Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

he has a strong position in the big game. Forge of ancients up as well.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Force host is turned off. The game will not host early if everyone turns in their turns early.

But most people are still waiting until the last minute. Well, that is ok i guess. no one staled last turn. Still baffles me why people are waiting until the final 30 minutes to send in turns though.

I am guessing other people live in areas with reliable power and internet. heh.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Son of a $#$%$^

I had planned on doing my turn tonight, but noooo my best friend decided to go 5 weeks early with an emergency C section. Missed my ball game and my turns. #$%#$@.

15 minutes too late, had the turn pretty much done too, thought I'd even submitted it.

Crap.

In other news, baby and mom are fine.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

there is no reason not to submit a "base" turn early. Force host is off-repeat off. Game will not host until 48 hours has passed.

I may-repeat may-delay hosting by 24 hours since Man said he was returning Saturday. He did not request a delay or arrange for a sub, and I was not going to delay the game a week.

But I may, if i am at my computer an hour before hosting, delay it by 24 hours max if man has not done his turn by then.

I know his position is not good, and he did not request a delay, but he has been a good player, and I hate to have stales make his situation even more dire.

Since I did state i would only grant delays if someone posted on the thread asking for one, and Man did not, if anyone objects to the 24 hour delay, I will not do it.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Man did state that they were going to be away. I count that the same as asking for a delay.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Hmm.

If you are leaving for a week, i expect you to get a sub. I will not delay the game a week for anyone. But I will delay it a day so he does not stale again.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

I didin't notcie he had said he would be gone a week.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

I for one welcome a delay for us overlords!

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

well, since pythium is at war with man, and favors a 24 hour extension, i will make it so.

A 24 hour extension for this turn only has been added. Look at the website for the new date of the hosting for next turn.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

More lives than a cat. Dr. P is back!

This time as Mictlan. While this is a bit unusual, I am going to allow it. Dr. P was the only person willing to sub after a long period of hunting for a sub. Moreover, he has the same enemies as Tien Chi.

In other words, Dr. P cannot take a new random nation and use it as a weapon against a nation that previously had no beef with his nation.

Mictlan is already at war with the rlyeh, so what more can Dr. P do that was not being done already?

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Keep the thread more active so I can at least pay attention vicariously!

Good luck Dr. P!

Been very fun, and so far I'm a big fan of the epic heroes. With everything else going on in life I just had to get out of my multiplayer games, 4 was too many.

Bets on a winner at this stage?

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

What's up with the server? The deadline has been creeping up by ten minutes every
ten minutes. Are we trying to give someone a chance to fix his turn, or is the
server crashing on host and retrying?

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Server was acting up. I finally turned quick host back on just to force host. Force host is off again, and i reset time so it will host at a civilized time for me.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

As far as updates:

Man is hanging on by a thread
Machaka is looking grim but determined
Pythium and Agartha scare me.
Mictlan is at war with rlyeh
Arcos, atlantis are cooling their heels.
Shinuyama is underpowered and weak, so most have left us alone, for which we are grateful.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Server was acting up deliberately. The mail server (a different machine entirely, and not mine) was being funny last night, and the llamaserver mostly couldn't reach it. To stop people staling unfairly it postpones hosting on each failure. Er, so if the mail server is down for an hour I think the server postpones hosting by a total of 2 hours, to allow an extra hour at the end for any messages that might have been unable to reach the mail server to arrive.

I believe the server will have put an automated message on the front page to this effect, but being as it always seems to happen when I'm in bed I've never actually seen it.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

It is a couple hours until host, and only 2 people have their turns in. I had to submit mine twice earlier, so there may have been a few issues.

I am going to push back host an hour and keep an eye on it. Get your turns in!

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

So anything exciting been happening? Board's pretty quiet.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

*sigh* For some reason I am kinda bored with this game. It was supposed
to let me get accustomed to Dominions III. That it did, but now I realize
how many things I did wrong, and it's kind of a drag. I am still learning
from it (thanks Xietor) but I always take my turns in the last second, and
am less careful with the lives of my men than I usually am. And there is
no roleplaying to do so, yeah, I'm quiet :-)

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

The pacifistic Agarthans, having no real strategic talent, and thus having NAPPed themselves into a corner are currently sitting around twiddling their thumbs, waiting for some foolish nation to declare war on them, and thus explode the entire world into war once more =)

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Sua Sponte I have delayed hosting by 1 hour due to almost half the players not yet doing their turns.

Since we are getting few stales, i am assuming people are deliberately waiting until the last minute to do their turns. This laziness baffles me since force host is not on.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Due to recent events on the forums, under the thread title "mists of deception" a major bug has been exposed.

As game administrator, I am going to take the same stance Velusion took in the Big Game:

1. Mists of deception is banned. Casting it will be dealt with on a case by case basis, but you most likely will be put on AI. It is a major bug and is on the short list to be fixed.

2. Battlefield enchantments are supposed to disappear when the mage casting the battlefield enchantment leaves the battle or dies. Some spells stay up after a mage retreats or dies. While we cannot do anything about mages dying, it will be considered an exploit to deliberately cast a battlefield enchantment and have the casting mage deliberately retreat(ie cast ritual of returning or script to retreat).

I know we are all honorable players and do not want to win by using what has been labeled as an exploit by the developers. Apparently it will be corrected in the next patch. Understandably, most of us have used and have had these tactics used against us. But we are all going to have to adjust our tactics.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

I do not see why Mists of Deception should be banned. Where is the harm if
the enemy does not retreat, but stays and fights instead?

As for casting buffs or battlefield enchantments and retreating, this is a
tactic that has been extremely popular and is being used by everyone. I do
not think that I have used it in this game, but I routinely retreat my
buffing mages in my other game.

Furthermore I do not believe in setting rules after the game has started.
The only way I would agree to any house rules at this point is by unanimous vote.

I see four issues here.

Mists of Deception that is meant to make the fight last after one army has
fully retreated. This is an exploit, and I could live with it being banned
without a vote.

Casting battlefield enchantments and retreating the caster. I think it is a
valid strategy, and it was used against me in this game, but I will vote for
banning it, because I can live with the rule. If anyone votes against, though,
I say it's allowed, and I will use it.

Casting Mists of Deception, and fighting on. Perfectly valid in my book,
I vote against banning it.

Casting buffs, summoning nasties, or throwing damage spells and retreating.
I will use this if I stay in the game, and if you guys disagree, I will be
looking for a replacement.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

The developers say what is an exploit and what is not.

Mists of deception can be used if you stay on the battlefield and fight. It is an exploit to have a mage cast it, and say wraithful skies, then retreat. That means the army is fighting no enemy but is destroyed by battlefield enchantments and cannot end it by killing anyone. This is clearly an exploit.

Buffing and retreating is not a problem. It is battlefield enchantments like wrathful skies and then retreating. For a better explanation, read the thread on the main board entitled Mists of deception.

To be honest, I was unaware that this conduct was an exploit myself. But now that it is labeled as such, it should not be used. No vote is needed to stop exploits. Most people should be aware that exploits are not acceptable.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

In my post I agreed that the narrow case of MoD/SA + WS/FS/etc + retreat is an exploit.
I read your post to mean that the spell itself should be banned.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Yeah, I was over broad.

The gist of the rule is to take advantage of a bug that leaves a battlefield enchantment up after the mage casting it dies or retreats. Players have no control over when their mages die in battle.

But if the backbone of your strategy is to have a mage equipped with forbidden light(autocast solar brillance) enter a battle with some other commanders and chaff,then cast ritual of returning and blind the other army while he kills your chaff, that is an exploit.

Admittedly, I bought forbidden light for just this purpose.
But it will not sit unused in my lab. Try to avoid strategies where your mage that casts the battlefield enchantment purposely leaves the battle before it ends.

Retreating other mages who buff you own troops is fine. It is the spells that destroy the enemy that are exploitive if the casting mage is not on the battlefield-so say the developers.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Game Update:

Machaka and Man both were eliminated this turn.

If possible, departing players please post suggestions or comments on your(and other) Epic Heroes on the Epic Heroes thread in the Mod forum.

Thank you for help play testing the mod, and for any comments-good or bad-about the Epic Heroes.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Man fought a brave battle in the face of multiple enemies. We salute their passion in battle and their zeal in fighting to the end. Man will forever hold a place in our oral traditions as a worthy foe.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

I would also like to tip my hat to Machaka. He was a worthy foe, and had intricate knowledge of the game.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Thanks for playing, guys. I learned a lot, and i have seen things never seen before while playing the A.I.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Surprisingly,

two of the weakest nations, Shinuyama and Atlantis, are still alive. And I think their Epic Heroes are among the weakest as well.

All of the Big 3 Astral power nations, most especially PYTHIUM, are thriving.

Shinuyama is trying to keep a low profile and not anger any of my powerful neighbors. Our peaceful race merely seeks to record history-not make it.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

So other than still being alive, how are things going?

Who's fighting whom?

Ry'leh still kicking? Atlantis still lurking?

When I left Arco was kind of an unknown, didn't know which way he'd jump. Staying put? Did he attack Mict? Agartha? Atlantis?

Same with Agartha, they were looking pretty good as well. Heavy dominion and troops if I remember correctly.

Pythium had some good momentum, did he continue east or turn west?

Didn't know much about Shin.

Hows Mict doing? Inquiring minds want to know.

Also, EA Lanka is still looking for a perm sub in Perpetuality. I'm taking over temporarily till a perm sub is found. Still a strong position, even though there has been a few stales recently. Just shoring up the borders and bulking up to prepare it.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

EH Game has hit turn 60.

Pythium is clearly number 1 on the power charts. Angels flying all over, master enslave looking unbeatable. Likely just a matter of time for Pythium to close the books on the rest of us.

Mictlan is fighting the water races. Looks like Mictlan is doing well outside the water. Rlyeh has kicked Mictlan out of the water(i think).

Arcos is just hanging out, as is Agartha. They of course could be powerful as well, but have not seen them in action.

Agartha has potent dominion though, and I would not be surprised to see another dominion kill in the near future. Agatha is also number 1 by a wide margin in research. Umbrals(drain life) 70 hps everywhere.

Pythium attacked Ryleh last turn. So at least 2 of the world powers are fighting.

Atlantis is losing provinces to someone. Likely Ryleh. Not sure though.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Atlantis is losing provinces to me (Mictlan.)

I didn't handle the war against R'lyeh properly after I took over - I was in the process of retooling my army but his assassinations were taking a serious toll, and with wars against Atlantis and Shinuyama, I couldn'r reinforce.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Shinuyama? War? Nope, I am just nibbling a few provinces to keep up with the Joneses. Do not mind me.

/whistles innocently.

Dr. P Do you think the Rlyeh Epic Hero needs toned down? That is one of the main heroes I plan to tone down a decent amount.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Well, on the one hand I didn't know that R'lyeh had so many troops left in his fortress or I would've just gotten out of the water as soon as I took the position. Fighting a war of attrition underwater is a losing proposition.

OTOH, yeah, he was crazy bad-*** and practically turned the war all on his own. As another sea power it wouldn't have been so bad, but as a land power invading a sea power I am forced to use relatively few commanders and I lose their entire complement of troops when they die (no more watebreathing), so it was nasty. Also I had to keep teleporting in astral mages to prevent mindhunting.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

Arcos has staled twice in a row. I have pmed Grayz. If no response is received I will either find a sub before next host, or set arcos to AI.

Pretty good race, and had a strong position when GM handed it over. In any event, before next host I will either have heard from grayz that he is doing his turn, will have a sub for Arcos., or it will be set on AI.

But Arcos will not have stale next turn.

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

I've sent my turn a few times, but the server is not replying, or showing it
as received. And hosting is in 10 minutes. :-(

Re:LA Atlantis looking for perm sub
 

The turn is hosting and it shows everyone got their turn in. You likely just did not get an email notification yet.

Pythium looking for perm sub
 

Yeah, the turn got received for all the good it did. I think I should be
looking for a replacement anyway. I have lost all interest in this game,
and am doing stupid [censored] all over the board. Not that my position is bad,
far from it. But in the last few turns, I have done the following:

Sent a harbringer with 100 gems worth of equipment solo, unscripted.
Stormed Man's capital after unscripting "resist lightning" from
all my commanders.
Failed to forge Mage Bane for a dozen turns, considering that it is usually
the second artifact I get.
Did not assigning bodyguards while besieging R'lyeh, after reading all
the stuff about it on the boards.

The Gods protect the fools, and I have been lucky in not really hurting
for any of the above: due to some insane luck, all but my indy commanders
killed the assassins, Man routed a few turns after casting Wrathful skies,
no one forged Mage Bane... the harbringer died, but it's no big deal.

So if anyone really wants to play a well developed MA Pythium, drop me a
message. Seriously, there is nothing wrong with the nation, it's even better
than one would think from the graphs.

Re: Pythium looking for perm sub
 

I do not know if i was careless-or just failed to anticipate a battle with 68 commanders-many of them chock full of items and gems.

It does not appear that the two water races bled Mictlan much at all(:

Re: Pythium looking for perm sub
 

Go Mictlan! Woot!

um, er... ahem. sorry.

Mwuahaha!
 

I return....

If Grayz is no longer playing I will take My beloved elephant legions back...only if he is unable to play though.

;->

Re: Mwuahaha!
 

welcome back to the surface GM! Grayz did a turn and sent me a pm explaining why he staled the previous 2.

You can send grayz a pm and check with him. What we could perhaps do if Pythium is really looking for a sub is have gray take over pythium(who is presently the toughest race by far),
and maybe have you take over your original race.

Or if you want to play Pythium for a change of pace GM, they are currently in a very good position to win the game. It is not boringly good, as Agartha is tough, and even Shinuyama may put up a fight.

Arcos. is not in a bad spot-they just have been at peace since you left. So they occupy about the same position, while other races have expanded.

Mictlan is still potent as well.

Re: Mwuahaha!
 

I already sent a PM to GE offering his spot back if he wants it - I wasn't particularly thinking of taking over for Pythium, although the idea is iteresting.

I'm finding it hard to keep up with 2 games right now, I'm also playing in atla.

No matter what happens, I don't want to leave this game in a lurch - if no one is available for pythium or GE doesn't want to play Arco again, then I will definately keep playing.

Re: Mwuahaha!
 

I will play Pythium until a replacement is found. It's just that I am not playing
it as well as it could be played. Let me ask a coworker... the only thing that
kinda bothers me is that I am using my default password for this particular game.

Re: Mwuahaha!
 

Ach! I'm at work and this is taking much longer than expected, I may not be able to get home in time to do my turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif.

If anyone is listening and could give me a 4 hr extension it'd be much appreciated (yes that would be an extension to 3 AM).

Re: Mwuahaha!
 

I will go ahead and make it an 8 hour extension.

Dr P if you prefer a 24 extension let me know and ill tack on 16 more hours. No need to rush your turn after working all night.

Ryleh-new ownership
 

Ryleh has informed me that school has taken too much of his time, so I am replacing him with a person recommended by Atlantis. He has never played a mp game before, and only a couple of sp games.

I think there are mostly skilled players left in the game-so Ryleh position appears bleak.

Let me know who ends up with what with respect to GM. I actually would prefer GM get his race back, and Grayz take over pythium so we have players that WANT to be in the game.

But I also do not want grayz forced out as he was gracious to take over Arcos when he was needed. In any event the 3 of you involved with that can work it out. All I ask is to be informed if players change races.

Re: Big Game
 

Player needed for MA Oceania in the Big Game. They have an "ok" position. I have been at war with them the entire game but I no longer border them. So i would rather have a player for them, then another race set to ai.

Anyone interested in playing MA Oceania contact Velusion for PW.

Re: Big Game
 

Can whoever is playing the Ryleh please post on the thread.

Thank You.