Invisible Swarm 2 - in limbo - Page 3

IndyPendant · #21 October 17th, 2007, 09:40 PM

Hmm...the Three Lakes map does look neat, but I see a few difficulties using it in this game:

1) There are 9, maybe 10 players. The map has 104 provinces, which means we will have only 10.4-11.5 provinces per player. That will make for a *brutally* vicious game, particularly under difficult research.

2) The mountains and border mountains are clustered together, which reduces suitable starting points even further. I suspect fair placement will be difficult to implement for this map.

3) This is a preference thing; some players may call this an *advantage*. ; ) --There are zero choke points on this map. There are also few plains.

Note that I'm not saying 'no'. Just pointing out potential issues with the 3-Lake map, in this game.

I suggest the wraparound Silent Seas map.

--No, I'm kidding. : )

If we wanted large expansion room (which could fit the difficult-research theme), we could go Cradle. Or we could use Cradle and invite one or two more players.

Otherwise, of the maps I am aware of, I would probably prefer the Desert Eye over Three Lakes. That isn't a strong preference though, and I will play in either happily.

archaeolept · #22 October 17th, 2007, 09:45 PM

yah that's a bit small - especially with difficult research.

jeffr · #23 October 17th, 2007, 11:18 PM

I'm in as Pangaea! Thanks for saving a spot. I haven't been checking here regularly for a while, so I didn't see this until just now.

Actually, I'm very rusty but what the hell.

So we're using the latest CB mods and the latest Worthy Heroes mod? I'll find them and download them now. I think I played with one of the very early version of the CB mod, but that would have been a long time ago. So, I'll just wing it and hopefully get lucky.

(and a little later...)
I tried downloading from the CB post in the Mods section and couldn't. Does anybody have a link for the latest CB and Worthy Heroes mods?

jeffr · #24 October 17th, 2007, 11:19 PM

Oh, and not that my vote should count for much since I haven't been around, but I vote for Score Graphs Off. Half the fun is not knowing what's going on.

IndyPendant · #25 October 17th, 2007, 11:45 PM

As a relative MP newbie, Score Graphs Off scares me. There's a boogeyman in the closet daddy, I can hear it scratching...

I'm also thoroughly confused as to which mods will be used for this game. Can CB be broken up? Is there a version that is compatible with 3.10 that I can't find? Before we start, I'd like to know clearly what mods I need to download. ; )

quantum_mechani · #26 October 18th, 2007, 12:11 AM

The current CB version up for download is not that current, a new version should be up this weekend. Actually the same goes for worthy heroes, Turin has taken an indefinite dominions leave, so he's allowing me to update his mod in the meantime. And yes, CB can be parted up in any version, though I hope you'll consider the new full version when it's out.

CUnknown · #27 October 18th, 2007, 12:56 AM

Yes, the CB mod can be broken up into parts. We are only using the Gods and the Scales part. As far as I know, only Spells and Nations (?) are incompatible with v3.10. I'd actually like to use Spells if QM makes it compatible with v3.10 before we start.

Worthy Heroes

CB 1.1

About the map, I think we should probably use a random map.

Edit: I think we should wait until the new mods are out before starting if that's okay with everyone. It gives us time to figure out a map.

Jurri · #28 October 18th, 2007, 01:18 PM

I think I'll go with Bandar Log. (Could you put the player list in the initial post: it's the fastest to check

)

I have not been very impressed by the random maps: they have all kinds of problems starting with provinces that are not connected to any other provinces and ending with weird starting position placement. (The latter is probably more a function of the general capital placement algorithm, but at least for me it has been more pronounced on random maps.) Three Lakes would be a fine map. (Although I much prefer wraparounds when possible.)

No graphs gets my vote! Flailing around in the dark has it's own allure. Since the victory condition is rather obvious, there's no problem of a 'sneak victory,' either, for those who worry about such things. I have no strong opinion on the matter, however, so if it helps Indy sleep at night scores on is good

Indeed, to address his other issues:
1) ~10 provs per player is plenty, and has proven to provide for a nice stage for the kind of aggressive games that the Invisible Swarms have been. Quick an' dirty and fun! It's of course not everyone's cup of tea, but I would prefer we not bloat the map: there are plenty of games that can satisfy the urge for a more sparsely populated map.

2 & 3) I suspect you're mixing 3 lakes up with Pasha's other map or something. 3 lakes has plenty of plains, and while there are only two non-passable mountain ranges they create some choke-points, along with the map not being wrap-around. Especially for land nations the map has a lot of tight spots what with the lakes and all. You should take one yourself and see for yourself

PashaDawg · #29 October 18th, 2007, 01:47 PM

Howdy from Athens!

If on the off chance you use Three Lakes, you might want to make sure you use the updated map file (on the same thread) that no one starts with the province with a wraithlord, because otherwise, that player will get a free wraithlord commander, which is a bit unfair.

But, what about Jurri's map (Playground of the Dawgs)? Is it too small? It is a wraparound, and Jurri recently updated it from Eye Cancer to Eye Candy.

Pasha

archaeolept · #30 October 18th, 2007, 01:52 PM

10 provinces per player is pretty small, and will hurt anyone not running a bless strat, especially due to difficult research. I can cope w/ that though

i'd prefer sticking w/ only worthy heroes, scales, and pretenders. I barely know vanilla DomIII, and so might have problems adapting to CB spells and nations - scales and pretenders, all the changes are up front, so easy to factor in.