The whole wide world

[Mountain Sage]

Knecht,

Some useful threads. (I know, those are mine )

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=88300

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=85124

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=86750

Good luck and enjoy it.

[Knecht]

Many thanks to Mountain Sage. Great thread Mr. Sage. As my grandaddy used to say, you done druv it into the ground and busted it off. By chance, I am playing the Chinese in the mega game I started a few days ago and you're right, the 3 square range of those riders is a big advantage - ditto the industrious workers. The GA worked just like you said too. Even though I opted for a Pangaean map, I wound up on the smaller of two continents (this sometimes happens with Pangaea - don't know why but it doesn't always live up to the definition). This left me alone with three other Civs and I think maybe that with so many Civs in the game, this was an advantage. I'm still hovering between 2nd and 3rd place out of the eleven total I started with which, considering my skills, isn't too bad. I already wiped out the Greeks and am gearing up to take over my little continent. Hopefully that will put me in first place. I might even have time to stage a channel invasion if things go well. I don't know if I balanced things out correctly when I set this thing up though. Because this mega map was about a 60% increase over the huge maps I usually play on, I bumped everything else up by 60% too, i.e., 11 civs instead of the seven I usually play with, 32 instead of 24 for the distance between civs, 50 for optimal number of cities, and 640 for the tech rate (I have no idea what tech rate means but I figured it has something to do with map size so I amped it up). Do you think I gave myself too much of a break (I'm playing on Regent), or was that the right way to go?

[Mountain Sage]

Knecht,

Looks fine, but I never tamper maps. But 11 civs with a mega map means HUGE empires (40+ cities). Are you going to take them by military conquest? If so, send us a pic of your 300+ military and good luck. See you in your next game around Xmas

Another piece of advice: don't worry about your rank. I won many games by being in the middle of the pack but won either a diplomatic or a space race victory.
Also keep in mind that you don't have to destroy the other civs on your island. Check Vel's thread about 'Vassal States' and/or the Civ 3 glossary (a separate thread).
Have fun and keep us posted.

[Knecht]

I thought I read someplace that there's always at least one of every resource on every continent. Maybe I dreamt it. Anyway, I'm stuck on a continent with no oil. Four Civs on this continent and nobody has any oil! Now I have to mount an amphibious invasion. #%@!*#
Yeah, an another thing. I set this game up as Pangaea but there's two continents. When I order one continent, I only want one! I wanna talk to the chef! There's two continents and I'm on the one that doesn't have any oil! I mean, what good is it being a god if you can't have your way? Okay, I needed that. I feel better now. Think I'll take a nap now.

[vmxa1]

I hear a lot of complaints about the pangea maps not being done well. They say the larger the map, the more likely it is to be accurate to your design.
Anyway I don't think that there is any guarntee of resources being on all continents and have been without some often. It can be be painful. Good luck on your invasion.

[zorbop]

i always play large or huge maps. i find standard boring. you can conquer so many enemies so fast, your score is about twice that of any opponent, even on the highest difficulties.

one thing i find with larger maps is that i often find an ai opponent or 2 that become immensely powerful- and it is a real challenge being at war with them.

[Mountain Sage]

Invasion?
You should read my threads more carefully.

Trade for the oil, stay at home and improve your empire.
Oh! and join the PP club. It's free of charge.

[georges bonbon]

Hail to the lovers of huge maps.

[TheArsenal]

I generally play on huge or large maps, depending on how "quick" I want the game to be. I haven't played but a very few number of games on the standard map, but find it a little too stunted and claustrophobic for my taste. I feel the games lose the "epic" quality.

That said, the other day I cursed my ever wanting to play huge maps. I was on a large island alone, on my way to completing the Great Library. To make use of the wonder, I went on suicide runs to establish contact with other civs. The RNG gods laughed in my face as I lost ten - ten - galleys before giving up and waiting for them to come to me.

[Mountain Sage]

TheArsenal,

Good to know I'm not the only one who faces the wrath of the RNG gods.
When I am alone on an island and since I play commercial civs with Alphabet as a free tech, I always go for the GLibrary AND the GLighthouse;
My first 2 cities build these two wonders and my lonely 3rd settler is in charge of founding my 3rd city and having babies. Your REX is slowed but since you are all alone...

[Knecht]

Well, Sage, in my own defense, I did think of swapping for the oil myself though I had to give up a whole tech for it. Trouble is, out of all those civs, only one had an extra oil and wouldn't take anything but Atomic Theory for it. Still, I am in first place (just barely) and I already have the Hoover, so I figure let 'em have it because soon I'll own my whole continent and can then jump those punk Indians on the mainland and get their oil. I am doing better in this game than usual and I think it's because all the other civs are fighting each other and nobody is attacking me (that's a genuine first). Wish I knew how I pulled it off. Now, about these acronyms. You guys keep driving me crazy with the dogbone acronyms. I have to keep looking them up in the abbreviation thread and now you come up with two that aren't even there. Okay, so what's the PP club? Penny Pinchers? Party Poopers? And also, who the heck are the RNG gods? Really Nice Guys? Real Nasty Girls? And while I'm on the subject, there's an acronym for "Kill mother-effing Depeche Mode" As far as I tell, this is French for "fast fashion" (whatever that is) and the only other reference I can find is to some rock band by that name. Are Civ players opposed to this band for some reason?

[Theseus]

Perfect Peacenik.

Random Number Generator.

KDM? Do you mean ADM... attack-defense-move?

[Knecht]

Thanks for the translation, Theseus.
The other one I asked about was in the abbreviation thread in the Civ III General forum:

"KMFDM Kill mother-effing Depeche Mode"

???

[Mountain Sage]

Originally posted by Knecht
Now, about these acronyms. You guys keep driving me crazy with the dogbone acronyms. I have to keep looking them up in the abbreviation thread and now you come up with two that aren't even there. Okay, so what's the PP club? Penny Pinchers? Party Poopers? And also, who the heck are the RNG gods? Really Nice Guys? Real Nasty Girls? And while I'm on the subject, there's an acronym for "Kill mother-effing Depeche Mode" As far as I tell, this is French for "fast fashion" (whatever that is) and the only other reference I can find is to some rock band by that name. Are Civ players opposed to this band for some reason?

Read the top-thread 'Glossary for Civ 3 Startegy' for the acronyms. Many of them have even a sound explanation.

Theseus: thanks for the help, you were ahead of me (time zones again!).

[Knecht]

Thanks for the tip guys. The glossary thread also has the best explanations I have seen of some of the basic Civ strategies. However, it doesn't mention "depeche mode" which is mentioned twice in the abbreviations thread in the general forum, specifically the killing thereof. Further research reveals that Depeche Mode is not only a rock band but also a French fashion magazine the literal translation of which is, I think, Fashion Dispatch, or maybe just Fashion News. Kill the fashion news? What the heck does that have to do with Civ? Can't wait to hear the explanation.