Re: When are we starting?
 

ok, found the list of players... so
C'tis - Puffyn - recieved
Ermor - Zen - waiting
Man - The Panther - waiting
Marignon - Sedna - recieved
Pangaea - Alneyan - recieved
Pythium - Quantum Mechani - waiting
T'ien Ch'i - PashaDawg - recieved
Ulm - Griffin - waiting
Vanheim - Djo - recieved


Again, send pretender files (from the newlords directory) to The_Tauren[AT]Comcast[DOT]net

Re: When are we starting?
 

I haven't heard from Quantum Mechani for at least a few days. Anyone has news from him? I will drop Griffin a mail about sending in his Pretender; you can probably get Panther's Pretender without my meddling.

The settings are on the first post of the thread, as usual. The map is wrong though (it should be Inland as main choice), and two entries have two different settings: in those cases, go with Panther's suggestions, as the balance leaned that way. I will edit the settings to reflect that though.

Re: When are we starting?
 

Möööööööööp!

<- A Honk!

Sorry for the delay, i sent my pretender a few minutes ago!

Re: When are we starting?
 

Actually, no one except Panther really said anything about independents strength.

I'm ok with whatever is decided, but I'd like something a little softer, maybe independents at 7.3 or so.

(OK, newbie question: v. diff research, indies=9, non-combat pretender, not playing Ulm or other nation with heavy inf starting army: appoximately on what turn would you expect to start expanding?)

(edited for clarity)

Re: When are we starting?
 

That would depend on your luck, and your Pretender. I usually pick a Pretender able to take provinces without breaking a sweat, thanks to a couple of spells (Invulnerability, Mistform, Mirror Image, Body Ethereal, Personal Luck, Quickness, Breath of Winter, Soul Vortex and Fire Shield among others. Oh, and Air Shield too. A Virtue with Invulnerability, Mistform, Body Ethereal, Quickness and Luck/Mirror Image works quite well, among other things.

Otherwise, Centaur Warriors for Pangaea should do the trick, perhaps massed longbowmen for Man, maybe the Elephant/high morale troops combination for Arcoscephale and Caelum, or even assassins... I am not too sure of the specifics though, as my troops usually do poorly against the independents. The only time I did manage to slaughter independents was with Arcoscephale and a Fire-9 blessing: the Pretender, a priestess and ten Heart Companions had the firepower to take down knight provinces while only taking a few losses, and Fire-9 is cheap. Problem is, that sort of setup won't be much of a help later on in the game, as I found out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: When are we starting?
 

Well, I am king of stalling right now. I am working hard on Selena, my Great Enchantress Pretender, and I have pretty much decided what she ought to look like. Except for 2-3 scales which I have not fully resolved as yet.

I will be out of town from Friday-Tuesday this weekend and am not sure how much time I will have to devote to Dominions while on my vacation. So if we do wait for all players to chime in and post their Turn 0 yarns, I will not be complaining at all.

Furthermore, I think that if the missing players do not post Turn 0 yarns, then I think they may not be all that dedicated to writing the later yarns either. At my last check, there were still three missing Turn 0 yarns.

Just my opinion, whatever that is worth.

One thing of note, I plan of putting things in my yarns that will sort of reveal what I am doing (like my pretender choice for instance). I will also be doing thematic things instead of maybe what is best for winning the game. But this game is not so much about winning as it is about writing, in my opinion.

Oh, and both those lizards and the Inquisitors scare me already! What happened to the Age of Man???


Panther

Re: When are we starting?
 

My own yarn 0 has been delayed due to final exams, if anyone is wondering. Final exams aren't half as bad here as they are somewhere else, but they still make me busy. The worst is over now though, so I should be able to finish my yarn in the next couple of days; writing some more serious English after having done English papers is much harder than writing some serious English to get away from mind-boggling Spanish. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: When are we starting?
 

Let's see, about that djo question on taking independants.

When I last played Vanheim, I got a fire 9 bless. I then got a prophet capable of casting divine blessing (must be a level 4 priest) and built as many vans as I could afford each turn. I took my first level 9 independant on Turn 4 doing this (I did choose the weakest looking neighbor), using the starting light infantry as targets and the vans on the edge to do the killing. By the time I lost much of my starting infantry several provinces later, I had enough fire-9 vans to take pretty much anything, usually losing either 0 or 1 van per province. Also, when I later got Alt 3 plus Evo 1, my phoenix could go solo against most level 9 indies.

The van is the single best national troop in the game for the price, imho. You should not build much of anything else, unless you want some valkries for wait and attack rear. However, if you do not take a high-power bless, then the choice of the van is not as clear.

Later, when you run into human enemies, you will need meat shields to support your vans. Summons work best for this.


Panther

Re: When are we starting?
 

Multiple things to say...

Re: start date: I'm patient--if people want to wait a bit to start, fine by me; I think it's more important to be steady once we've started.

I second that...and I don't intend to use anyone's info against them, not in a big way, anyway. If one's writing goes well, one may find one's characters refusing to do what you want in any case.


And thanks, Panther, for the advice; that's just about exactly what I was seeing in my test games. The 9 indies look scary after getting used to 6's in SP. And I feel bad about all those poor huskarls dying, too.

I had a blast doing F9 as Marignon in SP--flaming flocks of flagellents!

Re: When are we starting?
 

I just resent my pretender. Apparently it wasn't sent when I originally thought.

Also about the game being about winning and/or fun. My particular choice of nation with the game settings should seal the deal with I'm in it for the fun and not the winning. Ermor on very difficult research is about as much of a handicap as I can get. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

My pretender chassis was chosen because of story and I kept the pretender with the best titles http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif.

My story will be a little slow in the beginning. As much of my backstory and coming about of the nation of Ermor has quite a bit of entwining with other nations. But don't worry I will be writing out my yarns as quick as humanly possible.

Re: When are we starting?
 

It seems like we have a pretty committed bunch here. I can certainly understand how some people might want to see their position in the world before writing too much story. I, for instance, need the names of my neighboring provinces. I would suggest we get this started as soon as everyone submits pretenders, instead of waiting for all turn zeros. We can always be a little lenient with extensions for people who need them.

I'd vote for indys at 7 rather than 9. I want my story to be event-driven, and that's harder to do if events just happen slowly.

Re: When are we starting?
 

Ok, Ive got all the pretender files, so we can start as soon as the settings have been decided.

Re: When are we starting?
 

Yay. I think the only dispute is about independent strength. Anyone else have an opinion?

Re: When are we starting?
 

Indy 7 sounds good to me, just to be different from the usual 6 or 9.

Re: When are we starting?
 

Ok with me.

Re: When are we starting?
 

As I said previously, 7 independents is fine with me.

I also vote for graphs on, which was mentioned (I think only once) upthread.

Re: When are we starting?
 

Independents 7 is fine.

It would be interesting to have graphs on. I vote yea for that, too.

Re: When are we starting?
 

OK:
Dominions 2.16
indy 7
sites 50
graphs on
HoF 15
research very difficult
renaming allowed

Mods:
Pretender Gods 2.0
Spells 1.8
Scales 1.2
Yarnspinners.dm

The first turn has been sent.
Now, what hosting schedule do you want to run on? 72 hours?

Re: When are we starting?
 

Yay, the turns are starting...

One question: I made my pretender with mod version 2.01, since I thought that was the one we are using. Will there be a problem with the game if we proceed using 2.0? Did anyone else make their pretender using the other mod?

Re: When are we starting?
 

I used 2.01, too.

Turn frequency: we're aiming for 3/week, but we didn't discuss the details. I figure 2-2-3 days, with the 3 across the weekend? Maybe turns due on (for ex.) Tues-Thurs-Sun, or something like that (subject to what Tauren finds convenient)?

Someone more knowledgeable than I should change the thread title from "open" to "running".

Re: When are we starting?
 

Gosh - - - I just used the latest mod, too... I think. So many mods!! Eeek.

Re: When are we starting?
 

And it was well worth it, those are some awesome titles. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: When are we starting?
 

2.0 and 2.01 are the same to the best of my knowledge, except that 2.01 has a tidier layout; that would be logical too, as a major change would have resulted in a 2.1 version.

The topic of the thread has been changed; only the creator of the thread can do so (and mods, of course), so you could not have done so yourself Djo.

Alneyan the delayed (away today, and exams on the next two days).

Re: When are we starting?
 

Well, the latest version of the pretenders on Zens site is 2.0, so I just grabbed that one. Since nobody had an invalid pretender, we should be able to play anyway...

For the hosting schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday would be easy for me. But then, if you want to write the yarns over the weekend, I wont host this first turn intil next Wednesday, so that the 3rd turn hosts on Monday.

Yarnspinners.dm
 

Ugh! I need Yarnspinners.dm. Where do I find that? Also, once I find it, what do I do with it?

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Nevermind. I found it.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Edit: Zen is a moron. Please don't feed the monkeys.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

It was attached in the Wiki before, but I cannot find it either. It has been attached somewhere in the thread too: direct link is here .

On another note, I am out of the woods this Monday in the morning; after that, I am done with school until October (unless I flunk one of my exams badly). I should be able to get back into spinning by then, or possibly either, if I am not too committed to English phonetics.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

How does one flunk an exam in a not-bad way? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif Just kidding, good luck, you're gonna ace it for sure! [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/PointUp.gif[/img]

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I second that!!

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Ah, if only there were exams on how to build a super combatant, or essays on the fall of Ermor.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I think my exams went well; not a good feeling in my case, but I guess it's too late to worry now. In Alneyanese, flunking not poorly would be getting a grade good enough to pass, but not amazing either (the equivalent of a C, I think)... not technically flunking, of course. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

At long last, my turn 0 yarn has been published. I hope my future yarns will go a bit quicker. There is a catch however: I cannot seem to put my yarn on my Pangaea page. But I should figure out how it is supposed to work. I hope. Looks like it was only the dreaded "you are browsing your cache" error, and everything seems to be working fine.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Ah, the typical over-achiever! That's what you get for never actually failing a class...

Why dontcha put a link to the wiki in the first post? Just for convenience's sake.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Well, I actually have an incentive for doing well in exams this time, so it should solve the opposition between "not good enough" and "as if I cared". That, and I really have no excuse if I don't do well in English.

Putting a link in the first post would be too easy Jurri. We are supposed to be in a bureaucracy, and people should have to work to get something. Nay, I will add a link in the first post: though I didn't come up with this idea, it is a good one. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif Can you say "inflated ego"?

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

What incentive is that? Someone paying you cash or something? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Speaking of the first post, wouldn't it make sense to replace the hypotheticals with definites? For posterity's sake... And if we are in a bureaucracy I want to be the stamp-guy! You know, the one who does nothing but stamps his approval on everything and is always away eating lunch.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Well, the incentive is a bit complicated: let's just say it involves having an easier time getting abroad. I don't have anything against cash though. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

It wouldn't make sense to make the first post any clearer. Done; I had planned on tidying the first post all along, but I pushed that to tomorrow, and then to the following day, and... You know how it is.

You cannot be the stamp guy, unless you have the proper credits. *Winks*

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Well, this is very bad. I have never seen a starting spot quite like I have this game.

1. There is an enemy at 6:00 with one square between our capitols.
2. There is another enemy at 10:00 again with one square between our capitols.
3. And, if that is not enough, there is a third enemy at 2:00 with just 2 squares between our capitols.

So, I have exactly 2 neighboring provinces I can take before I must declare war on somebody just to expand into independents. Certainly, Inland with 9 players has enough room so the capitols ought to have a wee bit of breathing room.

I think something is wrong with Version 2.16. I have noticed similar horrid starting locations before under this version. It is almost like they no longer take into account how far away the people start like it used to do.

Needless to say, this game is completely unplayable for me.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I have one enemy at 12:00, so I guess it is you Panther. I *hope* it is you, anyway.

You will not only have to declare war one of your neighbours, but pray you can actually defeat two or three of your neighbours at once: you are a mutual threat, after all, and the wisest course of action for your neighbours would be to take you down (pretty much like your own course of action is to take any of us down fast).

You have my vote for a restart. And good luck to Tauren if he tries to put fixed starting locations on the map; warp-around maps are much harder to handle (or it is just me, and my inability of seeing such maps as actually round).

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I have one capitol-adjacent black candle on turn 2, so I may be part of that clump.

I'll know more next turn.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Panther's starting position is unacceptable. We want everyone to get a good starting spot and have FUN!! We should start over. Is there a way to give everyone defined starting spots?

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

It can easily be done with a couple of commands Pasha. Are you volunteering to choose nine balanced starting spots? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif Though I guess starting positions do not have to be equal, so long as they are fairly well spread.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I have no problem with the task of choosing (assuming no one objects to a player having such knowledge), but I would not know how to program it.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I have yet to receive my turn 2, but my part of the world looked pretty empty as of turn 1 -- so maybe that's why Panther's feeling squeezed. I don't particularly care one way or another about a restart, so if other people are unhappy with their starts then it's fine by me. I just want us all to get yarnin'.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

The command to be used is #specstart [nation number] [province number]. You could also set all provinces save for nine as no-start, but that would take a lot more time.

Who picks the provinces is not for me to decide however(I've got to get out of my habit of administring). If Tauren goes this way, there is no need to tell us about the starting provinces either: he can keep the .map file secret, so we would not know where are all the other capitals.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I support Panther's call for a restart (although he did not explicitly ask for it). This is a high investment, one-of-a-kind game, and I'd appreciate the same courtesy were it to happen to me. Although if I am indeed part of the clump, I guess it has!

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

After seeing all the black candles near my capitol on turn 2, I asked Tauren if I truly was so darn near several opponents. Here is what he found using the master password:

1. I am in province 9.
2. Someone (probably Alneyan) is in 137.
3. Someone (probably djo) is in 25.
4. The third person (unknown) is in 17.

In case you didn't know, you can type #9 'enter' to locate province 9.

Take a look and you will be amazed at the positioning. Three of the five provs adjacent to my capitol are also adjacent to an enemy capitol. The only thing I could reasonably do is to drop out and stale every turn until one of my neighbors became strong enough to take the 125 PD in my capitol.

But I would rather play...

Tauren suggested to re-start the game under Version 2.15 and make sure the capitols are approximately spread evenly before mailing. We both feel it is a 2.16 problem, and I suppose I ought to post the turn file on the other forum (except I have to go to work now).

Panther

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

I suppose restarting is only fair. Once the game is started in 2.15 we can switch over to 2.16 so that everyone can have correct battle replays.

I too am anxious to start telling my story, so how about we try to get back to the original schedule and host turn 4 on Monday? Essentially quickhost to get us back on our weekly schedule-- the first few turns require so little time I hope this won't be a great burden on anyone.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Now that the turn 0 yarns are done, I agree with Sedna to do the first 3 turns quickly after a restart. We are probably already all working on turn 3 yarns anyway, though they may have to be modified with new starting positions.

Re: Yarnspinners.dm
 

Ok, so, Ill just restart the game again, but with 2.15. Then Ill just move it to 2.16 before generating the first turn, so youll still be playing under that version.
Ill host the turns as soon as I get all the files, and hopefully we can finish the first 2 turns before the weekend.

puffyn, the last couple emails I sent you have bounced, with a weird error message. Do you have an alternative address?

I think we can rule out 2.16
 

So my home province is right next door to the inquisition's best buds in the whole world, Ermor. Thematically, I like starting close to Ermor, but this is a little close for comfort.

Not that the Inquisition is afraid! We would happily purge the undead from our lands, but perhaps Zen would object.