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This thread hosts the PBEM section of Apolyton University, and the AU MP mod.
Apolyton University is a school of strategy, where students sharpen their Civ3 skills and share their experiences in a series of thematic games. When playing an Apolyton University game, gaining and sharing knowledge is more important than getting a high score, or even winning the game. Participants are encouraged to share their strategy after the game, and even to try several attempts.
For single-player games we have developed the AU mod, whose main purpose is to challenge the player with a need for deeper strategy. To accomplish that goal, the mod tries to improve the AI and present the player with more strategic decisions, while changing as little as possible.
Apolyton University for PBEM games is slightly different than for single-player, because participants compete directly against each other. However, the primary goal of the game is still to share knowledge with the community, as opposed to win a competition. Therefore, players report their adventures and strategy for everyone to read after each game is over. Since the AAR of the game is there to read from each player's angle, there could be more lessons in good strategy to be learned from a loser's account who got a bad starting position or fought against a stronger alliance and almost won, than from the actual winner.
The multi-player version of the AU mod features additional changes (or in some cases a return to the original rules), that were not included in the standard mod because they handicap the AI. The latest version is attached at the end of this post.
Here are some rules to keep in mind when playing an AU MP game:
Typically, there are several games active at one time. See the PBEM thread for details.
Apolyton University is a school of strategy, where students sharpen their Civ3 skills and share their experiences in a series of thematic games. When playing an Apolyton University game, gaining and sharing knowledge is more important than getting a high score, or even winning the game. Participants are encouraged to share their strategy after the game, and even to try several attempts.
For single-player games we have developed the AU mod, whose main purpose is to challenge the player with a need for deeper strategy. To accomplish that goal, the mod tries to improve the AI and present the player with more strategic decisions, while changing as little as possible.
Apolyton University for PBEM games is slightly different than for single-player, because participants compete directly against each other. However, the primary goal of the game is still to share knowledge with the community, as opposed to win a competition. Therefore, players report their adventures and strategy for everyone to read after each game is over. Since the AAR of the game is there to read from each player's angle, there could be more lessons in good strategy to be learned from a loser's account who got a bad starting position or fought against a stronger alliance and almost won, than from the actual winner.
The multi-player version of the AU mod features additional changes (or in some cases a return to the original rules), that were not included in the standard mod because they handicap the AI. The latest version is attached at the end of this post.
Here are some rules to keep in mind when playing an AU MP game:
- Due bugs in PTW 1.14f, not loading the game the proper way can reveal map information to the player that should not normally be available, change the difficulty level, or switch the game to Accelerated production. To be safe, always load the game after you have started a fresh PTW session, and always from the main screen. Loading from the "Multiplayer" screen can change difficulty levels and AP, while loading the game from the main screen without having just started PTW may reveal map information.
- Never save the game in the middle of your turn. Reloading the game in the middle of the turn immediately makes the game go through a production phase, so you get additional income, shields, and culture. If you accidentally get a save where the previous player forgot to end his turn, you should have that person play his turn again from the beginning and resend it - don't end his turn for him.
- Always follow in-game mechanics for diplomacy. For example, don't contact other players until you have actually met them in the game, don't trade mini-maps until you have Map Making, and don't form military alliances until you have embassies.
- If you do something that would be generally considered cheating, like replaying your turn, using an external program to view or change the save, or accidentally viewing another player's turn, report it to the other players.
Typically, there are several games active at one time. See the PBEM thread for details.
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