Rhoscrowther - Late Age game for MP Newbies (up)
 

This is the game thread for the new Newbies game I'm hosting.

Here's the players list:

• coturnix - Abysia
• fabio80mi - Ulm
• Aapeli - Pythium
• MrSparkle - Caelum
• cleveland - Agartha
• WonderLlama - Patala
• GC64 - Pangea
• konming - Arcoscephale
• coobe - Atlantis
• shard - Man
• darkchampion3d - Jomon

Here is the map that we are using:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...?Number=465570

You better download and install this map before you connect to the server!

Here is the server status page: http://valhalla.techno-mage.com/stat...e=Rhoscrowther

Hispavista doesn\'t like turn notifications
 

I can't deliver my turn notification mails to Abysia / Coturnix, they are rejected:
<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>host mail.hispavista.com[213.228.192.245] said: 591
Tu mensaje no llegar? a su destino. Tu servidor es considerado emisor de
Spam. Send your questions to blacklist-admin@hispavista.com (in reply to
RCPT TO command)</pre><hr />
Please tell your email provider that what I am sending is no spam and/or whitelist my sending email address, if possible (the same you sent your pretender files to). Otherwise I can't send you turn notification mails and you have to check that you play your turns on your own, increasing the chance to miss the hosting of a turn due to error.

Re: Hispavista doesn\'t like turn notifications
 

Up finally http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif)
Look forward to have fun with all of you in this game!

Re: Hispavista doesn\'t like turn notifications
 

Yup! same here! Also, won't it be better if we speed up for the first few turns? 48 hours seems a bit long - or will the turn automatically start once all the orders are in?

Game talk
 

It will automatically host as soon as everybody has played his turn. You will then even receive an email from the server, so if you monitor your emails closely you'll know about it immediately. Otherwise looking at the stats page tells you how far the game has progressed so far. Usually the game picks up some speed after everybody is familiar with the process, the other Newbies game that has started on about Monday is at turn 5 now. But since the players are usually from very different timezones and somebody might have troubles with the game configuration or other problems that spontaneously pop I leave the game timer at 48 hours as a precaution.

Re: Game talk
 

Coturnix, is everything alright? You're running out of time for the first turn. Did you run into any technical problems? Have you tried your turn? If you've tried and hit problems, I bet someone here can help. If you haven't, you really should try your turn right away, in case you do run into technical problems.

Re: Game talk
 

I have reset the timer. Egoix in the other game seems to have received the turn notification ok now since I didn't get an error message from the mail server, I hope that they don't flag my messages as spam anymore. Let's hope Coturnix gets back to the forum and plays his turn, too. I don't want people to stale on their first turn, but I don't want them to cause unnecessary delays for all the other people in the game, too.

Re: Game talk
 

How long do we wait before we look for a replacement.

Re: Game talk
 

Let's hope he gets back playing and have the game run on fast speed soon http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
Especially on the first turns!

Re: Game talk
 

2 days, tops. That means until the current timer runs out, which equals to stalling twice.

EDIT: Nevermind, Coturnix played his turn and the game hosted. Good luck to you all.

Re: Game talk
 

Ok, i have played my first and second turns. Sorry all for the delay, between the little lapse to fill the vacant slots and a nightmarish week at work i totally forgot to check the forum http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif

I have answered the PMs and expect to follow the game without further problems. My excuses again for the delay.

Re: Game talk
 

Err... I just checked my turn, would there be any reason why I don't have any positive scales in my capital, but just the negative ones??

I'm pretty sure I sent the right pretender, I just double checked my sent attachment. Is there an event or a special site which neutralises positive scales?

Re: Game talk
 

Welcome to the game coturnix http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif
I'm glad you will be on this one! Look forward to meet u all ingame http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Game talk
 

There's something called the "scales bug", which I heared about, this seems to be exactly what's being reported usually.

Re: Game talk
 

Well, I learned an important lesson. You have to load this game through the Network option, not the Load Saved Game option. It will let you correct your turn through load saved game, but the server won't actually get it. That could have been a disaster for me, but thankfully it turned out to be no big deal.

Re: Game talk
 

Well - thats an annoying bug to say the least. Bye bye 200 pretender points???

Re: Game talk
 

It's temporary. Your scales will return to your chosen values over time. As if your dominion had just taken over a province.

Not crippling, but it can really hurt the early game.

Re: Game talk
 

I'll just pretend that my capital has just been hit by plague then http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Gogogo get your turns in!

Re: Game talk
 

If you make changes through "Load saved game" you do them offline. That is actually a good way to play the game for people who pay per minute for their internet connection: Grab the turn first when you connect to the server, then disconnect and prepare it offline through "Load saved game". When you are done with the preparations, connect to the server again to upload your turn, which is done automatically for you.

Re: Game talk
 

In the Network screen, what's the bracket symbol beneath certain nations mean? "Connected" perhaps?

Re: Game talk
 

The thing that looks like a claw or something? Yeah, connected players.

Re: Game talk
 

I thought it was a bit of chain.

Re: Game talk
 

Great to see this game is finally rolling! What are the victory settings? And are there any usual mp house rules? Perhaps a bit late to ask since we've already started, but since we are all new to this...

Something tells me Patala's pretender is a big nasty monster! I hope I don't get on the wrong side of it

Re: Game talk
 

MP House rules:
- be respectful of each other, it's just a game
- do your turns in time or announce that you're unable to do so
- don't vanish from the game without notice

I told you, failure to do your turns in time repeatedly will result in me looking for replacements for you. This is in consideration of the other players involved in the game.

Victory settings are the default, not specified any further, so it's either "last man standing" or general consensus to declare a winner.

Re: Game talk
 

Argggh i somehow have to redo my orders from scratch

Do messages you send out to other players have to be resent as well? Or are they sent 'instantaneously'?

Re: Game talk
 

Yeah, you have to redo the messages as well. No such thing as instantaneous messaging here!

Pro-tip: never, ever, ever use the ingame messaging system. Instead, use private messages on these boards or emails. In addition to it being faster, and you never facing things like this, you will get an archive of the messages that is helpful if you want to check particulars of earlier discussions.

Re: Game talk
 

The Friendly nation of ULM is offering some TRADE opportunities for ALL nations!

Ulm is running a surplus of GOLD and is willing to trade it for some magical gems , in particular we're looking for ASTRAL gems mostly :

Ulm will buy astral gem for 20 gold each, batches of 10 astral gem for 250gold each and batches of 30 astral gem for 800 gold

Ulm will also buy , if astral gem supply proves insufficient any other kind of gem for 15 gold each, regardless of the quantity

Re: Game talk
 

Proclamation of intention from ULM player

In this game my personal goal is having a network of diplomatic relations with all players, possibly not engage in wars and become a trading nation, that would prove a change from my other and current game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

The nation will actively seek NAP with neighbours and will act mostly as a trading partner, also Ulm crafted goods and magical prowess can be acquired..for a price.. in time of need http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...ies/tongue.gif

As a personal house rule ULM will honor all treaty regardless of our personal convenience(for instance if we do enter a defensive alliance we will come to the aid of our allied, even if it means certain defeat...).
The only condition in which ulm may break a treaty is if there are 2 warring allied fighting each other , in which case we may stay neutral or pick one side.

Re: Game talk
 

Jurri: Thanks for the tip!

I don't suppose the friendly nation of Ulm cares to tell the rest of us what particularly friendly uses he may have for those gems?

You've bought out 3 merc armies... did you find a couple of juicy juicy gold mines or something??

Re: Game talk
 

It's natural that Ulm is swimming in gold early. Their units take lots more resources than gold and they don't die easy to independents. Usually that gold is best spent on mercs/forts.

Re: Game talk
 

Patala is also interested in buying gems. We want nature gems so that we can grow yummy magical bannanas. We will pay 20 gold per nature gem.

Re: Game talk
 

Nuts, something is with my mailbox - i thought i sent a bunch of pms but i don't seem to have a record of them; if you've received a repeat just ignore...

PS - I seem to have problems logging into the forums when i'm not at home - is login reliant on ip address?

Edit: Nevermind, the solution is called 'properly logging out'

Re: Game talk
 

And in the process taught the noobs amongst us (me at least) to bid higher on mercs. Should have thought that other would have strategies that rely heavily on merc for early expansion :\

By the way, is there a list out there that tells what is in each merc unit?

Re: Game talk
 

I have a question about the end of the game. If players ally, can they share the victory? Or is it required that we arrive at one winner? Either by fighting or agreeing.

I ask because we're heading into the diplomacy game, and that might make a difference.

Re: Game talk
 

Of course victories can be shared.

I propose that we all ally together, then declare ourselves the winner.

Re: Game talk
 

damn i got tough indies around me... its really hard to expand in my corner...

Re: Game talk
 

Well doesnt strong indies mean better provinces?

Re: Game talk
 

Hey Ich,

What were the settings for this game?

Re: Game talk
 

Independents are at 6, a tick better than normal so you learn to fight properly instead of sending half-assed attempts. Hall of fame for 15 entries, the rest is all at standard.

Standard victory aswell. The game will end when it's the general consensus that it's over. Which may require to muzzle somebody.

Re: Game talk
 

Is luck scale ever worth it? I have luck 3 and this is my last turn's events (all four in their glory:():

A very ill omen...
...one fifth of the population are leaving... (on a rare 10k+ province)
A very ill omen...
Locust swarm... tax loss were one hundred pound of gold.

That has done it. If one more turn like this, AI it is.:)

Re: Game talk
 

I've had good, erm, luck with the luck scale in the past. But it's random. In my opinion, the luck scale can be good, but it is more useful to get rid of some of the very bad events, like plagues, and open up some very good events, like permanent income boosts. You are still going to get some very bad events even with luck. I have luck too, and events have also been very unfavorable to me (not quite that bad though).

Re: Game talk
 

I picked luck 3 in a single game not long ago and it worked better than i expected: nearly every turn i earned some magic gems, and zealots and militia appeared to join my armies. I even got a pair of magic items via event. This scale helped me a lot in the early play. Of course i´m a newbie and maybe the general consensus of more skilled players can differ, but i am certainly inclined to pick at least a scale of luck when i start a game.

And talking about Roscrowther game, i find LA Abysia quite difficult to handle. Most troops are damn expensive at least at this stage of the game and the majority of sorcerers have old age and catch afflictions easily. I better start thinking some general strategy before i find that most of the cake has been eaten by others.

Re: Game talk
 

I have taken luck 3 in a game I'm playing which is now at turn 60. I had hoped for those "great riches have been found" events to boost my development, didn't even have to be the 3000 gold one, 1500 gold would have been enough. It never ever came. On the other hand, I had lots of those "a hero shows up and wants to fight for your cause" events, which help in late game now. In my other games, I usually take slight misfortune scales, which increase the chance for random events, too. I am currently getting regularly overrun by barbarians and other traveling folk, which might be due to me picking low dominion and unrest in the provinces. In another game I had misfortune with high dom and there were quite a number of good events (as in magical gems).

First, you need to spread your dominion so that the luck works. If your provinces don't have the luck symbols they don't have increased chance for good events. It needs to be YOUR dominion, too. Second, the types of events you get depend on your other scales. "A very ill omen" is common and negligible. Population leaving usually only happens if you took Turmoil instead of Order. Locust swarms might be due to dominion not being spread in the provinces well enough. And on top of it all, it's what it says: pure luck.

I heard that LA Abysia can be quite a challenge, yes. I hope it's still a good learning experience to you. You might want to test out your troops in SP games first before using them.

Re: Game talk
 

Oh, and a belated congratulations to Dante of Ulm for winning the First Edition of the Arena World Cup!

Oh also, in some of the other games, settings include no graphs and renaming. I suppose I can understand the no-graphs, but whats the significance of renaming?

Re: Game talk
 

enabling renaming allows you to change the names of your (non-unique non-hero) commanders.

press 'r' when viewing the unit stats

most usually, this enables you to name your many similar mages by their magic paths, so you know which the heck randoms they have.

Re: Game talk
 

Which is an awful thing to do, IMHO. You shouldn't compensate for a game limitation (blending in their magic paths on the map screen, maybe via hotkey) with a workaround like that.

Re: Game talk
 

BTW, in case one of you doesn't want to receive the turn notifications anymore because he quit the game, please PM me.

Re: Game talk
 

Man's pretender dead just as Pangaea's pretender awakens? Clearly this is a sign.

Re: Game talk
 

Thats wierd - the gamestats page shows me stalling for 3 turns. Pretty sure I haven't - ask Pangaea! Though I can sometimes be the first/last to take my turns, GMT +9 here.

We welcome Pangaea's pretender to the world, short-lived though its time may be.

Re: Game talk
 

? there is already a war going on beetween man and pangaea?