MP: Power Beyond Comprehension aka "My power is still raising!" newbie game - Running

[Lung Drago]

Actually, if I count well, you may have just taken the 18th spot, megawidget. Congratulations
So many people pouring in I am scratching my head now. I remember when I first started dominions 3 and grew fond of it, I thought "Yet another game no one ever plays." Boy, I was apparently wrong.

Not everyone has a nation picked yet, but I'm OK with it. We have now some breathing space to discuss the map. Since we amount to 18 players, we need a somewhat bigger map indeed. So, what lands shall host our epic carnage?
Cradle of Dominion and Glory of the Gods both seem appealing to me. There's also Westeros, but that map is...unique and would certainly make for an..interesting game indeed. Thoughts?

Oh also I noticed Anaconda didn't post here yet. Since he comes from our previous game and voiced the rematch, it may just be he missed this game. Will PM later this day. It's a possible 1 slot open, though.

EDIT: Regarding score graphs suggestion above: I don't consider graphs off as a newbie friendly option. It sure is more...realistic, but you do have uses for spies even with graphs on. Not to mention llamaserver has it's own graphs anyway, these aren't turned off I think?

[Legendary League]

Originally Posted by Lung Drago

Not everyone has a nation picked yet, but I'm OK with it. We have now some breathing space to discuss the map. Since we amount to 18 players, we need a somewhat bigger map indeed. So, what lands shall host our epic carnage?
Cradle of Dominion and Glory of the Gods both seem appealing to me. There's also Westeros, but that map is...unique and would certainly make for an..interesting game indeed. Thoughts?

Cradle seems to be too crowded, though it's certainly an option. ~12ish provinces per player definitely sounds like a challenge, though some bless-rush nations will do a good job messing up late game nations if they're map positioned poorly. Orania (with the special sites turned off, via llamaserver), or Glory of the Gods (the MP version) offer much more room for players (though since Orania has much larger fronts, chokepoints are rare: GotG seems to me a happy medium between the two maps). But that's my vote.

EDIT: Regarding score graphs suggestion above: I don't consider graphs off as a newbie friendly option. It sure is more...realistic, but you do have uses for spies even with graphs on. Not to mention llamaserver has it's own graphs anyway, these aren't turned off I think?

To the second, they turn off if you turn off score graphs. That's what happened with the BSoD game I've been running (and really, the diplomacy and intel sharing has, thus far, been quite dynamic [at least from what I've experienced). To the first, that's one way of looking at it. Another is that it means players need to interact and communicate more (thus room for more RP!), and it doesn't necessarily punish someone for doing well. I understand entirely of course if you'd prefer to leave it on, it just seems to be more interesting.

[megawidget]

I'd like score graphs on, if only to keep track of my own incompetence!

Since I'm not yet decided on Yomi (looks like they might suck only slightly less in CBM compared to vanilla), I could play as Atlantis if it looks like the maps you're choosing from have too many water provinces for just R'lyeh. Otherwise I'm also considering Mictlanka, just to try my hand at blood magic -- something I haven't played around with yet.

[Legendary League]

Originally Posted by megawidget

I'd like score graphs on, if only to keep track of my own incompetence!

Since I'm not yet decided on Yomi (looks like they might suck only slightly less in CBM compared to vanilla), I could play as Atlantis if it looks like the maps you're choosing from have too many water provinces for just R'lyeh. Otherwise I'm also considering Mictlanka, just to try my hand at blood magic -- something I haven't played around with yet.

Ah blood magic.

Both Lanka and Mictlan were effectively nerfed this CBM with the removal of SDR (they rely on hordes of cheap B1 hunters with SDRs to accumulate masses of slaves). LA, in my opinion, is a better age to try out blood (also much fiercer competition: Ulm, Bogarus, Abysia, Marignon, Midgard, Utgard, and Mictlan [Patala to an extent] all compete for the same summons). Though Mictlanka are still definitely really good (blood is just...an awesome tree to get into. Especially when combined with Astral. How many send horrors do you need to cast till you send out a Doom horror, you think? )

[megawidget]

Originally Posted by Legendary League

Both Lanka and Mictlan were effectively nerfed this CBM with the removal of SDR (they rely on hordes of cheap B1 hunters with SDRs to accumulate masses of slaves). LA, in my opinion, is a better age to try out blood (also much fiercer competition: Ulm, Bogarus, Abysia, Marignon, Midgard, Utgard, and Mictlan [Patala to an extent] all compete for the same summons). Though Mictlanka are still definitely really good (blood is just...an awesome tree to get into. Especially when combined with Astral. How many send horrors do you need to cast till you send out a Doom horror, you think? )

I've read that blood magic is incredibly powerful. But yes, I've noticed that they effectively got nerfed in CBM. On the upside though sabbaths no longer use blood slaves, so that might make up for it. Slightly.
If we go with Cradle of Dominion, I think I'm going to go for Mictlan instead of Yomi and see how I do -- it'll be a bit tight I guess at 11.7 land provinces per land player, but probably quite manageable. If we go with Glory of the Gods MP though, I think I should be Atlantis to make sure R'lyeh doesn't hoard all the water.

[Legendary League]

Originally Posted by megawidget

I've read that blood magic is incredibly powerful. But yes, I've noticed that they effectively got nerfed in CBM. On the upside though sabbaths no longer use blood slaves, so that might make up for it. Slightly.

Doesn't really matter too much. Blood really needed the nerfbat, have to say. When someone with absolutely no blood access (MA Ulm, for example) can blood hunt and empower someone to start up a moderate blood economy (to get blood stones), something's broken. Still an amazingly powerful school though. Claws of Inferno/Cocytos is amazing against SCs, and combining horror marking with send/call horrors (or the occasional Hellpower suicide sabbaths) can be extremely difficult to deal with.

That being said, blood does have counters. Wishing armageddons hurts blood economies really badly, for example, and unrest raising remotes/thug raiding also hurts them. Spies too, for that matter. It's also so micro intensive, esp. Mictlan (who need to constantly blood sac to maintain dominion).

But yeah, try it out. Blood summons are awesome (get em before I do, because the 'heim's also have blood hunting potential through Vanjarls [got buffed so they have 50% chance for B2, so they're better hunters without SDR].

[megawidget]

Testing them out in SP.

Egad, CBM's changes make mages do truly idiotic things. I just had my solitary mictlan priest cast sabbath master and sabbath slave after the scripting expired.
That... didn't go too well.

It's still better than Agartha inflicting battle fright on all of own troops after the enemy routs. :