PBEM30 Organizing Thread

[oledavy]

Settings

- 4 Players
- Always War (CTON)
- Quick Speed
- Prince/Toroidal/Standard
- Unrestricted Leaders
- No Barbarians
- No Tech Trading
- No Permanent Alliances
- No Vassal States
- No Random Events
- No Tribal Villages
- No Diplomatic Victory (AP and UN are still allowed)
- No War Elephants (Normal ivory distribution)
- No Ballista Elephants
- No Nukes
- SoZ Banned
- Corporations On, Sid’s Sushi Banned
- No Espionage/Great Spies must be settled or used for a Golden Age
- Blockades – Blockading with triremes and galleys banned, but allowed with every other ship.
- Starting Units: Scout/No Gold Upgrade
- Do Not See Starts Before Hand

Agreed Pick Restrictions:

- No Leader Restrictions
- No India
- No Byzantium

Signups

OleDavy + Mardoc (DL) + Nicolae Carpathia (DL) - Gandhi the Spanish
Shoot the Moon/Nakor - Elizabeth of the Ottomans
Sian + Pindicator (DL) - Victoria of England
Mackot - Justinian of the Vikings

Turn Order

Shoot the Moon/Nakor
Mackoti
Sian
OleDavy

Several weeks ago, I approached Mackoti with the idea of a medieval-start PBEM, thus the creation of this thread:

http://www.realmsbeyond.net/forums/showt...php?t=5325

At the time, I was too tied up at the time to play another game. Now, with PBEM17 concluded, I am looking for another game to occupy my time besides the glacial pace of PB6.

However, PB6 has whetted my appetite for a medieval start game, and I would like to try it in the PBEM setting. Here’s what I had in mind:

Settings

- 4 Players
- Always War
- Prince/Monarch Difficulty
- Quick Speed
- Unrestricted Leaders
- Barbarians On
- No Tech Trading
- No Permanent Alliances
- No Vassal States
- No Random Events
- No Tribal Villages
- No Diplomatic Victory (AP and UN are Still Allowed)
- No War Elephants (Normal Ivory Distribution)
- No Nukes
- SoZ Banned
- Corporations On, Sid’s Sushi Banned
- No Espionage/Great Spies must be settled or used for a Golden Age
- Blockades – Blockading with triremes and galleys banned, but allowed with every other ship.

I'm flexible on almost all of these depending on that the other players want. I’ve never played a MP game with corporations allowed, and so thought it might be worthwhile to try one with all but Sid’s Sushi permitted to give players the option between FM and SP in the late game. As for blockades, I think the action should be allowed, but concede that the area of effect is somewhat ridiculous for ships that can't even move to all the affected tiles. Banning the blockade action from triremes and galleys seems like a comfortable middle ground.

Leaders/Civs

- Financial leaders banned, with the exception of Wang Kon
- India banned
- Byzantium banned

Map
- Something natural feeling – no map gimmicks.
- Moderately balanced
- Slow teching terrain (Not like the PBEM17 or PBEM19 maps for example)
- Balanced resources
- Overseas land to settle
- Normal stone and marble distribution
- No gems, gold or silver near the starting spots

My idea was a Pangaea surrounded by several overseas islands. However, I leave that to the discretion of the mapmaker.

I would prefer this game not start until late next week when I am settled back in for the spring semester, but thought I would put this up now to see if there is even interest in a game

At any rate, plenty of time to hammer out settings and polish up a map.

So, any players/mapmakers interested?

[Commodore]

Map
- Something natural feeling – no map gimmicks.
- Moderately balanced
- Slow teching terrain (Not like the PBEM17 or PBEM19 maps for example)
- Balanced Resources
- Overseas land to settle
- Normal stone and marble distribution
- No gems, gold or silver near the starting spots

My idea was a Pangaea surrounded by several overseas islands. However, I leave that to the discretion of the mapmaker.

At any rate, plenty of time to hammer out settings and polish up a map.

So, any players/mapmakers interested?

I'm a bit full-plated to play this one, although I'll be lurking with interest. I'll toss my mapmaking hat in the ring if players are interested, though. One thing I do think might be good regardless, though, would be to go ahead and decide what starting units are wanted, too, as IMO explorers are a we bit OP to begin with.

[Sian]

likely won't have time to primary one, but i'm volenteering my defensive skills as secondary turn player for someone

[Commodore]

likely won't have time to primary one, but i'm volenteering my defensive skills as secondary turn player for someone

We keep trying to give you more time.

[Shoot the Moon]

Tentatively sign me up (could be interested in teaming if anyone is interested).

Settings wise:

• I'd prefer barbs off. For me they don't really add anything to a MP game at all.
  
• Are you thinking cylindrical or toroidal? If toroidal, I'm strongly against Monarch (I'd honestly prefer Noble if toroidal and Prince if cylindrical).
  
• Change starting explorers to scouts and ban upgrading the initial explorers.
  
• I'd prefer AW and CTON (not sure if the or implied AW without CTON or not, but that would just be weird).
  
• I'd also be fine with allowing fin leaders if others feel strongly that way; doesn't particularly matter to me either way.
  

Might think of other stuff later, but that's enough to start.

EDIT: wow, three posts between me hitting reply and typing that up. Seems commodore already posted about explorers.

[Lewwyn]

I'm interested in a BTS pbem with a highlands map or an FFH pbem. This is neither.

Are you and Mack already playing then? You only need 2 more players?

[SevenSpirits]

Excited to watch this.

1) Why do you want it to be a slow teching map? Medieval start is already going to result in slower-than-normal tech times.

2) Banning FIN but not PHI or SPI? PB6 gives an indication of how strong they'll be. And since bulbs are useful right away and specialists are available right away, I'm not convinced cottages need nerfing.

3) What do you mean by no gimmicks? To some extent all the default scripts are also gimmicks.

[oledavy]

I'm interested in a BTS pbem with a highlands map or an FFH pbem. This is neither.

Sorry to disappoint. If we were playing on a highland-like map would you be interested? I ask because nothing I have stated so far is necessarily written in stone.

Are you and Mack already playing then? You only need 2 more players?

Mackoti and I are not playing on a team. He expressed interest a few weeks ago, but I don't know if he still has time with the start of PBEM29.

1) Why do you want it to be a slow teching map? Medieval start is already going to result in slower-than-normal tech times.

I get tired of green everywhere and a lack of hills and mountains What I had in mind was something like the PB6 map in regards to terrain type. Less lush terrain also makes city placement more interesting.

2) Banning FIN but not PHI or SPI? PB6 gives an indication of how strong they'll be. And since bulbs are useful right away and specialists are available right away, I'm not convinced cottages need nerfing.

My thought was that if there is overseas land and presumably lots of coast, we would want financial banned. But yeah, SPI and PHI are both extremely powerful (I'm playing Gandhi in PB6), however, I feel like they're more fair since they take effort to leverage. That being said, if the majority of players don't want it banned, I'm fine with that.

3) What do you mean by no gimmicks? To some extent all the default scripts are also gimmicks.

By this, I meant like that map Ruff made way back when with railroads, or BCW's PBEM24 map. I would prefer not to see the watchmaker's signature.

[Shoot the Moon]

2) Banning FIN but not PHI or SPI? PB6 gives an indication of how strong they'll be. And since bulbs are useful right away and specialists are available right away, I'm not convinced cottages need nerfing.

Part of the reason for that I think is that PB6 only allowed FIN once per team, or I suspect you would have seen more FIN. Also, you can afford to dedicate more resources to (ab)using PHI in a team game when the other two civs can be growing their cottages/expanding than when you alone bear the trade-offs to running specialists (lower cottage growth and thus worse long-term teching potential, lower expansion curve, etc.)

[SevenSpirits]

By this, I meant like that map Amelia made way back when with railroads

That was Ruff_Hi. Amelia did make a map for 13 with towns on two the initial copper/horse in the capital, though, so maybe you remembered that.

How about the pbem21 map, would you call that gimmicky?