I'm also not sold on Khmer. Just like with Rome or Egypt, our neighbors would be extremely weary of our uu, and plan accordingly. And if we can't use ballistas to our advantage, we basically wasted our pick.
I really like the France suggestion. I'm sure our team will find many uses for a draftable non-mounted two-mover. We might even be able to find something to do with that free artist specialist.
Sumeria also sounds good to counter the toroidal wrap. Since there are only two civs being picked before we're up again, and Willelm/Maya is likely to be chosen, we can probably get one of those two.
HRE and Aztecs would be picked for UB only? No UU and no starting techs? I don't like it - maybe I'm missing something
Vikings are an interesting idea, but I would prefer a UU which doesn't care about whether our opponents built Longbows and Crossbows to defend against zerkers (of course they will build them! they won't be as ignorant as I was in PBEM26 )
What do you mean no starting techs? They have hunting which is a great tech here - we settle NW and research AH. (That looks like the best capital spot to me, at least.)
yuris125 Wrote:I'm not sold on Khmer at all. Concentrating too much on the threat of Cataphracts (which may not be in the game) is dangerous, and I don't see other benefits of Khmers
Since #1 and #2 were civ picks, we should know all the other civs when our turn in the snake comes up again. So we will know for certain whether Cataphracts will be an issue.
On the various mentioned civs, France is certainly a solid choice. The strong mobile defence of musketeers is very useful and the starting techs are good. I am not as sold on the UB but you can't have everything.
I agree with Scooter that very early UUs are probably not going to be useful before they go obsolete. If I am remembering Commodore's info it was a 52x52 map -- that is a lot of space for only 5 civs even with a decent amount of water. So a mid-game or later UU is likely to be more valuable.
I'm obviously a fan of the Vikings, so I would of course be OK with that despite the fact that I seem to be playing with them all the time lately. Plus, get a few of them promoted and you can get yourself some City Raider Amphibious Rifles/Infantries. That's pretty awesome. The UB is potentially a boost in aiming for circumnavigation, depending on the map, and of course it's a boost for warfare. I certainly like it far better than Egypt/Zulu/etc.
SevenSpirits Wrote:What do you mean no starting techs? They have hunting which is a great tech here - we settle NW and research AH. (That looks like the best capital spot to me, at least.)
With Agri/Wheel we can research Hunting - AH (40% pre-req discount) - Pottery. With Hunting/Mysticism we would have to get AH (20% discount) - Agri - Wheel - Pottery. Not counting Mining/BW which we will want sooner rather than later
For me, Hunting is a cheap tech which we can research while the Worker is being built. Mysticism is not a tech at all. So yeah, HRE or Aztec pick is definitely not for starting techs
The Aztec UU isn't actually that bed for our purposes-it's main benefit is the free Woodsman 1 promotion, allowing easy access to Woodsman 2 & 3, which it retains if upgraded. The UB is the second best in the game after terraces; remember, its cheaper than a normal courthouse too. The starting techs suck, even with deer, but we'll need mysticsm eventually since we're not creative.
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
yuris125 Wrote:Yeah, I like Vikings. Not more than France though
With Agri/Wheel we can research Hunting - AH (40% pre-req discount) - Pottery. With Hunting/Mysticism we would have to get AH (20% discount) - Agri - Wheel - Pottery. Not counting Mining/BW which we will want sooner rather than later
For me, Hunting is a cheap tech which we can research while the Worker is being built. Mysticism is not a tech at all. So yeah, HRE or Aztec pick is definitely not for starting techs
I don't see why we can't go Agri-AH and still get the 40% if we start Huntng/Mysticism. Edit: We could go something like Agri-AH-Mining-BW-The Wheel-Pottery-Fishing. My only worry is that this delays Pottery for a long time. Maybe Agri-AH-Mining-The Wheel-Pottery-BW-Fishing?
Merovech's Mapmaking Guidelines:
0. Player Requests: The player's requests take precedence, even if they contradict the following guidelines.
1. Balance: The map must be balanced, both in regards to land quality and availability and in regards to special civilization features. A map may be wonderfully unique and surprising, but, if it is unbalanced, the game will suffer and the player's enjoyment will not be as high as it could be.
2. Identity and Enjoyment: The map should be interesting to play at all levels, from city placement and management to the border-created interactions between civilizations, and should include varied terrain. Flavor should enhance the inherent pleasure resulting from the underlying tile arrangements. The map should not be exceedingly lush, but it is better to err on the lush side than on the poor side when placing terrain.
3. Feel (Avoiding Gimmicks): The map should not be overwhelmed or dominated by the mapmaker's flavor. Embellishment of the map through the use of special improvements, barbarian units, and abnormal terrain can enhance the identity and enjoyment of the map, but should take a backseat to the more normal aspects of the map. The game should usually not revolve around the flavor, but merely be accented by it.
4. Realism: Where possible, the terrain of the map should be realistic. Jungles on desert tiles, or even next to desert tiles, should therefore have a very specific reason for existing. Rivers should run downhill or across level ground into bodies of water. Irrigated terrain should have a higher grassland to plains ratio than dry terrain. Mountain chains should cast rain shadows. Islands, mountains, and peninsulas should follow logical plate tectonics.
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