Yow. Just one lunch turn, but holy crap was that a bloody lunch turn.
First of all, this message greeted me as I opened the turn. Sure, Sid, I'm only losing money at 0% and literally having to forestall an eastward invasion because I'd strike if that stack left my borders. A new city would be great!
Anyway, my awesome Preatorian was killed by a withdrawer and then victor Numidian, but I have reserves, so I completed the sneaky road south of the hill and then pushed my combat worker pair forward.
Yeah. Three workers and a Numidian are more hammers than anything I risk by going forward, so I piked the Numidian, speared the camp-worker, and then covered about as thoroughly as I dared. Painful turn for Scooter.
Adding to his woes, in the north near Hippo he left an exposed worker for consumption by the chariot, and now he'll have to respond to the chariot or leave Leptis exposed. Finally, much-needed cash from the hamlet will let me survive until Feudalism and Vassalage.
Good turn. If I can keep Scooter on the defensive just a bit longer, I think I'll economically turn a corner (read: be able to settle four more cities). Vassalage will help with the soldier costs as well as allow Formation off the bat for my pikes, but even more vitally courthouses are finally starting to come online, massively valuable in this setup.
Finally, with the military looking solid, I think Aesthetics -> Literature will be the next path given the 70+% odds of yet another GE being born. The Great Library would basically be a death knell for Scooter.
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
So how is everything going? Did you get that death knell? Is the duel over and I just missed the end?
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.
Merovech Wrote:So how is everything going? Did you get that death knell? Is the duel over and I just missed the end?
Nope, still ongoing, just been slow a bit as we've both been busy with several other things. Little teaser: I'm trying to bulb Guilds, and then Gunpowder in rapid succession. Phi forges are the best things ever.
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
Okay, I can give a short update. I burned down Sicca at the cost of the bulk of the western army, but it cost Scooter quite a lot as well. I attempted to capitalize on Scooter's distraction with a quick jab to my east.
Alas, he had more catapults than expected, and my riven stack had to retreat after catapulting him in return.
We the proceeded to wipe out the rest of the stack, although thankfully expensively. This, along with Vassalage, sees me finally back in the black.
We're in a bit of a lull now. I have a 70% shot at a great engineer in bit, if he comes then I'll bulb Guilds, whip a million knights, and go in for the kill.
If it's a GSpy or GPro, I'll probably fire a golden age. Researching Civil Serivce and swapping to Bureaucracy is probably finally worth it in Virtue. Scooter's cottage economy is far, far better than my own, but Representation plus bulbs have kept me in the beaker lead.
Fun times in the cripplingly slow economy cylindrical duel.
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
Oooh. I don't think I've ever seen a gunpowder bulb (definately have never done it myself). I'd love to see how you have set that up.
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.
Merovech Wrote:Oooh. I don't think I've ever seen a gunpowder bulb (definately have never done it myself). I'd love to see how you have set that up.
Unfortunately, friend Merovich, I had to hand-research Gunpowder as I got a low-odds Great Scientist. However, just in time for the Great Library:
Aptly named place of birth. That same turn, a new era dawned in the world. Aggressive muskets, born with a barracks and vassalage. That's formation out of the gate, sir. These dudes are gnarly.
Knights are awesome, too. I was checking out Scooter's lower right flank.
Um. Scooter. Again? Okay, exposure must be appreciated. And embraced. Worker shield? Nope, that didn't work.
I at least had to hand it to him, he kept trying to settle the deer/lake spot. I decided to press on that side more. Meet wine/copper/wheat on a hill, in clearly Carthaginian lands.
Unfortunately, my attempts to strike deep into Carthage were stymied by pikes and knights on roads. However, muskets did ensure no counterattacks were allowed back over the rough terrain.
Scooter eventually just whipped himself into the ground to send a massive, massive knight stack my way. He managed to kill Love, the middle city, ut I wiped the stack easily afterwards.
Oh, and while he was busy...
And with that, game. Rome wins!
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
Good job! This was the first duel game I really followed, and I must say it was very informative.
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.
AutomatedTeller Wrote:How was it that you won? concession?
Yep, concession. When the dust settled from the knight incursion, I was sitting pretty with twice the population of Scooter, an intact and veteran army, and Agg muskets able to be drafted.
If only you and me and dead people know hex, then only deaf people know hex.
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![[Image: Civ4ScreenShot0768.JPG]](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/28594063/5nDuel/Civ4ScreenShot0768.JPG)
Good job! This was the first duel game I really followed, and I must say it was very informative.
