(May 5th, 2013, 14:09)NobleHelium Wrote: The PB4 ban list is not really balanced.
Why not? It seemed to make for a pretty balanced power level which would have been better if some of the players hadn't made atrocious picks like the Netherlands as pick 1.
While I agree that selected random pairings are probably the most balanced, they are also rather boring. I want to fully customize the civ/leader I play so it can work the best with my skill set. If somebody isn't that good at using the spiritual trait, then in a snake they can simply not pick a spiritual leader. But if they get randomly assigned a spiritual leader, then they are screwed. I just think snake is the fairest, yet most fun way of selecting pairings.
Yeah, now that I think about it, you're right. Still it does accomplish the task of making a lot of usually non viable leaders viable. There are still a lot of decent civs(France, Zulu, Egypt) that make picking a leader later have some advantages. Perhaps we could unban a couple of leaders to even the playing field more. Zara, Kublai, Hatty, Ghandi and Mehemed could probably come off the list with out it affecting much.
I will sign up as Team 2, then, though I still need someone like a dedlurker to go with me.
Regarding bans:
War Elephants can bring Medieval-age warfare at Ancient Age timing. Because WEs are STR8 while Spears are only STR4, you essentially cannot counter WEs until you get to Maces (Which is a losing battle as WEs cost less), Pikes (At Engineering!) or your own WEs. So it's heavily unbalancing and puts anyone without easy Ivory in deep trouble. I vote for a blanket ban on Elephants.
Nukes basically obsolete conventional warfare all together and turn the game into first-strike "drop nukes, laugh" warfare. There really isn't any way to defend against nukes. So it is both unbalances and unfun. I vote for a ban on Elephants.
Financial is usually banned a lot due to the fact that it is by far the strongest trait in the game: 1 commerce on anything getting 2 is an amazing boost that other traits usually cannot match well, especially when paired with another strong trait. This is because the boost is powerful, passive and can snowball into boosts that outdo other people's trait boosts.
India is usually banned because the Fast Worker is so much better than any other UU. The Inca, similiarly, have a far better UB than anyone else, though that is more debatable. The Fast Worker can snowball into any other advantage quicker than other UUs because it's speed just means it snowballs and snowballs. The Terrace is like being Creative on top of your other two traits and is just in general quite strong early on.
I recall an old banlist was all Financial leaders except Wang Kong + Sury banned. I think this is a good place to start or use if nobody has any other ones they would like to see gone.
Id propose a fairly simple ban list. Fin/Exp/Inca/India. You can have 1 of these.
So the only banned leader would be Pacal, and if you pick Inca or India you can't pick a Fin or Exp leader. There should be enough workable combos that no one feels disadvantaged by their place in the pick order.
(March 3rd, 2012, 21:07)antisocialmunky Wrote: Civilization Economics: You have 1 Cow. You build some pastures around it to feed your people. The population grows uncontrollably. You enslave everybody and work half of them to death.
I haven't really been reading this thread, but if nobody has yet offered, I have the free time to make a map. Only caveat: if you guys want a "balanced but not mirrored map" I will make such a map, but differences between the civs' respective areas will be relatively minor. That is, the map will be close to mirrored.
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.
Alternatively, if you guys already have a mapmaker, then I think that I will dedlurk Kuro. I'm willing to be an active dedlurker, btw.
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.
