Civ IV is a great game, why don't I try some multiplayer? It seems like a great way to make friends, too. How bad can it be, right?
I've been playing Civ IV on and off since release, but only single player. I can beat Emperor with confidence, and maybe Immortal, but I usually play for fun at levels where I can stomp the comp. I've also been lurking the multiplayer games here for years, all the way back to PB1 and 2. And I think I know the right kinds of things to do to play Civ well. The devil is in the details and execution though, isn't it?
This will be a learning experience for me. In particular, things I know I don't know well:
- How to take maximum advantage of slavery.
- Building enough workers and microing so that cities nearly always grow onto improved tiles.
- Micro plans in general.
- Combat tactics and strategy.
- Prioritizing military vs infrastructure in a game against humans.
- City specialization, making GP farms, a specialized HE city, etc.
- Managing GPP effectively.
- Getting the most out of leader traits (especially SPI) and civics.
- And much, much more.
I look forward to getting better at all of these. Hopefully an OCD attitude will help. My favourite players are those with strong and distinctive styles and personalities: Sullla, Parkin, Krill, Commodore.
What you won't see here:
- Extensive C&D every turn. Honestly I think this part of the game is kind of silly, that you can read other civ's actions telepathically through magic numbers the game gives you. I wish this element weren't in the game, and instead there was no score, and you wouldn't get precise demos until much later in the game, if ever.
- Good writing and allusions to history.
- Good Civ Play
So we (royal we) are Mehmed of Arabia. I think I can work with this! To be honest I would have liked FIN, but it could be a lot worse!
EXP: I'm very happy to get this trait, since it means I might be competitive in the early growth phase. Here's hoping I don't get screwed with a start that can't take advantage for an immediate quick worker.
ORG: I can work with this too... It's not FIN, but I'm hoping the map allows the cheap lighthouse to be used to an advantage.
Myst / Wheel: Ok, these starting techs suck. I really would have liked mining here.
Camel Archer: Knights seem to be an extremely key unit in MP, assuming I make it far enough. And can I have them resourceless and with a withdrawal bonus? Yes please!
Madrassa: Meh. The extra culture I guess is theoretically nice for borders? The priest specialists I can't see getting much out of. Well, starting with Myst does make early religion an option and hence a GP for a shrine. (Or hey, maybe I can grab a bunch of religions and role play! Hmm...)
Overall, I think I got an above average leader with an average civ, so off we go!
For laughs, here's how I'd rank how much I'd like the Civ / Leader combos. This is mostly a ranking of which I'd rather play, than a guess of strength.
1. Team ʥ Sisu is Huayna Capac of Russia (FIN / IND / Hunting / Mining). Huayna might be my favourite leader, and I love starting with mining, though everything else about Russia is pretty useless. IND is better the fewer other civs have it, and there are two others. I guess I should be happy I didn't get it, because I should learn not to overvalue wonders.
2. Team Alpha Teleh is Hannibal of Persia (FIN / CHA / Hunting / Agri). Financial is great, techs are probably better than mine, especially with a hunting resource around.
3. Team 2 BaIIkuro is Joao of Portugal (EXP / IMP / Fishing / Mining / Carrack). I love starting with Mining, which makes the chop acceleration starts possible, especially with EXP and fast settlers.
4. WilliamLP is Mehmed of Arabia (EXP / ORG / Wheel / Myst).
5. Team Suttree is Fredrick of France (PHI / ORG / Wheel / Agri / Musketeer). Decent, not spectacular. Musketeers would be kind of fun to play with.
6. Team 1 Oxphenbutazone is Gandhi of Netherlands (PHI / SPI / Fishing / Agri / East Indiaman). I know SPI is notoriously hard to get the most out of for noobs, and PHI isn't easy to use well either. Starting techs are pretty nice.
7. Azza is Augustus of China (IND / IMP / Agri / Mining / Chok). Best starting techs. Everything else is ho hum.
8. Retep is Asoka of England (SPI / ORG / Fishing / Mining / Redcoats). Seems pretty average. I don't think I've ever seen the redcoat's bonus to be relevant.
9. Team SpaceBrickNowhere is DuGaulle of Byzantium (IND / Cha / Myst / Wheel / Catas). Traits are meh, starting techs are bad, cataphracts are (apparently) amazing, but I wouldn't want to be forced to rely on a strength that's only going to kick in well over 100 turns down the road. It seems like by that time, the pecking order is already quite established in these games.
10. Molach is Kublai Khan of Rome (AGG / CRE / Fishing / Mining / Praets). I wouldn't want to play this very much. Starting techs are good but Aggressive Rome is a one-trick bag, and a big target. And the traits don't really accelerate growth. I hope I don't start next to him, of course!
Do I want any wonders in the game? There are three IND leaders out there, so that probably makes most unrealistic.
Henge: I always want this when not CRE I do start with Mysticism, so hmm. But I have to get Mining + Bronze + enough free worker turns to chop this out, so perhaps I'd do best to pretend this doesn't exist and just expand.
Oracle: Again my starting techs are bad so I'm going to spend the earliest part of the game on things like Agri and Mining, and I don't value this that much, if it's just for MC.
GLH: This is interesting, since I do get the Lighthouse bonus with ORG. If there's a good city site for it with lots of forests I'll think very hard about it.
MoM: I feel like this may be the most important early wonder. It yields at least as many GA turns as Taj does, and people seem to work and prioritize much harder to get Taj.
Pyramids: This is best with non-FIN civs, and GE points are awesome. It also doesn't seem to get prioritized very much in MP, so if stone is around I'm going to think very hard about building this.
GLib, Music Artist, Liberalism: I really doubt I'm going to be in the running for the early tech lead to get to these. I'd prefer to prioritize expansion and safety, I think. ORG should be stronger in the later game.
Can anyone tell me if there's a guide or tool somewhere to infer tile bleed?
The good news here is the plains hill forest means I won't get screwed with a start that can't use the EXP bonus immediately.
The bad news is that I don't start with any techs that help me. I'm two techs away from AH for the pig, don't have fishing, and am two techs away from BW to take advantage of all those trees. If starts are mirrored, other civs will have advantages in one or more of those three. It might be a long time before I can drop down cottages.
I wonder if settling 1W is an option? It would mean a weak capital long term though. Moai bureaucracy capital though? Is that just an over-the-top noob play? Probably?
I think the first scout move onto the pig hill is obvious, unless maybe tile bleed proves it is surrounded by forest?
I'll try to do some simming with what I've got. Is the fishing-first start worth considering here? I don't know.
GLH is appealing here, but it can wait to see how the game starts unfolding I think.
Flying camera helps. Enable it in config file, then ctrl+alt+f to use it in-game. Also great for screenshots.
Making a sandbox can help, just try different tiles in the fog and see if they match with the live game tile bleed.
(May 8th, 2013, 15:11)WilliamLP Wrote: MoM: I feel like this may be the most important early wonder. It yields at least as many GA turns as Taj does, and people seem to work and prioritize much harder to get Taj.
Pyramids: This is best with non-FIN civs, and GE points are awesome. It also doesn't seem to get prioritized very much in MP, so if stone is around I'm going to think very hard about building this.
Oh I think that MoM is very desired and often beelined here. If there is stone somewhere Pyramids will also get built quite early. How it is in this game though, no idea!
First reaction is: wow, techs are a lot more expensive than I'm used to! I can get a worker out but what the heck will he do? Maybe I'm going for the poor fishing start, growing to size 2 and building a WB?
Settling anywhere but in place seems to be a non-starter. It doesn't look like there's even a 2h tile in range to make settling 1W interesting at all, though I think it would be a bad idea anyway to lose all those forests to the E and long term land tiles?
I really need to know what's NNE in the non-forest tile. If it's something farmable I would go Agri first for sure.
Do I settle in place first and then decide where to scout or move the scout first? I don't think anything could be revealed that would make me want to move the settler?
I'll have to sim some of this stuff out once I get into the actual game and can see some more tiles. We have 48 hours to play the turn after all...
As a side note, I now understand why PB players care so much about post and view counts! Seeing all those juicy threads with multiple pages is already starting to make me envious, when all I can know about them is in the stats in the main forum
Ugh, Arabia really, really needs a deer or agri resource start.
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.
![[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0125.JPG]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/28594063/Maps/PB11/Civ4ScreenShot0125.JPG)
![[Image: 0-sandbox1.JPG]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38600485/civ/0-sandbox1.JPG)
![[Image: 0-sandbox2.JPG]](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/38600485/civ/0-sandbox2.JPG)
