Introduction
I want to start this tournament series by highlighting one of the civilizations from the main game each week. In order to do so I will give you a quick historical overview and then present the game settings which will be connected to the civilizations.
For the first week, I have chosen to present the “Celts”.
The Celts
The first people regarded as Celtic (from the Greek "keltoi " which stands for brave), were the people of the Iron Age Hallstatt culture in central Europe (c. 800–450 BC), named for the rich grave finds in the Austrian village Hallstatt. Over the time period of the next few centuries the Celts expanded pretty much around the whole European continent.
From the cultural perspective, these Celtic bands posed the antithesis to the so-presumed Mediterranean ideals and were therefore considered as barbarians. The Celts consisted out of many different individual tribes and didn’t have a central leader or organization - however they shared the believe in certain ancient gods and rituals. By the Romans and the Greeks, those Celtic tribes were feared for their brutal warfare and their raiding trips. This was due to the fact, that for the ancient Celts, in a sense, a battle was seen as an opportunity to proves one’s value’in front of the tribe and gods.
After having reach their maximum spread around 200 BC, the Celts slowly disappeared over the next centuries and made place for different Germanic tribes. However, some Celtic elements are still alive – like for example the language in Wales, a country in Great Britain.
The Celts in Age of Empires II
Like in human history, the Celts are also a great raiding civilization in game. Due to their military civilization bonuses (infantry units +15% speed, siege weapons fire 20% faster), their strengths are really strong infantry units and powerful siege weapons. This of course is a great basement for some serious raiding – just like the Celts did in actual history.
Of course, their unique unit – the “Woad Raider” – fits perfect into this image and is perfect for raiding as well.
On top of the military bonuses, they also may have a quick and strong economy, due to the Celtic lumberjacks working 15% faster compared to other civs. This makes a big boom way easier.
The Celts weaknesses definitely are their lack of final archery and cavalry upgrades – this makes the Celts offensive forces kind of predictable.
However, the Celts are a really powerful civilization and can destroy you completely if you don’t watch their offensive movements carefully.
If you want to know more, watch this detailed video:
Gameplay Settings:
The games are played as 1v1 Celt wars, meaning that both players must choose the Celts as a civilization. The following settings have to be used:
| Data set | Original Game |
|---|---|
| Game | Random Map |
| Map Style | Standard |
| Locations | #1 Highland, #2 Black Forest, #3 Mediterranean |
| Map Size | Tiny (2 player) |
| Difficulty | Standard |
| Resources | Standard |
| Population | 200 |
| Game Speed | Normal |
| Reveal Map | Normal on Highland and Mediterranean, Explored on Black Forest |
| Starting Age | Standard |
| Ending Age | Standard |
| Victory | Conquest |
Information and Registration
Requirements
In order to participate you need an Steam account, Age of Empires II HD and a stable internet connection.Modus
We play "Best of three", meaning that you have to win two out of three games in order to win. If you win the first two, the third round is optional.Prices
The winner will receive 10 SBD.Registration
Registration is open from this second until 6 PM Central European Time (CET) on Saturday the 28th of October.
If you want to register, post "I am in" in the comment section of this post.Playing
After the registration has closed I will post the matchups and the tournament tree. You will have at least three days time for your match.
The players will be trusted to arrange their matches for themselves - If this won't work out, I will have to think about a different solution for the feature.
More details will be published after registration is done.
