Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well fought throughout, Lingchih!

I learned a great deal from our few encounters and I look forward to meeting you on more even terms.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I'll second that - you kept things real interesting in the north, despite the long odds. Thanks!

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Ugh, TheDemon, did you have to move to the one place where it's so much more difficult to predict where you're going to go next? :rolleyes:

Maybe I should have countered that army earlier...

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Okay, that was embarrassing. Killed by a lone passed out mage.

...damn 50 round rule.

Happens to the best of us... :p

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Yea, auto-rout rule! (OK, sorry, that was a cheap 'victory' on my part, I know :angel ) You know, I think you would have clobbered me completely if you'd skipped Grip of Winter - it was sort of like watching an old Benny Hill sketch seeing your god dash back and forth up the field trying to kill all my scattered, half frozen troops :D

Well, that's a lesson for both of us - always beware of the 50/75 round rule, and don't get lazy with your scripting ("Twist Fate, Personal Luck, Communion Slave/Master, and I'm sure you guys will figure out the rest out from there... whah? Paralyze? You really think that crap's going to work against that guy? Ugh...:doh:).

Anyhow, your boy did plenty of damage before his "accident", so don't feel too bad. I just hope he stays up in paradise for a few months before he's called back into action... :p

PS - and when he is back, can you pester someone else with him next time? :eek:

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well... you can judge his time to stay away by my recruitable commanders and his future plans by the needs of my teammates so...

...sorry, won't be obliging. :p

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

My sub duties for Ulm are complete. It was a lot of fun, and this game looks like it will continue to be interesting for many turns. In, closing, Death to Eriu!

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Couldn't agree more with you on those. Thank you for subbing and good luck with your other games :)

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Can I get an 8 hour extension on the current turn? I'm going to be delayed monday and probably won't get home until after the current deadline.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Extension granted.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Is anyone else having trouble accessing the Noobs forum?

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Me too!

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I was having trouble for a while, but I can get in now.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Me too! :p

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

At least the vets forums are quite often down at some point during the day (GMT0). Guess it's late night / early morning server update or something.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Or the noobs are sabotaging you!!!

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well if they had an access to our forums, shouldn't they try to keep it up all the time to better spy on our plans?

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Hmm good point, that can only mean one thing... THEY HAVE A SPY!!! (scary horror music)

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Didn't you know Lingchih defected? He was so upset you all let him die he decided to get even by helping the noobs beat you.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Oh.

In that case you're doing abysmal job. Gimme some challenge, I'd rather not keep trapezing to the other end of the map!

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

A more serious year 2 update.

The noobs have not done badly, which is what it would've taken for us to be winning at this point. This is not to say that the vets have provided perfect play, but even if we had, the noobs have acquitted themselves well enough that they'd be doing okay.

A 2:1 numerical advantage is pretty nice - it's now to be seen whether our greater knowledge of late-game battlefield tactics can turn the tide against their superior numbers. This will, obviously, require some major mistakes on the noobs' part. Fortunately, in the late game, there are plenty of traps and snares into which we can lure them.

For example, Agartha just wasted a whole army of summoned statues killing some Imperial Toilet Paper(TM). Those statues are highly elite troops with an important role that I will explain after I've taken the men of Agartha as eunuchs and the women as concubines.

Atul stands out as a particular marvel of bone-crushing terror. This isn't obvious to the noobs, of course - but he's not been a recipient of much in the way of intra-team aid. Given the number of times I've gone in with an ally and failed to make a serious dent in Atul, it continues to astound me that *I'm* the one with a fearsome reputation. Now that it's too late for the noobs to do anything about it: I win the office pool of Atul kills you all.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Damn DrP. now I wish I was in the game...

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Ah yes, it is about time we had some good smack talk.

Speaking of which:

Ashdod, you've fought well, but now I fear it is time for you to take your rest and go to your grave :rip:. I promise my fellow noobs and I shall do what we can to assist you in this endeavour.

Nice observations Dr. P.

I also couldn't help but observe you've a large force accompanied by your Deva poised to attack sacred Pangaean lands. Well, come on then TC. Come to me.

The dreadful screams of your dying soldiers shall come together in a symphony of suffering that will set my toes to tapping and wet the appetites of the wild and bloodthirsty gods of Pangaea.

And bring your pretender with you, my diviners and priests will delight in consulting your god's entrails to determine true godhood and the fate of your comrades.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I see some open vet alternate slots.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Nah, I think I'll pass, I'm sort of used to being in the first lineup, and I have trouble organizing my time. One day I'm home all the, the next I'm out, so my turn variate from darn well played to damn pathetic! It wouldn't be fair to the rest of the pplz since it's a team game.
I do like the concept of this scale team games. Was in a 5 on 5 a while back but it ended rather fast to my regret.
Well good luck to you folks, and please keep the thread fresh with interesting battle reports, I'll be lurking from the shadows.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking forward to seeing some end-game tactics. First game didn't get into the mid-game. Second game only just got to the mid-game when we realized we were being crushed... but being crushed in ways I feel I already understood. I want to be blown out of my seat wondering how so many terrors could possibly, POSSIBLY have shown up at exactly the wrong moment. I want to be beaten in a way that will make me scratch my head and really think about what happened and how to counter it.

It's not so much a question that it will happen... our side always had to completely cripple the vets before the onset of late game. I want to see the glory of how. That said, the only way to get you to reveal these draconian secrets is to keep up the good fight and force you to go all-out, right? So, we'll keep pushing until you push back hard enough to make us explode in gore against the wall.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Team morale, communication, and interest has been dropping ever since like turn 8.

If you wanted to see the late game I think you actually just needed to get in a time machine and use the game settings qm suggested :-p

Instead you went with septimus' plan to use the maximum possible number of players regardless of other constraining details.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Now now namad, we've kept up the facade that this game is close long enough and I won't let you ruin it now.

In all honesty late-game tactics are probably harder to apply here than normally, since we're being pressed so hard and don't have time to buildup gem income or high-end mages. And it's a good possibility that you already know all the tactics we're planning to use. I mean, when one of our guys spams spell X, you know that spell X was cast a bunch, and you can figure out how it led to that army's demise. Usually after the fact in dominions doesn't leave you scratching your head, its more of an "oh ****" thing when you see the battle report and when you watch it there's a bit of this :doh: when you start thinking "why didn't I think of that".

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

now, if a vet suddenly attacked me with 3 artifact-bearing tartarians and buffed with Gaia's blessing, army of lead, and blood vengeance, then spammed volcanic eruption and master enslave, I'd be left scratching my head.

only partly at the really strange tactic.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Yes, of course I am working for the Noobs now. They just need to give me access to their forums, so I can be much more effective in helping them.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well that's just because your posts usually have such a high dose of channeled Samuel L. Jackson in them I'm somewhat convinced your mouse probably has "Bad Motherf***er" engraved in it. Whereas I get repeatedly told I'm one of the nicest people around, no wonder no-one sees me as a threat. Even after I pillage their lands and take their women, that is.

But still, I'm thinking this is probably a bit too big map. I'm estimating a burn-out around the time I've killed Ulm and taken the seas from Abysia, just from a sheer size of my future empire.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Awww.

So, now what? Rollback or do we just move on?

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I vote rollback. a stale for all will harm some players significantly more than others, and seems unfair.

Incidentally, is there anything that is known to cause this to happen? The server didn't say what would have made it happen, and I'm curious if its user error of some kind that does it.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Apparently some issue with the 2h file from someone, maybe wrong mod enabled/wrong turn file.

Would like to avoid everyone having to redo their turns if possible. Rollback is likely. Hang on a sec.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Going to try a rollback and a force host, will likely happen again, but let's see.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

If you rollback then force host no .2h files will have been provided, since llamaserver took them out to deal with the error. If you rollback I you'll need everyone to submit .2h files unless you want everyone to stale again.

No one knows the exact cause of this error, but it's common enough to be annoying and the only fix is to actually make the game re-save your .2h file. As in either "Redo turn from start" or go into your turn, change something, and hit end turn. Just hitting end turn might work, but better be safe.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Apparently the server still has the old turn files there when a rollback is performed, though it indicates that everyone needs to resend their turn files.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well the scores have updated so something happened.

Now if I don't see my turn being sent to me shortly I'll resend all of them and see what happens.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Hm, well good it worked, strange it doesn't fit previous pattern about this bug.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I have gotten that error when working on mods before, when there is an invalid command or incompatible mods. Could it possibly be the result of someone having a mod turned on when they did their turn?

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Ok, should be good now. May want to save a copy of the old .2h/turn file just in case something is quirky.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Or a mod turned off/like CBM though they might get an error on hitting the end turn button, never tried it though. It is still possible that if it was caused by a single person's .2h file, that person may have an issue with their current turn. We will see.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well I can't look at the turn yet, but since my gem count went up and Caelum's down I'd hazard that Operation Steal Crown Jewels was a succesful one. So can't complain. :)

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Just to check, we want to use the turn 24 files because it went through ok on the second attempt?

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Well turn 24 is what llamaserver is using. So lets use that.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

This is a silly thing to say, Lumen. If you *really* understood how we mauled you so badly in the 2nd game, then you should have been able to prepare for and defend against it. Effectively, we did exactly what you describe above in the 2nd game. There are no magical cheats that allow you to drop a billion tartarians on your enemies straight from the underworld. Just good planning and good play.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

I'm not sure that that is necessarily true, Ironhawk. I could be fighting down in my little corner of the world, then get SC's dropped on my head with cloud trapeze or simple flying from somewhere I can't see, and them just smash my entire nation. Marignon basically did this to me this game, though not with enough vigor to kill me, just mess me up a bit, because I had no available counters.
I was busy getting counters ready for other things that I was fighting at the time, and his SC dropped on my head. This doesn't mean that I don't understand the tactic - I knew he would eventually be putting out angel SCs, but I was too busy fighting other things to be able to counter that too. What lumen wants is to be beaten by things he doesn't already understand. Being a noob, I hadn't encountered the skinshifter tactic atul is using. By itself it's not going to beat me, but it was something new. Other than that, I havn't fought (or heard of being used) anything I don't already understand and know.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Part of the problem here is that there is no good definition of Noob or Vet; I don't think there can be in a game like this.

For my part, I am very comfortable with game mechanics and strategy/tactics right up to late game, where SP just can't prepare you for the SC/tactics/things I've read about in this forum. I probably fare better than most noobs in early/mid-game because I've never really used gems in battles, SC, or thugs in my SP victories against all-impossible AIs. But I still consider myself a noob because I just haven't ever felt the sting of defeat or thrill of victory from MP play.

I will now admit that I considered throwing in the towel out of frustration when Lingchih obliterated my first army. I was so demoralized by what I felt was just bad luck but was really a combination of good luck and excellent strategy on Lingchih's part. Then Baalz posted his shiny new pledge thread and I just had to keep going! :D (Not really, I had decided before that, but it was so close.)

So far I've learned two incredibly significant lessons among many smaller... the first should be eveident from the above paragraph and the fact that I did finally (barely) put the immovable slab in front of Ermor's tomb. The second is one that every player that faces me from now on will learn the hard way. :evil: I'm not telling.

The point is this: if you read these forums avidly, a noob may not see anything that is completely new to him/her, but I still expect to see applications of force that are new to me and the rest of the noob team.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

But you see, this was my point. There is nothing available to the vets that the noobs havent seen or heard of. What elevates one player from another is just good planning and good play. You might be surprised by a particular trick now and then but if thats what you are expecting to get out of these games I think you have the wrong idea.

Re: Noobs vs. Vets III: Revolution, MA, CBM. Let's get it on!
 

Thats possibly true. I might well. Admittedly seeing things in application can be a big factor in itself, but personally, I have barely touched on reading forum threads. I've read one or two guides, no battle reports, probably a grand total of 6 or 7 threads, and this is my first MP game, nor have I played really extensively in SP. I'm pretty green, but I have a pretty solid grasp of the concepts and the mechanics - particularly the mechanics, since I've played with modding and attempting to balance mods enough that I have had to.

I'm hoping to encounter things I hadn't considered, to learn more options for my own play. I'm a strange type. Ever profiled yourself on your gamer-type? there's social gamers, achievers(many in this game are probably here), killers, etc.

I'm an explorer. To me the fun in a game is doing something I haven't done yet. Going somewhere I haven't been. I deliberately play games without looking at guides, or (in the case of dungeons in WoW or some such) fight bosses and things without already knowing how to beat them, because the most fun part is figuring it out. The fun for me is not in the having won, its in the winning. When I have learned the be all end all I-win-button in a game, I use it once, and quit playing.

From what I hear and from what I've seen however, there is no such button here.

From what I've seen however, and no negativity intended, is that what seems to define a vet is not ingenuity, or cleverness, but experience. That's a bit of a tautology of course, but what I mean to say is that among the things that define a vet are simply knowing the probably course of action of a person in a given situation, knowing tricky little mechanics that noobs don't know yet, and simply knowing how troops tend to match up - noobs tend to go overkill when attacking something, or underestimate and not fight hard enough. The vet has seen enough battles to know the right amount of force needed to do each action.

And again, no insult intended, but I haven't run into somebody beating me with what appears to be a superior cleverness or ingenuity, but generally with experience, luck, or situational advantage.