Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Anyone going to host some Huge map 20 player game on PBW soon, preferably 72 hours 2000 points and 250+ systems.
I wanna play...
(Darned, I should have joined NGC4 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif )

[ February 16, 2004, 17:21: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I am working on one right now, in fact.

I have to make a few modifications, and I am likely to include many of the lessons from the NGC series, which appear to be very successful.

HOWEVER, it is a game with a story, and that story makes it a sort of "time limit" game that might turn people off. I would like comments on the backstory if anyone out there cares to comment.

The story (and, included within it are the "rules" and settings of the game):
--------------------
This is a cross-post to with the Galactic Sterilisation thread, where the idea originated. - that topic started out talking about a scientific hypothesis (based on some astronomical observations) about periodic sterilisations of the Galaxy.

I want to suggest a PBW game based on it.

My purpose in posting the following game idea and settings is to see if there is sufficient interest in the game described below. If so, I will get to work on making it happen. Let me know if you would play such a game as described below.

-------------
Backstory for Zeta Quadrant Game:

Your people expanded into your galaxy for over a hundred years, and created an interstellar empire. In that time, your archaeologists and scientists occasionally found ruins of some long extinct ancient and powerful civilization. Some of these sites dated from billions of years ago, some as ?recent? as a few hundred thousand years old. And some of the sites were guarded with Machine Entities left behind by the ancients, as protectors.

As your race expanded into the galaxy, your scientists made an alarming and incontrovertible discovery: the galaxy is doomed. Your space telescopes confirmed that giant black holes were forming at the center of your galaxy. These doomed your civilization, for just before their formation, these black holes released a huge shockwave of Gamma radiation that overwhelmed the galaxy in so much energy that no life in your empire escaped. Your scientists also discovered evidence that indicated that this has been occurring almost regularly every billion years or so.

But, it was clear that at least one race survived this tragedy in the past: the Ancients. Your scientists speculated that only through the creation of a giant sphereworld (to provide a safe haven behind millions of miles of dense armour shielding) could any race survive these periodic galactic sterilizations. That must be how the Ancients did it.

That became the Last best hope of your people: to find a Sphereworld of the Ancients in which you could obtain a haven inside to survive the radiation shockwave. And, over the years, as the shockwave approached, your space telescopes and instruments did detect, in a far off and isolated quadrant of the galaxy, readings that can only be indicative of just such a sphereworld.

A massive expedition was launched under your command, in which giant colony ships carried billions of your people to the distant Zeta quadrant. The trip took hundreds of years, as there were no warp points to the quadrant. But the survival of the race was your goal, and cryo chambers are wonderful things. Behind you, the advancing shockwave destroyed all those left behind. The Galaxy was laid waste and the shockwave continues to expand, and will soon encompass the Zeta Quadrant as well. Time is not your ally.

As your colony ships approached the Zeta Quadrant, your frozen crew members were awoken, and massive colonies were established to begin the detailed search for the Sphereworld and your race?s survival. The advancing shockwave from the core of the Galaxy will reach the Zeta Quadrant in about 45 years, lending a keen sense of urgency to your efforts.

The strange properties of the Zeta quadrant that prevented warp holes to connect to it, also tragically prevent your current deep space arrays from zeroing in on the exact location of the Sphereworld you seek. But, your ships? recording systems did notice a danger: you are not alone. Other races have come to the same conclusion and also arrived in the Zeta Quadrant. Furthermore, there is evidence that your arrival in the Zeta Quadrant has awoken some of the Ancient?s Machine Entities, doubtless to protect the Sphereworld.

The Zeta Quadrant, the Last remaining habitable portion of the Galaxy, will be sterilized in 45 years. The only ones who will survive will be those in the Sphereworld...which is somewhere in Zeta Quadrant.

Settings

Game ends on turn 450, unless there is an agreed upon end before that (I see that as more likely). The only winner will be those living in the Sphereworld at that time. This Sphereworld is located somewhere in the map. There may or may not be other weird things going on in this map, for it is an anomalous section of the galaxy. Lastly, there is the Machine Entity Race. They are the product of seedings by the Ancients, left behind to grow and evolve and dedicated to protecting Ancient sites. Your scientists presume that the Machine Entities are the Protectors of the Sphereworld. This means that, while they will not enter the Sphereworld, they will do everything possible to defend it and destroy invaders. And they are gifted with knowledge of the Zeta Quadrant, unlike yourselves, who are all new to it.

House Rules

Communication should be limited to in-game methods to represent the difficulty inherent in communicating with aliens as well as to simulate time delays and their effect in coordination also.

Role Playing is not essential, but it is appreciated.

Game Settings: The peculiar characteristics of the Zeta Quadrant lead to the following settings:

· No mines or fighters (as the background energies and radiations make smaller craft such as these non-viable)
· No Ancient Race Characteristic (you?re all new here!) The ONLY exception to this is the Machine Entities, which will have the ancient race trait. (I, the game host, will be playing these guys, since I want to play in this game, but I made the map, so I need to have the Ancient Race trait to account for the fact that I will know that map)
· No Stellar Manipulation (the Zeta quadrant?s background energies and the effects of Ancient technologies prevent such technologies from having any effect)
· Starting tech: Medium, tech cost: high
· No surrender (Hey, the fate of your race is at stake!)
· No tech trades, but ship trading is allowed.
· Intel will be OFF (since this is a fight for the total survival of your race, your people are far too wary and patriotic to consider selling secrets or letting aliens sabotage their race)
· Map is Large, and Unique.
· Max of 20 players.
· Turns will be Automatic every 36 hours (to make the game run quickly)
· Standard SEIV Gold (1.84)
· Races: 2000 points. (no Ancient Race trait allowed - changed from first draft of 5000 points)

[ February 16, 2004, 17:41: Message edited by: alarikf ]

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

36 hours is a bit tight but I might make it, I'm interested... (atleast 48 hours is really better for me...), but still...
How will you solve the ancient race?
Will they be a race like the others or will you play the map for 10-100 turns to set it up?

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Oh, well, I think I would put it at 48 or 72 hours in any case. (that 36 hours thing was from a first draft I think)

For the ancient race thing, well, I would play the machine entities, so I could make the map. I'd limit myself in the expected ways: no landing on the sphereworld, no treaties with other players, etc...I think thsat's the only way to pull it off really...


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

[ February 16, 2004, 17:52: Message edited by: alarikf ]

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana"></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yeah, limiting is all well.
But how to make it strong enough to work as what you intend?
perhaps 3 planets start for all players, one of the ancients starting points as a sphereworld in a system with plenty of sphereworlds and planets but no warp points, to give "invisible" resources... It got to have an edge, otherwise large empires will walk right over them!
And where to build the ships that are needed? You'll need planets to make shipyards to make ships.. competing with ordinary empires?

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Ah, you've hit upon one of the key points...the Machine Entities, as servants of the Ancients whose only purpose is to protect them from all others, were seeded in the quandrant. As soon as aliens arrived, their Ancient sensors detected them, and the process of the rebirth of the Machine Entities began. They are a society, just with one purpose, sort of like the Borg...

SO...how do I make them as I envision? A little trick someone else turned me on to: all the players are 2000 points. Just before the game starts, I'll bump up the points to 5000, and add a 5000 point machine race. This is so it can have Anceint Race, Emotionless, and Cybernetic and a few other things.

It may seem a bit tricky, but, I fully expect the machines to be nuked pretty early on. Since they can't make treaties and fight everyone, they'll be the natural target of all others...

But at least this way they might be a bit of a challenge in the beginnging, no?

comments?

thanks,

alarik


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana"></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yeah, limiting is all well.
But how to make it strong enough to work as what you intend?
perhaps 3 planets start for all players, one of the ancients starting points as a sphereworld in a system with plenty of sphereworlds and planets but no warp points, to give "invisible" resources... It got to have an edge, otherwise large empires will walk right over them!
And where to build the ships that are needed? You'll need planets to make shipyards to make ships.. competing with ordinary empires? </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Should work well.
Any mods?

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I'd use FQM, other than that, probably not. I have a weakness for DevNull but I'd probably go stock just to get as many happy players as possible


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

This one sounds like fun... reminds me of Master of Orion (Machine entities = Guardian of Orion http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif )

Mods? Yes please! Heck, let's make a special mod for this game based on some other mod so the Machine Entities can take advantage of the new component/hull research and intel generation capabilities that will be in the patch! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

yeah, ok. Knock yourself out. I'm not a modder...yet at least...but I am more than happy to entertain the possibility of using a mod for this game...

edit: which one do you suggest?

thanks,

alarik

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

[ February 16, 2004, 22:33: Message edited by: alarikf ]

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

how do you entertain a possibility? i mean, what music does it like? how about food? what does a possibility eat? seating? what does it sit on? how about conversation? what are you going to talk about? what sort of guests should you have? these are *important questions!

*and if you'll buy that, i've got this great deal on beachfront arizona property. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

for a 20 player game I'd agree that no mod is the best way to fill the slots.

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">At all? How are you supposed to get to the sphereworld's star? Events? Ruins? See my sig?

I cannot play any more frequently than every 72 hours. But I can try to play the first ten or twenty turns every 36 or so hours, to get the game up and running faster. No guarantees I'll make every turn under those conditions, but most of them.

That being said, it sounds like fun. Put my name on the very end of the list because my job takes up a lot of my time now, so my role-playing would have to be limited.

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">At all? How are you supposed to get to the sphereworld's star? Events? Ruins? See my sig?

I cannot play any more frequently than every 72 hours. But I can try to play the first ten or twenty turns every 36 or so hours, to get the game up and running faster. No guarantees I'll make every turn under those conditions, but most of them.

That being said, it sounds like fun. Put my name on the very end of the list because my job takes up a lot of my time now, so my role-playing would have to be limited. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I guess he means the sphereworld (The ancient that we're supposed to colonize) will be connected to the other systems by ordinary warp points.

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I propose a few more additions to the game settings:

1) no satellites (this is a natural corrolary to the "no mines or fighters" rule)

2) Only 1 partner at a time (this is an aspect of the NGC series which, I suspect, works pretty well for preventing the "let's all ten of us become partners and kick everyone's butts and group win)

Do these sound like good ideas to add to the game?

Other comments?

I am gonna give the map one more test tonight, put in a few more surprises, make sure player positions are balanced in location, clean up the grammar in the backstory, and then maybe get the game going sometime soon...in the next day or two hopefully.

thanks,

Alarik

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Seems like good additions to me.
And as NGC3 stops now we might recruit some of those players for this game!

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Sounds interesting a central system that is only accessible via a random ship movement, random wormhole opening or wormhole technology.

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

One additional idea: I have been told by a player in one of my games that a 52 hour turnaround seems like just the right time to keep a game going fast but also minimize requests for delays, since it allows someone who works a 9-5 job to get a turn in even in the worst case scenario where the turn is processed right in the middle of the night and they have no chance to get to it the next evening. They'd still, in that case, have a few hours to get a turn in. Sounds like it's about right to me.

I didn't get to doing the final test on the map Last night, I hope to tonight. Then I'll set up and post the game announcement. I'll letcha all know...

thanks,

Alarik

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

have i got a map for this game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I mean it is a killer map....

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

have i got a map for this game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif I mean it is a killer map....

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I've already made the map...
thanks though, maybe for the next game (if there is a next one).

Alarik


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Oh, I'm also gonna increase the game time limit to 50 years. It just rolls of the tongue better than 45. And, that is plenty of time for the players to get nasty, no?

thanks,

Alarik

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I'm ready!

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

I know, I know! I meant to finalize it all Last night but I got distracted. I'll do my best to get to it tonight. Really want to test the map one more time...

thnsks,

alarik


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana"></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No worry.
I guess there's no hurry. It will take a while to fill the slots, make it so that you are satisfied.

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

At least half-fill the slots first, neh?
Well, however you want to do it... I suppose I could deal with 52-hour turns though I don't work anything like 9-5 *laughs.* More like 9-9. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

[ February 18, 2004, 20:07: Message edited by: Nocturnal ]

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

ready here also

Re: Wanted: PBW 20 player game
 

Done!


Go to:

http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...;f=23;t=011008

Or just see the "Zeta Quadrant" game on PBW...hurry up, spots going fast!


thanks,

Alarik


<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">