[SPOILERS] Lurker thread; the omniscient view

[SevenSpirits]

Scooter, Dazed, Commodore, Mist, Lewwyn, Serdoa, and Brian Shanahan:

[SIZE="6"]Keep Out.[/SIZE]

This is the lurker thread for PBEM32, where we shall ridicule your poor choices in this variant world.
































Let's start off with the rest of you lurkers telling me what I've horribly screwed up with the scenario design, and me failing to heed your wisdom.

[Shoot the Moon]

Early favorites to win the thread count are Mist and Commodore :neenernee

[SevenSpirits]

Draft of the rules and starting position:




To recap, this is a 40x40 map with toroidal wrap on noble difficulty. No barbs (nor any pre-placed barb stuff, don't worry), events or huts. Please realize that 40x40 is 1600 tiles, compared to the 900 that pbem25 has with a similar (but entirely land-based) map concept. So this is not going to be nearly as cramped.

The map is completely mirrored; i.e. there are 5 copies of every aspect of the geography, in the same layout as pbem25 (with players equidistant from one another). Here is what the start looks like:



You have a pre-placed city with 5 culture; a scout; and a worker. Note the village at B, the railroad at D, and the Forest Preserve on the tile south of C.

Depending on your civilization's starting techs, certain things will be changed about your start:

Fishing: Your city loses its 5 starting culture.
The Wheel: The village on Tile B is removed.
Agriculture: The Corn is moved to Tile C (where it is forested and lacks freshwater).
Hunting: Tile A loses the forest.
Mysticism: Tile C becomes plains.
Mining: Tile D becomes flatland.

Additionally there are two civilizations with effects should you choose them:
If you are India, you start without a worker.
If you are Inca, you start without a scout.

Depending on your traits, you will additionally start with two free items (in your capital, in case that's not clear):

Aggressive: Library
Charismatic: +2 Population
Creative: Courthouse
Expansive: Hospital
Financial: 1 gold
Imperialistic: Grocer
Industrious: Castle
Organized: Supermarket
Philosophical: Airport
Protective: Granary
Spiritual: Warrior with the Sentry and Leadership promotions.

Clarifications:
a) Yes, Financial starts with a buck. Not 1gpt, not a gold resource. $1.
b) If your civ has a unique unit/building version of a starting unit/building of yours, you'll get your special version, not the regular version.

[SevenSpirits]

Current map:

[oledavy]

First impressions:

- I think protective needs to be buffed a little more than a granary at the start.
- An airport would enable you to airlift a unit each turn, right? Or do you need a tech to unlock that ability?
- Are there any other pre-placed tile improvements (I see a fort and a flood plains farm).

I am interested to see how this variant idea plays out.

[Shoot the Moon]

- Are there any other pre-placed tile improvements (I see a fort and a flood plains farm).

That's it? I see also two roads and whatever you call the incense improvement (and that is an oasis farm I believe, not a floodplain, right?) :neenernee

I think a granary for protective is fine. That pays off so ridiculously quickly.

[SevenSpirits]

Map screenshots:

Centered on start:

There are 3 salty seas per player. Every pair of players has either a Sea A, or a Sea B between them.

Sea A, which is in between pairs of civs separated primarily horizontally:

Sea B (had to rotate because civ is wider than it is tall):

Sea C is just a bit SE of the points that are farthest away from the players. Being smaller than 20 tiles, cities here can't build ships. But every water tile on the map is accessible to ships through forts. This screenshot is centered on the farthest-away area, which I tried to make particularly valuable.

The map is scattered with a few improvements, most of which will be pillaged for money before ever being worked. I wanted to reward early exploration a bit more, while also being weird. Also your copper is pre-mined, your horses are pre-pastured, and your iron is pre-forted, just to be unnecessarily clever.

The airport will allow you to once per turn, teleport one unit from your capital to another one of your cities. This requires and uses up the unit's full movement. Airports also confer a trade route and 1 unhealth.

[oledavy]

That's it? I see also two roads and whatever you call the incense improvement (and that is an oasis farm I believe, not a floodplain, right?) :neenernee

I did say it was my first impression, I don't claim to be especially observant

[Bobchillingworth]

Alexander seems like he'd be a really strong pick. I'd rather have a super-early academy than most of the other bonuses, and I could see where the airport would be very useful (like moving settlers forward).

[Cyneheard]

Well, that's an easy way to convince someone not to take India...

Inca, however, are still viable; a scout isn't the end of the world to give up for that boost.

And should Cha be +2 pop? A 3-pop capital...I shudder to think of what that can do when paired with almost any other trait. Especially if the Village survives one's techs.