The expansion pack

ainwood

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Just wondering how the GOTM will be run when the expansion pack is released - I assume that you have to buy it rather than download it.

With new terrain improvements etc, then (IMO) you need to have a game for the "haves" and one for the "have-nots" or else one side or the other will have a big advantage.

P.S. It would be good to have a GOTM with the new civs too.
 
I've been thinking about that too. I will buy Expansion Pack no matter what, but I don't want to force GOTM players to buy it as well. And I'm afraid savegames with Expansion Pack aren't compatible. :(
 
I can't really see how they could be compatable.

The expansion pack has different units and different civs from the normal game. It may be "forwards" compatable, but not "backwards" compatable I'd suggest. Or maybe you can elect to play without the XP as a setup option.

As a suggestion, we could start off playing the original version, and poll it each month. When a critical mass actually has the XP, then we could consider phasing in a new XP GOTM, and ultimately phasing-out the 'old' one?
 
Just run two separate GOTMs. One for with XP, and one for without. Simple. Both groups will be happy. People could then do either one or the other, or even both, if they're so inclined.
 
Yeah but that ruins the fun, because half will be here and half will be there. There will be less competition.

I think no XP for GOTMs. Play XP for your own game.
 
Originally posted by God
Yeah but that ruins the fun, because half will be here and half will be there. There will be less competition.

I think no XP for GOTMs. Play XP for your own game.

I think you'll find pretty quickly that most people who play GOTM are going to buy the XP as soon as it comes out. There won't be many who still want to play the plain GOTM.
 
I think there should be a say 4-month period where there is a split GOTM period. After the four months, all GOTMs are XP. That gives people a period of time to buy the XP.
 
I would definitely say that there needs to be at least a 4 to 6 month moratorium on requiring the XP for GOTM participation.

The current GOTM has a scheduled Civ rotation that will not include the new civs that will be released in the GOTM until sometime In March 2003 when all the existing civs have been played.

Based on prior results with releases of the original CIV3 and patches, there will be a number of features in the XP that will have to played with casually for a month or two before we can reveal any inherent bugs or exploits that need to be fixed.

The new civs being released will for the most part be repeats of the existing civ traits with new UUs. There are no current combinations of the existing 6 civ traits that are not already covered by at least one civ. Firaxis has made no moves to indicate that they would be expanding the civ traits menu to provide new civilizations that will play substantially different. If the Vikings are Expansionist Commercial, then they will pay alot like Libby just with an eary axe wielding wildman for their UU.

99% of what is being released in the XP will not have a substantial effect on GOTM play. The multiplayer effects and scenario support tools will be prohibited in the GOTM. The new radar tower (probably comes after Radar, duh!) and the new airfield (probably comes after flight) will not effect GOTM early finish medals or GOTM high score awards because these finishes are set for the most part by expansion in the ancient age and wonder/military progression in the medieval and early industrial age.

The two special unit packs and the special terrain packs included in the XP will not be included in the standard play version of the XP and would therfore not be included in the GOTM anyway. The special terrain packs would probably meet the definitaion of a graphics mod that would not alter game play so users that buy the XP right away could probably use the terrain graphics in their GOTM play if that made them feel special.

A number of the features of the XP that enhance single game play and promote scenario development will be released in free download patches that are expected in June and then again in mid August just as 75% of the market for these games heads back to school in the fall. The released version of the XP will already be headed to the duplicaters presses by Labor day in order to assure availability for the pre-Christmas rush.

The best way to transition things in the GOTM without loosing the current momentum and positive foundation in single player games is probably to identify a key feature of the XP that will enhance game play significantly and then begin offering some tournament game format that uses those features instead of just dumbing the XP down to a single player GOTM format just for the sake of gaining a few new civs and a few new leader heads that repackage exist civ traits into new graphics wrappers.

Some tournament play type features that will be inherent in multiplayer and PBEM (Play-by-email) type formats will be built into the XP and may not rquire external support. I can envision a number of options including civ grudge match formats like "you be Cathy and I'll be Otto, best two out of three scores count and then we switch sides. The winner of the grudge match is the highest combined score from playing both sides. The options are limitless, and single player GOTM style play in the XP definitely would not seem to hold the most room for advancing the scope of play.

I will probably be buying the XP for access to many of the internal functions, but will not plan on making the transition to playing full games on it as a platform until it passes a lot of test drive stuff first. If it is the same song just another verse when it comes to single player mode then it will not warrant excluding even one player from the GOTM rounds of play just for the sake of gaining more civ graphics that do not provide a substantive difference in game play.
 
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