SP Home Rules
 

I play nearly exlusively Single Player and i´m curious what "home rules" other players use to make SP games more interesting, here are mine:

- Never attack an AI unless attacked first;
- Always maintain research paths at the same level (i.e. need to have all paths in level 2 before researching level 3 in any path);
- Use thematic/national pretenders.

So, what are your home rules for SP?

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Currently:

Vampires are ethereal.

AIs get a SC pretender w/ magic items from Semirandom.

Some of the AI nations are slightly improved (better Eponi Knight, recruitable-anywhere Svartalfs, sacred Hydras for EA C'tis).

-Max

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Set supply setting to max.

Never bid more than minimum amount for mercenaries.

When buying PD, always increase it equally in all provinces, and never go above 10

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I still don't understand how people play on Impossible, and then handicap themselves. :p

I play with all Mighty, and on maps meant for MP (relatively few chokepoints), and unless I am playing a nation that is meant to revolve around huge numbers of cheap mundane troops, the AI looks at my Army Size, and they all declare war at me, coming from all directions, and swamping my little empire. :eek:

Maybe on Impossible, I will not outgrow them so fast at first, so I won't be sprawling out, with borders with so many nations, and such a low troop/province ratio? I'm just mystified that everyone claims Impossible is too easy - it's all plenty easy, until I end up the focal point of a cheap p0rno for the AI's pleasure.

So for me, I handicap myself by playing like it's MP, and getting mauled by the entire world at once. :D

Re: SP Home Rules
 

My general feeling is that the AI is exploitable even on impossible.

It can't deal with SCs or uber-bless troops. Using an SC nation, a good SC pretender, or a bless rush I'll slaughter the AI.
If I try to rely on regular troops and mages, especially on a crowded map, I wind up in the same situation: Getting swamped by hordes from all sides.

So that's my handicap challenge: Crowded map and beat the AI at it's own game. No uber-bless, SC pretender or recruitable SCs.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Better Independents mod, all impossible AIs and generally relying on normal troops and standard battle magic. Maybe some thugs, but no SCs really. Fairly low site frequency and supplies increased. Indie strength 7.

That's plenty challenge on a reasonably crowded map, because not only will the AI horde you, it'll do so with quality troops (at least with BI Gold).

Re: SP Home Rules
 

It's partly a function of nation. Right now I'm still in love with Ashdod because there are so many options (I'm still discovering new tactics, and I just recently found a great use for slingers). However, that means I need to crank up the AI difficulty to have a fun game because Ashdod Eats Everything. It's no fun knowing cool tricks unless you *need* cool tricks.

If I were playing LA Agartha, historical evidence says I'd be scaling back the AIs because a game that's too hard is no better than one that's too easy.

-Max

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I just did a Niefel game with 9W/9E/8N, and I was ENORMOUS compared to any of the AIs, and I had a massive gem income. But on Pasha's Asia Twist map, I had probably 10 entry points into my territory, and once all neighbors declared war, I couldn't hold them all back.....

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I see the points in those.
You might also try "only allowed one at a time of the Mercs that are available". And never fire any even when they are down to just one commander.

Some things that I do is ally the AIs with each other (its a map command thing)

Giving the AIs better builds help. Create a god and logical scales to give the AI (can be done by map commands or starting a game as human then going at about turn 4)

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Here is the list to add if I return to SP:

- Always pick up a random nation and pefer a national pretender.
- Only play a couple of turns everyday, try planning your strategy as detailed as MP (very hard to obey though...).
- Only rely on national troops/low level summons, never deploy your thugs/SCs.
- Ban the end-game GE in MP:Forge of the Ancients, AC, AN, etc.
- Stop the game as soon as all spells are researched.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

When in SP, I:

-- never buy mercenaries
-- play "combined arms": armies are a mix of troop types rather than only the most useful/efficient
-- prefer thematic pretenders (the ones that usually won't help your magic diversity)

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I tried Ashdod with BI mod [try beating imposible AI on that], against 20 impossible AIs, supplies at 300 and no AI nation could scratch me. Ashdod is insane and shouldn't be played in SP :)

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I play small random maps with the maximum # of opponents and never recruit mercenaries. I typically make it a victory point game with 5 VPs, capture 4 to win.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I never play play against the AI sober.

It's my "Better AI" mod. ;)

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Never being the first to break the peace with an AI.

Benevolence guidelines (ruling as if to rule, not to conquer a ruined world) --
Never using Death scales unless playing the Ashen Empire.
Never using Misfortune scales, regardless of nation.
Never setting taxes above normal, unless AE.
Never pillaging, unless AE.
Not using pop-killing magic or 'mess up the whole world' globals unless the AE.


If having a feasible idea about something that seems amusing, try it even if it's almost certainly suboptimal (e.g. a black-hearted Umbral for use as an assassin, GoR'ing a Hydra for a most bizarre prophet, using a Skeptic Prophet, giving a Tartarian Stymphalian Wings and boots of quickness...).

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I never play SP without a Victory Condition, usually VPs at capitals, 66% or 75% of VPs required for victory.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I play on Large random maps, with money, supply and resources set to 150% (more in later Eras), 65% sites freq. (less in later eras), 2 starting provinces (more in later eras) to add a bit of a random, indeps at 6 (more in later eras), easy magic research because otherwise I get bored. :)
But most important I personally design every pretender and play some turns, setting the nation AI later when I think it can "walk with its own legs" (bought some elite troops, conquered some easy indies). I usually give them an Awake SC or great scales.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Just to plug...
we could use your experiences in doing that to add to the SemiRand program. The drawback of manually starting the AI nations is that you know too much about them when you do it. But with enough varied (but not self-destructive) god builds for each nation then the SemiRand program will be able to randomize the AIs settings each game for us without giving away their position and designs.
Please donate some designs to fill in our gaps.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I would love to do it for sure, but I'm a disaster in coding/programming etc :( Just link me to where I can find informations ;)

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Its not coding. The program pretty much handles that.
much of the discussion is in previous threads but here is the latest
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=34826

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I have finally gotten around to figuring out how to use SemiRandom. I've been playing out little mini-games (playing a few turns and then starting a new one) to try out new pretenders. I'll post when I have 10-20 of them.

-Max

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Great. I settled into my gods long ago and dont tend to experiment anymore. Particularly, I should have written a bunch of them down back when I was turning them AI and I got a feel for what the AI did and didnt do well. I do still get a giggle at old stuff like this one (the Dom2 Starter Gods project) and the puns I used to do.
http://www.dom3minions.com/~minion/starter/

I do still come up with province ideas which I really should turn in to SemiRand. They arent killer provinces like many people do (some would take all the players ganging up to take them out!) but I figure that the more variety the better. SemiRand is no good if all the placed provinces are killer.

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Regarding playing against "Difficult" vs. "Impossible" AIs...

...what size maps are you all playing on? I think this may be the relevant variable. I don't have the patience for a long game, so I play on 50 province maps against 5 AIs. That means by year 3 the indies are all gone and all the AIs are pounding on me... which means I usually play against "Difficult", because I get crushed by anything tougher unless I'm playing an uber-bless strategy.

If you're playing on a 200 province map against the same 5 AIs, by year 3 you probably have 100 provinces and the AIs are cowering in terror before you, so I can see how you might need to crank the difficulty up to "Impossible" for a challenging game.

Is this what is actually happening? Or is this just a story I tell myself so I don't feel so pathetic?

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Krpeters,

With Ashdod I'm playing on crowded maps (33 AIs on Glory of the Gods at the moment, about 15 provinces per player), all Impossible AIs, and SemiRandomized gods for the AIs so many of them have SCs and/or extra troops. And the BI mod of course.

There's no way I could handle this pressure with EA C'tis--I'd probably have to turtle until I researched up to Evocation 7--and even with Ashdod it's tricky.

I hope that answers your question. Don't feel pathetic because I *am* using an uber-bless strategy (E10N6 imprisoned Cyclops is pretty uber for giant nations).

-Max

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I must thank CBM for having solved my Cyclops addiction :D A dual bless is almost unviable with 80 points cost of a new path IMHO. (Not that I liked the Cyclops that much thematically, it was just a solid and always-available option to fall back to :) )

Re: SP Home Rules
 

I was early beta-tester so Ive played this game for a year or so longer than most. And I like to play RPGish. So Ive shifted to really REALLY large maps quite awhile ago. In fact, for quite awhile all of my games have either been a quick test game on the mini-map battle simulator which only has 6 provinces, or its been 1000-1500 provinces. Like these..
http://www.dom3minions.com/RandomMap...rs/keepers.htm

If you want, two are available here..
I recommend MegaMap and TriMega. Altho if you dont mind the lack of graphics then Max_oo1 has the advantage of being a wrapped map (the edges connect so no edges and corners).
http://www.dom3minions.com/maps.htm

Re: SP Home Rules
 

Thanks, that does make me feel better. I probably should try more games in better conditions against "Mighty" AIs, but for now I'll continue having fun playing MA Pangaea with my War Minotaur horde stomping the Difficult AIs flat :)