PBEM tournament, looking for players!

[Fistandantilus]

zsozso,
sorry for being so annoying but....

About the starting techs,
if all the factions start with all level one techs are they going to lose their usual starting techs or not?

For example the Hive starts with Doc:Loyalty that is level two, and both Pirates and Data Angels start with a level two tech IIRC. So if they have all the level one techs in addiction they would start with a net adventage of an extra tech (in respect of the other factions).

And the UoP is supposed to have an extra tech from the start, are they going to lose this ability?

[warpage]

Good point, Fist. Alos, wouldn't Miriam get an extra bonus by this, as she normally cannot research at all for the first ten years?

-Warp

[zsozso]

Fist, your concern is valid.
Yang, Cyborgs, Probes, Pirates are all OK, exactly, because they can get their usual higher level tech. University free tech is also OK.

The problem is with the other factions, who lose their advantage this way. Maybe we could compensate that with giving them another level 2 tech instead? Which one to which faction, ideas? Or is it better to abandon this all level-one tech idea? The reason I wanted it is to give an extra push for faster start-up.

Warpage, Miriam is not a problem if we can restore the starting tech balance, because she still won't be able to research for 10 turns and others can research later techs in that time.

Zsozso

[zsozso]

On a second thought. Trying to come up with a new balance by adding even more starting techs is tricky at best.

Let's just stick to the original starting techs as in the normal game and forget about my acceleration idea. The extra units and equiped HQ should be enough acceleration...

Zsozso

[Lord Maxwell]

Sign me up for smac-x, but I can't start playing until the end of january. If you get a group of late starters I'm in.

I could play university, consciousness, gaia, peacekeepers or morgan with a good shot at winning.

[DilithiumDad]

Starting tech: If everyone starts with all level one tech, then the starting tech issue is removed. In SMACX, some factions start with one level 1 tech and one level 2 tech. If they still get the level 2 tech, then there is no effect.

In one game, I wanted to give everyone Centauri Ecology as a bonus tech, so I gave Centauri Empathy to the Gaians as an extra bonus.

I vote for Librarian not because I dislike drone management, but because it is an accelerator of the game (speeds up research and other things). If Librarian is too easy, how about adding Abundant Native Life? That favors the Gaians in terms of capture, but early on their "Very Green" units are mind worm snacks. (Abundant Native Life actually favors the Spartans, because their high-morale units earn extra worm-bucks!)

U of P gets the bonus tech the year after research points start to acumulate, so it's an unstoppable bonus (I actually think it's unecessary and tried to prevent it in the Islander series I set up, but the U of P players still got the bonus).

Spoils of War is really anti-builder and will cause everyone to gang up on the U of P or Cyborgs or whoever has the most tech. Alliances will be impossible. But I am willing to give it a try, personally, although it sounds like most participants are against it.

[Myronides]

I don't mind for ATXTournament002 witch practicaly allready started, but i 'd rather play as UoP or Pk if the Hive won't get all level 1 techs from the start. I hope that will be possible for the second game of the turnament i will be partisipating.

[zsozso]

DilithiumDad,
Thanks for supporting my original idea.
You are right, if all factions start with all level 1 techs, then balance is not a problem, in fact it is even more balanced than the traditional 1-tech start.

As for the Hive, losing Doctrine:Loyalty in exchange for all level 1 techs is not a bad trade! Giving the Hive Loyalty in extra would be unbalancing.

However, the situation for SMACX factions is still not so simple:
If Cyborgs, Probes and Pirates get their level 2 techs in addition, then all original SMAC factions and the Cult of Planet are in inferior starting position. The Cult is a weak faction anyways...

So, I think all SMACX factions should start with only level 1 techs too. Opinions ?
Except for the AI-played progenitors, they could get their Field Modulation just to give the artificial idiot some more chance.

Zsozso

[Kinjiru]

Zso,

Please sign me up!
Faction preferences for SMAX would be Drones or Angels. For SMAC, Peacekeepers or Gaians.

email: jonathon_wood@rocketmail.com

[TigToad]

Zso... couple points.. first off, I am generally completely with you on the 'everyone' start with all level 1 techs and no other techs. Only problem I see this for is the pirates, don't they always start in a water base (no water base without doctrine flexibility). Of course if you're going to put them on an island it still doesn't matter.

Only other point to make is with the patch out, what effect is it going to have if some people have the patch and others don't (more importantly, if you started these games with the patch in place then someone doesn't have it?) Should it be in the list of tournament requirements?

Daniel-Tig.. of the Morganites

[Kinjiru]

Hey Zso-

On the other thread, the post that list players for the AX tourney has a column headed by 'par.' Sorry if I am just being a moron, but what does this column indicate?

[zsozso]

Everybody will start at the equivalent locations as can be seen on the scenario files, even including the pirates. Therefore havin no Doctrine:Flexibility is not a big deal. On the other hand the islands are small and the opponents can be reached via the sea, so the pirates can enjoy their advantages a bit later (or even from coastal bases).

Kinjiru:
Sorry, I was the moron not to explain it right away when I put that up... So, the par. is short for participation and it meant to indicate who is willing to play several games parallel (it could be short for parallel too ). If it is a number, it simply indicates that the player has expressed the he/she can play upto that many games parallel. Sign '+' indicates, the player can play many games - no particular limit. Questionmark is unkown, and I meant to ask people to express their preference. Finally, 'n' indicates newbie PBEMers, who will need some training time, so first they will play only 1 game, and later when they feel confident, they can join more games.

So, all players who have a '?' on that column, please indicate how many games are you willing to play parallel.

Zsozso

[Paul]

2 or 3 would be nice.

By the way, I noticed that you are not yet in any game. Is that because you're too busy or becuase you haven't found a CMN yet? If the latter is the case I would be willing to act as one, but I have no experience with this so it would be nice if you could provide me with a step-by step guide on how to set up the game.

[korn469]

ok i have only played one PBEM and two isp games and i haven't played SMAC in months but i think i could play about 5 turns a week (mostly during the week weekends are not good for me) maybe a few more but i think i'd like to play

well if u think i could get a game (i'm kinda in a mood for SMAC starcraft is frustrating the hell out of me) i'd like one

i don't have alien crossfire and can only therefore only SMAC...i'd play any faction with my preference list being something like this

any(random)
Spartan Federation
UoP
Hive
Morgan
U.N.
Gaians
Believers

my email is korn469@mindless.com

korn469
[This message has been edited by korn469 (edited January 13, 2000).]

[Spekter]

If you're still accepting players, count me in. SMAC only unfortunately. Preferred factions, Hive (doesn't everyone?), Gaians, University in that order of preference. I'll play as many games as you can throw at me, but show a little patience as I've only played one multiplayer game so far and it wasn't PBEM.
[This message has been edited by Spekter (edited January 13, 2000).]