The Community Deity Game #4 - Spain

[Nigel_Tufnel2]

One tip for maps is to play a good 150 turns in to make sure the map suits a lot of purposes. (Most players hate when there is too much polar ice that blocks sea movement too much, for example.) Another option is to enable Firetuner, and run some simulated playthroughs to look for balance, easily scout the map, etc... You can search the site for info on how to use Firetuner.

 

[Wild_Woojsha]

https://www.reddit.com/r/nqmod/ So Consentient used this map script to create the maps for this series right? The NQ map script from Hellblazer? Should we continue this tradition or just fly solo and see what the paint brush creates? I got the impression that many were not in favor of this script, but I could be mistaken.

Also, my quick googling found this nice PCmag article: http://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-make-a-map-in-civilization-v/.

Does this explain the basics of map-making pretty well still? It was written in 2010, but I doubt things have changed much since then. Does anyone have a better one?

I looked up fire-tuner and got a mess of programming and modding threads that were completely irrelevant to map-making. I'll have to play with it and see what it can do, and make sure global warming is in full effect!

I'm asking all my dumb questions on here so other, more creative and better map makers can build on them. My free time is very limited, but I have wanted to learn this for a long time so I am going to make it a priority for now. I don't want to just roll a map and post it, this series is supposed to be about pushing our strategies to areas we rarely explore, and trying to achieve things that seem ridiculous. Like building nothing but melee units or scouts, converting 4 holy cities, or razing every last city right to the ground. On the hardest possible settings in CIV. So I'm grabbing my apron and my spatula and cooking up some good maps for us to play. If heavy cooking is frowned upon, or there are unspoken limits to cooking maps, please let me know so I don't break them on accident and submit bombs waiting to explode.

 

[stormtrooper412]

Eh, there's not really any specific list of guidelines, it all comes down to judgment. So for example, a Salt/Production start is quite easy, whereas flat plains with specs of Tundra with the inclusion of a tough neighbor would be the difficult side of the spectrum.

Also, sure, send me the maps you created and I'll try to evaluate, don't hold your breath on my doing anything better than you. Just put the map packs off. I won't mind but not all people have them (insane how after all this time, that is STILL an issue)

I personally like heavy cooking as I really have little free time and I want to make the most of it by playing really fun maps

 

[Wild_Woojsha]

Eh, there's not really any specific list of guidelines, it all comes down to judgment. So for example, a Salt/Production start is quite easy, whereas flat plains with specs of Tundra with the inclusion of a tough neighbor would be the difficult side of the spectrum.

Also, sure, send me the maps you created and I'll try to evaluate, don't hold your breath on my doing anything better than you. Just put the map packs off. I won't mind but not all people have them (insane how after all this time, that is STILL an issue)

I personally like heavy cooking as I really have little free time and I want to make the most of it by playing really fun maps

I know the struggle, I get to play on the forum all day and play the game 3-5 hours a week in exchange for missing sleep!!!

Where do I go to turn off the maps pack, is it in the map editor, or steam, or options in game? I'm going to post any notes and/or discoveries I make in this thread and the next so that others can contribute. I'm sure I will figure the map packs out eventually, I was a missing-map-packs-culprit too until this month when I finally broke down and bought the last 4 I was missing for $4.20.

I'm hoping some more people can submit some maps too, and heavy cooking on the scale of the Venice DCL is what I want to eventually pursue. I still haven't had a chance to play that, Acken did an amazing job cooking it from the looks of the screenshots. I might have to play it for inspiration...

 

[Sclb]

Please no more NQ maps, they're too large for 8 AIs on SP. Strategic balance also makes it way too easy. You can use IGE mod to cook maps easily. In fact I did look at this map through IGE to check to see if it was cooked or not.

 

[Blatc]

Agree with Sclb, no more NQ maps.
I don't know anything about IGE or altering maps, but for future maps please post what, if anything, was altered in the OP.

 

[stormtrooper412]

If that was aimed at me, I obviously couldn't do it as I only post maps, I didn't make them

 

[Wild_Woojsha]

Agree with Sclb, no more NQ maps.
I don't know anything about IGE or altering maps, but for future maps please post what, if anything, was altered in the OP.

Believe me, I will be more than happy to explain any altering I do unless they are extremely obvious like putting 5 natural wonders in the starting location or something silly like that. Any altering done though will be to make it so that whatever theme the game was created for can actually be achieved. Especially by a n00b like me who is still working out the kinks on Deity. However, I don't plan on making it easier! This needs to be a challenge, a hard challenge that stretches the mind and the imagination to new levels. Creativity must be fostered, and I really hope I'm not the only one who submits games to Mr. ST.

 

[beetle]

I think you should try again

Thanks for the encouragement, I am trying yet again.
SIP, warrior beelines for nearest NW and got 500 gold. Bought a settler to grab the closest faith mountain. Going pretty well of course. Liberty 4 city NC, added two more expos close, and captured 3 distant NW for 9 cities total.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

Yup, if you get to King Solomon Mines before t10, then it's already discovered. If you just wait until turn 10, you will get 500 gold, a free settler to Uluuru, and the first religion. I think I got to Mines around t11 and founded a religion on t29. I also enhanced right after the second religion was even founded. Right now, the entire Iroquois nation is converted to my religion. Monte spammed prophets a bit to convert city-states, but who cares? I am making 70 gpt off religion already.

I went 4-city Tradition and then decided to expand to 7, since I got NC around t80 and Education on t95. However, Pacal built Hagia Sophia on t67? The GL was gone on t24? Out of Renaissance wonders I only got Pisa, and only because no AI went Printing Press first? Really weird. I want to go for a CV, but oh my god, the world fair is coming, public schools are coming, and Archaeology is coming. I so hate this bottleneck for CV's.

 

[Lord Yanaek]

Yup, if you get to King Solomon Mines before t10, then it's already discovered. If you just wait until turn 10, you will get 500 gold, a free settler to Uluuru, and the first religion

Sort of silly I really think Grendeldef was right that this achievement should be ignored completely as it appears it's totally luck-based or requires prior knowledge.

I'm not replaying this map again now, might come back to it later. Not sure. Maybe the way to go is Liberty CB rush. I'm not very good at it and most of the time i play conquest with HCA and it's not great here.

I might look into creating a few maps but maybe we should try to get some central place to discuss about ready maps so that we don't all go create maps for the same civs and ignore others completely.

As for NQmap i think it needs 1 additional civ at the start. I don't have issues with strategic balance thought. I don't think it makes the game easier, just easier to plan (you won't get the perfect strategy for a late game conquest only to find you have no oil nearby). I don't really like this map script overall thought.

 

[Sclb]

The AI are seems faster than usual deity on this map script, possibly due to better start location resources. I did check at least that AI don't start with extra tech (beyond usual deity) or prebuilt cities so there's no cheating of that sort. Liberty CB rush is doable at least against the western civ, but what happens afterwards? I'm still debating whether to prospone war till artillery or not. These maps aren't really finish-able using XB, and even if it can, the achievement is impossible since AI won't have enough cities to burn at that era.

 

[Lord Yanaek]

That's why my first attempts have been HCA and Tradition into science-domination. Unfortunately for HCA the western civ will DoW you as expected but tend not to attack you so you can't really gain xp for your troops (as moving near his cities is often instant death). As for Tradition, i messed up with a 5th city that didn't really help me much and i dropped into unhapiness as soon as the AIs all switched to Order so i didn't try to finish it especially since i didn't have enough troops and lacked Honor's gold to buy more quickly

 

[InaneObserver]

267 SV

3 points of conditions fulfilled

Spoiler :

I know, I didn't play to all the conditions, but the AIs were teching like madmen and by turn 220 I had only managed to take out one civ and started going after second. It seemed like I was headed for a massive slog so I kept the wars going while also speccing for SV, to see which one came first.

Spoiler :

Discovered NW first on t14.
Settled faith mountain with 3rd city.
4 city NC t81, Education around t97.
Razed about 5 cities or so, captured 2 capitals.
Forgot about the ideology one but could have done that.
Founded religion on t51 but could forget about spreading it, Monty was spamming missionaries.
Had to not raze a city and instead sell the puppet to Monty for 130 gold per turn, to fund the war

I think a couple of things made this map harder than most. First off you have a lot of potential runaway civs (Iroquois, Inca, Polynesia, potentially Portugal) and only one trigger-happy warmonger (Monty). Second, there were a lot of resources around your cap, but some of the areas the AI spawned were absolutely crazy.

Sure enough they all racked up cities and tech superfast, and I had to spend a lot of time and most of my money getting them to fight amongst themselves (that was the only way to slow them down). Having Monty in the game was a godsend, things would have been a lot harder without.

Fighting Pachacuti turned out to be hard, but fun. He kept nuking the cities I had just captured, taking out all wounded units and generals. Never saw that before, it was an interesting twist. His homeland looked a bit worse for wear after all was said and done...

 

[adcarrymaokai]

Liberty CB rush is doable at least against the western civ, but what happens afterwards?

This map is too big. I really don't have time to sit around and click my units to slowly get through all of the AI cities. Total domination is doable, but the time and effort it is going to take is simply not worth it.

 

[Sclb]

This map is too big. I really don't have time to sit around and click my units to slowly get through all of the AI cities. Total domination is doable, but the time and effort it is going to take is simply not worth it.

One of the achievement requires razing EVERY non capital on the map. That's what going to take the most time for me. One of the cheesiest way to do it would be to puppet most good AI cities, then raze them a few turns before taking the final capital.

 

[adcarrymaokai]

You can't raze a city after puppeting it.

 

[Browd]

Yes you can, but you must annex the puppeted city to do so, which will boost the cost of future social policies (until you found or annex a new city that you intend to keep, assuming you ever do so).

The "free" razing option is only available on city capture.

 

[Sclb]

Yes, that is why I suggested razing cities at the very end of the game if it contains good stuff such as wonders or good strategic location.

 

[beetle]

Turn 301 Science Victory, which is relatively fast for me. Except for CR, I got all the late game wonders (Order GE for SOH, the rest hard built). Despite having Hubble and a nuke plant, I did not build any SS parts in the cap as I was trying to knock out the national wonders, but I ran out of time for that anyway.

Achievements: Got the mines first, 1 point.
Settled 4x Natural Wonders. Is that 2 points or 2 points each?
Nine policies in Order, but full Rationalism, so missed that achievement.

I tried several times for domination, but I never could finish before someone launched in t he early 300s. At about turn 250 I have just unlocked Rocketry and the best AI has only just entered the Atomic age. But I cannot grind though cities fast enough.