Faction Strife Turn Tracking I

[Rynn:]

I'm not so concerned about the no stockpiling rule, as more of the recent PBEMs are saying "let it be" - it's only a mouse click, and unlike the communications one, the strategy involved is simple - accumulate wealth.

With the commlink one, you can actively explore, or hide; can refuse a third-party commlink from another player, or withold it so that you can build up your faction size pre-election call. Whole different dimension.

But I'll support a no-stockpiling rule.

Now, what about the instant supercrawler upgrade pre SP rule? And probe and council conventions?

I think the Chiron Winter set (which Tau is graciously CMN'ing) is about as good as I've seen (it should be, it had Mose in it and took about five weeks to hammer out). I'll dig up the URL and edit it in here for you to visit and see if it makes sense for us.

R.

[Misotu]

Apolyton, ACOL and CGN all permit crawler upgrades. I don't see this one being up for grabs, frankly.

I'm generally pro Stock En in the build queue, but I'll go with the majority of course

The commlink aspect is important, and a good feature of the game. We should obtain them, not be given them (most generous of me, since I'm still 637 turns from Flex, roughly )

[Misotu]

PS Be interesting to see the Chiron rules - and I'm impressed on the hammering, though anything with Mose contributing would take a while

[Rynn:]

There was a lot of reading in the 2 threads - I consolidated the info into this:


################################################## #########################


Rules for Chiron Winter

Cheats (not allowed):

The following things are considered cheating for the sake of this game. The list may not be comprehensive. If something unexpected happens, the players will decide if it is considered a cheat or not. The CMN has the final word on any decision. Thus, when in doubt, always ask the CMN before committing a potentially illegal maneuver.

A1: Multiple reloading the game to try for different effects.
A2: Multiple drops or orbital insertions using the right-click menu.
A3: Taking advantage of the Scenario Editor bug.
A4: Carry terraforming trick (Crediting up your formers and moving them to a new location to get instant improvements).
A5: If a player employs a tactic that causes a state of vendetta, They are not allowed to "accept" a pending diplomatic agreement with that faction.
A6: Treatied or Pacted faction probe team action - must "Declare Vendetta" unless permission is received in advance from the other player to "Let off with stern warning".
A7: Setting a unit's home base to a pactbrother's base is not allowed. (But you can transfer units to a pactmate - or any player for that matter)
A8: Freedom to use any item in the Build Queues (including Stockpile Energy)


Settings:

B1: Upgrading units with the design workshop is allowed at end of turn.
(otherwise no limitation on units upgrades and their use - including crawlers)

B2: Communications between factions not allowed until you meet in the game. Restriction lifted after first council called (the first Council call sets freedom of communication)

B3: No base trading with the AI at any time.

B4: No SE "quickies" - you CAN'T "take advantage" of a temporary SE setting (flip-flop in the same turn), otherwise no limitation on SE switches (i.e. you can experiment with changes to see what effect the change has on drones, build times, etc, then change back so long as no game action was taken during the experimental change)

Protocols:

C1: Player calling for elections must e-mail all players notifying of the upcoming election, the candidates, the # votes each has to cast, before e-mailing the turn to the next player (this gives all candidates an equal footing for election vote negotiations)

################################################## #########################

(For those of us in the OktoberFist III game, the election of big_canuk was a model in how PBEM elections should be conducted)

And don't ask me about rule A4 - I've never experienced it - and can't replicate it, so I'm not sure what it refers to.

Rynn


[This message has been edited by Rynn: (edited February 27, 2001).]

[Misotu]

2106 to Big_C

[Solver]

Turn sent off to Keygen. And, were we allowed to communiciate before we actually meet on the map, or not?

------------------
Solver - http://www.aok.20m.com

[Tau Ceti]

Looks like 3 votes against and 1 for allowing early communications so far. Solver, big_canuk and mark13 will decide...

quote: The following things are considered cheating for the sake of this game. [...] A8: Freedom to use any item in the Build Queues (including Stockpile Energy)

I doubt this says what it intended to say.

[This message has been edited by Tau Ceti (edited February 28, 2001).]

[Keygen]

I am puzzled! If all communications restrictions are lifted after elections then what's the point of waiting until we meet the other factions? We can call a cancil, elect a governor in after a few turns and have the same effect!
Yes, I like the advantages of not having the right to communicate with the others until you meet them but the game itself disappears most of them in PBEM games.
You already have all human factions comm links so you can't find them in a pod, you can't trade them and you don't have to wait until you make contact with the other player to call for elections.
Am I missing something? Probably yes. Well, I am almost new to this stuff .

And what's the effects of A2,A3, A5, A8, B1 & B4.

As for B3 isn't it a little exaggerated?

===
My 2107 to Tau Ceti.

[Tau Ceti]

2107 to mark13.

We do not actually have the other factions' commlinks - the game simply allows us to communicate without them. We can find them in pods and trade them, and we cannot call an election until we have all commlinks. Just try it.

A2: If you do not use the 'I' command to make airdrops, but do so by right-clicking on the map, the game allows you to do it several times a turn and from anywhere. This directly contradicts the manual, and is considered a cheat everywhere AFAIK.

A3: Not sure. In some games, the scenario editor opens for some reason, but if that happens, it will be open for the rest of the game, which usually means it must be scrapped.

A5: This is meant to prevent a situation where a player offers tech, bribes etc to another to stop a war. Usually, the other player could then destroy several units and lots of terraforming and capture several cities first, then accept the offer and still get the bribe which was offered for the immediate cessation of hostilities. With this rule, you cannot commit any hostile acts against another player in the same turn that you accept a deal with him.

A8: This seems to be in the wrong list. It is an attempt to handle the Stockpile Energy bug by allowing everyone to put SE into their build queues. That is one of the three main ways to handle it; opinions are very divided on this one. I strongly support forbidding the use of SE in this manner, Misotu strongly supports allowing it, and most others are somewhere in between.

B1: Stops players from upgrading innocent-looking scout patrols to monster attackers and using them on an unsuspecting opponent in the same turn. Late-game situations become an absolute pain to play without this rule, as there is just no way to predict what someone could do to change the way their forces work.

B4: Stops players from switching from Wealth to Power, cashing in a crawler towards an SP at the inflated construction cost, then switching back to Wealth for free, gaining several minerals out of thin air.

B3: Not really. The AI is often quite happy to trade a size 14 base with several SPs for a brand new size 1 deep sea base. Of course, the point is moot in this game.

[This message has been edited by Tau Ceti (edited February 28, 2001).]

[mark13]

2107 to Misotu....I vote no stockpile in the queue, no contact. It does remove a fairly integral part of the game - i.e. the initial exploration phase.

[big_canuk]

I vote stockpile yes, and early communications no.

So that means no early communications carries with 4 votes.

Looks like we can use stockpile in the queue too.

[Misotu]

2107 to Big_C.

[Rynn:]

2108 to Solver

TC: In CW1 we did agree to allow the use of stockpiling energy in the build queue. The original ACOL rules have variants for most of these items - I summarized what was agreed for CW1, and left that item in the "not allowed" list. It prolly should be in the "settings" list.

I still don't understand the terraformer 'cheat' (so I guess i won't be using it if i don't know what it is ... ...)

Personally, I support the no communication before contact protocol, and I support putting stockpile energy in the build queues.

Rynn

[Misotu]

OK, we have 3 for stock en (me, Rynn, Big_C) and 2 against (Mark, Tau) ... Solver and Keygen yet to vote. Decision time! Please air your views Abstaining is acceptable.

[big_canuk]

As long as both of them abstain!