OOC Thread and Chatroom 2

[AussieGiant]

Again, sorry for not being active either in an OOC (finishing up the Influence mess) or an IC (Making an SoT, initially moving my character) role. At the moment RL has gotten more fun/interesting so as a result I'm spending less time on the .Org. I'll try to push my involvement up back to an acceptable level.

OH OH!! I know what that is!!! Giiiiirrrrrlllllss!!!

GH has a girlfriend na na naaa na naaaaa!!!

I'm soooo juvenile...IT'S GREAT!!!

[GeneralHankerchief]

Thanks AG. That actually did make me LOL.

Anyways, it's more a group of friends and just more freedom than anything else.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

Thanks AG. That actually did make me LOL.

Anyways, it's more a group of friends and just more freedom than anything else.

So no girlfriend?



Edit:

[flyd]

Anyways, it's more a group of friends and just more freedom than anything else.

So, what you're trying to say is you'll be too busy looking for a girlfriend?

[GeneralHankerchief]

I'll tell you guys what, since you're so clearly interested in my romantic pursuits (), as soon as a proper lady comes along you shall be the first to know.

[Ibn-Khaldun]

I'm fine with that

[Ramses II CP]

If you have any sense what you're looking for is actually a series of not-quite-so proper ladies.

[AussieGiant]

He's pulling the wool over everyone's eyes!!

He's up to his '30 dollar CK boxer shorts' in action, and he's just too much of a gentleman to spill the beans!!

[GeneralHankerchief]

Somehow, this picture you've painted is going to work its way into the game storyline.

[flyd]

P.S. Smowz, when an army is transported by a fleet, there is a limit of two army units per ship. It's an ancient, ancient rule, written down in an odd and hidden place, Charter section 1.1. You're not quite done assembling your flotilla yet.

[TinCow]

Yeah, that rule is about as old as they come. It was one of econ21's custom PBM 'House Rules' from well before WOTS to make the game more challenging.

[Smowz]

Oops, okay I will return my army to shore and keep gathering my flotilla.

[AussieGiant]

Somehow, this picture you've painted is going to work its way into the game storyline.

And knowing you GH, I'm sure it will be an excellent story, creating wonderful depth and colour to this visual feast of information.

[Ignoramus]

What's the situation with the Privy Seal, Lord High Chancellor, and Lord High Steward retinue? Could you please transfer them to Andonikos Komnenos, Appionas Vringos, and Pavlos Chrysovergos respectively.

[Ignoramus]

I've just checked the save, and Ioannis should have 5 authority. 1 for the trait "Sharp", 1 for the trait "Renowned Victor", and 3 for the trait "Utterly Pragmatic". He has no negative traits at all, or any negative avatars.

[Kagemusha]

I just wanted to tell you guys that my computer problems are now solved and im back in the game.

[Ramses II CP]

I don't know much about the MTWII traits system, but a good test would seem to be using the console to remove those from the avatar and then adding them back. If there was something wrong with the way they were assigned that might clear it. Alternately, to test if there's a bug in the SS traits themselves, go back to OK's emperor and add them to him to see how they alter his authority (Removing them first if they're already present, etc.).

Is it possible that, since Ioannis is a starting avatar, the SS guys altered him to try to create a weaker successor to Aleksios?

[TinCow]

I'm at work and can't download SS 4.1 to check (and BBB 2.1 isn't available anymore) but I grabbed BBB 3.0 there are no hidden traits in that version that impact authority. I am beginning to suspect that this may be a bug. I am also having vague recollections of something like this occuring in KotR as well, which just kind of fixed itself. Do any of the KotR veterans remember something like that with Kaiser Henry, perhaps?

Can someone do me a favor do a couple things:
1) Advance the game a few turns and see if Ioannis' authority stat changes to conform to what his trait list indicates he should have.
2) Load up a couple of the older saves at various points and check to see if Aleksios' authority stat matched what his trait list indicated he should have.

-------

Also, can someone tell me which provinces have been conquered in the middle east since 1140 (last election) and who they currently belong to?

[Ituralde]

I just wanted to tell you guys that my computer problems are now solved and im back in the game.

Glad to have you back!

I should check whether someone has computer problems before I gift them the castle containing most of my armed forces.

[_Tristan_]

Also, can someone tell me which provinces have been conquered in the middle east since 1140 (last election) and who they currently belong to?

The only settlement captured since 1140 is Gaza IIRC.

Perusing the Political Table, I noticed that Methodios was listed with having 1 Inf. Doesn't his being Caesar grant him an automatic + 1 Inf ?

[TinCow]

Perusing the Political Table, I noticed that Methodios was listed with having 1 Inf. Doesn't his being Caesar grant him an automatic + 1 Inf ?

The influence table has not been updated since 1140. I only update it during Senate sessions, and did not do so for the emergency session since I wasn't around for it. It will be updated again when the 1155 Senate session starts... unless another emergency session is called before then.

Also, please note that the rank of Caesar only gives a +1 to STAT influence. People seem to be getting Influence and Stat Influence confused, so I'll try and explain it a bit better.

There are TWO kinds of 'Influence'... regular Influence and Stat Influence. Regular Influence is an automatic +1 to your vote weight. If you have +1 Influence, you get +1 to your vote weight no matter what happens. Stat Influence is NOT automatic, it is simply extra influence that it is possible for you to achieve if you have the right stats. In order to actually make use of a point of Stat Influence, you have to meet one of the requirements for it. These are the requirements:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

(a) 5+ ranks of Command (b) 10 ranks of Command (c) 5+ ranks of Chivalry or Dread (d) 10 ranks of Chivalry or Dread (e) 10 ranks of Loyalty (f) 8+ ranks of Piety (g) 20+ total stat points (h) 30+ total stat points (i) 40 total stat points (j) Senator’s name is modified by a trait title that bestows more negative than positive stat points (i.e. the Mad) (k) Senator is married to a Byzantine Empire Princess (l) Senator possesses the title of Lord High Chancellor, Lord High Steward, or Privy Seal.

Let's use an actual avatar as an example:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In this mugshot, Ioannis meets 3 of the requirements for Stat Influence. These are (a) 5+ ranks of Command, (c) 5+ ranks of Chivalry, and (g) 20+ total stat points. Thus, Ioannis at this point can make use of 3 Stat Influence. However, that doesn't contribute to his vote weight unless he actually has 3 or more Stat Influence available to him.

For example, lets pretend that at this point Ioannis holds the rank of Domestikos. Domestikos gives 1 regular Influence and up to 1 Stat Influence. Thus, his total vote weight is 2 (1 from regular influence and 1 from Stat Influence). Even though he meets the requirements for two more Stat Influence, he does not get any benefit from them because he does not have sufficient rank to make use of them. Now, let's instead pretend that Ioannis holds the rank of Exarch. Exarch gives 1 regular Influence and up to 4 Stat Influence. This means Ioannis gets a total weighted vote of 4, 1 from his regular influence and 3 because he meets 3 of the Stat Influence requirements. He does NOT get to use the 4th Stat Influence from the Exarch rank, because he does not meet a 4th requirement.

The reasoning behind this is simple: You have to have both rank AND good stats to get higher influence. A buffoon will not sway many people into voting his way, even if he has a high rank. A genius will not be able to sway voters if he has no political rank of significance. In order to increase your influence you need to improve your stats AND gain in rank.

This is one of the reasons why the Megas position is so powerful. Even after you have left the position, you get a permanent +1 to regular Influence and a permanent +1 to Stat Influence. Let's look at Ioannis again to see the advantage. If Ioannis in the above mugshot has the rank of Strator, he has a measly vote weight of 1, despite his high stats. However, let's pretend that he's also served as Megas TWICE. He's still a Strator (perhaps he just alienated all his allies and lost a Civil War), but the two terms as Megas give him a +2 to regular Influence and a +2 to Stat Influence. Since he meets the requirements for at least 2 Stat Influence, he can make use of them both. Thus, he gets +4 to his vote weight from his two Megas terms in addition to the normal 1 he gets for being a Strator. So, double ex-Megas Ioannis has a vote weight of 5, despite only holding the rank of Strator. That is as powerful as an Exarch with maxed-out Stat Influence.

[Dafuge]

Hi all,

This KoP with another name. Finally my internet access is back and I wish to enter the game. I would like my avatar killed off and just use the automatic will of it going to my Lord. I assume you will post up the avaliable avatars in the sign up thread?

[_Tristan_]

Glad to have you back, Dafuge

[Zim]

Things are busier than ever in rl for me, but I'm not sure I can resist any longer, and I see one of the characters I was thinking about trying to play is nearly of age.

Anyone mind if I take Magnentios (Ioannis Kalameteros' son) in two turns?

[TinCow]

Hi all,

This KoP with another name. Finally my internet access is back and I wish to enter the game. I would like my avatar killed off and just use the automatic will of it going to my Lord. I assume you will post up the avaliable avatars in the sign up thread?

Certainly. Where would you like to start?

[edit]Just noticed that you're sworn to Makedonios. PK is currently inactive, thus dying without a will may tie up your province, since it will go to an inactive player. If you'd like to make things a bit easier for the Order, just make a post in their thread that your will is that your province go to Armatos ek Naksou, the current leader of the Order.

Anyone mind if I take Magnentios (Ioannis Kalameteros' son) in two turns?

No one has requested him before you, so consider him yours. For IC/Senate purposes, you can start playing him now if you would like instead of waiting until he spawns.

[_Tristan_]

WOOHOO !! Zim is back !!

[Dafuge]

OK, I will post in the Order of St. John thread.

[Ignoramus]

Great to see you back, Zim.

For Flemish Cloth!

[Ramses II CP]

On the authority stat, FYI authority can 'roll around' such that negative authority displays as having 10 authority. This occurs even in vanilla (There were several examples of it in my Total Tyranny campaign and I think the screenshots would still be there to find). That doesn't mean it's not a bug, but I doubt it's an artifact of the removal of the civil war system.

The King from my first stint in the Scottish AAR might've had this happen too, I can't remember if his rolled around to negative numbers or was just zero.

There are a number of examples of this type of behavior in MTWII (For example your Papal approval rating can roll over the top and suddenly go from perfect to the lowest possible, this happened twice in my Danish campaign because my rules forced gifting so much territory to the Pope). Sloppy coding if you ask me.

[TinCow]

Well, it does mean that Ioannis has negative Authority for some reason. I checked the game files and Ioannis does not have ANY negative authority traits. There IS a hidden negative authority trait in the game that is part of the Civil War system, but I don't think that's the problem either because I tried removing it and Ioannis' authority didn't change. If he'd had it, removing it would have worked even though it wasn't showing up on his trait list. Thus, Ioannis seems to have a default -2 to Authority. AFAIK, that shouldn't be happening, thus I call it a bug until I'm shown otherwise.