TG BTS: Fog of War (FOW)

Game Starts on Sunday, February 22


The Goal

This is the 4th game being hosted by the 6th Marine Division (|TG-MD6|) at TG. This time around we will be doing a first...using a custom Civ4 mod with the primary goal being to reduce the amount of out of game information available to players. Thus the increased "fog of war".

As always, the main goal is to have fun playing one of the best strategy computer games! The server will have a 24 hour turn timer which makes the game accessible to casual gamers plus is friendly to players in all time zones. Players new to Civ4 or Civ4 multiplayer are welcome and encouraged to sign up and enjoy the experience!

Please read the remainder of this post in its entirety.


Expectations and Rules

This game will last months. If you don't have the patience to stick with the game until it ends then this is not the game for you.

It is a good idea, if possible, to have someone outside of the game who can substitute for you in the event of an extended absence. Letting the timer expire or turning your nation over to the AI temporarily are always options. Note that no player, including substitutes, are allowed to do turns for more than one nation! Also, if you are going to disappear for longer than a couple of days, letting the timer expire in the process, please let everyone know so nothing unexpected is done with your nation while you are away.

TG's gaming philosophy will be in full effect. The simultaneous nature of the server means the game isn't truly turn based. It is possible to take back to back turns and gain an unfair advantage over another player, especially during a war. Rather than come up with a long list of rules, all players will be expected to avoid these type of situations to the best of their ability and we'll deal with problems as they arise. All issues are expected to be raised in a timely manner, no more than 1 turn after it happened.

The TG web site, especially this forum and private messaging (PM), are going to be the main means for players to discuss the game. Please check them on a regular basis once the game starts and remember that diplomacy is highly encouraged! A player list will be created once the game starts so that it is easy to send a PM to someone.

You will need official BTS patch 3.17. Note: if you used Direct 2 Download to get the game then you need to get your patches from them as well.

We will be using CivStats so that players can monitor the server status. Email notification will also be supported. More information will be provided upon game start.


Game Format

Custom Mod

Download: http://home.comcast.net/~bernout1/Files/NoScore.zip

Test Server: tgbts.no-ip.org

The mod should be unpacked into your Civ4 installation area (NOT the "My Games" area). Unpack into the ...\Civilization 4\Beyond the Sword\mods folder. No need to create a folder since unpacking it will create the required "NoScore" folder.

Please connect to the test server and verify that you have the mod installed properly. No passwords are necessary or should be used when logging in as a nation.

The mod provides the following changes:

• Limited score. Only Wonders count and with as small a value as possible.
• No global demographics.
• Custom deity difficulty level. Tech cost has been increased to that of a deity epic game. Also, all AI bonuses have been removed.
• Barbarian events have been removed (although events are not active for this game).
• List of technologies popped from a Hut have been reduced.

Huge thanks and credit to Niklas for creating this mod!

Nation Assignments

Players will be assigned player numbers based on an alphabetical list of TG account names. Nations and their leaders will be assigned randomly.

Difficulty Level

The difficulty level being used is Deity (custom version) for all players.

Settings:

• Map: Big and Small
• Size: Huge
• Climate: Temperate
• Sea Level: Low
• Era: Ancient
• Speed: Normal
• Continents Size: Normal Continents
• Landmass Size: Islands
• Island Overlap: Islands Mixed In

Game Options Selected:

• Choose Religions
• Permanent Alliances
• No Vassal States
• No Random Events

Full Option List:

• No Advanced Start
• City Razing
• City Flipping From Culture
• No City Flipping After Conquest
• Barbarians
• No Raging Barbarians
• Restricted/Normal Leaders
• Choose Religions
• Full Technology Trading
• Permanent Alliances
• No Require Complete Kills
• No Vassal States
• Tribal Villages
• No Random Events
• Espionage

Victory:

• Time
• Conquest
• Domination
• Cultural
• Space Race
• Diplomatic
• Custom Diplomatic (see below)

Multiplayer:

• Simultaneous Turns
• Take Over AI
• Turn Timer - 24 hours (approx. 28 hours of real time at game start)

End Game

The end of the game will be determined either by player vote or by an in game victory condition being met. In the case of the vote, the following procedure is to be followed:

1. A vote to end the game may be called by any player but may not be called within 30 days of the previous vote (if any).

2. The vote will be held in these forums for a period of 1 week. Every attempt will be made to get a yes or no vote from each player but in the event a player can not be reached it shall be counted as a 'yes' vote.

3. At the end of the week, if a yes vote results in the game ending then the player with the highest score at that time will be the winner unless they concede the victory to someone else. Note that this game allows a team victory via a permanent alliance.


Sign Up

The game will start on Sunday, February 22 at approximately 5:00 pm GMT (12:00 pm EST). You may sign up at any point before game start.

The server supports 18 players. If more than 18 people sign up, priority will be given to TG supporting members, then to TG account members who have signed up themselves, followed by everyone else. Anyone not given a starting position is encouraged to be a substitute.

To reserve a spot, please reply to this topic with:

• Please acknowledge that you have read and understood the first message of this signup topic:
• Have you connected to the test server:
• Civ4 Player Name:
• Time Zone:

Participants

The list will be updated as responses come in. Supporting members are listed in bold. 18 of 18 spots are filled.

Bernout
Snarlin
hsoft
Niklas
Ebenezer
emperor
Rusten
Munro
Shaq Zora
IanDC
Morgan
Ronnie1
Dandridge
Levgree
millcc
Dreylin
da_Vinci
Methos

Reserves
whiplash