I think it would be a lot easier to have two threads per time frame: one for planning and one for a turn log. That way we can still plan and not get lost when we look back on our notes. Someone can still post screenshots or moves in the planning thread, but it won't clutter the main turn log. We should start that with the next turn chunk.
Turns 0 to 10
- Thread starter CommandoBob
- Start date
CommandoBob
AbstractArt
Long range and mid range really should be discussed and decided someplace else than the turn log thread. Mid range is a rather vague term, but it is say at least 5 to 10 turns in the future. Build queues and next research plans fall into this area.
Short range stuff, like where to move our people and what tiles to work seems fitting to be in the turn playing thread.
Short range stuff, like where to move our people and what tiles to work seems fitting to be in the turn playing thread.
CommandoBob
AbstractArt
I, and a few others, are not able to log into the game to see what we are doing. We cannot keep up.
After only three turns in the game I am already lost and confused.
Here are some things that I would like to know:
From the screen shot of Turn 0 I know that we have one city, Astana. It was making a worker and will finish in 11 turns. We are also learning Agriculture and will learn it in 8 turns (which seems so fast compared to Civ 3!). Our military is 2W of the city. It looks like our research is at 100%. I don't see anything about gold or cash.
We are now at turn 3. I can deduce that we will learn Agriculture in 5 more turns and that the worker will complete in 8 more turns.
But once we learn Agriculture and begin to learn something else, how do we know what that tech is? If someone goes away for 10, 20 or 30 turns and then comes back, how are they going to get caught up on what we are doing on the current turn?
To me, the purpose of a turn log is to provide a rather concise snapshot of what we are doing/have done on a turn with enough detail so that anyone could be a turn player and have a good understanding of the state of our empire before they play the turn.
For that to happen, we have to decide on what information we want to record each turn. The list above is based on my experiences in Civ3. In Civ 3 every civ starts with one worker. Not so in Civ 4; not that I can see. I know that Civ 4 has in game logging. Great! I think we ought to use it.
What information should we track? Here, I really don't know. What is important enough to be tracked and documented? I can guess, but more experienced players Civ 4 (everyone else on the team
) will have to decide that.
Once we decide what we want to track, our turn logs will take on a recognizable format and style, and we will able to tell at a glance which post is a turn log and which post is not. Which helps, believe it or not.
Note: I have to admit that once the Civ 3 MTDG got up and running I avoided it for a while. The early turns went by very quickly and there wasn't a lot to do. I wasn't the only one to abandon the game right after the start. I came back in the 50s and became Turn Player on Turn 71 because the current Turn Player's PC died and no one else was willing to do the job. At that time, our turn log structure was already set. And it was a great help to me on those first, scary turns. I felt pretty confident that if I updated everything in the log then I hadn't missed anything. I copied the current turnlog into Notepad, made some game date and turn changes and plunged ahead. I started to use SPOILER tags on the screenshots (after a team member asked for them) and spilt the turn log into several posts instead of one long post. But if I had had to wing those first turns on my own...not a pleasant thought.
After only three turns in the game I am already lost and confused.
Here are some things that I would like to know:
- What is our science rate.
- What are we researching.
- How soon will we learn it.
- How much gold do we have.
- How much gold are we gaining per turn.
- How many units do we have.
- What are they doing.
- How many cities do we have.
- What is each one making.
- How long until that build is done.
- Where is our military.
- What is our military.
- What turn is it.
- What year is it.
From the screen shot of Turn 0 I know that we have one city, Astana. It was making a worker and will finish in 11 turns. We are also learning Agriculture and will learn it in 8 turns (which seems so fast compared to Civ 3!). Our military is 2W of the city. It looks like our research is at 100%. I don't see anything about gold or cash.
We are now at turn 3. I can deduce that we will learn Agriculture in 5 more turns and that the worker will complete in 8 more turns.
But once we learn Agriculture and begin to learn something else, how do we know what that tech is? If someone goes away for 10, 20 or 30 turns and then comes back, how are they going to get caught up on what we are doing on the current turn?
To me, the purpose of a turn log is to provide a rather concise snapshot of what we are doing/have done on a turn with enough detail so that anyone could be a turn player and have a good understanding of the state of our empire before they play the turn.
For that to happen, we have to decide on what information we want to record each turn. The list above is based on my experiences in Civ3. In Civ 3 every civ starts with one worker. Not so in Civ 4; not that I can see. I know that Civ 4 has in game logging. Great! I think we ought to use it.
What information should we track? Here, I really don't know. What is important enough to be tracked and documented? I can guess, but more experienced players Civ 4 (everyone else on the team
) will have to decide that.Once we decide what we want to track, our turn logs will take on a recognizable format and style, and we will able to tell at a glance which post is a turn log and which post is not. Which helps, believe it or not.
Note: I have to admit that once the Civ 3 MTDG got up and running I avoided it for a while. The early turns went by very quickly and there wasn't a lot to do. I wasn't the only one to abandon the game right after the start. I came back in the 50s and became Turn Player on Turn 71 because the current Turn Player's PC died and no one else was willing to do the job. At that time, our turn log structure was already set. And it was a great help to me on those first, scary turns. I felt pretty confident that if I updated everything in the log then I hadn't missed anything. I copied the current turnlog into Notepad, made some game date and turn changes and plunged ahead. I started to use SPOILER tags on the screenshots (after a team member asked for them) and spilt the turn log into several posts instead of one long post. But if I had had to wing those first turns on my own...not a pleasant thought.
classical_hero
In whom I trust
I think it is best for us to scout around the south since we might be able to find our second city position.
Provolution
Sage of Quatronia
South is a detour, we already locked south in being where we are, we stand between south and our northern neighbor, we must go north, not south.
when we build our 2nd warrior we can scout a few tiles that way and then come back. We may need to scout West though, as the mountains at the top will block our passage NW
in terms of city expansion, we should aim to expand northwards as our backyard should be safe for a while
cav scout
The Continuum
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2008
- Messages
- 2,630
Looks like the fish are a bust, there are mountains to the NW and NW-W of them. Our borders will pop next turn, revealing the space 2W of the fish (it's probably a desert hill).
We should move our warrior NW next turn. We are revealing more by zig zagging as we move north.
We should move our warrior NW next turn. We are revealing more by zig zagging as we move north.
donsig
Low level intermediary
If I understand you correctly then I disagree. We need a turn log for historical purposes with no discussion at all. In addition to the turn log thread we can have threads for short medium and long range planning if we see such a need.
Provolution
Sage of Quatronia
I agreee 100 %. I was against the move south and the move to the fish, as I represent "Do not mess around policy". The same applies to maxing out our traits, UB and UU. We should go N/NW until we get the outline of the continent and meet our first neighbors, plan our city grid, max out research plan and builds as well as spatial planning, and not do any detours and delays I have seen presented here in this thread (going for fish, or heading/settling south).
CommandoBob
AbstractArt
No, I think we do agree. I just misunderstood.
Historical Thread
I think we do need a historical thread that records what happens. This would be a separate thread from the turn log. It would serve as an index of events. It would record only the major events of our game. Events such as when a new city was built, when we learned a new tech and what we decided to learn next, when we first meet the other teams, copies of treaties, trade details, Great People information, Great Wonders being built (by anyone), National Wonders built, major international events (wars, usually) and whatever other signficant things that happpen in the game.
Is this what you are thinking of?
donsig
Low level intermediary
No, not really, CB. I was thinking of a thread with one post for each turn where the turn player posts the turn log (detailing actions taken that turn), with some screenies, a summary of important items (how much gold we have, what we are researching, etc.). Here's the old TNT turns played thread. We had some discussion there at first but eventually settled down to just actual turn play info. There's really no need to sticky such a thread because it gets a post every turn. This allows members to subscribe to the thread to get notifications when turns have been played. It differs from your historical thread in that is has much more detailed info and is more useful for finding current up to date info.
I do like the idea of your type of historical thread and see no reason why we cannot have both. Who ever plays a turn would be responsible for updating the turn log thread. We'd need a volunteer to keep the historical summary thread updated.
