WOTM 08 Pre-Game Discussion

I plan on letting the barbs deal with out enemies, rather than me...I hope for stone nearby, but if not I can make do building the Great Wall the long way. In a test game, the AI didn't build the Great Wall until early AD years.

Oh...and I plan on settling in place, building a worker first and researching Pottery first...I'm gonna do a little known manuever known as the CS-Slingshot!
 
All those floodplains are calling out "Cottage Spam" to me. Settling 1W would allow a second city along the river, but the first priority after getting the capital will be finding a decent production site (hopefully with Copper... raging barbs sans Copper is very painful indeed).
 
This will not only be my first serious game of Warlords, but also my first GotM. I thank God that it's on Noble and not Immortal like last month's (though if I'd gotten back into the game and on these forums early enough I would have tried it). I'm newb enough as it is. :rolleyes:

One quick question: <EDITED out because I found the answer> :crazyeye:
 
Anyone care to post a test game? :)
 
Noble sounds easier than last wotm; wonder if there's a catch like us being on an isolated continent with thousands of barbs and tons of desert tiles with the other continent contains all the AI who are having a tech-sharing love fest? Surely the mods couldn't be that nasty :lol: :lol: .
 
I might try space again.
I can't decide if I should use the health bonus to counteract settling in place or if I should settle maybe 3 towns around this start area and grow especially large towns with some help from our bonus aquaducts. 3 towns around this much food could produce an army of workers in no time, not to mention being a great financial core.
Say I build the great wall, get an early engineer, and the pyramids are already built somewhere. Would anyone consider settling an engineer in a space race?
 
Wow -- this GOTM thing sounds really fun. Looking at the map it would seem that there is a shallow cove NNE, similar to the one SW of the starting position, which would indicate to me that perhaps there is a coastline N of those two hills. With this assumption I think I'll settle in place, go straight for pottery, and use my worker boat to scout for a second city, along with my warrior.

There also appears to be shoreline S of the river SE from starting position. I'll settle in place, see what it uncovers, but I think I'll be expanding east -- hopefully with some production near by. Stone or Marble would make life really easy :) Anyway -- This sounds like fun.
 
Noble is easier, but remember that it will also be easier for all the supernatural hyperpowered pro players as well. The barbarians will be the big extra factor in this one, plus having to deal with one of the more tricky unique units.
 
Could the tile 2 N of the warrior not be a (1-tile) lake? In that case settling on the plains hill will still be on fresh water. The plains hill will give 1 extra hammer always and even 1 more extra hammer when building a worker.

I think I will go for space race too. Will give Jove some competition :)
 
I'll try this, but probably at adventurer and I will likely get a nice red ambulence, but no one will say i did not try! That is if I can find this HOF mod.
 
I'll try this, but probably at adventurer and I will likely get a nice red ambulence, but no one will say i did not try! That is if I can find this HOF mod.

I think it is linked on the same page you get the saves, from the looks of previous GOTM files. Also, it seems that there is a different MOD per GOTM. I understand that it is to keep each GOTM free from tampering.

If I'm wrong -- sorry :lol:
 
only partially wrong...the required mod is simply the latest version of the HOF mod that has been released when the game is announced. The HOF people released a new version of the HOF mod in the past week or so, which means this game is in a different version than the previous one...I'll try to find my description of the different aspects of the HOF mod for those newer players.
 
i try a test game, and i find raging barbarians is pretty tough. I dont have any bronze nearby and by the time i just finish iron working, a barbarian axeman came to my border. At that time, I only have warriors....I end up losing 2 warriors before I can build my first axe. I probably got unlucky, but I also saw there was an ai city that got raze by barbarians. Also, no trouble of building pyramid, great wall and great library even w/o stone. But i did lose the oracle race.
 
Here is a group of posts, summarizing the various aspects of the HOF mod, the bonuses each confers, and possibly the first time(at least, the first time I've seen) that all parts of the mod are described in enough detail to be helpful.

There are 14 mods included in the current HOF mod (List of Credits):
  • Autolog (defaults to disabled)
  • End turn Text (defaults to enabled)
  • Exotic Foreign Advisor (defaults to disabled)
  • Modified Special Domestic Advisor (defaults to disabled)
  • Civ4lerts (defaults to disabled)
  • Specialist Stacker (defaults to disabled)
  • Clock Turn Text (defaults to disabled)
  • Reminder (defaults to disabled)
  • Mapfinder (defaults to disabled)
  • Auto start file creator (defaults to disabled)
  • Auto exit file creator (defaults to disabled)
  • Regenerate Map Hot-Key [ALT-G](defaults to disabled)
  • Enhanced Unit Icons Mod(defaults to disabled)
  • Field of View Mod(defaults to disabled)

1) Autolog
This keeps a record of all of the events in the game and is more comprehensive than the built in event log. It will record pretty much any event you can be notified of into a text file you can use to look back on for your own edification or for writing a spoiler after the fact.

This pic shows the various options that the autolog can record for you, and can wrap each record in either forum tags, html tags, or leave it as plain text in order to help you use it for writing spoilers.



The above pic also shows the various situations for which the next feature can notify you.

2) Civ4lerts
The mod adds new in-game alerts. The running text on the left of the game screen will now tell you things like when a city is about to increase population or culture borders, when the city actually increases pop or borders, or when an AI has reached a certain level of money available for trade. This seems mostly intended to give you information that you might lead you to take some action (like assigning a new citizen or making a trade with an AI) without having to recheck things every turn.(Description credited to ShannonCT)

3) Specialist Stacker
This fixes the problem with the original game that you couldn't see how many specialists you had if you went beyond 5 or 6 of a particular type.(Description credited to ShannonCT)

4) Modified Domestic Advisor
The dometic advisor screen now shows an expansive overview of your empire. It allows you to sort your cities by any parameter it shows, including total GPP or GPP per turn. It also has a secondary screen showing every building your city can possibly build and eevery city your empire contains in a matrix format allowing you to see what buildings are built and/or building in each city, and how many of each building you currently have built/building...allowing you to see at a glance whether you have enough Unis(eg.) to build Oxford University, or any other building

The below pic also shows the various configuration settings for the Domestic Advisor, Foreign Advisor(post 2), and Enhanced Units Mod(post 3).



5)Clock Turn Text
Simple enough, it gives allows you to show what turn it is in the game next to where you are shown what year it is. You can either see what turn it is right now, or see that and the total number of turns the game can span.
 
6) Exotic Foreign Advisor
This mod is, in my opinion, the single biggest, most helpful mod(from the player's point of view) included in the HOF Mod. Here is a comprehensive list of its screens compared to what you need to do without using the HOF mod to get the same information:

GLANCE: Tells you how everyone feels about each other in a simple numerical matrix.

non-HOF: You can find this out on the main foreign adv. screen, but then you have to hover over every leader, select a different leader, hover over all the leaders again, etc. and then you have to add together all the numbers you wrote down.

ACTIVE: Summarizes every active trade agreement you have with every other civ on one screen. It tells you nothing of the AI agreements with each other.

non-HOF: You can get the same info regardless

RESOURCES: Summarizes every resource you have available, along with how many of each you have. Then it shows in one window, the resources you are exporting to a country, what they will and won't export back to you, the gpt they are willing to give you, and all the resources you are currently importing and exporting for each civ and how much gpt they are giving you/you are giving them

non-HOF: You can figure this out, but it requires many different screens, and possibly even going into the diplo screen to check out all current deals for each AI. Basically it gives you on one screen a bunch of information you could get anyway, but won't ever get unless you are patient enough to go through several screens, using lots of math, most likely keeping Excel up in the background for your own spreadsheet.

INFO: Tells you the current civic status of each AI and each leader's favorite civics.

non-HOF: You can find the current civic status of an AI every time you go to the diplo screen, but it is tiny boxes at the top of the screen, making it hard to see or read unless you wait for the tooltip to come up. And then you've got to write everything down yourself if you want to remember it to compare with the other civs. Oh yeah, and look in the manual for favored civics, if you didn't know you could know that.

TECHNOLOGIES: It tells you what techs the AI wants from you, what they can currently research, what they have that you don't(all once they or you research Alphabet), and how much total gold they are willing to offer(once you or they have researched Currency).

However, this has limitations, subject to the data you can actually know. First, if you cannot research something, then even if the AI can, the advisor won't tell you so. For example, on GOTM10, I went for a cultural victory, and cut off research just before scientific method. At that point I was #2 in tech, and could see everything everyone could research. However, hundreds of years later, every civ showed that they could research the exact same 5 techs, and most had shown that for years. Additionally, I saw units for techs that it didn't show them as being able to research yet. Thus, it takes what they are able to research, by showing the postreqs for any techs they have that you have or could trade for. In other words, it only extrapolates from data you already have but wouldn't figure out unless you have memorized the tech chart perfectly.

non-HOF: You can see what you have that someone doesn't have, and what the AI have and will/won't give you, but to find out exactly the difference between you and a specific AI you must select them. Also, not every AI is visible in one screen, you must scroll to see them. Next, to discover what gold they have, you must enter the diplo screen and write everything down. Finally, to see what they can research(to determine your research path or how close to something like Liberalism they are), you must have absolute knowledge of the tech tree, write down everything they have that you don't and that they want from you, then look in the tech chart to see what things they have the prereqs for.

7) End Turn Text
A minor mod, the only one that defaults to enabled, it flashes the 'end your turn' text.

8) Auto start file creator
Automatically saves a 4000BC file of any game you start. This is useful if you want to be able to replay a fun game later on, and if you plan on competing in the Hall of Fame, you are required to submit a 4000BC save file of any submitted game. This mod is not used or applicable to the G/WOTM.

9) Auto exit file creator
Automatically saves your current game whenever you quit out of the game, as long as you use the in-game menu to quit. This is useful if you are forgetful about saving when quitting the game, or if you quit in disgust or anger...it allows you a current save to still be able to finish and submit the game later if you so desire.

10)Regenerate Map Hot-Key [ALT-G]
Enables a hotkey(Alt-G) that gives you the ability to regenerate a map using your current settings without having to use the in-game menu. It saves about 10 seconds and 2 clicks, so somewhat useful for personal games. However, it is not used or applicable to the G/WOTM.

11)Reminder
Allows you to add a reminder to the game using the hotkey [Alt-N]
 
The pic below shows all the minor mods listed in the above post(mods 7-11) and the Map Finder and Field of View mods, which will be covered in this post.



12) Enhanced Unit Mod
This mod adds a small message to the tiny unit face in the lower middle of your screen(where it shows all the unit faces on the selected tile) telling you the current action of each unit on that tile, eg. goto, fortified, sleep, and it also highlights any units that have promotions available.

13) Field of View Mod
This mod changes how much of the map is visible on your screen. Best use is prolly if you have a monitor with high resolution...like with 1920×1200 resolution you can adjust it so you see twice as much of the map on screen as a 1024x768 monitor, while keeping the same detail on the units and tiles...
Or can zoom out all the way to take empire wide screenshots or zoom all the way in for detailed city or unit screenshots (like make one tile fill entire screen)(Description credited to Gyathaar)

14)Map Finder Mod
This mod enables you to regenerate as many maps as you specify, and will automatically save a start file for any map that matches the rules specified to the mod by you before hand. This mod is used extensively for Hall of Fame games, but is not applicable to the actual GOTM. However, it could be useful for creating test maps for a GOTM that, while not exact, can recreate fairly closely the starting position tiles, if not their places, while not requiring knowledge of WorldBuilder...An extensive description of how exactly to use it is below.

The most important thing to know about the Rule Builder is the all the rules WITHIN a group must be true for that group to trigger a save. ANY group being true will trigger a save.

DefaultRB.png


The Default rule
Save the map IF:

The map has: One or less Deserts AND 4 or more Forests AND 2 to 6 Hills AND one or less Jungles AND 2 or more Food Resources AND 4 or more rivers

OR

The map has: One or less Deserts AND 4 or more Forests AND 2 to 6 Hills AND one or less Jungles AND 2 or more Commerce Resources AND 4 or more rivers

OR

The map has: 2 or less Deserts AND 3 or more Forests AND 1 to 6 Hills AND 2or less Jungles AND one or more Quarry Resources AND 4 or more rivers

OR

The map has: 3 or less Deserts AND 3 or more Forests AND 2 to 6 Hills AND no Jungles AND 4 to 8 Floodplains AND 4 or more rivers


Terrain Groups:
Code:
Deserts		Desert
Deserts		Desert Hill

Forests		Grassland Forest
Forests		Grassland Hill Forest
Forests		Plains Forest
Forests		Plains Hill Forest
Forests		Snow Forest
Forests		Snow Hill Forest
Forests		Tundra Forest
Forests		Tundra Hill Forest

Grasslands	Grassland
Grasslands	Grassland Forest
Grasslands	Grassland Hill
Grasslands	Grassland Hill Forest
Grasslands	Grassland Hill Jungle
Grasslands	Grassland Jungle

Hills		Desert Hill
Hills		Grassland Hill
Hills		Grassland Hill Forest
Hills		Grassland Hill Jungle
Hills		Plains Hill
Hills		Plains Hill Forest
Hills		Snow Hill
Hills		Snow Hill Forest
Hills		Tundra Hill
Hills		Tundra Hill Forest

Ice		Coastal Ice
Ice		Ocean Ice

Jungles		Grassland Hill Jungle
Jungles		Grassland Jungle

Plains Land	Plains
Plains Land	Plains Forest
Plains Land	Plains Hill
Plains Land	Plains Hill Forest

Snow Land	Snow
Snow Land	Snow Forest
Snow Land	Snow Hill
Snow Land	Snow Hill Forest

Tundra Land	Tundra
Tundra Land	Tundra Forest
Tundra Land	Tundra Hill
Tundra Land	Tundra Hill Forest

Saltwater	Coast
Saltwater	Coastal Ice
Saltwater	Ocean Ice
Saltwater	Ocean

Bouns Groups:
Code:
Camp Resource		Deer
Camp Resource		Fur
Camp Resource		Ivory

Farm Resource		Corn
Farm Resource		Rice
Farm Resource		Wheat

Fishing Resource		Clam
Fishing Resource		Crab
Fishing Resource		Fish

Commerce Resource	Gems
Commerce Resource	Gold
Commerce Resource	Silver

Pasture Resource	Cow
Pasture Resource	Pig
Pasture Resource	Sheep

Plantation Resource	Banana
Plantation Resource	Dye
Plantation Resource	Incense
Plantation Resource	Silk
Plantation Resource	Spices
Plantation Resource	Sugar

Quarry Resource		Marble
Quarry Resource		Stone

Happiness Resource	Dye
Happiness Resource	Fur
Happiness Resource	Gems
Happiness Resource	Gold
Happiness Resource	Incense
Happiness Resource	Ivory
Happiness Resource	Silk
Happiness Resource	Silver
Happiness Resource	Spices
Happiness Resource	Sugar

Health Resource		Banana
Health Resource		Clam
Health Resource		Corn
Health Resource		Cow
Health Resource		Crab
Health Resource		Deer
Health Resource		Fish
Health Resource		Pig
Health Resource		Rice
Health Resource		Sheep
Health Resource		Wheat

Strategic Resource	Aluminum
Strategic Resource	Coal
Strategic Resource	Copper
Strategic Resource	Horse
Strategic Resource	Iron
Strategic Resource	Oil
Strategic Resource	Uranium

Food Resource		Clam
Food Resource		Corn
Food Resource		Cow
Food Resource		Crab

The limits are just what the say. It will quit once it either regenerates or save that many times. The VB utility (Civ4_Map_Finder) is for viewing your saves and make rule file. They are created in the save path in the HOF options. The three paths are the connection between the VB Utility and the HOF Mod. Making sure they are right is necessary for it to work. (more below)

You have to create a rule file that will decribe what maps you want to save. The default rule (shown in the post above) is what it will be using unless you change it. The "Count" equals the number of regenerations. The "Saved" is the number of map that have been saved for you. If you let it run awhile it should find some using the default rule. ;)

There is a text box in the HOF Mod Options that has the full path and name of the rule file.

Test Range is the range in tiles from the start position (settler) that will the checked. 1 would check the 8 surrrounding tiles, 2 would check the "fat cross" range, etc. I like to use 3 as I know I can usually move the settle one tile and still settle on the first turn.

This is the VB Utility attempting to help you with the HOF Mod options. It will set the paths and the rule file in the options for you. What version are you using? (Try downloading 1.5. It say beta but I pretty sure it good.) It should be a yes/no question. If you answer yes it should only appear again if you install a new version of the mod. There is also a check box in the Rule Builder screen that tells the VB utility to change the rule file to the one being saved in the HOF Options.
(Entire Description credited to Denniz)

It is worth noting that while the HOF mod includes this section for dealing with the Map Finder Mod, the Map Finder itself is not actually included with the HOF Mod and must be downloaded separately.

I think that about does it for the HOF Mod, for all our newcomers and for anyone who's been around for awhile and didn't know all this stuff, hopefully this helps you understand what it does and how it can help your game.

Finally, since questions about the HOF mod seem to come up every G/WOTM, if any mod so desires, may I ask that these three posts be taken out of this thread, made into their own and stickied? The posts can easily be edited to keep up to date with any future changes and will hopefully help more people play the G/WOTMs since they'll be able to find this information much easier than before.
 
I don't know if anyone would find this useful (given that this is Noble difficulty and so nothing to be scared of ;) ) but I've been playing with WorldBuilder and have attached a practice game based on what we know of WOTM08.

This is my first attempt at this, so my apologies if I've made some total :smoke: and it doesn't work properly.

Also, I just couldn't get the river to run the way it does in the screenshot. Mine has the same effect, hopefully.
 
I'll try this, but probably at adventurer and I will likely get a nice red ambulence, but no one will say i did not try! That is if I can find this HOF mod.

There is a link to the HoF Mod in post #1 of this thread.;)
 
AgedOne - thanks for the test map!

These flood plains scream two things to me: whip, whip, whip and specialist economy. And the fish will help as well. So, it's Fishing, Mining and Bronze Working for me. I will then go Animal Husbandry and Horseback Riding. Hopefully, I have either axemen, chariots or horse archers when the barbarian horde advances.

I'll start with a worker (12 turns), then workboat (finish with the whip when possible) - overflow into a warrior. There is no need for granary; the city will grow faster than I can whip. An early settler is on the list as well, as is barracks or stables depending on the unit I'll use most.

The AI will typically start with building a warrior, so the scouting warrior can do some exploring before trying to steal a worker (and pillage!). This will weaken the AI considarably.

I noticed in the test game that if you build a city next to an animal, it will move out of the culture on the next turn. I've never tried before.

Animals showed up at 3600 BC and warriors at 2000 BC.

Victory condition? Conquest :lol:

So, it's the lower tech path (lightbulbing my way towards astronomy), with the exeption of code of laws. The pyramids will go very well with Caste System. I will be surprised if that wonder will be built before AD by the AI. Hopefully I will never know :)
 
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