New game?

[Krill]

If you are in similar time zones, sitting in chat together and speeding though the first 15 turns normally deals with the early game boredom. If you have been shown the starting screenshot prior to picking leaders and civs, you should really have put together a plan for those turns anyway in which case it's simply opening a save, making the scout/warrior move that you decided after ending the previous turn and then ending turn.

[LogicalTautology]

Does that work as well with PBEM as it would on Pitboss?

[Mardoc]

Does that work as well with PBEM as it would on Pitboss?

Not quite, but nearly. You can manage a turn every 5-10 minutes if everyone's around for a blitz in PBEM.

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Also, you guys, no one's going to run your game for you. One of you needs to step up and finish the organization if you want to play. Count votes, collect timezones/play windows, make a turn order, run the pick, etc.

[Alhazard]

Was waiting on DTG, but here is my quick count. Writing this before I leave for work so could be wrong:

Barbs off (1 yes, 2 no), undecided (2)
Huts off (5 yes)
Events off (5 yes)
Corps on (1 yes, 3 no)
Difficulty: Prince (2) Undecided (3)
Speed: Normal (1) Quick (2) No preference (2)
AI diplomacy (5 yes, I assume no diplomacy is AI diplomacy)
See starts for sure (5 yes)
Spies for only spying (1), passive espionage (4)
snake pick (5 yes)
Bans:
*Standard RB: no vassal states, no nukes, no WE (Ballista Elephants excepted), no spying missions, no AP/UN resolutions, no diplo victory, no blockades, no tech trading and brokering. (5 yes)
*Civ: Inca and India banned (2, 3 undecided?)
*Leader: Willem + Pacal banned (2, 3 undecided?)
*Wonders: TGL with islands, internet (1) up to map maker (2), undecided (2)

[Whosit]

AI Diplomacy isn't quite the same as No Diplomacy. You can still make resource trades, have open borders, etc., but it means no written communication inside or outside the game, no naming units or cities as a way to send a message, etc. That way no one has to spend hours on diplomacy, and the games are usually more about skill in Civ4 than who is better at manipulating people.

I have been curious to try an alternative, though, that allows limited in-game communication along the lines of what you can ask of AI in a SP game, like "declare war on X," or "stop trading with X," but I don't know how that would play out in practice since I've never convinced anyone to give it a try. :P

[DTG]

Thanks all. Sign-ups are now closed. We have five players:

1. DTG
   
2. Alhazard
   
3. LogicalTautology (+ Zero_1627, dedlurking)
   
4. ipecac
   
5. Khan

The following players have requested a dedlurker:

1. DTG: no planned absences, but it would be good to have someone to cover if necessary.

4. ipecac: will need cover for one week in June.

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For game speed, I count three who prefer normal (DTG, ipecac, LogicalTautology) and two who prefer Quick (Alhazard, Khan). Most players are opposed to an accelerated start. Nobody wants the early game to drag.

Let me follow Krill's comment and suggest this:

• If we can agree to find a day upon which to play the first 15 turns, we can play on Normal speed. The first 15 turns should be planned out in advance, so it is just a matter of moving units, exploring, and passing the save on to the next person.
  
  
• If this is impossible (our schedules don't align) we'll play on Quick.

I could spare a day to start the game during the week or at the weekend, given sufficient notice. My time zone is EST.

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Thanks, Alhazard, for collating the votes. I'll refine this some more.

Where there is a clear majority, I express this. If there is only a slight majority (2-1 is slight, 4-1 is not) I express the general consensus but suggest that the mapmaker can overrule this as (s)he feels fit:

Settings

Barbs: on (mapmaker can overrule)
Huts: off
Events: off
Corps: off
Difficulty: Prince (mapmaker can overrule)
AI diplomacy (can still make resource trades and have open borders; no written communication inside or outside the game, no requests to "declare war on X," no requests to "sign a trade embargo against X")
See starts: yes
Spies: passive espionage only (don't build Spies; can view graphs)
Snake pick: yes
Accelerated start: no

Bans

Standard RB: no vassal states, no nukes, no WE (Ballista Elephants excepted), no spying missions, no AP/UN resolutions, no diplo victory, no blockades, no tech trading and brokering.

Civ: Inca and India: banned

Leader: Willem + Pacal: banned (mapmaker can overrule)

Wonders: mapmaker's choice (SoZ, GLH, and the Internet have been mentioned in discussion)

Map Preferences

Player A: "I leave this to the judgment of others. If I were forced to choose at knife point, I would plum for room to expand and resource rich and a flat map. "

Player B: "General preferences are: (1) room to expand; (2) resource rich; (3) water provides strategic options, but there no huge Oceans to cross. PBEM39 contains an example of the sort of thing that I would like: http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthrea...27&page=14 (scooter's thread chosen at random for the screenshots). "

Player C: "I'm not a big fan of the "everyone has a 5-food Food resource and a Calendar happy resource at their start, and Copper and Horses within 5 tiles of the start, and..." maps. If the map is imbalanced but fair (as judged by one or more people qualified to make such an assessment, I'd be more inclined for that sort of thing."

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Commodore has kindly agreed to provide us with a map.

I'll wait 48 hours for further comments before forwarding the details to Commodore.

The main issue now is to determine the game speed. Please specify: (1) a general rule for your availability (e.g. if you work at weekends, this will make coordinating harder); (2) your time zone.

If, e.g., Player A can dedicate 6 hours on a Saturday (but not a Sunday), and Player B can dedicate 6 hours on a Sunday (but not a Saturday), and neither player can dedicate 6 hours during the week, we'll play on Quick speed.

[Whosit]

I could dedlurk for ipecac. I should be able to play turns when necessary.

[Zero_1627]

Barbs off (1 yes, 2 no), undecided (2)

By my count (I just reviewed the thread), it's 2x 'barbs off' and 2x undecided. I might have missed a post wanting barbs, but of two negatives (-> YES to barb off) I am certain (Alhazard and Khan). So map suggestions should be 'barbs off' (to be overrided if mapmaker so decides), not the other way around?
Unless You changed Your mind and I missed this

[Khan]

The main issue now is to determine the game speed. Please specify: (1) a general rule for your availability (e.g. if you work at weekends, this will make coordinating harder); (2) your time zone.

If, e.g., Player A can dedicate 6 hours on a Saturday (but not a Sunday), and Player B can dedicate 6 hours on a Sunday (but not a Saturday), and neither player can dedicate 6 hours during the week, we'll play on Quick speed.

Thank you for organising this. My availability is that I anticipate having multiple small windows in which to play during a day. I can almost always guarantee to play my turn between 5pm and midnight (GMT). However, I will also often be able to play during the day around 1pm ish.

In relation to the early game boost, I can likely arrange work so that I have an entire evening free to play with prior notice. I will not be able to guarantee continuous availability for longer than maybe an hour (perhaps two on the evening) on the weekend.

[Khan]

Barbs off (1 yes, 2 no), undecided (2)

By my count (I just reviewed the thread), it's 2x 'barbs off' and 2x undecided. I might have missed a post wanting barbs, but of two negatives (-> YES to barb off) I am certain (Alhazard and Khan). So map suggestions should be 'barbs off' (to be overrided if mapmaker so decides), not the other way around?
Unless You changed Your mind and I missed this

I voted for them off, yes.