PolyCast Christmas Special 2007: "Girls Playing Civ"

[DanQ]

The first PolyCast Christmas special is a present worth waiting for. To celebrate the festive season and to mark the conclusion of the show's first season, an all-female panel led by regular co-host Makahlua discusses dozens of topics on the venerable Civilization franchise. Her co-hosts are first-timers Annalee "Cartimandua" Barney, Gloria "condor223" Nolan and Kelly "KMadeleine". Entitled "Girls Playing Civ" (89m59s), it's 50% longer and follows a looser format than standard episodes.

PolyCast is the official and regularly bi-weekly one-hour audio production of Apolyton Civilization Site (ACS) is an ongoing effort to give the Civ community an interactive voice. The show will return for the start of its shiny second season on January 11th, 2008 with its thirty-fifth episode. The seventh blooper reel is to be published one week before that.

ACS is the only known website to produce its own Civ podcast.

[DanQ]

05m57s: Getting into Civilization
10m50s: Engaging in Multiplayer
15m35s: Playstyles
21m26s: City Naming
26m57s: Difficulty Levels
30m41s: Interest in History

33m29s: In-Game Signs
37m35s: Most Powerful Unit
40m16s: Playing Morally
42m33s: On Random Events
44m06s: Pre-War Strategies
46m08s: Favourite Civics
50m27s: Most Useless Unit
51m45s: Units in General
53m47s: Technology Routes
56m34s: Restarting a Map
58m01s: Favourite Map Types
60m32s: Naval Warfare
66m35s: Diplogaming

68m21s: Random Leaders
71m03s: Saving Your Games
75m54s: The Modding Front
77m37s: On Civilization: Revolution
80m03s: Civilization V Wishlist
81m54s: History Lessons

[Heraclitus]

Girls playing civ?


A very entertaining episode, a nice idea for a Christmas special.


Concerning the hosts:

-First of all there was more Mackie in the episode, always good.
-And there was 100% less DanQ, which is something I’ve been asking since episode 8.
-It was nice to hear something form older players.
-The co-hosts were very interesting; brining some of them back for future episodes would be a nice touch.
-They actually were girls. That was a shock.


It was interesting to find out that there actually are boyfriends/husbands who did manage to get their girlfriends/wives into Civ. I generally though that people who try that are inevitably disappointed. Some of the references to all the cute things in civ were hilarious.

Some interesting discussions, it was nice to have an update and a fresh perspective on some of the things that were already discuses in some previous regular episodes.


PS: WTF is CFC?

[Locutus]

Awesome show, made my Christmas shopping enjoyable for once

Hey, I did put 'feminine' in quotes

I knew I should've supplied you girls with a few female leaders to contemplate Some you didn't mention:

- Cleopatra of Egypt
- Dido of Carthage
- Jeanne d'Arc of France
- Margrete of the Vikings
- Wilhelmina of the Dutch
- Semiramis of Assyria
- Candace of Nubia
- Zenobia of the Arabs
- Roxelana of the Ottomans

You can effectively change the camera angle to 2D Civ2-style by Ctrl-Left Arrow and then zooming out to just before Globe View (if you don't do the Ctrl-Left Arrow you get a Civ1 look). Of course, the graphics haven't been designed for that so it doesn't look terribly great, but it's possible (and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a mod out there that makes it look better)...

The guy who made the city name lists was me, the thread mentioned is here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=214926

I love the suggestion of spies as scouts, I never realised that.

I'm afraid the ancient Mediterranean defition of pirates was quite liberal: pretty much anyone with a seaworthy ship that wasn't Roman, Greek or Phoenician was considered a pirate I reckon kidnapping young Roman aristocrats is a proper act of piracy though Not that Ceasar seemed to mind too much: he insisted his ransom be raised from the 20 talents the pirates wanted to 50, then once he was released he raised a fleet and went after his captors, captured and played with them for a while and then crucified them, as he had promised he would do to them while he was in their captivity. Fun guy, that Caesar fellow

I'd definitely listen if you girls did more shows like this

Well, off to do my remaining shopping with a Christmas Special for another podcast

[KMadeleine]

Originally posted by Locutus
The guy who made the city name lists was me, the thread mentioned is here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=214926

right after the show was done, we were thru taping but still talking, it dawned on me that "the guy who made the city lists" was you! i had totally spaced on that, and hadn't made the connection when i was reading the thread. then it dawned on me that day after talking about it, and i told dan so he could laugh at me for being a dork. thanks for finding it and linking it!

Originally posted by Heraclitus
PS: WTF is CFC?

heck if i know. i saw it in the Poly username of some guy named "Methos from CFC" and i like the ring of it.

[Locutus]

Yeah, I've been there. Too many n00bs on CFC and almost noone uses avatars, so I never know who anyone is over there either. On more than one occasion have I gone, geez, this guy really knows what he's talking about, he's spot on with every point he makes, and it turned out to be me

I'll admit that you owe part of your invitation for this special to your Hello Kitty avatar, that makes you stand out like... well, a girl on a board full of nerds

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Heraclitus
Girls playing civ?

A very entertaining episode, a nice idea for a Christmas special.

Thank you kindly.

Concerning the hosts:

-First of all there was more Mackie in the episode, always good.

For sure.

-And there was 100% less DanQ, which is something I’ve been asking since episode 8.

-It was nice to hear something form older players.
-The co-hosts were very interesting; brining some of them back for future episodes would be a nice touch.

-They actually were girls. That was a shock.

It was interesting to find out that there actually are boyfriends/husbands who did manage to get their girlfriends/wives into Civ. I generally though that people who try that are inevitably disappointed.

Some of the references to all the cute things in civ were hilarious.

Some interesting discussions, it was nice to have an update and a fresh perspective on some of the things that were already discuses in some previous regular episodes.

Indeed.

PS: WTF is CFC?

~snicker~

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Locutus
Awesome show, made my Christmas shopping enjoyable for once

I love the suggestion of spies as scouts, I never realised that.

Yeah, me neither.

I'd definitely listen if you girls did more shows like this

And if Dan edits them! -- why thank you!

I'll admit that you owe part of your invitation for this special to your Hello Kitty avatar, that makes you stand out like... well, a girl on a board full of nerds

Speak for yourself -- I'm decidely a geek.

Originally posted by KMadeleine
right after the show was done, we were thru taping but still talking, it dawned on me that "the guy who made the city lists" was you! i had totally spaced on that, and hadn't made the connection when i was reading the thread. then it dawned on me that day after talking about it, and i told dan so he could laugh at me for being a dork.

Aw -- I was gonna to tell that story...

heck if i know. i saw it in the Poly username of some guy named "Methos from CFC" and i like the ring of it.

[Heraclitus]

Originally posted by Locutus

I love the suggestion of spies as scouts, I never realised that.

I almost forgot about the spies, weird considering that I thought it one of the rare fresh suggestions I've heard in recent times. It just seems to me that strategy discussion has gone stale, its good to hear a fresh suggestion.

I'll definitely try it in tomorrows game.

Originally posted by Locutus

I'd definitely listen if you girls did more shows like this

Same here.

[Cartimandua]

We had a blast recording this episode. I would like to thank Dan for editing the 3 hours of talking and giggling so that our conversation was coherent (and for taking out some of the stupid things I said ).

Oh, and Locutus, I did mention Joan of Arc and I will stand by my position that she is JUST a great general.

I think I'm going to move to Peepsville of the Candyland Empire. It sounds like a happy place

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Cartimandua
We had a blast recording this episode.

And it sounds like it.

I would like to thank Dan for editing the 3 hours of talking and giggling so that our conversation was coherent (and for taking out some of the stupid things I said ).

You're welcome. As I can understand reasons why so few comments are made about the editing, thank you for saying so.

Though I don't recall what "stupid things" you're referring to, I'll take your word for it.

I think I'm going to move to Peepsville of the Candyland Empire. It sounds like a happy place

[Jaybe]

Really enjoyed this episode. Have only listened to it twice so far.

For determining how much time I spend playing a game, I make it a habit when I am about to pause from the game for awhile, to:
Quicksave (Shift-F5); Pause Game;
and then to make sure I KNOW I have paused the game when I come back to it, F11 out to globe view.

ADDENDUM: Thanks for the Christmas gift!

[Julian Delphiki]

65minsXXseconds: gigglefest

[Nugog]

Excellent episode!



Always nice to hear different points of view, and to know that I am not the only one who makes illogical game decisions.

And the elephants are not cute - they are vicious beasts of war, bred for their natural aggression!

Good format too - nicely "chunked" for stop/start listening - escpecially for a long episode like this.

[Zoid]

Best episode yet!

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Jaybe
Really enjoyed this episode. Have only listened to it twice so far.

ADDENDUM: Thanks for the Christmas gift!

Welcome.

Originally posted by JulianD
65minsXXseconds: gigglefest

Originally posted by Nugog
Excellent episode!

Always nice... to know that I am not the only one who makes illogical game decisions.

Good format too - nicely "chunked" for stop/start listening - escpecially for a long episode like this.

Thank you kindly.

Originally posted by Zoid
Best episode yet!

, newsflash!

[jkp1187]

Thanks -- this was an entertaining episode. Thanks to Kmad for the info about how the UN votes tallied (I suspected as much, but it's nice to see that it was done in a controlled, scientific manner...)

Also: I DO put my "jkp1187" name when I post screenshots...but that's only because I usually have some variation on my full name in the game, and I've no desire to have more hits on google...

Originally posted by Heraclitus


PS: WTF is CFC?

Chlorofluorocarbons.

[KMadeleine]

Originally posted by Jaybe
For determining how much time I spend playing a game...

i think it might actually scare me to know. this way i can rationalize it away!

Originally posted by Nugog
And the elephants are not cute - they are vicious beasts of war, bred for their natural aggression!

oh come on. english bulldogs are cute, but they were bred to be aggressive and stubborn and fight bulls! they are precious and adorable.

this is the reason why i mentioned the Ballista Elephant as the best entry in the civilopedia:

...The animals' massive size allowed them to trample infantry and their unsettling smell caused horses to panic and flee, giving the beast a stunning tactical advantage in the field. ...[blah blah historical stuff] it was the Khmer that perfected the deployment of the great siege crossbow, the ballista, deployed on the back of a mountainous pachyderm."

that just cracks me up. because all of my knowledge of warfare and military history comes from civ, when i see the word "infantry" i don't think "foot soldiers", i think "the units after riflemen". so the thought of those tough guys going "OMG, the stench! those pachyderms are big! they're huge! they're like mountains! flee, run away!" just kills me.

[DanQ]

Originally posted by jkp1187
Thanks -- this was an entertaining episode.

Thanks to Kmad for the info about how the UN votes tallied

I hadn't thought about the point before listening myself, but indeed.

Chlorofluorocarbons.

Originally posted by KMadeleine
oh come on. english bulldogs are cute, but they were bred to be aggressive and stubborn and fight bulls! they are precious and adorable.

Bulldogs? Cute? Oh my...

i think it might actually scare me to know. this way i can rationalize it away!

[Methos]

Originally posted by KMadeleine i saw it in the Poly username of some guy named "Methos from CFC" and i like the ring of it.

It wasn't until this episode that I realized your join date here.

Excellent episode! It was a lot of fun to listen to and it gave me something to do while at work.

I agree with everyone else, this is one of the best episodes I've heard and I would really enjoy another like it. Oops, sorry, one of the best "specials".

:hmm: Trying to picture hearing Imran, Wouter, or DanQ talking about how cute the sheep are. Uh, that image just went bad....

It's nice to hear all the free HOF ads!

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Methos from CFC
Excellent episode! It was a lot of fun to listen to

and it gave me something to do while at work.

I agree with everyone else, this is one of the best episodes I've heard

and I would really enjoy another like it. Oops, sorry, one of the best "specials".

Technically it's a special; in practice, it's a super-episode (particularly given its length).

Trying to picture hearing Imran, Wouter, or DanQ talking about how cute the sheep are. Uh, that image just went bad....

No kidding...

[Imran Siddiqui]

Trying to picture hearing Imran, Wouter, or DanQ talking about how cute the sheep are.

I'm sooo doing that next time

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
I'm sooo doing that next time

You're warning people to give them a chance to prepare!?

[Nugog]

Originally posted by KMadeleine
oh come on. english bulldogs are cute, but they were bred to be aggressive and stubborn and fight bulls! they are precious and adorable.

Vicious attack hounds!

Sadistic slobberers!

[Nugog]

Oh - and democracy gamers do not obsess - we discuss freely to ensure all points of view are taken into account.




























Yeah - thats it!

[Nugog]

Originally posted by Methos from CFC
It's nice to hear all the free HOF ads!

Plus - nice plugs for the BtS Tournament!

[DanQ]

Originally posted by Nugog
Plus - nice plugs for the BtS Tournament!

[MasterDave]

My wife has been playing Beyond the Sword religiously since she kicked the World of Warcraft habit. She has played all of the Civ games since Civ1.

She is actually more aggressive than me in single player, and was a terror in mutiplayer when Civ4 first came out ("you are getting pwned by a GIRL!!!").

[DanQ]

Originally posted by MasterDave
My wife has been playing Beyond the Sword religiously since she kicked the World of Warcraft habit. She has played all of the Civ games since Civ1.

She is actually more aggressive than me in single player, and was a terror in mutiplayer when Civ4 first came out ("you are getting pwned by a GIRL!!!").

Did you listen to the show? Are you a regular, occasional listener to date or..?

[MasterDave]

Hi Dan,

I have been posting at Poly off and on since 1998, but this was the first podcast I listened to. I am also a regular multiplayer participant in RAH's Saturday games. Makhalua has occasionally graced us with her presence at some of those games, so I wanted to hear what she and the other ladies had to say. It was quite entertaining, I liked the Civ music interludes dividing the topics, it gave the podcast sort of a polished NPR sort of feel.

My wife got into one of the Saturday games as well under a secret identity, but she got beaten like a drum when she tried to attack Snoopy. I have a reputation of being one of the more aggressive players in the Saturday group, but my wife plays far more bloodthirstily than I do most of the time.