Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I may regret asking this, but what is possibly so drastically different about CB from an RP perspective? If there is one thing I've tried to maintain in CB it's the same IW theme (despite many suggestions to add units or other drastic measures). I just wonder how some units being a cheaper, and some spells and items being cheaper/easier to cast/forge could be such a factor, unless satyrs costing 10 gold is a critical part of the story...

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I didnt mean to disparage the mod. I can see where the changes definetly boost the MP gaming. Making Carrion Woods 0 level and Vinemen 3 per cast is a great boost along with the other changes. In fact, they are so good that its part of the problem. I suppose I could ignore them and play my usual style but it feels so wrong.

An obvious choice would be to take a pretender with at least 5d6n and a ton of dominion strength and growth scales. Then choose your spell research to move quickly toward the unholy priest spells insupport of plant armies. Probably take Carrion Dragon or Mother of Monsters instead of Lord of the Wild. Being able to cast Carrion Woods on turn 8? even sooner if you search while you expand. Thats a powerful temptation. And you would want to expand connectedly in an amoeba style building lots of temples as you go. The result would definetly be competitive. And Lord of the Wild has become a worthwhile SuperCombatant which I am sure some people loved. The changes just were not in the direction I play Pangaea altho they probably are in the direction that most people try to play it. Its a much more Ulmish format now.

But I was going for Lord of the Wild. Maenads to do the local expansion while I built and scattered stealth armies. Probably 4d,4n,4b and dom5, turmoil 3, sloth 2, heat 1, growth 2, luck 3, magic 3.

"I have taken the mantle to lead my people thru these troubling times. I have had them drop the titles of Lord of Revelry and Lord of the Hunt. I am now Primal, the Natural Disaster, the Shadow, the King of the Crossroads.

Other non-humans have created nations. That is not a problem. We have a nation. But this newcomer MAN creates a nation, then another nation, then another nation, until there are as many man nations as there are non-human nations. The future paints a picture I do not like. It seems apparent that the non-humans must band together to battle this threat. After Man is gone in his many forms THEN we can fight out the rest amoungst us.

I do not wish to change my people into that which I wish to fight. Our strength has never been in armored armies matching across the land. We shall send out scouts and hopefully find neighbors who are non-human to ally with. We shall send out quiet armies in support of those allies while keeping our own nation small and low profile. We shall watch the battles of others as they weaken each other. When the time is right, we shall strike from the shadows. "

Anyway I had in mind something like that. Like I said, there is nothing in cbm to keep me from doing it anyway. Maybe later I will change my mind but for now it seems really wrong to ignore the obvious advantages that cbm grants. And Ive tried RPing that format but it just doesnt feel like my Pangaea. Id rather pull out than do it injustice.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I always think of CB as increasing choices, not pointing to a particular path. i don't think the carrion / undead route is a no-brainer in CB, since once people get some anti-undead capabilities, it can be a dead end strategy. Its just more viable but undead mastery pretty much eliminates the main threat of undead Pangea. Anyway, I think it would be sad to drop out just because you felt a mod compelled a certain direction. IMHO that's not the case at all,

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

The old one is locked though, i think.

Nothing really - it's an old pic from the AD&D player's handbook of some old guy smoking a pipe on a dice. Just showing my props to the grandfather of fantasy gaming, gary gygax, rip :)

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Personally I would be very wary of using carrion woods even in CB, pop death can be significant and you have no guarantee it wouldn't be dispelled. If it truly is a no brainer though, that would definitely mean something that needs to be changed.

Even assuming for a moment it's by far the best choice though, it kind of pales compared to the unthematic options encouraged by the base game.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I've tried the early Carrion Woods Pangaea several times in SP and it definitively doesn't seem to me as easy to me as it looked at first glance (consider managing all that freespawn with limited undead leadership!). Funny and challenging, I'd say :) Still it's not the only way to play CBM Pangaea at all!

I humbly hope mr Gandalf will rethink his decision... If you do, remember that CBM makes Touch of Madness cost 1N gem! (important if you were planning a maenad factory IMHO) Probably quantum_mechani was finding all those inadvertently berserkr Pans annoying :D (still I'd prefer ToM made an higher range instead, imho Pangea needs the spell badly ;) )

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

@Tifone, thats nice but I dont tend to use the Maenads much. That is still marching-army. I see also some cost changes to "appropriate" units.

I like to play nations like Pangaea and Caelum and Arcos because they support play other than Ulmish armies just using another nations units.

Now if he made Maenads stealth, or made the plants steath (which would probably be more thematic) then Id be thrilled. Or made the Pans or Pandemoniacs assassins. The Dryads seducers.

He gave Lord of the Forest 4 dominion-based animal summons, and 2 menu'd animal summons. But unfortunately thats not one of Pangaeas gods.

Im not saying these are suggestions. Just that they would tend to impact the Pangaea that I play.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

AFAIK so deep changes would have been out of quantum_mechanic's purpose for the mod. :) But I'm sure he can answer better :D

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I think I've lost the train of this discussion, I thought the problem was you thought CB already changed the theme too much? Surely stuff like adding abilities to units would be much more intrusive than changing costs.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Yes it would. Thats why those are non-suggestions.
Im just trying to point out the Pangaea I play vs one that others like.

I didnt say that CB changed the theme too much. It just seemed to go down one line. If I tended to play Carrion Dragon and Carrion Woods then I would be totally in love with CB all the time. Im just not the kindof person to role play Carrion Dragon or Mother of Monsters. In real life I have had jobs involving animals but I do not have anything close to a green thumb. My preferred view of Pangaea isnt much plant-based.
In an MP game I could get into it but not an RP or Solo one.
If someone wants to take my spot then feel free to do so.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

But, everyone seems to think that the carrion route is still a risky and probably unwise one - just not as completely unfeasible as in basegame. Your way of playing the nation would certainly still work just as well as in vanilla Gandalf, wouldn't it?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Yay, that's what I humbly think too. Now of course, don't want to make mr Gandalf feel forced to play a game he maybe decided for other reasons he doesn't want :)
I think CBM just makes another way of playing pangaea viable, along with "stealthy Pangaea" and "blessed white centaurs pangaea" and who knows how many others :cool: I humbly suggest to give your old pangaea a try ;) we would miss ya in the game I think mr Gandalf :(

(anyway, carrions are fun imho :D )

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

In truth I havent played CB other than some short test runs since finding out that its part of this game. I felt the changes to Pangaea were awfully tempting but I can accept the expert opinions of others who have played with CB that its not as automatic as it seems.

I will return to the game for as long as I can hold out against the CB nations

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Ulm bashing from the perverted half men?!? The hedonistic goat rapists have the audacity to disparage the way pure men go about things? Steel is not rigid as iron, you will find the Ulmish armies both flexible and swift. Bring your preconceptions to the battlefield at your peril twisted thing. Before my hair grows gray you will take your place pulling a plow and give up your pretentions of being more than a beast, then you will know of the Ulmish way things are done.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

We appear to still be waiting on the following players:

irenicus23
quantum_mechani
KO
evilhomer
Ylavli


And can I just check who's playing Pythium?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

My ermor pretender was also missed but uploaded just now.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Hmm, it's been a while. How do I send my pretender to the llamaserver?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Hmm, think I found an old one. pretenders(at)llama...

Game is Chronicles right?

Wu, Emperor of Untimely Death, awaits his destiny.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Chronicles_MA

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Found out the hard way :) . The server informed me there was no such game. Took a look at the server page and figured _MA.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

And don't forget to use CBM to create your pretender. The costs are often different!

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

pretender sent

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Hmmm, I still don't know who's uploaded the Pythium pretender, unless I've missed somebody changing nations in among all the discussion. As such, I've bumped the player limit up to 18 while I figure out what's going on, to make sure all the authentic players have space.

i should have set a master password...

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

You still can. Go to "Game settings and admin options", and then "Alter game settings".

You can also delete Pythium's pretender, if you decide you need to.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

The game hasnt started yet so you can. I highly recommend it. It seems that every game has SOMETHING down the road which requires a masster password.

I would actually suggest that Llamabeast set one to something random on every game as a default with an option for the game admin to change it to something else if they wish.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

That's a good idea Gandalf, I'll put it on my list.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Any word about the missing players? Or about the wiki?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

No word on the missing players, no explanation for Pythium. I'll be sorting out what people have already written and sorting it into a wiki in the near future and will be contacting you all about the details soon.

If nothing changes by Friday (say... 7pm GMT?) I will be forced to boot Pythium and start with 15 players. That's still plenty for the map, so no problem there. After that I'll get back to organising an EA game.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Oh, can one of the mods open up the other game thread please? It'll be a lot easier to transplant the story posts so far if they can be quoted to get at the markup (well, marginally).

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I am incredibly sorry to say I can no longer partecipate. My PC has gone and I'm posting from a extremely old pc which can't handle dom3's late battles without taking 1 minute from one casted spell to another (takes one hour to process a battle, no real way I can watch those and react with proper tactics). My current funds and duties don't allow me to replace the gaming PC soon so... I apologize to Lokean and all the other guys. :(

Have fun - I will read the chronicles! ;) See ya in a sequel maybe :cool:

(Remember to boot Aby from the game)

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

You'd have to check with one of the more technically proficient Dom3 players, but I believe there's command line switches that reduce the rendering for battles, which might make it tolerable...

EDIT

Yeah, try starting it with -xxx as a switch. It makes the game hideously ugly, but it speeds up battles. Other switches that might speed up battles are:

--nolightfx
--partamount 1
--renderpath 0

But I'm not sure if they're included in the general graphics quality switch.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

The most important one is probably --nograss, and you can press the number keys during battle to set the amount of battle background detail (lower is less). If all else fails, use "w" for background off.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

So, the wiki says we are using cumulative VPs? When we were discussing them earlier for some reason I thought we were talking normal vps. How many points would it be to victory then?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Wouldn't late game battles benefit most from reducing the particle count and the render path?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

No, sorry to have confused you. Victory is by accumulating victory points, but victory points are not cumulative. You need to be sitting on 16 victory points worth of provinces in midsummer in order to win. I'll go clarify that, shall I?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

For those still generating their god and trying to get the epithets (titles)right then Ive posted a tip on using a macro program. (in WinXP)
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=41656

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

If somebody depends on specific pretender titles for the story, I could just give them out, too, though, before you waste too much time on this. Don't get too creative though. :P

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Ich,
I thought the "no grass" prevented your mages from smoking dope prior to spell casting. ;)
-SSJ

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Hey, those commands worked great! I'm in again if you still want the old Tifone with you. :) Thanks a lot

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I've heard nothing from Pythium in here, so I'm going to have to remove them.

I'm about to create the game, initial hosting will be 48 hours.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Lokean:

Why midsummer? Only cumulative VPs are added midsummer. Normal ones are added when conquered.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Yep, that's what I was thinking too. You conquer them, yours they are.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Game should have an option to play with Graphs off, but with VP graphs on.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Just my mistake then. Disregard it.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Hi all. I will be away over christmas. I will still be able to play, but I will not be able to access my normal mail account unless I go through some hassle. Thus I would like the llamaserver to send my turns to my not-that-frequently-used hotmail adress. Who do I contact? Lokean, Llama himself, or is it possible to do by yourself from the admin page of the game?

jesus.osterman (at) hotmail if anyone authorized to fix it reads this post.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Emperor of Untimely Death ponders too much on the well being of his populace.

The Hidden One has already acted.

The distant people worshiping this Princess of Crafts seems industrious and curious. An embassy will be set up in her lands so that her subjects can present the imperial ministers with gifts of gold and marvelous contraptions.

The Emperor will allow all human ambassadors to kiss the feet of his his ministers. Such is His grace that he will allow ambassadors the right to a seasonal visit to his embassies. At the height of each season petitions are accepted. Gifts should be presented prior to any petition made lest the minister in question might not feel obliged to take said petition to the Emperor.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Dont know about "should" but it could be done. Turn off the in-game scores, turn on the scores.html dump, have the postexec script edit out just the Vp scores and post that to the webspace for the game. IN fact since VP is at the end its one of the easiest to trim out.
I will add that to my options list.

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

I'm away from 28 to 2 :o

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

So did we decide we should make all diplomacy public? I think that would really add a nice touch, maybe a special wiki area for it?

Re: Chronicles - Inspired by Baalz, engineered by Lokean - Pre-game discussion
 

Not all diplomacy, or it wouldn't make sense imho (secret pacts, much boring trading), and even a bit out of character for whoever decides to narrate the chronicles as an infantryman (or similar) of his nation ;)
I think the public diplomacy should be just some nice touches.

BTW, I think I can rightly suppose that the diplomacy is Machiavellian/Vegas, true? Sounds strange to write "we have put our stealthy armies in the enemy territory, ready to strike the vital targets. Our armies have massed on the borders or in the labs, ready to invade or teleport inside the filthy enemy nation. Our lord the bloodthirsty Prince of Death Krakakazaurum the Eater of Newborn Children gives the command to attack! Chaaaaaaaaaaaaarg... oh wait. We had a NAP-3. Gotta be honourable and wait 3 months." :D