Idea for an "SP Challenge" game

[Gandalf Parker]

Oh I meant to add that YES I can host a challenge designed game if you want, and provide the winning statistics.

[NTJedi]

I've created two "SP Challenge" games, yet I haven't released them because at this time they encounter the commander and unit limitations.
These maps are 705 provinces or less and do not use the mass unit producing nations, yet they still encounter the commander and unit limitations.

This next patch might be enough to avoid the limitations currently encountered.

[sansanjuan]

NTJedi said:

I've created two "SP Challenge" games, yet I haven't released them because at this time they encounter the commander and unit limitations.
These maps are 705 provinces or less and do not use the mass unit producing nations, yet they still encounter the commander and unit limitations.

This next patch might be enough to avoid the limitations currently encountered.

Awesome NT. I wonder if to get our feet wet it might be best to start with a small map. This might bring in more players. Might be useful to hand pick the AI opponents (including pretenders and scales) and bump up the supply feed (work around the AI starvation issue). Make the AIs/Scales as strong as legally possible. Throw down the gaunlet NT! What do you think about allowing players to play the same game more than once (though only the first one counts for score to minimize leveraging preknowledge of sites, etc )? I'm psyched. This migth involve significantly more SP players in the forum/community.


My $0.02,
-SSJ

[sansanjuan]

Thanks GP!

Want to stress that whoever submits the game makes the rules! Didn't want to sound like my suggestions are anything more than that.
-SSJ

[Gandalf Parker]

Totally.
I HOST games but I dont tend to RUN games. I think that most of the hosts end up in the same boat. Its enough hassle to do the hosting. Its VERY helpful if someone else starts the game thread, debates the settings, sets the rules, gets the players, checks the thread multiple times a day (or at least daily), and then is the one person who PMs me of anything needing a change.

[Itchykobu]

This topic made me think of "Secret Mission Risk". Anyone play it? It's a game of Risk, but each player has a different objective to complete to win. For example, My mission may be to eliminate blue, your mission may be to conquer all of North America, and our friend's mission may be to conquer 40 territories. First one to complete wins.

I think that would be a cool twist to see in Dominions.

[MaxWilson]

Itchykobu,

You can do that in MP already. You just need some way of proving to the other players what your secret mission was, without showing them the card.

-Max

[Ming]

This seems to be taking shape and becoming more and more interesting.

[sansanjuan]

Gandalf Parker said:
Totally.
I HOST games but I dont tend to RUN games. I think that most of the hosts end up in the same boat. Its enough hassle to do the hosting. Its VERY helpful if someone else starts the game thread, debates the settings, sets the rules, gets the players, checks the thread multiple times a day (or at least daily), and then is the one person who PMs me of anything needing a change.

I would eventually like to take a crack at hosting an "SP Challenge Game" on your server. Having never hosted before I'm curious how we'd run such a game(s). Would we create a dozen clones of the game on the server (game1,game2,game3, etc) and have each player assigned to a specific cloned-game where the game would act exactly like an MP game except all nations would be AI (except the player's of course)? Is there a way to do this with a single game and behind the scenes each games would save in a subdirectory named the specific username of the player? e.g. a filesystem redirection based on the user's submissions.

-SSJ

[NTJedi]

sansanjuan said:
Awesome NT. I wonder if to get our feet wet it might be best to start with a small map. This might bring in more players. Might be useful to hand pick the AI opponents (including pretenders and scales) and bump up the supply feed (work around the AI starvation issue). Make the AIs/Scales as strong as legally possible. Throw down the gaunlet NT! What do you think about allowing players to play the same game more than once (though only the first one counts for score to minimize leveraging preknowledge of sites, etc )? I'm psyched. This migth involve significantly more SP players in the forum/community.


My $0.02,
-SSJ

I would also be interested in hosting two or more types of "SP Challenge" on Gandalfs server. I believe having a sticky in the Multiplayer and AARs forum called SP Hall of Fame/Scores would also generate interest in participation. Greater methods of SP game balance can also be achieved using a MOD which removes spells and items which cripple AI opponents. Spells like Astral Corruption and Utterdark quickly kill AI opponents since the AI is unaware. Players should be allowed to play the game more than once, but only their first play counts as the score. Also if Gandalf has a method for identifying the IP address or MAC address of the individual logging into the server we can greatly decrease cheaters using multiple names. My large "SP Challenge" maps use victory points otherwise the games would take almost a year or more to finish.

Some maps remove optional game settings such as Dawn of Dominions where the research level or other settings cannot be chosen. I wonder if there's hidden commands for specifying these settings within the .map file and then locking them... probably just my wishful thinking.

Another suggestion for drawing the greatest interest is by providing a small map, a medium map and a large map for the SP challenge. If KO or JK were also to complete one of the SP challenges it would also draw interest from other members to participate.