PBEM Game: Yarnspinners 2 (Running)

[PashaDawg]

My nation preferences: Tien Chi, Arco, C'tis.

Zen mods are fine.

No need for outside judge of yarns.

May 1 good starting date.

It is fine to have a definite ending date at turn 60.

Don't care about the PD, but I would certainly take a big one if given.

[Alneyan]

Well, let's count the ballots:

- Mods: Zen Pretenders definitively, Scales mod is in too, Spell mod will likely be in.
- No outside judge giving awards; 1 astral pearl per yarn, two if most players find the yarn to be interesting.
- The game shall start on May 1.
- Game ending on turn 60, unless most players would like to go on for a longer while (after turn 45).
- Beefed-up capital PD, along the lines of 100 PD.
- Nation picks will be done on the "top three" (or more, though three nations should be enough) basis.

The other settings for the game:
- Map: Orania has been suggested (275 provinces or so, wrap-around). Inland could be another possibility, but may be a bit too small (150 provinces, wrap-around).
- Independents: 6 should be the minimum; Panther suggested level-9 independents.
- Magic research: Panther suggested Very Hard research; in YS1, standard research seems to have resulted in a very speedy pace of research (Caelum must be very near the end of the research on turn 57, and Man had done most of it by turn 50, despite being a poor nation for research, and without any research boosting item).
- Magic sites at 50, Hall of Fame with 15 entries, renaming is on.

People having expressed interest in joining the game:
- Quantum Mechani:
- PashaDawg: T'ien Ch'i, Arcoscephale, C'tis
- Griffin: Ulm, Marignon, Jotunheim
- The Panther: Man, R'lyeh, Pangaea
- Sedna: Marignon, Ulm, Atlantis
- Djo: Vanheim, C'tis, Machaka, Ermor, Marignon
- Puffyn: C'tis, Jotunheim, Marignon
- Zen:
- Alneyan: Ulm, Pangaea, Caelum

[GriffinOfBuerrig]

Sounds fine: My Nation preferences: Ulm, Marigion, Jotunheim

[The Panther]

My nation choices : 1. Man, 2. R'lyeh, 3. Pangaea


My comments:

1. I think 1 pearl per yarn does not seem enough of a reward for putting forth that much effort. Maybe something like 5-10 pearls per yarn might keep people really wanting to keep up with those yarns throughout the whole game. And the extra income from writing would be noticeable over those who are not writing. A just reward, in other words.

2. I would vote for graphs on, as this will help with the story lines and we will be seeing the whole map every third turn anyway.

3. Map - Inland might be an excellent choice with only 8 players (9 counting the neutral). But with 10 or 11, it will be too crowded for the game purpose and the bigger map would be much better. Orania plays quite a bit smaller than 275 because it is wrap-around. Also, with a 60 turn limit, we will not be reaching the late game tedium that always happen to the surviving players on large maps. Obviously, I cannot take R'lyeh on Inland but can with Orania. Same applies to Atlantis for those that choose that race.

4. Research - Normal research is just plain TOO EASY! The players ought to have to make tough research choices instead of just willy-nilly researching everything under the sun with no worries.

5. I will be out of the country June 17-June 28 and will have absolutely no access to the internet while gone. I could probably find a sub to play but not to write. I know Alneyan will also be on vacation around the same time.

6. Host and owner of neutral nation???????


Panther

[Alneyan]

Regarding the independent nation: if I play them along with another nation, the independents will be open to anyone, so it will be possible to check what happens with their hoard. It also means everybody will have access to the Eyes of God enchantment, which could be annoying depending on how much information the spell gives.

Even if the host wasn't playing in the game, I think I would still rather have the independent nation open to everyone, if I were simply a player. There can always be suspicions about how all those pearls are used, or simply mistakes.

And something I forgot: my turns will be kept on Gandalf's server (along with all the other turns), in case a thorough check is needed. Having the files on his server should ensure they haven't been altered, one way or another.

[Alneyan]

Who will play what nation:
- PashaDawg: T'ien Ch'i
- Griffin: Ulm
- The Panther: Man
- Sedna: Marignon
- Djo: Vanheim
- Puffyn: C'tis
- Alneyan: Pangaea
- Quantum Mechani: Pythium
- Zen (Sorry, I forgot to add you in my previous roster): ?

[Alneyan]

Does anyone have an opinion about the reward per yarn? I would say that five pearls per yarn is fairer than a single one; if most players find the yarn enjoyable, it could become ten pearls instead (five pearls every three turns isn't that high after all).

An alternative solution for the independent nation: they could be "closed" (only the host would see them), but the host wouldn't be elligible for pearl awards. I would say it is fair, and easier to manage than the other solution. There remains the risk of the host cheating ("one thousand shiny, lovely astral pearls for my own treasury... My precious..."), but that wouldn't be a very "efficient" way of cheating (meaning there are others ways to cheat, which would yield much better results).