The Spectacle of Perspicuity - Spectators: turns uploaded and video commentary Thread - Dominions 3: The Awakening

General Game Information

Name of the Game - The Spectacle of Perspicuity
PBEM - Hosted on Llamaserver. Files will be hosted manually and linked here.
Hosting Schedule - 24 hours start. Free extensions. Increased host whenever asked.
Number of Players - 4 (signup is complete although we could go to six)
Skill level - Veteran Only
Expected Commitment Level - high. This game is to demonstrate playing Dominions at veteran level. I need folks to be keen.

Game Settings

Age - Early Age
Independent Strength - standard
Research - easy
Magic Sites - standard
Money - standard
Resources - standard
Supplies - standard
Random Events - standard
Score Graphs - On
Hall Of Fame - 15
Re-Naming - On

Map - Bat Country
Mods - CBM 1.94. Changed my mind. No mod nations.
Victory Conditions - Last one standing or maybe 3 caps. But 3 caps with 4 players is pretty much last one standing.
Diplomacy - Anything goes. You know your rep.
General Rules - Let's use lot's of in game messaging. It is NOT required to do diplomacy by in game, but it provides a better Spectacle!
Disallowed Exploits - You know what cheating is. I don't think I need to spell it out.
Admin - Maerlande
Vice Admin - TBD

Player List
1. Maerlande - R'lyeh
2. Austen - Helheim
3. Admiral_Aorta - T'ien Ch'i
4. Amhazair - C'tis

This game came out of the previous thread: A Spectator Game! Spectators will be able to download the turns of all players 20 turns behind the game with a master password. T

The video commentary by me:
My Channel on Youtube

The turn file directories: (3 nations so far). urns are now hosted starting with turn 1. The master password to view is: Perspicious (cap dependent).
C'tis
T'ien Ch'i
R'lyeh
HelHeim

Edited by: Maerlande

Are any of you gunna try and capture what you do via youtube? With maybe even commentary?
I know it's a lot to ask but one can only dream

GoodKnight_IL wrote: Are any of you gunna try and capture what you do via youtube? With maybe even commentary?
I know it's a lot to ask but one can only dream

What's your tolerance? I started to do something like that before with Fraps and some commentary.. I stopped because I am too damn long-winded.

Hahahahahaha. Really?

I have been trying to figure out how to do it successfully. But my commentary seems to be buggered up by children asking questions while I do it. And synchronization with the video. I think I have to use a more robust process. Capture the video, prepare a script, and do the audio. That's quite a lot more work.

Maerlande wrote: Research - standard

I hardly ever play small games, so I'll bow to your collective wisdom, but wouldn't easy research be a better fit for a game this size? Especially if the goal is to show "stuff" off?

I'm fine with anything else, except for a small preference to avoid MA. (For some reason it looks as if there's less nations in that age that seem intresting to me.)

Well since you guys are putting up a teaching match and you're not youtubers or something with "high quality expectations" I (and I assume others) will take anything bring your kids dogs and cats for all I care we're here to learn!

Maerlande wrote:
Victory Conditions - Last one standing or maybe 3 caps. But 3 caps with 4 players is pretty much last one standing.

Is that always so? I haven't played 2v2 at all (well, some duels are only games I've finished so far) but it'd seem like a quite possible, though not that common, scenario that both sides are sieging a capital and both likely to fall, with things being overall more or less even. And then the side who manages to break in first, wins. Of course this is not a bad thing, you gotta plan around victory conditions, just that it does not seem like identical to last man standing until conceding.

The use of 1/2 capitals plus 1 works great in a larger game since it's roughly 50% plus of the territory. The basic assumption is you have become larger than anyone else and therefore pretty hard to stop. The odd time you see a capital rush on multiple capitals at once but it's not very common. It normally comes down to I'm the biggest and all but unstoppable.

With only 4 capitals that's 75%. The game has been over for a while. But owning 2 capitals is quite easy and doesn't mean you are winning. You may just have gotten lucky catching your opponent unprepared.

In my view, the whole own 50% +1 thing is just a way to pick a solid winner without the slow mop up to finally kill the last few opponents. It's supposed to be just a measure that you are too big to lose now. It could be 50% or provinces or whatever. Capitals is easy to check.

GoodKnight_IL wrote: Well since you guys are putting up a teaching match and you're not youtubers or something with "high quality expectations" I (and I assume others) will take anything bring your kids dogs and cats for all I care we're here to learn!

My perfectionism won't allow me to do that.

Maerlande wrote: The use of 1/2 capitals plus 1 works great in a larger game since it's roughly 50% plus of the territory. The basic assumption is you have become larger than anyone else and therefore pretty hard to stop. The odd time you see a capital rush on multiple capitals at once but it's not very common. It normally comes down to I'm the biggest and all but unstoppable.

With only 4 capitals that's 75%. The game has been over for a while. But owning 2 capitals is quite easy and doesn't mean you are winning. You may just have gotten lucky catching your opponent unprepared.

In my view, the whole own 50% +1 thing is just a way to pick a solid winner without the slow mop up to finally kill the last few opponents. It's supposed to be just a measure that you are too big to lose now. It could be 50% or provinces or whatever. Capitals is easy to check.

Oh right, I didn't check this thread properly - I remembered it would be a team game from that earlier thread, but apparently it is FFA after all when I read the OP now.

Right. Team game was an option to fill the slots. But it's a lot more work for the vets and not all who signed have time.

Austen had a concern about mod nations that it's perhaps too much complexity for a simple teaching game. I agree so I'll cancel mod nations. Any other ideas?

Amhazair, let's go EA then. It's a favourite for new players anyways because it's got so many fun nations.

What about mods? You guys want to do a vanilla game? That might be very educational although a heck of a mess. But not bad with a small game.

And yeah, let's go easy research. Blast it hard! Roll out the goodies quick.

I want to thank TenjouUtena from Something Awful and the goons IRC for hosting the game.

*bump*

We are going CBM 1.94. One player has never tried vanilla and that wouldn't be fair.

Let's pick nations. Thanks Oscarius.

All right, sounds good. I'll do some tests over the weekend, but I'm leaning towards C'tis. I do like me some lizards. (All ages, but so far I only played the - arguably - weaker MA version.)

awesome Glad you're also going CBM and EA! all we need is for someone to go Abysia and it would be practically tailored for me
But either way really excited about this!
And if anyone goes with the youtube route please post links!

It's sort of interesting.. with only 4 players, easy research, etc.. this game may seem more like a duel.. I realize it was hard to put the 4 together, but I wonder if it might give folks a skewed perspective.. sadly I don't have an answer to offer other than "magically make 2 more players join" :/

GoodKnight_IL wrote: awesome Glad you're also going CBM and EA! all we need is for someone to go Abysia and it would be practically tailored for me
But either way really excited about this!
And if anyone goes with the youtube route please post links!

I tend to play the glamour nations.. does TNN or either of the 'heims do much for you?

I think I'll go with Tien Chi. I'm fine with the spectator thing, but doing youtubes is more effort and time than I have or am willing to expend. Plus I don't think dom3 is really suited to videos anyway, screenshots seem to work better.

Ooh. Looking forward to seeing this one once you guys get there.

Austen wrote: It's sort of interesting.. with only 4 players, easy research, etc.. this game may seem more like a duel.. I realize it was hard to put the 4 together, but I wonder if it might give folks a skewed perspective.. sadly I don't have an answer to offer other than "magically make 2 more players join" :/

GoodKnight_IL wrote: awesome Glad you're also going CBM and EA! all we need is for someone to go Abysia and it would be practically tailored for me
But either way really excited about this!
And if anyone goes with the youtube route please post links!

I tend to play the glamour nations.. does TNN or either of the 'heims do much for you?

Was just a thought any nation you guys play will be great!
If at all possible though maybe try playing a nation that doesn't have an EA walkthrough/ Let's play?

I have no idea which don't. And most likely won't pick on that basis. We have a solid bless nation (T'ien Ch'i), a glamour (TNN or heim), and major death (C'tis). I'm tempted to do astral and underwater with R'lyeh. If no one minds. I think this Bat Country may be a solid map for that. Everyone is playing favourites. So that would put me in EA with Kailasa, R'lyeh or Sauromatia. But I play too much monkeys. And Sauro demonstrates things similar to C'tis with blood added.

I want to say that I totally love and applaud this whole spectator game idea and wish I could have joined but I simply don't have the time.

+1, Maer. Fun, all.

I'm fine both with you playing R'lyeh, and the map you propose. But then I'm easy. I'm usually fine with most anything.

Maerlande wrote: I have no idea which don't. And most likely won't pick on that basis. We have a solid bless nation (T'ien Ch'i), a glamour (TNN or heim), and major death (C'tis). I'm tempted to do astral and underwater with R'lyeh. If no one minds. I think this Bat Country may be a solid map for that. Everyone is playing favourites. So that would put me in EA with Kailasa, R'lyeh or Sauromatia. But I play too much monkeys. And Sauro demonstrates things similar to C'tis with blood added.

bah then I'm not watching this LP! ;P
Choose what you prefer I was just making an offer
GL all and have fun!
And once again Thanks!

How about a blood nation?

bah then I'm not watching this LP! ;P
Choose what you prefer I was just making an offer
GL all and have fun!
And once again Thanks!

Yeah sure. Like I'll buy that Mr. Cheerleader!

DegenerateArt wrote: How about a blood nation?

There are only 4 of us. But a heim might be solid for that. Let's see if Austen wants to do a heim with blood.

I'm trying to cover a broad base. I think we've covered about as much as we can with 4 players. Would be nice to have a giant bless nation too. Oh well, we can't do it all!

I can do a 'heim... Still a little concerned that game wont really be able to "breathe" like a normal game would. Don't know if there will be time form much blood.. Maybe if I figure it into initial design...

Heim is prob better than TNN for something like this due to the obv. gamepla TNN would want.