Imperium One - Off to a Flying Start

[Kylearan]

Hi,

good game, and very good report - thanks! Very interesting how different your game went compared to mine. You never fought the Silicoids which I felt to be the biggest threat in my game, and you did much more peaceful building than I did. The latter led you to a secure position in the elections which was my biggest problem for some time, so maybe I should concentrate on more building in my next game, too.

-Kylearan

[Sirian]

Well done. There's a day left and reports left to trickle in, but all the RB regulars who are known MOO vets have posted, so your game is likely to be the strongest result.

All the shorthand makes your report a difficult read. It will be impossible for some here to follow it. Those who know the game inside and out will be able to decipher, but that's not as many as you seem to expect. You packed in enormous information, but it does read like a technical manual in most parts. How much to open that up to expand upon your relationship with readers is your choice. If you keep the balance you used here, don't be surprised if some readers opt not to go through the deciphering. Good writing involves reducing work for the reader, not the writer. Know your audience. If you don't know them, that's fine, but I hope you stay interested long enough to get to know us better.

I hadn't realized Jon had put up a notice. That's cool. His site helped me a lot in organizing all of this. How did you find his site?

There are only a couple players here with your level of familiarity with MOO. Your number crunching focus yields great results, and "Not a believer in the Audience button" is a very RB-like concept. We're on the same page in terms of approaching the game, even if we're not (yet) speaking the same language.


Now to specifics...

In all, Imperia are not a bad idea.

Thanks.

But I would definitely turn random events off, as something like getting Mobas depleted or Cometed would totally change the game.

My approach will be "as many rules as necessary, but not one more". That may take a while to refine to purity. I have a lot of interests to look after if this is to be anything more than a flash in the pan. There does seem to be a need for at least some games with events disabled, though.

I like Medium/5--it's what I almost always play--and I don't think I'd have the patience to take notes as long as games last on Large or Huge.

I'm still weighing the map balance. I thought we had a catchall solution for Negative Fleets, but we don't. That's a problem, especially for Huge maps.

The scenarios are not tailored as much as you think. If I pre-played them, but also participated, that would not be fair, as I'd know what I had in mind and what would or wouldn't make the cut. I'd have an advantage, in other words. If I preplay or I tailor the map, I don't get to participate. Me participating is much of my motivation for doing this. It's also vital to getting the tourney off the ground, as this is largely riding my energy, until players pick up enough of their own to fly it without relying on me. I will tailor some maps, but less so in the early going.

The random generator does a good job of providing varied maps, varied tech balances, varied strategic situations. There's no need (at this point) for me to tailor anything, other than to get a map that comes close enough to what I have in mind to serve its purpose. I did reject one or two maps for this event. On the other hand, if that's the best start you've ever seen, then there's more for you to see. I've seen starts with two artifacts in range, where player gets the techs, and I've seen two or even three ultra rich in range, including steppe planets or barrens in a nebula, or a pack of large planets all 80+. Not common, but not theory. I've seen them. This map had a lot of normal environments, but almost nothing in the low hostile range. Expect the unexpected. I'm not keeping a tight reign on the maps, only a loose hold.

But please, not Average again.

You don't have to play events that are below your skill level. However, there will be more average games. We have players entirely new to the game who are playing. We have others who are casual players who never polished their skills, never deconstructed the game engine, never studied all the moving parts. Your idea of what their learning curve ought to be may not match reality. Communities live or die on the interest of players. This is an old and dead game. We won't get anywhere as a community unless we take very good care of the new blood. Without them this effort is doomed.

Skip the games that don't appeal. There will be some that do. That beats none, right?

I probably don't eed three weeks again either

Neither do I. Lot of busy folks, though. Almost every RB regular also has other games on their plate, plus real life, plus care put into reporting, plus... who knows. I'll match supply to demand. Best I can tell you.

I also hope you note the care I've put into this reply. I'm glad you played and reported. The next two games won't likely match well for you, but Imperium Four will be a medium-5-Meklar on Impossible, so don't miss out.


- Sirian

[Kylearan]

Hi,

good game, and good report! Lots of screenies, I like that.

Being accustomed to impossible and expecting serious amounts of defending missile bases I waited long before going into offensive myself resulting in a late victory after 250 turns

Sirian had mentioned this, too, and I know that the AIs build a lot more bases on impossible, no doubt about that. But I was able to *see* how many bases the nearest Silicoids systems had, 10 and 1 bases for two of their systems directly adjacents to Cryslon in my case, and thus was able to infer that Cryslon itself wouldn't have many bases either. Haven't you scouted their systems in the beginning, or lacked scanner tech?

-Kylearan

[Kylearan]

Hi,

that's bitter! Getting into a hot war with the Meklar the way it happened to you is really tough. I hope we will see you in the next Imperium with better luck!

-Kylearan

[Urugharakh]

In fact I probably could have guessed the approximate number of missile bases from scouting some planets earlier. Only I never checked their number, as I knew it by heart form my previous games and they are always the same.

Urugharakh

[Kylearan]

Hi,

in general, I like your style of reporting: Not just a pure log, as some others do, but instead focusing more on your thoughts and strategy while still reporting many details, to help me analyze your gameplay, and all that accompanied with many screenshots. Very nice! But please...pretty pretty please...do not use so many abbreviations next time! I admit I stopped reading your report after the first page. Many of the abbreviations you used made no sense to me, but even the ones I was able to decipher destroyed the flow of your text.

I jumped right to the end of your report and saw you won in 2473, but I wasn't able to find out how. It sounded like you had eliminated all your rivals, but I'm not sure...

-Kylearan

[Kylearan]

Hi,

very good initial analysis, and great report. I especially liked that line: It's amazing how much your heart can beat in a game when you're actually reporting it.

The Mrrshans were the first in your game with six systems? Amazing. After the reports I've read so far, there seems to be quite a difference in how the AIs expand, more so than in civ3. I'm glad your Silicoids were able to catch up later and become a major power as in all other games, though.

Congrats on your victory, and although more reports may come in, I assume it safe to say nobody will beat you in the "biggest planetary reserve" competition. :P

-Kylearan

[Selentine]

Re: shorthand, how often do you type out After Action Report or Right of Passage? I had to google hard to decipher your lingo, but it DOES make communication easier among those who know it. When I started playing again, I took notes on paper and the paper is more readable with shorthand. If DaveV's HX scans faster than my M8, I can switch. I can't type out everything and turn 1000 lines into 2000; my RSI will flare up.

I didn't know yunz at all when I wrote my report. I have a better sense having read ten others'. If you manage to revive a MOO1 community, the jargon will extend beyond NAP. You're right that this hasn't happened yet.

I would rather pack more information into equal space. I really can't figure out where I got ahead of people who were frugal reporting dates, for instance. People could figure out where they fell behind me, but I made it more difficult than I intended. Obviously my report scans fine to me.

Jon Sullivan's page is linked from dmoz (open directory) and a top hit on google. I hit the bookmark two weeks ago looking for something new because the game was starting to feel old.

It's your call how to configure the Imperia; I don't have the energy to sponsor one myself. My vote is for Not Average and Alt+EVENTS, but I'm not a 2/3 majority. I needed to play I1 to get a barometer. Thanks for providing one. Now that I have it I can sit out I2 if it won't challenge me. In which case, good luck to all.

Selentine

[Smegged]

tricksy little smegged.... (wait for my 3 part report)....

[Smegged]

Here is homeworld. What a nice aviary. Us birdies will have to find bigger aviary though, since current aviary is running out of space.




Ohhh, here's a nice perch.




What's this, some nasty looking shiny things. They could be good for cleaning and sharpening beak on.




Looks like oversized grit has taken over a large chunk of the birdcage.






Some nasty looking metalheads show up.




It's good to stretch our wings a little bit.





What's this. Not everybody is voting for me. Impudent! Must peck eyes out...






Avian war machine in top gear. Too many nasty kitties and rocks in this galaxy.




Wheeeeeee! Nothing like tossing the children out of the nest for the first time, especially when they fly far away from home.




Those pirate scum!




Those pirate scum!




Us pirate scum!




More planets to fly around.




Ooooh, pretty lights.

Too be cont...