Special settings
Turns will start out quick and gradually become slowish (for the sake of busy people like me)
CBM will be in use
Score graphs will be off
Map will be random and will wrap (corners are lame!)
Victory criterion will be control of most, but not all, of the map (I haven't decided the exact settings for this yet)
The four or so MA mod nations LlamaServer claims are well-balanced will be included... unless they don't work with CBM? Someone please advise me on this! (If nobody advises me, then I'll default to excluding these nations, because I don't know very much about mods.)
Special expectations on players
I am going to say a bunch of things about this, and it'll sound pretty serious--but if you're a new player, please don't be intimidated, because this isn't about player ability. It's solely about attitude. Here is my expectation: Always try to win, and never quit.
During the several multiplayer games I've been through, I've noticed that it's pretty ordinary for a player to behave as if the following were true:
1. He is the only important person in the game. So if he isn't having fun, then he should quit.
2. His part of the map is the only one that really matters. So if some vast power is crushing all its neighbors on the other side of the world, then he should ignore it, and fight with his own neighbors.
3. The game is the only one he'll ever play. So if his nation declines until it's very likely to lose, then he should quit, because he has no need to learn more about Dominions.
4. Winning many battles is the best goal to strive for. So it's bad when someone else fights him and wins.
I don't point this out to complain about these people, or to make fun of them. I'm just illustrating what I don't want in a fellow player, or in a game. I don't play in order to feel like I'm winning--winning isn't any more fun for me than losing, generally. I play for the drama and challenge of the entire game. So I want the people who play with me to keep trying to win, no matter what--not because winning is the most important thing, but because that is how drama and challenge are maximized. The AI is a weaker and more predictable opponent than most of us players are, and it's disappointing for every pivotal battle to bring about the total collapse of the loser's government. Conversely, it's interesting and fun to deal with a wily human whose dwindling but still powerful army has been trapped in a corner.
If you join this game, then I expect you to keep trying, always. If you start to win, then enjoy it, but only one person can win, so if you start to lose, then enjoy that too--or at least act like you're enjoying it, and try to make a comeback. I don't know how likely comebacks are in Dominions 3, but they're possible, and you'll never learn to make them if you don't try. Regardless, if you can't see yourself playing to the death, then please err on the side of not joining my game. (Remember, too, that your turns will generally be quickest when your nation is dying!)
I think that the only player for whom quitting before total destruction makes sense is the second-to-last one left. When you're almost gone and there's nobody left to save you, the game becomes silly. I'll try to set the victory conditions so that no one has to think about this. On the other hand, if your enemy is defeating you, but your enemy's enemy is still around, then ask for help! Or if you see someone else being defeated by your rival, then don't just sit there and ignore it--not without at least thinking it through, anyway. Defend the dying nation, or help them with some appropriate magic items and long-distance spells... or attack them yourself, to prevent your rival from gaining too much from their destruction! And, of course, SEND OUT SCOUTS. Score graphs are off, so you'll need them. You can't properly try to win, unless you have an idea of what each of your rivals is doing!
Among strategic ideas, these are pretty basic; and anybody who's very interested in the game, and moderately experienced at it, will already have thought of them. I'm not trying to give ideal strategic advice here; I'm only moderately experienced myself. (If your strategy can beat the one I'm promoting, then please come in and use it--I'll be glad to learn!) What I'm saying is that I want everyone to act as if they're very interested in the game. If you like the sound of this, then join! If you can't see yourself acting that way, continuously,
for months on end, then please do not join.
I've made a big deal out of this, but it's not really complicated or difficult, I think. Just keep trying to win, and never quit. It's simple! But again, we are gonna be playing together for months. If you're the kind of person that I want to play with, then you can probably read ten paragraphs without serious pain!
IF YOU DO NOT MEET MY EXPECTATION: Then I'll... do basically nothing. I mean this is a game, I can't punish anybody and wouldn't want to anyway. I think it would be cool to build a list of people who like playing the way I do! So I'll remember how you act. That's all.
One additional, semi-related expectation: If I send you a private message regarding game administration, you will answer it within a couple of days, unless something really unusual is going on in your personal life. I will kick out people who don't answer such messages! (If I or anybody else sends a message regarding in-game diplomacy, then of course you can ignore it or reply or anything really.) So please keep your forum account hooked up to an e-mail address you check at least every couple of days! Subscribing to this thread would also be good.
The nation I want to play as:
Vanheim.
(I'll look silly if I say all this stuff and then wash out early! But I don't mind looking silly.)
Edit:
Players so far:
Arga Dis - Mithras (was temporarily Alpine Joe)
Bandar Log - Raiel
Eriu - Squirrelloid (was temporarily Iainuki)
Ogre Kingdoms - BandarLover (defeated as AI)
Skaven - Lavaere (defeated)
T'ien Ch'i - Maerlande (was secretperson)
Vanheim - Bananadine (defeated)