Dom2 Multiplayer Wrap-Up... Please!

dfs · 2004-11-08T07:41:55.000Z

That’s close to how I structure things. I prefer to have 3 plans. An early game plan, a mid-game plan, and a late-game plan. Early game plans involve national troops, minimal research, and maybe a really tough pretender. Mid-game plans can involve blood magic, firing squads of mages, summoned BALUTs, summoned nasty troops, and some overland magic support. Late game plans usually involve globals, high powered summons or armies entirely of summons+mages, domes, and nasty battlefield magic.

Well, thanks I think. I see such a disconnect between the on-line games and games against the CP’s to the point where I’m not sure I can tell the difference between the early/mid and late games. The CP’s don’t force you up the research ladder half as fast as people do, so you don’t get anywhere close to the same sense of urgency.

I’m hoping to survive through the mid game in order to live long enough to actually see an end game. At the rate most games seem to progress, I’m not sure I’ll ever get there.

I suppose there is no way to observe a finished game from start to finish? Watching the battles as they happened?

Nick_Walter · 2004-11-08T07:42:59.000Z

Foom:

Backov-Cradle (Arco): What VegasRobb said. In addition to being Le Puma playing Ermor, he’s been expanding and building castles the entire game, meeting nothing but some token resistance from Ulm (who apparently fought like a girl). I’ve been playing under the assumption that the game belongs to Ermor anyway. If I can manage to beat up on Pangaea a little while fighting off my AI neighbor, I’ll consider that a win.

Ulm put up more that token resistance, he was just under fire from two directions. He managed to kill something like 1000 of my troops over 5 turns before I could break his main army. Doing that cost me all of the behemoths and ghosts I’d summoned for the entire game, save for like 4 behemoths who managed to survive.

But I do seem to be on track to be an endgame superpower because my neighbors keep going A/I. Right when things were getting tense with Pythium they went AI. Now that I’ve assimilated most of Pythium, Ctis has gone AI.

Nick_Walter · 2004-11-08T07:46:24.000Z

dfs:

I suppose there is no way to observe a finished game from start to finish? Watching the battles as they happened?

It just so happens there is such a way!

The only part of the QT3-Journal AAR I’m on the ball with is the game files. You can download any turn of QT3-Journal and look at it from any nations perspective using the master password of “arora”. The files are in subdirectories with the turn number in the directory name.

File are at http://waltern.dnsalias.net/QT3JOURNAL/

My webserver is also my dom2 server and has only cable modem bandwidth, so please be understanding if it gets slow.

Dave_Perkins · 2004-11-08T07:53:03.000Z

Foom:

Qt3WorldWar (C’tis): My little show of military power apparently convinced Marignon to go AI. I feel kinda bad about that :(

How can you tell if a player goes AI?

dfs · 2004-11-08T08:13:00.000Z

Thanks Nick. I’m familiar with your server. Knocked out of one game there already with more to come I’m sure.

As I mentioned games against the CP, don’t prepare you for real people. Games with real people take a long time to develop. Nice to have another way to learn.

GuildBoss · 2004-11-08T09:20:02.000Z

[quote=“Rob_O_Boston”]

Foom:

Qt3WorldWar (C’tis): My little show of military power apparently convinced Marignon to go AI. I feel kinda bad about that :(

Hey! Maybe it was my little show of military power that convinced him to go AI! Which was it? 40 screaming slaves and a heliogolapogus can be pretty scary.[/quote]

Hey x2! Maybe it was my little show of military power that convinced him to go AI! 40 screaming slaves? HA! What about 40 screaming nekkid chicks outside your walls, calling you out. Although, you would think that would have the opposite effect… hehe

P.S. Check your PM for intel on your stale turn siege.

Ch_Hasslbauer · 2004-11-08T10:18:20.000Z

Qt3NoobAran(Vanheim):
Argh, I thought you were better than that, Nick. Wishing for a Doom Horror. Illwinter should be bitch slapped for allowing such a cheesy tactic.
So, after summoning it, could you please sum up for us the means to destroy it? And by sum up I mean, write the one method that has a > 0.002 percent chance of succeeding. Thanks in advance.

Backov Cradle(Ulm):

Foom:

…, meeting nothing but some token resistance from Ulm (who apparently fought like a girl)

:) I’m anxious to hear reports of your great victories against Ermor, big strong Foom.

Nick_Walter:

Ulm put up more that token resistance, he was just under fire from two directions. He managed to kill something like 1000 of my troops over 5 turns before I could break his main army. Doing that cost me all of the behemoths and ghosts I’d summoned for the entire game, save for like 4 behemoths who managed to survive.

You’re a good guy after all! Hug! :)

Ch_Hasslbauer · 2004-11-08T10:48:36.000Z

Dave_Perkins:

[quote=Foom]Qt3WorldWar (C’tis): My little show of military power apparently convinced Marignon to go AI. I feel kinda bad about that :(

How can you tell if a player goes AI?[/quote]
Before you enter a game you see a row of the flags of all players, with the ones crossed out that didn’t take their turn yet. The flags of AI players are not crossed out and kind of greyed out… somewhat lighter… I mean, different. You’ll know it when you see it.

Nick_Walter · 2004-11-08T10:49:54.000Z

Ch_Hasslbauer:

Qt3NoobAran(Vanheim):
Argh, I thought you were better than that, Nick. Wishing for a Doom Horror. Illwinter should be bitch slapped for allowing such a cheesy tactic.
So, after summoning it, could you please sum up for us the means to destroy it? And by sum up I mean, write the one method that has a > 0.002 percent chance of succeeding. Thanks in advance.

Firing squads of mages set for some high-precision elemental damage spell. Frozen heart + Quickness is great if you have water mages. Lightning bolts or orb lightning work great too. I would imagine incinerate would be good too but I’ve never tried it. In combination with enough screening troops to make sure your forces don’t rout, you should be able to stop a doom horror with that.

The really fun trick is trying to catch up with the hyperactive little bastard. Strat move of 8 means he can just bounce around your empire willy-nilly and keep costing your provinces + unrest + bad events (he causes them). Fun fun fun!!!

Dave_Perkins · 2004-11-08T11:02:27.000Z

Ch_Hasslbauer:

Before you enter a game you see a row of the flags of all players, with the ones crossed out that didn’t take their turn yet. The flags of AI players are not crossed out and kind of greyed out… somewhat lighter… I mean, different. You’ll know it when you see it.

Ah, thanks. Is it generally considered bad form to go AI? Or does it actually make the game go faster, because the AI takes its turn immediately?

Ch_Hasslbauer · 2004-11-08T11:27:15.000Z

More like bad form. It’s totally OK if you’re practically crushed, with a few provinces left. But if you leave a well developed nation to the AI, it could cause neighboring players problems with its unpredictable war declarations, especially those neighbors who had a non-aggression treaty with you and left their borders undefended.

It’s also a disturbance to the diplomatic status quo, as an AI nation won’t keep any former treaties and won’t fight alongside its former allies.

Enidigm · 2004-11-08T12:06:53.000Z

Ch_Hasslbauer:

Qt3NoobAran(Vanheim):
Argh, I thought you were better than that, Nick. Wishing for a Doom Horror. Illwinter should be bitch slapped for allowing such a cheesy tactic.

Your going to hate me.

Ch_Hasslbauer · 2004-11-08T12:17:18.000Z

You bet.

By the way, I could do it in JM-Hardcore, but wishing for Doom Horrors is the one thing I’d never do in a multiplayer game.

Nick_Walter · 2004-11-08T12:56:00.000Z

Ch_Hasslbauer:

You bet.

By the way, I could do it in JM-Hardcore, but wishing for Doom Horrors is the one thing I’d never do in a multiplayer game.

Ahh, there’s an interesting difference between you and me. If it’s legal by the game rules and the house rules then I’ll do it. Especially if it happens to be a very effective tactic like Doom Horrors.

Mind you, I’ve been on the victim end of Doom Horrors too, and all it really convinced me of is that Ryan’s Rule of Labs is a requirement for a MP dom2 game because clam hoarding is what really brings in the Doom Horror abusing.

Before you get all excited about my lone fielded Doom Horror in Qt3NoobAran, please remember I get another one every other turn. Yes, I really clam hoarded that much. After I have 10 or so of them floating around in the field, I might switch to wishing for demon lords. We’ll see how things go.

GuildBoss · 2004-11-08T13:39:03.000Z

Nick_Walter:

[quote=Ch. Hasslbauer]You bet.

By the way, I could do it in JM-Hardcore, but wishing for Doom Horrors is the one thing I’d never do in a multiplayer game.

Before you get all excited about my lone fielded Doom Horror in Qt3NoobAran, please remember I get another one every other turn. Yes, I really clam hoarded that much. After I have 10 or so of them floating around in the field, I might switch to wishing for demon lords. We’ll see how things go.[/quote]

How do you sleep at night? :?

Ch_Hasslbauer · 2004-11-08T14:25:18.000Z

Nick_Walter:

Before you get all excited about my lone fielded Doom Horror in Qt3NoobAran, please remember I get another one every other turn. Yes, I really clam hoarded that much. After I have 10 or so of them floating around in the field, I might switch to wishing for demon lords. We’ll see how things go.

Oh, never mind.
<suffering quietly>

Rywill · 2004-11-08T16:31:35.000Z

Joking aside, I watched Backov do the same thing in Pampelmousse, and you guys should concede the game. I’m not joking and it’s not hyperbole. Unless you can counter-Wish as often as Nick can, the game is over.

Nick_Walter · 2004-11-08T16:43:23.000Z

Rywill:

Joking aside, I watched Backov do the same thing in Pampelmousse, and you guys should concede the game. I’m not joking and it’s not hyperbole. Unless you can counter-Wish as often as Nick can, the game is over.

This one is a little different than Pampered Moose. The other players have had a long time to develop too and have behemoth economies and magic armies floating around. Just in provinces I border I’ve seen that tricked out Djinn, flying all-devil armies, the whole shebang really. I’m sure I’m going to get some heavy opposition especially now that some joker dispelled my sea of ice which was my primary defense.

Rob_O_Boston · 2004-11-08T17:23:55.000Z

JM Hardcore (Caelem) - the people of Vanheim can rest easy as our attacks have all been destroyed. Those Ice Demons just scare the crap out of my people.

balut · 2004-11-08T18:51:26.000Z

Qt3 JM Hardcore (Abysia) - I REALLY FUCKING HATE AIR MAGIC. I’m the only nation left that doesn’t absolutely abuse Air Magic and the Staff of Storms/Wrathful Skies combo, and because I don’t have Air Magic to forge huge quantities of anti-lightning equipment, I’m getting pretty much ass-raped by both Man and Vanheim simultaneously here. Seriously, this game might convince me to quit Dom2 cold turkey because it seems if you don’t go Air Magic and Astral (Wish), you really don’t stand a chance by the endgame. Fucking Air nations can just teleport in any schmoe leader with a Staff of Storms and half a brain and just go all Wrathful Skies and wipe out entire armies and their leaders. And then making absurd unstoppable SCs and giving THEM a Staff of Storms?? That’s just overkill. Seriously. A lone Van* with one of those can wipe out armies of a hundred imps and devils - there’s no need to put it on UberKill the Smasher as well.

edit: Well, AFAIK, Atlantis doesn’t abuse Air Magic as well, and that’s probably why they’re stuck under the Frozen Seas instead of out conquering the world. Until the Wishes start getting tossed around willy-nilly, it seems this game is going to come down to Air Magic Vanheim versus Air Magic Caelum versus Air Magic Man. And that makes a sad statement about multiplayer Dom2.