Rise (And Fall) Of Nations

[Al Khalifah]

This thread is about the "Al Khalifah PBEM game variant" discussed in the "Something to try" thread in the Main Hall here (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=35603) .

Rules are being finalised at the moment for this brand new game type at the moment, but if you want to see how its progressing so far, take a look at it.

If you wish to register your interest in this game idea post here or if you wish to recommend some rules. I hope to start this game VERY VERY soon and finalised rules will hopefully be posted tomorrow at the latest.

More soon...

[Marquis de Said]

You can count me in.

As we talked in the other thread, we could award players points on certain criteria (just to make it more interesting, not necessarily trying to top each other).
When a player switches to a faction in debt:
- If debt is less than 10,000 fl., then play on.
- If debt is over 10,000 and annual income is below 500, and faction has two or less provinces (i.e. small armies) then I think the player can ask to switch to another faction.
- If the empire is large but with serious debt, each case could be discussed separately.

These are just my preliminary figures, if anyone has anything to add or adjust, their input is welcome.

@Al Khalifah:
What's the level going to be? I vote for Expert ~:smoking: If we're gonna suffer, let's do it with style!
Also how do you propose factions will be chosen? Maybe you (the host) could randomly draw the first faction, and after that each player draws a random faction for the next person at the end of their turn.

Marquis de Said

[Al Khalifah]

OK so these are the rules:

> The game will be played on M:TW VI latest version Vanilla (i.e no mods). Any mods that you have installed which interefere with the vanilla game must either be removed or a fresh install made prior to your turn.

> Each player is in control of the game for periods of 30 years (turns) at a time.

> When a players period is over they should upload their game in the usual PBEM way to the org (see the PBEM guide if you don't know how this is done). 30 turns means you hit the end year button 30 times.

> A random number is obtained. The numbers in the draw for this random number depends on the viable factions still in the game at the time of the draw. The previous player draws this number randomly by whatever means they choose (please play fair people) and the next player must play the faction with the corresonding -ian number. This player should just quickly run through the -ian numbers to see which factions are viable, i.e they are in the game at the time (some factions emerge later, others get destroyed) and they present a reasonable game oppurtunity (see later). Factions that require Ctrl+Shift to be pressed in addition to their number should be taken as following on from the ones that don't. e.g 8 is Germany, 9 is Italy, 0 (call this 10) is Poland, ctrl+shift+2 (call this 12) is Spain. Report the -ian number of the next players faction here when uploading and posting your end of period report. NO PLAYING THE PAPACY.

> By 'reasonable game oppurtunity' I mean that a faction should not be hideously in debt, surrounded, have no army and be down to a province full of heirs. Use your judgement and think about whether you would honestly enjoy playing from such a starting position to determine if it is reasonable.

> With regards to other PBEM variants and rules: You are allowed to start wars with other nations, You are allowed to start sea wars, You can build trade empires, You can destroy factions, There is no tech-cap, No stacks limit.

> Try to post as detailed as possible accounts of your period when you upload your game. Tell us your triumphs, failures, accensions to the throne, campaigns against the heathen and bloody raids and wars. Also, at the start (and end) of your reign post:
* the number of provinces the faction owns (preferably with a list of these)
* the factions annual income
* the factions annual expenditure
* the quality of the factions best general(s)
* the factions it is at war with
* anything else of note: e.g the faction has a citadel/fortress, large trade empire, no good generals, a well developed province, a civil war on the go, a crusade on the go.

[Al Khalifah]

Regarding the startpos, I think we should perhaps use a slightly modified startpos in order to keep some factions in the game and reasonable for slightly longer. All players can download this at the start of the game.

All I am suggesting is
-> move the starting year to 1072 to allow a whole number of player turns to be played (14 to be precise).

-> Give Norway to The Danes at the start of the game and increase its income.
-> Give Valencia to The Aragonese at the start of the game.
-> Give Lesser Armenia to The Turks at the start of the game.
-> A fort and a port in Normandy, and the English with one ship in the Channel
-> Give Poland Volhynia and increase the income of Poland slightly.
-> Give Muscovy to Novgorod

What do you think?

[Marquis de Said]

Yeah, the details sound good. And the mod to the startpos file as well.
I'm in. Now we just need some more people to join.

Marquis

[katank]

The mods sound good but the Turks might be too strong as might the English.

I'd say that you shoudl make sure the troops aren't given to those factions for free.

giving the Aragonese El Cid early with the jinettes might make them quite capable of wping out the Spanish.

giving the Turks Byz inf also doesn't make sense.

if you're gonna give the English a ship in the Channel, why not remove the landbridge from Wessex to Flanders?

Poland is alreayd quite viable and otherwise they'd get Moldavia too quickly.