Mega-Dueling Tournament - Rules, Settings, Check List, and Sign Ups

[Ink]

Originally Posted by WraithLord

...Then add to that the pure awesomness of being probably the most enthusiastic dominions strategy guide writer...

Fixed

[Swan]

i didn't get a thing about nations choice: you said "nation from any ages", does that means we will use single age mod? or we will fight people who choose the same ages?
and are all nations available?

[Jarkko]

Originally Posted by Swan

i didn't get a thing about nations choice: you said "nation from any ages", does that means we will use single age mod? or we will fight people who choose the same ages?
and are all nations available?

As each player will have a unique nation, and the pairing is done in the order of reporting in, it is pretty safe to assume a single age mod is going to be used

Certain nations will be more desirable than others, which is why I presume the first post goes in such detail on what to do if several people choose the same nation. The most wanted candidates for blitz nations would (I believe) be the various giant nations, or nations being good at zapping giants (because it is likely you will meet giants).

The thing with nation selection, or so I like to tell myself, in this sort of game is "Will I try to get one of the really truly great blitz nations in the pre-game lottery, or will I go for one of the less obvious ones who I might be practically guaranteed to get?". It all depends on how many players there are along. If there will be 64 players, then it might be good to aim for one of the less obvious nations, so that those who do not win in the pre-game lottery one of the supernations, they will be forced to pick one of the crappier ones (and your chance to meet such a crappier nation is higher then!). If there are just 34 nations, then it might be worthwhile to risk it, and try to get the jack-pot (one of supernations) in the pregame lottery (how many will pick Ashdod for the lottery, how about Niefelheim or Vanheim? Choose wisely, and you might be the only one trying to get one of the supers!).

Then there is the knowledge of other players. Like in my case, I like Pangaea over everything else; slMagnvox (my apparent opponent for the first round) might take this into consideration, and choose a nation that is particulary good vs Pangaea. Of course, I might think that slMagnvox presumes me to take Pangaea, and thus I would try to metagame that and choose something that would be great against something which would be great against Pangea (if you follow my thoughts there, my thoughts go in paths which make the behaviour of a lobotomised rat in a maze look pretty logical in comparison).

[zlefin]

i'm in. me join! should be a fun tourney.
It is quite a challenge deciding which nation to go for when we get to that point. I know which nation is my top choice for pwnage, but the question of whether or not to take it remains. Also, do I want to win a tourney cause I got the nation I deem strongest for the format? Or it would it be better to challenge myself with a weaker nation? Oh the challenges.
Zlefin

[Baalz]

I've been thinking about the maps for this tournament. It seems like it would be desirable to have just one map, otherwise you run into the question with several nations of which map to use. Several of the nations are strongly amphibious so I can see some nations/players being unfairly handicapped by the lack of water/land because of the nominal designation of their nation. Seems like for optimal strategic fun even non amphibious land nations should potentially have water conquest to contemplate. Conversely, in keeping with the feel of a normal game aquatic nations should be likely forced to contemplate land conquests.

A map like Sha Bay seems like it would fit this bill. It is maybe a bit big for two people, (68 land + 12 sea) but otherwise I think it's a pretty good fit. Enough water to make a water entry worthwhile, but not (generally) required. Enough water to give a water nation a little breathing room with some strong incentive to not sit around in the drink indefinitely, with some relatively protected island land provinces to keep them from being really shut out of the land. In the event of a aquatic/aquatic matchup this would be a bit cramped and probably suboptimal, but there's a good chance that matchup may not even happen so it may be a better idea to let that be maybe an interesting dynamic if it does happen.

And while it's a bit larger than we would probably aim I don't think it's prohibitively large. Having 40 provinces per player is a problem for larger games because the leaders end up having 200+ large empires by the time they've finished their first conquest or two. Seeing as how I don't see how you could make it to having more than 60 provinces without having won I don't think it's too prohibitive. Particularly as in a lot of cases the water is just going to be ignored (including the 8 island provinces) and there are going to be plenty of unconquered indies because people go right for the throat in a duel rather than forming NAPs, etc.

[slMagnvox]

Originally Posted by vfb

Shameless self-promotion of my Duel map.

I played around with your map vfb and found it quite enjoyable.

Anyone else have strong feelings about a particular 1v1 map? Wanted to play a duel or two with friends in the lead up to this tourney and would love another map recommendation or two so we can try out more than one.

Visually my favorite maps are in the Cradle of Dominions or Silent Seas style and I count visuals being rather important when picking a map to play. I also am fond of Pashadawg's work.

Would there be any argument for a small wrap-around? I am thinking in 1v1 a more East vs West arrangement is favorable but maybe I am overlooking something.

EDIT: Guess I wasn't the only one thinking about maps this afternoon!

[Frozen Lama]

Sha Bay is a nice map, but i feel like its a little too big. maybe 40 provs total. most blitzes i've been in had 15 or less. didn't vfb make a duel map?

[Baalz]

Well, it's a matter of opinion I guess, but 15 provinces per player is pretty cramped for 1 on 1 which tilts the game towards very early fighting. You're probably going to encounter each other (and start fighting) early year one which makes the only viable strategies rush strats. Duels I play on generally have 40-50 provinces total, and as I mention they are usually decided before all the indies are conquered. With heavy fighting guaranteed inside year one its going to be all but impossible for many nations to face something like triple blessed Neifelheim. Giving just the few more turns it'll take to close on a larger map makes a lot more interested strategies viable IMO. The dynamic for duels is different, its not been my experience that 50 provinces mean 2 nations of 25 provinces duking it out, its more like one guy with 12 provinces and another with 20 maneuvering about with a bunch of unconquered indies that nobody has the time to get now.

[Kheldron]

I'm interested.

[slMagnvox]

Originally Posted by Baalz

Well, it's a matter of opinion I guess, but 15 provinces per player is pretty cramped for 1 on 1 which tilts the game towards very early fighting. <<>>

+1. More room to maneuver is good.