EpikBattel - Started

[llamabeast]

Cradle of Dominion would be about the size you're looking for I think (221 provinces = just over 18/player). It's also very pretty and has lots of interesting choke points and so on.

[FrozenFalcon]

Anyone against Cradle of Dominion?

One question about hosting a teamgame: how well is player positioning handled in Dominions? Since this is team game, it would be nice (allthough not necessary) that teaming players started near each other. And the teamgame, is it anyhow managed with the server or is it just rules above the game mechanics, that player themselves need to follow?

[llamabeast]

Automatic player positioning is decent although not especially evenly distributed, but it definitely won't do team placement properly. The thing to do is place the start positions manually. I guess or any other player not actually involved in the game can do that.

Dominions doesn't really have the idea of team play at all (it's every god for himself), so its the players themselves who have to follow rules. Don't move your army into your teammate's army, for instance.

[Bananadine]

I have no special map preference. I just hope that anybody who thinks they might get bored on whatever map we choose is willing to commit to playing anyway, if they're going to be part of the game!

[Gregstrom]

Well spoken, Bananadine.

How are we handling team assignments?

[Zeldor]

The problem with most of the maps except for WoG [and some others] is that if all players have the same skill starting positions can really influence a lot who wins. I have seen that on Uraparrand - there are extremely good and bad starting positions available. Cradle of Dominions doesn't look fair too. And placing teams on not-wraparound map with irregular shape will be impossible.

I vote so heavily for WoG not because it is big, but because every players has the same starting location and it is only up to his skill and diplomacy, not luck.

[Torin]

im in favor of a wraparound

[llamabeast]

The thing is, unfairness due to placement pales into insignifance compared to the "injustices" resulting from diplomacy, particular nations' differences etc.. Dominions just isn't the kind of game where you can aim for that.

I mean, imagine you start next to MA Ermor. If you're Ulm, you're probably stuffed - there's no way you can deal with all those undead. If you're C'tis or Pythium, you'll laugh at them. This is "unfair", but interesting, so I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Actually I think it's very cool. You just have to remember that Dominions is not chess.

Sorry Zeldor, I'm sure I'm really winding you up here, because you obviously really want to play on World of Geometry and I'm obviously not being very encouraging for that on this thread. This is just because I really, really like Dominions and I want other people to get into it too, so it's hard not to offer advice which I think will make people enjoy the game more, and I honestly feel that playing on such a huge map for your first MP game (not yours, but some other players') is a terrible idea. Regardless, if this game does not end up being played on WoG, you can always just make a new post for a World of Geometry game, explicitly stating it is a massive map and the game will last a long time (six months to a year I'd guess) and you will have enough players in no time, and I would be more than happy to host the game for you.

Incidentally I have to agree that WoG is a lovely map. I wonder if Twan would be interested in making a version with less provinces. And also, apologies again for poking my nose in.

[MartialDoctor]

Sounds like you guys still need a final player. I'll join in as Arcoscephale.

[Gregstrom]

After some thought, I'm with Llamabeast on the map issue. An over-large map would be pretty bad for micromanagement. And I'd rather have an interesting game than a prefectly balanced one, too.