Network MA, Whyte (Full)

[vfb]

Here's the nations we will be using:

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
PLAYER NATION 308 Graphs Uploaded
--------- -------- --- ------ --------
Tequilich Machaka Y N Y
Thrawn Abysia Y N Y
Wikd Thots Pangaea (sub)
K Bandar Log Y Y Y
tromper Marignon Y N Y
thejeff Jotunheim Y Y Y
hoo Pythium (sub)
vfb Eriu Y X Y
jimkehn Ulm Y N Y
thraveboy Vanheim Y X Y
Saint_Dude R'lyeh Y N Y
</pre><hr />

Server: bemura.dyndns.org
Port: 8098 (Currently UP)

The map is here:

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte.zip

Turn status is here (thanks Ich!):

http://bemura.dyndns.org/stats.php?game=Whyte

and also still here (ugly version):

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte/scores.html

I'm thinking we can run with default settings, renaming on. Could we please have a vote for graphs on or off?

I will start up the server and post the IP Address and port number once everyone is ready to use 3.08. Please post when you are ready to play 3.08 and also vote for graphs on or off. And please tell me if there's anything you hate about the map.

And sorry, I think 3.08 may keep us on our toes enough without complicating things with mods. So, Heroes will have to wait until the next one.

Thanks!

[thejeff]

I'm patched and ready.

I'd prefer graphs on, though it's not a priority.

I won't be able to look at the map until this evening.

[tromper]

Patched up here. I'd prefer to have graphs off, but either way is okay of course. Adds more secrecy and spice when they're off. Plus I don't feel like a tool continually, seeing others rocking the freeworld. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I've never used the Worthy Heroes mod or anything, but it sounds like it would be fun, if anyone wants to try it. Though I suppose with the patching frustrations, bleh.

Map looks great.

[vfb]

tromper said:
Patched up here. I'd prefer to have graphs off, but either way is okay of course. Adds more secrecy and spice when they're off. Plus I don't feel like a tool continually, seeing others rocking the freeworld. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif Thanks for the laughs! And I'm glad you like the map.

[jimkehn]

My vote.....graphs off. Adds the "Fog of War" dimension. Besides.....I hate others seeing what a piss poor player I am!!!

8^)

[Tequilich]

Im patched and ready to roll. I vote no graphs.

[Saint_Dude]

Is it really really full? If there is any way to squeeze in 1 more, I would love to join. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[thejeff]

I don't seem to be able to unzip the map. Looks like the download is corrupted?

Hmmm, can't seem to get other downloads from the forum either.

Nevermind. problem on my end.

[K]

I'm patched. Yes on graphs.

[BandarLover]

I'm patched. Don't care about graphs either way so I'll say...no graphs, I choose you.

I believe the worthy heroes mod is either now updated or about to be.

[vfb]

Here's another link for the map:

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte.zip

[thraveboy]

3.08: Yes
Graphs: Doesn't matter to me.

[vfb]

Saint_Dude would like to join too. I think there is room if he'll agree to start in the ocean. Does anyone have any objections? We'd still have 15 provinces per player on land.

[Saint_Dude]

I was hoping to play Shinuyama, but I would be willing to play R'lyeh. I just want to play. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I have patched to 3.08 and would prefer no graphs (if I make it into the game).

[jimkehn]

I say the more the merrier

[vfb]

Since even two more "yes" votes for graphs will not be enough to counter the "no" vote, I have started the game, <font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
dom308 -T -S --port 8098 --noclientstart -q --uploadmaxp 11 --noscoregraphs --mapfile Whyte.map --renaming --masterpass ****** --era 2 -s Whyte</pre><hr />

Please connect to bemura.dyndns.org, port 8098, to upload your pretenders and kick off the game.

If you can't resolve the domain name, the current IP address is 60.46.30.238.

Once the game has started I'll try to see if I can get Ich's cool php script going so we can see who has submitted their turn.

Please don't forget to put a password on your pretender!

And most importantly, have fun! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[lch]

vfb said:
Once the game has started I'll try to see if I can get Ich's cool php script going so we can see who has submitted their turn.


I updated it now to accomodate to the 3.08 changes. If you have trouble setting the script up then please let me know, especially if the ReadMe is unclear. It might be a little confusing, so just ask in case there's trouble.

[Eressil3]

3.08 =&gt; yes !

The patch is great why not to use it ? Buy some bowmen and dispel that nasty glamourous effect !!!

Graph =&gt; no

It's always better to rely on your spies to get informations. This make communication between players more important too.

[Eressil3]

Ok since I want an awaken SC pretender, a W9F9N4B4E4 bless and good scales can I get 1000 pts for my pretender design ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/confused.gif

Making choices is always hard in this game !!! That's why I love it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Tequilich]

my dude is locked and loaded. see yall in game!

[thejeff]

Potential map issue:

I've been playing test games on the map to shake out pretender design and get a feel for the map size.
There seem to be some predetermined magic sites. The Steel Ovens (20% construction bonus) has been in province 53 3 games in a row. Do we want that?

At the very least everyone should know about it.
I'd rather not have anything that good predetermined.

Can someone who reads the map format confirm that it is preplaced?

[Tequilich]

Its on the map on my test runs as well.

[lch]

thejeff said:
Can someone who reads the map format confirm that it is preplaced?


You can read it with any text editor and I can see no such entry for the province. It doesn't even have the "many sites" flag. But it's very thematic appropriate that the steel oven is there, since there's a vulcano in that province. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[tromper]

My pretender has been given a thorough massage and a new suit, and claims to be ready to hit pavement.

[K]

Pretender up.

[thejeff]

So if it's not in the mapfile, why is it always there?

Just ran another quick test, went directly to 53 and there it was.

I can view the map file, but I don't know what to look for. How would a site be assigned to that province? Would it be in the terrain mask, or would there be another entry?

[Thrawn]

I'm patched to 3.08, and would prefer no graphs.

Can't wait to start! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Saint_Dude]

I have loaded a R'lyeh pretender.

As far as the site at prov 53 goes: I have not done any modding in dom3. But in dom2, if I wanted to add a particular site to a prov, I would type in the actual name of the site (maybe there was another method that I was not aware of). However, it looks like in this instance that the site is coded with the terrain mask as thejeff has suggested. Prov 53 has a unique mask number (4202496). Perhaps we could just change is to the more common (4194306) and get rid of the site? Either that or we could just leave it in. If everyone knows it is there, it becomes just another thematic element in the scenario.

Oh, and I have patched to 3.08.

[lch]

thejeff said:
I can view the map file, but I don't know what to look for. How would a site be assigned to that province? Would it be in the terrain mask, or would there be another entry?


The terrain mask is battle terrain. neighbours and starting locations are clear, too. What would have to be in there is some "#addsite" command, I think. Very strange that this magic site *always* pops up in that province, but I had the Steel Ovens, a mine of superior iron and an Arena in there, too. Would be interesting to find out why it happens.

[lch]

I copied the terrain mask to every province in the game, set independent strength to 0 and went exploring with Caelum... I encountered 3 Vulcanos in the first five turns. Other heat-increasing sites like the Plains of perpetual drought seem to be common, too. In that game, there was *no* steel oven in 53, though... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif Maybe because it's a unique site and went somewhere else?

[thejeff]

Changing the terrain mask to 4194306, as Saint_Dude suggested, removed the Ovens.

Is there a good tutorial/manual on the map file format anywhere? I'd like to know why this happens. And if there are any other sites on the map.
A random map shouldn't have sites, as I understand it.

We could leave it in as a thematic feature, but it's a little more powerful than I'd like. I'd make a beeline for it if I started in that area.

[thraveboy]

Uploaded pretender for Van..

[vfb]

Thanks for figuring the province #53 volcano issue out. I've changed the terrain mask as suggested.

I thought I made sure everything was normal with the provinces using the map editor, but province #53 just showed "large province, border mountains" checked.

The random generator must have decided on that mask because of the volcano. The only doc I saw for map editing is the pdf in the docs directory, and it doesn't have information on specific terrain bits.

Anyway, if you like, please download a new copy of the map from:

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte.zip

Edit: I think everyone will have to upload their pretenders again, sorry! But please wait until thejeff checks the map.

[Ballbarian]

The random map generator places "special" provinces which are indicated by icons. For firesite the symbol is the volcano. I see it as completely fair as long as your remember that special icons appearing on the map can be worth making a beeline for them, and for fighting over them when you get there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Also, I guess that there is a list of possible sites that can appear in such a province of which 1 is selected. In one of my multiplayer games there are actually 3 volcano provinces under my control. 2 of them are the volcano site and 1 is the steel ovens.

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
"small" 1
"large" 2
"sea" 4
"somewater" 8
"mountain" 16
"swamp" 32
"waste" 64
"forest" 128
"farm" 256
"nostart" 512
"manysites" 1024
"deep" 2048
"cave" 4096
"firesite" 8192 - MAP SYMBOL= volcano
"airsite" 16384
"watersite" 32768
"earthsite" 65536
"astralsite" 131072
"deathsite" 262144
"naturesite" 524288
"bloodsite" 1048576
"priestsite" 2097152
"edgemount" 4194304
</pre><hr />

Hope this helps.

[Eressil3]

Wow i'm late !!! OMG I still don't know which kind of pretender to make !!!

Should I end with a dom 10 awaken wyrm ?

[lch]

Dom 10 awaken wyrms are lame... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

Pangea has this really nice Gorgon, doesn't it? Have you playtested it a little? And don't post here what pretender you're taking! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[vfb]

Thanks Ballbarian.

I've reverted to the "firesite" map, since that's the way random maps work.

The way I see it, it's part of the game when random maps are on, and we can all have fun fighting over it.

Here all the other magic sites on the map:

#27 priestsite (looks like a little grey mushroom)
#53 firesite (the volcano)
#91 airsite (blue-white towers)

I've seen the mushrooms and such before on random maps, but never knew what they were. This is good to know.

By the way, #1 and #41 were islands when I made the map (no connections). So I gimped in the ugly cave tunnel things, there is no magic there.

Attached are the bitmasks in hex if anyone is interested, I did this since I can't read bits in decimal.

Edit: I'm sure someone's got something better to dump the data out of a .map, but for now here's Ballbarian's list in hex too, <font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
"small" 1
"large" 2
"sea" 4
"somewater" 8
"mountain" 10
"swamp" 20
"waste" 40
"forest" 80
"farm" 100
"nostart" 200
"manysites" 400
"deep" 800
"cave" 1000
"firesite" 2000
"airsite" 4000
"watersite" 8000
"earthsite" 10000
"astralsite" 20000
"deathsite" 40000
"naturesite" 80000
"bloodsite" 100000
"priestsite" 200000
"edgemount" 400000
</pre><hr />

[lch]

Ballbarian said:
The random map generator places "special" provinces which are indicated by icons. For firesite the symbol is the volcano. I see it as completely fair as long as your remember that special icons appearing on the map can be worth making a beeline for them, and for fighting over them when you get there. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif


Thanks for that list, Ballbarian, I was looking for something like that. But I can't find it in the modding / map making manual, did I overlook something? It really should be in there!

[Eressil3]

Please Ich don't disturb my hoax-dumb-tactic ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[BandarLover]

Soooo...which version of the map are we using?

[vfb]

The original one, with the magic sites as indicated on the map (the volcano, shroom, and towers).

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte.zip contains the original map again. The map in the Aran thread is the same, it never got changed.

[thejeff]

Ok, I'm still not entirely happy with the magic site situation, but I'll run with it.

Pretender uploaded, and I was apparently the last because the game started.

Good luck to all.

[thraveboy]

The new .zip file contains two slightly different .map files. Could you make a new .zip file because I'm not sure which one to use now with all of the changes.

Thanks!

[Tequilich]

Thraveboy, download the link on vfb's latest post. Thats the map you need. Also just sent my turn in, I look forward to playing with you all.

[Eressil3]

Good luck everyone !

[jimkehn]

vfb....have you got a web page that shows game status?? i.e who has played and who has not??

[thraveboy]

Teq, the .zip file in the link contains two map files that were created at different times. So, I don't know if the new one is the original one recreated or the new one is the second "bad" version of the map file. They both have the same names except one is in a "maps" folder and the other isn't.

I extracted the most recently created .map file so I hope that's the correct one. ?

[Saint_Dude]

It is the one that is not in the map subfolder. For verification you can open the .map file and look at the terain mask number for prov 53. It should be 4202496.

[thraveboy]

Great! Yep, got the right one. Thanks!

[vfb]

Turn Status can be viewed at:

http://bemura.dyndns.org/Whyte/scores.html

This will not be correct for players that connect to download the turn and play it offline -- it will show the turn as complete for them.

I'll try to fix this by installing the Ich scripts when I get a chance.

[vfb]

Geez.

Somehow when I restarted the server (because of the map change) I managed to cut and paste --scoredump into the command line. So even though --noscoregraphs is on, the web status page script pulled in all the scores out of the game directory.

I've removed --scoredump from the command line so it is now, <font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
/usr/local/bin/dom308 -T -S --port 8098 --noclientstart -q --uploadmaxp 11 --noscoregraphs --mapfile Whyte.map --renaming --masterpass ******** --era 2 -s Whyte
</pre><hr />

I have deleted all scores info for the game off the server. Sorry about that!

[Tequilich]

Boo! Famine on turn 2, just my luck. haha

[jimkehn]

Tequilich....Wish I had it so good!!!!!

8^)

[vfb]

Would that Eriu had been lucky enough to have been struck by a Famine! For that would have relieved us somewhat from the burden of blame that lies squarely on our shoulders. We have been poking ourselves in the eyes, and stumbling over our toes, and tripping over our silly skirts.

We are truly glad that the graphs are off, so that the rest of the world cannot see our sorry state.

Our scouts and spotters have all been fired.

-- Traolach, Prophet of Eriu

[Thrawn]

Lies! You are all obviously trying to down play your amazingly prosperous first few turns.

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

[Eressil3]

Our prophet was brave enough to compete in arena deathmatch ! But what a surprise =&gt; he was just alone !!!

So he won without a scratch, without glory http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/fear.gif

We wanted to give the trident back since we may not deserve it, but sadly there must be some glue on it and our prophet can't just leave it !!! Some people even say that he started to sleep with... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

[vfb]

Ha ha ha! Congrats to your brave prophet. But now you'd better get busy filling up all his item slots, because next time he goes into a Death Match, someone's sure to throw in a peon with a slave collar or two eyes of aiming. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[lch]

Note that no items are transferred from one player's champion to another one in a deathmatch for exactly that reason. The only thing a player's hero might take out of the arena is the trident (placing his former weapons into the lab).

[vfb]

Oops! Sorry for the misinformation. Ich is right.

Prophet of Pan, feel free to run around naked in the arena. We somewhat civilized folk of Eriu hear that's what Pan likes to do anyway. But please do not post any pictures, unless you are a Dryad http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

[Tequilich]

I have a question. Does increasing your tax base increase the chance of getting certain bad events? Twice in the game I have raised my taxes in my home providence to 200 and both times on the next turn I get a famine. Is there anything to this or is it just bad luck?

[lch]

Bad luck, must have been by chance. You probably have high Misfortune, then? Setting taxes to 200 causes your population to drop rapidly on its own, though, as I had to learn myself. Should have read up on taxes in the manual before going for a quickstart...

[vfb]

Game status is now served ... more elegantly. Thanks Ich!

You can now view the status at:

http://bemura.dyndns.org/stats.php?game=Whyte

The old status link still works.

[Tequilich]

Well I know raising taxes lowers your pop. I was just curious if it triggers certain events when you have taxes above 100. Anyways, I suppose its just bad luck.

[Eressil3]

vfb said:
Oops! Sorry for the misinformation. Ich is right.

Prophet of Pan, feel free to run around naked in the arena. We somewhat civilized folk of Eriu hear that's what Pan likes to do anyway. But please do not post any pictures, unless you are a Dryad http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.



According to your thread,
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&amp;Number=519970&amp;page=0&amp;view=collap sed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;fpart=1#Post520442

You're unfortunatly right ! Though he would prefer to run naked in the arena, blatantly showing his virility and courage, we have to cover our prophet with false skin and stupid rings.

Sorry but paintings of our naked prophet are not for sale anymore. They have all been sold to our always-hungry maneads !

[vfb]

Edit: Eriu was looking to make a trade, but we found we had what we needed in our lab. Some visiting trader must have dropped it off. Nothing to see here, keep moving along. Sorry for the dud post.

[thejeff]

Server seems to be down?

And the status page...

[vfb]

Sorry, my ISP died on me. I almost went to a web cafe to post an update, but it's back up.

You should be able to access it now.

In case the DNS tables haven't updated, the server is now at:

220.106.24.211, still port 8098 of course.

[jimkehn]

Can't connect at this motel with my computer. Using a friend's computer to post this. Let my turn stale if need be. I will keep trying with my computer, but not hopeful

[vfb]

I don't think there's any rush. Most of the players here are in some other games too, I think. There is no timer on this game currently.

You tried the IP address 220.106.24.211 instead of 'bemura', didn't you? Oh, wait, I understand now -- you don't have an internet connection at all, right?

How long before you return home?

[lch]

If it's a firewall thing, maybe he could send you the *.2h file by mail and you drop it in the game folder in a PBEM-like manner, then.

[vfb]

I think he can't even download the turn file.

[jimkehn]

You are right, vfb. I should have a connection by tonite. It is just one of those very rare occasions when my computer can't get on the internet at the motel. Only happened one other time. vfb...you can play my turn if you like. Check your real email.

[vfb]

I appreciate your trust http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

Whyte's not on a timer and no-one's complaining, so it will just wait for you. I tried sending the .trn file to you, so you can try that if you like.

[thejeff]

Well, once jim gets his connection back, I'll be the next one slowing us down.

I'm going to be away for the weekend. My last chance to do a turn will be early Friday morning. I'll be back Sunday night.

Camping, so no chance of an internet connection.

So, there'll be no need to compulsively check the status page, like I keep doing.http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

[thraveboy]

I personally would like to have 24hr timer.

[jimkehn]

Thejeff....I can't fault you for checking compulsively. I do the same..........

[vfb]

IP has changed, it is now 61.207.71.38.

[tromper]

Poor cornered Marignon's 'fire' has been extinguished before anything but meanie early Independents and a dormant God could occupy its time as the mighty tallmen struck claim to the entire East - was fun for me, if short. Good luck guys, and I look forward to reading updates!

[thejeff]

Marignon has fallen. The fires that burned in her temples have been crushed by ice. We offered peace, but they responded with nothing but insults and defiance. And now they are gone.

Surle, prophet of Ingjald.


tromper, what happened? It seemed like you were provoking a fight and then playing to lose. Did you just have really bad luck with indies early on? The unrest from your spies was irritating, but hardly going to change the outcome. You never even tried to attack me. What happened to your fort?

Still, the huge amounts of PD hurt, and I had to stall a few turns to gather the forces to break them. I haven't actually seen the final battle yet, but I assume from your post that I did win.

[thejeff]

Oh, and somebody in the rest of the world? What happened to Vanheim? Not who I expected to die first.

[tromper]

My positioning was extremely unfortunate regarding independents, and a few bad events knocked me out down there in the corner. Goofy map, ultimately. My little roleplaying attempts at diplomacy to make people aware of your excellent position and easy expansion went unheralded. You've a good shot of overwhelming Pangea which is the only threat in the area, as the apes there to the South were more or less set to AI, or at least acting like it. (?) Have fun. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vfb]

Sorry to hear you didn't like the map! But I think the strength of the indies on the map is random, and not dependent on the map file itself (unless the map specifically bumps up the indy strength for particular provinces, and this one doesn't).

Were you surrounded by knights or something?

[jimkehn]

Vanheim fell to the Abysians and Ulmians. Nice game, Thraveboy!!! Those glamour guys are tough!.

[Eressil3]

tromper said:
My little roleplaying attempts at diplomacy to make people aware of your excellent position and easy expansion went unheralded.



I offered to help you. I offered to cancel my NAP with the jotuns and attack three months later (according to the NAP). It should have worked. You should be alive now, may be not in good state but alive at least. I wonder why you answered you could repel all the giants by yourself...
May be you should be more clear in your roleplaying attempts...

Now the jotun's empire is as huge as Pangaea's one and the forest dwellers don't want a war with them http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[thejeff]

Obviously I am a great threat. I've caught up with Pangaea's size and he doesn't want to send his fire blessed centaurs after me. So I'm the threat.http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Jotunheim was forced into an early war. Now that it's over, we hope to have some peace to rebuild and consolidate our gains.
We are no threat to anyone unless we are attacked.

[vfb]

Eressil3 said:

tromper said:
My little roleplaying attempts at diplomacy to make people aware of your excellent position and easy expansion went unheralded.



I offered to help you. I offered to cancel my NAP with the jotuns and attack three months later (according to the NAP). It should have worked. You should be alive now, may be not in good state but alive at least. I wonder why you answered you could repel all the giants by yourself...
May be you should be more clear in your roleplaying attempts...



Nah! It's most excellent role playing for Marignon. Remember, they are paranoid. They cannot accept offers of help, because it must be a trick! The church will not allow alliances with heathens, blasphemers, and especially not pagans who spend their time frolicking in the forests!

[tromper]

Yeah come on, Eressil3, you should have been pleased I even gave you warning about the tallmen. And it wasn't like you were going to help our Inquisitors anyway - you offered nothing of substance and merely stated that you had a NAP.

Anyway, if you know Marignon, you know that they would have rammed hot irons into your drunken forest dwellers' earholes, stuck the torso on a fiery spit, and prayed that their now very defunct God would wake the hell up to give you more lessons than Oprah on acid. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[thejeff]

Agreed on the role playing, seen as well in his refusal of Jotunheim's offer of peace after our forces clashed in an independent province. Though he already had what I assume was a prophetized spy causing unrest within my borders.

Paranoid and hostile to all unbelievers may be a reasonable character for Marignon, but it's also very limiting.

After all, Pangaea is full of heathens, but at least they don't tamper with forbidden death magic like the Jotuns do. They can be purged later...

[Eressil3]

vfb said:
Nah! It's most excellent role playing for Marignon. Remember, they are paranoid. They cannot accept offers of help, because it must be a trick! The church will not allow alliances with heathens, blasphemers, and especially not pagans who spend their time frolicking in the forests!



http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
I didn't know this verb : "to frolick" LOOOOL

Please let me clarify : I'm PnP roleplayer. I love roleplaying. I would like to RP every aspect of this game too, but sometime I'm just too lazy...
I do think Tromper's RP was great and entertaining, but sometime in diplomacy you need to be clear and not let place to doubt. Tromper you could have told me something like :

"You drunken pagan forest pig !..." oops sorry wrong sentence http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

No simply just a *yes* or a *no* somewhere in the rp mail could have helped...

And Tromper you're wrong. If you had tell me something like :"Marignon can stand more than three months before beeing defeated, enter the fight as soon as you can !" I had help you just because I was in the mood to do it... Yes just to make a remake of LOTR http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif
Yes a great besieged city saved by a huge cavalry... Yeaaah ! "Chaaaarge !" But not this time... Mmmm... in fact there are other reasons but you'll have to guess them !

BTW I seem to have some communicating issues with my fellow players. I already got one in the afterthought game... Another here... May be I should ask to Gandalf to put a sticky about me saying something like "Please be clear with the poor eressil, it's hard for him to understand you..." http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif

[thejeff]

I'm afraid I'm going to have to delay the game again.

Longer weekend this time. I'll be away Thursday evening until Tuesday night.

Sorry for the holdup, it should be my last for awhile.

[vfb]

No problem, I'm kind of busy myself, and BandarLover is MIA.

So we can pick where we left off on Tuesday, unless we manage to squeeze one more turn in before then.

[Thrawn]

Come on BandarLover!!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vfb]

I think he may have lost his internet connection or something. He's staled in 2 other games. He seemed quite interested in the Whyte game so I'm sure it is not a case of just losing interest.

[thejeff]

Hopefully he'll be back next week.

If not, we should probably find a substitute, or others will start to forget about the game.

[vfb]

Sounds like a good plan to me. If he doesn't come back by Tuesday I'll post for a sub.

[Saint_Dude]

A single stale wouldn't be the end of the world. I would vote for running the current turn so that thejeff and the rest of us can get in one more turn before the weekend.

[Eressil3]

Staling is always bad... I vote to wait until tuesday. And be sure I won't forget this game !

[vfb]

It's only one turn, and the game is off for the weekend anyway, so I won't auto-host it. But I just realized that I don't have BandarLover's Pretender password. Or anyone's for that matter.

If you think there's a remote chance that you might drop off the face of the planet, can you please PM me your password for this game.

[BandarLover]

Sorry for holding everything up. Total PC meltdown and I had to wipe and reinstall. YAY!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[jimkehn]

Welcome back, BL!!

[BandarLover]

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

[Tequilich]

the world turns...

[Eressil3]

Did Thejeff get a stale turn ?

[vfb]

No, there's no timer. So he must have logged in and did his turn.

[thejeff]

Yeah, I got in last night and got one turn in. Too tired and rushed to get another done right away.

[BandarLover]

PM'd vfb, will post here as well.

I'm going out of town tomorrow thru Sunday. I'll be back Sunday night, but I'm gonna have to stall the game. Argh!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[vfb]

Can you get in one more turn before you go?

[BandarLover]

Done and done. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vfb]

The Fat Lady tires of the unfortunate events in our lands caused by the misfortune and death oozing into the pristine forests of Eriu from the corrupted wastelands to our south. We hereby notify Machaka that our NAP is annulled.

Come Early Summer, the Big Fat Momma will be bulldozing some spiders beneath her bouncy buttocks.

[Thrawn]

That's something we pray our scouts do not witness.

[Tequilich]

Beware honorless Eriu... Woodie shall stick it between your fat ladies cheeks if she comes into his Domain.

[Eressil3]

Thrawn said:
That's something we pray our scouts do not witness.



I second this one !

BTW I'm sorry to not play my turns as fast as usual. But I got some computer problems...

[vfb]

This game is going to be on hold over the weekend too, because BandarLover will be gone for the weekend. So, maybe you'll have a chance to get your PC fixed.

[Saint_Dude]

Oops! Turns out the Jotun are fairly resistant to the R'lyeh mind blasts. Expensive lesson that.

[thejeff]

Excellent. I haven't seen the turn yet, but that sounds promising.


It seems that, despite our peaceful intentions, the success of our initial war against Marignon has frightened our neighbors. Pangaea has renounced our peace agreement. Strange creatures from the sea have assaulted our coasts. Now the Bandar Log have renounced their pact and prepare to march against us.

We will fight to the last, but against 3 foes we are not likely to prevail. Still, as the squids have already learned, our fall will be slow and costly. Perhaps our enemies have enemies who will strike when they turn towards us.

Surle, prophet of Ingjald

[BandarLover]

Hey everyone I'm back. Turn is done. Sorry for the hold up.

[jimkehn]

The dennizens of the deep have encroached upon the lands of Ulm. Ulm has no claims on the undersea provinces rightfully belonging to R'Lyeh, but our fields and forests......we intend to reclaim.

[Eressil3]

The war against Jotunheim goes well. I just hope R'lyeh is not an unworthy ally or everyone will know it until the end of times !

The harpies are watching you.

[Saint_Dude]

hehe, insults will only get you so far.

We would much prefer the Ulm numb skulls to the magically resistant giants. If Ulm wants to start a war out of the blue, and the Pan-sies want to disdain our assistance, we can easily switch targets.

For now, we regroup to press the giants. But our plans are subject to change due to the actions and attitudes of the other parties. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[thejeff]

The giants would not object to your plans changing.

It would let us focus on being slaughtered by fire blessed centaurs.

[jimkehn]

But.....but.....R'Lyeh's fishes belong in the sea!!

Not on MY borders!!!!

[vfb]

The evil Machakans have invaded Eriu territory prior to the expiration of our NAP, taking our treasured land of Ograthon only a month after their horrible scales caused it to be invaded by barbarians.

Eriu declares the Machakans to be dastardly sneaky oath-breakers, and hopes the RNG punishes them mercilessly for their evil deeds.

[Tequilich]

Machaka broke no oath, and shall destroy the fat lady!

[vfb]

The lawyers of Eriu's forests disagree.

Ograthon was a prosperous and happy land, until the aggressive dominion pushing of Machaka converted its scales from Growth and Luck, to Death and Misfortune. It was then pillaged by barbarians, followed shortly by an invasion from Machaka before the NAP expired. Oath breakers! NAP violators!

We have petitioned the RNG for redress in the form of a plague of knights attacking each of your provinces.

May your Misfortune destroy you! If we don't first, that is.

[Eressil3]

Saint_Dude said:
hehe, insults will only get you so far.

We would much prefer the Ulm numb skulls to the magically resistant giants. If Ulm wants to start a war out of the blue, and the Pan-sies want to disdain our assistance, we can easily switch targets.

For now, we regroup to press the giants. But our plans are subject to change due to the actions and attitudes of the other parties. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



We don't want to insult anyone. But we may have overreacted to the declaration of Ulm. And you might understand that we found strange a two fronts assault and our will to ensure your loyalty.

[vfb]

Been caught sneakin'. Oops http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/eek.gif

Ha ha ha. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[thejeff]

Server down?

[BandarLover]

IP may have changed. vfb is generally good at posting changes so I'd give him more time.

[vfb]

Server got restarted and I forgot to run the process. Sorry! It's up now.

IP address is now 220.98.162.229.

[vfb]

Eriu is not having a very good year.

First we think our glamor units can sneak around undetected, and get totally busted, in blob formation, without even anyone to bless us.

Then we invade Machaka's capital with insufficient forces. And once again the cursed Machakan scales nail us, and our only avenue of retreat is cut off by a barbarian invasion. All retreating commanders were lost! Talk about poetic injustice.

Please do not take this as any sign that the new Eriu nation is weak. It is merely a problem that the Eriu Secretary of Defense has been found to be severely lacking in the strategic planning capability department. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[thejeff]

That must have been a lot of patrollers to catch glamored troops. Though Machaka does have those priests with a patrol bonus (Eyes of the Lord?)


Jotunheim has also been having a very bad year. On the good front, R'lyeh was dealt a significant defeat or two and seems to have withdrawn from the battle, possibly due to a war with Ulm?

The forces used to hold off R'lyeh however, were not available to battle Pangaea. As a result of that, and a low investment in Jotunheim's pathetic PD, roughly half our provinces are in enemy hands. The white centaurs have destroyed most of my southern forces, including our lamented prophet, leaving only the veterans of the R'lyeh campaign and some new recruits.
Still some progress has been made, though attempts to force a major battle have failed.

Bandar Log has also entered the fray in the south and has brought a large army to siege our southern fortress. Due to the northern war efforts, he has been opposed only by local troops and a couple of brave Jarls waging a guerrilla campaign.

Attempts to use Jotun commanders as thugs have been mixed at best, partly due to lack of gems other than death and nature.


If this goes on, Jotunheim is likely not much longer for the world. Pangaea, particularly, will grow much stronger with our defeat. He was already as large as Jotunheim and will likely gain at least a dozen provinces. We know little of the rest of the world, but this threat is ignored at your peril.

[vfb]

I don't think there were any Eyes of the Lord in that province.

Eriu's bad news has gotten somewhat worse. Our Secretary of Defense was so concerned about his upcoming Incompetance Hearings that he neglected to inform the nation of Abysia that our Big Fat Momma would be engaging in a border readjustment operation with Machaka.

Her haunches have been roasted by Burning Ones and she has disappeared to the forest in the sky. We must now call her back.

[Thrawn]

Abysia PROFUSELY apologizes for the death of the large busomed one! We think possibly she confused our lava warriors with slow roasted lizards-on-a-stick.

[Eressil3]

Thrawn said:
Abysia PROFUSELY apologizes for the death of the large busomed one! We think possibly she confused our lava warriors with slow roasted lizards-on-a-stick.



It remember me a Wyrm named Rock in the Aran newb realm killed by mistake ! May be vfb will get used to it ! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif


Thejeff said:
Attempts to use Jotun commanders as thugs have been mixed at best, partly due to lack of gems other than death and nature.



Happy to hear you had a lack of gems, because in the current state your thugs are pretty scary !!! I'm happy R'lyeh suggested an alliance against you even he's not participating anymore ! I really wonder of what you would be able to do if we let you alive ! (hope this sentence is understandable - my english skills reach their limits here !)

BTW our minister of information must dismiss some rumors about the so called "Pangaean threat" : for sure with the defeat of Jotunheim, Pangaea will grow in size. But Bandar Log is almost as big as Pangaea and will grow up too. We know all that Vanheim was early defeated giving Abysia and Ulm some lands to share too. And we know there is also a war between Eriu and Machaka.

Unless you give up, there still some time before your fall.
Really the jotuns giants are giving me a hard time... And I may regret later some choices I made.

[thejeff]

Glad to hear the thugs are scary. Seems to me most of them die to your PD or the wolves. I had plenty of gems, but almost all death and nature. Limited my options and I wasted quite a few alchemizing.

If I'd had another 4-5 turns, I would have thugs ready when you first attacked and more importantly the blood economy started. I've also got 2 nice sites (Forges (20%Construction) and Cedar Pillars (30% Enchantment)) that I just didn't have the research to abuse properly.

Now though, it's pretty much over. You destroyed my main army with only a few losses. I've got a few things left to try, but they'll at best delay the inevitable. Bandar Log will take my southern castle in a few turns and get the Cedar Pillars. It'll take you a bit to actually take the castles, but I'd give it 5-6 turns, depending on when you start the siege in my capital.

Well fought. You hit me at the right time and broadly enough that I couldn't counter.

[vfb]

It's official, the Knights of Whyte have a vendetta going against Eriu. Someone please write them a letter and tell them, no, Eriu does not have your chalice. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Eressil3]

Is there a timer ? If there is a 24h one, I would like to see it extended to 48h.

[vfb]

There is no timer.

[Eressil3]

We just got attacked by Ulm without warning. Ulm violated a NAP with three months warning before hostilies.

Jimkehn you're in my book !

[thejeff]

Jotunheim rejoices!

Our god is free at last. Already our capital has been freed from the half-animal hordes. Soon all our lands will follow!

[jimkehn]

I did????

I assumed that since R'Lyeh had so abhorrently encroached our lands, and given your alliance with R'Lyeh, that when R'Lyeh crossed the line, YOU were at war also!!!

Guilt by association.

[Saint_Dude]

Crossed the line? The only battle that has been waged between Ulm and R'lyeh was at Ulm's discretion and involved Ulm's elite troops and a handful of leaderless R'lyeh fodder.

Heck, we haven't even fried your god in retaliation. . . yet! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[jimkehn]

HAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Elite troops??? Those were winos we swept off our streets. You, OTOH, came upon dry land and took our properties!! Did you not see the "No Trespassing" signs?? They were up all over!!!

[Eressil3]

jimkehn said:
I did????

I assumed that since R'Lyeh had so abhorrently encroached our lands, and given your alliance with R'Lyeh, that when R'Lyeh crossed the line, YOU were at war also!!!

Guilt by association.



LOL that's the funniest thing I've ever heard !!!! I was complaining about R'lyeh's assault on Ulm ! I'm happy that everyone can read your treacherous confession here and see what kind of honorless mind you are.

[jimkehn]

Well, you know....confession is good for the soul. I know I feel a lot better.


Sheesh.....some guys just can't take a joke!! 8^)

What's a few provinces and some worthless PD?? Especially for half man half beast guys like yours? You'll surely find yourself right at home under Ulm's benevolent rule!! Being nature lovers ourselves, we welcome all foreign inhabitants of Ulm to utilize our forests. Be sure to use the porta-potties set up in convenient places.

Oh yeah...please eat only the nuts and pinecones that have already fallen to the ground. We harvest the ones in the trees. Jotunheim is willing to pay premium prices for fresh nuts.

[thejeff]

From out of the cold and distant past, the Abductor has heard the pleas of his kin and returned to our aid.

Single-handedly he has broken the Pangaea's siege. Soon, he and our God shall drive the animals from all our lands.

[Thrawn]

The Abductor? Does he have a cool 80's-movie style catch phrase? "You've been ABDUCTED!" Or... "Abduct THIS!"

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Sorry....just ignore me.

[Eressil3]

I'm sorry I'm pretty busy these days. Therefore I will hang the game until tomorrow.

[jimkehn]

No problem for me. It's only a game.

[thejeff]

I won't be able to get my turn in until tonight anyway.

Games slow down as the turns take longer. (Well, my turns are actually getting quicker. Bonus prize for getting slaughtered?)

[vfb]

You need to send the Abductor back in time, when Eressil'Ortal was just a wee little pretender, and abduct him.

[jimkehn]

OK, Pangeea.....so ya won one. I'm not a scared of you.

[vfb]

It appears the meeting of Woodie and Big Momma will never be, as Woodie died of exhaustion in a brave but foolhardy last charge against Eriu, and the Big Momma has yet to return to Whyte.

[Tequilich]

Boo! Oh well, thanks for the game.

[jimkehn]

What happened to our game???

[vfb]

Are you having trouble connecting? It should still be there. Latest IP is 220.98.162.229 if bemura.dyndns.org doesn't work.

Pan needed some extra time to make his move, but the turn is up now.

Eriu is shaken, not stirred, by the Machakan wars. But little /threads/images/Graemlins/icon23.gifs now abound throughout our lands, yay! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[jimkehn]

Nope...I got connected. I just thought you were having trouble and hence the delay. All's right with the world. Except Pan keeps kickin my booty.

8^)

[Eressil3]

I received a call this morning for a new job. Therefore I'll leave my country for the USA.

I need a lot of time to prepare this new life and won't be able to do my turns. I'll be back in the dom3 community when I'll got my new house and internet connection. But it won't be before august.

Sorry guys, this game was really fun (may be the funniest one). I want to thank especially Thejeff for being a worthy enemy and vfb for hosting this game.

The situation of pangaea may deserve a replacement, but I let all of you choose if I'll set myself to AI or not.

[vfb]

Can you please PM me your password, so I can give it to your replacement (if we find one). And congrats on the new job!

[thejeff]

Congrats and good luck in the new job. And the new country.

It has been a good game. Still, I think you would have finished me already if you hadn't been blindsided by Ulm.
Surviving against a replacement won't be anywhere near as satisfying.

A replacement would be good, though. A sudden power vacuum would change the game too dramatically. Good for me, but less fun.

[jimkehn]

Congratulations, Eressil. Hope everything goes well with the job. Was having fun in our war. Still not real confident about the outcome. You are a good player.

thejeff!!!!! I'm shocked that you would use such a harsh word as "blindsided" As the world now knows, the alliance of Pan and R'Lyeh jointly declared war on ME, when R'Lyeh moved onto my back yard!! Surely undersea creatures recognize the international "No Trespassing" signs!!!!


8^)

[thejeff]

Well, I didn't say betrayed, or anything.
If I recall correctly, he certainly wasn't expecting it, thus "blindsided". There was some debate, I believe, about whether he should have expected it or not.

However, as your attack probably saved my realm, I withdraw any inferred criticism.

[vfb]

I've posted to a new thread, looking for a replacement Pan player. But if any of you know someone who would like to join in, could you please invite them.

[Wikd Thots]

I am willing to take Pan.

[Saint_Dude]

Do we also need a replacement for Pythium?

BandarLover was having some computer problems and dropped out of the Unlucky game. He hasn't said anything in this thread, but he hasn't played his turn while the game has been hung up.

[vfb]

Pythium had said he will try and do a couple more turns, but he sent me a message today saying that would be impossible. I've posted for a replacement in the sub thread, and I've got Pythium's password.

Welcome to the game, Wikd Thots!

[K]

You might want to just set him to computer. He's in the middle of a nasty war that he is losing badly. A sub would only get 4-5 turns of play.

[thejeff]

Says his opponent?

Can anyone with scouts in the area confirm that? I only saw one battle that seemed to go well for him. Not that you can really tell anything from one battle.

Not that I think you're lying or anything, I'm just surprised. I thought he was doing well. He seemed confident...

[vfb]

Eriu has scouts in the area that can confirm that Bandar Log defeated Pythium's border army and took a fortress from him.

But I have a PM today asking to look at the position, hopefully he'll take it.

[vfb]

'hoo' has accepted the position of Pythium.

Edit: I've disabled quickhost for this turn, just in case he has any difficulty. I'd like to avoid having him do just half a turn or something. I'll re-enable quickhost once his turn is done.

Edit: The server reports Pythium's turn is in, so I've re-enabled quickhost. Game on! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Thrawn]

Welcome Hoo!

[hoo]

Um..I can confirm that Pythium's war with Bandar Log is going rather badly. I'm outnumbered, outresearched and heavily outmagiced. Other than that, things are going fine.

I'm sure all the other players can see that Bandar is running away with the game with big globals, big armies and have Pythium on the ropes. Any assistance would be appreciated.

[hoo]

This will be a rather short stay in Pythium unless other folks band against Bandar Log.

I'm being hit by earth attacks, winged monkeys etc killing my commanders. I believe that Bandar Log is far more powerful than is currently believed given a huge level of research. He has the capacity to teleport his troops into any country at will, then cast celest music and trash anyone!

Bandar Log delenda est! Stop them now before it's too late. BL will soon have Pythium's castle under siege at the end of the present turn and will then engage in a mop up operation.

[vfb]

The Big Fat Momma has returned to Whyte. She has declared a State of Emergency, smothered the King of Eriu, sacked his advisers, and fed the princes to the lions. And most importantly, she has squashed the entire Eriu diplomatic corps with her mighty buttocks.

The nation of Bandar Log must be stopped! How foolish our advisers were, inciting a war with the merely annoying spidermen, while the monkeys built great libraries and grew powerful in their magics. How shortsighted, to enter into a pact with a nation that usurps the blood of the earth, harvests the great oak, and draws power from the well of death.

There is no time for diplomatic pleasantries. Eriu has launched a sneak attack on the monkey lands, pacts be damned. We are not overly concerned as to our reputation, since we are soon likely to be crushed by the enormous fist of the Apes.

[Thrawn]

LOL, vfb

[K]

Yes, vbf is a Pact breaker.

So sad. He burned his Dom III reputation for a few turns of advantage rather than just declare the pact null and wait the agreed upon three turns to attack.

[tromper]

Wow. That's the first time I've seen someone break a pact. But at least he role played it slightly. I'll definitely remember, should we be in the same game, not to bother making 'deals' with him though. heh

[vfb]

Didn't you get the memo? It's a Global Emergency! Bandar has ginormous armies, and 4 globals up, some of which indicate research level 8. Whereas Eriu has pissed away our power by squabbling with our neighbors, building fortresses in the wrong places, and generally getting ourselves killed.

The only chance Eriu had to have any impact on the situation at all was a dastardly, sneaky, underhanded, sneak attack. So, that's what we did.

We are already paying the price, as a squad of flying monkeys has kidnapped our prophet!

ooc: Yes, tromper and K, if you do choose to play in MP with me again, and it's the same situation where I am vastly underpowered compared to your nation, I'll be quite likely to do something similar even if we do have a NAP. I won't hold it against you if you'd prefer we did not play in the same games, if you only enjoy playing against people who respect their NAPs. But K, I can't see how you won't get great pleasure out of Bandar Log crushing Eriu for our wickedness!

[jimkehn]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Methinks some people take this game TOO seriously. Sneak attacks are part of the role playing portion of the game. Like car bombs, they are the tool of an overmatched nation.

BTW....Nice battle, wkd thots. The growing fury kept me in the game for a lot longer than I should have, but it also cost me a whole buncha troops. I thought I was going to win that one hands down, but your falling fires and and elementals kept you in the castle. Good Job!!

Ready for round two??

[thejeff]

I watched that fight.

Very impressive. I'm not sure whether the growing fury helped you or hurt you. It kept you going, but you lost a lot of troops once the battle was lost, without doing much real damage. A few berserk mages, too.

An ethereal, lucky crusher is really hard to take down.

My scout has got his popcorn and is ready for round two.

[jimkehn]

thejeff, I agree, the growing fury in this case was more of a hindrance. However, I have seen a lot of battles where low morale troops could have and would have won had they not run away. I have seen my own battles, in one case, where I had ONE more unit to kill, plus a mediocre mage and had 10 or twelve of my guys route at that point. To be honest, I thought I had that battle won, but Pangaea proved to be too strong.

[hoo]

Eriu is to be commended for taking bold action against Bandar Log! All nations should follow such a wise example. Sadly, Pythium's capitol is now in the grubby paws of the monkeys. But we won't surrender quite yet.

I'd like to encourage folks to do what they can against the monkey hordes to weaken them for their next conquest. Already Bandar Log is running away with the game and Eriu/Pythium can't stop them without additional help.

PM me for info on how YOU can make a difference!

[vfb]

hoo and K, it's been a few days since the last turn was played. Will you be able to submit your turns soon?

hoo, if your situation is now completely hopeless, please feel free to set yourself to AI if you prefer.

Edit: hoo, thanks for playing your turn. Just waiting on K now.

Edit again: Thanks K! We're back on track.

[Saint_Dude]

Is Bandar Log throwing in the towel now that their cause is totally hopeless? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

The pace of this game has become absolutely glacial. But I can't complain too much as I am about to embark on a cross country drive and expect to have intermittent Internet access for the next week or so.

[jimkehn]

I know....I'm seriously considering going AI cuz I hate moving every four or five days.

[thejeff]

Yeah, K, what's going on?
Is this a temporary hold up, or just how long the turns are going to be taking?
Let us know what to expect.

I'm also going to be away on vacation next week. I'll take the laptop with and hope to have internet access, but it'll be intermittent and I'll be busy. I should be able to keep up, but will probably be slow to respond to diplomacy.

[Saint_Dude]

Being as how we have played 1 turn in the last week and a half, perhaps VFB should just host the game?

While it is a shame to stale someone, if we don't get back to a semblance of regularity, I think a number of players will likely drift away and the game will simply peter out.

[jimkehn]

I have no problem if someone is going on vacation and lets the rest of the group know ahead of time. After all, this isn't life. And life sometimes must interfere. But if there are no valid reasons, I have no desire to be in a game that takes 5 days to do a turn.

[thejeff]

Which is why I'm asking K what the situation is. If it's something that's ending soon, we can wait. If not, I don't know...
This long, while turns are still short for most of us, will make people drift away.

Given his dominant status, losing him or even forcing him to stale a few times would change the game drastically.

[jimkehn]

I agree, thejeff. I can wait if I know the player is sick or on vacation, or family is in town, etc. But if we are going to do just one turn a week.........justbecause........I'm not interested.

[vfb]

I've PM'ed K to see if he'll be able to continue. I don't have K's password, so I think my only option would be setting Bandar to AI using the master password, if we don't hear from him.

[K]

Sorry about the delay. My computer got a virus and I had to overnight factory disks to reformat my hard drive. It took me out of commission for a few days.

Turn done.

[jimkehn]

WELCOME BACK!!! Glad to hear you hadn't just lost interest, although it sucks to get a virus.

[vfb]

Eriu requests all friendly nations send an ambassador to attend the funeral of our hero Cu Chulainn. When our outnumbered army fled in the battle against 100 hideous Possessed Apes, he valiantly fought on, crushing their bodies and then their ghostly spirits beneath his magical chariot. When the wheels finally gave out and fell off, and his legs were chopped off, and his eyes gouged out and his elbows broken, and his limbs all hacked and mangled, he tied himself to a tree using just his teeth, and bit the knees off the evil creatures.

Sadly, he was finally dispatched when his Soul was slain with wicked sorcery.

P.S. Bandar is not invited. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

ooc: Glad to see you back, K!

[hoo]

This turn may be a little late from Pythium. I'm involved in some rather desperate talks.

[K]

vfb said:

Sadly, he was finally dispatched when his Soul was slain with wicked sorcery.




I don't think it was "wicked sorcery". I think it was "wicked awesome sorcery".

[Thrawn]

LOL, K. Nice.

[thejeff]

Sorry to be delaying. I've been ridiculously busy and try to do some diplomatic things back and forth.

I'll get this turn in tonight and hopefully the next one right away or in the morning. After that I'll be away, but I should have occasional access. Should be able to get turns in, but don't expect a lot of communication or quick responses.

[vfb]

I PM'ed Pythium yesterday asking him if he could take his turn, but he didn't reply yet.

Does everyone want to put this game on a timer? 48 Hrs?

[jimkehn]

OH PLEASE DO!!!!!!

This is ridiculous.

[Thrawn]

Yes. Timer. Please. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[vfb]

thejeff is on vacation this week (see his post somewhere above). When he gets back (on the 30th?), I will set the timer to 48 hours.

[Thrawn]

What about Saint Dude? Is he on vacation too? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Thrawn]

What's up with Saint Dude?

[thejeff]

Well, I'm back.

Though I'm not really happy about the pace, (I could have played another turn or two while I was away), I think I'd still rather not go to a timer.

I'd rather find a sub than just force Saint Dude to stale.
He did say awhile back that he was taking a cross-country trip and would only have intermittent access for a week or so. Hopefully that was just more intermittent than he'd thought and he'll be back soon.

[Saint_Dude]

Very sorry for the delay that I have caused. I just completed a cross country move, and it has created more havoc than anticipated. While I was able to keep up with my turns on the road, all the wheels came off when I finally reached my destination. I was tied up with unpacking and without Internet until today.

Alas, now that I have Internet, I am still having problems connecting to any of my games. Not sure what the problem is.

I don't want to cause any more delay. So please go ahead and begin a search for a sub.

Once again. So sorry.

[Saint_Dude]

Well, it looks as though my connection problem is due to my firewall configuration. Not sure how to fix the problem, but I was able to play my turn by temporarily turning off my firewall (shudder).

I still need to figure out a better long term fix, but it looks like a sub will not be necessary. I am back and will do my best to submit my turns in a timely manner from here on out.

[hoo]

Yeah. I'm looking forward to continuing the "Pythium strikes back" game.

Soon, we will have our complete revenge on those evil monkey folks.

[Thrawn]

Guys, off topic, but check out my cooperative game i'm going to host that's forming.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&amp;Number=540583&amp;page=0&amp;view=collap sed&amp;sb=5&amp;o=&amp;fpart=1&amp;vc=1

We need 2 or 3 more.

[vfb]

The evil monkeys have confounded our plans once again. Our big fat momma was peacefully slumbering after her latest battle, when she was slain by evil remote magiks.

All is lost!

[vfb]

I'm sorry but I'll be unable to be continue hosting as of Aug 15th. I can zip up the game directory and attach it to this post, and provide the master password to anyone who can volunteer to find a new server. If Pythium and Pan can get their turn in soon, that would help to avoid any potential problems with staling, since all nations will have completed their current turns.

Congratulations (slightly in advance) to Bandar for polishing off the remnants of the Eriu nation.

Apologies once again for being unable to continue hosting.

[thejeff]

I can host. Shouldn't be a problem.

Can you point me to a copy of the script you use for the status page?

Will you still be playing? (Or do you expect to be so close to dead it won't matter?)

[vfb]

Great, thanks for volunteering!

I can play up to the 15th of August, unless Bandar kills me before then http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif.

The server is run as <font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre>
/usr/local/bin/dom308 -T -S --port 8098 --noclientstart --quickhost --uploadmaxp 11 --noscoregraphs --mapfile Whyte.map --renaming --masterpass **** --era 2 -s Whyte
</pre><hr />

A zip of the savedgames/Whyte dir is attached.

I'll PM the masterpass to you. Pythium hasn't moved yet but I figure the quicker we try this out, the more chance we'll have to fix any problems while I'm still available.

I'm using Ich's php scripts for the status page. I'll attach those files in another post, I don't think I can stick 2 attachments on this post.

[vfb]

Here's a zip of the Whyte files in my htdocs dir.

The dom3_Whyte.inc.php file $serveraddress should be updated to the appropriate hostname.

Please tell me if it doesn't work.

[vfb]

I've disabled the hosting on bemura. Pythium, please try connecting to thejeff's system once he posts the IP address.

Eriu has not gone AI just yet ... we're trying to hold off the hordes of undead apes as long as we can. But going AI won't exactly make a huge difference, the AI is actually not too shabby at throwing out a few seeking arrows and sneaking some meager forces behind enemy lines. Depending on how the hosting transition goes, Eriu may manage to get one more turn in before being overrun or going AI.

[thejeff]

OK, I'll try to test it all out tonight.

Aren't many of those options just game start options?

And you did answer one of my questions. The status scripts will work on Linux.

Are you leaving the dominions world permanently, or planning to come back?

[vfb]

I just run from a script that has all the options set, so I don't have to remember anything. I don't bother deleting the start options.

I'll be away for a few months, but hopefully I'll be able to return to dom3 in the winter.

Thanks again for taking over hosting!

And please let me know if you'd prefer .tgz files instead of .zip, if there's any timestamp/ownership problems then .tgz files might be better.

[K]

Hey vfb,

Just curious.... why did you violate our Pact and attack me? While my friends sometimes do call me "the greatest monkey commander of all time", it was pretty clear that I had the advantage in this game.

I was just womndering because I feel a little guilty for axing you in both of the games you've hosted that I've played in.

Good games, though. Drop me a line when you can play Dom again.

[thejeff]

Ok, I believe it's up and running.

Address is:
silverfool.com

same port: 8098

I can connect locally, but I don't have a remote machine to test it from, so I can't be sure I've poked the right holes in the firewall.
I'd appreciate it if some one could test it for me. Or hoo could just play his turn, then we'd all know.

I'll try to get the status page up, but that may have to wait until the weekend. I need to get Apache set up.
Until then, please post here when a turn runs.

[vfb]

K said:
Hey vfb,

Just curious.... why did you violate our Pact and attack me? While my friends sometimes do call me "the greatest monkey commander of all time", it was pretty clear that I had the advantage in this game.

I was just womndering because I feel a little guilty for axing you in both of the games you've hosted that I've played in.

Good games, though. Drop me a line when you can play Dom again.



Jeez, don't feel guilty, I sneak attacked you!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I wouldn't expect anything else but a fight to the death.

I had a scout in the battle you had with Pythium, and saw your forces totally decimate an army that would have totally decimated my army. I think at the time you also had 3 out of 3 gem-producing globals up.

My only hope was to backstab you while your forces were out West, still drunk from their celebrations. Which in itself wouldn't have been have been enough, but I hoped that by not waiting 3 turns Pythium might also still have some forces around to do something with.

I've had fun in all the games we've played in together, even when losing. Plus I learn more when I lose. And I hope I made the game a little more challenging for you!

Also, I think a little treachery can go a long way to making the storyline of a game more interesting. You know: betrayal, revenge, all that good stuff. When I'm back though, and hosting more games, I'll be sure to note in the game post that I don't always consider NAPs or even alliances totally inviolable.

[vfb]

thejeff said:
Ok, I believe it's up and running.

Address is:
silverfool.com

same port: 8098

I can connect locally, but I don't have a remote machine to test it from, so I can't be sure I've poked the right holes in the firewall.
I'd appreciate it if some one could test it for me. Or hoo could just play his turn, then we'd all know.

I'll try to get the status page up, but that may have to wait until the weekend. I need to get Apache set up.
Until then, please post here when a turn runs.



It looks like it is working fine, I connected to the new server okay.

It does seem to have the issue that plagued Gandalf's Unlucky game though -- I connected and got a long "waiting for host" delay.

The workaround is to run windowed, open one client, and if it hangs on "waiting" then open another instance of dom3. The second process will be able to connect to the server without problems. You might want to ask Gandalf what the permanent solution is to the problem is, since I think he sorted it out in the end.

[Gandalf Parker]

I also fixed the Unlucky game for awhile by opening a connection from my desktop and leaving it connected to the game. Apparently the "fixes" are to always be the second connection.

[Saint_Dude]

hoo said:
Yeah. I'm looking forward to continuing the "Pythium strikes back" game.

Soon, we will have our complete revenge on those evil monkey folks.



Now is your chance. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[thejeff]

New Turn is up.

Hopefully we can start moving again...

[vfb]

The revenge of Bandar on Eriu is complete. Our armies have all perished, the walls of our forts have been destroyed, and our dominion is crumbling.

Thanks to all the players for a fun game! Control of the Eriu nation has been turned over to the AI.

[thejeff]

I've gotten the status page up and working. Had some problems with php and confusion over directory premissions.

It still doesn't have the styles working, and I can't see why.

Anyway it's here: Whyte Status (http://silverfool.com/stats.php?game=Whyte)

[Saint_Dude]

Any chance we could stick this game on timer? It would not have to be permanent, but it would be nice to recondition players to turn in their turns on a semi regular basis. A 48 hr timer for even a two week interval would do this game a lot of good.

[Thrawn]

Agreed.

[thejeff]

I can do that if there's something approaching consensus, but I don't want to until I'm sure everyone at least knows about it.

I've pm'd K and Wikd Thots, hopefully that'll wake them up.

[jimkehn]

Plz set it on timer. I have thought about setting my nation to AI many times cuz I hate these one turn a week games.

[thejeff]

Ok. I'm still very hesitant to go to a timer without at least some contact from K, especially since I'm losing a war with him.
But, we have to move sometime.

I'll start the timer tonight, unless anyone objects. That'll give him until Monday if he's not checking the board over the weekend.

I'll still be pretty liberal about pausing the timer if someone asks, so just let me know.

[jimkehn]

I have no problem with pausing a game for a couple days when a player has family in town or something, but this is ridiculous. I have learned one thing from it. I will never play another of these without at least a 48 hour timer. I have all but lost all interest in this game.

[Saint_Dude]

Yeah, me to. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

I would have definitely gone AI a while ago (even before my own extended hiatus), if not for the fact that this was my first opportunity to play R'lyeh in Dom3. I have been working on some fairly interesting strategies that I am curious to see played out. But the waiting is killing me, and making me forget some of my devious plans.

[thejeff]

It's a shame. The first vfb no-timer game I was in went really well. No major delays at all.

I'm not sure why this one fell apart. It had more players and has lasted longer, which probably has a lot to do with it.

Hopefully the timer will get us back on track and revive interest. (And let K kill us all faster...)

[jimkehn]

Yeah....K is unbeatable. He is definitely the best I have been around.

[Saint_Dude]

The wheel turns. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[K]

I'll need to a sub for the next turn. Law school obligations.

Good game everyone.

[thejeff]

K, do you just want a sub for one turn or are you out starting next turn?

If it's just one turn, I'd rather delay, unless you have a sub in mind.

[K]

Sorry, but it looks like I'm out for good. The demands of law school are such that Dom III turns are causing me stress, and not relieving it.

[thejeff]

OK, I was afraid of that. It's been a good game.

So, what do the rest of you want to do? We can try to find a sub, or just declare K the winner.

From Jotunheim's point of view, Bandar Log is definitely dominant. It seems wrong to let someone else take what K has built up and win with it.

But if others want to continue, I'm willing to find a sub and play it out. It'll mean another delay though.

[Saint_Dude]

I would vote for a sub.

As R'lyeh, I have seen very little evidence of Bandar's dominance beyond the number of globals that they have up. And it is likely that 1 or 2 of those globals are going to be coming down in the near future. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

It would feel strange to concede while my own nation is healthy and starting to roll.

[Wikd Thots]

Personally, as pangea Im not likely to win. Or even affect the outcome. So I astain and won't vote on this.

[Saint_Dude]

Perhaps Wikd Thots could take over Bandar and turn Pangea to AI?

[thejeff]

I'm fine with that if you want to. Wikd Thots?

Otherwise, we should advertise for a new sub.

Either way, I'll put the game back on hold until it's sorted out. (Especially since this would be a very good turn for me for Bandar Log to stale. It would let me recover from a stupid mistake.)

[jimkehn]

Whatever everyone else wants ta do. I'm easy. Besides, I think R'Lyeh is about to kick my buns off the planet!!!


8^)

[hoo]

Pythium has no problem declaring K the winner and moving on. K has our capitol and if was concentrating would have crushed my pathetic little remnants(although we are growing extremely well right now, taking Bandar Log territory and trying to take back Pythium proper).

Maybe someone is pressuring him so he can't really mindhunt me out of existence but I'm not sure about that.

[Wikd Thots]

I think I will pass this time. I subbed Panga in this game and Im not in the mood to start in the middle again with another nation

[thejeff]

As long as anyone is interested and no one too opposed, we should continue.

I'll advertise for a sub, then.

[jimkehn]

Dead game???

[Saint_Dude]

Looks like. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif