Proposal: Summer Epic Challenge

[Dominae]

How about making this a 400-level AU course? The 400 courses are "complementary", if that makes anyone feel any better. I'm sure there is a lot to learn with such a big map.

In the Big Planet AU, there was a lot of room on the home continent. I think the idea here is to make the oceans real obstacles, and is therefore will me a rather different experience.


Dominae

[Rhothaerill]

Sounds good to me. I haven't yet played a mostly ocean game, and 16 civs has always been the max for me. After AU208 I could use a course that's less masochistic, but this sounds kind of fun.

[TheArsenal]

I understand that this will be mostly water, and 24 civs. But with such a huge map, what size islands are we talking about (the largest ones, I mean)? This would factor in as to which civ choice I would make.

[Dominae]

For fun, I propose the allowable civs be the historically naval-oriented ones: England, Spain, Vikings, Carthaginians (more?). Hopefully not everyone would pick the Carthaginians (Industrious is like a drug!).


Dominae

[burly]

What about Greece, they ruled the Agean for centuries. Plus, comercial would be a nice trait for such a large map.

[Rhothaerill]

Originally posted by Dominae
For fun, I propose the allowable civs be the historically naval-oriented ones: England, Spain, Vikings, Carthaginians (more?). Hopefully not everyone would pick the Carthaginians (Industrious is like a drug!).

Sounds good. I've never played any of those but the Carthaginians. I'll try to restrain myself and not pick them again (must...hold...back. No...industrious)

[nbarclay]

Sorry, Dominae, but I can't imagine myself playing on such a monstrous map without Industrious. Doing without it is annoying enough on standard maps.

For me, Industrious isn't just about the (considerable) advantages in the game itself. It's also about cutting the number of workers I have to micromanage almost in half, because I rarely automate workers at all. The bigger the map, the more workers there are, and the more time per turn Industrious can save.

Nathan

[Dominae]

Originally posted by nbarclay
Sorry, Dominae, but I can't imagine myself playing on such a monstrous map without Industrious. Doing without it is annoying enough on standard maps.

But you simply must admit that Industrious is an awesome trait...

I still think my idea could work: those who want Industrious would take Carthage (Commercial is pretty good too, since you're that much closer to Map Making), while those who want to roleplay more can take any of the other "naval" civs. The very thought of converting heathens overseas as the Spanish makes we want to play this scenario...


Dominae

[Rhothaerill]

I was thinking Spanish as well, but for a less roleplaying oriented reason. I don't see expansionist as too useful on a mostly water map, and both England and the Vikings are expansionist. If Greece is added to the list then I'd think about them too.

BTW, Industrious IS an awesome trait.

[Dominae]

Expansionist gets Pottery right away, which is good considering that 1) you're likely to have few neighbors on your continent, 2) you're that much closer to Map Making.

For this reason, I think England is a top choice. It has a UU that comes just about the right time to boot!


Dominae

[Rhothaerill]

Just had a thought though I don't know if it's worth it...possibly mod sea travel to appear earlier in the game than astronomy. It would make it a little easier to contact other civs (depending on the starting location), though that's the reason I don't know if it's worth it or not. Waiting to contact other civs makes it more difficult for the human player.

[Rhothaerill]

Another thought, and this one to make the AI a little tougher, is to give all the AI civs a build-often for naval units. We as humans can conduct sea warfare, but the AI doesn't do it too well. Maybe a little extra boost would at least help them somewhat.

[Dominae]

By the way, let me just state again that I have no preference either way on aspects of this scenario (since I'm not going to play). I'm just throwing ideas that could be fun.


Dominae

[alexman]

Originally posted by burly
What about Greece, they ruled the Agean for centuries. Plus, comercial would be a nice trait for such a large map.

True, the value of the commercial trait increases with the tiles-to-OCN ratio of the map. Under stock rules that ratio goes from 150 on a tiny map to 400 on a huge map. But if Nathan's OCN increase brings this ratio down, then the commercial trait might not be that great.

Archipelago maps have relatively high average distance corruption, but the commercial trait does not give any benefits there.

By the way, Greeks still rule the Aegean. That's not saying much though, as that sea not much larger than lake Michigan!

Looking forward to playing this one, although I'm not sure how many months it will take me to finish it!

[vmxa1]

Would you not expect that the 24 civs will mean a problem with finding luxs?
I also agree with Catt that the proposition of endlessly contacting civs and trying to trade is too painful for me.
I can not image how much more painful it would be with 24 civs.
I wish they would nuke the trading apsects a bit to make it so you are not rewarded for trying to trade all the time.
This is why I have no interest in OCC games.