Alpha Base: Builders unite!

[Enigma_Nova]

If we can get this thing reliably moving...

I'm skeptical of anyone who can't play the turn within 24 hours. (Yes, this includes me until my ISP is back up...)

The problem is timing it. I'll be taking 8 hours per turn easily by 2180. I am Kody's apprentice, after all.

[smacksim]

Yes, the problem is timing it. It's interesting to look at how the turns would fall if you have players at varying speeds. Even in your best case scenario (8 hours per person), it would take 56 hours to play one round with 7 'fast' players. If any one player can only play at X time of day, you'd think the pattern would settle around them, but this requires the round to be in increments of 1-Day. So a 56 hour round would then grow to 72 hours, the next 1-Day cycle.

At 72 hours, this is 3 days, which, though probably slow from each player's perspective, isn't at all unreasonable for a pbem with 7 players!

-Smack

[ChairmanSlick]

Hey u guys, how about making that 2x2 into a 3x2

i would love to play and 3 human players is much more interesting don't u agree?

U can choose my factions and all the settings. i don't care... i just want to play. I can play within 24hr no problemo.

[smacksim]

Fine by me Chairman, binTravkin is away this weekend. PM me and perhaps we can convince him.

-Smack

[Enigma_Nova]

My playing time is erratic (sleep disorder), so I can play at pretty much any time.
If the previous player has IM, I'll get the turn a lot faster if he/she sends me an IM when the turn is in.

This Alpha Base game... might as well count me in, since this PBEM doesn't seem so time-intensive.

EDIT:
Alpha Base says 'builders unite', but nowhere in the rules does it prevent a conquer victory.
Was that intentional, or are we meant to avoid chopper bumrushes?

[smacksim]

You're in then Enigma. We need 3 more. Possible only 2...waiting on a PM.

As to the rules, turning off Conquer Victory won't prevent someone from conquering and then waiting it out. On the other hand, it would be nice to focus this pbem on building. Perhaps some other rules? I'd like to not go fiddling with the alpha.txt, etc., for the sake of simplicity, but perhaps there are other play rules we could adopt.

Ideas for Builder-type rules:

1. No more than half an enemies bases may be conquered in a single assault, or every 10 years,

2. A faction may be wiped out, if all the other factions agree to terminate them.

3. Choppers and/or Insertions are illegal.

Others?

I'm not too worried about it, especially if we play huge-techstag. Sure, there will be wars, but they will be based largely on a players ability to build.

So, again, we are looking for 2 or 3 more players who like to focus on building. Any experience is fine, though it would be nice to have a mix of wise old players with some fairly new players.

-Smack

[Enigma_Nova]

You could divide the planet into 'sections' by stretches of fungus, rocky tiles, dunes, or any place where people won't build a base.

The rule could be that wars would be fought only over Sections, as opposed to a whole empire - and that both parties must consent to the conquering challenge.

"I bet I could take over Morgan South West."
"Wanna gamble University Highlands on it?"
"Hell yeah! Vendetta on you!"
Mutually consentual war could work.

I am, as always, the University of Planet.

[smacksim]

Excellent ideas EN, and perhaps you'd like to make such a map? For this game I'm pretty set on a random map. The great thing about random is overcoming obstacles or knowing that you will be a target because of your prime location.

-Smack

[Enigma_Nova]

I'm not precisely the type to do this, Smacksim.
Send me some Huge maps that others have made, and I'll model our map from theirs.
For the time being, I haven't played enough Huge games against players... to know what to make. >_<''

[Enigma_Nova]

^
Trolling through randomly generated maps on a rediculously huge map now...

EDIT: Never mind.
There's got to be a way to design something like this...
The sections should each be about 1/12th of our territory...
Which would consist of 2 territories of energy park and 10 territories of bases, right?

[Enigma_Nova]

...Never mind...
/me goes off to find someone who -can- do this...

[Enigma_Nova]

Now that I've been drawn into Bear Baiting, I'm at my max.
I cannot do Alpha Base.

I have:
Testalossa-0 (4 players, 2115 era)
Heard of Fire (7 players, 2120 era)
Life is only a Game (4 players, 2115 era)
You Think You Know Everything (3 players, 2115 era)
Open Book (I'm the CMN + 3 others, 2100 era)
Bear Baiting 101 (7 players, 2100 era)

It will be some time before my PBEM load goes down.

[binTravkin]

bump!