aow pbem game

[BloodyBattleBrain]

@Valambrian

I’m not sure I understand the relation. Could you please elaborate?

AoW1 was my introduction to the 4x genre, so it felt the most “correct.” Having to found cities in other games felt strange.

@Valambrian

AoW 1, iirc, had a very limited scope

It has a certain purity of form to it, uncluttered and streamlined in many ways. Also, there is a very highly underrated and unknown game mode that never made it into the sequels, called leaders off, where you played with just the default units of your race. That made very unit very important, as you couldn’t coast with your leader (non existent) or your heroes (limited) as much.

@Valambrian

Humans and tigrans have an option to build settlers cheaper. Without settlers, the choice of selecting military vs economic race upgrade is removed.

Racial governance is one of the easier things to mod.

@Valambrian

I understand that, but settlers, imho, are deeply integrated into the game.

Imo the game works just as well, actually better, without settlers. I happen to think the same in Planetfall with the settlers off mode there. Things get very tense indeed When you have 5 or 6 cities, and might lose one.

@Valambrian

Thank you! I think you are too modest. When playing these two pbem games, I searched for answers on some topics, and I was seeing your comments on various threads going back to 2014. Unless, of course, it was your evil twin.

2000 hrs of Aow3 and I’m sure some skill comes with it. But there are many things I do wrong and I often play without thinking, even in Planetfall. It’s the “fun, just messing around” part of the game. The great thing is both games are amplified in their value for me when I actually concentrate, which tends to work best if I play hr or less sessions. anything else and I start going into automatic mode. Problem is, it’s hard to stop after an hr…

[Valambrian]

@BloodyBattleBrain

Racial governance is one of the easier things to mod.

True. If we are going to play without settlers, I’d be happier to use a mod that addresses that.

@BloodyBattleBrain

Imo the game works just as well, actually better, without settlers. I happen to think the same in Planetfall with the settlers off mode there. Things get very tense indeed When you have 5 or 6 cities, and might lose one.

So is it about limiting the number of cities? What do you think about Warlock 2, for example, which has a hard limit on the number of cities you can have? Or Endless Legend, where the number of cities is limited by the number of provinces on the map but you can pick a specific place for a new city?

@BloodyBattleBrain

2000 hrs of Aow3 and I’m sure some skill comes with it. But there are many things I do wrong and I often play without thinking, even in Planetfall.

I am impatient and stupid, and I’m grateful to games to teach me that so that life doesn’t have to

@BloodyBattleBrain

The great thing is both games are amplified in their value for me when I actually concentrate, which tends to work best if I play hr or less sessions. anything else and I start going into automatic mode. Problem is, it’s hard to stop after an hr…

That’s why I like pbem games. One more reason to join!

[Valambrian]

Or how about a house rule to keep settlers in the game but limit the number of cities you can have to 6? If you want to build a 7th, you need to release one of your cities as a vassal first. @Mysterio, @BloodyBattleBrain, would this work for you?

[Mysterio]

@Valambrian

@Mysterio…would this work for you?

I’d still prefer that settlers be disabled. Plus, I’ve never played a MP game of AoW3 in which they were disabled. I think I’ve played, at most, 3-4 MP games…? What’s the harm in trying it the way at least two of us prefer?

[legowarrior]

I love building settlers. I like the idea of building an empire.

That’s just me.

[Valambrian]

This turn, @geggis surprised and deeply saddened me. He broke in into a forbidden sanctum, destroyed a shrine, and murdered several of true believers, our brothers in faith. You should make amends with the Church, @geggis, otherwise Allfather’s retribution will be swift and unavoidable.

I, on the other hand, was doing Allfather’s work. A mobile shrine accompanied by a company of priests cleansed the land from the vile presence of two dread reapers and purified a lich king’s castle.Money found in the castle were spent on training an exalted, but purging the undead from this world was a reward in itself.

@legowarrior

I love building settlers. I like the idea of building an empire.

That’s just me.

Me too.

@Mysterio

What’s the harm in trying it the way at least two of us prefer?

Since you convinced BBB to come back, I’m up for trying this mode.

[geggis]

I have built one settler this game and it was swiftly killed a few hexes outside my own territory. In fact, pretty much everything was killed early on when I went exploring so I’m kind of amazed how far you folks have managed to get your units. My empire is very small and I think I’m doing very badly on the strategic layer!

[Valambrian]

The start of the game is dangerous. Both @Thraeg and @legowarrior lost one of their cities to marauders at some point. Scouting is very important. Clearing out spawn sites should also be a priority since every band of marauders is stronger than the previous one.

If you want to master the game, I’d suggest playing a comp stomp and paying attention to what other players do.

[BloodyBattleBrain]

@Valambrian

So is it about limiting the number of cities? What do you think about Warlock 2, for example, which has a hard limit on the number of cities you can have? Or Endless Legend, where the number of cities is limited by the number of provinces on the map but you can pick a specific place for a new city?

No not really.

For me, the better game is having cities pre-existing.

I liked warlock 2, but stopped playing it because the combination of one unit per turn plus shards made for some grindy gameplay.

Endless Legend had a fairly good idea in provinces, but city management felt fiddly.

Oddly enough, i like Planetfall’s city building the best, because the sectors allow you considerable flexibility. In AoW3, there were times when my city was one hex short of the sea, for example, so I couldn;t build naval units, even though my domain was over water. That was frustrating. The sector system means I can do this now.

My ideal city building mechanic would be

• the sectors, but more of them per city (moddable) and smaller sectors, so each sectors is maybe 7 or 8 hexes in diameter and has one point of interest, e.g. a mine

PLUS

• pre-existing settlements Planetfall comes close in the settler free mode, but it is still curious to me that x years after the cataclysm, no - one has rebuilt conurbations on any of these planets :P.

@Valambrian

That’s why I like pbem games. One more reason to join!

true, but there is a certain delicious pressure/tension in playing the game (either one) live, where mistakes are forced through there being a time factor.

@Valambrian

Or how about a house rule

The idea of house rules is great but I tend to dislike them on account of them being hard to enforce.

@Valambrian

If you want to master the game, I’d suggest playing a comp stomp and paying attention to what other players do.

And learning the basic patterns of the marauders. There will almost always be waves of basic marauders like scoundrels etc, and there will always be Undead.

There may be roaming animals, but not always.

This is one thing to consider when choosing race and class, i.e. how can my combination fight the Undead.

Goblin warlord is one of the worse options :P.

Draconian Theocrat is one of the best, in this regard.

edit: for the record, I don’t mind what mode is played. I will adjust accordingly :). beware the Goblin Warlord hordes :P.

[Mysterio]

@BloodyBattleBrain

For me, the better game is having cities pre-existing .

Ditto.

@BloodyBattleBrain

Oddly enough, i like Planetfall’s city building the best, because the sectors allow you considerable flexibility.

So, transition to a MP game of Planetfall with settlers disabled? I’m game!

@BloodyBattleBrain

true, but there is a certain delicious pressure/tension in playing the game (either one) live, where mistakes are forced through there being a time factor.

How’s Planetfall in real time? Is it simultaneous turns? Are all battles auto-resolved?

And now Gears Tactics is about to drop. Remember when the TBS genre was supposedly dead? Good times!

[BloodyBattleBrain]

@Mysterio

How’s Planetfall in real time? Is it simultaneous turns?

Upto the players.

@Mysterio

Are all battles auto-resolved?

Upto the players.

To save time, the norm is to auto independents and AI, tactical humans.

[Mysterio]

@BloodyBattleBrain

To save time, the norm is to auto independents and AI, tactical humans.

That would be my preferred settings. I, too, prefer to play these games in real time, but sans a pandemic, it’s difficult to corral everyone across the US.

[legowarrior]

An interesting turn that had some downsides.

Still, two big battles, with only a single loss, and a new unit. I’m getting prepared to take some of the biggest sites in my territory.

On the plus side, temperatures within my empire should be less of an issue going forward for me. And the bonuses to my attacks will be handy.

[Valambrian]

A couple of small fights, just to get experience for some of the freshly produced units. Nothing comparable to @legowarrior taking control over a seal. Fortis Fortuna adiuvat!

[legowarrior]

That seal cost me a bit more then I would like to admit. And I won’t admit what it cost me. And you can’t make me.

In any case, now I need gold. Lots of gold so that I can get my Yeti/Ice Queen Armies roaring, along with my dire bear/Druid mix.

Now, I want to mix in some White Witchs to see if I can make my dire bears the ultimate animal!

[Valambrian]

Units with an ability to sprint are assholes and need to be watched carefully.

[legowarrior]

Another turn done, another step closer to my empire expanding to the edges.

Nothing major this turn, but I am preparing to make war on a powerful lair.

[Valambrian]

Not much here. I’m not risking to settle on the borders because wars can start at any moment. I discovered a marauding stack that includes two bone dragons and a bandit camp. A bandit camp on turn 62! People, we are lazy.

[legowarrior]

That is a mighty big army you have on my border @Valambrian. All set up to fighting in arctic terrain. If I didn’t know better, I would think it was specially designed to catch me off guard.

Luckily, I know that isn’t the case, and that are two armies can get along just fine without any trouble.

[Valambrian]

The army was after the box that you just picked up. It will move away from your borders.