Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Full)
 

Been looking for a new game, but nothing has popped up on the boards lately, so decided to just start a new one. Would like to do a 10 player, EA game, with the Worthy Heroes mod. No graphs, renaming allowed, the usual.

Post here if interested, with your nation choices.

1. Thrawn - T'ien C'hi
2. Reverend Zombie - Lanka
3. Lazy_Perfectionist - Yomi
4. Calmon - Helheim
5. Ubercat - Mictlan
6. Janlm - Vanheim
7. Davegg - Ermor
8. Thraveboy - R'lyeh
9. Hadrian_II - Kailasa
10. Evilhomer - Niefelheim

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Would you like to run this on the LlamaServer Thrawn?

I tell you what - I'm going away very shortly, but I can set the game up to accept pretenders, then start it when I get back, in a week. So, the option to use the LlamaServer is there if you don't mind waiting a week for the start. Getting the game organised and all the pretenders in will probably take a while anyway, so that shouldn't set you back too much.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Lanka for me, please.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Game created on the LlamaServer, if you want to use it - it's cunningly called ConsecratedGround.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Thanks, Llama! Was going to ask if I could host it with you. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Welcome, Zombie. Got ya.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Interested in Yomi.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Cool Lazy, got you.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

If you allow vanheim/helheim i would join as helheim. If not i'll go with mictlan.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'm interested. Put me down for Mictlan, please.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Cool guys, got you...

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Ya know, for Consecrated Ground, we sure have a lot of evil going on.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Evil? Who's evil?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'm in with vanheim

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Evil can "consecrate" things to. Just DARKLY. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Got you, Janlm. The only thing to remember is, if you play Vanheim, you have to have a permanent alliance with the game host. Hey, I don't make the rules. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I should have asked. What map are you planning on using? Will it be crowded with ten players?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Demonic nations
Lanka, Yomi

Practitioners of blood magic
Mictlan, Vanheim

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Can I be Ermor?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Can always use more human servants to eat.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'd love to play R'lyeh.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Not sure on the map, but will make it not crowded for sure. How many provinces would you guys like to see?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Got you davegg and thraveboy...

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Great! Thanks!

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

heh, you shouldn't worry too much about me playing vanheim, i'm a bit new at this http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'm not sure how bad they are since Glamour's been nerfed, anyway.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'd like to join as Kailasa.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Got you Hadrian. Just need one more, guys...

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

With ten players, couple hundred maybe?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Posted a map on the first page, what do we think of it? 210 provinces. Is the water grouping fair for R'lyeh?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Looks ok. I hope I end up in that landmass in the southwest. If I make it to the isthmus first I'll have a great chokepoint on that land.

The loop de loop river in the northwest is neat.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Is this map a wraparound? Thats my strong prefercnce because it lessens advantaged corner positions.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

"Tube" wraparounds bug me, I'd prefer E-W wrap-around only.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I would like to sign up with EA niefelheim

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Awesome, Evilhomer. Got you. We now have 10, let's make pretenders. We're using the llamaserver, so you'll send directly there. I think you just have to put the game name in the subject, and send it to the pretender address there. I have that address around here somewhere.

I will make the map E-W wrap-around.

Do we all have the Worthy Heroes mod? I'll post it on the first page.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I've got worthy heroes 1.7b.
I can figure out where to put the map, but where does the .rgb file go?

Edit:

I like the basic geography of that random map, but i'd appreciate it if a few of those border mountains were converted to real mountains, please.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I think the .rgb goes in the same folder, Lazy.

I really don't have any mad editing experience. I thought making it wraparound would be easy, but it doesn't seem to be. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Would anyone like to volunteer to make it wraparound or have any suggestions?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I'll take a peek at it, but I don't have any experience. The odds of me achieving are slim. I have some time to kill.

Now are you having trouble with the technical component or the aesthetic component of making it wraparound?

As an alternative, you could try adding cave provinces, providing for some long distance travel.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I am having trouble with all of it. All I did with that map was use the random map generator. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif That's about the extent of my skill.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Do you have GIMP or Photoshop, Thrawn?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Photoshop

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

My directions are in a mishmash of GIMP/Photoshop-ese at the moment, since this isn't a formally written tutorial. Pardon any sloppiness. I can clarify a section if required, and make sure its in proper photoshop-ese.

First of all, with this map, it would be easiest to make it wrap around north-south. If you wanted to make the east side wrap around to the west, then you'd have to put in some significant time drawing.

Offsets: http://www.cadtutor.net/dd/photo/seamless/seamless.html

For the graphical component, I suggest setting an offset. This way you can see how the edges will match up. For the first round of work, just use the color picker to select the border color, and then select a slightly fuzzy brush and redraw the province borders to your preference.

Keep in mind that provinces are determined with a single pure white pixel, if you decide to join two provinces.

Since this is only a random map, we're going to take a few shortcuts and be a little sloppy. When the seam is obvious, but the terrain is similar, try using a smudge tool, and dragging it accross the seam. Alternatively, you could try a blur tool. When the terrain along the seam differs wildly, try using the clone tool.

This won't be perfect looking, but it will get the job done, graphically.

Technically? I'm a noob. I've been meaning to look into this so I can fix my own random maps to include some real mountains. I've got nothing yet, but am looking into it.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

So, if you haven't already (and I see a lot of you have), you can upload your pretenders to the llamaserver whenever you're ready.

Send them to: pretenders@llamaserver.net

Just attach them to the email, and make sure your subject line contains "consecratedground".

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Would you like me to hurry, or can you wait until Tuesday for me to send it in (my pretender)?

It's not necessary to delay, just by Tuesday I'll have my manual back. I can certainly start earlier.

Technically, the map editor has some wraparound functionality. There's some documentation on it in acrobat reader post document format, but here's what you need to know for wraparound functionality.

One caveat, however. I'm not sure how, and if you set wraparound to function only in one direction. By default, the map wraps around north-south, east-west. You don't need to link those, but it makes for some visual ugliness. Perhaps a faux border along the edges? Or actually reading the documentation.

Basics of using the map editor.
1). Run Dominions 3. Go to Game Tools, Map Editor, Load map. Enter in "Consecrated_Ground" w/o quotes, with underscore to load a file in your maps folder. Some operating systems are case sensitive (not windows).
2). There will be a toolbar on your left. At the very bottom is a box marked wraparound. Check that. Note that this DOES NOT connect those particular provinces. You'll have do that manually.
3). Scroll to provinces along the seams, or former edges of the map. Select a province with a right-click, and left-click to connect it to another province.
4). Save frequently with different filenames (cg1, cg2).

There may be some map editor tutorials available, but I don't have my manual available, nor the energy to find it in the forums, tonight.

EDIT: So you don't have to reload every time you make a mistake...
Control-left-click removes an accidental province connection.

Just found this out. Heh.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

No rush, Lazy. We are waiting for llamabeast to get back later this week before we can start anyway. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Thanks for the map editor info! Will give that a shot today.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I think the game is already set up and will start as soon as the pretenders are in. It was the same with DoomChicken and that game started when llama was away.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

The only reason BAG can't start is because of the mod nations. Hadrian's probably right, since we don't have any mod nations. Though I don't know about the whole custom map part- how do we let the game know which map we're using?

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

I think llama set that up, doom chicken uses edis cradle of the dominions map, and that is no different to any other custom map.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

Hello from HolidayLand!

So, this game won't actually start automatically, because it doesn't know what map and stuff to use. The two reasons a game might not be able to start in my absence are (a) it has mod nations, or (b) I don't know what settings it should use when I leave.

Back in a few days though.

By the way, has anyone had a play with paradoxharbinger's map generator? I haven't yet, but I know it can make wraparound maps. I think it might be a bit tricky to use though.

Re: Consecrated Ground: EA PBEM (Forming)
 

woohoo wraparound!