PBW Game: Big Fat Zero

dumbluck · #1 August 4th, 2001, 09:50 AM

I'm in. But I have one suggestion.

Put event frequency on high. It makes games much more interesting!

BTW, that is a wise PBW Mantra you've got there.

capnq · #2 August 5th, 2001, 02:59 AM

If I had time to add another PBW game, I'd be interested in this one, but I'm already spending too much time there. I couldn't let this comment go unchallenged, though:

quote:
Put event frequency on high. It makes games much more interesting!

I've only played one solo game with event frequency set to medium instead of low, and I quickly found that rate to be downright annoying. I don't think seeing two planets blow up from core instabilities within less than five years is very interesting at all. IMO, if event frequency goes up, event severity needs to go down to compensate.

------------------
Cap'n Q

The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the
human mind to correlate all of its contents. We live on a placid
island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was
not meant that we should go far. -- HP Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

dumbluck · #3 August 5th, 2001, 03:33 AM

yea, that's what makes it interesting. Or at least it will keep you on your toes!

Quikngruvn · #4 August 5th, 2001, 04:18 AM

If I raise the event frequency, I will be dropping the severity. Right now that's still a big 'if'. Personally, I think everyone's gonna have enough to worry about, between starting an empire from scratch, dealing with nine other human players, and dealing with enhance computer empires, without having to worry every turn if their homeworld's start is going to go nova. (I usually play on high severity.)

But, in the spirit of democracy, anyone in the game can vote for either low frequency and catastrophic severity, OR medium frequency and high severity.

Cap'n, I learned that mantra the hard way. I started my empire focusing more on infrastructure than defense when an agressive warmongering empire showed up in my home system. Being woefully underdefended, I was easy pickings for 'em. I was effectively out of the game within the first YEAR (though I've Lasted another year to taunt the invaders, wait for the inevitable, and pray for a miracle). Trust me, it will not happen again!

Five players so far: the game is half-full, or half-empty, depending on your point of view.

Quikngruvn

------------------
Stay alert. Trust no one. Keep your laser handy.
--from the RPG Paranoia, now my PBW mantra

Alpha Kodiak · #5 August 5th, 2001, 07:26 AM

I think this game is going to be really tough, even without a lot of random events happening. I usually turn random events off in my single player games so that the AI is not adversely hit by them, since the AI is less able to compensate than I am.

I'm OK with having random events, but I would rather keep them to a minimum.

dumbluck · #6 August 5th, 2001, 08:01 AM

Well, I guess that makes me pretty outvoted, huh?

Deathstalker · #7 August 5th, 2001, 08:30 AM

The best thing about random events is they often 'break the stalemate'. ie, all empires have built up but no one wants to make that 'first move' and declair war upon their neighbor for fear of another backstabbing them. Then the #1 player has a home system go nova, the #3 player attacks him, the #4 attacks 3 and 2 attacks 4, and so on. Otherwise it can degenerate into a game of 'hunt and kill the AI and then look at each other and wonder who will attack first.'. This is one scenario, the other of course is that everyone just goes for each others throat!!

------------------
"The Empress took your name away," said Chance.
Owen smiled coldly. "It wasn't hers to take. I'm a Deathstalker until I die. And we never forget a slight or an enemy." -Owen Deathstalker.