Most commonly used game settings
 

Just finished my first game of Dominions 3 in about two years (I've started others but can't remember if I actually finished them. Put the game down and forgot to pick it back up but really loved it when I did). So far, I've only played against the computer with the default game settings. With all the changes that have been made to the game, can anyone tell me if there are some 'standard' setting that are now used by most players, either in games vs the CPU or PvP games? Also if these involve mods, please let me know as I don't have any of those either but plan on investigating them. Thanks!

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

In particular, the victory conditions (total dominion) seemed to be a problem, as victory was a foregone conclusion long before I actually had dominion in every territory. I know there are others but I'm not sure which are considered the 'best.'

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Gandalf is going to tell you that there is no such thing, and that players play on a vast number of settings and they might change depend on map size, and there's pros and cons to each system.

Someone else is going to come in here and tell you that cbm is the most commonly used mod on these forums and that playing against the AI there is no real common setting other than gold/resources and maybe max supply, because only a few people here play against the AI and most regard it only as useful for testing openings for MP. And if you do play against the AI the settings probably don't matter.

I don't really think that there's any particularly great victory conditions you can use against the AI, because it's not really capable of playing against any but the standard. You could try VPs but the AI would be hopeless there. Your best bet imo is either to just play on small maps or quit when you feel like you've won already. I generally stick to mostly normal settings with the increased supply so that the AI can field armies without starving itself quite as badly, play on maps no larger than 80 provinces, and still usually quit before I've completely killed the AI because there really does tend to be a point where you've already won. Maybe going even smaller, like less than 30 provinces would make a more intense game, or you could go the opposite route and play a really huge map that's so big you feel like you can never, ever win it :D

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Yeah what he said

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

In multiplayer games, everyone uses the combined balance mod. The latest one is cbm 1.84

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Cbm is the most commonly used mod on these forums and playing against the AI there is no real common setting other than gold/resources and maybe max supply, because only a few people here play against the AI and most regard it only as useful for testing openings for MP. And if you do play against the AI the settings probably don't matter.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Which CBM? I know 1.84 is the latest, but for some reason there's a bunch of new games started with 1.6.

Also, how do you know how many people play against the AI? Was there a poll or something?

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

:D

Deathblob - There aren't many prolific posters who openly talk about actually playing SP. Off the top of my head, there's probably no more than 5. And the usual MP player response to that question is "no one plays SP". It's not that I know how many play against the AI, it's that I know how many don't!

The majority of people are probably going to play with the most recent version of CBM, whatever it is at the time. However there are a certain number of people who strongly dislike some of the decisions CBM has made. 1.6 is an important version because after that dwarven hammers became unique. Later versions of CBM also were the beginning of additional new content to the mod, instead of just making changes to the original game, so 1.6 is the best compromise between "enhanced vanilla" and adding new content.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

I only play SP (only played a couple of MP games since dominions 2) and i notice that, against the AI i tend to play games with +- 200 provinces, all AIs of a era, CBM latest version, and AIs all on Difficult setting...

I like to use VPs even against the AI and abundant supplies help the AI maintain huge armies better... Independents at 9 also negates a lot of early rush tactics that i can be tempted to use...

If i really want a challenge against the AI i set my dominion with Drain 3, as with this setting it almost catch up to my research curve...

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

The problems with a poll is that Solo players dont tend to create a login, and rarely stop by unless they are looking for something. But creating a login and visiting regularly is almost a requirement for MultiPlay. So asking in this forum tends to skew the numbers. Dom3 has sold many many more copies than the number of players here yet many of those are just as continual in their playing.

The active Solo players here tend to be the people involved in creating some of the most popular addons. Maps, mods, 3rd party programs, informational databases and spreadsheets. Those people create accounts here to make their works available and track threads discussing those works.

My website caters to everyone, and one of the few that carries items for solo play. I see quite abit of soloer traffic there. www.Dom3Minions.com

My site also caters to many different Dom3 groups from many different forums. I agree that CBM is quite popular here (about 50%) but not so much on other forums. And as you said ver 1.6 is quite popular with some groups more than 1.8

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Well I think I'd like to eventually move onto MP but my goal was to first practice on SP since I've played so few games, so I was hoping to mimic the MP settings while still keeping SP somewhat entertaining. Thanks for the replies so far.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

It is more or less impossible to practice MP by playing SP. The strategies are so unimaginably different. The only real thing you can do via SP play for MP is to familiarize yourself with what various spells and items do and the units of other nations. But they're used for different purposes and have different relative values in MP games. Your best bet is to find a newbie-only game or a newbie-only game. Every once in a while there are games where more experienced players give feedback to newer players. And best of all, just join us on IRC! server = irc.gamesurge.net, port = 6667, channel = #dominions. Especially with players new to MP around, we tend to hold friendly blitzes and give advice on strategies. I've seen 'new' players become quite competent after hanging around IRC and playing blitzes for a few weeks, shockingly fast if you think about it.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

You can also use SP to get your fast-burn strategies down for the first 10 turns or so. Many MP games, especially blitzes, are on small tight maps. Winning or losing can be based on who got just 1 more province than the others or the most important spells before meeting another player

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

I think map-size is the biggest game changing factor. I play vanilla MP games with 10-15 provinces per player for 5-6 players. All settings remain on default.

I don't see the need for the CBM yet. How many clams can one nation forge in the 50-60 turns that the game lasts anyway?

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Chazar - removing clams is by no means the only change that CBM makes. It alters many other things, such as spell costs, unit costs, unit stats etc..

The intention in all cases is to address options which appear to be present in the game, but are actually clearly "bad" to an experienced player. For example, in base-game dom3, light cavalry are very expensive and not very good. New players might think that recruiting light cavalry is an interesting option, but experienced players will know that it is essentially never a good idea. Similarly for summoning drakes (seems cool, but far too expensive). And similarly for many many other things.

CBM addresses these issues to make these options viable. Light cavalry are still pretty niche - but within their niche they are potentially useful. Similarly most people will still never summon a drake, but if they are in a situation where drakes are useful, or they've come up with a cunning drake-based strategy, there's some hope that it'll work out well for them.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Yes CBM makes a few more changes...
CBM 1.84 has 13,873 modding commands in it.
Many many answers, guides, wiki references, manual references have to be prefaced with CBM or not CBM.

IMHO you can learn to play games and join games with CBM, or without it. Its hard to go both ways. Personally I play without it, mostly solo. I dont care to have game options taken away. I play with lots of mods, but mostly more More MORE mods (more gods, more spells, more heroes, more nations, more magic sites)

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

The whole point of CBM is to add game options.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Yeah yeah I know. I hear it often in IRC. And I even agreed with it in the earliest versions.
Now with later versions I dont agree. Especially for SP
But thats just my opinion

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

Fair enough. :)

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

13,873 is just a number. It can take over a dozen mod commands to add a new unit or make minor changes to an existing one. I joined a game to help test an earlier version of the mod and steamrolled my two nearest neighbors without once glancing at a single reference of the changes the mod makes to the game.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

I agree it really depends on map size. On bigger maps, settings with lots of money, clams of pearls, make the game tedious. On small maps, they are useful.
End game diversity is also a mod that gets some use. I'm playing a game with zero water province, and the vanilla version of water gives you very little to do (except clams, which aren't taht useful in a four-player 60 provinces game).

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

In answer to the OP, I think the single most important setting is screen resolution. I use 1280 x 1024.

Re: Most commonly used game settings
 

I typically play on a small random map with the maximum # of AI opponents for that age. Things get ugly pretty quickly and I quit when I take 5 capitals, or 25% of the provinces, or I just know I've won but don't want to take the time to prove it. That's usually the point in the game where you are putting up globals and making SCs anyway so it's not like the AI could compete with you at that point.