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khelvan
06-28-2005, 22:33
Hi guys, we over at EB are starting to look at balancing our mod for multiplayer. I had a few questions - are there any standard rules you use, such as denarii amounts?

Or, if not, what about averages?

Thanks!

CBR
06-28-2005, 23:28
My advice would be to use a nice and simple number like 10k per player, easy to remember and easy to adjust for the various types of games 1v1-4v4=10k-40k


CBR

NimbleNota
06-29-2005, 02:14
Right now most games for tournaments are around these rules:

12.5k for money
8 max combat cav
No art or limited amount
No elies or limited amounts
max 5 on unit types

Loinnreach
06-29-2005, 10:13
M8 if you are interested how multiplayer interferance should be like, then check Chivalry mod for RTW.
There you don't need almost no rules to play quality multiplayer games.

I suggest you Khelvan to contact Adherbal on this, becaus he also managed to made two different systems for units. One for SP (suites more to SP players) and another for MP players. (if my info is correct here)

VorCid

CBR
06-29-2005, 12:15
RTW allows for two different cost for units, one for SP and one for MP/custom battle so cost changes can be made without effecting SP.


CBR

tibilicus
06-29-2005, 15:33
Mine normaly is 1vs 1= 10k, No egypt, 5 max combat cav and thats about it.

Cheetah
06-29-2005, 15:39
Right now most games for tournaments are around these rules:

12.5k for money
8 max combat cav
No art or limited amount
No elies or limited amounts
max 5 on unit types

or:

12500 denari
no art, no egypt
max 5 per unit types
8 max cav (ele, chariots, HA included)

khelvan
06-29-2005, 17:05
Thanks - I was interested in the monetary values and such, it is much appreciated.

Yes, we're aware of how to adjust costs and the like, we just wanted to understand what standards were out there.

Cheers!

CBR
06-29-2005, 17:10
AFAIK the EB mod stands for realism and historical accuracy, so its up to you to make a standard for MP if you want the same type of gameplay there ~:)


CBR

Wishazu
06-29-2005, 18:11
As long as youve fixed egypt there shouldnt really be any major problems :)

khelvan
06-29-2005, 18:48
Fixed Egypt? Oh my, are you in for a treat...

;)

Loinnreach
06-29-2005, 18:50
Only standard is 12,5k denari.

All other ''standards'' are not standarts in word it self, becaus this rules were raised of RTW unit imbalance and cavalry killing speed.

You are doing good job. :bow:

Puzz3D
06-30-2005, 15:40
Using CBR's idea you raise the morale of the units so that you don't need upgrades, and raise the base price of the units so that upgrades are not cost effective. Then you can set the money level such that it limits the number of elite units that can be purchased, and that becomes the standard money level at which the mod should be played.

Orda Khan
07-01-2005, 13:40
Hello Khelvan,
Whereas I agree that 12,500 is a denarii level that some players use, ( the game seems to play well at this level ) it is far from being a 'standard'. From what I see there is no standard, with 1,000,000 denarii games being hosted as often as 60,000 or any other amount.

In MTW days there were basically two schools, one for 10,000 and the other for 15,000. There were of course the 99,999 'big mani' games but thankfully they were not the norm.

With the initial MP problems associated with RTW a lot of disillusioned vets gave up on the game which has only compounded the 'standard' level.

7,000 denarii ( IMO ) was an interesting level gameplaywise ( providing honourable play was undertaken ) but there is still the underlying desire of the masses to want to field only elite units. This dilema will still exist with EB for MP. If you set the standard at 10,000 denarii I can assure you there will be 1,000,000 denarii 3v3 situations. ( This is why the 'vet exodus' was more damaging than the MP problems that exist with RTW ) As you can see by some replies, certain rules have been introduced to try to remedy these issues. The Code of Honour movement was created for the benefit of those who prefer tactical, enjoyable battles over Praetorian cav blobs. With more players playing this way I think the 'issue' would have been less of an issue.

EB has removed the nonsense from the game and creating a standard denarii level would be relatively easy. The hard part I fear, will be getting players to use this standard now that things are so way off track.

For simplicity sake I would go for 10,000 or 15,000 ( purely because the increments are easier to work out ~;) )

........Orda

Puzz3D
07-01-2005, 23:09
Adjusting denari level can't fix several gameplay issues such as cav beating phalanx head on, excessive speed, excessive delay in response to move commands, creating superunits by overlapping, the runthrough exploit on spears, unbalanced units such as desert cav and overpowered artillery.

Orda Khan
07-02-2005, 01:23
Adjusting denari level can't fix several gameplay issues such as cav beating phalanx head on, excessive speed, excessive delay in response to move commands, creating superunits by overlapping, the runthrough exploit on spears, unbalanced units such as desert cav and overpowered artillery.

Oddly enough when I tested 4 cataphracts against 4 silver shield pikes, the conclusion was much less one sided. The spears were set on phalanx formation and nothing else. One unit of cats routed in a very short time, another was reduced to very few that also routed and the other two cats eventually won. The whole test concluded with only 32 cataphracts total remaining. Now I would agree that the spears should win this but the result was far from overwhelming and I think the guy using pikes would have turned his unit that routed the cats in on the flank of the next? This would have produced an entirely different outcome IMO.

Basically all of these issues are irrelevant in Europa Barbarorum

........Orda

Mongoose
07-02-2005, 01:30
i agree. Stacking and small battle maps might be a problem though.


Too bad that SJ's method would take too long to implement.

Puzz3D
07-04-2005, 00:13
Oddly enough when I tested 4 cataphracts against 4 silver shield pikes, the conclusion was much less one sided.
Did you use the cataphract's secondary weapon? It gives the cataphracts more of an advantage since their secondary weapon is better than their primary weapon.


Basically all of these issues are irrelevant in Europa Barbarorum
That's true, but the vets left because you can't correct the gameplay just by changing denari level. That was my point.

jacked
07-04-2005, 00:38
Did you use the cataphract's secondary weapon? It's very onesided when you do, but I don't have the results readily available.

Didn't know the cataphracts had secondary weapons

CBR
07-04-2005, 00:46
Several cavalry units have a secondary weapon that has higher attack rating than the spear/lance. As a quick rule just use Alt click to attack when using cavalry as its either the same as the lance or better.


CBR

Puzz3D
07-04-2005, 00:47
Didn't know the cataphracts had secondary weapons
Good luck playing online then. They have a very effective armor piercing mace as a secondary weapon. Play Samurai Wars for MTW/VI. It doesn't have tricky stuff like secondary weapons. Samutrai Wars is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).

CBR
07-04-2005, 00:49
Yeah depending on the armour of the unit they are fighting they could have up to 8 more in attack when using their mace. Very powerful indeed.


CBR

Orda Khan
07-04-2005, 16:11
Did you use the cataphract's secondary weapon? It gives the cataphracts more of an advantage since their secondary weapon is better than their primary weapon.

Yes


That's true, but the vets left because you can't correct the gameplay just by changing denari level. That was my point.

Leaving the MP lobby completely will not solve anything.

.......Orda

Puzz3D
07-04-2005, 22:15
Leaving the MP lobby completely will not solve anything.

It solves the frustration of playing the game the way it is. The players who can see the flaws in the basic gameplay aren't going to hang around for a year or more to see if CA will adjust it. Mods might make the gameplay acceptable to veteran players, but none of the mods are ready.

I ran the cataphract vs silvershield pikemen replay that I have in RTW v1.2, and the silvershields got wiped out by a frontal charge. It's 4 cataphracts charging 4 silver shield pikemen who are in guard mode 8 men deep. The silver shields lost 121, 121, 120 and 94 men. The cataphracts lost 42, 31, 35 and 39 men. That's a 3 to 1 kill rate in favor of the cataphracts which are about half the size of the pike units.

jacked
07-04-2005, 23:16
isn't the cataphracts scondary weapon its sword

Jochi Khan
07-05-2005, 00:08
Secondary weapon is a mace.

Jochi

jacked
07-05-2005, 00:15
its a mace always thought it was a sword

Orda Khan
07-05-2005, 00:21
This has no relevance to a thread about denarii levels in EB, it is obvious that this will just go on and on. I'm not going to hijack this thread

.....Orda

Puzz3D
07-06-2005, 04:40
Rules and denai level for a mod are determined by the mod's design not the unmodded game.

Jammin
07-21-2005, 16:12
Just for everyone's interest these are the rules I play by:
It may seem different and restrictive to other rulesets but the people I play with agree that it makes for a better battle experience and reduces cav and archer spamming.

13,500 denarii.
Max 4 archers
Max 4 elite infantry (urbans, spartans, sacred band).
no fire artillery
Cavalry, Elephants and Chariots are determined by a point sytem.
Heavy cav, eles and chariots = 2 points, and light cavalry = 1 point.
For your army, you're allowed 6 points of cav - so you can mix and match as you sit fit for the cav you want to bring.
(potentially 6 light cav or 3 heavy).
We made a list of what is heavy and light.

The battles are fun because it makes the battles determined more on infantry (which is the way it should have always been) and allows every unit in the game to be brought without having limits.
Like with a limit of 5 cav for instance - you would always see heavy cav being brought because 5 light cavalry will seriously put you at a disadvantage.

Taurus
07-22-2005, 13:02
Just for everyone's interest these are the rules I play by:
It may seem different and restrictive to other rulesets but the people I play with agree that it makes for a better battle experience and reduces cav and archer spamming.

13,500 denarii.
Max 4 archers
Max 4 elite infantry (urbans, spartans, sacred band).
no fire artillery
Cavalry, Elephants and Chariots are determined by a point sytem.
Heavy cav, eles and chariots = 2 points, and light cavalry = 1 point.
For your army, you're allowed 6 points of cav - so you can mix and match as you sit fit for the cav you want to bring.
(potentially 6 light cav or 3 heavy).
We made a list of what is heavy and light.

The battles are fun because it makes the battles determined more on infantry (which is the way it should have always been) and allows every unit in the game to be brought without having limits.
Like with a limit of 5 cav for instance - you would always see heavy cav being brought because 5 light cavalry will seriously put you at a disadvantage.

Nice rules mate! ~;) I bet they make for some interesting battles using very balanced armies.

~:cheers:

Wishazu
07-22-2005, 13:28
Fixed Egypt? Oh my, are you in for a treat...

;)

let me play it then, getting fed up waiting for this mod which is a shame cos i really want to play it.

Lord Preston
07-22-2005, 14:51
13,500 denarii.
Max 4 archers
Max 4 elite infantry (urbans, spartans, sacred band).
no fire artillery
Cavalry, Elephants and Chariots are determined by a point sytem.
Heavy cav, eles and chariots = 2 points, and light cavalry = 1 point.
For your army, you're allowed 6 points of cav - so you can mix and match as you sit fit for the cav you want to bring.
(potentially 6 light cav or 3 heavy).
We made a list of what is heavy and light.

not a bad idea. personally i'd have elephants as 3 points and raise the allowed points to 7 or 8.

how do you factor missile cavalry into this ruleset?

Jammin
07-22-2005, 15:12
Actually Preston, the rules I have there aren't the EXACT rules we use.
We have incorporated Eles and desert cavalry to be 3 points each since they are overpowering. And heavy chariots are 2 and light chariots are 1.5 so that you can't have 6 light chariots, etc.
As well, the horse archers are all considering light cavalry. So you can still have 6 horse archers and 4 regular infantry archers if you wish.
The 4 max archer rule was strictly for infantry archers.
We wanted to keep the flexibility of allowing all the units in the game but try to keep it where it would be better balanced and not have the uber units rule the battlefield everytime.

I just didn't go into that detail for the cavalry rule, as it didn't seem necessary at the time and would be confusing. I just wanted to get across the concept of a point systme with cavalry.
I've made a list for all the cavalry in the game and what points each is worth (listed by faction).
I can place it here if you wish - I'd really like your feedback on it.
~;)

NihilisticCow
07-22-2005, 15:28
You have many people playing as Parthia under these rules? I think it's probably a sacrifice to avoid cavalry spamming, but Parthia are fun to play. I would personally be inclined to have a super heavy cavalry category as well (Catas + Praet cav), but that's just me. ~:)

Jammin
07-22-2005, 15:48
Well I wanted to put in a rule of 8-10 cavalry points for factions likes Parthia and Scythia so that they are seen more.
These rules are new rules for the clan I'm in and haven't been tested really thoroughly yet.
And yes, Parthia and Scythia are fun.

Taurus
07-22-2005, 15:50
I agree. Parthia and Scythia are fun factions to play as even though I'm not that good with them, :dizzy2:

~:cheers:

Jammin
07-22-2005, 15:51
Actually - Nihilist - I wanted to actually go so far as to list HEAVY cav, Medium Cav and Light cav and get a really thorough list of what is what and split them up accordingly - but the chaps I play with didn't want it to get too complicated - plus it would be hard to remember and difficult to grasp for new players.

Orda Khan
07-22-2005, 16:09
There have always been rules in TW, even back in STW but it would seem that with the onset of RTW, suddenly everything should work perfectly. Rules have been necessary to compensate for whatever failure whether it was STW or MI or MTW or VI.
I do not feel that a list such as this recent set of rules is the answer though.
How can every battle being decided by infantry be 'the way it should be'? I guess mounted factions should be banned from the game?

Since this thread is aimed at finding a denarii limit to play EB mod in MP, we should concentrate on that, since any fundamentals that require rules should no longer exist, having been modded out

.......Orda

Jammin
07-22-2005, 16:32
Orda -> My comment about all battles being determined by infantry was not meant to be taken that way.
Of course mounted cav factions should not be banned since they depend on cavalry to win the day. There are alwyas exceptions.

My point was that most battles should not be won or lost solely on how much more cavalry or how strong your cavalry is compared to your opponent. The core of most factions armies are their infantry - and THAT should be the biggest factor in the battle. I believe this, and that's why I play with cav limiting rules. Every unit in an army has its place and purpose. But there should be balance and not spamming.

The same should be true with the EB mod.

Wishazu
07-22-2005, 23:58
maybe seperate the factions into 2 groups, i.e primarily infantry factions like Romans and Greeks and primarily cavalry groups like Scythia and Parthia. Remember that historically these factions only had mounted units, not fielding infantry at all, esp the parthians.... maybe this will overcomplicate things. As to denarii limit if they could balance it for somewhere between 7000(absolute minimum really for lots of units) and 15000.