No project MP game?

[vitamin j]

Thank you, Darsnan. I don't think the Gaians need any slack from anyone... I know they're my favorite.

Paul: Cool. Glad to have you. I think you've got whichever faction you want... (Look out, y'all...)

Do you think we should just go with 4 players? I thought one more might liven-up the diplomacy a little, but if someone doesn't show up soon, I guess we'll just go with it.

How does everyone feel about AI? I think Googlie's suggestion about letting "them" build projects is interesting. I also think it would be a roundabout way of letting the human players have projects - by capturing them. If it's all the same to you, I'd like to leave the AI out of this one. 4 or 5 humans is plenty for a large map.

I still can't decide which faction I want. Somebody else decide and cut down on the choices...

[MariOne]

If you allow a point from a foreign nitpicker...

I didn't know that the option to disable SPs in scenario building would allow the Transcendence Projects - that's just sensible after all, to let you mix that option with Transcendence Victory enabled.

I'd like to point you out a detail if you choose to rely on honor system tho (as per G's AI consideration).

You know that crawlers can be cashed at full mineral value only in prototypes and *projects*.
Otherwise they can be disbanded at half their value in any other item just like any other unit.
You know that when switching production, the first 10 minerals do not get halved...

Imagine that you have a base where you could not carry over minerals for economic reasons or whatever...
Imagine that you need to disband something in that base to help rushing something you just realised you gotta build now (that way you can get those damned first 10 minerals and pay the normal hurry prices)

assume 0 Industry for simplicity
- if you disband the crawler into the item to be produced, you'd get only 15 minerals from it
- if you begin to build a project, then cash the crawler in it, you get 30 minerals. When you switch to the desired item, you only halve the exceeding 20, fully retaining the first 10: that is, you get 20 minerals instead of 15 from your crawler. This could mean being able to rush in that turn the item you wanted, or not. And anyway, with any SE setting, you'd get 5 more minerals from your crawler with this trick (if you start without accumulated ones...)

This is of course a very minor issue, and I let you to decide wheterh you feel the need to address it in your own pbem custom rulings.

Of course, I hope you agree that this trick is all performed using perfectly legal game mechanisms, thus no sane player should dream to forbid it
My nitpick only originated from the fact that you chose to forbid the building of an item from your pbem, but that not-producible item could be used as "temporary buffer" for a convenient trick...
Notwithstanding that even in your case using that same trick with *prototypes* has to be perfectly legal (problem is, it's RARE to have unprototyped designs available...).

I leave you in the hands of the expert Googlie, and enjoy your pbem (btw, it's gonna be C or X?)

___
PS:
the SP problem could be anyway addressed even if you allow the AIs:
just rule that if you "happen" to conquer an AI base containing a Project, you are FORCED to immediately obliterate it, suffering all the sanctions consequences and the like! That powerful deterrent could make the AIs a bit tougher to bite - poisonous morsels...

[vitamin j]

MariOne as usual, dropping insane amounts of SMAC wisdom on us all...

I wasn't aware of the mineral trick you described. It's just another unfortunate example of the many screwy things in this game. Since it can't be effectively policed, and is available to all, we really have no choice but to just live with it. And there is still the consideration that you did spend 30 mins to get that crawler.

I really like your idea concerning AI SPs! I'm still generally opposed to having AI in this game - they are usually nothing more than a nice bonus for the human that finds them first...

[Psybermagus]

Count me in...

i hope i'm not too late to join in on this game...it sounds very interesting.

please let me know.

cheers,

brian

IM me at psybermagus2323@hotmail.com or email to psybermagus@earthlink.net

[vitamin j]

All right, 5 players it is. We have:

Darsnan
Qantaga
Paul
Psybermagus
and myself, vitamin j

So far, only Darsnan has chosen a faction, the Gaians.
Paul would like Uni, Morgan, or PKs.
I'm still thinking about it.
Let's leave out the aliens...
No AI factions.

I've assumed SMAX is ok for everyone. I would prefer it.

SITS will CMN.

The game will be on a large map, average everything. I mentioned 30-50% ocean coverage, but if anyone objects, speak up.

I guess we'll use the Apolyton tournament rules. Discuss?

No Secret Projects
Pods off
Random events on
victory conditions?

Anything else we haven't mentioned...

[Psybermagus]

new game...

this will be PBEM?

i prefer SMAX as well. i'd be happy playing Consciousness. Otherwise, I'll take Cha Dawn's tribe, or the Drones, in that order.

i like huge maps, and don't mind so much ocean... pods off is fine, too, and i would also prefer blind research, if possible.

i think that about covers it for me. i look forward to playing.

btw, i was wondering if we couldn't set up a three-day gaming marathon over the President's Day weekend. that's a great opportunity for TCP/IP gaming, if anyone else is up for it. let me know what you think about it...

-PSY

[vitamin j]

Yes, this will be pbem...

The 30-50% ocean coverage means there'll be more land, not more ocean. And it's a large map, not huge. Figures the Cyborgs would be into blind research... Maybe not this time, ok Psyber?

My brief experience with TCP/IP games wasn't good. In fact, it sucked. I don't think I'll be doing that again...

I guess I'm going with the Data Angels, then.

[Paul]

TCP/IP will probably be a bad idea, because it would be impossible to find a time when we can all be online, especially with players from different timezones.

As for victory conditions, I'm assuming that transcendance is allowed. Should cooperative victory be allowed or just solo victory?

Other settings are all ok for me.

[vitamin j]

I vote for co-op victory. With 5 players, I think it's reasonable.

[Psybermagus]

victory types

co-op victory is good with me. you'll see my name on the ballot, and i hope i can count on your vote

i'm sorry to hear your TCP/IP experience was so horrible. i had quite a few bad experiences, myself, but also quite a few really awesome experiences, as well. when it works, it's great, but when it fails, it's miserable! live connections with ICQ really helped to keep us in the loop during disconnects and reboots and all the horrors imaginable when more than one computer start talking to each other! anyway, i'm open to the idea if anyone else fancies it at any point...

-Psy

[Psybermagus]

one more thing...

one more thing...

i won't be in until late tonight, so if you start passing turns around, try to throw me near the bottom of the list...

btw, what advantage over their opponents would the Cyborgs have to gain from blind research? is it akin to the Cult operating on a planet dense in native lifeforms?

[vitamin j]

IMO, because of the 'Borg (and Uni) research bonus, blind research has a disproportionately (sp?) smaller effect on those factions...

It may be a little while yet before we get the turns going. Hope you're in no hurry.

[Qantaga]

vitamin j is right, we will want to give SITS a few days to set up a nice scenario for us.

Paul, I am also under the assumption that Transcendence is allowed.

As for co-op, I usually like it turned off in a game like this. It requires that you be a little more cautious with your alliances. However, I am glad to go with the majority. It looks like vitamin j and Psybermagus are for it, so let's see what Darsnan and Paul think about it.

It looks like we have the following factions:

vitamin j - Data Angels
Darsnan - Gaians
Paul - University
Psybermagus - Cyborgs

Edit to change my originally posted faction choice. I have never played Morgan in an MP game, so I would like to try them in this game.

[vitamin j]

I don't know, I'm re-thinking the co-op victory thing. I have yet to get that far in an MP game. I was just thinking that without it, you know that eventually you must turn on your pact-mates...

[SITS]

It seems to be coming along nicely! If you can all agree on the map then I can start working on it today whilst I wait for Googlie to tell me about setting up the game...