Re: PBEM
 

Hmm, since you were not born a lawyer, so logically there was a point before which you could physically cheat or lie. What happened during this point??? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Re:Game restarted!!!
 

I always thought that you could tell a lawyer was lying because his lips moved! Or maybe it was Graham Grassbahl who is spreading these bald-faced untruths about the peaceloving nation of Caelum who is getting UNMERCIFULLY invaded by his aggressive neighbors!

Anyway, I see that the server is back up. So I restarted the game and it now seems to work. This also had the HUGE advantage of resetting the timer to 24 hours so that the four people who had been unable to move will not stale.

It would be very bad if this fine game were be ruined by Pasha Dawg or Deccan or Pickles getting a stale during such a critical time with their ongoing unprovoked invasions of a peaceloving neighboring nation.

So - you warmongers get your turns in!

As for peeking at peoples turns, as host, I have the master password in this game so I believe that I could conceivable look at other peoples turns. But if I had to stoop to that in order to win, then I would either have to shoot myself or become a lawyer due to the shame of it all. Besides, since I have consistently failed to predict where Deccan or Pasha and even Arco (his attack on my capitol was a huge surprise to me) were moving their armies during their invasions, so they can easily attest to the fact that I have never looked at anybody's turns. Nor will I ever do this.

So, my point is that I would have no problems trusting an honorable person hosting even though they could peek at other peoples turns. Someone needs to have a master password anyway in case something goes wrong and a turn file or two needs to be sent to Illwinter or to convert a missing player to AI.

I will also say that I had forgotten to assign a password in my Mictlan game and on two occasions, I saw stupid things in my turns that I simply could not remember actually doing. While it could be due to my increasing age, it also could be that my opponent whom I was at war with peeked and did something to me. I prefer to believe the former, much as it pains me to admit that memory is the second thing that goes.

I just hope my daughter in pre-law at the University of Caelum (formerly known as the University of Oklahoma) never reads this thread!

Re:Game restarted!!!
 

Yay, it looks like it works fine now. Thanks Panther. Now I can go back to killing evil Caelumnites...

Though it looks like it's Pasha's turn to be put through the false horror grinding mill...

Re: PBEM
 

An ontological change occurred when I took the oath for admission into the Bar. Someone even had to attest to my good moral character before the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Workin\'
 

The game seems to be working again, and I have taken my turns. (It's always fun to be the Last person to go every so often, because you get to play two turns in a row... yeeehaw!!)

Panther
 

Good shock & awe tactics, Panther. Can you keep it up? "Is that all you got?" <hopping from side to side with my dukes up...>

Re: Panther
 

I'm having connection problems again. Tried many, many times.

Re: Panther
 

Same here. I restarted the game and it seemed to clear up once again...

Re: Panther
 

Yep, works now. Thanks Panther.

Re: Panther
 

Ermor has broken Mictlan's siege of its capital. Jotunheim has lain siege on Caelum's capital and Abysia decides that Pythium's newly Acashicked provinces are too tasty to pass up. Meanwhile, Machaka prowls around looking for easy targets of opportunity...

Re: Panther
 

The president of the University of Caelum showed up unannounced in the chambers of his highness.

"Oh noble invisible one!"
"Yeah, what do you want this time?"
"Uh, well, sir, we are trying to understand this odd message from Grasbahl, sir."
"And?"
"And we think we have it!"
"Well, it's about time. My tax money is disappearing from paying all you idiots. I ought to get something for that hard cash. So spit it out."
"Well, sir, we have decided that Grashbahl is drunk!"
"DRUNK???"
"Yup. He is making absolutely no sense. And his army is wandering aimlessly about in our territory. First west. Then south. Then north. Now east. Who knows where he is going next???"
"So, this means he is drunk?"
"Yes sir."
"How do you figure that?"
"Ah, it was my own daughter who found it!"
"Found what, you idiot?"
"It's a little known mathematical formula called a drunken walk! Grasbahl's actions match the formula almost exactly! I told you that sending my daughter to college for a useful degree like engineering was going to work out great!"
"Well, at least this means we can predict where he is going next, right?"
"Um, not exactly."
"What??? Just plug that idiotic drunken Grasbahl into the equation and tell me."
"We did that sir."
"And???"
"And each direction is equally likely."
"I see... So what good is this then?"
"It advances our knowledge base, sir."
"But I am paying your university for USEFUL knowledge. Like Ghost Riders. Or Niefel Flames. Something I can actually use, darn your hide! My provinces are revolting from all the unrest due to the tax money I am sinking into your bottomless pit. And you give me this? The drunken walk??? Get out of my sight!"
"Yes sir." And the old man shuffled out of the sacred chamber at once.

Re: Panther
 

Yes, yes.... what IS Machaka up to?

And, it surprises me that the Ghost King's minions know so little of the structure of the Ulm Government. Everyone knows that His Highly Esteemed Corpulence, Graham Grassbahl, has nothing to do with the operations of the Ulm military. He is primarily a liaison between His Most Esteemed Highness, PASHA, the Black Iron Lord of Ulm, and the greater Ulm public. He is also a major player in Ulm diplomacy, culinary criticism, and the keeping of the Imperial Poodle Ponies. Perhaps, if the Ghost King spent less of his budget on his fat propaganda machine and more on basic espionage, he would have known this by now. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I can tell that ULM has already won this war. It's just a matter of time. Hmmmm... perhaps, we should just skip to the part where CAELUM pays substantial reparations to Arco, Jotunheim and Ulm. Hmmmm? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

Edit (by His Highly Esteemed Corpulence): “Here! Here! Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Simplicity itself!” <Burp> http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif

Re: Panther
 

Here, here, PASHA Black Iron Lord of Ulm I second your call for substantial reparations. Garuda the four armed Blue light of Arco is just on his way back from the netherworld and suggests that IF Caelum capitulates immediately he may show a little mercy.
I have learned all the lessons I need from Caelum and will attempt to give some in return. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
Perhaps if the winged fiends of Caelum wernt so agressive this unfortunate war may have been avoided and we all could have wandered the fields and meadows of our lands singing songs of praise for our pretenders. A dream cruelly cut short by CAELUM the black Panther. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

State o’ Anime
 

Ah, wouldn't be so nice to see the world and know what other nations are doing. Perhaps launch a vicious compulsory freedom mission from time to time. But nooo. I have to sit behind my crusty old castle getting pounded by the Pickled Armies. No world domination for this Lord Master emerging Head Dead Honcho desired Chief favoring Commander yet Boss erstwhile Chieftain truculent Cock (in the old sense of the word please!) nascent Dominator hopeful Head anticipative Headman auspicious Hierarch who has little to do than think up job titles.

Re: State o’ Anime
 

Yes, Abysia seems to have taken advantage of the fact that I am in a somehwat weakened state from fighting Vanheim.

However, I used regular troops in those battles (Principes), and have many more goodies up my sleeve, waiting for such an event such as this.

A recommendation for an immediate withdraw from my territories is called for.


Don't you think all the gem income is going to something??

Krool
Pythium

Re: State o’ Anime
 

Ah yes KroolDeath, of course the Gem income is going to something. I expect this, I just want to see it.

Show Me the product of the gem income!!!

Show Me what you've got!!

Stop Me if you can!

Grim Knight, the opportunist, has spoken.

Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

DECLARATION OF DISGUST
with Imposition of Sanctions

We, the undersigned Noble Lords of the Empire of Ulm, being duly authorized by divine fiat issued by His Most Holy PASHA, the Black Iron Lord of Ulm, do hereby find the base villain, THE PANTHER, pretender and scourge of the universe, to be guilty of scores of heinous acts such as:

He hath polluted the environment with thaumaturgic garbage and refused to clean up after himself. He hath betrayed the natural liberty inherent to the ontological essence of his meek winged folk and hath enslaved them and made them do his evil deeds while he worked through them vicariously. He hath overtaxed them without due representation and hath flaunted this wrong by lavishing gifts on his malignant minions at bawdy parties of Jello wrestling and nude ping-pong.

He hath betrayed the sacred trust among God Pretenders by commencing hostile actions against the peaceful folk of Jotunheim and Acroscephale without cause and for only unjust and greedy self promotion. In spite of courteous missives from the Black Iron Lord of Ulm, he hath ignored all encouragement to cease his wicked warmongering.

He hath murdered and dismembered the cute, furry bunnies known by the names of Floppy, Quiver Cottontail, Beevie, and Scootie, for the sole purpose of indulging his sadistic bloodthirstiness. He laughed when poor Scootie begged. He gathered all his malignant minions to watch while he sliced off defenseless Floppy’s ears. His sickness doth run deep.

WHEREFORE, we hereby declare THE PANTHER anathema. He is hereby irrevocably excommunicated from the Sacred Brotherhood of Uzzurbleeshewfooth.

FURTHERMORE, upon the authority granted to us by said divine fiat, we impose sanctions upon said PANTHER. No further imports or exports of goods or services shall be made from the Empire of Ulm to or from the Dictatorship of Caelum. All Caelum assets within the Dominion of Ulm are hereby frozen and seized as reparations rightfully due to the Black Iron Lord of Ulm.

This we sign upon our sacred honor:

/s/ Sir Ircon Teabiskut, High Lord Secretary of State

/s/ Sir Gullschmire Kaffeemitmilch, High Lord Secretary of the Treasury

/s/ Sir Graham Grassbahl, His Almost Most Highness

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

In addition to the proclamation of our dearly beloved allies of Ulm, of whom only one their many virtues we giants of Jotunheim hold in great esteem is their highly cultivated and refined taste in haute cuisine and fine wines and to whom we are greatly appreciative for their recent gift of a most delicious recipe namely "Caelum wing flambé marinated in thick mammoth stew" and with "iced cider topped with crushed astral pearls" for dessert, we wish to share with the nations of Inland a recent discovery by our scientists that cannot but add to the already mountaineous evidence of the evilness of the pernicious Panther, enemy of all.

Specificially, through the most ingenious reasoning of the very large brains of our best Jotun scientists and the application of the most rigorous methods of statistical analysis available in the pre-scientific period we live in, we have determined that the recent increase in incidence of crying Jotun babies and the loudness of such crying can be perfectly correlated with the noted period during which the hated minions of Panther began the widespread use of the most annoying spell "False Horror".

Our suspicions were confirmed when during a sophisticated experiment one of our scientists muttered "Wooooo" in a creche which resulted in all babies present crying at volumes sufficient to break giant eardrums.

Due to this and the high likelihood that Jotun parents have incurred permanent psychological damage due to the excessive crying from this one concrete example of thaumaturgical pollution directly caused by the evil Panther and alluded to by the respected Ulmites, we call upon all nations of Inland to support us in our demand that Caelum make reparations by providing a free seraph to each household for babysitting duties.

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

Arrrggg, I must duly admit that I am close to being vanquished before I could bring my might to bear on the renegade Abysian nation!

After not being able to connect to the game, I find myself with Abysia on my capital, not two turns after losing my Ghost King to an indy province debacle.

(Side note here: This game has been problematic for me to connect too at times, however, I don't think it would have changed the current scenario one bit, Abysia would still be at my capital given my weakened status from my war with Vanheim. So, not using it as an excuse!).

Of course, I will be fighting to the bitter end, which should be...a turn or two! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Krool the Betrayed

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

Alas my dear Pythium, I would love to join you for a spot of flash-fried salamander tongue, but us giants would have a hard time getting past the uncouth rabble at your gates. Truly, these barbarians have no manners...

Exit stage left
 

Well, at least I held three provinces at one point! Death becomes me I think.

Adios!

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

"Sir! Sir!"
"What now?"
"These new proclamations from our enemies!"
"Yeah, I saw them. Have you converted the one from Ulm into English yet?"
"Um, it IS in English, sir!"
"I don't think so, for it makes absolutely no sense. One more heretofore henceforth or He Hath and I just might scream!"
"That would not be wise sir, for the chicken pen has not been covered up. Your scream might kill them."
"Would it kill you?"
"Um, no sir."
"Darn!"

"Anyway, my dear provost, how can Ulm issue proclamations that are false?"
"Well, it seems that if you put a bunch of nonsense together and sound all high and mighty, people will believe you."
"So, do we have our own proclamation ready like I asked to counter this slander?"
"Yes sir, and we are just waiting for your final approval, sir."
"I see. Finally you are doing something right."
"I will also point out a very important thing about this so-called Declaration of Digust from Ulm, sir."
"And?"
"And their Minister of War did not sign it. We think he has been beheaded for the huge mistake of invading our beloved homeland. Since the war is going so poorly for them, we believe that the Pretender God Pasha was most displeased with the boneheaded advice of the Minister of War."
"Has Pasha sued for peace yet?"
"No, and we believe he will not do so either. So, what are we to do with the Ulm capitol, now that our armies seige it?"
"Take it."
"Very good, sir, very good. And if Ulm wants peace?"
"We may discuss terms AFTER we own his capitol, not before."
"Yes sir."

"Now, what about this message from the giants?"
"Well, sir, that message was deemed fairly accurate. We have been keeping their children AND their soldiers awake with that horror dream. You were most correct when you told me that the lightning bolts were not useful against giants. But this latest spell seems to work just fine against those nasty creatures."
"Ha! They too will rue the day they invaded my sacred homeland!"
"Yes sir, I believe they already do!"
"And what was that thing about our Seraphs for babysitting duties?"
"Um, we will ignore it."
"Right answer! You CAN be taught!"
"Thank you, sir, I think."

"Good. Now about that third nation that invaded us long ago, Arcosoblat or whatever the heck they call themselves. What about them? The war does seem to be going quite well for us down south."
"It is, sir, it is! We have taken everything but their capitol now. We will soon seige and take that too. And we have killed that false pretender twice now."
"Great, so he must be gone forever, just like the false Gods of Ermor and Vanheim?"
"Um, no sir. Garuda is back. It seems that those priestesses persist in calling him back from the dead."
"Darn it, I knew that was going to happen. At least he has all those afflictions we put on him in that Last glorious battle!"
"Um, no. Those same priestesses seem to have healed him. They know an odd spell called healing."
"Well, why don't we learn that same spell then? We need that to heal the injuries of my poor prophet queen that those nasty Ulm knights inflicted!"
"Um, we are working on it, but it seems to be a unique thing for these Arco types."
"Darn it all, and with all I pay to your university! Find me an answer!"
"Yes sir."
"Very well, then. Let's get this proclamation posted."
"Aye, aye, sir. Here it is."

The Proclamation of Mighty Defense:
Let it be known to all false pretenders that any nation which invades the fine country of Caelum like first Arcoswhatever, then Jontunheim, and finally Ulm hath done, such nations shall be burned to the ground! We will show no mercy. We will be eventually be eliminating those three nations from existence, whenever we decide to do so. Let this be a lesson to all false gods in the fine land of Inland!"

/s His Highness Most Holy, to be feared above all else,
Panther of Caelum.


"I like it, I like it!"
"I knew you would, sir!"

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

Yes...This is a pity indeed. Had I known the Abysian's wanted to play at my capital, I would have sent a proper invite and showered them with gifts and friendship.

No, instead, it must end this way.

In revenge, I am going to stale every other turn to drag out my imminent demise. j/k

Krool

Re: Exit stage left
 

Good game and nice defense holding out, Dragon Fire. You Lasted far longer than anyone could have possibly thought! Especially Pickles. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Exit stage left
 

Thanks Panther. Someday I'll play a good game, not just hold on by the merest hope. Keep the tips coming!. And I forgot to leave my testamentary effects! I was so habituated to Pickles’ invasions that I never actually thought he would truly kill me. It figures. I don’t have a will in real life and I have kids and an attorney wife. Making a will would cut into my gaming time.

Re: Exit stage left
 

If this group plays another game please drop me a message on this forum! Thanks.

Re: Exit stage left
 

I think that I will be joining you next turn Dragonfire.
Your battle with pickles was amazing, I wish my defense was as successful.
Panther I bow before your superior tactics and thank you for a lesson well learned next time I will be searching frantically for magic sites from day one and watching the skies for false horrors.
I too want in on the next game with you guys.
Fight to the death.

Re: Exit stage left
 

Me too, me too! And we all know who to dogpile on next game, don't we? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif Just joking.

Re: Exit stage left
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif NEVER!!!! I would rather DIE!!!! <Fist pounding on table, almost knocking the laptop to the floor.> http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

Good writing on the thread!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Hmmmm... I wonder why the Ulm Secretary of Defense did not sign the Declaration of Disgust... hmmmm. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

Krool, here I am knocking at your door loudly.

I assure you I only want to crash the loud party on the other side of the walls.

Why don't you just open the door and let me in?

*Crosses fingers and holds them out of sight behind his back*

I won't cause too much damage, I promise.

Grim Knight

P.S.

Where are the hideous creatures purchased with the gem income?

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

I knew the gem income comment would burn me...

I didn't get a chance to use it!!!

Instead, I've hoarded them like a greedy little (and soon dead) king!

Krool

UGH
 

UHG!! I fear that the Worthy Empire of Ulm has been overrun. We have only a few turns left before all will be black... Good playing, Panther.

Re: Declaration of Disgust, by divine fiat
 

Krool, that is too bad. I was looking forward to battling some gem summoned baddies.

Oh well, I guess that was not to be.

No if this wall would hurry up and crack...

Grim Knight, The Lengthy Beseiger.

Re: UGH
 

Yes, Panther my good buddy and I shall divide the world between us.

So far he has completly vanquished Arco and, if we trust the words of the Black Iron Lord, Ulm will soon be vanquished by him as well.

Meanwhile I have vanquished Vanheim and it looks as if Pythium will soon fall to my flames.

Fire and Ice shall burn you all!!!

Grim Knight, The Destroyer of Kings.

Re: UGH
 

Yeah, too bad the game is over. It has been very fun. But I have to wonder about the wisdom of the victory conditions, and I am the one who put it that way. I thought that it would make for a bigger, bloodier fight, and I suppose it did exactly that. For everyone but Grim Knight is now at war with me since I am winning. I am not at all sure that it would have happened that way under different victory settings.

But it is too late now and the game will end on the next turn. I don't even get the satisfaction of trying to eliminate Jontunheim, though I did kill his ghost king Last turn.

The folks in this game have been very fun adversaries, and we ought to start another one with the same folks having first dibs on joining the new one.

However, the absence of new slots on the Mose Hansen server is a huge problem . Some have suggested PBEM. I was considering hosting a game on my own home computer, except that I don't think I can behind my firewall.

Any ideas? Three of my four ongoing games are ending very soon. I am losing the other two big time now and will be eliminated quickly in both. I would like to start another one right away. I am willing to try a PBEM game, though I am not sure how it works. I think you would not be able to play one turn per day unless you force stales. Anyone have any experience with PBEM?

Re: UGH
 

I'd be up for another game.* I think with PBEM, it would have to be agreed that there would be a scheduled host every day at a specific time (unless there was a special request).

Dragonfire and I have been playing PBEM for a few months. I don't mind it at all. The trick is making sure players are careful to not lose track of the latest .trn and .2h files.

PASHA


*In spite of the fact that my ego is currently brused by such a swift spanking by the Panther-Meister.

Re: UGH
 

The walls should Last awhile. They are made of all the gems I recently uncovered but didn't use!

Krool

Re: UGH
 

It is my personal opinion that Ulm is the single worst nation against Caelum. Pretty much any other nation can deal against the false horror spam if they go the right magic or troop path. But Ulm is too one-dimensional to change its ways.

The fundamental problem with Ulm vs. Caelum is that the smiths always target the false horrors and kill their own troops plus a few horrors that would dissappear after the battle ends anyway. My son says they ougth to make the mages never target summons unless that is all there is left or the summons threaten the mage. If that were the case, Ulm could slaughter the back rank mages and archers with the power spells and eliminate the Caelum cheap false horror spam.

Just my opinion anyway. Had I been Ulm and you been Caelum, Pasha, I would have lost just as quickly as you did.

If we start a new game, whether PBEM or not, I would like to try my hand at Abysia for the first time in MP play. I have been testing that race in SP, and it seems a good race though hard to play. There are so many choices and paths Abysia can go down, that is seems difficult to know which is best. Abysia aslo has a difficult time doing research, unlike Caelum.

Anyway, if you want to host a PBEM game, Pasha, count me in.

Re: UGH
 

Thank you for your nice words, Panther, but something tells me that the world is safer that YOU are the rocket scientist and not me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

I have a kooky map that we could try. My one reservation is that it might not be a perfectly balanced map. It's the Tyrande map on the Illwinter site. It's a very beautiful map (and that means a lot to me for some reason). What do you think? Dragonfire and I have been playing on that map, and we both like it (but, again, lawyers like pretty things).

But, it might not be totally unbalanced. I think the provinces near the middle of the map are very rich, while the provinces on the edges tend to be poor. This gives the players "stuck" in the middle of the fray the resources they need to survive. The large mountain ranges make the mountain passes very important.

Re: UGH
 

Another interesting map is Arduria (also on the Illwinter map page).

Re: UGH
 

I am currently trying to figure out a way to work around the whole firewall issue with the server, I have posted to the Technical Support thread in the Main Forum for advice on this.

If I can get the server to work through my firewall then I would be happy to host our next game, otherwise PBEM would be fine for me as well.

Grim Knight.

Re: UGH
 

Ok, deccan tested it and was able to connect to the server hosted on my system.

So if you guys want to setup another game, I can host it.

Should we have a vote for which map and what settings to use?

Would it be better if I arbitrarily deceided on the settings?

I think a vote would be the fairest thing and then everyone who has played in this game would get input into the next game.

In case we decide to go with the vote I am going to cast mine now:

Map: Cradle of Zen (Unless more than 10 players)
Mod: Zen's Pretender Mod v1.72
Victory: Standard Victory Conditions
Sites: 50
H o F: 15
Research: Very Difficult
House Rules: Play a Nation you have never played MP before.
Indep Strength: 9
Host Speed: 24h QH
Everything Else: Leave at Default

Grim Knight

Re: New game
 

Yes I want in on this new game please.
As to the map I like the sound of Tyrande, downloading it now.
Jotunheim would be my preferred choice of nation.
Preferred magic would be normal or difficult, though not too difficult.
Indie 9 sounds cool to me.
I havn't played with Zens pretender Mod, is it good?
And maximum Game fun is essential.http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: New game
 

Zen's Pretender Mod makes several modifications to pretenders to make them more balanced, primarily adding a little to the under powered / under used pretender's.

I am in a game with it now and it is working out well.

Grim Knight.

Re: New game
 

Count me in. I would like to claim Abysia. This was a fun game, and not just because I won (lol). I have had fun games where I lost too. And a couple of my games were really not fun at all due to some annoying players in them plus the one where I badly messed up my pretender design and am about to die.

I have never player Cradle of Zen, or even looked at the map. I did look at the map Tyrande, and it has some problems to prevent it from working properly:
1. Eight players as a maximum might be a problem.
2. The map would have to be edited to remove all starting provinces with the premade sites. It my test, I had a nation start at the province with the Chillsick Swamp, which meant all troops sitting in the capitol would eventually get diseased.
3. The map is not well balanced in that whoever starts in the left lower corner will not be near those juicy built-in sites. In particular there is a massively powerful province in the NE with FOUR splendid sites, including a devil's den. Whoever starts over that way will be given a nice boost when taking that province.

It is a georgeous map, though, and I did like it a lot. Removing most, if not all, premade sites and putting in several #nostart in a few places would made it a fine, well-balanced MP map.

As for Aduria, I have played that map before in SP and found it to be a good map.

I will therefore comment on the map choice sometime later. Also, I know exactly nothing about Zen's mods and would need time to download and study them. I would bet that my lovely GK Abysian pretender which I made this weekend no longer works under Zen's mods.

I would suggest starting a new thread, Grim, unless you want the ten people in our just-finished game here to have first dibs on slots. If all want in, then we can just play another game with the same 10 players. That would certainly be fine with me.

As for your game settings, I love the very difficult research setting. I have always thought that normal research is far too easy. I mean, the high research nations will complete all research at about turn 60! Ugh even! What's the point in that?

I have been wanting to try another very difficult research game, for I think it makes national troops far more important instead of relying mostly on summons that would then take quite a while to research.

I don't agree with standard victory settings, as it can make for an abysmally long game. Of course, everyone can always agree on a winner (or even two allied winners) like apparently happens a lot. Maybe put in a victory setting requiring half the provinces. If someone owns half the provinces, they got it won anyway and it would be just a matter of cleaning up at that point. Under such a setting, I would not have won our current game just yet, though it would be getting quite close.

Re: New game
 

I second bypassing the Tyrande map - it can be fun for SP, but is hopelessly unbalanced for MP. Panther started with a site that diseased his capital? Someone else can start with the site that allows them to recruit Pythium's Grand Thaumaturgs, as well as the gem income, as that's a site that's been placed on the map.

Also, distribution of gold provinces, resource provinces, and magic provinces isn't even. While in a sense, it's reasonable and realistic that areas close to the north pole have less population, fewer resources, etc, it really doesn't do much for whomever is unlucky enough to start there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Might be interesting in a map that had 6-10 or more reasonable starting positions, and then people would choose whether to strike out for the gold rich coasts and plains, or the mountains and forests, or went to grab the polar wastelands because they figure on less competition, but that isn't Tyrande.

Re: Exit stage left
 

Now that the game is over, I wanted to comment on this. The reason I went after you first, Steerpike, is that Arcoscephale is one of the races that can whip the false horrors from Caelum quite easily. All you have to do is research Thamauturgy first and then construction next (to get inexpensive starshine skullcaps and amulets of penetration for every single mage). With a nice pearl income from searching and clamming, you can use the sacred heart companions (with some priestesses to bless them, give them courage, and then heal everyone afterwards) or vine ogres to tank the horrors. Your back row mages will then then do mind control, paralyze, soul slay, and all the other nifty astral spells against the Caelum archers and mages, completely ignoring the mindless horrors! Light of the Northern Star is an absolute MUST spell for doing this, and it takes but one pearl to cast!

In one of my games in which I am about to die, I did this against Caelum and now have several seraphs and some bane lords (all without leadership, lol). It is not Caelum killing me, but instead is Mictlan and the devils.

Anyway, good game, Steerpike.

Re: Exit stage left
 

No problem with not using the pretty map.

How about Aduria? The map is not too important. Very difficult magic reseach is fine, too. I'm not too particular.

I would love to get into the new game playing PANGEA. Never played it MP, and very little SP.

PASHA

Re: Exit stage left
 

Hey, I'd like to play too! This time I will not take Ermor, thank you.

Re: Exit stage left
 

I posted to this thread just because I want the 10 players from Last game to have first shot at the slots.

I have not played around with different victory conditions before, if there is one that allows you to set a winner for 50% of all provinces in the game that would be cool, as you say if someone gets to 50% provinces then they would most likely clearly win the game unless they only had one opponent left who had the other 50% of the provinces.

Once everyone here has had a chance to chime in, then it would be time to start a new thread for the next game.

It appears that the voting method shall be adopted, so if everyone who is interested in participating in the next game could cast a vote for any and all aspects of the MP setup that they feel strongly about, preferably in a list with each item clearly labeled and on a separate line, that would be great.

As for the map I am not too attached to any specific map, and it may be best to save the map choice for Last after we have a better idea of just how many people we are going to have in the game.

I notice I did not choose a race yet so I will call one now:

In the next game I would like to play as Marignon.

Race: Marignon

Grim Knight