[PB74 Spoilers] Donovan Zoi Celebrates 20 Years of Living Dangerously

[Donovan Zoi]

Hey all, I am back for more punishment after a long hiatus. I am gonna try a new tactic of just keeping my comments brief in the hopes that I'll finally run a decent thread this game.

The title doesn't lie: your beloved DZ has been around for over 20 years now, though the first 5-6 years were devoted solely to the long-forgotten Democracy games.  The first DemoGame I joined actually included an RPG and became a new way to enjoy pretty much the only game series I've ever loved since the mid-90's.

Just for fun (and proof), here's my first DemoGame post at CivFanatics.   My last post there was in 2012.

I'm definitely not one to promise an abundance of posts, but there were a couple concepts I wanted my thread to include if I ever played here again:
- a reverse recollection of most of the major games I've played in the past, going back to PB38 at least.  You are all owed an explanation for my wacky behavior, and I've been less than forthcoming. Each synopsis will come with its own lesson(s), and I'll highlight the exact point where I mess things up beyond repair in every game.  Then I'll save those lessons as a list of concise guidelines designed to keep me on my toes during this one.
- Naming convention: Most Dangerous Places on Earth.  A perfect match for any citizen that, through no fault of their own, falls under the stewardship of Donovan Zoi.

So much for the brevity part, but I'm cautiously optimistic.  Plus, it looks like I'm on the clock for leader and civ pics, so without further ado...

[Donovan Zoi]

It looks like we have a bit of time, but I'm already leaning toward Suryvarman II of Inca.  Sury syncs much better to the Inca than his two AGG rivals here. I'd appreciate if someone can confirm the following mod details on these while I'm loading the game (and latest mod) to view CtH myself.

Inca

UB Terrace - 45h, no longer has +2 culture but turns its city into a water supply.
UB Quechua - no change, still 100% vs. Archer units
Still starts with Agriculture and Mysticism

Suryvarman II

Creative: +2 culture, 100% build for Theatre and Library, no longer for Colosseum.
Expansive: +2 health, 100% build for Granary (Terrace!), Harbor and Aqueduct. No more worker bonus.

If all the above holds true, this combo is really good for the early game while providing some cheap health insurance against pollution builds should I be fortunate enough to make it that far.  I'll have more versatility in my dotmap, being able to eventually farm just about anywhere before Civil Service while letting CRE grab 2nd ring resources from more optimum city plants.  I'd also be able to chop/whip Granaries at size 2 and still get overflow, and cheap libraries will pair nicely with CRE to give me a significant edge in culture disputes (along with the obvious tech and GP abilities). The rest is just gravy.

With other food techs a worker build away, this combo should adapt to any starting point I'm presented with.  With starting culture assured, I'd keep Mysticism in my back pocket for later use and won't chase a religion from the outset.

[Donovan Zoi]

Possible city names, for my own reference:

Maceio
Oymyakon
Sahel Region
Lake Kivu
Skeleton Coast
K2
Zone Rogue
Lake Monoun
Mount Sinabung
Runit Island
Danakil Desert
Miyake-Jima
Darvaza
Death Valley
Morgan Island
Lake Natron
San Pedro Sula
Mailuu-Suu
Cape Denison
Lake Nyos
Dallol
Bikini Atoll
Verkhoyansk
Mount Merapi
Lake Karachay
La Oroya
Minqin County
Saltstraumen
The Eiger
Matanza
Yungas Road
Camino Del Ray
Dzerzhinsk
Norilsk
Port Moresby
Mindanao Island
Ozyorsk
Wittenoom
Annapurna Massif
Snake Island
Prypjat
Chernobyl

I'm thinking of starting simple with Death Valley as my capital.  I might also check other sources to expand the names I get to choose from, but I like how most of these roll off the tongue.

[Mjmd]

- a reverse recollection of most of the major games I've played in the past, going back to PB38 at least.  You are all owed an explanation for my wacky behavior, and I've been less than forthcoming. Each synopsis will come with its own lesson(s), and I'll highlight the exact point where I mess things up beyond repair in every game.  Then I'll save those lessons as a list of concise guidelines designed to keep me on my toes during this one.

I'm excited for this.

[Donovan Zoi]

- a reverse recollection of most of the major games I've played in the past, going back to PB38 at least.  You are all owed an explanation for my wacky behavior, and I've been less than forthcoming. Each synopsis will come with its own lesson(s), and I'll highlight the exact point where I mess things up beyond repair in every game.  Then I'll save those lessons as a list of concise guidelines designed to keep me on my toes during this one.

I'm excited for this.

Awesome!  I'm hoping to have this started during game setup and have it completed during the first 10-20 turns.  I'll be covering the following games in this order:

59B (the huge "5 circles game," sub for The Black Sword)
59A (my original start)
German PB88? (Japan start)
PB44 (my Horcher Rush game)
PB43 (one of the most even-handed games we've played at RB IMO)
PB42 (ugly start #2)
PB41 (ugly start #1)
PB38 (big game with a T44 kill, and opportunity squandered, by yours truly)

I'm already filled with nostalgia and regret just posting these, but I'm looking forward to exercising those demons (yeah, I spelled it the way I meant it).

[klops]

awesome, DZ teaches civ... just like "bobby fisher teaches chess" which I read when I was a teen.


I like the theme.
Would probably drop the blue hole because it is not dangerous to "be there", just if you overestimate your diving skills.
Another dangerous but beautiful place: Prypjat (Chernobyl)

[Donovan Zoi]

awesome, DZ teaches civ... just like "bobby fisher teaches chess" which I read when I was a teen.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, klops, but I fear you are being far too kind. I'd take a hard look at the upcoming tier lists in other threads before you drop your hard-earned dollars on my extra-mega online Civ course.

I like the theme.
Would probably drop the blue hole because it is not dangerous to "be there", just if you overestimate your diving skills.
Another dangerous but beautiful place: Prypjat (Chernobyl)

I've been wanting to do this theme for awhile, so I'm pretty excited about it.  I'll add those ill-fated neighboring towns to my list, and will likely follow suit in game at some point.  I already weeded out the Blue Hole site because the name just didn't click with me (much like I left off the names of actual countries contained in the article).

IRL came back in full force this week (some good, some bad), but I can't imagine anyone being surprised I'm not keeping my promises.  I'm going to make a conscious effort to summarize RB59b tomorrow to get this thing started, because the actual game will be here before we know it.

[Qgqqqqq]

[Donovan Zoi]

Thanks for your hard work on this, Qgqqqqq.  This looks to be an interesting start and I'll have more thoughts about it soon. 

I am going to go ahead and lock in Sury of Inca.  There's enough synergy here for me to not screw things up with a re-roll.

If I were to create a sandbox, I would just create a game w/Large map to have tech etc work as expected, Right?

[Qgqqqqq]

Yup. Dimensions are important if you want to test maintenance in future cities.