AU204: The Power(?) of Randomness

[Dominae]

Welcome everyone to the latest installment of the Apolyton University scenarios! Sorry for the delay in getting this game out, but better to get everything right the first time (I hope!).

The purpose of this scenario is that you do not know what to expect. Most game variables have been set to 'random': random world settings, random map, random civ, etc. Hopefully this will put most of you in novel situations, which are highly conducive to learning (and also a lot of fun).

The following variables are not random:

World size: Standard
Difficulty level: Any
# Civs: 8

Everything else is, for all intents and purposes, completely random, with one exception. In order for everyone to get a true "feeling" of randomness within one sample, some of the more popular civs have been disabled. Thus you can expect to play a civ from the following list:

Russians
English
Mongols *
Indians
Aztecs
Koreans *
Spanish *
Zulus
Vikings *
Secret

*'s are only available for the Play the World versions.

For those new to Apolyton University, here is a short description and some links to help you figure out what this is all about (quote by alexman):

"Apolyton University is a school of strategy, where students sharpen their Civ3 skills and share their experiences in a series of thematic games. When playing an Apolyton University game, gaining and sharing knowledge is more important than getting a high score, or even winning the game. Participants are encouraged to share their strategy after the game, and even to try several attempts.

For single-player games we have developed the AU mod, whose main purpose is to challenge the player with a need for deeper strategy. To accomplish that goal, the mod tries to improve the AI and present the player with more strategic decisions, while changing as little as possible."

You can find a link to the spoiler/stories thread here.

Attached is a zip file containing the three versions of this scenario: Civ3 1.29, PTW 1.14, AU mod 1.16.

I hope you all enjoy this game, and remember that if anything does not go as planned, you can always blame the RNG!

Disclaimer: This game is tough! A lot tougher than I thought it was going to be, in fact. If you're not the type to enjoy a restart, I suggest you reduce your usual level of difficulty. Major kukdos to anyone who beats this one on Deity.

Edit: The AU mod version is 1.16, not 1.14 as the poll indicates. Not sure I can change it without moderator privileges.


Dominae

[BRC]

Secret!!!

uh-oh. Looks like Dom found a way to get the Canadiens in the game.

[Dominae]

Important!

As usual, if you're playing the PTW or AU mod version, remember to cover the bottom left of your screen when selecting the scenario, in order not to keep the map hidden.

Oh, and here's a screenshot of the start location:

[BRC]

Dom: I just downloaded the zip file, and the 1.29 version has the bix icon. I haven't tried to load it or anything, but is there a chance that you didn't save the scenario as a .bic??

[Dominae]

Quite right, BRC (I knew I forgot something!). I'll modify the original attachment immediately.

Edit: Ah, we may have a problem. I created the whole scenario in the PTW editor, not the standard Civ3 one. Can I transfer the map over somehow to create a .bic file? If not, I'm afraid this is going to be a PTW-owners only game.


Dominae

[BRC]

Sorry Dom. I went through the same thing with 203. You have to create it in the 1.29 editor. It only works one-way. We should have said something.

[Dominae]

Well, unless the 4 players who played 203 with Civ3 1.29 speak up very loudly, I'm inclined to keep things as is. The ones who do not own PTW will have to sit this one out (geez, feels like I'm marketing for Infogrames).


Dominae

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Dominae
Well, unless the 4 players who played 203 with Civ3 1.29 speak up very loudly, I'm inclined to keep things as is. The ones who do not own PTW will have to sit this one out (geez, feels like I'm marketing for Infogrames).


Dominae

I still haven't seen PTW in the local shops were I live. Speaking up very loudly:

Perhaps it will help?

[Dominae]

I'm sorry Olaf, but many people have already begun (and finished?) the game, so any changes would be...awkward. This whole mess is completely my fault.

This said, please try to get a copy of PTW ASAP! The faster everyone gets to play with the new civs, the earlier we can create a scenario against the new civs!


Dominae

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by Dominae

This said, please try to get a copy of PTW ASAP! The faster everyone gets to play with the new civs, the earlier we can create a scenario against the new civs!

If they waited 3 months before releasing it in Sweden, I'm not sure if they deserve to get my money! Expected release was January 30. And I do not know if there have been further delays, as I have not yet seen the expansion in the shops.

Anyway, are there any major bugs left efter the patchwork?

[joncnunn]

Power of Randomness???

Seems similar to how I usually play.

Currently, I always play as a Random civ with Random oppoenets, Culturaly linked starting locations OFF, with a totally random tiny map with random barb settings on the Emperor level. (Classic Civ III 1.29f.)

I just finished up a game last weekend (Domination victory as Japan instead of my usual Space Ship victory due to the foolishness of the Zulu declaring war out of the blue when I had a strong military (Tanks, Mech Inf, Bombers, Battleships left over and captured Art, armies of 4 left over Cal each vs the Zulus Inf, Calvary, Iron Clad and badly placed Art) and was not willing to talk until the turn before the game annouced I'd won via domination.

After several restarts from too horid a starting position, I'm now playing England and the Irq just fell to the old give me all your techs & WM in exchange for all my Luxaries [I had just noticed that we were trade connected] + all my GPT right before telling them to leave or declare war trick. (This brought me until the Middle Ages.) To add insult to injury, the tech I bought from Irq was sold to Romans and Greece in exchange for an alliance aginst the Irq.

The Irq inital attack force consists of 3 reg warriors. My initial defenders are 1 Vet Spearmen (pop rushed last turn), 1 Reg Sprearmen, 1 Reg Warrior in a city at a 2 tile wide chock point. Additional Spearmen are under construction on that pensula. Home area is producing Horsemen. My plan for this unwanted war is to fend off this attack, and then wait the 20 turns until the Miliatry Allianaces expire and I can declare peace honorably.

The map amounts to one of the strangest Pangenas I've seen yet. All 4 of us are on the same land mass, but it's closer via the sea to all the other players than by land. It features several Pensualas in my section of the map and there are 3 smaller landmasses as well. The orders I sent the settlets out amounted to (all settlers from London unless noted)
W of London,
E of London,
Extreme SW bottleneck (connects with rest of Pangena)
2 E of London to NE corner of landmass,
Central West Pensula,
Eastern Most Pensula,
2nd back SW bottleneck (from York)
Central East Pensula,
landmass west of SW bottleneck. (That settler is on the Galley in route to there.)
There are still several interior sites that need filled in.

[aaglo]

Hahaa!
PTW is coming to stores here on 13th of feb (so, the news i posted in another thread are false )

I'll crush this scenario during next weekend (with chieftain difficulty )

[Chemical Ollie]

Originally posted by aaglo
Hahaa!
PTW is coming to stores here on 13th of feb...

I suppose they are distributing it by bicycle, as the delivery is so slow. 3 months from initial release before it gets to Scandinavia (the highest PC per capita region in Europe)! The delay can hardly be due to translation inte Swedish and Finnish, can it? I hope at least we get a patched version out of the box when the game arrives this late, otherwise Infogrames are real lamers.

[aaglo]

We don't get the translated version here...