Retold - CBM (Dom3minions blitz game), started

[Tryfan]

Just thought I would see if there were three other people here interested in a small game before starting one up.

Thinking CBM variety, of course.

(edit)

And we're off. Good luck to everyone.

[arnob]

I'm interested !

[iRFNA]

I'm interested, but relatively inexperienced. Is this for veterans only?

[Drog the Destroyer]

I'm interested, at least if it's fairly standard settings.
And I should probably mention that I'm very new to the game.

[Tryfan]

New is fine. I've just found that if you try to start a game on the dom3 server without warning people, you get people who start the game with only two people, or games that languish for weeks before someone starts it and then no one but the last person is paying attention and stale several times.

So yeah. Let's start it up, a CBM blitz game, "cbm_retold", this is port 9269 on the games.dom3minions.com server. For those of you mentioning you're new, that means you'll need to have the CBM mod installed (and ACTIVE!).

Though we don't really need to insist on it, in the interest of balance I would ask that no one pick Ashdod.

Remember, don't "start the game" until there's four people in it! Check http://game.dom3minions.com/bin/cbm_chk.cgi and see before you hit that button.

Since we're just using one of Gandalf's default games, we'll be just using whatever he has set for default settings (presumably he didn't change anything). Also, that means there's no control on who comes into the game, so if you want to play it get your pretender in fairly quickly. ;)

It's up now, head on over.

[iRFNA]

In as c'tis and ready to rock

[Gandalf Parker]

For those of you mentioning you're new, that means you'll need to have the CBM mod installed (and ACTIVE!)..

Actually one of the advantages of direct connect is that you dont have to have the mod active. If you turn off all your mods, and connect to the game, it will turn on any mods it needs or tell you if you are missing it or have the wrong version.

It also turns the mods off after you disconnect so you dont have to keep turning mods on and off for each game you are in. The server does it for you

[Tryfan]

Still two spots left if the guys who mentioned they wanted in above want to grab em. Otherwise, first come first serve.

[Drog the Destroyer]

I'm there as Abysia. Get ready to burn!

[arnob]

I'm sorry I didn't understood that you're looking for a blitz game. I can only play by e-mail ...

Arnob

[Tryfan]

No prob, I'll be more clear in the future.

Still one spot for someone to hop into then!

[attackdrone]

Hey, I'll give a blitz game a shot.

[Drog the Destroyer]

Game has been started by Vanheim - Is that Attackdrone or some unknown entity?

[attackdrone]

That was me, the game auto-starts when the fourth player sends in their pretender.

[Drog the Destroyer]

I'm quite happy that the game started, I was just wondering who I'm playing with. :D

[Tryfan]

Abysia: Drog the Destroyer
Vanheim: attackdrone
C'tis: iRFNA
Eriu: Tryfan

And it's on! Best of luck guys. May the most devilishly handsome win.

[Tryfan]

Bad - having the only central located capital in the game.

Worse - it only connects to three other provinces anyways.

WTF - two of them are in two different enemy hands on turn 3.


Priceless - a turn 3/4 rush by two of the game's three opponents without having a SC pretender. To quote the captain in Platoon, it's been a lovely ****in war. LOL. Guess I didn't get much of a chance to experiment with Eriu after all.

[Gandalf Parker]

Sounds like a good take on an early game. :)

Pros and Cons. The little 4 player blitzes are meant for fast results. That does tend to favor certain nations and strategies. But on the other hand, you can quickly move on to another one and get lots of varied experience very quickly. There are some variations.
http://www.dom3minions.com/HostedGames.htm

However, if you have decided that you WANT something different...
The LLamaServer.net has a nice menu driven system to setup a PbEM (Play-by-Email) game.
http://www.LLamaServer.net

OR I can set you up another direct connect game to any settings you want. A bigger map? more players? different mods? Anything that is on the LLamaServer menu, mix and match with any of the little blitz style games, and many things that arent in either menu.
http://www.dom3minions.com/HostingGames.htm

[Drog the Destroyer]

Priceless - a turn 3/4 rush by two of the game's three opponents without having a SC pretender. To quote the captain in Platoon, it's been a lovely ****in war. LOL. Guess I didn't get much of a chance to experiment with Eriu after all.

If it's any consolation Vanheims so bloodthirsty he also invaded Abysian lands. It's a regular free-for-all.

C'tis must be having a field day somewhere on the map.

[Tryfan]

Well in a small game like that I fully expect to be rushed by one person. But two inside of the fourth turn? Vanheim made a direct beeline for my capital right from the start like I was selling hookers and beer at 50% off... without knowing where or who it was! (at least, until turn 3)

Still, lots to learn from a game like this. I'll try to make the rivers flow red with the blood of... someone.

Thanks, Gandalf, once I am turfed from this one I'll see about setting up a bit larger one on your server. The custom made ones can be set to show whether or not everyone has played from outside the game like the regular ones?

[iRFNA]

Ya, I've been watching your guys' shenanigans. I sorta feel like australia in a nuke war. "wtf mate?"

[Gandalf Parker]

Yes. Also scoreboards, and who stalls, can be seen without having to log in. Usually for a 9-turn period.
And turns can be emailed for those who like them as a backup feature.
Text message reminders to cell phones.
Allied and Boosted AIs added to the game.
Sneaky AI'd independents.
a "no going AI" lock on players
and lots more.

I prefer the no-menu challenge-me-to-come-up-with-something arrangement for game setup. :)

[attackdrone]

Those crazy skinshifters! They just go off in all directions. I can hardly control them. And the mercenaries! They're even worse...

As for rushing towards the capital - chalk it up to an unfortunate accident in geography. I skipped two independent territories of Elephants and Pegasus Riders, and then I saw Eriu.

[Tryfan]

And people say Eriu isn't an undead nation...

[Drog the Destroyer]

To: Disgruntled pretenders
From: Abysia Spa and Resort
Subject: Refunds

Dearest Pretenders

We sincerly apologize for the unfortunate incident regarding the proposed Abysian winter resort and spa, to be situated due north of Vanheim. We fully understand the frustration regarding the resulting lost investments in time-share condos.

However, a three-way invasion of Abysia is no solution, and no refunds will be given. As per the contract, subsection 28-13, a major invasion of skinshifters is considered force majeure, and as such Abysia can in good faith default on the contract. Furthermore, at this time we would like to point your attention to subsection 13-47 of the contract, which clearly states that any complainers will be burnt to cinders.

Sincerly

Nurbis, Junior director, Abysia Spa and resort, department of sales

[Tryfan]

In Eriu, Abysian spas are generally called "barbecues".

[Tryfan]

This has turned into a pretty good game.

[Gandalf Parker]

33 turns in. Not too extreme on the scoreboards. no stalls.
looks good from the outside :)

[Tryfan]

Well, one extreme thing - C'tis's dominion.

But I don't want to live in a swamp!

[iRFNA]

In many places, you already are. Also, sorry about all the AIDS, but the vatican has a very strict "no condoms" policy within its dominion. On the bright side... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yC7HwPh6Es#t=0m17s)

[Drog the Destroyer]

It's quite fun, even though I'm getting beaten up at the moment. But I don't think I'll get eliminated just yet.

It's always fun with a nice free for all.

[Drog the Destroyer]

Ughh, I'm almost done for in this game, but at least i'm taking all of Vanheims army with me.

[Tryfan]

You should see the horde of snakes/frogs rampaging through my lands.

Since you keep shattering armies, think you could wreck that one for me?

[iRFNA]

The snakes and frogs cannot be stopped! Catholic lizards shall rule this world!

[Drog the Destroyer]

The snakes and frogs cannot be stopped! Catholic lizards shall rule this world!

I was thinking that Eriu's thug machine would cause you problems, but it does look increasingly likely that you are correct.

[Tryfan]

There's been a couple good fights from the Sidhe pair (they sit on top of the hall of fame but one was hit with three afflictions plus curse) and his frog horde was thinned out at one time, but they've since been replaced and then some.

I never had the opportunity to get a proper gem economy going in this game, being at war with most the map from the third turn on. It makes getting thugs going a slow, slow process, especially since I have no earth income at all, nor astral. The only thing I have a lot of is water.

What I want to know is how you keep killing Vanheim's armies at your capital. You must have some kickarse evocation going on in those fights.

[iRFNA]

I was thinking that Eriu's thug machine would cause you problems, but it does look increasingly likely that you are correct.

The more successful his thugs are, the more severe their horror marks will become. Poor little guys.

[Drog the Destroyer]

What I want to know is how you keep killing Vanheim's armies at your capital. You must have some kickarse evocation going on in those fights. Fire, fire and yet more fire :D
It's my mages doing all the killing, my poor troops are just dying in droves trying to hold those nasty shifters, einheirs and Vans long enough.

[attackdrone]

Ah, the "Joys" of being the last person to join a game. Apparently being the last person into a game means that my troops have a 100% chance to process moves after all other players, meaning everyone is always one step ahead of me. Quite frustrating really.

Since I am new to multiplayer I guess there's the lesson! Don't join games last folks.

Even with that said, it is still fun.

[Tryfan]

No, it doesn't work that way. The movement phase you're referring to happens simultaneously but that just means you'll never catch an army by trying to move regularly to where it is. You have to get in front of it, or move to where it will be.

It's the same for everyone.

Only way to hit an army before it can move is to summon into it. That, or assassinate all its commanders so it doesn't go anywhere...

Since we're feeling a bit pretentious in the in-game messages, what's latin for "sorry about your prophet"?

[attackdrone]

Ah, good to know. That's a relief, I suppose. Wish I'd known that earlier, would have saved me a few massacres, ah well - knowledge for next game.

[iRFNA]

My goal has been to get to Pope Benedict XVI, you guys are slacking... I'm also sad that you don't know the reference I made with that message :(

[attackdrone]

I would have thought Dante's Inferno but apparently it is really a reference to either Event Horizon (which I have never seen) or the band Zao (which I have never listened to). Thanks wikipedia!

[iRFNA]

The first half of event horizon is worth seeing.

[iRFNA]

****'s gonna get real next turn tryfan, my biggest MP battle by far. This is gonna be awesome. Your thugs backed by that huge army is going to be ridiculous!

[Tryfan]

Next turn? I haven't had a chance to check yet but I was hoping it was last turn. :/

And what is this "huge army" you refer to...

[Tryfan]

Pretty anticlimactic. I think you grossly overestimated the strength of what I had left. Though almost every commander got away (I think you killed one of the five geared thugs - the diseased one, and the four or five pure mages got clear). The rest was pretty much pure chaff that would probably have lost to 10 toads, let alone the 80 or so it looked like you had.

Game's been pretty much over since you were left completely alone for 25 turns.

[attackdrone]

I think Drog deserves an honorable mention this game, he was able to wipe out my entire army multiple times with his flying battle-mages. They are so effective I have entirely stopped sending out anyone that is not immune to fire, and am engaging in raiding to keep him bottled up.

[Drog the Destroyer]

Yes, I fear that my stalwart defence is instrumental to a C'tis victory. :rolleyes:
My economy have been in shambles for a long time now, but still I've found this game quite enjoyable, i'm learning a lot.

[Drog the Destroyer]

That's a lot of big frogs....

[iRFNA]

I like big frogs and I cannot lie

[Gandalf Parker]

I like big frogs and I cannot lie
Sounds like one for the Dom3 Parody Songs thread.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=41946

[iRFNA]

Live footage from eriu (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzl1RkBxNsY)

[Tryfan]

Having a sale on frog legs, 90% off. Supplies pretty much unlimited.

[iRFNA]

Poor little guys... The tears aren't coming. The tears just aren't coming.

[iRFNA]

That's some dedicated hurricaning! I feel like New Orleans.

Also, hi vanheim! Nice to finally meet you

[attackdrone]

It is more like New Orleans than you realize! Blights follow Hurricanes... welcome to the Lower Ninth Ward.

[Tryfan]

The froogies and snakes approach once more... perhaps emboldened knowing that Lavren the Studly is not at the capital.

200 kills for a common thug!

[iRFNA]

Give us what we want, or we will continue to die!

[Tryfan]

Could be the end for me in a turn or two. How ignoble, capital resists every attempt to take it from Vanheim to C'tis, but only to get domkilled.

[iRFNA]

I liked your thug MIRV, though. I tried to hit it with ritual summons before it happened but somehow you evaded!

[Tryfan]

Lavren crosses the 300 kill plateau, and C'tis's capital is beseiged!

[iRFNA]

Lavren has AIDS. :(

[Tryfan]

I'll be domkilled before he dies, so IMO he will find a cure and live out his days happy in obscurity somewhere.

[iRFNA]

There is no cure for AIDS. :(

[Tryfan]

You just ain't gonna kill him C'tis...

Can you imagine how much fun you would have had had I been given enough time to make more than seven of those guys total?

[Tryfan]

Aaaand there's the domkill. Eriu capital withstood every attempt to capture it, from Vanheim's turn 4 or 5 rush to the huge toad and snake armies later on. Might have held on longer but the god was killed by something silly (a horror maybe?) because she was scripted for large battle fighting rather than a one on one fight and that was a big dominion hit.

So, postmortem for Eriu:

The situation was realistically hopeless from the fourth turn on. Abysia rejected the NAP offer and took Utonshire on turn 3 (with its construction bonus), and Vanheim took the NW province to my capital on the same turn. I think a lucky provincial defense random event helped defeat Vanheim's rush attack because Eriu's regular troops certainly aren't capable of doing so on their own (Eriu was at 53 PD in the early going).

Vanheim stopped its attacks to concentrate on Abysia but the damage was done. Realistically I HAD to be the one to fight C'tis, no one else could even reach him, and severely crippling me with an early game double rush while failing to actually finish me off effectively should have handed the game to him on the spot as he had something like 20 turns or more to build up unopposed. Failing to kill me, a reasonably close second option would have been to finish off Abysia fast too; by that point Vanheim would have been at a disadvantage, but not a decisive one. But Abysia held out too. I never saw the battles at Abysia's capital, just the results, and they were flabbergasting; it must have occurred to Vanheim at some point that they needed to start using anti-mage tactics rather than just throw army after army of shapeshifters at it but I never saw it.

I'm happy to have held on this long but after C'tis declared war I should have been dead a dozen turns later at most. C'tis's armies moved very, very slowly. He also had an incredible reluctance to take my outlying territories; at one point I held territories inside his own island area with no defense for something like six or eight turns. I made a bad tactical mistake early on when the four thugs I had available moved in front of his main army; they routed because the PD routed and one died the rest scattered. I was careful not to let them fight in provinces with that much PD after that but that was a costly defeat. Luckily for me it was also the ONLY defeat any of my major forces had and that kept me in the game.

Twice, huge armies were butchered at my capital. Winds of Death won the first one while two thugs and the elemental summons held the hole in the wall. Wrathful Skies won the second though I forgot to script my mages for defending from it and a half dozen or so died.

All in all it was an entertaining game even if I was reduced to role of spoiler. I don't think I would want to play Eriu again, though. I dunno if I mismanaged their strategy but they played like a weak version of Vanheim to me.

That game might have been a LOT different if my capital had been just one or two provinces removed to the east...

[iRFNA]

Just out of curiosity, did the death curse horror marks ever yield horrors?

And I was afraid of committing to battles in random, extraneous provinces because there could be a thug hiding behind any rock, any tree... I should have just went to your capital and preached you to death with my first army, honestly. Without that gate as a chokepoint, breaking sieges would have given the day to the snakes and frogs.

And hey, at least give me credit, I could have smashed you when you were all beaten down. I waited until your score graphs looked above average before I declared war, but I certainly wasn't going to let you build up forever until you overran me with thugs.

[Tryfan]

Just out of curiosity, did the death curse horror marks ever yield horrors?

Occasionally... because I didn't have much in the way of regular troops I maybe got a skewed look at them. I think one killed my weakened and counterscripted pretender at one point, but the thugs and mages usually just laughed them off. Not very often though.

And I was afraid of committing to battles in random, extraneous provinces because there could be a thug hiding behind any rock, any tree...

Very true but I never had very many of them. Perhaps I should have half-arsed equipped more rather than full equipped just a few, but I never had the gem income to ramp up.

Still it was cool having a bunch of guys rockin the 33 or 34 defense and 24 or so protection, mistformed and blessed. Maybe I should have not bothered with shields and just dual wielded my way through the frogs.

I should have just went to your capital and preached you to death with my first army, honestly. Without that gate as a chokepoint, breaking sieges would have given the day to the snakes and frogs.

Yeah, probably. There was no defense against your dominion, which is why the other players, Vanheim especially, needed to turn on you a lot sooner.

I fried every temple of yours I could get at but of course that is not nearly enough.

And hey, at least give me credit, I could have smashed you when you were all beaten down. I waited until your score graphs looked above average before I declared war, but I certainly wasn't going to let you build up forever until you overran me with thugs.

Sure sure, play with the mouse before eating it...

See you in the next game.

[attackdrone]

I started out strong but by the time I was heading towards Abysia Vanheim got caught with its pants down... well more accurately it was revealed that the skinshifters wear no pants!

Wearing no pants results in some pretty severe third degree burns, it seems.

It took me a while to scrape up a counter for Abysia's flying fire mage + demon squads. By the time I had done so, it was apparent exactly how threatening C'Tis had become. This meant that most of my resources went towards temples, priests, and hurricane / blights to try and hold off C'Tis, with a token force of six ungeared vanjarls plus two or three fire immune vanjarls (fire brand + shield of gleaming gold) to hold off Abysia. Every now and again I'd scrape up a few skinshifters to take a few provinces and rank up the tax to 200. In the last few turns I did wander a random pack of mages around, mostly for fun.

Those three stale turns certainly didn't help either! My other two games I am playing have moved to 72 hour turns, and this one is on a 24 hour timer, so I'd miss turns occasionally. Whoops!

[Drog the Destroyer]

I'm guessing I'll follow Eriu pretty quickly, I've basically been scraping by since turn 15 or something like that.

Thanks for the AAR Tryfan, I'll try to do one myself, when i'm eliminated.

Fun fact: 100% fire resistance doesn't protect the eyes - you can still burn those out of the sockets.

[iRFNA]

Shine on, abysia, you crazy diamond.

[Drog the Destroyer]

Note to self: Mages aim at the biggest block of troops, and dwarfs can't hit the broad side of a behemoth... So having those mages standing right behind the summer lions makes defeat a bit swifter than necessary..... :doh:

[attackdrone]

If you'd have scraped up a decent army of Abysian Infantry, my dwarves would not have done very well at all - magma eruption and blade wind are reduced by armor! As it is though, senseless blade wind chucking seemed to work all right, I will have to try that much earlier my next Vanheim game.

I suspect that C'Tis at this point is just going to let his dominion kill me, which it will at some point soon... We shall see!

[iRFNA]

My dom moves faster than my army, so probably

[attackdrone]

Well, I can always sacrifice some blood slaves. I think I shall and force you to engage with your army!

[iRFNA]

I'm gonna die all over you!

[attackdrone]

Poor toads. But there are just so many! I'm wishing I had found a source of independent nature mages before it was too late, my only nature mages are in a couple territories I just wrested from you (where those bloodhenge druids and dark vines were long ago). A single poison resist ring would make all the difference right now.

[iRFNA]

You really shouldn't have sent both your pretender and your prophet into battle considering the dom situation...

[Drog the Destroyer]

Looking at the graphs, I guess last round was the final nail in the coffin.
Congratulations in advance to iRFNA for claiming true godhood.

I wasn't expecting to much when we started, but it was fun until I was reduced to 2 commanders, and I learned quite a bit about Abysia even though I never got a decent blood economy running (partly because of some very newbish misunderstandings on my part :o)

[attackdrone]

I am willing to call this one a win for C'Tis. The lack of any independent nature mages, no nature on my pretender, and a number of stale turns is a toxic combination.

To the Toad God, victory!

As for hurling everyone at you, I figured that there wasn't anything left to lose.

[iRFNA]

Well, I finished it off. I really didn't think my strategy of a 9D9B bless with mass snakes and frogs to have a chance, even with the 20 turns at the start of being left out of the fun. My plan was just:

1. be least desirable target for attack with disease, horror marks, cripples, curses
2. ???
3. Profit!

[Tryfan]

Yeah, not sure how well that would have worked against enemies prepared for you.

Different starting positions would have changed that game a LOT.

Good game, we should do another.

[iRFNA]

I was thinking of starting an all ages game with CBM 1.7, but I'm not sure if there will be a revised version of 1.7 released soon... Plus I'm not sure how to make a custom server on dom3minions. Ingame is a lot more convenient than PBEM.