I'm intermittantly active in the Civ4 community over at CivFanatics and this is a list of some of the cool stuff I've done or made in support of the game and its fans. If you find any of this even remotely interesting, please LIKE More in Sanity on Facebook (handy LIKE button to the left!), thanks!
Polycast
Polycast is a semi-weekly podcast about Civilization. Created by Daniel "DanQ" Quick and assisted by a couple friends, it's a fairly popular form of fan-appreciation. Don't we all wish we could garner this kind of devotion? A few months ago, I had the pleasure of being asked to participate on Episode 71, and I had a great time doing it. I was also so impressed with Dan's technical abilities, I've become a fan of him as well, and look forward to the day when I can have him editing shows I've made. Until then, though, here's a list of episodes I've been on, but it's not necessarily complete.
For those of you who are just interested in hearing me crack a few jokes and know nothing of Civ4, the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes are the parts you'll be wanting to hear, and require the least game knowledge, though in Ep97 you'll want to hear the last 10 minutes.
Episode 50, That's What the Tank said to the Spearman - This is Polycast's 50th episode, and as a milestone they managed to get the one and only Sid Meier on the show as a special guest. I don't make an actual appearance on this episode; rather, I, along with several others, submitted some questions for him and my question got asked! Not only that, they saved the best for last - my question! Not only that, but Sid thought it was his favorite question EVER! SID MEIER IS MY FAN! LISTEN
Episode 71, Make some Noise - This is my first guest-hosting. It was so big and so good, parts were reused in several later episodes. You'll get to hear the first of many of my mispronunciations of Makahlua's name. LISTEN
Episode 73, More Tangenty Than Usual - In this episode, some of the tape from Ep71 that didn't make it into the final was used here in a Vault segment. LISTEN
Episode 86, The More You Know (Part 1) - In this episode some more of the tape from Ep71 that didn't make it into the final was used here in another Vault segment. LISTEN
Episode 92, Fake the Funk - This is my second guest-hosting. Actually I have a double-appearance in this because Dan used some bits from Ep71 again, which brings to an end my unbroken string of appearances so awesome they didn't need filler from other episodes. LISTEN
Episode 94, Let's Take a Step Back Here - I'm not in this one, but they discuss a game suggestion thread I made about different ways to begin and end the game and that's awfully nice. LISTEN
Episode 97, Little Better than Useless - This is my third guest-hosting. I'm quite flabbergasted by how well this turned out! I got to talk quite a bit and even sounded like I knew what I was saying more often than not. Some day soon, I may even sound as smart as Phil! I was expecting Dan to post this a week or two before recording Ep100, but that was not to be. It's up now, though (as of 8/8/10). LISTEN
Episode 100, Keep on Civin' - This episode was taped LIVE on July 31st 2010, starting at about 1:00 pm EDT. It was a total blast to be a part of it. There were several special guests from Firaxis and 2K who showed up to answer questions and divulge information about the upcoming Civ5, and a multitude of guest hosts making our brief aappearances. My first appearance is toward the middle, and then my second appearance covers about the last 45 minutes. PLEASE NOTE: This is not a typical episode, this is a celebratory episode, celebrating Polycast, and to a lesser extent, Civ5's imminent launch. LISTEN
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Articles and References
I'm a writer, you know (really!), and I've written a few things in support of Civ4 and its BtS expansion. These links go directly to the forum thread in question at the CivFanatics Center, Civilization's biggest fansite.
My Religious Experience (also in War Academy Guide form) - Basically a delve into the advantages of using religion, demonstrated through a goal to get all of the religions and put them to use as effectively as possible. The War Academy article was made by someone else, and I only found out about it by luck, and I haven't yet taken the time to clean it up.
BTS Reference Guide from Hell - I don't have quite everything about Beyond the Sword in this spreadsheet, but I came awfully darn close, and by using it, your game-playing ability should skyrocket! I do intermittantly update it, so check back once in a while to see what I've added.
How to Pop your Borders Quickly - an article about getting the borders of a new city to expand quickly so it can take advantage of the surrounding area. This article covers every conceivable way to pop your borders.
Brief Guide to Types of Economies - Not really an article, this was in the research stage and never got converted into a full article. It's still got some useful bits to help you get the most out of your peeps.
Ferries - How Civ4 could add ferries to the game. Some players have also suggested bridges, but ferries make a lot more sense in the scale of the game.
Penalty for Surprise Attack - Any game that has a few wars has surprise attacks so devastating that it's game-breaking; when you can trash the enemy before they can even take a single turn in response, that's imbalanced. So I proposed a way to fix that problem. Others have also brought up the subject, looking for this simple solution.
Quests and Random Events List - I didn't create this, but it's a handy reference.
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Favorite files/mods:
These are MUST INSTALL files for me. Now and then, if I install Civ4 to a computer, I follow it with BTS, then these files.
Official BTS 3.19 patch - all the essential updates, straight from the makers.
Unofficial patch for BTS 3.19 - all the essential updates that the makers didn't officially include.
Better BTS AI (BBAI) - gives the AI the ability to fight without needing to cheat.
BAT Mod - improves the interface in ways the designers should have intended.
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Other articles you'll find interesting or informative:
Civilization 5 Got Blasted
Polycast 100 was quite awesome
You know you feel good when...
The Undeclared Miss America (and Her Cousin)
Christy Brinkley, Terry Bradshaw, and many more
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Optimally designed for maximum kick-in-the-sack. Now with 82% more sass & attitude. Read @ your own risk.