AU501: The Power of Seafaring - Info and Discussion

[Dominae]

Welcome all to the first Conquests Apolyton University course!

No, no, this is not the official thread for the course, because we're still working out a few issues (namely, the finishes touches on the AU mod, and which patch to use). If all goes well, the game should be up this Friday, January 21.

(Are you completely lost? Are you asking questions like: what's AU, why should I play this game, and will the mod mess with my C3C installation? Fear not. All these and more will be answered on Friday in the official thread.)

For now, we can have some fun! As many of you know, the theme for the first Conquests AU course was (undemocratically) decided to be the Seafaring trait. The point of the course is therefore to determine the ins and outs of this wonderful new trait. Here are some other game variables that were (undemocratically) chosen for this scenario:

Civ: Byzantines (see below)
Rules: Default
Victory Conditions: All
Rivals: ?
Difficulty: Any

World Size: Large
Land Form: ?
Climate and Temperature: Standard
Age: 3 billion
Barbarians: ?

The amount of map "tweaking" by the scenario creator is ~5-10%. This means that you can expect a pretty standard game of Civ3, but if you're very familiar with the map generator some things may strike you as fishy. Hopefully this will not detract from your enjoyment.

Below are a few more posts to whet your appetite.

[Dominae]

Byzantines:

Leader: Theodora (she's cute)
Traits: Seafaring, Scientific
Techs: Alphabet, Bronze Working
Unique Unit: Dromon

Seafaring:

Seafaring civs get a bunch of cool abilities:

1. Cities founded adjacent to the coast (i.e. next to a non-inland Coast tile) have a +1 Commerce per turn bonus in the base city tile. Therefore these tiles produce +4cpt under Despotism, and +5cpt without the tile penalty.

2. All naval vessels have a +1 Movement bonus. So Curraghs move 3 tiles, and Galleys (here, Dromons) move 4 tiles.

3. Ships that can sink in Sea/Ocean tiles have a reduced chance of doing so.

Scientific:

We all know what Scientific does from stock rules. However, remember that in Conquests Scientific civs also have a greater chance of getting a SGL from a previously undiscovered tech (from 5% to 7%, although I could be mistaken on this).

Dromon:

1. Replaces the Galley.
2. Stats: 2(2)/1/3, actually 2/1/4 with Seafaring's movement bonus.
2. Transport Capacity: 2.
3. Cost: 30 Shields
4. Tech: Map Making
5. Special: Lethal Sea Bombardment

[Dominae]

Below is a screenshot of the starting location. Feel free to use this thread to discuss it and any opening moves you feel a worth considering. Remember: the point of AU is to learn communally!

[ducki]

Oh, you are evil. Evil, evil, evil!
Not starting on the coast.
And a volcano right there. :blink:
And I know that cow is just there to taunt me.
I could make an educated guess about the landform, but suffice it to say I think I'm going to wish I'd played more of a different type of landmass.

That sure looks like a tough call on how to start due to the peculiarities of the terrain arrangement, especially for those that don't like tight city-placement.

This looks great, you evil, evil person. I can't wait!

[Dominae]

Oh, you are evil. Evil, evil, evil!

Oh please! I give you: a Grassland Cattle, fresh water, two Bonus Grasslands, and a coast within throwing distance. Did you want two Luxuries with that as well?!




Dominae

[alexman]

4-turn Settler pump!

I'm settling right on the start, thank you.
Edit: make that one move SW to work the cow before turn 10.

[ducki]

Did I miss something on the pump?
Grassland is 2f.
Cow is +2f.
Irrigate is +1f.
Despotism is -1f.
+4fpt.

All the other visibles are just 2f except for the fish.
Coast 1f
Fish +2f
Despotism -1f
2fpt.

Is there a bonus I am missing?
There must be, or I wouldn't post this and make myself look silly (again).
Edit: Yep, I look silly. I coulda sworn lake and coast with fish were the same. Turns out lake is not the same as coast. Color me stupid. Thanks alexman.

[alexman]

Fish on lake is +3.

About that move SW, it would make it necessary to irrigate the top bonus grass before mining it to bring irrigation to the cow. If you don't move, you don't need an Aqueduct, you can bring fresh water through the hill, but you miss the 9 first cow-turns. Hmmm...

I'm not moving after all.

[ducki]

Oh please!

Lighten up! I'm slightly teasing, mostly praising.
That's a seriously thought provoking start(unless I missed a bonus food somewhere). (Edit: Which I did. I gotta quit sniffing glue in the mornings. Still, the following is valid. )
Do I move to be coastal? If I do, where? At least two moves to not waste a bonus grass.
Do I stay next to the volcano with my capitol?

Not evil bad, evil good. Good enough to not be painful that I can see but evil enough that I am glad you put up the screenie so I can look more closely when I'm not confined to a laptop lcd.

Really. It's a great start, but only you would be mildly sadistic enough to put the settler just two spaces away from a great coastal spot with fresh water and a BG on the one-move spot that's coastal with fresh water.
Heck, just a seafaring game with a non-coastal start - that's fantastically, wonderfully evil. Hilarious, even!

I like it. I wasn't complaining one bit. Thanks for making the course, it looks a blast!

[Dominae]

Originally posted by ducki
Lighten up! I'm slightly teasing, mostly praising.

I was kidding, fool!

[Rhothaerill]

Yeah, Dominae knows he's evil. He does it on purpose to make us think about the game.

Of COURSE I'll play this game when it comes out.

[Fosse]

I'm excited to finally play a course for Conquests. As for the map tweaking, Dominae... that's one of the major reasons I like playing AU games!

Haven't decided about the start, and won't really think about it hard until I'm in game. Looks good though.

[Thrar]

Sweet start!

i think i'll settle on the starting spot, trading a whole turn for those 7 more food (since you'd get 2 in the one turn you miss) for a non-freshwater spot next to the cow doesn't seem feasible to me.
Moving to the coast would waste a bonus grassland, and the advantage is not that great i'd say. With that settler pump start the colossus won't be a good idea in the capital anyway i think, and a curragh or two can be built in the second or third city just as well.
The volcano may become a nuisance, but that's life i guess...

I'm looking forward to play the game, i hope i'll find enough time to play until the end. Thanks!

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by Dominae
Leader: Theodora (she's cute)

You have issues...get a girlfriend.

Originally posted by Dominae
Traits: Seafaring, Scientific
Techs: Pottery, Bronze Working

It should be alphabet and bronze working. Seafaring civs don't get pottery.

[Tall Stranger]

I'm very excited about this start, especially after having read the "Ducki Does Emperor" thread (great thread, even if it does sound like a bad porn movie!) about settler pumps. I never really understood/ made use of them before, but am playing a game now where I got one at the start and it makes a huge difference.

The real question is: with this nice a start, what evil surprises are in store for the future? A hyper-aggressive and close-enough-to-kill-us-but-not-close-enough-for-us-to-take-out-early neighbor with the world's supply of ivory?

By the way, I don't think I'm moving either.