family vs family, the rematch

Zooko · #1 February 23rd, 2005, 12:51 PM

We just finished a two-vs-two game:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...5&o=&fpart=all

It was fun! I think we need a smaller map next time, but the basic concept of two-vs-two is great because:

1. It's a hot war the whole way, not a race. We didn't experience 50 or 100 turns of hoarding, racing for research, and conquering independents, but instead 15 turns of conquering independents followed by 35 turns of brutal combat. Whee!

2. It gave me an opportunity to chat with my partner a lot while planning our strategies, trading gold, gems, items, and intelligence. This made it more of a social occasion instead of a lonely hobby.

So, my partner and I are interested in another two-vs-two game. Please privately find a partner and agree to team up before you post to this thread.

I won't necessarily agree to play against whoever posts first or anything -- maybe I'll change my mind or something.

Does anybody know of a wrap-around map with only about 100 provinces? Or some other kind of map where there is a high chance that all enemies can reach each other?

Regards,

Zooko

The Panther · #2 February 23rd, 2005, 01:44 PM

Hey Zooko. I would be interested in playing against you with my son as partner. It could be a family affair: Father and son vs two brothers! I have not talked to him, but I think he would be highly interested. The problem is that we are using the same CD key and would require a third party host (like Alneyan perhaps) to get around this problem. Or I could order another copy of Dom, but I was waiting for Dom 3.

As for the map, there are some smaller maps that are not wraparound. Using a third party as host, this is not a problem as the teams could be pre-placed on the map. This would work well, I believe.

I like the Zen mods too.

Alneyan · #3 February 23rd, 2005, 01:59 PM

I could handle the hosting, so long as you do not mind PBEM and do not expect to be able to play several turns a day (I can usually run a turn in late morning or early afternoon GMT, some days in the afternoon, and in the evenings everyday).

Creating a specific map does not really require to have a third party host though: if you want the capitals to be known to all players, it only requires a public .map file made for this game. If you would prefer to keep the location of the capitals a secret, you would need someone to set up the game for you (and you would not get to see the .map file).

Zooko · #4 February 24th, 2005, 12:25 PM

I don't understand the problem about the CD key, or how third-party hosting helps.

I prefer TCP connection and the option of doing several turns a day.

Last time I hosted it on my server, which worked nicely. Even though I guess the CD key on my server is the same as the CD key on my laptop (which I used to play my turns).

It would be nice to have someone place the capitols for us without telling us.

Thanks for the offer of hosting and capitol-placing, Alneyan.

There is a map called Chandrea a.k.a. Dunken Donut that seems okay. It is 102 provinces, wrap-around, 17 water provinces. It seems like water movement is very important strategically, so perhaps we should agree at the start whether water-nations and water-movement themes should be allowed or not.

What do you think of that map?

Alneyan · #5 February 24th, 2005, 12:31 PM

The problem of the key is that Panther and Tauren are currently using the same key, but are no longer playing on the same computer (they used to, but I believe this is no longer the case). Having a PBEM hosting would allow the host to validate one of their turns with my own key; otherwise, one of them will not be able to play.

Zooko · #6 February 24th, 2005, 12:48 PM

Bleah.

What if one of them ran the host on the same computer as they played from? Would that avoid the problem?

But anyway, I'm willing to try PBEM. It would be cool if the server that sent the .trn files out could send my .trn file to both my brother and me and send his .trn file to both him and me.

The Panther · #7 February 24th, 2005, 05:07 PM

One of the early patches prevented two players from using the same CD key on two different computers, which was a HUGE pain to me. Since my son and I do not live together, we cannot make our respective moves from the same computer, no matter who hosts. A third party like Alneyan can use his own CD key to validate one of our moves, thus allowing it to work.

Also, I cannot commit to making more than one turn a day, for I have a job and many other things going on in my life. The advantage of the email system is that the moves host at the same time each day, so you don't have to constantly be checking if a turn is up or not. Also, it is far easier to recover from problems using email and games thus die much less often.

Interesting idea about the turn files. Looking at your partners position would surely make the coordination far mor robust. I can't see any reason why not to do that in a 2v2 game.

I have not looked at the map you suggested. Where can it be downloaded?

Zooko · #8 February 24th, 2005, 05:23 PM

Okay, I'm convinced. If Alneyan will host for us that would be very nice.

The map named Chandrea is available from this site:

http://www.dominions-2.org/index.htm

Alneyan · #9 February 24th, 2005, 05:29 PM

A PBEM game is indeed very unlikely to crash: even a major game bug can be recovered by rolling back one turn (or a few turns if it is really major), and I haven't heard of any such bug. I also have the fatherland files and the turn files backed on one mail, so a computer crash would not be enough to crash one of my PBEM games (and even if I were to disappear, Gandalf Parker could give you access to my mail, allowing the game to still go on).

Turn files can be sent to both players; that was my plan (and what I do in the Entwined Destiny game, where six teams of two players fight it out), and it is actually less work for me.

(Though separate mails only take a few more seconds per turn) You could also not set up any password, making it easier to browse the files of your team.

The map is available on Arryn's site I think: www.dominions-2.org

I should learn to type faster. Either that, or I should be less verbose.

Alneyan · #10 February 25th, 2005, 11:12 AM

What sort of manual placement would you like? The two teams starting near each other, several provinces away from the other side? The four capitals making a sort of square? (X provinces between all four capitals)

I can also keep the .map file a secret, so you wouldn't know where the enemy capitals are located, though you could expect them to be at the other end of the map. But with a warparound map, they could come from any direction, so you would still have to watch out for the other team.