Sponsor: T-hawk
Opening Date: Monday, October 22, 2012
Duration: Six Weeks
Map Script: Maze, 1 tile spacing
Game Speed: Normal
Difficulty: Deity
Civilization: Dutch
Leader: Willem of Orange
World Size: Standard
Opponents: Six
Victory: Any except culture
Options: No Random Events
Scenario: Time for a shot at Deity difficulty. Just Win, on an unusual map.
The map is a Maze script, with land and water forms each 1 tile wide. This presents the AI some difficulty, and you can outwit them with smart city placement and skillful boat navigation. Your leader and civilization should be well suited for this challenge.
It is Normal speed, but this is a major event scenario and worthy of the Epic appellation. The map is hand-selected but completely unedited, so a victory can be considered a true Deity triumph.
Scoring: None. Just win. Winners listed in random order, losers ranked by the interestingness of their report in defeat.
Closing Date: Monday, December 3, 2012. Reports due by the end of Tuesday December 4, your local time, for official results.
This looks interesting, will have a go at it. Still haven't beaten Deity. Which doesn't say much, since I haven't actually played any SP games to conclusion
It's six weeks to avoid bumping into (US) Thanksgiving, which is the fifth week. And a heavy game now sets up to run something light for the holiday season in December.
We haven't done Deity since Starfall 2.5 years ago, so seems like time for another shot. The AI does have some difficulty dealing with this land setup -- they'll spend 50 turns walking units for an attack rather than taking a boat -- so don't be afraid, jump on in. I intend to play it myself, though won't have time to start for a week or two (gotta stop playing FTL first )
Assume you mean no Cultural victory. In short, it's too easy, both for the player and AI. A culture victory is easy to steal against superior rivals (call it Pitboss 6 syndrome), but a Deity AI can also win culture pretty fast, cutting off the player's option to go for space or conquering. I think the scenario is better off without it. For a shortcut victory option, diplomacy (both types) is still available.
Aggh! I wasn't paying close enough attention when I made my microplan and double counted 5 turns worth of research! Now I have a worker with nothing to do for 5 turns. I was so happy too, because it fit so perfectly. Next time, use excel, not scribbled notes onto a piece of paper! Might reload and shadow (not like I've met anyone yet), might play it out instead. Will have to kill off my warrior on t12 because a lion killed him in the original run.
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.
Alright, as someone who still lacks a "real" Deity win I'm prepared to give this a shot!
Played in: PBEM 4 [Formerly Jowy's Peter of Egypt] | PBEM 10 [Napoleon of the Dutch] | PBEM 11 [Shaka of France] | EitB XVI [Valledia of the Amurites] | PB7 [Darius of Rome] | Diplomacy 3 [Austria-Hungary] | PBEMm/o vs AutomatedTeller
Merovech, I'd encourage you to play on and deal with the results from a small mistake. Play the hand you're dealt. Yeah in some solo games I retry and restart until getting conditions I like, but the Epics aren't the place to do that.
Tatan, that's exactly the spirit of this epic. (Hooray, we've got the good smilies back! :dancing5: )
In short, it's too easy, both for the player and AI. A culture victory is easy to steal against superior rivals (call it Pitboss 6 syndrome), but a Deity AI can also win culture pretty fast, cutting off the player's option to go for space or conquering. I think the scenario is better off without it. For a shortcut victory option, diplomacy (both types) is still available.
(Hooray, we've got the good smilies back! :dancing5: )