PBEM Game: Yarnspinners 2 (Running)

[Alneyan]

None taken Djo, I was merely kidding around, as I am wont to.

About myself and my availability: I believe I will not sign up as a regular player, so I will only be hosting the game. I will be away for two weeks in late June/early July however.

About the game itself:
* What is definitive:
- A fixed schedule, with three turns a week.
- PBEM game.
- One yarn every three turns, and the full map on display every three turns.
- A website to display the yarns.
- An independent nation to get the map and send astral pearls, as a reward for yarnning.

* What is not so definitive (suggestions not having received much reaction):
- A much stronger PD for capitals, curtesy of the independent nation.
- Mods: Zen Pretenders is likely definitive, but what about the others? (Spells and Scales)
- Picking nations: should the order be "first come, first serve", or should the order of picks be random? Note that it does not mean random nations; it merely means a random order to pick nations.
- Ending the game: should it be a fixed turn, or when all players agree the game should be ended?
- Pearl awards: should the awards be agreed on by the players themselves, by a Judge (if one can be found), or be fixed? (One pearl per yarn say)

A start in two weeks seem to be fine, maybe a bit later if deciding on the settings take some time; Yarnspinners should be over by then.

[puffyn]

My votes on the non-definitives:

- Yes on Zen's pretenders, indifferent on others, no on non-Zen mods
- Stronger capital PD
- On race choice, perhaps we should all rank our top 3 preferences, and if there's a conflict we could try random orders. I think we should settle the races soon-ish so there's time to plot backstory.
- 60-turn ending, subject to player's reappraisal around say turn 45. I think knowing Yarnspinners was ending at turn 60 has helped motivate me to write a few turns (knowing I was almost done), but it may have led to a bit more casual violence genocide than otherwise. And it would be a pity to cut it off right in the middle of an interesting narrative bit.
- 1 pearl per yarn (where yarn is generously interpreted) plus an extra pearl if the majority of the players thinks it's a good yarn. A judge like magnate could award the extras too, if there were such a person.

Sorry to hear you won't be joining us Alneyan... perhaps you can chime in occasionally as the sarcastic know-it-all in the tower, doling out pearls to our pathetic little kingdoms. Just so long as you don't favor whoever's playing Man...

[puffyn]

For the record, my top three (in order) are: C'tis, Jotunheim, Marignon.

[Alneyan]

What was I thinking when I said I wouldn't join? I will likely join, though there would be a problem: the independent nation would have to be open for all in this case, as otherwise I would have an exclusive access to the Eyes of God enchantment . It would also help to check the use of those astral pearls, though it is less likely to be a problem: there are other ways to check for "astral pearls appearing mysteriously in my coffers by the hundred".

I like the idea of picking three nations: it is much faster than a random pick order, while being fairer than the first come first serve way. I think I can state my own preferred nations right now, as there doesn't seem to be any advantage in going first.

So, my top three are: Ulm - Iron Faith, Pangaea - Standard, and Caelum (I am not too sure of the theme here); no Man or Arcoscephale this time around.

[djo]

My votes:

- Zen mods: pretender-ok; balance-ok/don't care; spells-no; as far as I see, there's not a complete list of changes in the newest version of spells mod
- PD: no strong preference
- nation choices in order: Vanheim, C'tis, Machaka, Ermor (BE), Marignon
- end at 60; there's a pre-apocalyptic tension growing in YS1 that I like
- yarn judging, how to run the Overseer nation: whatever people like
- starting time: whenever comfortable for YS1 folks; May 1ish is fine

[Sedna]

My nation choice: Marignon (base, or possibly Fires of Faith), Ulm (base), Atlantis

I'd vote for all of Zen's mods, including spells. I would hope to use a version with an updated readme, but...
Don't care on PD much
Yarn judging: An outside judge is a bit of work and rather random. I think yarns which merit extra awards will be fairly rare, and can just be setteld by popular (majority) acclaim.

[PashaDawg]

My nation preferences: Tien Chi, Arco, C'tis.

Zen mods are fine.

No need for outside judge of yarns.

May 1 good starting date.

It is fine to have a definite ending date at turn 60.

Don't care about the PD, but I would certainly take a big one if given.

[Alneyan]

Well, let's count the ballots:

- Mods: Zen Pretenders definitively, Scales mod is in too, Spell mod will likely be in.
- No outside judge giving awards; 1 astral pearl per yarn, two if most players find the yarn to be interesting.
- The game shall start on May 1.
- Game ending on turn 60, unless most players would like to go on for a longer while (after turn 45).
- Beefed-up capital PD, along the lines of 100 PD.
- Nation picks will be done on the "top three" (or more, though three nations should be enough) basis.

The other settings for the game:
- Map: Orania has been suggested (275 provinces or so, wrap-around). Inland could be another possibility, but may be a bit too small (150 provinces, wrap-around).
- Independents: 6 should be the minimum; Panther suggested level-9 independents.
- Magic research: Panther suggested Very Hard research; in YS1, standard research seems to have resulted in a very speedy pace of research (Caelum must be very near the end of the research on turn 57, and Man had done most of it by turn 50, despite being a poor nation for research, and without any research boosting item).
- Magic sites at 50, Hall of Fame with 15 entries, renaming is on.

People having expressed interest in joining the game:
- Quantum Mechani:
- PashaDawg: T'ien Ch'i, Arcoscephale, C'tis
- Griffin: Ulm, Marignon, Jotunheim
- The Panther: Man, R'lyeh, Pangaea
- Sedna: Marignon, Ulm, Atlantis
- Djo: Vanheim, C'tis, Machaka, Ermor, Marignon
- Puffyn: C'tis, Jotunheim, Marignon
- Zen:
- Alneyan: Ulm, Pangaea, Caelum

[GriffinOfBuerrig]

Sounds fine: My Nation preferences: Ulm, Marigion, Jotunheim

[The Panther]

My nation choices : 1. Man, 2. R'lyeh, 3. Pangaea


My comments:

1. I think 1 pearl per yarn does not seem enough of a reward for putting forth that much effort. Maybe something like 5-10 pearls per yarn might keep people really wanting to keep up with those yarns throughout the whole game. And the extra income from writing would be noticeable over those who are not writing. A just reward, in other words.

2. I would vote for graphs on, as this will help with the story lines and we will be seeing the whole map every third turn anyway.

3. Map - Inland might be an excellent choice with only 8 players (9 counting the neutral). But with 10 or 11, it will be too crowded for the game purpose and the bigger map would be much better. Orania plays quite a bit smaller than 275 because it is wrap-around. Also, with a 60 turn limit, we will not be reaching the late game tedium that always happen to the surviving players on large maps. Obviously, I cannot take R'lyeh on Inland but can with Orania. Same applies to Atlantis for those that choose that race.

4. Research - Normal research is just plain TOO EASY! The players ought to have to make tough research choices instead of just willy-nilly researching everything under the sun with no worries.

5. I will be out of the country June 17-June 28 and will have absolutely no access to the internet while gone. I could probably find a sub to play but not to write. I know Alneyan will also be on vacation around the same time.

6. Host and owner of neutral nation???????


Panther