Keygen's Classic - Turns

Keygen · October 4, 2000, 20:26

The players are:

1. Lady Stuntman19 of the Gaians (mgr@dmi.net)
2. Chairman Yang of the Hive (Computer)
3. Provost Keygen of the Univercity (costas_ctp@yahoo.com)
4. CEO Nanuk of the Morganites (jeff.madore@sympatico.ca)
5. Colonel Deimos of the Spartans (deimos@civgaming.net)
6. Sister Miriam of the Believers (Computer)
7. Brother Black Sunrise of the Peacekeepers (indra@blacksunrise.com)

Good luck!

stuntman19 · October 4, 2000, 21:31

Our life pod has landed and we have founded our first city, Duke's Landing. We have begun to search the surrounding area for signs of the others.

Duke Stuntman19
Conversations with Planet

turn 2101 to Provost Keygen

Keygen · October 5, 2000, 19:58

MY 2101 to CEO Nanuk

At last! Planetfall has been made successfully.
Our first base on Planet is a fact. Scientists has builded University Base, their headquarters on Planet.
We will soon try to get contact with the other factions but in the meanwhile we shall secure the area from the native life & work on the development of our very first base.

Provost Keygen

Nanuk · October 6, 2000, 08:03

MY2101 sent to Spartans

First and second base established!! Just kidding.

Deimos · October 7, 2000, 00:00

MY2101 to Peacekeepers

Black Sunrise · October 7, 2000, 06:35

In the interests of Unity, our first base has been established.
Efforts to explore are underway.
Who shall say what dangers this strange new world offers?

Move sent on, hope it will be received. Transmission equipment possibly damaged by crash landing.

Black Sunrise · October 7, 2000, 18:34

I started with a colony pod and a scout patrol. Possibly the difficulty level?
Black Sunrise

stuntman19 · October 7, 2000, 19:03

Ok, thats what I figured, thanks Black Sunrise.

Keygen · October 7, 2000, 19:38

I got 2 colony pods and 1 scout patrol.
As far as I know there is a chance to get the above or just 1 colony pod and 1 scout patrol as you and Black Sunrise did.
I guess some are lucky and some are not

MY 2102 to CEO Nanuk

stuntman19 · October 7, 2000, 20:11

Well it appears that some got two colony pods and some only one. This is not luck, but a bug that is very unbalancing for a MP game. The added colony pod gives much faster potential growth and research. Also 20 turns down the road the ability to start SP's while the others cannot yet without shutting down expansion.
I am for a restart at a higher level to insure fairness since we are so early in the game. I would like to know how the others feel and will not do the start of turn 3 until we can come to some agreement.

Black Sunrise · October 7, 2000, 20:19

With some factions, I would suspect a special advantage, but I dont think that's not a university power (I would have guessed Lal would be more likely to have extra people).
Can anyone confirm this is a bug? If it is, I agree it is unbalancing (not that I get really excited over issues like fairness. RL isn't ever fair, anyway).
If it's not a bug, continue. If it is, I'd be willing to continue, and if I get beaten, I'll just use that as an excuse.

Maybe the conputer is compensating for nearness to Landmarks or something like that?
Black Sunrise
[This message has been edited by Black Sunrise (edited October 07, 2000).]

stuntman19 · October 7, 2000, 20:54

I know that tourny games start on 2102 with a CMN who assigns passwords and insures everyone starts the same. He does not move anything or found bases obviously, but insures an equitable start.

stuntman19 · October 8, 2000, 00:47

On my first turn I started with this:

one colony pod
one scout patrol

Normally starts have been this:

one base
one colony pod
one scout patrol

or

two colony pods
one scout patrol

Is this normal for difficulty where playing? and how everyone else started?

Thanks

2102 on to Keygen

Nanuk · October 8, 2000, 07:53

2102 sent to Deimos

Morganites have started with two pods , one scout. I would agree that it may seem unfair , but can we confirm that it is a bug? Or if we do restart then can we get a CMN to ensure a fair start , otherwise we may end up with the same situation.

Deimos · October 9, 2000, 00:43

MY2102 to Black Sunrise

I started off with 2 pods, 1 rover. I think that the number of pods at the start is random, because even in single player, sometimes I get 1, sometimes it is 2.

In tourney games, isn't the CMN a neutral 3rd party? In a friendly game, having the CMN, who is also a player, start everything off equally would give that individual knowledge where everyone starts. Later in the game this doesn't matter at all, but in the early game, it could give this individual an advantage in deciding which way to explore/settle and in deciding early research priorities.

If you all want a restart, that's ok by me. In this game, even though I have 2 pods, I wouldn't call my starting position stellar(lots of fungus), but maybe that is part of the equation: good starting position = 1 pod, poor starting position = 2 pods.

By the way, I know that the CMN is the person who starts/sets up a MP game, but I do not know what the acronym means. Could you enlighten me?
[This message has been edited by Deimos (edited October 08, 2000).]

stuntman19 · October 9, 2000, 02:46

The CMN is normally not in the game but sets up the game and handles any problems or rule interpretations.
Thus the Creator-Moderator-Narrator title. You may be right about the random factor, as that may be why the tourny format has the CMN handle the whole first turn and assure everyone starts with the same number of units. I'm assuming we are proceeding forward, and other than feeling it is somewhat unbalancing a start, I guess it is an informal friendly game.

turn 2103 to Provost Keygen

Keygen · October 9, 2000, 08:47

I will agree with Deimos because as far as I know in Single player games some times you get 2 colony pods and some time 1.
I didn't know what CMN was but now I know and if you guys wan't to restart the game it's fine by me.
But my suggestion is everyone who has two colony pods just keep the one inside the base for 10-20 turns depending on the city growth speed of the factions with one colony pod. In this way we could balance the game so not to have some of us any kind of advantage and not to slow the game by restarting it.
What do you think?

Keygen · October 9, 2000, 15:13

OK, I have disbanded my colony pod. I will ask from Nanuk and Deimos to do the same and disband their colony pod. Unfotunately I won't be able to disband any extra colony pod of the Alien factions

And I like the idea of CMN. Stuntman19 if you can find a CMN fine otherwise I will post a new thread for the position of the CMN.
And one more question.
In Keygen's SMACX I also have 2 colony pods and a scout patrol.
Is anyone who has only one colony pod?

MY 2103 to Nanuk.

stuntman19 · October 10, 2000, 00:15

Another option to keep the game going would be to have the players receiving 2 colony pods to disband the 2nd one. This would keep the current game going without a restart, but would depend on the honor system basically. I'm thinking the randomness of pod number is a feature of the lower levels of play, but again I'm not sure as most of my experiences are on transcend level. Other than trying to even things as early in the game as possible if we are going to do it,
I'm ok with either an adjustment to the current game or leaving it as it is to keep the game going.

stuntman19 · October 10, 2000, 02:54

As far as I know everyone in the smacx started the same, with the two colony pods. As for having a CMN it is probably a good thing to have, but as long as we can work thru any problems I'm sure we will be ok.
I think by doing the disband only the AI(Hive and Believers) should have started with two pods, but who knows.

Nanuk · October 11, 2000, 08:11

Turn sent to Deimos.

I will disband next turn.

Deimos · October 11, 2000, 22:59

Turn sent to Black Sunrise

My extra pod is on its way back. Will disband next turn.

Black Sunrise · October 12, 2000, 01:25

Move sent on.

Reports indictate more of this "fungus" than we first thought! Will attempt to investigate.

stuntman19 · October 12, 2000, 02:17

2104 sent to Provost Keygen

Keygen · October 12, 2000, 04:16

Nothing special yet, just growing...

MY 2104 to CEO Nanuk.

Keygen · October 16, 2000, 07:06

Does anyone knows where Nanuk is?

stuntman19 · October 16, 2000, 07:58

Not sure, you might want to send Nanuk an e-mail to see if he has the turn or received it?

Deimos · October 16, 2000, 19:40

MY 2104 sent to Black Sunrise

When Nanuk sent me the prior turn, he indicated he was having email problems. Boy was he ever

After I received the turn and passed it on, I received it again once a day for the next 3 days

Black Sunrise · October 16, 2000, 22:14

Movement into fungus successful.
****Brk****...retreival operation complete.
Message ends.

Keygen · October 17, 2000, 00:44

Well I have sent him an email a couple of days ago but I had no response. I will send him another one and if he won't reply in a day I will consider he's out.
If anyone knows a way of putting him in AI without having his password then please post. Otherwise I'm afraid that we will have to start over.