new SMAX PBEM game?

[Bella Hella]

hi, all! i've never played a PBEM game before and would like to give it a try, if anyone is willing to participate.

since i am NOT an expert player, it would be great to get other non-experts in this. i generally play on thinker level and am working up to trancend, so i'm not a beginner or anything. but i'd like to play against people who are at a similar level so it's challenging and fun for everyone.

i'm flexible about map size, but i'd rather not play a tiny or supersized map. i'd prefer lots of water. i usually make everything else average, but i'm flexible about that too.

as for factions, i'd rather not have aliens or pirates in this since i think it would make the game unbalanced. i don't know which faction i'd like to be right now - i guess it depends on what other people want to be.

it would be nice to get in a turn a day (i think this is standard, right?) but i don't want anyone mad if someone takes a little longer. i'd like to keep this fairly casual.

since i don't really know what i'm doing here, i'd REALLY appreciate anyone's help who has experience with setting up PBEM games. i don't know how this works. sorry for being such a MP newbie, but i've been wanting to try a PBEM for a long time and i figure why not go for it!

any takers? and any input & help in setting this up would be EXCELLENT.

thanks! hopefully i'll hear from someone soon!

[Googlie]

BH:

I'd be happy to set it up for you, assign passwords and generally CMN the game.

I bumped a couple of other threads where new games were being offered.

Googlie

[knowhow2]

We also need a replacement at ASPK (so far only 2110) but the game is SMAC and there is only two faction to choose from. My experience is that it's better to start in several PBEM at once, if you are new, to get the hang of it right away. Also the early turns could be murderous slow if the players involved doesn't play turns often enough. Anyway, you're welcome to join us.

[Bella Hella]

googlie - thanks a bunch! i guess that if/when people respond, we can work it out. i have a friend who wants to be in it, but she's not registered here, so she can't post. i told her i'd let her know when we have some stuff figured out.

knowhow2 - i can be a replacement player, i guess! what do i have to do? which factions are available, and how does this work? what info do you need from me?

[Black Sunrise]

If you need another replacement player, I'm up.
indra@blacksunrise.com
Any faction. Any faction at all.
Indra
Black Sunrise

[Bella Hella]

it looks like the university and the gaians are our choices. if it's ok, i would like to be the gaians!

my e-mail is kazzmaj@aol.com.

i take it that i'd be e-mailed the password and the game file, take my turn and pass it on? who would it get passed to?

like i said, sorry i don't know what i'm doing.

[knowhow2]

Okey then, we back in buisness! Lets see. Bella Hella will get the password to Gaians and Black Sunrise the password for UoP. We haven't been using the tournement rules so far but I guess for the simplicity of it we should (except for the contacting eachother part which we already have established) So Bella Hella, you probably should have a look at the Rules and "faq" (look top left just beneit the APOLYTON logo) click it and try to find Tournement Rules and "Simple way to play PBEM" where you gets the instructions how to zip and unzip turns receiving turns and sending them after you played thema. Let me know if you have any other question I be here at least 4-5 more hours)

I'll send an email to Tau and informed him so that he can send you the passwords. It can take a day or two. Glad to have you both onboard! See you at ASPK.

[Bella Hella]

knowhow2 - i'm sorry, but i can't find the PBEM rules in the FAQ. can you help me out?

can't wait to get my turn!!!

[Black Sunrise]

Erm, I couldn't find the PBEM rules either.



Also, I really prefer roleplaying, if anyone else feels up to it. If not, I guess I'll understand...


Indra
Black Sunrise

[knowhow2]

I couldn't find it either Haven't read it in awhile.

I'm gonna ask a friend where it is. I'll be back.

[Googlie]

The inter-forum rules developoed for the Forum Wars tourney is the latest set of generally accepted rules:

> Communications - none till contact, obtain commlink, or build EG

> Total freedom in Design Workshop (upgrades anytime, during turn or on-field)

> Retro-engineering - OK, except for using the probe rover chassis before discovery of Doc. Mobility

> SE switches "quickies" forbidden - (obviously you can experiment to see what effect various SE choices have, but cannot change, play moves, then change back in the same turn just to gain the benefit of a temporary SE choice)

> Council notification - immediate broadcast to all players (Post in the thread and e-mail to all immediately by player who has called elections, citing candidates and votes. After each player's turn, post in the thread the running totals)

> Stockpiling in Build Queues OK at any time

> Crawlers Upgrade anytime - OK

> Probe actions: Must choose vendetta option when probing other players

> Using the AI - Cannot use the AI to bribe on coucil votes nor to demand withdrawal of units

> Demon boil mindworm creation - forbidden (setting multiple waypoints for a faction mindworm in fungus to generate a wild demon boil to kill or capture each turn)

> Infinite-range drop troops - forbidden before building the Space Elevator (i.e. bans the use of the right hand mouse click to make multiple 8-square moves in the same turn)

> Multiple reloads of the game are forbidded (without posting a convincing explanation to the other players) - guards against the obvious cheat of trying multiple times for a different result in pod popping or combat.

That's about them - the latter three are are generally considered as egregious cheats, whereas the earlier ones are more game engine interpretation rules

Googlie

[knowhow2]

Thanx Googlie!

[Flubber]

The original rules are here http://apolyton.net/forums/showthrea...urnament+rules

The ones googlie posted seem to differ from Tau's "tournament rules in that

1. Design workshop was not permitted to upgrade units prior to their use.

2. It was NOT permitted to use the stocpile energy bug by inserting it after your builds

If this is generally accepted as changed, I missed it. I know that a lot of players like to permit these but I had seen nothing that changed the tournament rules in the above thread. I can play either way but its niceif everyone is playing with the same set of rules.

[Googlie]

Official tourney rules haven't changed.

These 2 mods are (in my experience) the generally accepted variances now being adopted for non-tourney games. I know the last dozen or so that I have set up have been with the above noted exceptions to the tourney rules.

G.

[Flubber]

Googlie

AS you say these are acceptable variations but I just wanted to be clear that they have not yet been accepted as the "tournament rules" which tau uses . I noticed that in games you set up, as recently as AXT055 and AXT056 you provided the tournament rules using the same link that I did. (forbidding the two items above).

Thanks for making it clear. I really don't think its a big deal which variation is used (although I dislike allowing upgrades) as long as everyone knows what is going on.