Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

Happy new year.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

Just a reminder that we are scheduled to resume our normal hosting schedule at or around 12:00 AM PST on Sunday 1/03 (midnight on Saturday). Currently there is one turn (Caelum) still oustanding for turn 30. Illuminated if you need more time let me or someone on your team know as soon as possible. The next turn may or may not host soon afterwards (depending upon where the clock was before we shut it down and how Gandalf is able to handle it).

I echo the previous poster's new year wishes and I wouldn't mind getting a fresh little debate going on the merits of diplomacy in team games and in FFA games as it applies to both. This is obviously something that probably won't be resolved anywhere, but I think ultimately it should probably be based on what all the players want in a particular game. Here's how I see the pro's and con's of allowing diplomacy in team and ffa games:

Cons:

1.Some argue that allowing diplomacy unbalances the game and can lead to ganging up on some teams/players.

2.Diplomacy can slow things down a bit, since ideally there would be no peace or lulls in the fighting due to alliances of some sort.

Pros:

1. Diplomacy is more realistic and closer to what one finds in the real world or even in a fantasy world such as Dom3, people are not machines after all and will do what they need to do.

2. Enforcing no diplomacy rules may be difficult, if two players or teams want to make an alliance, how is the admin to find out and enforce it if no one else finds out and the people involved don't tell?

3. Diplomacy can even the playing field between weaker/stronger teams/nations and also between less/more experienced teams/players and give the underdogs at least some hope.

4. Diplomacy is necessary because in reality, no game between humans can be perfectly balanced, there are just too many factors: skill level, game mechanics and national differences (as much as we try to do with mods and the like), leadership (for team games), experience, etc.

On the neutral front:

1. Since many victory conditions such as ours state that ultimately only one team/player can win, some say diplomacy may not really hurt since alliances are only supposed to be temporary in these types of games and therefore it does not matter.

Any opinions?

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

I will not be able to play dominions after january 7th. I will need a replacement substitute. Not sure what i should do in this situation.... i'll PM the alternates to start with i guess.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

I'm sorry to hear that Immaculate. What a wonderful player you are/were. Are you leaving the Dom3 community permanently? What a loss for all of us. Yes, inform your captain so that he can find a substitute, PM the alternates and try to find a sub for yourself as well.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

thank you for your kind words. I have PMed the appropriate people. I will be unable to play MP dominions for about 3 months but should be back in the spring.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

Sorry to hear that. Now that we're going to war!!! ;)

I hope you come back soon and good luck.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

ACGHHS - You've only got 12 hours left before the game hosts. Please make sure your turns are in on time.

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

Thanks for the heads up rdonj - very nice of you.
Squirrel has always been reliable, but I'll be keeping an eye on this as well...

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

WTF. I show the turn as having hosted, but I just checked a couple hours ago and it showed 11h remaining till hosting. It is very much not acceptable that the time remaining on Gandalf's page not be accurate.

I've been having some internet issues with uploading files all night, and a bunch of turns to look at, but I was about to look over my NaV turn one last time and submit it. Honestly, its only fair if the turn gets rolled back and forced-hosted after i get my turn in because it is very much not my fault that my turn wasn't in on time.

(I show this post 3.5h after Rdonj's. I show the server having hosted ~30min ago. 12-3 = 9h remaining, not hosted with me staling!)

Re: Noobs & Vets: Rise of the AI Menace. EA, BI, Running.
 

Addendum to above post:
I have not looked at the new turn.

I have sent my 2h file to the team e-mail address, so there's an e-mail with a time-stamp that contains it as an attachment to verify time of 'submission'.

Sending it to nav@dom3minions.com is, at this point, without use since its not a valid turn until and unless the turn is rolled back. I am happy to fwd the archived 2h file from the team e-mail wherever gandalf would like it sent, and he can verify time it was sent if he so cares.

If there is no rollback, I'm done with this game. I will not play a game that cannot display or announce accurate hosting times. Its not that this stale sucks (though it does), its that it is totally unreasonable to play a game that advertises one schedule and operates on a different one. I don't want to deal with that. If the server tells me the game is going to host at X time (~8h from now), its really not ok for it to host at an earlier time.