PBEM12 Organizing Thread

[Sylon]

I'll be a dedicated lurker for Tredje, if he'd like to have me on board. It might get a bit cramped in Malakai's with three people after all.

I'm a bit late to the party, but here are my picks:

a) Difficulty?
Prince or Monarch

b) All civs contactable before astronomy?
Yes.

c) Snake pick?
Try something similar to PBEM10 instead. Personally, I've had enough of seeing the same civs over and over again.

d) Any civ/leader restrictions?
Either exclude the top 16 and 8 leaders/civs respectively or go PBEM10.

e) Map type or mapmakers discretion? Anything in particular?

Mapmaker's discretion. Anything goes, but make sure it's balanced. If you're putting an offshore archipelago, make sure all players can access it. And the super-rich central area needs to be equally accessible to everyone. Other than that, I'm good.

f) Barbarians?
Yes.

[Malakai]

Thanks to Alex for volunteering to make our map, I look forward to living in the world of your creation (feels like he is talking to god)

BTW I would prefer a little space, but not so much that we do not meet anyone for ages.

[Gaspar]

That's good. I think i speak for everyone in saying i never want to hear you and Nakor 'bash one out'.

Bash one out, right-o. Sometimes I forget my proper English slang, comes from being a Yank, I believe. As long as Arsenal stay top of the table, you can find 17 different way of calling me a wanker and I'll live with it.

As far as Spies/WE go, I find spies to be more irritating than broken if everyone has access to them, the brokenness I think comes from the AI not really knowing how to take advantage of them. Nonetheless, I as well assumed both would be omitted. As such, I think I'd rather just see Ivory off the map, as it eliminates any confusion. One less happy resource, but its a crappy tile usually anyway.

[RefSteel]

Just checking in, saying hi, and expressing my gratitude to Kyan for letting me on board as a dedicated lurker/idea-handball-wall. Also: Thanks very much for volunteering to make the map, Alex!

Meanwhile, in my role as didactic purveyor of boring information and opinions:

As far as Spies/WE go, I find spies to be more irritating than broken if everyone has access to them, the brokenness I think comes from the AI not really knowing how to take advantage of them.

I'd argue that banning a game mechanic that's intrinsically irritating is a good idea. That said...

What makes spies broken is their ability to force an opponent to change religion or civics for basically chump change. The ability to revolt cities is also game-changing, their other abilities are dangerous in the right hands too, and the ability to act as invisible Commando recon teams alone would make them must-build units (for 40 hammers?!) even if you never generated a single EP. With Spies allowed, Alphabet becomes one of the most important offensive military techs in the game. But it's the ability to swap someone's state religion to the one you just spread to a single one of their size-1 cities (among other ridiculous things) that makes them utterly broken.

[Nakor]

Agree on no spies and no WE! Map size normal sounds good to me. If we really want more room there are enough ways on a normal map to do so instead of going to large.

Well, we had a nice discussion on our leader pick (I slept most of the time...).

We'd like to go with something different and pick.... Willem.

Whosit/Raven are up!

[Whosit]

Ravus and I will use a leader rarely seen... just kidding.

Suryavarman II.

[Gaspar]

Agree on no spies and no WE! Map size normal sounds good to me. If we really want more room there are enough ways on a normal map to do so instead of going to large.

Well, we had a nice discussion on our leader pick (I slept most of the time...).

We'd like to go with something different and pick.... Willem.

Whosit/Raven are up!

I really thought I had you swayed on Charlemagne too

[Kyan]

Nakor/Gaspar: Willem / ???
Whosit/Ravus: Suryavarman / ???
Malakai/Magil: UP
Tredje: ON DECK
Kyan: SULKING BELOW DECK
gingereagle1969/Sandover: WALKING THE PLANK

Some incredibly non-obvious and unusual picks to start us off with

[gingereagle1969]

As long as Arsenal stay top of the table, you can find 17 different way of calling me a wanker and I'll live with it.

Arsenal fan, eh? Fair enough, I'll begrudgingly support them against any club outside the M25 ....

.. however, within the blue serpent-like orbital I see them as the lowest of the low! I'd even support Millwall against those player-stealing* bar-stewards!!!!!


*Kenny Sansom & Ian Wright to name but 2

[Malakai]

I pick Elizabeth, whose up next?