Epic 27 Sponsor Shadow and Comments

[T-hawk]

Here we go. Comments precede the report as usual.

http://www.dos486.com/civ4/epic27/

[novice]

Great report as always! That's quite impressive and unorthodox, running around razing cities with no siege support and no technological edge.

The opponents I left to random chance, which came up with a good mix of belligerent but not overbearing leaders, and nobody Financial to become a single runaway tech leader.

Pacal's financial, isn't he? By the way, why is AI Justinian always so much more advanced than AI Pacal? Isabella also tends to do quite well. Is early religion that beneficial for an AI?

[Sullla]

Well, as long as you understand now why Speaker and I are dead-set against any AI replacements getting inserted into a Multiplayer game with humans. Once you see the Mobility elephants, there's no going back.

[Compromise]

Another hugely informative report, T-Hawk. I always learn something--often somethings--useful in your writeups.

I wondered why there were so few AI units out wondering about, and therefore so many unpopped huts. I thought it had been just Monarch difficulty. In actuality then, you playtested a tougher map than we played, right?

Regardless, it was great tactical play and an entertaining read. I still find it amazing that your economy was anywhere near solvent with all those cities and no early cottage centers.

I wonder how Always War will be in Civ5 with the limits on troop numbers...?

[Rowain]

Nice Report and game

PS about AW:
On the German board is a standard Deity AW Pangea Marathon NO techtrading game with SittingBull as Leader and Aggr KI and Barbs which one player won (building the GW and using Spies to research wile at the same using the GG to build several super-troops: He got 22 GG settled 9 of them. His best Unit had 1063 XP at the end

[Ug the Barbarian]

Particularly impressive considering AI's better start (extra Archer) and you deliberately avoiding several potential strategies to stay mainstream.

Agree with Compromise that its a miracle you could stay solvent with the extra city costs - well played.

[T-hawk]

Pacal's financial, isn't he?

Heh, so he is. I think I wrote that section after I had already killed him. Cyneheard didn't attack Pacal early so he did see him get a bit of a tech lead.

By the way, why is AI Justinian always so much more advanced than AI Pacal? Isabella also tends to do quite well. Is early religion that beneficial for an AI?

I've seen Isabella fizzle sometimes, but Justinian does always seem to be strong. Not sure why. Early religion can help or hurt an AI, like in my Adventure 43 game, where Elizabeth got religion and blew 200 hammers on missionaries before 1500 BC.

I wondered why there were so few AI units out wondering about, and therefore so many unpopped huts. I thought it had been just Monarch difficulty. In actuality then, you playtested a tougher map than we played, right?

Aha, I missed that interaction. Yes, my game had the AI exploring archers thus fewer huts for me. I do still think tweaking out the archers made for a better event given the difficulty that you and Amelie experienced. Should have removed some of the huts to level that out, but the end result was still okay.

(Heh, I think it's tradition that each of my sponsored events has a small flaw like that. The stone-vs-marble puzzle in Adv 35 where a fort could get the other resource; the Palace commerce goof in Adv 43; the map choice in Adv 45 and distance to metal resources; no use for the Blood Brother rules in Epic 24; and the original Civ 3 Speed Racer where diplo victory didn't work at all.)

[Cyneheard]

I wondered why there were so few AI units out wondering about, and therefore so many unpopped huts. I thought it had been just Monarch difficulty. In actuality then, you playtested a tougher map than we played, right?

I think someone's putting words in my mouth again? :neenernee

That was Compromise who said that.