Jaguar - finished, Szumo declared winner

[llamabeast]

This is the overspill game from my new/newish players game, which has ended up a bit oversubscribed. So far I have pencilled in:

sum1won - Pythium
Arghaii - Atlantis
Starshine Monarch - Bandar Log
Sieger - Ermor
zakna - Shinuyama
Szumo - R'lyeh
Lazy_Perfectionist - Agartha
carlosib - Abysia
Loren - Man

It'll be an MA game, with 9 players on the Parganos map (Edi's fixed version, which I'll link to when I get a mo - in the meantime you can use the link in the Capybara thread).

All settings on default. Well use the Worthy Heroes mod and the Blessing Hotfix. Both of these are minor mods which add small improvements to the game (more heroes and fully working blessing for undead, respectively). You don't need them to make your pretender but again you can follow the links in the Capybara thread.

If you're fairly new to multiplayer and fancy a game, please sign up. The game will start sometime early-middle of next week.

Oh - I'm going with a South American mammal theme for my game names, but have run out of such mammals for the moment. The first one to name a South American mammal (other than Llama, Alpaca, Capybara and Armadillo) gets to have the game named after his mammal! What greater opportunity could you imagine?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Jaguar?


Wikipedia says:The jaguar's present range extends from Mexico (with occasional sightings in the southwestern United States) across much of Central America and south to Paraguay and northern Argentina.

[llamabeast]

Starshine_Monarch... you are the WINNER!

Jaguar it is.

[Sieger]

Jaguar is fine although I personally think the chinchilla is a great South American mammal.

I'd be interested in playing in this game, currently the only MP game I've played is the original llamaserver Alpaca game so I think I qualify as a newbie.

I'd like to play Ermor but would be willing to play Ulm instead.

Also could we use the Blessing Hotfix mod as well?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Well since this is a newbie game, I think we should try and keep it as plain as possible.

[llamabeast]

So Starshine, shall we say you're playing in this game rather than the other one? Shall I delete your pretender from Capybara?

Sieger - the chinchilla is indeed a top mammal. I will add it to my list. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[llamabeast]

Oh, actually I think it might be a good idea to play with the Blessing Hotfix - good idea, since otherwise you will be stuffed if you take a blessing as Ermor, if I understand correctly.

[Arghaii]

I will take Atlantis, if that's ok.

As for the hotfix, do we have to download something and place it somewhere?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Yeah, delete by pretender from Capybara. I'm keeping the same one for this though.

[Remmy]

Is this a server game or PBEM

[sum1lost]

Pythium pythium pythium?

[llamabeast]

Hi Remmy,

It's a PBEM game, but using my automated server which checks its e-mails every five minutes, hosts automatically, and has a status page (see www.llamaserver.net (http://www.llamaserver.net) ). I think it's somewhere in between direct connect games and ordinary PBEM games in terms of convenience.

[zakna]

hello im interested in this no preference on nations.

[llamabeast]

Cool zakna, you're in. Most of the nations are available, so try to form an opinion and pick one you like. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Similarly Yucky and Lily.

[Szumo]

I'd like to join as R'lyeh.

[llamabeast]

Right, I have created the game (see the website), and if you want to you can now upload your pretenders. To do that:

- Go to Game Tools -> Create a pretender god in Dominions
- Go to the savedgames/newlords folder in the dominions directory, and find your pretender file (e.g. mid_pythium_0.2h)
- E-mail the file to: pretenders[ at ]llamaserver[ dot ]net
- Crucially, you must have the game name, 'Jaguar', in the subject line of your e-mail

[Lily]

Actually, I'd better pull out of this one. I somehow managed to forget that I'm away most of next week so it's probably not the best time to start a new game.

[Yucky]

I'd like to try out Eriu, sorry for taking so long.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I'm certainly interested.
I work six days a week, but am free enough in my downtime. I play (or rather, plan pretenders) over an hour a day.
Is it still open? When's it kick into action?
What's these two mods?
What's your desired turns/day rate?

Now, I've been playing only EA Ctis... so I'll need a little time in SP to come up with a MA strat and pretender. Or, I guess I could just take a random side and super combatant. But, for now, a provisional request for Ctis.

[llamabeast]

Yep Lazy_Perfectionist, still open, I will put you down for C'tis, although you can change later if you want. I don't know much about MA C'tis, except that they have the Miasma - your dominion screws up other people's incomes and diseases any non-lizard troops. So I guess you have to decide whether you want a strong dominion to kill everyone, or a weak one to keep friends. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

It'll be 24hr quickhost*, at least for the first say 30-40 turns. When it reaches that point we can extend it to 48 hours if people want. But at any time, if anyone's away for a weekend or anything we can always pause the timer.

The two mods:
Worthy Heroes - There are more heroes for each nation, often quite interesting and fun.
Blessing Hotfix - Allows blessing of undead, which doesn't work quite right in the base game. This is quite important if Ermor wants a bless strategy.

Both the mods are linked at the start of the Capybara thread. I'll link them in this thread when I get round to it.

* - 24hr quickhost means the game hosts when everyone has sent their turns in, or 24hrs after the last hosting, whichever is sooner. In practice this means you always have at least 24 hours from when you took your last turn to take your current turn - but if everyone is taking their turns quickly the game can move nice and fast.

[llamabeast]

Cool Yucky, I'll put you down for Eriu.

We'll probably use Parganos for the map. It'll be Edi's fixed version (see the link in the Capybara thread). So you probably have all information you need to design your pretenders, so upload them whenever you're ready.

The game won't start till sometime next week though - sometime Monday-Thursday probably, depending when sum1won can start (his holidays start next week, and he would rather not start before then). This gives everyone a chance to play with their nations a bit and think about pretenders, if you want to.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Hmm... interesting point, llamabeast. Making instant enemies is one way to die... But combined with certain globals I could get insanely wealthy. Probably best for me to try another race. I'll experiment with a few others, but my default will remain C'tis, because I have some familiarity with them. If I can get a handle on another, and like it, I'll let you know.

And... first Dom mp game here... Can two people select the same nation, or should I narrow my practice sessions to ones not already claimed?

[carlosib]

I'd like to join as Abysia if it's still open.
Thanks
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Robble robble?
Blessing Hot Fix (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=d3smm&Number=500877&Forum= f195&Words=blessing%20hotfix&Searchpage=0&Limit=25 &Main=500877&Search=true&where=sub&Name=&daterange =1&newerval=5&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bod yprev=#Post500877)
Worthy Heroes (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=470523&page=&view=&sb=5&o =&fpart=1&vc=1)
Edi's fixed Parganos (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=501807&page)

Robble robble!
Epic Heroes - interesting idea, but I haven't tried it (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=d3smm&Number=511542&Forum= f195&Words=Parganos&Searchpage=0&Limit=25&Main=511 542&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=&daterange=1&ne werval=5&newertype=y&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev =#Post511542)

[llamabeast]

Lazy - two people can't select the same nation, so you have to choose from the ones which haven't been taken yet.

carlosib - cool, I'll put you down.

Lazy again - Robble robble? Anyway, thanks very much, that's very helpful. Epic Heroes is indeed interesting, but it changes the game a great deal. Also they're just starting the first test game with it (also on the LlamaServer, so I've been following it), so it probably isn't really final yet. We won't use it this time, I think.

[llamabeast]

Ah, I forgot to say - it would be a little better if everyone's pretenders _didn't_ have passwords on. Unlike a network game, no-one else will have access to your turns anyway (they won't be e-mailed them). If you don't have a password it will make it easier for a sub to take over should you disappear.

It doesn't matter too much though (especially if you don't intend to disappear http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif ), so don't worry about re-uploading if you've already sent your pretender in.

[Szumo]

I did send the pretender, but i'm not on the "Nations joined so far" list?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Robble robble? Completely random, one-time channeling of the HamBurgler. I've narrowed my choices for this game down to Agartha and Shinuyama, leaning towards Agartha. Don't worry about reserving any particular one, just yet. If I take to long to make up my mind, its my problem.

[sum1lost]

I should be able to send my stuff in tommorow evening, unless something comes up.

[llamabeast]

Cool. Loren has signed up by PM as well, so the game is full!

sum1won - let me know when you'll be able to start the game. I'll be away this weekend, back Monday. I can start the game then, or we can wait a day or two if you want.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

My decision is final- I'm going with Agartha. I've gotta settle on a strat and Pretender, though.

Little Old Lady, Tomb Raider, Who Let the Dogs Out, Earthworm Jim, or Brains... Brains....

Translated:
Suicide Crone, Ghost King, Drakaina, Ageless Olm, Risen Oracle

[llamabeast]

What's with the "suicide crone"?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Twiceborn. Gets rid of the old age, and makes her tougher to boot. All without magic halving penalties. My test, I did lose an arm though. It's not much of a strategic advantage, but it is fun, and makes the little old lady a little less vulnerable and/or senile. Think of her as a (non-immortal) discount lich. I'm almost certain I got lucky and got a free level of death magic, to boot. I'm afraid though, that unless I can come up with a good base expansion strat, I'm going to have to go Super Combatant.

Now how do I attach screenshots, or do I have to upload them to an external hoster....

http://i18.tinypic.com/4rcbnko.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/4zavm8n.jpg

Now, those numbers are a little misleading. They're the result of six dominion. The base numbers are 21 (+25 dom, though how that math works out is beyond me... Golem Cult?), 17 strength (+6 dom, -1 arm lost), attack 12 (exp+1, fire+4), morale 18, defense 12 (+4 water, +1 exp, -1 equipment, MR 16 (+3 dom), precis 10, and leadership is 35 normal, 220 undead, 40 magic versus the original crone's 100, 150, 40.

Keep in mind both the crone and Wight Mage come without any built in equipment. And of course, she gets the weaknesses of undeath, but does get CR, PR, NNE, and Chill 7.

While, unfortunately, Twice Reborn isn't an option for my human mages, it is an option for my Oracles. I was hoping I could get around the human's old age, but alas... Well... if my Oracle's get diseased to death, I just have to give them +1 death magic, an easy enough task.

Also, unfortunately, it doesn't seem to properly update the defense when I equip the helmets. I think I'll have to hop over to the bug thread.

Huh... I played it a little further... Equipped with some lesser magic items, she died again, w/o any benefits when soloing an army 200 strong, with a dozen or so elephants. I wonder why... Breath of winter is a nice touch, though, combines with the chill nicely. I got her 100 percent or more resistance to fire, ice, poison, and if I'd still had another arm, shock.

Oh, and BTW, when she dies, and is called back, its still as a wight mage.

[lch]

w00t. I noticed the Twiceborn spell but never got to play around with it, I guess I'll give it greater attention now.

The helmet thing could have to do with her only having one arm. That has already been reported in the bug thread.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

So.. ten players? How big is Paragonos, again? I won't have access to the game till 10 tonight. It's hardly necessary, but I'd appreciate it if someone told me how many land/water provinces are available.

Is it true that you can scan a real map into the game and have it convert into a game map? Where would I look to learn more about this feature?

I'd love to fight over Florida one day.

Edit:
RE:Ich and bug
Thanks for letting me know about that.
I'm interested in seeing if Twiceborn produces different results depending on my starting pretender's skills.
FYI, while you can cast it on something big, like a Wyrm or Ageless Olm, it turns out as more of a downgrade- except for the fact that you still keep all your magic. But after a SC, a wight mage is rather dinky. But for a low cost rainbow, old-age pretender - nice.

I'm thinking of doing an experiment with a somewhat plain titan like the Lord of Rebirth (also Agartha), Forge Lord (also Agartha- do I keep the forge bonus), Master Druid (do I stay stealthy), Frost Father (chill cumulative with Wight's), and most interestingly, a Bakemono Kunshu (Shinuyama), which is immortal yet not undead, and in theory, a target for the spell. Pheonix would teach me the same lesson. Of course, I don't have time for all of these yet- so I may run a quick test with a Phoenix in my next practice of my expansion strategy.

[llamabeast]

Parganos is 116 land, 19 sea. So 10 players is not a lot of land each, but is similar to the amount you get in Gandalf's games, if any of you have ever played on them.

The Capybara game seems to have lost one of its players. There's still a couple of hours until the deadline when I said I'd look for a replacement, but it's looking less hopeful. If he doesn't show up, I'm going to restart the game and allow whoever takes his place to pick their own nation and pretender. So, I was wondering if any of you would volunteer to swap to that game? It will restart as soon as you can get your pretender to me, tomorrow hopefully.

If you would like to switch to that game, please post here and e-mail me your pretender directly (llamabeast[ at ]llamaserver[ dot ]net). Obviously pick a nation no-one else in Capybara has taken.

Capybara has 8 players, also on Parganos. And if someone switches I will probably leave this game with 9.

Lazy - if you use Twiceborn, make sure she dies in your dominion! That's a very costly mistake I've made before.

[Yucky]

I'm willing to switch. I think 9 players would be a more fun game on this map (the map recommends 6-8).

[zakna]

Ok, ive chosen my nation it will be Shinuyama

[llamabeast]

Cool, thanks Yucky. I already have your pretender, so I'll do the switch shortly unless Xanatos shows up.

zakna - Cool, I'll put you down for Shinuyama. I guess that means Lazy_P will probably be Agartha.

Lazy_P - It is true, but I don't know much about it. I recommend asking the question in the Mods and Maps forum.

[llamabeast]

Okay, Yucky has successfully been deported to Capybara. That leaves us with 9, which I think is good (it says 6-8, but personally I always find the provided player numbers too small - I think nine players fit fine on Parganos).

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I've been looking back at the first post. What's this about 20 players?

[sum1lost]

I should have my pretender sent soon. Way before monday, at any rate.

[llamabeast]

20 players was a typo for 10 players, which should in fact have read 9 players. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Fixed!

sum1won - cool. So are you saying you'd be happy to start as soon as you get your pretender in? There's no desperate rush if you need to wait till school finishes. Although starting sooner is better I guess.

Okay, so everyone should get their pretenders in. If sum1won says it is okay, I will set the server to start automatically as soon as all 9 pretenders are in (I will be away until Monday night, so we'll just have to hope it works smoothly!).

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I've got my basic pretender designed... Just having trouble deciding on the scales. I know exactly what magic and shape I'm taking, though. And whether to wake or sleep... I've got to figure that out.

Hmmm... Choices, choices, choices...

[Starshine_Monarch]

I changed my pretender from the Capybara game a little bit, sending it in now.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Mentioning wikipedia...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mammals_of_South_America
When do you want my Pretender in by? Whatever the last minute is, I'll be in by then and no later. So don't be too generous with me.

[llamabeast]

Well, I'm not sure exactly when we're starting, depends on sum1won. But being as I think he implied he is good to start whenever, let's say Tuesday morning, which is when I get back from holiday.

Okay, so:
Deadline for pretenders: Monday night
Game will start: Tuesday morning, even if pretenders are missing.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Does Llamaserver automatically send turns to the addresses it got the 2h files from?

[llamabeast]

Yep, it does.

[zakna]

ok sounds good ill have time to study the Shinuyama http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Loren]

How do you activate mods?

[sum1lost]

Submitted...

I've only once played pythium before

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Loren, I'll try and write up some directions for you tomorrow on installing mods.

Sum1Won. Good to hear someone's in the same boat. I hadn't touched Agartha till I joined up for this game and found out it was MA. I did so poorly in my SP practice, that I've found I had to write a guide just so I make it to year 2 in a halfway decent position. Against easy AI, too. I don't have anything like a coherent strategy yet, either. But, going over the units has helped me from horribly misjudging independents, at least. And decide what scales NOT to take. Ever.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I've switched pretender concepts yet again... But since I'm going sailing tomorrow, I won't have time to waffle over the issue. I'm mailing in my Pretender as soon as I get a good name. So... is there any particular MP etiquette?

I suppose Scylla is good enough. Though I'd need six heads (look at all my helmets!) to be true to myth. oh well... I'll have to settle for just one, though it certainly would be nice to accessorize. But if I was true to myth, I'd be moving around a lot less.

So now to get in character. I'll share what's available in the Pretenders of the World page.

I, Lazy Perfectionist now don my alterego.

Turn 0:

Agartha worships the pretender Scylla, Patron of the Rich, Symbol of Unchallenged Victory.
The inhabitants of the deep have started to stir. Soon, they will leave their caves and seek their place in the world.

Now, onto Loren's question regarding mods.

If you know how to open .RAR and .ZIP files, skip step one.

Step One: Install archival program
- I use a completely free (no nags, no time trials) program by the name of TugZip (http://www.tugzip.com/). That's only for Windows, though. So, I'll mention another program I've used from time to time, 7Zip (http://www.7zip.org). 7Zip is available for several platforms, including Linux.

Step Two: Download and unpack the mod files
- Open the file you've just downloaded in TugZip.
- Select the file or folder within that you wish to install.
- Click Actions, then Extract.
- Check Extract selected files only, extract with full path.
-Navigate to the target folder

Example: For worthy heroes, you have three options. And notice this archive comes with a path (the mods folder, maps folder, rather than being in one big bunch). First, installing a specific file. Second, installing the entire mod, but not the map, and third, installing everything.
To install a specific mod file, you select just it and extract to your game folder, subdirectory mods. For me, this would be my game drive "E:\dominions3\mods". For you, it'll probably look more like "C:\Program Files\Illwinter Games\Dominions 3\mods". It'll be somewhere else if you're using another operating system than windows.
To install the entire mod, extract all the files into "blahblah\dominions3\" And make sure to extract files with full path. If asked about overwriting anything, SAY NO!
Skim the readme in any mod before installing.
To install the blessing hotfix, you extract just BlackTome.dm to the \mods folder.
To install the Paragonos map, extract just parganos_fix.map to the \maps folder. You can extract the other while you're at it, if you like, but it doesn't matter for our game.

Step Three: Enable mod. Start the game, and click on Preferences. A new menu will pop up. Click "Mod preferences". Click on the name of the mod to enable it. Note, clicking on the pretty picture 'worthy hereoes' won't do any good. You have to click on the plain text. Done correctly, the word enabled will show up to the right.

[sum1lost]

wait, we have to install mods for this game?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Just three. Blessing hotfix, worthy heroes, and edi's fixed map. I've linked to the appropriate threads to read about/download the mods, earlier. Somewhere along the way, the reason for the mods been explained. And Revisionist History 101 - always check the first post. Or at least, once the thread title changes.

[Loren]

Step Three: Enable mod. Start the game, and click on Preferences. A new menu will pop up. Click "Mod preferences". Click on the name of the mod to enable it. Note, clicking on the pretty picture 'worthy hereoes' won't do any good. You have to click on the plain text. Done correctly, the word enabled will show up to the right.



Getting the file into the directory was no problem, this is the step I was missing. Thanks.

Do mods stay with the game or do you have to turn them on and off if you are playing multiple games with different mods?

[Szumo]

Game will load the right mods for each game, you only need to turn them on/off as host when starting the game.

[sum1lost]

Okay, I had submitted my pretender without having the mod...

will that be a problem, or can I have the mod running beforehand?

[llamabeast]

Not a problem. You don't need the mods at all to create your pretender, and you won't need to turn them on once the game starts either (Dominions will realise what mods the game is meant to use and use them automatically).

One confusing note: If you ever use the Conceptual Balance mod, you _must_ make sure it is off before you create a pretender god for a MP game. Because it changes pretender costs, it will screw things up. This is the only mod I know of that makes any difference though.

[Turin]

For your info, I had a nasty bug with one of the heroes in my worthy heroes mod that gave him the wrong and pretty overpowered domsummon. It affects EA Sauromatia, MA C´tis and Pythium.
The fixed version is uploaded here:
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=470523&page=0&view=collap sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1

[Starshine_Monarch]

Alright, I have everything we need, we are starting tomorrow morning right?

[llamabeast]

Yep, meant to be starting nowish. I haven't got zakna's pretender yet though, and it seems a shame to start without him. I've e-mailed him though, so we'll start as soon as he gets his pretender in, or late tonight (UK time) at the latest.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

While we're waiting for zakna, I want to ask Szumo if he's a Lovecraft and/or Cthulhu fan.

Have you seen the "Misadventures of Hello Cthulhu", the various statues (including an 8 foot garden statue) available online, Cthulhu for President (Why vote for the lesser of two evils) and the various Plush toys (Get your niece a plush Cthulhu today! Scare the kids, push them further towards insanity).Oh, and "Tales of the Plush Cthulhu".

I'm trying to make myself an avatar of either Pintsize from www.QuestionableContent.net (http://www.QuestionableContent.net) (which despite the name, is entirely SafeForWork) or oh, say, one of these little fellows (http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/?date=2003-12-15). Problem is, gotta factor in the size of my digital canvas.

www.questionablecontent.net (http://www.questionablecontent.net)
http://www.logicalcreativity.com/jon/plush/01.html
http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/

[Szumo]

Nope, i had other reasons for choosing R'lyeh http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Hmmm.. What were those, may I ask, or would it reveal your master plan?
/I say while I stroke a long haired cat in my evil bond villain chair. (not really)

Muahhahaah

[Szumo]

It should become evident soon enough.

Bwahahahahahahah http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[llamabeast]

Okay guys, the game will start as soon as zakna has uploaded his pretender (and he told me by e-mail he would do it soon). I've spent some time choosing nicely distributed start provinces, and then I've assigned them vaguely thematically. It's not perfect by any means - it seems something of an impossible task actually - but hopefully it will be a bit better than random placement.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Brownie points to the llamabeast. If you ever want some advice with the GIMP or Photoshop or Paint.NET, hit me up. I don't have much creative talent, more technical, but given source art, I can do some nice things with transparency and layers.

[zakna]

sorry for the delay guys pretender sent http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

FYI, I'll be cranking out my turn sometime after 10:00 PM, GMT -5, Eastern Standard Time. I'll likely be back at my computer around 11, but I hope to get back earlier this time.

I'm happy with waiting for tomorrow to get my turn out of the way, but if goes faster, I'll be up till 1 AM, and up at eight or ten... Off to work around one.

Mon-Thursday work at 2:00 PM to 10 PM. Friday & Saturday work at 10 AM to 4 PM. Dangnabbit, I wish I checked in before one.

[llamabeast]

Okay, started! The first turn has 48 hours on the clock in case of problems - after that you're on 24 hours (although later in the game if you all decide you'd like to change to 48 hours let me know).

[llamabeast]

By the way, you should all remember to check out the webpage, www.llamaserver.net (http://www.llamaserver.net) . Saying that, it's a bit up-and-down at the moment, annoyingly (hopefully fixed soon). The webpage is a separate entity from the server itself though, which carries on going regardless.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Scylla the gopher peeked outide her burrow, saw her own shadow, decided to go back down until mid spring. She amuses herself with new minions until then. She hopes mid spring comes early.

Interesting... I see what you said about thematic start positions. Very interesting. I do wonder what those crowns I see scattered across the map are.

Is it possible to resend my turn if I want to point my scout in another direction, and not everybody's sent theirs in yet?

[llamabeast]

Yep, you can resend your turn, and it will use the new version.

Apparently the website is being awful for lots of people. Sorry guys, but don't worry if it's not working, the server itself will be fine regardless.

[Starshine_Monarch]

What's with the website? I got my turn in before it happened, but it seems to have been invaded by ads, with no links to the game.

[llamabeast]

What?! Aaargh!

This is hellish to fix, because every change I make takes time to propagate through the internet (weird eh?), and often reaches other people before me. So it still looks the same for me. It certainly shouldn't be showing adverts and stuff. I've just double checked all the settings, so hopefully that was a blip.

Starshine, if you're still online, would you mind taking another look and telling me if it's still screwed up? If it is I'll have to try something different.

Sorry about all this mess just as your game is starting guys.

Do remember that the server should carry on working regardless of whether the website is working or not. So you can still send your turns in and so on.

[llamabeast]

Well, excellent news - it's not really worth explaining, but I had to wait for an admin to do something for me before I could sort out a permanent solution for the website. He's just done it, so now hopefully all will be sorted - except that it will take a day or two to propagate through the internet (and as a result I can't test it).

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Thanks for the server, thanks for clarifying that thing about sending in turns, and the webpage seems to be up now.

I'm still going to give it everything I've got- but I built my pretender design around a flawed understanding of the Dwarven Hammer. This is going to hurt.

[sum1lost]

Holy money.

I'm going to be richer than god according to this map. What was indy strength?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

And according to this map, I'm going to have a huge amount of resources. Even with a little sloth, I'll be producing Heavy Infantry out the wazoo. I spent my spare time after sending in my orders analyzing the terrain and figuring out where to expand.

[Starshine_Monarch]

My fault about the ad thing. I was putting www. in front of the url. Won't happen again...

[llamabeast]

Yeah, Parganos is not the most balanced of maps in the sense that it has large regions of the same terrain type. Makes it feel interesting to my mind, but it does mean that one player can easily find their kingdom consisting entirely of mountains etc..

Indy strength is 5 (default).

Starshine - putting www. in front of the url is fine (I normally do), certainly shouldn't cause any problems. Hmm, well I was switching the system back to a commercial company yesterday, so perhaps it was initially on some default settings which showed adverts. You don't see adverts if you go to www.llamaserver.net (http://www.llamaserver.net) any more do you?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Not anymore, no, but it was doing that all day yesterday.

[llamabeast]

Okay, thanks for that. Well I think hopefully it should stay good now.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I had some connection issues previously, not ads, but from 11:00 PM to 3:00 AM last night, it was smooth sailing.

[Starshine_Monarch]

For some reason I get the feeling that I'm going to end up in last place in this game. I know it's only the 3rd turn, but still...I just have that sort of sinking feeling in my gut...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Do try and win, now. If you don't put up a good fight, or beat my ***, I won't feel right about pulling out my taunts about Bandar Log.

[Szumo]

I got hit by the scales bug http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[llamabeast]

I just got that in the Armadillo game. Very annoying.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Scales bug? Do we need to restart? I wouldn't mind, as long as I got one day to tinker with my pretender. That part is so fun.

[sum1lost]

If we DO restart, I'd love it if I could switch to a group I am more familiar with...

[Starshine_Monarch]

*imagines a huge beetle eating the plants on his growth scale...* What's a scales bug?

[llamabeast]

When the scale bug strikes, the scales in your home province suddenly change (often reset to no scales at all). If you've taken good scales, this is a bit of a setback as it takes a while for them to come right again.

About a restart: Well I'm a bit disinclined to do that since it's a shame to lose the game's momentum. I don't think it's worth it for the scales bug, since someone's likely to get it most games. Consider it as an unlucky event. If you are all clamouring for a restart so you can change nations/pretenders though, I suppose we could do. Votes?

[Szumo]

Nah, no need for restart. I'll try to rise up to the challenge http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Okay. While I'd love to tinker with my pretender, I'd also find it interesting to see just what I can achieve with my flawed design. I'll learn from it, certainly.

With Szumo offering to stick with it, I'll back him up. It'd kinda be wimpy of me to restart when the guy hit by the bug is toughing it out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

P.S. I'd meant for that smily to be humorous, but it just comes out plain creepy. Its freakin me out. It's the eyes. You can tell that smily is just insane, and hiding, just behind the alpha layer, is a bloody yellow knife, its just waiting to stab into my heart.

[sum1lost]

...

I can't believe I just slept through my turn.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Summer in Agartha

Our ventures above ground have revealed a strange new civilization of people who actually prefer the light. I debate whether to make my presence known, but I know not of these people nor their intent. They seem strangely passive. Their castle lies in the midst of fertile farmlands I had espied from afar, and hoped to settle. I worry what this means for the future of my civilization. I have developed plans for a secure, easy, and fortified peace, yet such a balance requires much care in my reach. If I seize a further province, any peace will be more uneasy, but my offensive options grander. Unfortunately, all this speculation is useless without knowing what surrounds me in other directions. Still, I can see much benefit from a strategic alliance. At least in the short term, though there are some long-term drawbacks to such a pact with the heathens...

I must weigh their character carefully, and do my best to predict their possible plans before I decide on peace or war. Still, I suspect they might find such a deal as attractive.

So that explains it. I was trying to figure out what possible strategy Pythium might have. And from what little I could see, I had trouble guessing their plans, motivation, or essential nature. Because they were asleep.

I won't yet reveal my location, though I won't be to hard to find. I'll gather a little intel, and complete the necessary setup for stage one of my strategy (only a turn away, btw, next turn, it won't be done, but all the essentials are in place, and I can do something other than recruit another mage, which you'll know is what I've been doing if you hit the charts) before I change course and start laying diplomatic plans. I'm still quite a way away from completing my early expansion - just look at Ermor go.

[sum1lost]

There's a funny story as to how the nation of pythium fell asleep. Their deity had just graduated from school, and they were celebrating, planning on submitted orders the next turn. Due to one thing or another, they didn't get up for 13 hours after they went to bed, missing the deadline by an hour.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Adventures of Agartha... I've sent in my turn, twice, but llamaserver has not responded. I've just reloaded, reended, and resent a third time. Next I'll try webmail, but first I'll be patient and see if this gets a response.

[llamabeast]

Weird, really weird. You shouldn't have to wait more than five minutes normally, or ten at most. Try again from your webmail perhaps.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Anyways, it went through this time quicklike.. No worries. It could have well been bellsouth/thunderbird.

[llamabeast]

Hi guys,

I'd like to ask for a volunteer to be the 'game admin' for this game. It's not a big job at all - the admin is just the person to ask if you want to postpone a hosting because you're going away for a day, and so on. They can then do it via the website, using the admin password (which I'll give them).

I'm just asking in the interests of 'sustainable development' - so I can go on adding stuff to my server and starting new games without getting bogged down.

[Szumo]

I could do that, at least if no one else wants to...

[llamabeast]

Sweet, thanks Szumo! I'll PM you the password.

[Szumo]

Thanks. And with that, i'll propably need to postpone friday morning hosting - i'll be seing Genesis gig on thursday and propably won't make it back in time to make my turn. Should be only a few hours delay though, i hope no one will mind http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Is anyone up for some gossip? I see Shinyuama and Abyssia lead in province count, with me being close 3rd. And Agartha must have some interesting research strategy to start researching madly so early - but still has the biggest army. Anyone fighting already, perhaps?

[Loren]

Szumo said:
Thanks. And with that, i'll propably need to postpone friday morning hosting - i'll be seing Genesis gig on thursday and propably won't make it back in time to make my turn. Should be only a few hours delay though, i hope no one will mind http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Is anyone up for some gossip? I see Shinyuama and Abyssia lead in province count, with me being close 3rd. And Agartha must have some interesting research strategy to start researching madly so early - but still has the biggest army. Anyone fighting already, perhaps?



The only other player I've seen so far is Atlantis. Since they're in the water and I'm on land there's certainly no squabble over that border.

[sum1lost]

I've seen atlantis, shinyuma, and agartha, now.

I'm feeling cramped, especially due to my sleepy start.

On the other hand, I'm also feeling rich.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

GNAR! I lost my whole post.
I like the idea of posting annual or bi-annual AARs. If for no other reason than to have something to check up on when I ask myself, WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

I was originally lusting after those farmlands Pythium inhabits, especially since wastelands were to the south, and mountains don't make much money. But that mountain range is so much more defensible. And my lone scout saw how cramped sum1won is. I have no desire to stir that cauldron. Not and live to see tomorrow, what with painfully slow fortresses, painfully slow troops and mages, and no idea what lies to my direct south. I haven't found a single indep scout. Fortunately, my aggressive research and clear goal means I can spare my capital now, and just coast along on my early research rush, towards two of my keystones. Though to be honest, one is just because I want to, not because I see a clear strategic advantage or have a specific plan. That, and the fact that I may or may not, depending on my site searching, be drowning in earth gems. I know I'll have somewhere over fifty piled up before I have anything to spend them on. You know my huge research advantage? I've achieved that with only four not-so-great, but sacred-cheap researchers who'll die of old age soon. By the end of my first year, I could forge four Dwarven Hammers before running out, if there was an advantage to be gained. That's not where my strat is headed, however. This is the Golem Cult, baby. And Attentive Statues can do wonders for my indie expansion if I can get them out early enough to make up for my one map move, and get them to some fighting. But if I waited till year two, it'd take them half a year to get anywhere useful. Fortunately for you, an early Golem Rush has one major weakness that anyone with basic battle scripting can exploit... Fortunately, that doesn't cover independents.

[Loren]

Anyone know where I can get a brain? I played turn 7 and apparently never sent it in!

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I believe one of our nations has an Emerald City, so just follow the yellow brick road, you're off to see the wonderful wizard of Oz.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

What, nobody apreciated my Oz joke?

Well gossip time. I got my turn in about thirty minutes till turn-over. Shinuyama might sleep through theirs.

Damn misfortune, damn barbarians. Here's hoping that all those archers I recruited can be put to good use, and I didn't cripple myself by splitting my forces in two. Take a province, lose a province. Eh... The same province they raided produced several water gems the same turn, so my luck's not all bad.

[Starshine_Monarch]

I have found Abysia so far and I am dead scared of his god...E9F4 and like 29 Prot...not to mention gods know how many HP...I wonder just what kind of scales he needed to take to get all that awake...((besides heat, that's a given...)) His army size kind of sucks, so probably a bit of turmoil and sloth...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Meh... One of my provinces got hit by TWO Ill Omens this turn. All that bad luck resulted in me quitting without saving when I meant to press end turn and submit my turn. Bah!

Those Barbarian Raiders have suffered my revenge. Hah! Those archers earned their pay, when my LI would have been slaughterized.

[sum1lost]

...

Anyone else having some trouble discussing stuff with people? Pms and in game messages have proven to get no responses from some players.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Well, if you've been sending me in game PMs, I haven't gotten anything.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I've gotten em. At least two. They've shown up in my list of messages. But I've only chatted yet with one player. I'll shout out to all my underground homies next time I get my turn. I'll have something to brag about, anyways.

I'll have six of those Attentive Statues. Fortunately for you, my leaders are SLOW, and the terrains rough enough it wouldn't matter if I had faster. Want gossip?
My capital is pulling in over 300 resources, and this is with a sloth scale. To quote Jim Cramer of Mad Money, "Booyah!". Incomes a bit lacking, but I save pennies by recruiting heavier troops. I've started site searching now, but before that, I had auto-found 3 mines adjacent (one copper, two iron) to my capital. If only my troops were actually worth it.

[Loren]

Well, I just found Ryleh, they're in the SW ocean and already out on land. He had the bad luck to go for the same province I went for and his force got annihilated.

The two water nations are in separate bodies of water so they are going to be fighting us, not each other.

Nothing else interesting so far.

[sum1lost]

...

Is anyone else near shinyuma? Because, from what I can see of his territory, he hasn't done anything for two turns.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

This is a good turn for me, a very good turn. No ill fortune (despite one very unlucky province), and I've enchanted my first batch of golems.

I won't give up all my secrets, but I'll tell you a few juicy details if you share some more gossip. There may be a small bit of misinformation mixed in, but no lies. Promise. We mean nothing by it, its just that after you're pushing up past 500, you tend to confuse things sometimes. Why, just yesterday I forgot where I left the keys to my cave. Thank goodness those kind young barbarians came by and offered to break down my door.

[sum1lost]

I'm going to be busy this weekend, so if we could put the force host-thing on hold, that'd be great, because I can't garuntee that I will be able to make the next two turns.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Speaking for myself. Acceptable.

[Szumo]

sum1won said:
I'm going to be busy this weekend, so if we could put the force host-thing on hold, that'd be great, because I can't garuntee that I will be able to make the next two turns.



We can do that, when exactly you'll be no longer busy?

[sum1lost]

Should be within 54 hours from now.

[Szumo]

Allright, we're still waiting for Shinuyama, but when this turn hosts i'll postpone next one till Monday 19.00 GMT.

[Starshine_Monarch]

I will probably be busy all day Sunday, as I will be at my graduation party all day. If I'm really lucky, I will be continuing this game on a brand spankin' new laptop. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Any luck with your laptop? I've just figured out the right switches to let me play dominion on my new one. (Not cutting edge, but nice to have).

Since we're stuck with Worthy Heroes 1.7, could someone upload their copy of it, since it's no longer attached to the worthy heroes thread (In favor of 1.7b)? I can figure out another way at it, but an upload would save me from jumping through some additional (admittedly minor) hoops, and have a convenient place to get whenever any of us has to switch PCs. Thanks in advance.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Never mind. Starsine Monarch, if you need to download WH 1.7, here's the link http://www.mediafire.com/?8wyds1tqlgg

[llamabeast]

Hey LP, I don't know why you'd need 1.7 (rather than 1.7a). The LlamaServer's running 1.7a on it. In principle everyone should upgrade, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't actually matter (which is why I haven't really said much about it).

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I woulda sworn I'd seen a message last time i set this up on a computer. Version 1.7 needed. I might be wrong. Doesn't really matter, I guess. Forget I brought it up.

[sum1lost]

hooray, im back. lemme get me turn in, and we can go and host whenever

[Starshine_Monarch]

Eh, I can always just copy/paste what I have here onto a flashdrive and just move it. I still haven't gotten it though, probably sometime at the end of the week or early next week. I've got about $600 to spend on it at the moment. Any suggestions before I make up my mind?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Well... what do you hope to do with it?

I could give a whole arseload of advice, but for this particular thread, I'll try to keep it succinct.

Intel Graphics has gotten better, over the years, but its still not a match for a real graphics card.

Beware integrated graphics that share system memory. Some are decent, some are crap, but include the amount of system memory they use in your calculations of whether you've got ram enough for Vista/XP/Linux + games.

Find out how much bloody heat the laptop will pump out, if you can.

General shoutout: When Shinuyama sends in their turn, could you give us a headsup, Zakna?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Well I was mainly just gonna use it for college, you know, just install some of the basics: MS Office (or I'll learn to use OpenOffice), Adobe Reader and GIMP (so I can work on my Dom 3 sprites properly), and afterwards, I'll put some of my games on: Dom 3, Civ 3, Heroes of Might and Magic 4, and Starcraft. Hopefully it will do well enough so I can install Heroes 5, Civ 4 and (eventually) Starcraft 2 on it without any hassle.

Here's (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8315904&type=product&productCate goryId=pcmcat103700050018&id=1174092131123) the one I was looking at. I'm not exactly the most computer-savvy, It was mainly the price that caught my eye. I know that it will come with Vista, so I'm likely going to end up installing XP on it. I'm also going to be taking Business Management courses, so are there any programs that would be helpful with that?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Then again, I'm likely to lose a laptop, so I'm looking at desktops too.

[sum1lost]

You'll want a laptop if your campus is wireless. They aren't THAT easy to lose. And it'll be really convenient

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Business management? Would you have a need for a full-sized keyboard? The one I just bought has a Numpad, but I can't recommend that one for games.

Lets see... 512 MB of RAM is sufficent for Windows XP, not Vista. That parts okay. Integrated graphics uses 128 MB of system memory. I'd recommend a minimum of 256 MB for Windows, despite Microsoft's recommendation of 128. So that would leave 128 MBs free for other programs to use. You could probably manage Heroes IV, Starcraft, Dom3, Civ3, and the Gimp. For sanity's sake, though, I'd recommend settling for no less than a gigabyte RAM. If you let say, compusa handle it, you can get an extra gigabyte of ram for $69. That's not my style, but no need for me to get in a rant about retailers, least not here.

Heroes V will require 512 Megabytes of RAM free. Starcraft 3? I don't know, but I doubt it. Civ 4, to my surprise, asks for 512 MB.

The integrated graphics here will do some work, but I have to say no on that. It's an irrelevant brand(for gamers, at least), with some performance issues. If you were pinching pennies with integrated graphics, I'd look for the name ATI or Nvidia somewhere on the graphics, which are know for designing graphics architectures. A separate graphics card may still be best, but with ATI and Nvidia, you can get good performance and quality for most (read not First Person Shooters or Supreme Commander) games.

The lithium-ion is a good thing to have in a battery. The wireless networking is built in, which is very good, since it's one less thing to break/lose/haul around. Wireless b/g is a pretty common format, so that's good.

I will say this in that systems favor- off the top of my head, looking at the brand names only (VIA), I have to guess that system will have a significantly above average battery life.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Well, I can definetly get an extra gig of RAM with the $200 left over. I'll shop around a bit to see if I can get a better price on it though. A friend of my mother's is a computer programmer, so I'll probably ask him about it. I suppose I'll hold off on the graphics for a while, though. Honestly, I don't have Heroes 5 or Civ 4 yet, I was just wondering if they would run when I do decide to get them. Thanks a bunch for the tips LP.

Edit: Found a better one in the store that was on clearance, so it was the same price. Pretty much the same with an Intel Celeron processor and 20 more gigs of Hard Drive space. I'm still probably gonna get the 1GB RAM upgrade from CompUSA (found it for $50 instead of $70). If I'm lucky, I'll have enough to buy a Nintendo DS too.

Zanka, when the hell are you gonna get your turn in?

[sum1lost]

Zakna has staled the last couple turns anyways, so its a safe bet that he won't. In fact, if I hadn't held everything up, he would have staled for half the game now.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Nintendo DS is nice. If you're geeky enough, you can install Linux on it. If you're just interested in using it as game platform (as I am), there's a nice selection of games targeting all- scratch that- most audiences. Castlevania is wonderful - esp. since the DS games continue the proven 2D gameplay.

If you find a place that can customize your laptop, that can be really worth it (esp. if you do the research). Nvidia/ATI integrated graphics don't really add much to the cost of a machine - maybe 5 or 10 dollars compared to the practical minimum of $100 for a discrete graphics _card_.

[Starshine_Monarch]

I think I'll stick with what I've found for now. The only place I know where you can customize your laptop is Dell. I don't think I'll have enough money for that though. Their sales and rebates and all just confuse the hell out of me.

[Szumo]

Staled more than one turn? Perhaps it is time to set him on AI then...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Via a username search, the last time he's made a post in the forums is the 19th...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Brain hurts! Peace! War! Which one? All this trouble thinking must be due to the cold scale it seems I took on during winter. Yowch. Brain freeze.

[Szumo]

Well, i don't even see the option to turn someone to AI in admin interface anywhere, so if Zakna is indeed MIA we need to get llamabeast to do that.

[llamabeast]

Yeah, you can't do that through the admin interface, because the only way of doing it is to actually open up his turn and hit 'Set to AI' or whatever it is.

I tell you what would be useful though Szumo - would you mind sending him a message through the admin interface? That will send him an e-mail. If he doesn't appear I'll take his turns while we look for a sub (unless his nation's almost dead, in which case I will finish off for him/set him to AI).

[Szumo]

Done - both through the admin interface and private message on the forum.

[llamabeast]

Brilliant, thanks.

[sum1lost]

His nation is nowhere near dead, believe me. Its still something like second largest.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Which does seem kind of ridiculous if he has been MIA for half the game...Anyone want to murder him without remorse?

[sum1lost]

I'm working my nerve up to do it.

Unfortunantly, his SC pretender is sitting almost on my border, so I shan't get very far without some mercs.

Which Ryleh keeps buying.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I've been having some trouble with my home (read gaming) Internet connection today, before leaving for work. We'll see if I cannot resolve it tomorrow, or if it has fixed itself. Not asking for any particular action right now, just an FYI I will follow up on.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Was I able to send in turn 12? It appears not, from that stale turn message. Pity. Turn 13 sent.

[Szumo]

sum1won said:
I'm working my nerve up to do it.

Unfortunantly, his SC pretender is sitting almost on my border, so I shan't get very far without some mercs.

Which Ryleh keeps buying.



I'm not bidding on Heavy Horsemen this turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[llamabeast]

If any of you guys fancy another game, SmokyBat is now waiting for players. Planning to use the Cradle of Dominion map, which is a lovely map IMHO. 12-14 players hopefully.

[Szumo]

Szumo said:
Done - both through the admin interface and private message on the forum.



No response received. I think it's either replacement or AI time for Shinuyama.

[sum1lost]

Szumo said:

sum1won said:
I'm working my nerve up to do it.

Unfortunantly, his SC pretender is sitting almost on my border, so I shan't get very far without some mercs.

Which Ryleh keeps buying.



I'm not bidding on Heavy Horsemen this turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif



Yeah. I noticed.

I just blew an extra 50 gold on them. You did that on purpose, didn't you?

[llamabeast]

Okay, I will take Shinuyama's turn this evening, then advertise for a replacement when I get a chance.

[llamabeast]

Wow! Abysia and Atlantis are big!

Lots to do for Shinuyama... think I might carry on playing this for a bit if people don't mind. I reckon the multiple turns of staling (6 perhaps?) probably cancel out the fact I've played a few more games.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I don't mind. Loren, did you get my PM?

[sum1lost]

llamabeast said:
Okay, I will take Shinuyama's turn this evening, then advertise for a replacement when I get a chance.



Llama, you don't mind if I take that one province, on my border, do you? I was in the middle of negotiating for it when he started staling, or I probably would have taken advantage of his staling some time ago.

[llamabeast]

Grr! Shinuyama is under new management, and will no longer be pushed around! Every province is critical to our small empire. Besides, we feel the current boundary is a very natural one, with the sea lying between us. We would however be interested in proposing a non-aggression pact, so that we may each focus our attentions elsewhere.

In other news, Shinuyama is proud to report a considerable turnaround in the war with Abysia. Three (admittedly small) Abysian armies were annihilated to a man, and their mighty pretender was (astonishingly) brought down by a swarm of o-bakemono.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Dear llamabeast, you need to revive the Shinuyama guide thread. Admittedly, I suck with Shinuyama, but I thought such a feat was impossible. How did you pull it off? Or did you just have six turns of income to spend on hordes of low-resource o-bakemono?

[llamabeast]

Speactacular strategic planning combined with an advanced tactical paradigm mainly, I'd say http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[carlosib]

I should've known someone would be taking control sooner or later. Those huge armies out of nowhere were too much for my little almost scouting armies...I guess the real war starts now, since it was just taking empty provinces so far...

Anyway, i thought my fear+awe E9 F4 ciclops pretender would do much better against those o-bakemono...he routed much too early http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Well done llamabeast!

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Even if I don't win, I'll be happy with this game. Each turn is another trip to the candy store. Not a single province around my capital is without a site. How else would I have 300 resources? Some of them are of the common, 20 gold copper mine variety. But I've never had so many. Are you sure the site frequency is standard, llamabeast? Then again, I am surrounded by mountain-forests instead of the usual farmlands with their penalty to site frequency. Is the bonus from forests and mountains cumulative?

[llamabeast]

I think something's gone wrong with the current turn (it says I staled when I'm sure I didn't, and I have an idea why as I messed the server up slightly). Hang on a minute while I look into it...

[Loren]

Did we fall into a time warp or something?

My last turn did not execute (actually, a bit of good luck as a barbarian horde showed up in the province my army was passing through!) and we are now 4 turns ahead.

[llamabeast]

Yep. Nobody panic! I've worked out what went wrong. It's my fault. I was messing with things because of some problems I had earlier with Chinchilla. The Golden Rule I am learning from running this server - don't mess with things! You'll always do it wrong then everything will go pear-shaped.

Give me a few minutes to find your 2h files from the e-mail backup (it lost them in the time-warp unfortunately) and I will rehost the turn.

[Loren]

llamabeast said:
Yep. Nobody panic! I've worked out what went wrong. It's my fault. I was messing with things because of some problems I had earlier with Chinchilla. The Golden Rule I am learning from running this server - don't mess with things! You'll always do it wrong then everything will go pear-shaped.

Give me a few minutes to find your 2h files from the e-mail backup (it lost them in the time-warp unfortunately) and I will rehost the turn.



Good--it's not willing to take my current turn, it says it's turn 20 but it wants 17.

[llamabeast]

Whew, fixed. That was messy. I had to go through the back-up inbox (I get all the the LlamaServer e-mails to forward to a gmail account, and now I'm glad of it!). The LlamaServer gets loads of e-mails in a day now, it's quite hard to find all the ones for a particular game. Anyway, all done now.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Llamabeast, consider Thunderbird or something to back up your emails (leave copy or something), I use the filters to stuff all "Jaguar" games into a single folder.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I seem to be the only chatty one, but here's a little report.

I spent 580 gold trying to buy mercenaries away from R'lyeh, and yet they still got ALL the mercs. I even cannibalized all my fire and earth gems. Fortunately, they don't seem to be nearby. I say fortunately, because I'm invading their virtually undefended provinces.

Before cannibalizing all those gems, though, I forged four Dwarven Hammers for 48 gems.

[llamabeast]

The game sent a message this turn saying that Man had cheated. Unfortunately it seems to do this from time to time - I think it happens when someone cancels units they had queued on a previous turn or something.

Anyway, although I'm certain Loren's trustworthy, just to be sure I took the considerable liberty of checking Man's turn, taking great care not to look at anything but the treasury section at the top and covering the rest of the screen (sorry for even doing that Loren). I can confirm Man definitely didn't cheat.

[llamabeast]

Anyway, i thought my fear+awe E9 F4 ciclops pretender would do much better against those o-bakemono...he routed much too early



I meant to say before - me too! Your pretender was very well-designed and solid, I was staggered he got killed.

[Loren]

llamabeast said:
The game sent a message this turn saying that Man had cheated. Unfortunately it seems to do this from time to time - I think it happens when someone cancels units they had queued on a previous turn or something.

Anyway, although I'm certain Loren's trustworthy, just to be sure I took the considerable liberty of checking Man's turn, taking great care not to look at anything but the treasury section at the top and covering the rest of the screen (sorry for even doing that Loren). I can confirm Man definitely didn't cheat.



I had several strange things happen, all my scouting reports are as if the canceled turn 20 had executed (I *DID* submit one before the rollback)--I see the provinces they were ordered to move to, I do *NOT* see the provinces they were currently in.

I'm thinking that perhaps the game also figured my expenses based on that canceled turn--they would have been slightly lower. I don't have the info around to confirm or deny this idea. Does anyone know how this might be checked?


Incidentally, my hero in Glimmering Fields was not an attack on whoever's province it was. That was some sort of random event I have never seen other than as LA Ermor. There's no note in my turn report about his arrival, just about him taking the province.

[llamabeast]

Ooh, Loren - I know why you're getting all this weird behaviour (although it doesn't explain the cheating report at all) - make sure to delete all 2h files in your Jaguar folder. Then look again, and it should be back to normal.

Surprisingly the 2h files contain information about the state of play. Being as you had your erroneous "turn 20" 2h in the folder (which is actually also a turn 17), it will have thrown things.

[Loren]

There aren't any extra files in there. It's behaving properly now anyway.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

The war between me and R'lyeh is going swimmingly.

My forces have been forced to go back upstream, but all is well. I couldn't be having more fun if a magic fish granted me three wishes.

R'lyeh has made his counterattack, reclaiming 67 & 75 Barra and Bhamot (though I may never have had either. He's got a mind-numbing amount of Illithids, and will probably take back 80, 85 next turn. I expect my measly forces will have to abandon the siege of the Crystal Fortress (85), but I hardly expected to take down a 1000 strength fortress with 40 something troops... I've pulled back my forces to friendly territory further inland, so I can defend fewer targets.

Lets see... what else isn't classified?
The war started with me making a _failed_ attempt at buying all R'lyeh's mercs away. Fortunately, they weren't nearby. At the same time, I invaded with a small force that probably consisted of twenty light infantry and some kind of independent archer.

This force took out amazingly undefended provinces, and allowed me to claim 80 and 75. Barra and Abi. At least one other force was involved, and prevented the Crystal Fortress from producing any reinforcements. All in all, a low investment for quite a bit of havoc. Somewhere around 450 gold for the one force, and perhaps I should have been a bit more careful about letting it die off, considering my miserly ways.

...
And now, I accidentally quit without saving. Damn you, window mode. Well, at least its only the orders lost, not battle results like in other games.

[Szumo]

This little war is starting to become fun for me too http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Though i wouldn't call number of Illithids i have mind numbing, specially as they're not much help against golems - which according to my scouts are on the way in more significant numbers. And the Crystal Fortress was found by Astral Probing the same turn you decided to attack http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I got a feeling you're downplaying your strength so you can lure my advance army into a trap http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

No worries though, soon i will have castles in all provinces of my small sea and then i can start out pumping out units in more reasonable numbers.

I was kind of surprised you decided to attack me instead of another of your neighbours, as MA Agartha can't really fight on equal terms with R'lyeh underwater... Unless you believe differently http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I had several reasons, some of them even logical. But chief among them is an instinctual animosity towards R'lyeh- not you- just R'lyeh. And a desire to boost my ridiculous gem income even higher by searching the wastes. Though perhaps my income isn't that great so much as I started searching early, even so far as getting my combat pretender to do the same.

But see, this Outrider game hasn't started yet, but me and Jazzepi (r'lyeh) are eying each other already. It's a character flaw- I just have t kill you all.

I also need to consider instituting scout blocking techniques early on- but thats something for a future game.

If I see an easy kill- I doubt it- I'll go for it, but really, I just want to go down to that shoreline, and take those provinces i mentioned. I'm not aiming to take you out, but take that land. That, and beat some Illithid ***.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Things have been going rather slow with the Bandar. I only have a few independent provinces left but I have been debating on whether to pick a fight with Ermor, or wait until my Non-Aggression treaty with Abysia is up. However, the faith in the true god is spreading quickly and strongly, thanks to the temples I built in like every province of my territory, and the Armies of Bandar Log are stronger than ever now that we have access to crossbows, even as short and lightly armored as those hairy-footed little hoburgs are. Think of a small, but very dense mass of 40-80 crossbow bolts heading right in the direction of your legion of Lava Warrirors or Principes. I am also working up a legion of human Longbows that I found, so I don't have to pay twice as much for the Bandar variety that has lower precision, albeit nicer armor.

Oh, and I finally got my new computer. Cost me like $250 more than I wanted, but I think it was worth it. 19" Widescreen LCD monitor, 2048MB of RAM, 380GB of Hard Drive Space, a 2.5GHz AMD processor and graphics powered by Nvidia. The only thing that could make it better is a big comfy office chair and a nice printer. Of course, my dad still need to see if he can get a wireless router so I can have internet up in my room too.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

The battle between me and R'lyeh is vastly amusing.

He tried to assassinate one of my lowly Earth Readers. I handily drove him off with a mere two infantry bodyguards.

I wasn't certain if I could win the battle between me and R'lyeh coming up, but I stacked the odds in my favor. A few mistakes were made on my side, but I came out on top.

I burnt through a LOT of earth gems- and I'm not certain what exactly I got from it. I'm still uncertain what Woodsmen blowpipes do with their paralyzing poison.

The Illithids were rendered somewhat ineffective due to me massively outnumbering them, with my mundane forces, and having a large number of mindless magic beings - aka claymen. Nobody lost any commanders, unfortunately. But they lost 79 mundane units and nine magical. I lost 28 regular units out of 140, and 17 magical beings out of 50. All my magical losses were claymen, which while not damaging, are cheap at one gem apiece.

I'll be rewatching that replay, and trying to press my advantage. But I'll keep some of my secrets to myself. Mostly, I'm fine tuning my buff scripts by figuring exactly how it affects things. I'd be happy to discuss this further, but right now I'll get to the point.

BOOYAH! Star Child assassin - codename envoy? Thanks for the fishsticks, buddy. Your army? Double booyah!

[sum1lost]

I think I owe Shinyuma a friendly handshake. Although he may have appreciated my message this turn.

Just not the messengers.

[llamabeast]

I thought we had a non-aggression pact, Pythium? You have shown yourself to be an oathbreaker of a most despicable kind. To the remaining free and non-doomed nations of the world - you would do well not to trust Pythium.

Fair point about the human rights abuses though. But it would have been much better to give the agreed 3 month warning.

[sum1lost]

I didn't know we had a non-aggression pact. I had not read my statement as a non-aggression pact. The 'Okay' was meant as a recognition of the statement that you would attack me if invaded.

In hindsight, my response was ambiguous enough that I can see how you interpreted it as an NAP, and I apologize for that.

Furthermore, if you wish you can post the full series of pms between the two of us involving that, as I feel that might help demonstrate how the confusion may have arisen.

I can in all honesty say that I did not consider my response to be considered as you considered it. Had I known that you understood it as an acceptance of your offer, I would have treated it as such.

If you wish, I will withdraw my forces for three months.

I would, however, like an apology for the insults.

[llamabeast]

Fair enough, that was an unfortunate misunderstanding. I suggest we consider it simply as an in-game misunderstanding. Shinuyama will consider Pythium as evil oath-breakers. Pythium will consider Shinuyama to be easily confused human rights abusers, who imagine pacts that never existed and would do better under Pythian rule. Don't worry about waiting, the PM exchange was as you say ambiguous and I put my certainty that we had an NAP down to Shinuyaman easily-confusedness.

I never meant to insult you in the first place (I was careful to call you Pythium). Obviously Shinuyama thinks Pythium's despicable. llamabeast feels only a general friendliness towards sum1won - many apologies if you felt I was getting at you personally. Not intended (nor would I do that kind of thing). No hard feelings on my part at all.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Hostilities with R'lyeh continue unabated. A messenger has been sent to R'lyeh with an offer of truce much less insulting than my first. I'm open to negotiations, but am prepared for the alternative of war.

I'd like to also mention to Man that the presence of all those troops on my border is far from comforting. And I'll state that I do believe in defense in depth. Certainly, my position is exposed and vulnerable, but war with me would gain you less than you would think. My battles with R'lyeh have been fought where I haven't had the advantage of my dominion, and my golem cult.

I will say that I'd understand if they simply happened to gather there, given the 'compactness' of this map, there's hardly anywhere that doesn't border someone. However, the unexplained and unmentioned presence of such a group of units all in one place certainly bodes ill for peace, to put it mildly. Especially with the lack of a NAP between our two nations. The wait for next turn will be a tense one.

[Loren]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
I'd like to also mention to Man that the presence of all those troops on my border is far from comforting. And I'll state that I do believe in defense in depth. Certainly, my position is exposed and vulnerable, but war with me would gain you less than you would think. My battles with R'lyeh have been fought where I haven't had the advantage of my dominion, and my golem cult.



Nothing to worry about--I moved them to my capital several hours ago.


I will say that I'd understand if they simply happened to gather there, given the 'compactness' of this map, there's hardly anywhere that doesn't border someone. However, the unexplained and unmentioned presence of such a group of units all in one place certainly bodes ill for peace, to put it mildly. Especially with the lack of a NAP between our two nations. The wait for next turn will be a tense one.



They just took #81 last turn. There are only two routes from there to back home in my capital and I routed them the other route from what they took on the way in to pick up the independents I had recruited there. I didn't think of the fact that it was a border province I was routing them through.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Good to hear then, I'm comforted. For your future information, though, those troops are automatically revealed in adjacent provinces. I got a free look at your rather impressive army, no scouts necessary. If secrecy's an issue, you may want to keep that in mind. If you hope to intimidate, keep that in mind. If you figure enough scouts are in your territory that it doesn't matter, never mind.

[Szumo]

To Agartha:
After reviewing results of recent battles, it should come not as a surprise to you that your offer of truce is refused.
Until you come up with a substantially more profitable offer, we shall continue the war that you started.

[Loren]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
Good to hear then, I'm comforted. For your future information, though, those troops are automatically revealed in adjacent provinces. I got a free look at your rather impressive army, no scouts necessary. If secrecy's an issue, you may want to keep that in mind. If you hope to intimidate, keep that in mind. If you figure enough scouts are in your territory that it doesn't matter, never mind.



I know troops in a border province can be seen. What happened is that I didn't think about it being a border province at all.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I did think I got a bit to aggressive in that last push, but I was curious to see how my golems would fair without significant support. The answer seems obvious in hindsight. Regretfully so. As I said, I'm willing to negotiate.

I'm determined to make some gains in territory, but I am willing to make concessions in other areas. If you're interested in negotiating bribes-concessions, PM me. If it requires the sacrifice of territory, simply message me in-game that the war is ongoing, or something to the sort.

If you're interested in a very temporary truce while negotiations happen and/or fail, I can provide that to, and reduce the siege of your fort to a mere shaman.

I see your assassins have become more deadly. Ironically, it was only the lowly shaman that survived.

AIM Lazper12

[llamabeast]

Aargh! Abysia, I thought we just agreed an NAP? Seems I'm not having much luck with NAPs in this game. At least your trogs learnt their lesson (those who managed to scamper off).

PS sum1won - no hard feelings about our earlier exchange?

[sum1lost]

No hard feelings.

I have to say that I am looking forwards to combating that bakmeno army, though.

Abysia, what does he mean by an NAP? As a nation whose help you had requested, I'd like to know what you meant by asking for the help while negotiating an NAP?

[llamabeast]

Actually to be fair Abysia would not have received my response when they ordered the attack. But they had already sent me a message the previous turn, offering a 3-turn NAP. Very confusing!

So Pythium, you're coming to help the mightiest land nation of all against the Shinuyaman underdog eh? Shocking.

(I would do the same http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

[carlosib]

Darn, i must apologize to Pythium and Shinuyama for that diplomacy hell we've been through in the last turns, it's all my fault. I got a substitute for the last few turns and he signed that NAP with Shinuyama.
I'll set things right now via PM.
I'm sorry again http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[llamabeast]

Oof, looks like Bandar missed the hosting by about 5 minutes. Unlucky!

[llamabeast]

There is chaos in the Shinuyaman capital! Disgusted by the weakness of their nation, the bakemono have risen up, deposing the emperor, killing his advisers and burning all diplomatic records! A new, militaristic and mildly incompetent leader has arisen in his place!

--

Since I'm about to go on holiday for a week and a half, and Shinuyama is in no state to be taken on by anyone else, I've set myself to AI. I was hoping for an epic showdown with Pythium this turn, but he ran away! It should happen next turn instead - let me know what happens. But apart from moving that army around there's very little I can do anyway.

I think I at least succeeded in being a thorn in the side of Abysia, and hopefully I will also set back Pythium somewhat. But Shinuyama's fate is now quite inevitable.

Abysia - disregard the NAP now, and attack! The bakemono won't hold to it any more.

Thanks guys, good game.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Currently, me and R'lyeh are in a mexican standoff, to see who's willing to make the first move. Either that, or we're in an arms race.

[Szumo]

I'm actually waiting for some more nasty spells to finish being researched http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[sum1lost]

Oh, crap.

I had a massive ambush set up for you if you entered my territory. I'll let you know how it goes.

[Starshine_Monarch]

This is getting a little hectic trying to wake up so early in the morning just so I don't stale. Llamabeast, is it possible you could extend the hosting time like 4 or 5 hours so I don't have to get up at this ungodly hour?

[Szumo]

Llamabeast is on vacation now, AFAIK.
What kind of hosting scheme do you have in mind, exactly?

[Starshine_Monarch]

Pretty much the same thing really, 24 hour hosting, possibly nixing quickhost. However, you see how the next turn is due at 11:00 GMT? Well that is literally 6:00 in the morning where I am. I was thinking he could extend that a few hours so I actually have time to wake up.

[sum1lost]

I play the night before, myself.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Well I kind of can't, unless I want to stay awake until 3:00 AM. This is still my dad's computer and when he's using it, he usually doesn't give it up. It would really help me a lot if we could at least nix quickhosting.

[Szumo]

Well, any game with quickhost on will get it's hosting time drifting a little. I'd rather not switch quickhost off though. What i think we can do is extend the normal host interval from 24h to 36h or 48h - that should make it possible to make your turn everytime - and is more reasonable for game in 30+ turn anyway.

So, opinions everyone? Leave host interval at 24h, change to 36h or change to 48h?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

If all that's available is 12 hour increments, I'll fully support 36 hours. In several of my games, I've made it in by five seconds.

[Loren]

I do think the hosting interval should be set to something a bit over a day because it's going to creep earlier and earlier otherwise. Being in PDT it can get quite early for me if I don't do it the night before.

My inclination would be something like 26 or 28 hours but if that's not an option, make it whatever it needs to be to be at least that long.

[Szumo]

Well, my poor troops decided to rout just as the battle was coming into deciding phase http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif
Twelve commanders and 229 units lost, and only 1 commander and 116 units killed. Nicely done Agartha, can't deny that.

At least you got a few horror marks for your pretender though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

As for hosting timer, it can be set with 1 hour precision.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Hmm... For me, personally, 28 hours would be just perfect. Though if quickhost is still on, I wouldn't mind as high as 36.

How does 30 hour quickhost sound to you, Starshine Monarch?

Thank you, Szumo. Your spell-sassinations were quite effective, you know, and dramatically hindered my formations and battle plans. I'd meant for the Golems to be in first, and the Ice Drakes did nothing I could see. Instead, I went in as an unruly mob. You bastard, you killed Kenny! (j/k Southpark)

It amuses me- you've beat ME, Agartha, to Curse of Stones. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif. That really confused me for a while. I had to watch the battle a few times to figure that out.

Yeah. Even madmen will rout at 75% army loss.

I lost both my Thugs, dammit. I'd invested quite a bit into them, and you even killed one with a lead shield, with soul slay, I expect. In battle, one was helped along with a Magma Bolt to the back. The other one was remotely killed outside of battle. My Arena Champion. Now I've got no heroic abilities whatsoever. Oh well. At least all my mages now have at least +1 precision thanks to experience. Though they're also getting old age to go along with it.

I'm a bit disappointed my mages wasted my gems summoning earth elementals who never got close enough to trample.

I've gotta figure out some way to open up some of those anti-spell domes, or else I needn't worry at all about your Star Children Assassins...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Ooh. That wasn't nice. Remotely assassinating so many of my leaders.

I'm going to have to return the favor, somehow, since you've made this personal.

[Szumo]

Hey, i told you i was waiting on research for some nasty spells http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

War gets more interesting strategically now, doesn't it?
You can propably beat my armies in the field.. but only if your leaders live long enough to get the troops to the battle.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I really, really, should have expected that, by the way. But at least I have a couple ways to counter that. The block being Lead Shields (expensive at 10 gems), the counterpunch isn't as nasty as leader assassination, but then nothing really ever is.

[Sieger]

I've submitted my turn twice and so far the server isn't taking it, no confirmation email or reply back saying there is a problem with the file.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I had some problems recently myself. I'd thought I'd sent it off this morning/noon, but didn't see it this night.. I did just get it in, though, within the last hour. It may be worth trying one last time.

[sum1lost]

About 100 dai bakmeno/O-bakmeno destroyed at the cost of 62 alae legionaires.

Not a bad trade, on the whole http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I'm only facing a communion involving close to forty Star Children. I'll have to think on this, dammit.

[llamabeast]

Hey, I'm back! Did the problems with the server accepting e-mails go away in the end?

[Loren]

Lazy_Perfectionist said:
I'm only facing a communion involving close to forty Star Children. I'll have to think on this, dammit.



Yikes!

[sum1lost]

Dear Man:

The mighty nation of Pythium is famed far and wide for its generosity. Recognizing the onerous task involved in managing provinces, we propose to relieve you of this task by means of reorganizing the distribution of security forces along our shared border. By thus reformatting the political alignments of the local terrain, we hope to enact mutually beneficial developments, as the renovation of the religious structures in that vicinity will introduce somewhat superior scales. These happy developments shouldn't trouble your nation, but as we know, change may lead to anxiety in some cases. Thus, our legionnaires have volunteered to introduce you to their excellent therapy devices, which will enable you to relax in a once in a lifetime fashion- just ask any bakemeno you see! It's so relaxing, that only a few turns ago we nearly succumbed to a deluge of bakemeno seeking to take part in our revolutionary methods, but our therapy forces were able to deal with it, just as they may deal with any stressed individuals you send our way.

Needless to say, given the generosity of our offer, we felt compelled to allow you to take part in it as soon as possible, and have therefore already initiated the first steps of this marvelous program.

OOC: If I had an NAP from man, and didn't know it, I apologize. I trawled through my pms, and couldn't find one, and don't remember receiving in game messages from man, either.

[Loren]

There was no NAP.

You're probably going to win but you're going to lose those armies you sent down in the process.

I never had a chance in this game, the only province with any decent income is my capital. Everything around me is either swamp or forest.

[sum1lost]

Eh, I had to expand south because my income is as bad as yours- forests and mountains, with a couple swamps. If I had the choice, I wouldn't be going against you- I don't relish fighting the longbow-knight armies that man always seems to field.

[Loren]

sum1won said:
Eh, I had to expand south because my income is as bad as yours- forests and mountains, with a couple swamps. If I had the choice, I wouldn't be going against you- I don't relish fighting the longbow-knight armies that man always seems to field.



Yeah, that's exactly what's going to smash into you. We'll probably end up taking each other out.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Not if me and R'lyeh are fighting each other until the end of time. I think you could have five men left alive, and we'd be to busy throwing spells at each other to go out of our way and conquer you.

And if you'd attacked one of us, who knows what would happen. You'd have R'lyeh expanding all the way up the western edge of the map with the world's highest gem income, or you'd have me moving my decrepit mages and golems oh so so slowly southward behind an easily defended mountain range. While a turtle or snail passes me in traffic.

[Szumo]

Oh come on Lazy Perfectionist, you have the pretty much the same gem income as i do and your recruitable troops are way better than mine on the land.
I just wonder whether you'll move before i Mind Hunt most of your commanders to death ;P

Anyway, i'm happy that you (Pythium and Man) decided to duke it out between yourselves, one on one wars are usually fun while i assume no one likes to be gangbanged http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Damn. Why the hell can't I 'continue construction' on the damn fort? Now I've lost 2400 gold as my builder has been remotely assassinated twice, and can't have two guys work on it simultaneously without paying double.

Also, attack me already, R'lyeh. Apparently, a Lead Shield isn't a reliable antidote to Mind Hunts. And I'm not getting a fort up, ever, dammit.

[Szumo]

I'd prefer to attack you after all your commanders are killed ;P

As for Lead Shields, they just about cancel penetration items on my casters. It was a big investment to set up those (30 gems per caster or so) so i'd say Lead Shield work quite well.

What's definitely helps me is magic +3 dominion though.

[sum1lost]

To atlantis: Go ahead and keep the province. However, next time you plan on attacking a province which is directly adjacent to another player's army, when said army has been steamrolling in that direction and that is the only province left, try to make sure that your intentions are known. If you did mean that as an act of war, I'd like it if you said so. If you didn't, I'd like it if you said so, and had just warned me ahead of time. Nobody likes to lose 40 vestals for no gain.

Otherwise:

It appears that ermor plans on stalling. Again.

[Starshine_Monarch]

Um, something seems to be wrong with the server. The last turn I sent in was 37, but it says it's turn 42 now. That and it isn't showing the nation list.

[llamabeast]

Yeah, that's my fault sorry. Should be sorted in a minute. I made an unreasonable number of mistakes in a row while trying to start up Mara and Chupacabra.

[llamabeast]

Okay. It's fixed... I hope. There's some chance some turns may have been missed, in which case everyone will have staled, I think that's not the case though - I hope not.

[Loren]

Stale here. My opponent didn't do anything, either.

I would like it if it were redone but it's not a big deal--I'm doomed no matter what, I'm just seeing how much damage I can do to Pythium for their groundless war with me.

[sum1lost]

plenty of ground, just most of it without value. Swamps and such.

I had some severe messing with my strategy, though, as I lost control of the mercenary company, and several guys failed to research. If you can't fix, thats all well and good, but I'd really like it if you could- perhaps by simply allowing us to resubmit the prior turn? Unless we take the next turn, the 4h file should still have what you need.

I imagine that Rl'yeh was hit even worse...

[llamabeast]

Okay, hang on a sec. I'll see if there's anything I can do.

[llamabeast]

Okay guys, I can set it back a turn. Hopefully none of you gained information you shouldn't have with this false turn being sent out. Please resubmit your turns.

Edit: I just wrote a really long explanation about how it had all gone wrong and I couldn't fix it and I'd been at it 3 hours and so I had been trying even if incompetently. But then I realised I could sort of fix it - although I have lost your 2h files, so you'll need to send them in again.

[llamabeast]

Man that was stressful. *breathes* I think I've got a better strategy sorted for starting new games at least now - turn every other aspect of the server OFF!

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Need to resend still?
I'll be able at 11:00 PM, EST.

[sum1lost]

If already hosted, you can access your old .2h through your sent messages...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

Not if I have set my email not to save a copy to sent. I'll have to head back home first. Fortunately, I haven't overwrit anything.

[llamabeast]

If anyone has lost their 2h I'll be able to dig it out - I keep all the e-mails the LlamaServer ever receives in a gmail account. It'll just take a bit of digging is all, so I'd prefer people to resend themselves if they can.

[Szumo]

I think you need either a test enviromnent or a full automated backup (including .2h files) for each turn llamabeast. Preferably both http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[llamabeast]

It does have a fully automated backup including 2h files.

What happened yesterday was a bit convoluted, but basically I changed some stuff while getting the new games started which made Jaguar unable to host. But it kept on trying anyway, and cycling through the backups. Since it "hosted" about 8 times, the 2h backups were long gone.

Anyway, it was a mistake I won't make again.

[llamabeast]

Is all well with the rehosted turn?

[Szumo]

Seems to be ok (with the turn).

And i had an epic battle... 250+ casualties, and both mine and LP's pretenders killed - not that it hurts mine much http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Starshine_Monarch]

You have Lich I'm guessing. I wonder if there's any way you can save battle replays and share them with others?

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

i'd happily do so, but I don't know how.

Bah... The only commander I lost was my pretender. Everyone of my oracles survived to fight another day. If I was just a little further forward, I would have taken out more than a quarter of his leaders, with massive Blade Winds. Unfortunately, my oracles were already all the way to the front. And some overlooked and not yet understood fatigue and get math meant each only got off 2 Blade winds, instead of four each, as I planned. I think 16 would have been devestating, but even with a late Earthpower and 2 gems apiece, Reinvig boots, I wasn't able to pull it off.

I was so close... I can't use that tactic again in this game, esp w/o a laboratory. But I came close to making it work, though it was certainly risky with all those assassin spells. Sigh... it was fun to play, but saddening in that I can't experiment in endless variation and replay the same battle with different orders, learning much.

[Szumo]

Well, your pretender dying was a bit of bad luck indeed - she was hit twice by Gifts from Heaven (meteors).
I was watching the replay and was very concerned when the Blade Winds started to fall amongst my mages.

There is no way of saving battle replays that i know - except using Fraps or similar which is not really practical due to file size.

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I'm considering saving this turn file, putting it in a password protected zip, uploading it as an attachment, then revealing the password later, so people can watch it directly. It might reveal unfortunate information about my forces, hence the delay. Now if I could mod my turn file to just display the battle, and remove the most sensitive information... While its not the brightest idea to reveal my situation, I'm not to worried about it, given I'm already at war with R'lyeh, and my neighbor Pythium is at war with Man. The informations only really dangerous if the war with R'lyeh continues at a stalemate. If I win, the additional land changes my position greatly, if I lose, well, it goes without saying.

What I could have done differently, part one, untested, speculation. - Getting closer approach
Earthpower-> Attack (once) -> Blade Wind
By scripting Blade Wind first, I hoped to take out your Star Children right away - they are hardly well armored or as damage absorbent as my Oracles. I could have gotten more casts in by earthing first, though I'm surprised I wasn't able to get in all four. I presume that spellcasting encumbrance is taken into account after gem discounts.

I'd rushed the cast in the hope to BW you before you got communions AND ethereal form up, since most earth spells are mundane. But that was a waste as I didn't quite have the range to reach you anyway, and ended up exhausted anyways.

My pretender probably would have survived if I had set her as fire support. 26 paralysis is a bit much for even MR 22 to handle, and gift of heavens would had that much more range deviation to deal with.

I also probably would have seen benefits from Sermon of Courage or Fanaticism. Certainly, enough of my troops ran off, though with the limited review time I didn't figure out why they ran, but was focusing on the star children, then my pretender. I was disappointed to see those 'Legions of Steel cast by the AI... at that point they were a bit late to the game.