Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(May).
 

I wanted to gauge the interest in a second All Age Mega game. It would not start for a while. Likely not until May. In fact, I have not even asked anyone to host it.

I would like to administer it because I want to use the criteria listed below. Velusion did a great job hosting the first Mega Game, and I like everything he did, including his rules.

But I would like to see Worthy Heroes in this game, and I would like to try a novel method of race selection. Worthy Heroes is just fun. And it gives a reward to those who take luck scales by increasing their chance of a significant thug. Vanilla game has too many heroes that have old age etc., or I yawn when they show up. The arrival of a Hero to fight for your nation should be a cause for jubilation. Jubilation > yawn.

There would be a few other changes from the 1st game. If you recall, the 1st game was forced to a grinding halt when the unit cap was reached. So the 2nd Mega Game would include all races from the Early, Middle, and Late Ages except LA Ermor and LA Ryleh.

Additionally, the EA and MA Pangaea will not be allowed to take turmoil. Yes, I know that sucks Hadrian, but you do not have to play Pangaea. There are 60 other races to choose from and many Pangaea players like taking order anyway. So let one of them play the race. This modification is there to prevent the unit limit from ending the game early.

Modding is a huge part of Dominions, and the second mega game will be modded as follows:

Worthy Heroes-this is one of the most used mods in mp, and most are familiar with it. It adds incentive to take luck.

A mod will increase the cost of gem producing items by one path. For example a clam will require 3w 2n instead of 3w 1n. This will increase its cost slightly.

A mod will prevent the following globals from being cast: Arcane Nexus;Burden of Time; Utterdark; and Astral Corruption.

I am disinclined to include modded nations because many newer players may sign up, and it may be too much to ask for them to investigate the nuances of modded nations.

Nation Selection:

I am open to suggestions, but I think a player will list, in order of preference, his top 5 picks. In cases of more than 1 person picking the same race, then it will be awarded randomly among the new or casual players that selected the race.

So if a hardcore player, say Dr. P, has MA Pythium as his 1st preference, and a casual player, or one with much less experience than Dr. P, also picks MA Pythium, it will be awarded to the casual player.

The theory being the hardcore players, if push comes to shove, can make a go of it with almost any race, whereas a newer player may need a stronger race to be competitive.

I will make those decisions, with help from my friends who want to help me. If there is great opposition to this method of race selection, we can use one the majority of players favor.

I also will allow a player to list 5 nations he does not want to play. And that request will be honored, even if he does not get one of his listed favorites.

Additionally, please no pre-made alliances before the game begins. There will be a reasonable winning condition(to be voted on), that will allow 1 player to win.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Will the game be PBEM?

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Not sure who will host it at this point.

And I really think we need 50-60 players to make it worthy of the 1st mega game.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I will be surely interested, I should have enough time by then. The bad thing is I will need sub for most of August http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

MA Pythium sounds tempting http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Though I would prefer CB mod.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would play, but not if it is PBEM. I don't play PBEM (for obscure reasons noted in several other posts).

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Interested.

I would think a no diplomacy twist like the RAND game would be cool but probably unworkable with so many players.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Interested. My current games should be wrapped up by then.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would certainly be happy to host.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I waited for such game since I joined MP.
If it is pbem, I'm in.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would definitely be interested.

Prefer llamaserver.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I think I might be interested, but I wonder how much time it will take and how long the last game lasted. I suspect the game will be a major commitment http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif and I'm not sure how much time I will have at the end of the summer.

OTOH I can probably provoke enough players to get kicked before that if I want to http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Kristoffer:

Or make a patch that will nerf all races except the one you are playing http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

oww, i want maenads http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif

I just think it might be a problem to give casual players the race if there is also a good player, as for this to work, you would have to compile a list of good players in ascending order to get it working.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Before the game starts, i will compile a list of the "hardcore" players. A player will have a chance to plead his case that he is a "casual" player. But if a player has won a big mp game that is not a newbie game, your chances of escaping the hardcore player tag is slim.

I will enlist others to help me make the decision, so that there is a group consensus. And I am perfectly willing to play MA Pangaea under the restrictions set.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

How long did the last one go before the unit limit struck?

Was there more limits that got in the way?

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

It went well into the endgame. I am guessing the game was in the 80's. Of the 62 nations, there were just a handful left.

I think 10 or so players had empires that could actually fight.

And the unit graphs for LA Ryleh and LA Ermor were off the charts. Way way above the rest. And the 3 Pangaeas, all of whom survived, had lots of chaff as well.

I think with the modifications this game will finish without hitting the unit cap. No other problems were encountered, except for a bug where your scouts could not see what was in the province. And that was just a hit or miss thing. Was not a consistent problem.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Yeah the Mega Game was probably the most fun Dom 3 game I have been involved in so far. The diplomacy alone was good fun. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Too bad about the unit limit, I thought it was up to turn 90+ before we stopped. There was about 11/64 nations left?

The problem was I think even if we all ganged up on LA R'lyeh it would have still taken 50 turns to defeat him with his huge amount of PD. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smirk.gif

I would be interested in another one in May if it came up. Xietor's rules look reasonable. Perhaps a more achievable victory condition will stop the game becoming bogged down in the late game. Having huge empires result in long tiring turns of micromanagement that I do not think the game was designed for.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'm in.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Is there a 1000 province wraparound map? Wraparound eleminates all the problems with starting in the edge vs. starting in the middle.

Also will it be research hard, or very hard?

Why did you ban LA Pan from taking turmoil, they dont get maendads.

btw. im in http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'm interested but only if it starts on June, since on May I'm on vacation.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Hadrian: Why did you ban LA Pan from taking turmoil, they don't get maendads.

Because I only play the MA, and made a mistake http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'm definitely in.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

If its May/June'ish I should hopefully have time to play at least 1 game and I may as well play a megagame if it gets going! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

The last one was awesome, even if I did not last 30 turns!

I believe many new/intermediate players lasted a long time in the game, either by allying with a large power or just got ignored. So if you have not got much MP experience do not be put off.

The most important thing to get right is the victory conditions, 60 players with 15 provinces per player is 900 provinces. So in the end game the few remaining empires will have 100 - 200 province empires, its not fun to run a empire that size for more than a dozen turns or so. Just takes too much real life time. Need a way too bring the game to a satisfactory conclusion.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I was one of these players that made it to the time we called it. The combo of being a water nation in the corner along with a fair amount of diplomacy is most likely why I survived and I was actually quite happy with my position when we called it.

And I concur with Meglobob's stance on being a new player for these megagames. Join up and have a blast with us in such a monster game! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

There were definitely some smaller empires of new players that lasted a long time because they were ignored as veteran players went after each other(theory of eliminating the bigger threat 1st).

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would be interested, in case it will be PBEM

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Unless something comes up by then I'm in.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'm sure you could find out who the "hardcore" and "casual" gamers are by checking the Victorious Nations/Hall of Honor thread? But I digress!

I would love to join in on this game, no matter when it starts.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

The HOF will be the reference guide. I did have that in mind.
And some players, like Hadrian, who have played in many games, but have not got a lucky break and won one, will not get the
"hardcore player" penalty.

And the penalty is not that severe-it just means if you tie on a selection with a newer or casual player, you will not get to roll him for the race. The hardcore player may have lost the roll in any event.

In the last Mega Age game there were some good races that no one picked, like Vanheim prenerf.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'm in.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I think I will also be in. A megagame in DomIII is for sure something to try !

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I am certainly interested.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Mega Age Game II will be hosted on Llamaserver, so it will be a pbem game.

There are a few advantages to Pbem. One is that there is no need to use a password. In fact I will ask players not to set a pw. No one can look at your turn file as it is sent to your email address.

And if the email address is changed for a race by the game admin. the player gets an email sent to his old email address informing him that his email address was changed.

With no pw, it is easier to set a race to ai, or to turn a race over to a sub.

If you have a pw and your race needs set to ai, llamabeast must do it himself. A glance at the number of games hosted on llamaserver shows you how unfair a burden that is to llamabeast.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

If you change your mind about pbem I would like to play.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Likewise. I will play if it is not pbem. Otherwise, probably not. My reasons for this are stated in several other posts.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would be interested.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I understand that some cannot play pbem(: But I have hosted 2 mp games on llamaserver already, and that is what i am comfortable with as a game admin.

It also removes any chance of file hacking etc., though I think that stuff is exceedingly rare in any event.

Moreover, to date, no one else has offered to host it. But even if they did, my comfort zone with llamaserver is very high.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Xietor:

Nah, I think llamaserver has no way to prevent file hacking [unless you mean only getting some other people's turns]. But I also prefer llamaserver.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'd also be interested.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I would definitely be tempted to join again, the first one was a blast. At the same time I'm afraid to last till the end and having to manage such a huge empire again. Still, I think I'll have a go again.

I would suggest raising the cost of gem-producers even higher than what Velusion uses for his 'big' 20-player games though. If you look at the comments after Perpetuality ended, you can see Evilhomer had enough clams to cast 5 wishes a turn, and a medium size nation like Ermor had no less than 120 clams by game end. My suggestion would be to rais the cost of clams to 4W2N (yes, that's a lot, but if I was in a secure position I'd still craft them for a game this size) and fetishes to 2F2N. Not so sure about Earth stones, perhaps 3E4B.

Personally I also don't see the need to ban Utterdark/Arcane corruption/Burden of time, but I know you feel quite strongly about them. In any case banning them certainly won't make me back out of this game. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I had gobs of clams as well. Not as many as Evilhomer, but still had a ton of them, and was making several every turn.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

1. Yes, it may be good to raise the cost of gem producing items by 2 paths, rather than 1.

2. As for a victory condition, I am thinking a certain number of capitals. Though capitals can be hard to take. I fought many wars and in 90 turns only had 7 capitals at game end.

I would be curious if Velusion, Atul, or EvilHomer can recall how many capitals they owned? Taking capitals rewards aggressive nations. Nations that choose to sit tight and clam and build up may be very powerful, but it may be hard to gain ground in a race for capitals.

And if there are 60 players, what would be a reasonable number of capitals to win? 15? That means someone vanquished 15 nations. That is pretty good.

3. As the game moved along, we would need llamabeast to update how many capitals each major player owned.

4. With respect to file hacking, llamabeast can always look at any suspicious file. He can also verify if someone is cheating(by using a banned exploit). Of course he would not do this as a matter of course, only if some dispute arose.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

If you want capitals as a victory condition, can't you just do victory points with only capitals as victory provinces?

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

25% VPs only? Hmm...

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

We will end of voting on victory condition. I am just throwing out ideas.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

How many players do we already have? There are many newbies signing, is there any special rules for placing or just random?

P.S. I hope that map will have a bit more geographical barriers then EHII one http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I've decided I can't resist. I'm in. Don't remember If I said so in my last post. Capital VP's sounds good. A wraparound would also be nice, especially if this is a game that would be replayed. Problem is that someone needs to redraw a generated map. I could probably do so, but I should focus on the map that will never be, so that it will be http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I could probably redraw the map graphically without to much problems if someone provided a pre-generated map to start out with. But someone else would have to rework borders and stuff.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Dr. P has agreed to fine tune the mods.

Do we have a volunteer for a map?

I like velusion's map in fallacy, a continent north, a continent south, separated by water, with 2 land bridges.

If I can find the files for it I will post it. I just have the rgb files.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

Has there been any progress on combining llama and Vel or lch's scripts to make a hybrid PBEM/IP server where people can use either or both methods to take their turns? I'd think that if you simply ran both scripts at once on the same machine, that'd work. This megagame would be a perfect opportunity to try out some new and experimental scripting scheme http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I'd also like to try and put together a 900-province wrap-around map using a tileset. Maybe I've just been playing too much Carcasonne http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

Re: Any Interest in another Big Game this summer(M
 

I'd be interested in this. I had fun in the Perpetuality vise grip.