Succession questions

El Civ · July 6, 2002, 17:40

I am a Civ neophyte who has owned Civ II for a couple of years but not played a whole lot. I think these succession games are a hoot. In fact, they are so entertaining that just reading the threads covering them is enjoyable.

I have two questions regarding succession games:
1. How come the saved file is never given a name appropriate to the game? That is to say, Mrs. Mongol's game could be saved as mrsmongol.zip but a default save code is used instead. Perhaps I'm either being finicky or moronic about this (could be both), but I've wondered about that.

2. Would the established and distinguished doctors of Civdom that post here tolerate a neophyte in one of their future succession games

? Of course, whoever followed me would likely have to clean up my mistakes and point them out to me.

Scouse Gits · July 6, 2002, 18:43

Quote:

Originally posted by El Civ
Would the established and distinguished doctors of Civdom that post here tolerate a neophyte in one of their future succession games

? Of course, whoever followed me would likely have to clean up my mistakes and point them out to me.

El Civ you will be most welcome

We (SGs) will shortly start a new one...Priests in Space featuring fundamentalists launching a craft to AC.

There will be no shortage of people pointing out your mistakes...but that is a two-way street...you must point out our errors too. Political retraining goes with the territory

---------------------------

SG(2)

El Civ · July 6, 2002, 19:21

Quote:

Originally posted by Scouse Gits

El Civ you will be most welcome

We (SGs) will shortly start a new one...Priests in Space featuring fundamentalists launching a craft to AC.

There will be no shortage of people pointing out your mistakes...but that is a two-way street...you must point out our errors too. Political retraining goes with the territory

---------------------------

SG(2)

Point out your errors too? That assumes I would recognize them. Fundy is my favorite form of govt. but that is mainly due to my inexperience at properly running other forms of govt.

I have no problems with others pointing out the error of my ways. In fact, it would be a great opportunity to learn the game better. Alas, I have the easy role. The rest of you would have the difficulty of dragging my sorry butt through the game.

Scouse Gits · July 7, 2002, 05:50

I suspect that last, "dragging your sorry butt through the game" is somewhat wide of the mark, but come what may you will be most welcome...

SG[1]

Scouse Gits · July 7, 2002, 05:53

... and to directly address your lfirst question - it's one in the orning, even the kids have crashed out - your lady went to bed three hours ago muttering about dire consequences and you have just finished your turns on the latest mega map three zillion city micromanagement nightmare of a succession game -- and you take two seconds to think up a non-default name?? Just look how often we simply forget to post the save at all.....

SG[1]

El Civ · July 7, 2002, 12:55

Thank you for the kind invitation, Gits.
Can I play with 2.42 (which is what I have) or will I need MGE?

Six Thousand Year Old Man · July 7, 2002, 14:05

SG[1], if you are taking applications, I'd like to play as well. At this point, the existing games are moving slowly enough that I could fit in another one, if there's room

Any special settings besides the fundy restriction?

El Civ - you can upgrade to MGE from 2.4.2 at various sites, if you want to. Not that you need it to play (I think most succession games are 2.4.2), but it can come in handy.

STYOM

Messer Niccolò · July 9, 2002, 03:35

I'll join the Holy Cause!

... and, El Civ, about your filename question, if you name it bo_a1600.sav it's easier - when you've downloaded 3 or 4 MrsMongol.sav - files to understand the order of the saves...

El Civ · July 9, 2002, 10:57

Quote:

Originally posted by Messer Niccolò
I'll join the Holy Cause!

... and, El Civ, about your filename question, if you name it bo_a1600.sav it's easier - when you've downloaded 3 or 4 MrsMongol.sav - files to understand the order of the saves...

Ahh. That makes sense. Thanks. I've another question: Is there a set number of turns one takes each time, or do you simply play to a certain year?

Six Thousand Year Old Man · July 9, 2002, 11:10

Usually the person who starts the game sets out some ground rules. That can include the number of turns to play, the time limit in which to play (some games have dragged out to over a year of r/t), and special rules like no bribing, no wonders, etc.

Usually I like to play 20 turns or so in the early stages, then down to 15, 10, 5 turns as the game gets more complex. Playing the 20 turns between 4000 and 3000 BC takes about 1/2 hour in r/t. Playing 5 turns in a game with 60+ cities and hundreds of units can take 4 or 5 hours!

STYOM

El Civ · July 9, 2002, 13:36

Quote:

Originally posted by Six Thousand Year Old Man
Playing 5 turns in a game with 60+ cities and hundreds of units can take 4 or 5 hours!

STYOM

Is it acceptable to play such a turn over two days, saving the file after the first part of the session? If I spend 4-5 hours playing I'm liable to awake to find my wife at the foot of the bed, butcher knife in hand, mumbling about tending to the baby while I play games.

Scouse Gits · July 9, 2002, 15:59

El Civ
When the games progress into the later years they sometimes become monsters. We all need time to think about a strategy and to actually play. Most players would prefer somebody to play a thoughtful rational game than a rushed and confused one.

Most of all they are games to be enjoyed. The banter between the participants being an important ingredient.

Incidents with spouses/knives/dangling body parts must be avoided at all costs.

-------------------

SG(2)

Six Thousand Year Old Man · July 9, 2002, 16:19

Quote:

Originally posted by El Civ

Is it acceptable to play such a turn over two days, saving the file after the first part of the session? If I spend 4-5 hours playing I'm liable to awake to find my wife at the foot of the bed, butcher knife in hand, mumbling about tending to the baby while I play games.

Oh, absolutely. 4-5 hours, not neccessarily consecutive. Plus, 4-5 hours doing nothing but move units will drive you mad.

It pays to take a break or it stops being fun and starts being a chore.

Try moving 125 Magogs (or anything) across 2 giga-continents. You'll understand.

STYOM

Julius Brenzaida · July 9, 2002, 17:24

STYOM, was it not 255+125 Magogs at the end

I think I had 125 only in Australia and twice as many moving across South America to sweep the Spanish in North America.

But yes, fewer turns can be played. And, at least for me, it is not a matter of speed. Spending a few days is ok, as long as you keep the other players informed.

The only thing I dislike about succession games is players who disappear without saying so.

But it's nothing compared to the fun.

Great stories, catastrophic "incidents" and a lot of occasion to learn how other play the games.

Julius Brenzaida · July 9, 2002, 17:26

And I wouldn't do it, but maybe that, as in a game of chess, one could draw a psychological profile of the players by the way they manage the empire

Six Thousand Year Old Man · July 9, 2002, 18:22

Quote:

Originally posted by Julius Brenzaida
STYOM, was it not 255+125 Magogs at the end

I think I had 125 only in Australia and twice as many moving across South America to sweep the Spanish in North America.

I just remember moving Magogs around in AC trying to find a city that hadn't had a teleport operation yet, then teleporting the Magogs from AC into China and railroading them north to Manchuria, across Mongolia, into Central Russia, down through Kazakhstan, across Iran and Iraq, through the Middle East and into Egypt... well you get the idea... 20 or 30 per turn at least. It seemed like 380 Magogs when I was doing it, but with the number used as garrisons it was probably 'only' 120.

By the time the last turns were played, there were many more Magogs

And then there was the shuffling of the food caravans to ward off starvation, and the massive number of Mupbu to move around cleaning skulls and/or terraforming... and the checking to make sure every city had a SDI... and... and...

Do you think people are tired of hearing us reminisce about the invasion game, yet?

STYOM

El Civ · July 9, 2002, 19:12

Please tell me that Priests in Space will not involve a giga map. I've never played on one but have read tales of horror. Haven't those maps led to more divorces than pub dart leagues and Ted Kennedy's extramarital affairs?

Oh well, I shall play the hand dealt me by the Gits. Speaking of which, I know what a Scouse is but am clueless as to what a git is. I've heard it used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail ("You great Irish git!") and I know what a sot is (I am one), but could someone please assist me on what a git is?

Scouse Gits · July 9, 2002, 19:26

A git is a contemptible person, often a fool. Can also mean a bastard...now we're reading from the same page.

----------------

SG(2)

Six Thousand Year Old Man · July 9, 2002, 19:39

Quote:

Originally posted by El Civ
Please tell me that Priests in Space will not involve a giga map. I've never played on one but have read tales of horror. Haven't those maps led to more divorces than pub dart leagues and Ted Kennedy's extramarital affairs?

Awwww... they're not that bad.

And besides, even a large map game can turn into a monster with long turns. I find gigamaps tend to make the AI expand more (and become a semblance of a challenge militarily) and add to the logistical challenge of getting your army to the enemy. Makes it more interesting, for me anyway.

There's usually lots of wide open spaces in a gigamap - more unoccupied space than on a large map, but the number of cities is often similar. Number of cities, IMO, is the major factor in how long a turn takes.

STYOM