[Vanilla] News: GOTM 49 - Starts 1 December

[jesusin]

GOTM 49: Japan

What would Tokugawa Ieyasu have being capable of, had Japan been a desert instead of an island? Please show us!


Game settings:

Civilization: Japan (Leader: Tokugawa; Traits: Aggressive, Organized)
Rivals: 6 AIs
Difficulty: Immortal
Map: Oasis
Mapsize: Standard
Starting Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
Options: None
Victory Conditions: all enabled


Tokugawa:

Tokugawa is Aggressive and Organized ; starting with Fishing and The Wheel. As you are Aggressive, you get free Combat I promotion for melee and gunpowder units and you also get double speed Barracks. Being Organized you get -50% civic upkeep and double speed lighthouse and courthouse.



Unique unit: Samurai(replaces Maceman)

It has the same stats, except for the additional 2 first strikes. Samurais require Iron.


Starting screenshot

This is the start of the game (click for a bigger image):




Adventurer Class bonuses:

1. Emperor: You play the game at Emperor difficulty, althougth AI will receive Immortal starting units.

Challenger Class Equalisers:

1. Deity: You play the game at Deity difficulty, althougth AI will receive Immortal starting units (particularly, no extra settler!).

To Enter the Competition:

This competition will open on 1 December 2009. From that date, you'll be able to get your chosen starting save >>>here<<<.
Submit the save after your victory (or defeat) here, by 1 January 2010.


Software Versions

Windows: This game MUST be played in Civilization 4 (NOT Warlords or BTS), patched to version 1.74, and with the HOF mod version 1.74.004 installed. You can download the HOF mod here. Players using Windows Vista are encouraged to read the notes on Vista fixes here.

Macintosh: This game MUST be played in Civilization 4 (NOT Warlords), patched to version 1.74, and with the Mac HOF mod version 1.74.002 installed. You can download the HOF mod here.


While playing...

Remember - for your entry to be accepted, it MUST be your first attempt to play this game, and you MUST NOT replay any turns. If you make a mistake while playing, you have to live with it, learn from it, and carry on the game without replaying.

We will open 'spoiler' threads during the month for players to discuss what happens in their games. Do not discuss any details of the game outside those threads while it is in progress.

Please write here or send me a Private Message for any technical queries, eg. if you have trouble opening the game. Do NOT post in this thread once you have successfully opened the starting save.

 

[Monnet]

Thanks Jesusin for another interesting set-up to play when I go back home to Spain for Christmas. Even though the starting screen does not look very desertic , I am sure we will need to take some water once we start scouting around.

I'll definitely take the Adventurer save and try to make the most of it. I will settle in place and brace myself for yet another struggle.

One elementary question: if we play as Tokugawa, are we from the outset as unpopular as he normally is, or do relations with other Civs depend solely on our actions?

 

[vixafox]

Herewith a test map at Immortal level.

 

[Ronnie1]

Yes indeed, not much desert in that photo.

Lots of food, lots of forests, fresh water, if the hill the settler is standing on was a plains hill instead if grass, it would be PERFECT!

I will try this at Immortal level, settle in place (almost perfect spot), and see what we can make happen! Just need to generate some Oasis maps to see what they offer.

 

[Conquistador 63]

I don't quite agree with Ronnie1 here. Nice starting area, yes, but IMO not well suited for the mapscript/civ.

Our starting techs are wheel/fishing. The latter is useless, as we start in the land-based south (sea to the north). We obviously need Agri ou Hunting then AH for the cows and pigs, but in this mapscript horses can only be found in the north. So we'll also need metals, so we have to go for mining/BW at least. BW is definitely also needed for chopping these forests and slavery (lots of food for whipping).

Also there is lots of land for barb spawning at Immortal level. Will we be able to wait until copper is connected (provided the mapmaker gave us easy access to it) for axes to defend ourselves, if we go Agri/AH first? I don't think so, I'm tempted to beeline BW first. Too bad it will delay the Alpha beeline to abuse the opportunity of tech trading, as we'll have early contact with all or most Immortal AI's.

 

[toller pretzl]

I tend to not feel very comfortable giving my (putatively good) advice in the pregame threads. Surely it is in my interest if other players research BW first on a map that just screams for AH ? Having said that, why not use hunting as a springboard for both AH and archery (for defense) ? Also, hunting unlocks two of the southern resources (Fur, Deer) and Agriculture just one (rice). This way you won't lose much time going for Alphabet.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

That starting site looks like an excellent GP farm. Such a shame that on immortal level/normal speed an without a scout I don't really want to spend turns looking round for a different capital site

 

[Htadus]

Ok mind. Oasis not= Archipalagos. Wake up first, then think.

If the warrior does not show a commerce source to the north. I will likely move south and settle. I think Tokugawa want to be loved by everyone. So after claiming some land, I would like to head to UN.

I have only won one game at this level. May be this will be the second. I will head to Animal husbandry and expand fast to 5 cities.

I hope to break my habit of 2 workers for many cities this time around. Seriously. Last game I had one for 3 cities. Pathatic.

 

[LowtherCastle]

So the first Immortal question is how to create fast research. We can't count on gems in the FC. No coastal tiles. We're not financial. We don't have a scout for huts, like all the AIs. We may want to bee-line Alpha, but that's pretty slow with no commerce, forcing us to trade Alpha early and jumpstarting the AIs' trading. Hmm....Looks like either a few early cottages or a quick library and an Academy, or even bulb Alpha, then cottages. Need BW to make most of the cottages though.

With all that food, might as well spam some cities. Good with organized. Lots of cottages. Or maybe farms and CoL asap for specialists.

Next question, how to get to the Samurai before it's useless. Could beeline MC to work an engineer to bulb Machinery with a GE. Research to CS while waiting for the GE. Would need a city with lots of hammers for a quick forge, or whip it.

If we're going to spam cities, then it would be wise to spam some warriors to fogbust and keep the barbs at bay.

Settle on the river as much as possible for the health.

 

[Cactus Pete]

I don't quite agree with Ronnie1 here. Nice starting area, yes, but IMO not well suited for the mapscript/civ.

Our starting techs are wheel/fishing. The latter is useless, as we start in the land-based south (sea to the north). We obviously need Agri ou Hunting then AH for the cows and pigs, but in this mapscript horses can only be found in the north. .

Please explain why we must be in the south. There is jungle to our south, so it appears we are north of the equator.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

There's jungle both north and south of us, so that doesn't tell us much. But the arrows on the resources point north - in vanilla civ they point towards the equator. Plus I've never known an oasis map ever put the player in the north (though admittedly jesusin could've edited that).

 

[toller pretzl]

And pig is a southern resource on Oasis.

 

[MacBalt]

...I've never known an oasis map ever put the player in the north (though admittedly jesusin could've edited that).

Hmmm....

If one were to rank-order all the XOTM game designers on "sneakiness factor" where would Mr. Jesusin place, I wonder?

Surely not high enough to fear Northern Pigs on an Oasis map...

On the other hand, if one of the other designers were to fog things up by publicly scoffing at jesusin's sneakiness factor...

Hmmm...

 

[kcd_swede]

Hmmm....

If one were to rank-order all the XOTM game designers on "sneakiness factor" where would Mr. Jesusin place, I wonder?

Surely not high enough to fear Northern Pigs on an Oasis map...

On the other hand, if one of the other designers were to fog things up by publicly scoffing at jesusin's sneakiness factor...

Hmmm...

Hmmm... Do you not recall a certain pole-to-pole ice barrier in a Jesusin game? And Jesusin likes food... if he was going to add any resource to our position you can bet it would be pigs. I'm betting that my best chance to win at this level is Cultural, and am assuming Jesusin has put everything I need for that somewhere I can get it.

 

[LowtherCastle]

deleted...

 

[Cactus Pete]

Thanks for the education.

 

[jesusin]

I see a lot of talking about the game-creator personality and very little talking about first techs, firsts builds, etc...

By the way, isn't anyone going to ask about the game the ladies are playing?
By the way, isn't LC going to make comments about the ladies themselves?

One elementary question: if we play as Tokugawa, are we from the outset as unpopular as he normally is, or do relations with other Civs depend solely on our actions?

Initial opinion of Toku isn't as bad in the beggining. It's his actions (not trading, refusing to open borders) what make him impopular later on.

In this game you control his actions, so you'll have to stay focused if you want to get as impopular as he normally is.

 

[Conquistador 63]

I see a lot of talking about the game-creator personality and very little talking about first techs, firsts builds, etc...

Well, I did try to start discussing first techs. However, after reading the following post I refrained to continue the debate, as it was not clear to me if it was suggested that I was deliberately spreading bad advice.

I tend to not feel very comfortable giving my (putatively good) advice in the pregame threads. Surely it is in my interest if other players research BW first on a map that just screams for AH ?

I admit my ideas aren't generally the brightest posted here, but never occurred to me I could be misleading my fellow players.

By the way, isn't anyone going to ask about the game the ladies are playing?
By the way, isn't LC going to make comments about the ladies themselves?

You've lost me on these comments.

 

[toller pretzl]

Well, I did try to start discussing first techs. However, after reading the following post I refrained to continue the debate, as it was not clear to me if it was suggested that I was deliberately spreading bad advice.

Certainly not! I wouldn't want to suggest that you were misleading anyone but yourself

I admit my ideas aren't generally the brightest posted here

Oh but quite often they are, like in jesusin's game with the icewalls.

Jesusin, the ladies are playing Go. So what ? We are interested in a man's game here.

 

[Jbourne]

I tend to not feel very comfortable giving my (putatively good) advice in the pregame threads. Surely it is in my interest if other players research BW first on a map that just screams for AH ? Having said that, why not use hunting as a springboard for both AH and archery (for defense) ? Also, hunting unlocks two of the southern resources (Fur, Deer) and Agriculture just one (rice). This way you won't lose much time going for Alphabet.

You do have a point but getting BW on a map with all those trees can not be that bad. Also since most AI will have BW pretty soon at this level, securing a source of copper may have a significance. Not to mention the oppertunity to rush some one early with all too powerful Vanilla Axes. But for me it will be AH before BW. I can always buld sacrificial warriors for Barb axes. Hummm that does not sound very promising. Maybe put archery in the tech path somewhere.