posted 06-28-99 11:41 PM ET        

Anyway... MtG is CMNing a new PBEM game where we players weren't sure whether we wanted a scratch start (slow but precise) or an accelerated start - SMACpoints or played by CMN (quick but less player control). A good compromise was found in MtG's idea of starting from scratch, but giving each player (including the AI) 6 colony pods, 4 formers and 4 scout patrols, except for Santiago (AI) who starts with one scout patrol, since she gets her normal rover, and the AI has production and map knowledge cheats. Each faction starts with 40 energy instead of the normal 10, except for Morgan, who has 130 instead of the normal 100. All other faction advantages/disadvantages are the same as normal.

So far, only a couple of turns have been played, but it seems to be a very interesting way to start... it speeds up the early game (no more "load game, move Scout Patrol, Turn Complete") and avoids any problems with players not liking the choices made by the CMN during a CMN-accelerated start. It also makes for some very interesting early decisions, as to whether to go for six small bases, three medium ones or one or two bigger ones.

Anyway, it seems a good answer to the perennial problem of the slow scratch start.

posted 06-28-99 11:54 PM ET            

Primal scream therapy

(Not quite) Dr. Kitty
(more like Dr. Strangelove)

And why is Deirdre asking me to buy her a new dress. If you've got it flaunt it.

posted 06-29-99 12:15 AM ET            

We all may as well hit "autolurk" for a week now.

posted 06-29-99 05:23 AM ET            

It also ensures a little bit more balancing (i.e. the CMN can react to random events). Example: you start with all your units together, move your pods out with the scout patrols to found your new bases. At the beginning of turn 2, you hit an infested unity pod and 6 mindworms pop out (it actually happened to me) and fest on your settlers. Two turns later, 3 scout patrols are gone, one is heavily damaged, 3 colony pods are destroyed, and there are still 3 boils left (with +12% attack bonus)

posted 06-29-99 06:43 AM ET            

A person who creates the game with a "manual accelerated start", playing the X first turns before assigning the factions and sending out the save.

Moderating means acting as a referee according to a set of rules (see thread in MP forum), keeping the game on track, finding replacement for dropouts, fill in for temporary absences, etc.

Narrator, the CMN creates a story thread for the player and writes part of the story (Note: this is not used much in my current games, where the player actually do their own storytelling). For examples, check out "All Quiet on the Planet front" and "Weizen Tales" in the MP forum

Feel free to ask if you have more questions

posted 06-29-99 07:38 AM ET            

You owe it to yourself to spend more time in the MP forum and in MP SMAC. As Hello Kitty might say, "Once you've tried it, you'll never go back to straight... SMAC, that is."

posted 06-29-99 08:17 AM ET            

I'm afraid of what PBEM SMAC will do to me. I hear Nell talk and it scares me. I'm too addicted to the internet.

posted 06-29-99 08:27 AM ET            

In the main menu, select multiplayer, then hotseat/pbem, choose new game, select human factions and off you go. Just send the .SAV to the next player in your group !

Beware that by default SMAC saves the file in the \SMAC directory, not in \SMAC\SAVES (or wherever you keep your saved games)

You might want to do an accelerated start, if you want to avoid numerous turns where you simply have *nothing* to do at the beginning (which is actually why the CMN business was created)

posted 06-29-99 08:39 AM ET            

Aredhran; I had got that far myself. what I was wondering is;

1. What scenarios are good to play/is playing a scenario the best way to go?
2. I personally dislike the Map of Planet, does using a random map unbalance the game? It'd be a bit of a pain if you started the game and a Human player was in a terrible starting position, any way round this other than looking to see the positions at the beginning? Which I wouldn't like as the surprise of exploration is half (a quarter ) of the fun.
3. What skill level would you reccommend putting the AI factions on? Is is better to have them playing on Trancend for more of a challenge or should you turn them down to allow for greater animosity between the human players. (this an observation from playing Red Alert multiplayer, players often bypass the AI to try and beat the more dangerous human players) I think in SMAC the better diplomacy AI at higher levels means you should have the AI on fairly high.
4. Rules. Any rule combinations you have found make the game difficult in PBEM? I can't think of anything (other than a huge map) which might have a huge effect as long as the players agree.
5. If someone has modified any .txt files can they 'cheat'? Or does the game detect that.

Thanks, I should have been more specific earlier.

posted 06-29-99 08:59 AM ET            

None of my PBEM games are scenarios. It could be interesting to try though. Maybe you could take a look at the MP scenarios that come with SMAC, I have no idea whether they are any good or not (probably not).

2. I personally dislike the Map of Planet, does using a random map unbalance the game? It'd be a bit of a pain if you started the game and a Human player was in a terrible starting position, any way round this other than looking to see the positions at the beginning? Which I wouldn't like as the surprise of exploration is half (a quarter ) of the fun.

I don't like Map of Planet either. Again, having a 3rd party prepare the game for you could do the trick, as that person could check the starting locations, ensuring a fair repartition of special resources (which one of the things I do as a CMN)

3. What skill level would you reccommend putting the AI factions on? Is is better to have them playing on Trancend for more of a challenge or should you turn them down to allow for greater animosity between the human players. (this an observation from playing Red Alert multiplayer, players often bypass the AI to try and beat the more dangerous human players) I think in SMAC the better diplomacy AI at higher levels means you should have the AI on fairly high.

My advice: don't play below Librarian, higher levels are better. Most humans tend to cooperate and make pacts from the start (except in 7-way human games, right cous ?), and beat up the AI instead of each other. Might as well make it tougher.

4. Rules. Any rule combinations you have found make the game difficult in PBEM? I can't think of anything (other than a huge map) which might have a huge effect as long as the players agree.

I think that, like you said, the point is to have all players agree on the game settings. Even huge map can be fine (but you might want to allow all communications right from the start then)

5. If someone has modified any .txt files can they 'cheat'? Or does the game detect that.

Dunno, never tried... I'm not a big .TXT file tweaker, not because I don't know how to do it, but I prefer to play the game the way their designers intended it to be played.

One obvious cheat the game detects is multiple reloads. The rest pretty much depends on player's honesty.

posted 06-29-99 12:11 PM ET            

Also, I agree that a carefully played CMN start is probably the superior way to go, if the CMN is dedicated and has enough time (like you)... MtG is currently CMNing about a zillion games (20+ with me, and others too) and so I guess this start-up idea partly arose from the fact that he didn't have time to play a full CMN start (err right MtG? Maybe I shouldn't speak for him...)

Anyway, I do agree with you, but so far this new idea seems to be working (OK, how much can you tell from a game that's only got to M.Y.2103, but nothing disastrous has happened... yet) and it's an idea to consider for CMNs who are too busy/haven't the inclination to play through the first 40 or so turns themselves.

An interesting point was made in the MP forum on this topic, which is that the Believers, with their no-research handicap until M.Y.2110, would be at a REAL disadvantage when you consider how much early research can be turned out by 6 bases instead of 1 or 2. In a game where the Believers are a human faction, and where early diplomacy was allowed, that shouldn't be too much of a problem, as the Believers could contact the other players and trade techs. However, it would be interesting to see whether this disadvantage would prove a significant handicap to an AI-controlled Believer faction... I tend to think not, as at Transcend level the AI cheats outrageously and grants itself techs that it could in no way have had time to research... and the Believers seem to have a massive advantage (when played by AI) since Patch 3 anyway, so perhaps this wouldn't be too much of a problem.

NB: "If someone has modified any .txt files can they 'cheat'? Or does the game detect that."

Hmmm I *think* that the .SAV file keeps the settings of the original .txt files which were used to create the game, so as far as I can tell, it doesn't recognise subsequent changes to the .txt files. But I haven't tested this, and could be completely wrong... all I do know is that the .SAV file remembers in-game prefs, so whatever prefs are set by the game's creator will also be active for all other players (e.g. Auto-Design Units, etc).

Nell

PS: If you and JAMiAM keep it up in the story thread, it's gonna be me who becomes the official forum "egoheadache"!!

posted 06-29-99 02:13 PM ET            

PS - Just teasin' - I like NC. I used to live for a while in Johnson City, Tennessee, on the border, and hang out over in Asheville.

But Virginia has horses, you have hog farms. Not much doubt who it was that brought culture and literacy to the new world, now is there?