I can vouch for DaveV being an excellent dedlurker, who is especially patient with explaining weird FFH mechanics to newbies.
However if you stumble into a win, don't expect him to post in the thread to celebrate!
coldrain, a player list, and eventually picks, are also very helpful in the opening post. I think we are waiting for fireblaze to start a thread yet?
English is not that big of a problem.
I have a few problems to write english - I'm sure, you find too much grammar mistakes in my replies - but reading ? No problem.
If I have to write longer parts or have problems with a few vocabularys, I have DeepL avaible.
Bing needs to make his own thread, after that all confirmed players have done so.
For later, when turn order is determined: My preferred playing window is 16:00 to 21:00 GMT. During last game it worked well when I was positioned after Aurorarcher (he lives in same country as me, hurray for Finland!).
(April 14th, 2024, 15:35)Miguelito Wrote: I can vouch for DaveV being an excellent dedlurker, who is especially patient with explaining weird FFH mechanics to newbies.
However if you stumble into a win, don't expect him to post in the thread to celebrate!
Congratulations on having the strength of your convictions, and sticking to your early mage gambit through thick and thin. And, of course, for having the skill and diplomatic chops to pull off the win.
I'm happy to dedlurk someone who wants company. Given my track record as lurker, you probably want to pick someone who needs pulling back into the pack ... I am _not_ a good luck charm.
It may have looked easy, but that is because it was done correctly - Brian Moore
Maybe it's been a little while, shallow_thought, but I distinctly remember several games you dedlurked where your team won the game!
And a quick count shows six player threads open, so hopefully I can get the starts posted after I get home tonight. I'm really hoping for more feedback on them before I post (and besides, I work late tonight, and my time zone is PDT so it'll be a several hours yet even if I get a chorus of, "These are perfect - go with these!" for the same set of starts between now and then) but I'll try to not hold things up too much longer here. I've been making progress on the rest of the map while waiting for start feedback as well, so hopefully the game can get started soon!
(April 16th, 2024, 13:43)shallow_thought Wrote: I'm happy to dedlurk someone who wants company. Given my track record as lurker, you probably want to pick someone who needs pulling back into the pack ... I am _not_ a good luck charm.
I would appreciate a dedlurker, I'm planning to write more in detail about the early game anyway.
Okay, sorry for taking longer than I hoped! I fortunately got some good feedback from Q today, and I'll take the blame for any issues that are left - I'll post the starts and civ + leader choices shortly!
Some notes on the map:
1) It is bigger than the last map (as requested). There will consequently be more barbs present! Though the barb "animals" (including such well-known "animals" as Griffons and Hill Giants) won't enter your civ's borders, barbs spawned from lairs will even before regular orcs start showing up on the board. Last game, Q was dealing with a Skeleton before T10, and those are a picnic compared to Lizardmen: Two-movers that can snipe your Workers from the fog and attack your cities with very little warning! FfH barbs do not respect turn number limits or the number of cities in the world as BtS barbarians do, so be warned!
2) The map size and difficulty are the same as last game: Standard size, Emperor difficulty. I did consider this comment from last game...
(November 11th, 2023, 11:29)mackoti Wrote: Considering map looks prety large, and there is Kurio in maybe chanching to large so there to be 4 megacities?
...but in light of the fact that (nearly) everyone (including Mackoti) later said that map was small for a 5-player FfH game, and since a "standard" map is normally meant to fit 7 players and the map script I used to generate a base for my edits called this map size "Standard" too, I decided to stick with it. (Besides, if someone draws the Kurios and thinks they're too weak with "just" three super-cities, they can always pick a different civ, while if the Kurios would have been too strong with four super-cities on a map this size, it would be much more unbalancing - to say nothing of the other map-size effects on game mechanics.) I still appreciate the reminder to think about this stuff though, even a full game later!
Non-spoilery spoiler for details of procedure for those who didn't follow (or don't remember the start of) the last game:
I'll be posting a starting screenshot and three civs (and one natural-for-that-civ leader for each) to each of your threads. I'll eventually post the civs and leaders (both rolled and chosen) to this public thread, but not until after all six players have made their final selections. Note also that all civs will start with Agriculture, Ancient Chants, Craftsmanship, and Exploration. Most civs will also come with a choice between additional free starting techs: Those that would normally start with Agriculture in a Thaw start can choose one of Animal Husbandry or Calendar; those that would normally start with Ancient Chants automatically get Mysticism; those that would normally start with Craftsmanship can choose one of Masonry or Mining; those that would normally start with Exploration can choose one of Cartography, Fishing, or Hunting. The tech you choose will not be made public however.
Other map settings:
- Map Script: Yes, I used one. Please don't ask which; you wouldn't believe me if I told you.
- Map Edits: Yes, I made some. Like last time, I would not say the map is balanced; I tried to make it fun to play from any position, with lots to decide and discover in terms of development, exploration, and interaction with other players, but I've no idea what your experience will be, nor how all the possible combinations of civs, techs, religions, and civics might break the game. Hopefully finding out will be part of the fun!
- Mana Nodes: I included two untyped nodes per player, not necessarily visible from the start, plus a handful of typed nodes, most in the form of "Unique Features" (the former doubled from the last game, the latter ~similar to last game).
- Unique Features: I again made an effort to identify game-wrecking ones and keep them from affecting at least the early game, either by ensuring their absence or by positioning them accordingly - but of course any random lair or dungeon or whatever, unique or otherwise, could turn out to be incredibly game-changing in various ways. I also added a few extra "Unique Features" consisting of unusual tiles with unremovable visible-to-all-players signs. If you show a picture of one in your thread or mention that you spotted it, I'll post a brief description of it to your thread, sort of like what you might see in the Civilopedia or an in-game event that lets you knwo it's in the game.
Also note the map isn't actually finished yet; I'm hoping to get some more balancing work in and get some feedback from other lurkers - but I'm still hoping to have it ready by the time you've all made your picks, worked out preferred playing windows, and are ready to start the game! Emphasis on "hoping," but I'll try!
Right; I'll go roll some dice for who gets which start and which set of civs and leaders now; I hope you all have fun with the game!
I have thoughts on the Kuriotates. I wonder if they should just be updated to have four cities on a standard size map (note: I haven't seen the size of the map so I'm posting in the abstract here).
Erebus in the Balance - a FFH Modmod based around balancing and polishing FFH for streamlined competitive play.
