Hey I got a great Idea! or maybe it was stated long ago?

[geoschmo]

The easiest way by far would be to start each conflict from scratch. Using the end conditions as a scenario for the next battle would be a fascinating idea, but I am afraid it would just be too terribly complex.

[Suicide Junkie]

Dosen't that make it a bit too abstract, though?

There is no way to boost your defense of a certain map other than adding allies; if the other player is a bit better, they will almost always win since you start on even terms...

With the scenario, you could actually arrange stronger defenses for certain systems, and have persistent a persistent universe at the planetary level.
The invader could turn it into a raiding party by attacking only a few lightly defended planets, and then retreating, or make it a full scale invasion with troops and colony ships.

In order to simplify the job of the Moderators & admins, the scenario could be set up by the two conflicting players.
First, the game is started with the two or more players as regular empires.
An appointed leader for the defending side will generate the defender's colonies (predefined) and ship distributions (flexible).
The attacking side's leader will then get the savegame, and generate their ship distributions based on the declared forces from the RP.
Both sides will review the savegame, and once ready, the game will be uploaded as a scenario by an admin to PBW, whereupon the battle starts.

After the game is over, the admin tallies up the surviving planets and ships, and updates the RP as appropriate.

[Rojero]

Ok while sitting in traffic trying to get home, I wrote down a few tid bit ideas. The game setup should be an updated type, maybe Java script run map and a forum for people to discuss things, if we make alliances, trades, thru email (like good old Avalon Hill Diplomacy), then update thru the game masters ok heres the breakdown of a typical turn:
Resource Gathering
1. Previous turns production, trades, and tributes
Home System produces like 300 resources, 100 for each type.
Then if any bonus from trades from others, could be a bonus of say 10 for each trading partner (this could be termed as a generic resource ( which can be used like other resources but cannot replace for certain specific things.
2. Empire Maintenance
a. Research - we can purchase certain resources (if of course we have the monies) and develop our technology/(now this can be a shortened list, because not all technologies could be useful in this type of game.
b. Espionage - now this could be more intersting, depending on your technology in the area. Like research, this of course is purchased with your resources as well
c. Purchase of units - Base cost for all types of units + any extra technology = final cost.
IE Escort (10 resources) + engine type + Weapons per type and amount + any special componets etc. We can use like an excel spread sheet i am sure to calcuate cost.
d. Movement/Exploration - Self explanatory
e. Complete turn and await confirmation by game masters.
f. Galactic Council (if needed can be done like every 10 turns?) - Discuss certain things like the banning of certain weapon types (heh black hole generators)And we can use the #SE4 on Gamesnet for this feature
Combat Phase
Now the game masters will notify who is involved any number, and amount of ships and placed in a specific scenario. with all invovled and all combat is a specific number of turns, maybe 25 turns? or 50? no more than that...which will end IE Long engagements are not beneficial, we can hash this out in some way.
Then results can be posted for the week
I can see us doing this in like 1 week intervals,
seeing as there will be a large amount of players, so every other week is an actual turn and then the biweek is all the battles that take place between the players, if a battle of course is unresolved it is a draw. we can discuss ways of saying how a battle is won. Amount of ships left, planets destroyed...that can all be discussed..heh i think i wrote to much and now my brain is fried. Anywhoo any comments will be more than welcomed.

[ July 10, 2003, 02:53: Message edited by: Rojero ]

[geoschmo]

Originally posted by Suicide Junkie:
Dosen't that make it a bit too abstract, though?

There is no way to boost your defense of a certain map other than adding allies; if the other player is a bit better, they will almost always win since you start on even terms...

Well, I prefer abstract actually. But if you wanted an easy way to "handicap" games liek that you could allow the players a different level of racial points. Saw you are attacking a well developed system. In that case the defender could be allowed 5000 racial points and the attacker only 2000.

Just an idea. Another idea I had was you could specify each race take a deficit on their ship maintenance characteristic to reflect fighting a battle in a system far from their own territory.

Geoschmo

[Stone Mill]

Geo I like it. The overlay map would give the owner or defender bonus racial points for their empire, depending on the quality of the quadrant.

[Suicide Junkie]

I'm curious:
Why do you want these RP combats to go with simple VS play in SE4? Even with racial point modifiers for map/zone values/development, it has only the slightest relation to what's "really" going on.

It isn't hard to generate scenarios, and with racial traits chosen upon joining the RP game, you can easily maintain a small set of proto-scenarios for any conflict with your 2 or 3 neighbours.
Even generating the scenario for each conflict from scratch (using only the background map and starting a new game with it) would be easy with an appropriate mod.

Not to mention that SE4 could use a nice set of scenarios, and they would form a very nice historical record for the RP universe.

[ July 10, 2003, 04:12: Message edited by: Suicide Junkie ]

[Fyron]

Why do you want these RP combats to go with simple VS play in SE4?

Because it works better that way.

[Rojero]

quote: Why do you want these RP combats to go with simple VS play in SE4?

Because it works better that way.

Ditto and its a slight twist to interaction a little of Space Empires gaming, and good roleplaying, and Grand scale strategic schemeing (like Avalon Hill's Diplomacy)

[Suicide Junkie]

Has a persistent universe / scenarios ever even been tried before?

[Taera]

i just wanted once again to plug in that this is basicly how the roleplay forums work, except that as Geo stated in the past there had been too many issues with them... we're still trying, me and others at my side and the Ladder team on the other side. The thing is, however, that there you are expected to roleplay your empire, at least once in a while. I dont know about the ladder (where, for all i know, it is more system-oriented, and by system i mean the php or whatever system), but at the Legacies thats the point - that your expected to be roleplaying.

Overall the idea is good and might well attract some interest, though i dont know who might go to the lenghts needed to make it done.