[Spoilers] TheWannabe Banks on Beginner's Luck

[BRickAstley]

Here is the list of the first pairings. I generated this list on random.org using a passphrase, so you can double check that this was random with no meddling (I would hope it's not a problem but I thought it was fun to do it this way anyways.)

You have 48 hours to choose whether you want to keep the combo you have been given, or to re-roll for a new one. Keep in mind this is the format:

Roll 1: Keep or re-roll with unused/rejected leaders/civs.
Roll 2: Keep or re-roll with unused/rejected leaders/civs.
Roll 3: Keep.

Please notify me whether you are keeping or re-rolling your combo in your thread or via PM.



Full list showing methodology and unrolled leaders/civs:

Attachment version for people with imgur problems:

[TheWannabe]

Hmmmm Darius I of India : Financial and Organized with Fast Workers and a happy-making Jail.

I can see organized being a very powerful trait in a game this size if the map has sufficient connectivity to allow multiple conquests before state property becomes available. But it's hard to make a snowman that size without first rolling up one heck of a snowball, and neither trait will get me there. Fast workers are tempting, but all I'll do is use them as an excuse to be sloppy with my micro - I don't think they'll help enough to make up for not having at least one early game trait.

With that in mind, I'd like to request a re-roll.

[TheWannabe]

On the topic of blogs I personally wish were more popular, I'm a huge fan of John Spevacek's Rheo Thing. Of course, while the blog is interesting, well-informed, and well-written, I have no illusions about what impact it might have on popular interest in the riveting topics of rheology and polymer science.

[BRickAstley]

Here are the second set of picks for players who have chosen to reroll. If you're in the top part of the list with blue on the right side you're locked in so nothing left to do.

If you're in the bottom half, you have a new combo to pick from there. You can either keep that new combo, or you can choose to reroll again, If you choose to reroll, that third set that you roll will be what you will have for the game, no more rerolling at that point.

[TheWannabe]

Ramses II of France: Industrious and Spiritual with 2-move muskets and a free specialist in every observatory.

That sounds like a combo I would like to try in single player, but not something I'd know how to leverage efficiently in MP. I'm going to push my luck to the edge and ask for one last re-roll.

[BRickAstley]

Here is the starting BFC sandbox for you to look at and start planning, if you choose to do so. This accurately represents what the starting BFC will look like when you load into the game. The file has any strategic resources stripped out (since you would not know those on turn 0).

We reserve the right to make any changes to the BFC, but this is at least very close to what it will look like in game, so should be dependable for planning purposes.

No screenshot for the thread too because that's just time consuming right now for me to go take a picture of each one too.

Link to the starting sandbox: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4491...wordWBSave

[TheWannabe]

Alright, now that's what I'm talking about! We've got the heavily front-loaded Joao II of Egypt.

That means faster building setters and worker, along with cheaper market, aqueduct, grocer, harbor, and customs house. Cheap aqueduct may not be the most useful, with +2 expansive health per city, especially with the liberal distribution of resources that seems to be common in games around here. Oh, double production of GGs, for which will hopefully be facilitated by my war chariots....

I'll have to check what the current cost of archery is in this mod. I've noticed that it's generally a pretty low-priority tech, since access to copper is usually guaranteed in the interests of fairness, and that in turn reduces the significance of the war chariot's 25% nerf vs. archers. Of course, it may also be the case that my neighbours will notice horses (mapmakers willing) within yellow borders, and make preemptive spears.

And I hope they do choose to burn a few hammers that way, since I'm not terribly inclined to invest in an early hot war - it seems tricky to do without melting part of the snowball. War chariots (again, if I have horses) are more likely to be used as barb-hunting deterrents. I'm more interested in thinking about ways of leveraging a really early Great Prophet. Need to check through their bulb list too.

Sandbox of course worked great. Forgot to grab a screenshot of my start, but will probably put one up tomorrow. I don't see 2h city tiles in the changelog, so I have at least one decision to make right from the get-go.

[GermanJoey]

In the latest version of this mod, that you'll be playing PB27 with, you get a 2h tile for your capital no matter where you plant your settler!

[TheWannabe]

Amazeballs, then SIP it is. I didn't think you guys would be so cruel as to tempt me like that, but I had to be sure.

[GermanJoey]

TheWannabe, did you know the game has started?