EpikBattel - Started

[Niarg]

I'd still rather we had a game at the default settings, especially as this will be the first MP game for most of us.

My experience is dabbling in SP and not started an MP game yet (I only got the game recently).

[llamabeast]

My advice: _Really_ don't play on World of Geometry, it's far too big for 12 players. I mean, it's fine (really cool in fact), but only if you're deliberately setting out to play a huge game, which is the case for the other group of players who are just starting a game on it. I would definitely not play your first MP game on it. It will go on for ever, be micromanagement hell and put you all off. I normally aim for about 15 provinces/player or a bit less. Cradle of Dominion would be a nice map if you get a few more players. I've actually just started a game on that with 19 players, but 14 or so would be a very reasonable number.

If you stay at 8 players then I have a modified version of the Parganos map which I think is excellent for 8. The modifications are to make it a fairer map, because the default version has excessive clustering of terrain types, meaning e.g. one player ends up with all the farms, another with all the wasteland.

I have to say I would also leave things like income on default. People very rarely change those settings and I don't know why you'd want to - they're about right as they are.

[Zeldor]

Big map is a good thing I really think WoG is the best map to play on available now.

[Zeldor]

otthegreat:

Did you unpack it into /mod folder in Dominions3 folder?

[FrozenFalcon]

Well we have only 8 players now, and if it stays like that I think we should take heed on Llamabeast's suggestion and play a smaller map, maybe that customized Parganos.

Otthegreat: Mod is packed into a rar file. You have to unpack it to the /mod folder. Like Zeldor said.

[DrPraetorious]

I"m quite experienced - behold my mighty post-count! - but I do love team games and would be happy to be either paired with a relative newbie, or given, say, Ulm.

Unclaimed nations that I like and haven't played in a while (in order of preference): Arcoscephale, Oceania, T'ien Ch'i, Pythium.

Nations that would count as a handicap at least if I play them: Ulm, Caelum (boy do I suck at Caelum), Agartha, Shinuyama.

[llamabeast]

Zeldor - big map is a subjective thing at best. Personally I would probably not join a game now that went as high as 20 provinces/player let alone thirty - I just don't enjoy the crazy micromanagement and hour-long turns. This is of course very much a matter of personal taste though, and many players really enjoy the epic feel of larger maps - that's very cool, and I envy their patience. I really feel it would be a mistake for people to play their first ever MP games on such a big map though. That's just my two cents (or rather pence!), but it's a reasonably strongly-felt two pence with a fair bit of experience behind it (regard my even mightier post count! - though Dr P is probably a good bit more experienced than me and just less verbose).

This is of course, however, not actually a game I'm in, so I'll keep my nose out now.

[Zeldor]

DrP:

I think you would beat everyone here even with Ulm... that is a newbie game so Ulm is quite nice for that. The same Caelum.

llamabeast:

Yeah, I understand it. I personally love maps that give every player some time to develop and grow. I got 3 MP games and all gave around 10 provinces per nation so I am sick of it. They give almost no strategic choices, especially with pretender creation. And I really do not want to play so small maps without CB mod, cause it really limits nation choice for me.

[otthegreat]

Zeldor said:
otthegreat:

Did you unpack it into /mod folder in Dominions3 folder?

Sorry to bother you with this again but I can't find a /mod folder. There are folders titled: battlemaps, doc, maps, rawsound, and tutdata but thats it.

[Zeldor]

Then you need to create one. Just name it 'mods' [not 'mod'].