PBEM game

[SamIAm]

Great! I'm fine with the proposed settings. I'll go with whatever you guys decide on the AI stuff (any game will be a learning experiance for me.) I do prefer a larger map though, the bigger the better.

I guess I will be playing the first turn as the Gaians.
My e mail is SamHenson at letu.edu (replace "at" with "@")

I am in the Central Time Zone (USA) and can usually play from 3-4 in the afternoon till about midnight, then at about 7 in the morning. (don't know if it is worth the effort to coordinate)

I look forward to a great game!

[DrSpike]

I'm unsure about this pact thing. Are we (the humans) supposed also to cooperate? I would have thought not, which seems to give the AI an advantage. Also, how are you strengthening the AI, Googlie?

[Googlie]

The AI is strengthened thru the submissive pact - trouble with PBEMs is that the player in closest proximity to AI factions will invariably win, all other things being equal, as he will rapidly conquer AI bases and factions.

(Thus CMNs find that the hardest part of setting up a game - giving equal access to AI spoils - which is why many PBEMs drop the AI completely, as being too unbalancing)

By setting up a submissive arrangement (and we don't need to make it permanent - so one could pry say, Sparta, from Lal) we - in this case - would double the PK/Sparta research (they share - Believers are pretty useless in research) as well as ensuring that you, the human players, now think twice about just going on the rampage against an AI faction, 'cos attack one and you attack all 3 'cos of their pact.

As an example of the research powerhouse they become, lal starts with Biogenetics and Miriam with Social Psych. They have each otherc commlinks, and Miriam is a lal submissive. Turn one she gives him Soc Psych. Turn ten or so he gets Secrets of the Human Brain, with its free tech advance. and so on.

But in the AI diplomacy and strategy settings (in the scenario editor) I can focus each of the three AI factions on different things - eg make theSpartans concentrate on land development, the Believers on Air and the PKs on land and sea. I can make the PKs a pop-boom faction, and the Believers a probe-rich faction, etc. I can do these, of course, independent of making them submissives to a Lal or Santiago - this latter feature, as I say, makes their research co-ordinated and shared, as well as influencing the game somewhat.

eg again, Lal would certainly get the Empath Guild and be the perennial Planetary Governor - which makes the game from the human point of view that much more challenging (as many consider the EG to be the gamebreaker SP in a human's hands) as you'd have to pact or probe for infiltration (or take the EG base from Lal).

Thanks to their combined research, Sparta would be first to impact weapons, followed next turn by Miriam - again adding a different dimension to the game - a much stronger AI. They'll be first to Air Power as well, again a change from the norm in PBEMs with AI factions.

Diplomacy becomes interesting if, for example, in the scenario diplomacy settings I make Lal pacifist (he becomes a builder) and Sparta and Believers belligerent. And if I make the latter hostile to two human factions and "will betray" to the other two (different pairs for both AI's) but make Lal co-operative to all 4, then the tensions that emerge are a great additio9n to gameplay.

The net result of this would be to put the AI on a roughly equal footing with the individual human players for at least half to two-thirds of the game (they'll be stronger in the first 50 years, will slowly move to parity over the next 50, then the humans will move ahead, thanks to better management decisions (energy crawlers, sea trawlers, etc) and strategy.

Another way to make the AI stronger (but I wouldn't do it in this game unless asked) would be to give them 3 forested tiles around their HQ base, with a crawler on each. In other games, this "suggestion" planted in the AI's "mind" has been enough to, after 100 years, see an AI faction with 30 or 40 crawlers, which as anyone will tell you, is rare indeed. (course they only crawl minerals from forested squares - the concept of a crawlered energy park is utterly alien, but at least it's a start)

As to forcing co-operation among the humans - I don't think it makes it any more compelling than otherwise. You'll find that with 4 players you will inevitably forge a loose 2 vs 2 alliance. I can leave "co-op victory" off, so that there is only one winner. you might still have the 2 vs 2 alliances, but eventually one of the pairs would stab the other in the back to get victory.

Anyway, I'll await your instructions ...

Googlie

[DrSpike]

You clearly have a lot of experience with this game! A lot of those points are obvious, but only when then have been pointed out! I agree with the AI thing, I guess even on transcend good players will get an advantage from being closely situated to the AI.

The game you propose sounds like an interesting introduction to SMAC MP. After reading your comments I would also like to play a solely human game. Perhaps we could play 2 simultaneously with the same players? What do you all think?

We should start as soon as googlie can set up and everyone confirms. As Smack suggested I think we should have a 24 hour limit on each players turn. Hopefully we can do 1 or 2 entire turns a day, but a restriction like the one above will stop it slowing down. Clearly, though, we can be flexible if someone knows they are to be away for the weekend etc.

[Avenoct]

One Game, Two Game, is all fine with me. Make the executive decision and we'll get on with it!

-Smack

[DrSpike]

k, execcutive decision it is.

We play 2 games, googlie's one and just 4 humans, same factions and details.

We play reasonably fast, googlie suggests we set the limit not at 24hours but 48 hours.

Samiam moves first in both games, googlie will mail when everything is complete.

Details:

SGSS-4 (the no AI game)
and
SGSS-7 (the tweaked AI game)

Thanks to googlie for his time and effort

[SamIAm]

OK, I'm ready. Let's get these games rolling!

[DrSpike]

I think googlie will send the relevant stuff when he's finished it.

[Googlie]

DrSpike and gooeyblob:

Can you send an e-mail to me at:

linfrew@aol.com

so that I have your e-mail addresses on file (and to send you the passwords)

DrSpike:

Which free tech would you like as the Uni?

Thanks

G.

[DrSpike]

Everything is set, let battle commence.