New Dawn - EA Dawn of Dominions

[Mind Elemental]

Hey all,

A group of friends and I are putting together a Dawn of Dominions game, and decided to throw it wide open - since there's only five of us, that still leaves plenty of vacancies. This is conditional on one generous soul offering server hosting, because we don't have the time or energy to run a PBEM game.

UPDATE - Ich will host our game.

Currently, nations are as follows-

Taken - Arcoscephale (Mind Elemental), Agartha, C'tis (LeSquide), Ulm (AI)

Taken by Shrapneleers-
Oceania - Dedas
Ermor - Amhazair
Vanheim - Beefeater1980
Caelum - Ich
Marverni - Darrel
Helheim - Reverend Zombie.
Kailasa - DryaUnda

72 h quickhost
Renaming on
All else at default

[Dedas]

I would like to try Sauromatia please.

[Teraswaerto]

I'd like to join as Kailasa.

[Amhazair]

I think I can fit a nice and slow game into my busy dominions schedule http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I'd like to play Ermor.

Edit: I'm willing to surrender my spot to a potential host if he wants to play Ermor. )

[Mind Elemental]

Awesome, we only need four more! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[lch]

Since 72h is alot of time, I think I'll be able to fit in here. I'd like to play Vanheim, but only because of their magic paths, not their blesses, I swear! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Have you found hosting now?

[Sir_Dr_D]

I will take an attempt as Marverni.

[K]

I'd like to play as Lanka.

[Remmy]

I'll play as Caelum

[Teraswaerto]

Lanka? It be impossible. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif

[Methel]

I'd like Mictlan please

[Mind Elemental]

Still no hosting, I'm afraid.

Sorry K & Methel, no Lanka or Mictlan on this map.

We now only have one slot free, Helheim.

[lch]

Mind Elemental said:
Still no hosting, I'm afraid.


I can't promise anything yet, but if it's possible for me to host the game then I'll do it. Which depends on how much the firewall is hampering me, though.

[Mind Elemental]

Excellent! Hopefully your firewall will cooperate! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Reverend Zombie]

I'll take Helheim, please.

Thanks!

[lch]

Okay, I am fairly certain that I can provide hosting. Just tell me how we should do this... everybody sends me their pretenders? Or can I set up a MP game remotely with empty nations on a dedicated server and start after everybody has uploaded their pretender? I have no graphical login. Help!

[Mind Elemental]

Okay! Welcome aboard, Zombie - and hold on tight, everyone, we're now full up!

Hmm... I kind of prefer letting everyone upload their pretender directly to the server. However, if that wouldn't work for you, then we can email pretenders - it shouldn't make too much of a difference.

[lch]

Okay, I'll try to get the server up in a short time, might take a couple of days, though.

BTW, do you want to use the original Dawn map from the game or this one? http://www.dom3minions.com/games/dawn.jpg

[StrictlyRockers]

Hi all,

I am an old time wargamer, but newish to Dominions 3. (I will still kick your butt at it.) I will be playing the Vanheim position for Ich, as he feels he has taken on too much and is a bit overwhelmed atm.

I am committed to finishing games that I start, so no worries on that front. I like playing Vanheim, too, so this should be fun.

SR

[lch]

Yep, StrictlyRockers asked about playing a EA game in the Dominions IRC channel, and since I have lots of work in front of me on very short notice, I am quite happy to give the position over to him.

I will still take care about the hosting, though, and I expect that I should be ready by this weekend, maybe even tomorrow.

[Mind Elemental]

lch said:
BTW, do you want to use the original Dawn map from the game or this one? http://www.dom3minions.com/games/dawn.jpg



Sorry, dude, the link isn't working for me. What's the difference?

Welcome, StrictlyRockers! Ich, thanks for hosting anyway, and hope to play with you another time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Teraswaerto]

Perhaps we could use the Worthy Heroes mod?

[Mind Elemental]

Teraswaerto said:
Perhaps we could use the Worthy Heroes mod?



1) I wouldn't mind the mod, but I wonder about the hassle of getting everyone to DL and install it. What does everyone else think?

And while I'm polling everyone:

2) Should we set some kind of special victory condition (such as capital VPs - get 2/3rds to win)

3) Should we have some kind of limit on blesses?

[lch]

I'd encourage using the Worthy Heroes mod, but I wouldn't use the CB mod incase somebody is suggesting it because the game has to be played quite differently from the way that players are used to, and it's still under lots of fine-tuning development by qm.

Since I'm not playing myself, I don't vote on Victory Points.

Why do you want to limit blesses? And how? Blesses require lots of points in pretender design, that's already limiting their usage, and there's still diplomacy against too strong players. But if you want to nerf Helheim and Vanheim, okay.

[Mind Elemental]

Well, Dawn is not that huge a map, IIRC. You could conceivably take an imprisoned pretender, Sloth, and Death, and with the Cold 1, have more than enough points to go nuts with W9F9 Helhirdings. I've seen suggestions in other games icluding 'limit 9+ blesses to awake pretenders', which might help.

Still, what do you think?

[lch]

Mind Elemental said:
Well, Dawn is not that huge a map, IIRC. You could conceivably take an imprisoned pretender, Sloth, and Death, and with the Cold 1, have more than enough points to go nuts with W9F9 Helhirdings. I've seen suggestions in other games icluding 'limit 9+ blesses to awake pretenders', which might help.

Still, what do you think?


I am playing a W9F9 Helheim on another server and I am getting the [censored] beaten out of me by all of my four neighbours which attacked me together because they got intimidated by the "zOMG overpowered!" hype. That's kinda overdoing it, but if you really think that some facehugger nation has an unfair advantage then there is still diplomacy to take care of them. Nobody can take on more than two players at once.

[StrictlyRockers]

I don't mind downloading and installing mods. That should not be a problem.

I like province-based victory conditions. Control of 2/3 of all provinces seems a bit high to me. I think control of 1/2 of all provinces might be sufficient, but I am easy, 2/3 will work fine, too.

I am not in favor of nerfing races or spells at this point. The game seems balanced enough, and coalitions do happen.

SR

[Sir_Dr_D]

This is going to be a very imbalanced game. Not only is it a small map, everyone also knows the starting locations of everybody. This will make bless very deadly. But also very deadly will be SC pretenders.Someone could very early take an SC pretender, and take a neighbor out within the first few turns.

But what will balance things a little bit is the fact that since everyone will know who their neighbors will be ahead of time, they can create a setup during pretender creation that will best counter those nations. I am playing as the Marverni, which is one of the worst nations for handling small map blitzes. But i picked that nation because of that, and it will be a fun challenge to come up with an effective defence strategy using them. So let everyone be warned. The druids are ready, and should you try to invade marverni lands, you will be promptly expelled.

The best way I can think of to balance things would be if we have a rule that says no nation can attack another for the first ten turns or so.That will give everyone a chance to build up some sort of defense.

[Covenant]

Hey, I'm one of the guys Mind got from outside the board. I'd approve of bless limitings mostly because I personally find them rather dull pickings for a game, and enjoy the more intricate balancing act that comes from requiring people to be more sparing. Pushing for awake pretenders doesn't nerf anyone--the 'heims are still very powerful--but it doesn't unfairly benefit one side over another to the same degree.

I'm also not aware of the Worthy Hero mod, nor have I ever downloaded one of these maps before. How do I do that, which do I get, and so on?

[StrictlyRockers]

A SC rush strategy sounds pretty deadly on a small map where opponents' positions are already known. Having a dormant pretender sounds like a very bad idea here.

What sorts of limitations are people thinking of for bless - some sort of limitations on the levels and combinations of different paths of magic? Are people worried about blessed sacred troops that get uber-powerful?

SR

[Teraswaerto]

An early SC that can take indies alone is much much easier to counter than heavily blessed Helhirdings.

Perhaps we could agree that pretender must be awake or sleeping, not imprisoned. That would make a heavy bless harder to pull off.

The thing is, though, that EA Vanheim and Helheim are so strong they can rush many nations even with no bless and usually win.

Mods are installed by placing the .dm file in \dominions3\mods folder. The host determines what mods are used in any given game. I attached the Worthy Heroes mod to this post.

[Mind Elemental]

Based on geography, can anyone other than Ulm and Vanheim easily reach Helheim? And similarly, does anyone other than Marverni and Helheim border Van? Diplomacy is always an option, but mobbing the Heims might not be too easy on this map.

I'm most concerned about the W9F9 Heim bless, even though that's not invincible. I see two alternatives, which we could use individually or together:

- Limit 9+ blesses to awake/sleeping pretenders, similar to what Teraswaerto suggested. (I'd favour letting people pick imprisoned, non-bless pretenders, though - although I don't know if it would be very wise to pick a scalemonster on a smallish map like this.) This may have the side effect of encouraging SC pretenders, though even then they'd be one lucky Soul Slay or Horror Mark or even Sleep away from being stopped. It may also go a bit far in nerfing Kailasa, whose sacreds are IIRCC horribly vulnerable to missiles.

- Have a truce for the first X turns, as Darrel suggested.

Thoughts?

[Teraswaerto]

Helheim practically borders Kailasa, there is a tunnel under the big mountain, 143 and 145 are connected.

[Reverend Zombie]

Mind Elemental said:
I'm most concerned about the W9F9 Heim bless, even though that's not invincible. I see two alternatives, which we could use individually or together:




This is my first time as Helheim in Dom 3, and I won't be using W9F9 bless, for whatever that is worth... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

This is my first time playing Vanheim MP. I am not planning to be using an imprisoned or a dormant pretender. It is probable that I will go to level 9 in one path of magic so I can get one good bless stat boost on my sacred troops.

I think disallowing imprisoned pretenders would be a simple solution to uber-bless strategies. Having a dormant pretender would still be allowed.

SR

[Covenant]

On a small map, a Dormant pretender could be an okay defense. As the Ulm player, I am well aware of my awfully violent neighbors and not too happy about it, to be completely honest. My mages are fairly awful, so it's not like I'm going to be laying down area-effect fire spells enmasse to wipe away the hordes, so W9 anythings are already pretty painful. I'm all for fairness and not unfairly gimping one side or the other, but since race selection is restricted on this map, I'm a little worried about people exploiting their neighbors' weaknesses if we let blesses get too potent. I certainly don't think Ulm is weak, but this isn't MA or LA Ulm we're talking about, and a smithing price reduction is hardly the game-winning advantage when you're facing a rush-heavy force like the Heims.

[Mind Elemental]

Perhaps we could just stick with No Imprisoned Pretenders? As others pointed out, the Heims and people with SC pretenders can be deadly even without a bless, and there's not much we can do to prevent that short of a truce for the first X turns - which I'm still open to, but might be excessive regulation - or dogpiling would-be rushers.

Still, further thoughts are welcome.

[Teraswaerto]

The 10 turn forced truce is fine by me.

[lch]

Okay, it seems like everything that needed discussion is clear now(?), I'll try to get the server up this weekend.

I will use the Dawn map from the game, 3.06 version and the Worthy Heroes mod that's the most current one then.

[Reverend Zombie]

lch said:
Okay, it seems like everything that needed discussion is clear now(?),



Clear as mud! Where do we stand on blessings, truce, etc.?

[lch]

Oh well, if you need more time for discussion that's cool, then I have more time to setup the server... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

I would agree to any of the proposals presented. Consider me a yes vote.

My preference is for as little nerfing as possible.

I think no Imprisoned pretenders is a good one. No war for 10 turns sounds a bit contrived, a little stilted for a wargame, but I would agree to play with it.

SR

[Reverend Zombie]

StrictlyRockers said:
I would agree to any of the proposals presented. Consider me a yes vote.

My preference is for as little nerfing as possible.

I think no Imprisoned pretenders is a good one. No war for 10 turns sounds a bit contrived, a little stilted for a wargame, but I would agree to play with it.

SR



No imprisoned pretenders would be acceptable to me, too. I would prefer not to have a 10 turn truce.

[lch]

One does not need imprisoned pretenders for dual blessing, BTW, but whatever you agree on is fine to me. I can have the server up as soon as you're ready to go, the problems I had are sorted out so far.

I'd suggest that everybody sends me his designed pretender by mail later on so that I can start off the game by myself and I know how to contact a player in case he becomes inactive in the game.

[Reverend Zombie]

lch said:
One does not need imprisoned pretenders for dual blessing,




Sure, but it will force a trade-off on scales.

[Covenant]

My only concern is getting stomped early on when there's absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. If someone is going to do that then there's really no reason to play--if the other players can't be bothered to allow their neighbors a fair shot at playing the game as well, we should know about it now.

So I'm a little concerned when the 10 turn truce is considered 'nerfing' by some people. It makes it sound like several people are planning on a) going high bless and b) rushing their neighbors straight off.

So I'm pretty unhappy with that. It's something I'd try to solve in-game if it comes up, but I'm not real interested in starting up a game just to be taken out turn 3, and have nothing I can do to stop it.

[Mind Elemental]

I personally favour the ten-turn truce to counteract the effects of the fixed starting location. ReverendZombie, I'd point out that the truce could help you too -- even Helheim isn't invincible, as Ich found out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Should we also set research to easy? Pashadawg did this with his own Dawn game, so I know it can be done - and it would not only offer another solution to rushing, it would also let us access spells that normally we wouldn't have the time to get on a map this size.

[Reverend Zombie]

Covenant said:
My only concern is getting stomped early on when there's absolutely nothing I can do to stop it. If someone is going to do that then there's really no reason to play--if the other players can't be bothered to allow their neighbors a fair shot at playing the game as well, we should know about it now.



Setting indies to a 8 or 9 can help address your concerns without resorting to the 10-turn truce.



So I'm a little concerned when the 10 turn truce is considered 'nerfing' by some people. It makes it sound like several people are planning on a) going high bless and b) rushing their neighbors straight off.

So I'm pretty unhappy with that. It's something I'd try to solve in-game if it comes up, but I'm not real interested in starting up a game just to be taken out turn 3, and have nothing I can do to stop it.



A full complement of players on a smallish map seems to naturally lend itself to early conflict.

Rather than layer on house rules, we might try a map more suited to the kind of game you are looking for.

[Reverend Zombie]

Mind Elemental said:
I personally favour the ten-turn truce to counteract the effects of the fixed starting location. ReverendZombie, I'd point out that the truce could help you too -- even Helheim isn't invincible, as Ich found out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif




I'm willing to take my lumps. As I said, this is my first time with Helheim, and I don't expect to do that well. I'm not that great of a player, anyway.

[Mind Elemental]

It looks like we have one person strongly in favour of a truce, one person strongly against, and a bunch of people who can live with it. Darrel, you were the one who originally proposed it - where do you stand?


Reverend Zombie said:
Setting indies to a 8 or 9 can help address your concerns without resorting to the 10-turn truce.




This only works for certain nations; Caelum can fly right over the indies, nations with stealthy units can sneak past, etc.

Even beelining for a neighbour would take 4 or 5 turns anyway, and would leave you vulnerable. I would rather not make either option a "my way or the highway" issue, so how about we go with the majority rule, and if we're still tied, have no truce?

[Covenant]

Alright, I'll drop the point then. No need to turn the Indies up, that'll just favor strong sacreds even more by making the weaker nations hurt by expansion. We can just use diplomacy as our counter against overly-aggressive ubernations and see what happens.

[Teraswaerto]

Easy research sounds good.

So, did I understand this correctly?

No truce
Only sleeping or awake pretenders
Worthy Heroes mod
Easy research

I expect Helheim to rush me, after looking at the thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

I am in favor of setting indies to seven (7) to counteract eary rush strategies. Setting them to 8 or 9 seems a bit too strong.

I'd rather play with normal research.

SR

[lch]

The Heims ignore indies, and not just because they're all stealthy, but because they waltz through them, no matter how many you throw at them. So dabbling with the indy strength favors the Heims and makes it harder for the others to expand, instead.

I think easy research is more for blitzes and this map is large enough to see lots of powerful magic later on, unless you want to have 9 in everything at late game, but that's just my opinion. Easy research might help to develop Heim counters more easily, too, but don't crap your pants about the Heims too much, there's still diplomacy to take care of them.

[Reverend Zombie]

Teraswaerto said:
Easy research sounds good.

So, did I understand this correctly?

No truce
Only sleeping or awake pretenders
Worthy Heroes mod
Easy research

I expect Helheim to rush me, after looking at the thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif



Ahh, I'm not a rusher, actually. I just don't like artificial house rules. Not saying you won't be the first person I come to blows with, but I don't make a "beeline" for anyone, usually.

I'll be happy with whatever the majority rules regarding truce, but my vote is no.

I want to suggest again that, given the concerns over blesses, a smallish map which features two of the nations who are the worst "offenders" in this regard might not be the best bet, especially since it has fixed starting sites that make "rushes" all the easier.

But I am not the host, so I should probably just shut up! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[lch]

The host is the one who shuts up, since I am not playing... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Unless you were referring to Mind Elemental. Either he or the players should come to some conclusion. From what I gathered, Worthy Heroes has no voice of dissent so far.

[Reverend Zombie]

I'm in favor of Worthy Heroes.

[Sir_Dr_D]

This is a scenario map, and unfortunatly the research level and indepdant level are fixed and cannot be changed.

I brought up the ten turn truce as a suggestion, but I am fine either way. I do favor the ten turn truce more though. Without the rule I am quite certain at least 3 or 4 nations will be wiped out within the first 10 turns. But without the tuce I would just design my nation in being able to handle rushes.

This is a non serious, unbalancaed map, as is. No rule will change that much. Caleum starts off with only two adjacent provinces, because they are up in the mountains and this makes sense role playing wise. But it puts Caleum at a disadvantage strategy wise.The same appies to Marverni being surrounded by only forest,etc .Nations don't start off balanced. I signed up for this map because I think it would be fun role playing wise. But it isn't the best map strategy wise.

If we use the ten turn truce rule (small map = ten provinces per player) I would see it as extending the scenario. When the wars start, they would start when these nations are already empires.And looking at the map it looks like the nations should start off as empires (i.e Marverni occupying the area called Marverni woods, and Agartha owning the complete underground, etc.)

I think the ten turn rule is the best way to balance things. It would give the nations whose main advantage is high magic a chance to catch up, and would prevent someone from using a dominion 10 dragon to take out a neigboring nation within 2 turns. Plus it adds in interesting scenario aspects.

My second choice would be to limit people to only using awake pretenders (which could be an intersting scenario aspect as well.) But I don't like that as much, because pretender creation is fun, and I don't want to limit it. But either option for me is fine.

[StrictlyRockers]

I'm happy with the role playing aspect of the map. I love to play Dwarvish races. Vanheim is the closest I can find here. That's why I love Vanheim.

I am a wargamer and a role-player. I don't get much satisfaction out of exploiting loop-holes, or from early take-downs. I like a fair, balanced wargame and a long, hard-fought campaign. Dwarves do not rush anywhere. But they are known to be great sprinters!

Haroog,
SR

[Sir_Dr_D]

We all gave our input. Lets now have the host make the decision.

[Covenant]

I'm having some connect-to-host issues. I've never done multi before, I got involved because MindElemental asked me if I wanted to try a game. Unless I can get these nested firewalls cleared up, I may have to bow out. I can't host games, I knew that, but I'd always hoped I could connect.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be totally toast, but this has been the death of multiplayer gaming in the past for me.

[Mind Elemental]

Yeah, I chose this map precisely because of its roleplaying/thematic nature. With hindsight, I should have foreseen the issues with blesses/rushes - my bad.

Okay, using admin fiat:

- Worthy Heroes

- Standard research

- No ten-turn truce. Sorry, Darrel! Hopefully, we should be able to rely on other counters to rushing.

- Only sleeping or awake pretenders.

And with that, I think we're set! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[lch]

Great. I'll send you my email address where everybody should send their created pretender file via PM. Once I have them all, I will start up the server.

Covenant, what nation are you playing? If you really can't connect via TCP/IP then I could send you the turn files by Email (and you send them back to me), so that it's a PBEM game for me, or we find a sub for you. In case of doing it PBEM-wise, you should make sure to send me your turns early enough, though, not just some hours before the game auto-hosts.

EDIT: Since I don't know who is playing in this game except the people that signed on here, I will only send my email address to Mind Elemental, he has to hand it out to the other players.

[Mind Elemental]

Ich, I'll send it out to the people who aren't on this site, but it might be a good idea for you to send it to the people in this thread, as well. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Covenant]

I'll try TCP/IP. M.E. can attest to previous connection woes, but it should be something I can get under control. I don't have admin privs, but we'll see how things do with my new Norton firewall.

I'm still optimistic though. I'm Ulm! If turn 1 works, then all the rest should do fine too.

[lch]

I sent out PMs to everybody that they should send me the pretender files by E-Mail. Pretenders that I received so far are in bold, the list is going to get updated over time:

Arcoscephale
Agartha
C'tis
Oceania
Ulm
Sauromatia
Kailasa
Ermor
Vanheim
Caelum
Marverni
Helheim

[Covenant]

Hah! I successfully connected to the server. Success. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

I'll mail you my pretender soon.

[StrictlyRockers]

Emailed preteder StrictlyDwarfheim.

Successfully connected to the game server, as well.

SR

[lch]

Except Mind Elemental, none of those "other" non-Shrapnel members have sent in their pretenders yet. Could you get them to register on this forum and leave a reply in this thread so that we can be sure that they follow this thread and would leave game comments here?

[Covenant]

I personally am just struggling with my Ulmish pretender. I'll get it to you as fast as I can figure out what to do with it. >,<

I'm way more used to Pangea. Ulm is such a bigger hassle! It requires an intelligently designed Pretendah!

--edit--
Okay, Pretender sent. Let's hope it doesn't suck.

[lch]

Covenant said:
I personally am just struggling with my Ulmish pretender. I'll get it to you as fast as I can figure out what to do with it.


I didn't want to sting you to do it, but I think for communication it would be better if the other players are known here on the forum, too. For comments on the game in this thread, as I wrote. If you want to change your pretender and I haven't started the game yet, just send me a new one.

I will try to have email notification on a new turn, but I don't know if I'll be able to do that. There will be a stats page, however, so that you can check for the turn status with your web browser.

I plan to send a list of all the email addresses to the players so that diplomacy gets easier, or does anybody have objections about that?

[Mind Elemental]

lch said:
Except Mind Elemental, none of those "other" non-Shrapnel members have sent in their pretenders yet. Could you get them to register on this forum and leave a reply in this thread so that we can be sure that they follow this thread and would leave game comments here?



Asked them to do so already, actually. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Covenant]

I sent my pretender in a day or two ago. Did you recieve it?

[lch]

Yeah, and Oceania aswell now. I updated the list.

[Covenant]

There is no Oceania. We have always been at war with Eurasia.

[lch]

I wrote a PM to Remmy/Caelum that if I don't get some form of reply from him within the next week then I will look for a substitute for him. So far, he hasn't read either PM that I sent out. He has a very low postcount and it might be that he already lost interest in this game. Even if this game has a very slow 72h timer, it should be mandatory that everybody takes a look at the forums once in a week.

I'd like to see a pretender from C'tis soon, too, I hope he has time to prepare one now during the weekends.

[StrictlyRockers]

We're just waiting for Caelum to turn in their pretender at this point?

SR

[Mind Elemental]

Yeah, looks like it.

[lch]

If I don't get a reply from Remmy by Tuesday then I have a sub for him and I'll start the game. Everybody else is in now, yeah.

[Covenant]

That's fair. I took one HELL of a long time to make my pretender, but that's due to the fact I've never had to grapple with EA ulm and there's next to no information about them on the boards. Caelum is pretty well known, so I wouldn't imagine it should really take you all that long to think of a God, make one, and just email the bastard off. Seriously... this wait is pretty ridiculous.

[Mind Elemental]

Sounds good to me. Can't wait to get this show on the road. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Yep, we should get this ball rolling.

[lch]

Yeah, Remmy is out, he hasn't even read the PMs that I sent out last month. I'll start the game later today. The host address will change, but I'll send an email to everybody with updated information and contact info for the other players.

[lch]

The game started now, everybody should have gotten two emails - one from me and one from the server. Good luck to everybody! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Reverend Zombie]

I can't connect ATM.

[lch]

Please note that the host has changed...

[StrictlyRockers]

It's all working for me.

[Covenant]

Where's the server? It said it changed, right? I only got one email.

[lch]

Okay, then it seems that some people have problems to get the email notifications from the server. I will forward the mail from the server to those that have not done their turn yet. I'll have a look at the logs what the problem might be. Prolly something about spam filters.

[Covenant]

Ahh. Went into the spam folder, found it.

[StrictlyRockers]

People could solve the problem of the email notifications going to spam folders if they jsut adjust the settings to allow emails from this address.

[lch]

The server was down for a brief time because it could not find the battlemaps for turn generation, that problem is fixed now, the first turn is finished. I expect that I have taken care of all problems that we could normally encounter now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

The hall of fame looks interesting. You can see which nation worships an awake pretender, but it looks like Marverni already lost his god after the first turn!? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

That's what you get for blindly rushing into battle without sending scouts first! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Covenant]

Well that's too bad for them, I feel bad. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

But seeing as they're my neighbor, I hope this makes them amendable to a diplomatic solution, especially considering that our lovely 'totally balanced' neighbors to the North may also be in the posession of an awakened thug.

[lch]

StrictlyRockers said:
People could solve the problem of the email notifications going to spam folders if they jsut adjust the settings to allow emails from this address.


That's true. Here's how to do it in Hotmail, Ulm, link stolen from the Parganos game: http://email.about.com/cs/hotmailtips/qt/et031603.htm

[Sir_Dr_D]

lch said:
The server was down for a brief time because it could not find the battlemaps for turn generation, that problem is fixed now, the first turn is finished. I expect that I have taken care of all problems that we could normally encounter now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

The hall of fame looks interesting. You can see which nation worships an awake pretender, but it looks like Marverni already lost his god after the first turn!? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

That's what you get for blindly rushing into battle without sending scouts first! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif



Dang. I practiced this strategy many times before this game. Each time My God had no problems taking care of independants at a level 5 setting. And these independants weren't even all that strong. They were Mictlan ones.


But you guys should still be afraid of me, because it was an immortal pretender. Really. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[LeSquide]

C'tis, here. I thought I had posted to this thread previously...but it appears it didn't take!
And good luck, Marverni. Show those independents what for! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Ouchie. Losing your pretender on the first turn is never a good thing. No bueno.

[Amhazair]

And these independants weren't even all that strong. They were Mictlan ones.



Grr, I hate those guys. If I send in 3 old guys and their blind, three-legged goat to take that province they manage without propblem, but if I attack with heavily armored knights or other elite stuff somehow they allways manage to take out a couple of them.

[StrictlyRockers]

Good job getting the turns done quickly everyone. There isn't much to do in the early game...

[Teraswaerto]

The "god" of Sauromatia appears to have died also.

High on Mount Kailasa, the Yakshini laugh in mocking tones. They find the struggles of the hairless monkeys amusing, if a bit sad.

[lch]

One should never underestimate Independents, it seems... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif

[Covenant]

They're mean. You occasionally get one of those deadly piles and they'll murder you. Some nations start off with the most godawful crap units at the beginning--I know I did. Being able to kill some Indies, and being able to continue sweeping through them after you wipe our a neighboring territory is a different thing. I bet some of the Gods who died tried to keep a sweep going and lost it.

[StrictlyRockers]

The independents are being mean this game. I found some measly little Bear Tribe Warriors that were rather ferocious.

[Amhazair]

Grrr.... mean indeed. While they didn't manage to kill my god, they did manage to drive him off with a heavy chest wound, as well as beating my regular army in another province... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Dedas]

Dang, I got to ambitious... losing my pretender suits me fine as a punishment. And yes, respect is the word.

[Covenant]

These turns are going nice and fast. That's good to see! The beginnings are always pretty boring.

[lch]

Yep, we had all the turns in except for Vanheim only 17 hours after hosting, very nice. Keep it up while the game is fuss-free like it is now.

[Covenant]

Blanked! Nevermind, I found my email.

[StrictlyRockers]

I didn't have computer access for a couple of days earlier this week. That's why I was a little behind everyone on one turn. Things are moving remarkably smoothly in this game so far. I really like the quick host-constant server set up. It is way, way more fluid and easy than the regular email turns to host method.

[lch]

Covenant, have you tried the things suggested in the link from the last page? So that Hotmail doesn't filter out the mails from the server?

[StrictlyRockers]

Your move, Ich.

The wizards perch atop their mountain redoubt. Deeply engrossed in dusty, arcane tomes, they can hardly be bothered with martial affairs and earthy matters.

"Yes, yes, stick with the plan I gave you, general. No changes, of course. Foolish knave, do not disrupt my incantaions further lest I turn you into a newt on an evil whim!"

[Covenant]

Hotmail no longer considers it junk, but I think it may have junked an older mail. No biggie, I got ahold of who I needed to.

[Covenant]

Goddamn you Caelum!

If there's one thing about this game I absolutely despise, it's the lack of diplomacy options. It fits themeatically, but it's sure annoying.

[lch]

Lack of diplomacy? This game is all about diplomacy, with a little splash of magic.

[StrictlyRockers]

"Diplomacy is the art of saying "nice doggie" while you look for a bigger stick."

[Dedas]

Yes, and when you turn your back searching for big sticks the "nice doggie" suddenly bites you in the neck. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

The obvious solution to this is of course to not have a neck which to bite. Another one is to say, "bad doggie, sit!" while you pretend that you are holding a whole forest of sticks.

[Amhazair]

Dedas said:
The obvious solution to this is of course to not have a neck which to bite.



So that's why oceania went with a kraken pretender then... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Covenant]

I mean the lack of diplomatic options in-game, like treaties that let you combine forces or move through allied terrain.

[StrictlyRockers]

Yawn. 72 hours is kinda slow. I don't want to change it, though.

We did a blitz session yesterday for a new game and finished 11 turns in two hours. It's taken us a month to reach the same point in this game.

72h is slow, but I don't want to speed it up. I'm content with this game as it is. We should consider that it may take six months or a year to finish, though.

[Covenant]

I think it's just a few people dragging their asses. Really, this isn't rocket science. There should be some degree of urgency. One turn every other day is hardly a hard thing to manage.

[StrictlyRockers]

Amhazair has been holding us up for the last day. He gets the turtle prize this turn.

[Amhazair]

Thanks for the honor.. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

The cause is a combination of work, having turned my attention to another MP where "the end-game war to and all wars" has broken out, and simply not being in any rush in this game since I thought everyone wanted a slow-paced game, even in the beginning. (I've seen some other people taking their time on other turns too). I'll see if I can speed up a bit though, since it seems to be bothering you. (I had no idea everyone else had played their turn already either btw)

[StrictlyRockers]

No worries, mate. These early turns are pretty easy, though.

[Mind Elemental]

I originally wanted a 72h game precisely to accommodate busy players. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I'm happy with the pace, though obviously it's great if people can get their turns in early.

[lch]

I originally only signed up for this especially because of the lenient 72h timer. Trust me, after turn 25 to 30 you will really need that time for preparation of your turns. Since I am currently in Italy for a few weeks with limited access to the internet, have lots of work in front of me, and catched a cold aswell (damn!), I am quite happy with the timer. I think I had my turn in just some hours after the last turn hosted and I was already the second-last person to upload the turn. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif Currently waiting on Sauromatia/Dedas. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Yep, Dedas gets a turtle prize for this turn.

[StrictlyRockers]

The turtle prize is just a friendly reminder for people to try to get these early turns done quickly if they can. It is all meant in good fun. There is no sense of rush here. It's a funny prize and a reminder for people to try to attend to these early turns as soon as they can since they usually only take a few minutes. The turtle prize gets awarded to whoever takes a day or so longer than anyone else to do their turn.

So far, that's one turtle prize for me, one for amhazair and one for dedas. hehehe http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif good times

[Amhazair]

After the game is over we could have 'old-turtle pals' get-together reunions and stuff, where everyone drinks too much beer and gets sentimental over old times. Only for turtles of course... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

lmao!

Sure, sounds good, only don't serve any turtle soup at the reunions. That's cannibalism!

[Amhazair]

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Covenant]

Excuse me, did I just get attacked without warning OR provocation by Vanheim? That's pretty low class.

If not, I'd like to know now, before I launch into a retaliatory assault on Vanheim's forces. I thought it was at least somewhat customary to give a same-turn notification if an attack was intentional or a mistake.

[StrictlyRockers]

The attack was intentional. I'm sorry I didn't send you a postcard first. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Covenant]

I figured it was at least common courtesy to say "Avast! We dislike the cut of your jib!" along with an invasion force so I know if it's an error, your turnfile being cut off or corrupted, or something worth drafting a letter to my neighbors about.

[StrictlyRockers]

You are quite right, sir. Things have been somewhat disorganized in the Vanheimigian nation of late. Somehow this diplomatic missive was lost in the shuffle...


http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif


Haroog, Knights of Ulm! The Vanheimigian Vanir of Vanheim respectfully take issue with your recent hostile actions. Not only have you sent hordes of troops to the very edge of our border, announcing your OBVIOUS hostile intentions and your totally unquestionable desire to invade our lands, you have also seen fit to include a very powerful Pretender God among this offensive force.

This aggression will not be tolerated! Vanheim cannot sit idly by and watch these offensive military excercies being conducted on our border. We had to take defensive action by launching a pre-emptive counterstrike to your invasion. (Also, we believe there may be some weapons of mass destruction over here...somewhere...um, we're still looking.)

This menacing and belligerent act was accompanied by no correspondence or assurances of any kind from your nation. The Vanheimigians were forced to act from a sense of self-preservation only. The Vanheimigian Vanir are a piece-loving people. We only want a little piece of your land...to compensate us for your aggressive actions. It was very aggressive of you to try to fool us this turn by not attacking us, too. That was extra-aggressive because by moving away and doing the opposite, you are obviously just trying to trick us.

We have been forced to put away our plowshares and picked up broadswords. We will repel the Ulmish Knights from our lands, and from any lands adjacent to our lands where they can continue to leer at us threateningly. As if these hostile acts were not enough, also, late at night, down across the river, some of our citizens heard Ulmish knaves singing disparaging comical songs about Vanheimigian maidens! Yeargh!!! It is to be war for centuries!! Helga and Hurkeh or not to be compared with anything but delicate wildflowers, certainly not with farm animals! Haroog!

The peasants have taken up arms and the Vanir intend to teach the Ulmish squires a lesson. Leering at our sisters and looming at us menacingly, and with obvious intent to launch sorties to steal our pigs and other less valuable family members, will not be tolerated. Long live the Vanheimigians! War upon the Order and the Knights of Ulm! Long live Vanheim!

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Amhazair]

StrictlyRockers said:
We will repel the Ulmish Knights from [...]any lands adjacent to our lands where they can continue to leer at us threateningly.



You just gotta love this kind of diplomacy http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Sir_Dr_D]

Vanheimigians http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

The term is usually just Vanir, but I like Vanheimigians better. I am not even going to try to pronounce it though.

[Covenant]

Ulm has no knights, as horses are for sissies!

[StrictlyRockers]

I'm tellin' the Vanherse you said that.

[Covenant]

Feel free. Their 'glamour' obsession plus their sissy horses just reinforces the notion. It's a wonder they can even go to battle at all. I hope they've all properly accessorized with handbags and new heels.

[Sir_Dr_D]

The druids of marverni dissapprove of such snide remarks, and glaring sneers. They suggest that the leaders of the vanir and the ulmishmen meet with them in the sacred druid groove. The druids will act as mediators, and perhaps such hostilities could be resolved,

[StrictlyRockers]

Handbags?!

HANDBAGS??!!!

Haroog! The Vanir do not carry handbags. Those are COIN PURSES! Vanheimigian equestrians would never deign to carry handbags!

They are special magical coin purses which muffle the sound of the jangling coins so that we remain stealthy.

And we can't help being all glamorous. It just comes naturally to us.

Vanheim

[lch]

I guess I'm the next one to receive the turtle award, sorry for the holdup - I have a very busy week. Fortunately, this will change after Thursday. New turn is up!

[lch]

Ermor has about 4h left to do his turn, so I'll send him a PM...

[lch]

ROTFL, I should have looked how many men Grom Bravebreaker has before I hired him for a ludicrous amount of money... who the hell trashed his merry little band? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif

[Covenant]

Heh, I wouldn't know. I thought it was pretty funny myself, seeing how tiny few guys he had.

[lch]

To think that I even paid extra to outbid possible others just adds to the damage... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Those three guys are gonna be rich!

[lch]

Those three guys are going to be very dead soon... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

Huh, I almost managed to miss the turn in my own game... Had it done on my laptop, but it seems I forgot to upload it. When I had a look which player to remind playing his turn, it was me! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Now I have done two turns in a row... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[lch]

The turtle price goes to Ermor and Oceania this round - you guys have about 7 hours left. Or are you all on easter vacation and should I turn off the timer?

[lch]

Oceania might miss the second turn in a row here... anything that we/I should do about that?

[Covenant]

Besides contacting them and asking them to wake up? Not sure what we can do. We could let the AI take over, but I fear that would end in disaster.

[Mind Elemental]

I'll give him a nudge.

[StrictlyRockers]

Vanheim shouts haroog from the mountaintops.

HAAARRRROOOOGGG!!

[lch]

Mind Elemental said:
I'll give him a nudge.



Very good, that did the trick. Only Ermor is left now with about 3-4 hours on the timer, but since I didn't hear any requests to stop the timer over easter I'll leave it as is.

[Covenant]

I'll build him a little dollhouse with pink doll furniture as a memorial. He got killed by girlies.

[Mind Elemental]

lch said:

Mind Elemental said:
I'll give him a nudge.



Very good, that did the trick. Only Ermor is left now with about 3-4 hours on the timer, but since I didn't hear any requests to stop the timer over easter I'll leave it as is.



He actually moved before I got the chance to actually catch him online and nudge him. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[lch]

Ermor and Marverni - you have about half a hour left from the 72 hour timer... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Amhazair]

Heh, damn... somewhy I had convinced myself I had till tomorrow to play my turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Not a good time to stale when I've just come under attack from 3 nations http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[lch]

Now it's Oceania who has got less than 2 hours left to do his turn.

I think I'll program a "turn reminder" script which will send an email to those people that haven't done their turn and only have 4 hours left... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Sir_Dr_D]

lch said:
Ermor and Marverni - you have about half a hour left from the 72 hour timer... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif



Sorry, I actually had thought I had played my turn last time. I guess I had only checked it out, and didn't submit a turn.

[Covenant]

Hah! Ulm is too mighty for for merely one of the two easy factions! Now Helheim needs to attack me as well! Neighbors of Ulm, now would be a good time to rally behind your horseless bretheren. I think I can turn them back, but I really don't want to take on both of the unfairly overpowered 'heims at once with cruddy ol' EA Ulm.

If you don't help out, they'll be coming for you next!

[StrictlyRockers]

Vanheim should have been able to eliminate Ulm by itself. But the Vanheimigian military has not been as mighty as its reputation seems to be. All Vanheimigian generals who have not been killed have been sacked and replaced. We have new martial leadership and an entirely new war plan.

Vanheim should have been able to do the job alone. Caelum and Vanheim should surely have been able to do the job. But Ulm is too strong. Or Ulm's generals are too good. So...soon Helheim will have to attack Ulm, too. Ulm is too great a threat...because they play this game of war too well. Get them before it's too late. They are too good and will kill us all.

[Covenant]

Hehe.

[lch]

lch said:
I think I'll program a "turn reminder" script which will send an email to those people that haven't done their turn and only have 4 hours left... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif


It seems like I really do have to program that script so that I don't miss turns on my own server anymore... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif
Heh, I had the turn ready all this time, but I forgot to upload it and immersed myself in work instead. D'oh! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif
Now I'm punshed with three diseased mammoths... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Oceania gets the turtle prize.

[Covenant]

Man, what a mess this is! Does anyone know Marverni's email?

[lch]

I sent an email around with everybody's email addresses when we started the game, the subject title was "NewDawn game is finally up!".

[lch]

Ermor still has to move with 3 hours left on the timer.

[lch]

Mind Elemental (Arco) and Xellos Metallium (Oceania) left to move with about 5 hours left on the timer.

[lch]

3 hours left on the timer and it looks like Oceania will miss his turn for a second time in a row. Can somebody give him a bump or does anybody know what's up with him?

[Mind Elemental]

Just bumped him, though I don't know if he'll receive my message in time to take his turn. IIRC, it's a matter of Dominions being installed on a secondary/less convenient machine for him to use.

[lch]

The sad thing is that he has a definite advantage here, being the only underwater nation in the game, and made considerably good progress in the game aswell, but he's stalling alot. Two turns per week shouldn't be too much, I hope?

[Covenant]

You wouldn't think so. I mean, I get my turn, pop on, do some moves, and hit end turn. It's hardly rocket science.

[StrictlyRockers]

At this stage a turn still takes about 5-10 minutes.

[lch]

If Oceania is going to stall for the third time in a row (and that's not counting the previous times) then I'll move for him this turn and find a substitute for the rest of the game.

[vfb]

Oceania has always been at war with Oceania! Or something like that anyway.

There is a new leader under the waters. Greetings, landlubbers.

[Mind Elemental]

Y helo thar!

[lch]

Xellos has emailed me and said that he has lost interest in Dom3 so vfb is now subbing for him. Good luck to our new player!

[vfb]

Uz, prophet of Oceania, apologizes for the wave of melancholy that drowned our nation recently, causing a deep slumber.

We have forgotten all our diplomatic obligations such as pacts, treaties, and trade agreements. Please remind us who our friends are, and where our enemies live.

We fear our god has lost his mind, and has been feasting on the flesh of the soiled ones. We hope to be able to persuade him back to the waters soon. What use is a foothold, when you have no feet?

-- Uz

[vfb]

/threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif CRASHING WAVE ROARS /threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif

Pay no attention to our fool Prophet! I mean no harm to the civilized nations east of my Sanctuary. But I have developed somewhat of a taste for cattle, and the will of a GOD will not be defied by an upstart fish!

-- The Watcher

[lch]

The 3.08 patch is out, discussion here (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Number=517562). This is a rather big bugfix on units and some balance fixes aswell. Things that will influence the nations in our current game:
Magic site fixes, armor fixes, age fixes, hero fixes, unit fixes.
#siegebonus didn't work (Fixed)
Svartalf home only
Marverni and me Man temples cost 200
Mirror image (and glamour) does not protect units from missiles or magic.
Blade wind reduced # o e
Flaming arrows increased path lvl.
Sloth scale -> 15% / step
Ulm EA archers not stealthy.
What is the general consensus on this - don't update at all or update after the next turn?

[Amhazair]

Generally speaking I'm in favor of updating all games after a patch, after all, bug fixes are allways usefull, and it cuts down on the hassle of having to play with 2 different versions. And I say this playing Helheim in another game... :insertsomecryingguyemoticonthatforsomereasondoesn 'tseemtobeavailableontheseboards:

[lch]

Yes, the Heims are going to be seriously handicapped by this, while Marverni can frolic. Making the sloth scale 50% worse than it already was before is going to hurt some people, too, since you couldn't see this coming during pretender creation.

If people want to play the game in the way like they signed up for, that's okay by me, just wanted to know what you want.

[Randvek]

Agartha here (yeah, finally thought I'd register on the boards). I'm all for taking the patch, but we'll see what some of the Sloth folks have to say.

[vfb]

I'd like to update to 3.08, even though it will hurt me slightly with the sloth scales. I've got a couple other games on the go, and I'd like to avoid having to remember which client to run.

I guess we really need to hear from the Vanir, since they may be affected the most by the patch.

[lch]

I agree, the Heims should really say if they want to play the game the "new" way or like they signed up for it. Vanheim, Helheim, hello? Oh, and hi Randvek!

[Teraswaerto]

I think we should update.

[Mind Elemental]

Yeah, let's update. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Reverend Zombie]

I'll patch/Helheim

[lch]

Okay, I'll update the server for the next turn then. Just one reminder: Do not try to connect with a 3.08 client to the server unless the server says that your 3.06 client has a too low version number. Otherwise you'll crash the server.

To save me trouble I will not turn off the quickhosting, but generate a new turn with the 3.08 server as soon as the current turn is finished. Yes, that means that the current turn is going to be processed twice - once with the 3.06 server, once with the 3.08 server. Don't complain if you didn't receive that awesome hero, found that hidden lair full of gold or won that insane battle the first but not the second time... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[lch]

The server is patched to 3.08 now. Anybody who downloaded the temporary new turn with the 3.06 client please delete their turn and download it again with a 3.08 client. If you are playing on other servers which are still using 3.06 then you might want to make a backup of these files before applying the patch so that you can revert:
army12.trs
battlemaps/cave3.d3m
battlemaps/cave2.d3m
battlemaps/cave1.d3m
dom3_amd64
dom3_x86
dom3.exe
flag.trs
misc.trs
res.trs
Linux commandline steps to do that:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>unzip -t dompatch308_linux.zip | grep "testing:" | sed "s/.*testing: //" | sed "s/[ ]*OK//" | grep -e "[^/]$" | xargs tar czvf domprev308.tgz</pre><hr />
If anybody has problems besides not being able to connect before applying the patch, please post about them here. I have backups... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Covenant]

No problems here.

[StrictlyRockers]

patch seems to be working

[lch]

Hmm, the new turn is up. Strangely, I neither got an email nor did the webpage show a change. I investigated and noticed that some changes that I did to the stats script broke the -makecheck feature and thus didn't update the stats correctly - this is fixed. But I still didn't receive the turn notification via email, even after manually starting it for a second time. Has anybody else got an email from the server?

[Covenant]

Not me... odd! And very bad!

[lch]

Okay, sendmail was b0rked, somehow. I switched over to nbsmtp and sent out the mail again, now using an external SMTP relay. Shouldn't happen again.

P.S.: After applying pressure with a blunt object for several times on the back of the head of an admin (i.e. repeatedly hitting with a club), the sendmail/postfix thing was fixed and the mail has been sent out. I'll still stay with nbsmtp now.

[Covenant]

Oh darnit all!

Something very bad happened with this turn! My move order got totally ruined, and my troops didn't move out of a space before someone moved in! This is awful, awful, awful! Since when does this happen? I thought moves in friendly territory happened before moves INTO friendly territory? This wasn't supposed to happen at all. This is a disaster! Is there any way to undo a turn?

And, what's this with the "C'tis is cheating" message?

[vfb]

Yes, movement to friendly provinces should happen first, unless the army coming in is arriving by magic. Are you sure nobody assassinated, seduced, or otherwise interfered with your commander?

Ich might have backups, but I think we'd need agreement from everyone to roll back the turn (if there are indeed backups). After all, someone may have gotten a random event like this, this turn:

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w148/vfb_dominions/twins.jpg

I'm just an interloper here, so actually I don't mind rolling back. Easy come easy go http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

[Covenant]

It's a crushing loss, but I think it's caused by some obscure movement rule I just now discovered. Regardless, what's up with the "C'tis is cheating lol" message from 'Host'?

[Mind Elemental]

False alarms do happen, for example if you cancel a long build queue (and the gold gets refunded into your treasury). http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Dedas]

In some places this game needs a good overhaul.

[lch]

Covenant said:
Is there any way to undo a turn?


There is, I make backups right before and after a new turn is generated. But I don't think this warrants a reboot, take it as a learning experience. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif


Covenant said:
Regardless, what's up with the "C'tis is cheating lol" message from 'Host'?


False alarm, most likely. Maybe something about building queues, yeah. I'll take a look at it after the game is over.

[StrictlyRockers]

I had a similar problem earlier in the game where the moves did not seem to go in the right order within my territory when Ulm was invading. I didn't ask for a turn redo because of it, though.

[lch]

Less than an hour left and Ermor and Sauromatia still have to make their move. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Sick.gif

If they don't have their turns in by then, I'll add another 12 hours to the timer or something, but I'll only do this once. MOVE! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rant.gif

[lch]

24 hours added to the timer. I'll definately implement the script that sends a warning email 4 hours before hosting, but then I won't rig the timer again.

[Amhazair]

Oops. I knew I had to play before the 10th, yet somehow I had convinced myself the tenth was today, not yesterday http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif

... Sorry.

[Amhazair]

Huh? Last turn I found two of my mages (an Augur and an Augur Elder) in amongst the troops in the province screen, i.e. they were no commanders anymore. Any idea as to what can cause that?

[Reverend Zombie]

Were they enslaved or hellbound by the enemy, then brought back on your side during a battle?

[Amhazair]

Nop, no battle happened thereabouts. That was also the one reason I could think of. The only thing special that happened in the relevant provinces was a couple of seeking arrows. (who didn't hit the mages in question btw)

[lch]

Meh, the status web page seems broken, dunno what the trouble is. I'll have a look at it later.

[lch]

Okay, I found out what the trouble was. The Newbies game updated the stats for the NewDawn game, too, it's fixed now.

Waiting on Sauromatia with 6 hours left on the timer.

[vfb]

/threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif SCHLURP /threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Fish.gif /threads/images/Graemlins/Burger.gif

Oceania seeks new grazing lands for our cattle. We are claiming the lush shores of Vanheim in the name of the Watcher, who very much enjoys watching our cows and sheep grow fat on the weeds of the earth. Plus those Vanhere horses look mighty tasty too!

Also our massive army of turtles is annoying us with their constant demands for salary increases. They will be sent to earn their keep, and be paid in blood! Mu ha ha ha ha. Bubble.

[StrictlyRockers]

Vanheim shouts a mighty haroog! The entire nation revels in combat and drinks from the righteous cup of glory!

[lch]

Dedas / Sauromatia staled this turn (again?) and seems to have some trouble (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Number=520178&amp;Main=507428#Post520081) which is taking his time. If he doesn't respond that he wants to continue playing then I'll play for him before the time runs out and look for a replacement.

[CUnknown]

I'll take over Sauromatia, I am getting very addicted to this game and I promise to take turns fast.

[lch]

That's cool. I'll send you the password, I hope it's with Dedas' blessings. If you manage to get your turn in within 7 hours then you can do the current one yourself, otherwise I'll take care of it. For diplomacy, look at the status web page for the player names, I'll send you the email addresses, too.

Waiting on Arco and Sauromatia with about 7 hours left on the timer.

[Dedas]

Sorry for not noticing this earlier. Yes of course, you have my blessing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Again, sorry.

[lch]

Ah, good, I was hoping that I don't decide this over your head. I'm generally looking for subs fast to keep the game interesting, few things are worse than players stalling indefinitely and other players taking advantage of that by taking their territory from a player that doesn't respond. I'm trying to prevent this ASAP.

You could give CUnknown a little briefing, maybe. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[CUnknown]

Sauromatia gives greetings to all her neighbors. Which one of you is Ermor?

[Amhazair]

Why does that question feel ominous?

I am.

[CUnknown]

Um... no reason, hehe.

[Randvek]

Hey temp Sauromatia: Agartha here. Mind dropping me a line when you get a chance so I can cover the situation?

[Amhazair]

Whatever the Cave-dwellers tell you, it's a lie. The truth of what happened is he let you (and Arco) fight me while taking some undefended provinces, and then, after I smashed up Sauro's armies and Arco advanced to my capitol he decided to take advantage and take some more provinces without oppsoition.

Cave-dwelling scavanger he is, that one. (One could argue for the term calculating opportunist instead, but being the primitive cave-dweller that he is that would be too much honor for him. )

[CUnknown]

Whatever alliances Sauromatia was in, or whatever wars were being faught under the old Commander are null and void, at least from Sauromatia's new perspective. I'm willing to ally/go to war with anyone at this point, but to be honest I'm not too eager to do either until I get a better feel for what's going on.

[StrictlyRockers]

Vanheim declares war on Sauromatia. And we also declare war on Agartha. And we also declare war on Arcosephale.

It matters not that all three of these nations are located on the other side of the known world. Despite the hugensss of the distances, all your tracts of land are belong to us. We offer each of you instantaeous peace for the price of one gold piece. Now, who wants a Dwarvish Hammer upside the head? The Dwarves rule this kingdom. We just send the Vanir out to fight for us because they enjoy that sort of thing.

RRRARRRGGHHHH!!! By Crom, Wode, Thor, Odin and all that is holy, we will cleanse the land of lesser beings and make the realm safe for Vanheimigian maidens to frolic in the snow. Long live the Vanheimigian Vanir of Vanheim. Dwarves rule!

[lch]

Looks like Marverni is about to go stale. Since I didn't hear from him about any planned absence I won't extend the timer.

[Mind Elemental]

Rather belatedly: welcome aboard to our new Sauromatia! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

We also wonder whether someone has been spiking the mead in Vanheim...

[vfb]

Nay, mead does not need spiking, it does a fine job by itself in sufficient quantity.

Oceania can attest that even the beef burgers made from the cattle of Vanheim did have an unexpectedly strong spicey honey taste. Unfortunately there were no horse burgers to be made as the true warriors of Vanheim missed waking up for the battle.

Altogether we very much enjoyed the experience and have decided we would like to stay for a little while.

[lch]

The Vans were busy laying an egg^H^H^H^H^H^H^H raising a fort.

[vfb]

Oceania's preparations for the many deaths our armies will suffer in our border conflict with mighty Vanheim require certain rituals involving a small amount of Death Gems. Unfortunately we are a bit short on supply of these gems. We are willing to trade other gems in exchange, or even magic items.

Please PM vfb if you have 12+ Death Gems you would like to trade, for earth, fire, or nature gems.

We are also looking to acquire water gems, since oddly enough they are in very short supply under the waves. Plus in our noobishness we thought it would be fun to make some clams, but turns out we are much too impatient to enjoy the benefits. We're selling Clams for 20 water gems a clam if any nation is interested.

And of course, we do not exclude any nations from these trade offers. War is war, but business is business, or something along those lines anyway.

-- Uz, Prophet of the Mad Watcher

[StrictlyRockers]

In the New Dawn News there are reports of a war raging in the north west. The war has essentially evolved into a loose coalition of three nations on each side. It seems to be Vanheim, Helheim and Caelum vs Ulm and Marverni, with Oceania recently joining in to make it a 3v3.

So far it has been a pitched battle, with the war raging back and forth. Ulm has gotten deep into both Vanheim and Helheim territory at times with a nasty DragonWyrm leading the charge. Who knows what the outcome will be, but that is how it stands now in the Vanheim neck of the woods. This war has been raging for a while now.

Anyway, if anyone has death gems to trade, I will make you a better offer than Oceania. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vfb]

Uz would like to inform the nations of New Dawn that our current business transactions have been completed. We will be sure to inform you when further mutually beneficial opportunities arise.


-- Uz, Prophet of the Insane Kraken

[lch]

10 hours to go with Marverni left to move. Darrel, if you're reading this, please don't forget to submit your turn.

[lch]

I mailed everyone an updated version of the Worthy heroes mod we're using which fixes lots of incompability bugs with the 3.08 patch. Please install it immediately. In case you have not received the mail, please PM me.

[Covenant]

I didn't get that mail.

[StrictlyRockers]

I got the email, and it says there is an attachment, but when I open the email I don't see an attachment.

[lch]

Ah, okay. Here it is again. Overwrite the file you have with this one.

[StrictlyRockers]

You can download the file from this link too, I think.

http://files.filefront.com/heroes1_7rar/;7596762;/fileinfo.html

[lch]

Yes, but you have to rename it to heroes1_6.dm because that's the file that the game is recognizing.

[Covenant]

Really? I just sent in my turn and didn't rename it. It didn't seem to throw an error.

[lch]

It won't throw an error. But the game is locked on the filename and if you use the old mod yourself and the server uses the fixed 1.7 mod then you might have some strange effects when you look at your turns, inconsistencies.

---

To all: Caelum is looking for all kinds of gem trades, too. For starters, we have 10 fire gems which we'd like to convert to astral for example, or water, or death. We got some other stuff, too, and can forge a variety of things. PM if you're interested.

[Amhazair]

Almost 2 years ago the peaceful nation of Ermor, pinacle of civilisation, home to filosophers, engineers, and scientists got invaded by a warlike coalition of no less than three nations, envious of our culture, and yearning for the rich and fertile plains of our homeland. Brutal cavedwellers, ferocious warrior women led by man-flaying maniacs and calculating humans who in vain try to hide their greed behind a façade of learning and civilisation formed an unlikely alliance, whose only common point was pure, naked greed.

Backed into a corner out beleagered nation was forced to alter it's course, our only goal now being survival. Our plowshares were turned to swords, our aquaducts torn down to use the stones as barricades, and the farmers and craftsmen forming the lifeblood of our nation were handed a weapon and sent of to war.

Less than a year ago, with grim determination and after a series of bloody battles all of Sauromatias forces were cornered and destroyed, and, now fearing for their own survival, the once-proud warrior-women pulled out of this war.

Yesterday, after many more grim and dark months, in which a chariot-led assault on our capitol was repelled, and war raged all over our lands, our brave soldiers and mages launched a determined counterattack on the forces still surrounding our great city of Eldregate. Less than one quarter of the great host surrounding its walls managed to leave the field alive.

Today, in it's infinite mercy, the Ermorian Senate extends this one-time offer to the Arcoscephalean invaders: Retreat from the old corelands of our nation, returning the provinces of East Gate and Ermorian Highlands to us, the rightful owners, (we're ready to claim them back by force of arms anyway) and we will forget about the vile treachery and warmonging that led you to assault our peaceloving nation. Refuse, and be prepared to endure many more grim months and years of war, in which our valiant defenders will inflict loss upon loss unto you, until your armies and your economy are so weakened that you will collapse at the first sign of any barbarian nation sending a small raiding party at your lands!

So speaks first consul Amhazarius, in name of the Senate of Ermor.

[lch]

CUnknown had informed me in advance that he'd be away this weekend, so I am resetting the timer now.

[Mind Elemental]

We are afraid we must decline the Ermorian offer of peace. It was Ermor's rise, Ermor's swelling army, and Ermor's aggressive fortification that brought us to this situation. Now, Ermor's Prince of Death struts the land, and Longdead rise from soon-to-be-ashen fields. Our war machine has suffered a setback, but all is far from lost. In good conscience, we do not think now is the right moment to relent.


Amhazair said:
Almost 2 years ago the peaceful nation of Ermor, pinacle of civilisation, home to filosophers, engineers, and scientists got invaded by a warlike coalition of no less than three nations, envious of our culture, and yearning for the rich and fertile plains of our homeland. Brutal cavedwellers, ferocious warrior women led by man-flaying maniacs and calculating humans who in vain try to hide their greed behind a façade of learning and civilisation formed an unlikely alliance, whose only common point was pure, naked greed.

Backed into a corner out beleagered nation was forced to alter it's course, our only goal now being survival. Our plowshares were turned to swords, our aquaducts torn down to use the stones as barricades, and the farmers and craftsmen forming the lifeblood of our nation were handed a weapon and sent of to war.

Less than a year ago, with grim determination and after a series of bloody battles all of Sauromatias forces were cornered and destroyed, and, now fearing for their own survival, the once-proud warrior-women pulled out of this war.

Yesterday, after many more grim and dark months, in which a chariot-led assault on our capitol was repelled, and war raged all over our lands, our brave soldiers and mages launched a determined counterattack on the forces still surrounding our great city of Eldregate. Less than one quarter of the great host surrounding its walls managed to leave the field alive.

Today, in it's infinite mercy, the Ermorian Senate extends this one-time offer to the Arcoscephalean invaders: Retreat from the old corelands of our nation, returning the provinces of East Gate and Ermorian Highlands to us, the rightful owners, (we're ready to claim them back by force of arms anyway) and we will forget about the vile treachery and warmonging that led you to assault our peaceloving nation. Refuse, and be prepared to endure many more grim months and years of war, in which our valiant defenders will inflict loss upon loss unto you, until your armies and your economy are so weakened that you will collapse at the first sign of any barbarian nation sending a small raiding party at your lands!

So speaks first consul Amhazarius, in name of the Senate of Ermor.

[CUnknown]

We're still involved in the war, and we're still proud! But, we have seen the error of our ways and have switched sides. Indeed, our mighty Warrior Queen herself rides with a contingent of our swiftest steeds into the lands of the cavedwellers, looking for an entrance to the deepest cave of all.

We shake our fists in the general direction of Arcosephale!

Our people have begun to worship the death cult, the very same that is spreading through the lands of Ermor. Since we share a similar (although not identical) faith, we have joined with Ermor and will see them to victory! Those Arcosephaleans whom the male Emperor of Ermor does not wish to make his slaves can be sent to Sauromatia, where us Warrior Women will have our way with them.

(edit: by the way, thanks for re-setting the timer!)

[Amhazair]

Mind Elemental said:
We are afraid we must decline the Ermorian offer of peace. It was Ermor's rise, Ermor's swelling army, and Ermor's aggressive fortification that brought us to this situation. Now, Ermor's Prince of Death struts the land, and Longdead rise from soon-to-be-ashen fields. Our war machine has suffered a setback, but all is far from lost. In good conscience, we do not think now is the right moment to relent.




So be it then. Prepare for many more months of pain and suffering.

[lch]

Turtle price for me this turn. I am currently preparing something, and I'll do my turn shortly.

[Amhazair]

Hey, no rush... you got 30 hours left. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[StrictlyRockers]

Gosh darn it, ich, wut de hold up manz? We gonna make de turtle soup outta you!

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

hahaha

[lch]

I organized the new game (Neo Xekinima, you're all invited) and then Morpheus got me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
New turn is finally up.