Brothers. Pac-Man. Zelda. Games among the greatest that I've lost hundreds of hours to each, and yet they don't hold a candle to Civilization.

This isn't a game. It's an intellectual/emotional/spiritual experience without parallel.

Bless you SirPleb, for posting about the 1.15 FP in the C3C forums so I have some idea where to put it.
Bless you Moonsinger, for allowing me to finally be the anal perfectionist I've always wanted to be in regards to my map selection.
Bless you Aeson, for breathing new life into this hallowed hall.
Bless you Markstar, for showing you don't have to play constant campaigns to score big.
Bless you Mazarin, for helping push higher the scores I hope to eventually chase.
Bless you Darkness, for getting to the Industrial Age so quickly and making me realize the power of building a few libraries.
Bless you Dianthus, for giving us back MapStat.
Bless you Boogaboo, for letting me know I'm not the only soul on this planet obsessed with downing a #1 score.
Bless you EMan, for giving me a target, a purpose, a quest.
Blessings and peace unto the rest of you Hall of Famers for forgiving me for not coming up with a line for each of you in this sleep deprived incoherent rant virtually devoid of reason.

Bless you precious brain within my mind for realizing that posting an update about any game before having a stack of cavalry ruins my focus and concentration, thus the very game I post about.

Bless you soft pillows and gentle mattress upon which I will soon rest.
Bless you my alarm clock, my usual enemy, my bane of my existence, you shall not be set today for the first time this year.
Bless you AI, for living so that you may DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!

Minimum domination limit: 4400
Civilization: Netherlands
AI: Eight, all scientific
Land: Archipelago, 60%, 5 billion, warm, wet
Barbarians: Sedentary
Level: Monarch
Go Mapfinder Go!
GO MAPFINDER GO!

 

[superslug]

Okay, make it seven scientific. I couldn't decide whether to pull the Ottomans or the Russians from the list since I don't want to face Cossacks or Sipahi. So, I yanked both and subbed in Mongolia so I can whip Genghis' ass for what he did to me in my first game of CivI (sweet revenge, for the 312th time!).

Anyway, it's a funny thing what sleep deprivation can do. I just now realized the reason the sheep jumps rope: it's to get away from the talking lizards!






























EDIT: Apparently venting whatever mental spaz I was having helped out tremendously as I finally got a good start, which you can read about in my new thread. This is one is dead...