BattleMaster Community

BattleMaster => Locals => Dwilight => Topic started by: Sacha on August 07, 2011, 06:54:28 PM

Title: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Sacha on August 07, 2011, 06:54:28 PM
Who would have thought that so much fail could be squeezed into such a small package 8)
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Nathan on August 07, 2011, 07:52:51 PM
Aww, poor Itauland. What's gone wrong? :P
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Vellos on August 07, 2011, 08:03:44 PM
Are they collapsing?

I haven't heard any indication that they're doing poorly; anybody know?

And when will Astrum start pillaging Caerwyn again? Caerwyn doesn't seem to have lost many regions recently... what's taking so long, Astroists?
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Sacha on August 07, 2011, 08:06:49 PM

Nobles Protest   (1 hour, 48 minutes ago)
After loud protest against his actions, Malcolm has been forced to step down from his ruler position. He also loses a point of prestige and 7 points of honour.

That's 2 for 2 now :P
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: dustole on August 07, 2011, 11:02:08 PM
Are they collapsing?

I haven't heard any indication that they're doing poorly; anybody know?

And when will Astrum start pillaging Caerwyn again? Caerwyn doesn't seem to have lost many regions recently... what's taking so long, Astroists?


We are on the shores of Golden Farrow.  Next turn we assault the city.  We couldn't do anything over winter so we just stayed in Astrum until it was over.  This is our first offensive of the spring.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Vellos on August 07, 2011, 11:12:35 PM

We are on the shores of Golden Farrow.  Next turn we assault the city.  We couldn't do anything over winter so we just stayed in Astrum until it was over.  This is our first offensive of the spring.

oooo... exciting! I'd been hoping to hear of just such an assault.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: DoctorHarte on August 09, 2011, 07:02:06 AM
Pretty glad I joined Terran over Itaulond  ::)

Vellos hasn't turned out too bad, just kinda loud :o

I kid, Terran is actually one of the best realms I've joined in a while. They've got it down on expansion, defense, gold, food, etc. Very impressed  ;D
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Perth on August 09, 2011, 08:55:23 AM
Terran is actually one of the best realms I've joined in a while. They've got it down on expansion, defense, gold, food, etc. Very impressed  ;D
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Glaumring the Fox on August 10, 2011, 06:56:00 AM
Pretty glad I joined Terran over Itaulond  ::)

Vellos hasn't turned out too bad, just kinda loud :o

I kid, Terran is actually one of the best realms I've joined in a while. They've got it down on expansion, defense, gold, food, etc. Very impressed  ;D

Terran is an awesome realm. I have always pushed for better relations with Terran because of their awesomeness.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Bael on August 10, 2011, 10:02:02 AM
Terran is an awesome realm. I have always pushed for better relations with Terran because of their awesomeness.

Don't forget, they are also federated to Barca. Just one more thing that makes them awesome  ;) ;D
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Vellos on August 10, 2011, 01:19:19 PM
Don't forget, they are also federated to Barca. Just one more thing that makes them awesome  ;) ;D

Our diplomacy includes even small, struggling realms, and occurs largely in a public guild where practically anyone can participate.

Openness FTW.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Siren on August 10, 2011, 10:01:55 PM
Terran is an awesome realm. I have always pushed for better relations with Terran because of their awesomeness.

Yeah, I always wondered why Asylon and Terran are not at war, or allies.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: vanKaya on August 10, 2011, 11:04:04 PM
Yeah, I always wondered why Asylon and Terran are not at war, or allies.

I think the principle reason is distance and lack of a practical reason to engage with eachother, but with both realms growing towards eachother this is quickly changing. Also the fact that Asylon isn't a republic also plays something of a role.

And the reason we're not at war is because both sides have been very pleasant to eachother
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Glaumring the Fox on August 11, 2011, 12:32:59 AM
It helps that I lived in Terran after the fall of Shadovar and act as the grand voice of Terran love in my realm.  War with Terran, surely you jest? We have bigger fish to fry.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Vellos on August 11, 2011, 12:57:41 AM
Yeah, I always wondered why Asylon and Terran are not at war, or allies.

We've had no particular reason to form an alliance, and Terran disfavors "in name only" alliances. We aren't enemies because, well, we generally get along, we will soon have chances to coordinate and work together, and we are co-signers to several treaties that, as far as we are each concerned, we have not broken (in regards to one another, that is).
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Glaumring the Fox on August 11, 2011, 01:08:34 AM
We've had no particular reason to form an alliance, and Terran disfavors "in name only" alliances. We aren't enemies because, well, we generally get along, we will soon have chances to coordinate and work together, and we are co-signers to several treaties that, as far as we are each concerned, we have not broken (in regards to one another, that is).

Asylon also follows this idea of alliances with real meaning, our alliance with Caerwyn was grandfathered but they did very little for us to want to feel  an affinity with them or even allies... As one can see, who marched for Caerwyn?
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Chenier on August 11, 2011, 01:24:01 AM
Asylon also follows this idea of alliances with real meaning, our alliance with Caerwyn was grandfathered but they did very little for us to want to feel  an affinity with them or even allies... As one can see, who marched for Caerwyn?

Caerwyn dug its own hole. Had they been attacked, D'Hara would have come to their defense one way or another. Had they asked for mediations for peace, we'd have been there.

But they didn't. As much as I hate to see them go, why should we have paid for their arrogance? No point in having them drag us down with them, we have enough problems as it is.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Siren on August 11, 2011, 04:14:21 PM
We have bigger fish to fry.

I hope you don't mean the Zuma. :) I have noticed Glaumring seems to be grumbling more and more about the Zuma ambassador of late. I don't think Akella would like that very much. Asylon would need about 50 Itaulond seceding to them if they wanted to start that kinda war.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Igelfeld on August 11, 2011, 05:11:17 PM
I hope you don't mean the Zuma. :) I have noticed Glaumring seems to be grumbling more and more about the Zuma ambassador of late. I don't think Akella would like that very much. Asylon would need about 50 Itaulond seceding to them if they wanted to start that kinda war.

Glaumring is always planning something, but you can be relatively sure it is not that. Asylon is unlikely to ever go to war with the Zuma Coalition.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Glaumring the Fox on August 12, 2011, 12:23:37 AM
Glaumring is always planning something, but you can be relatively sure it is not that. Asylon is unlikely to ever go to war with the Zuma Coalition.

We fight the Zuma? No no, I was going to use the Zuma to attack Terran!  ................................ Joking joking! ;D

Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 28, 2011, 12:38:15 AM
Who would have thought that so much fail could be squeezed into such a small package 8)

seeing how strongly these forums affect game currently, i would dare to state opposing view, it'lond is basically stabilized and new nobles who would eventually arrive make the whole difference.

of course, if someone reads forums and accepts in advance that he/she shouldn't join, that is the worst influence possible, but in fact anyone who would look for more prosperous career over receiving his 50 gold per week in very stable realm, next rl year, could find surprising opportunities in realm like itaulond.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Lopeyschools on August 28, 2011, 03:59:16 AM
seeing how strongly these forums affect game currently, i would dare to state opposing view, it'lond is basically stabilized and new nobles who would eventually arrive make the whole difference.

of course, if someone reads forums and accepts in advance that he/she shouldn't join, that is the worst influence possible, but in fact anyone who would look for more prosperous career over receiving his 50 gold per week in very stable realm, next rl year, could find surprising opportunities in realm like itaulond.

I'm pretty sure Astrum was intent on marching on down there to collect Amandil's head. Itaulond wouldn't be able to stop them if they tried.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Beldragos on August 28, 2011, 10:59:34 AM
There are also several Caerwyn nobility who stuck around in Asylon to take his head too.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 28, 2011, 12:25:03 PM
all that may be right, but isn't it what we are doing, playing game, trying to achieve something, even against the odds?  :D

i am certain if more players would take some hard game with not so good odds, bm worlds would be much, much more interesting places.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Fleugs on August 28, 2011, 03:21:18 PM
No, they're just trying to crush Itaulond. Actually, let me rephrase: "They aren't trying, because the realm looks so desperate that it might just disappear by itself. If it doesn't, it won't be a threat within the next year, so there's still time enough to clean it up once they hit the 10-nobles mark."
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: dustole on August 28, 2011, 03:25:34 PM
I think there is a lot of opportunity in Itaulond for nobles.  I need a realm in Itau to stabilize my western border but I don't want Amandil in that realm.  Anyone that can overthrow him would likely get immediate recognition from the SA realms.  Well maybe not immediate, but it would be really easy to placate SA.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 29, 2011, 01:04:22 PM
i believe there is no need to emphasize much that such scenarios falls only into ic game world. you have all time available to develop tension between chars in-game.

in forum like this, however, it is not bad to state generally how new nobles can achieve much in small realms like Itaulond, with some luck, and affect things in whole area in more sensible way than when being part of overly large and established realm.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Sacha on August 29, 2011, 01:49:41 PM
I don't think much tensions would need to be developed between Itaulond and its neighbors at this point  :P
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Indirik on August 29, 2011, 02:15:26 PM
Itaulond doesn't stand much chance of surviving. Not once you understand who runs it, and their contribution to the Astrum/Caerwyn war.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: vonGenf on August 29, 2011, 02:27:51 PM
It is true that all this talk may discourage some players to create characters in Itaulond.

However, in the end, if you want to create a character in some random realm and take it from there; you will. On the other hand, if you want to gather information and choose a realm that will suit you particular desires for this character, you will also do so.

The forum is OOC, and facultative. It would be too restrictive to avoid these comments. It is not an instruction manual, it's more of a slower-paced chatroom.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 29, 2011, 04:53:46 PM
Itaulond doesn't stand much chance of surviving.

of course, i have to agree with that; nevertheless, i sincerely hope there are players who are not discouraged by "doesn't stand much chance". people, especially new guys, should know that such circumstances sometimes provide quicker learning curve for character, possibility to experience some things before those who take mid-stream path, and sort of fun with adventure not available elsewhere.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Indirik on August 29, 2011, 05:41:47 PM
...especially new guys...

Are we really going to have that many new players, who don't really understand the game, trawling that deeply through the forums before choosing a realm to play in? And if the answer really is "Yes", then shouldn't they be given a realistic idea of the realms they could join? I know I'd really be disappointed if I was reading the forums, and heard all kinds of positive things about a realm, then joined it only to find out the realm was run by four people, desperately short on everything, hated by all its neighbors, and on the verge of total collapse with there being nothing I can do about it. The only "learning experience" there is that I really need to learn about how to pick better realms.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 29, 2011, 08:14:00 PM
Are we really going to have that many new players, who don't really understand the game, trawling that deeply through the forums before choosing a realm to play in? And if the answer really is "Yes", then shouldn't they be given a realistic idea of the realms they could join? I know I'd really be disappointed if I was reading the forums, and heard all kinds of positive things about a realm, then joined it only to find out the realm was run by four people, desperately short on everything, hated by all its neighbors, and on the verge of total collapse with there being nothing I can do about it. The only "learning experience" there is that I really need to learn about how to pick better realms.

with such stance "pick the right side" we have nobles migrating at first signs of serious trouble in the realm, and we have realms joining ooc parties, both processes resulting in disappearance of fun in the moment when fun should begin. avoiding challenge is formula for boredom.

in similar way, many realms who "have everyhing good" under that criteria are ultimately boring places, and there are numbers of player who leave the game without reaching complete idea what game can offer.

game can offer many things in my opinion, and would be much richer without any devs intervention if players would apply different approaches more.

i feel you want to discourage such other approaches.

personally i would rather spent my time in three falling realms than in three overly established ones where no any serious changes ever happen, whatever you do.

and, yes, it is possible to learn much more in such realms than in "good" realms where nobles receive two marshal orders per day over their whole first rl year.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: vanKaya on August 29, 2011, 08:21:32 PM
I don't think Indirik was saying Itaulond, our any near dying realn, is inherently not fun. He was just saying that people need to be given a realistic assessment of what the realm is like, in this case, on the brink of destruction.

A challenge is fun but not everyone wants to start a char in a place like that. On the other hand, by giving an accurate description of Itaulond, ie. brink of destruction, you might attract just the kind of players who you're talking about, that thrive on such a challenge.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Kain on August 29, 2011, 09:00:03 PM
I don't think Indirik was saying Itaulond, our any near dying realn, is inherently not fun. He was just saying that people need to be given a realistic assessment of what the realm is like, in this case, on the brink of destruction.

A challenge is fun but not everyone wants to start a char in a place like that. On the other hand, by giving an accurate description of Itaulond, ie. brink of destruction, you might attract just the kind of players who you're talking about, that thrive on such a challenge.

I think realm morale has a lot to do with everything. As many of you know, my first char ever was created in Avamar on EC, which had only Avamar city and it was at war with the most powerful realm on the continent (Sirion) which just happend to also be their closest neighbour. But we had two thing going for us and that is that we had damn good defenses (high walls and lots of millita in Avamar city), and that we had powerful allies like Oligarch, Perdan and Rancagua (less powerful but still). The enemies were also Fontan and Old Rancagua and the whole island was very divided into two large alliences. I don't advocate that but it sure was good for a small realm because if there are only two alliences fighting each other, the enemy of your enemy is your friend and that is all there is.

Morale was never low and everyone chatted like crazy.

At the same time I've experienced the doom and gloom-attitude many times in other realms. Realms that initially are big but lose wars badly and fall apart to become a shadow of what they used to be (in power and land). They usually also take the hit in morale that comes with it and that is the deepest blow of all. It usually ends up with realms that are almost completely quiet, where all hope is shining with it's absence.

So how is the morale in Itaulond? Do they have fun with their "challenge the high and mighty" or do they just wait to die?
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Indirik on August 29, 2011, 09:03:51 PM
with such stance "pick the right side" we have nobles migrating at first signs of serious trouble in the realm, and we have realms joining ooc parties, both processes resulting in disappearance of fun in the moment when fun should begin. avoiding challenge is formula for boredom.
None of which is related in any way to what I said.

I've been in realm on the verge of extinction before. And in realms that were holding on by their fingernails. So, been there, done that. Can they be fun? Sure. We had a blast in Kingdom of Alluran back when we had maybe 1.5 regions. And the 0.5th region changed on a daily basis. But a realm like, for example, Itaulond, is NOT the kind of realm I would suggest a new player join. I personally don't think that's the kind of experience that would present BattleMaster's best side. Doubly true if the new player was joining it because he thought it would be a cool place to see lots of action.

Quote
in similar way, many realms who "have everyhing good" under that criteria are ultimately boring places, and there are numbers of player who leave the game without reaching complete idea what game can offer.
Under what criteria? I sure didn't list any criteria.

Quote
game can offer many things in my opinion, and would be much richer without any devs intervention if players would apply different approaches more.

i feel you want to discourage such other approaches.
What dev intervention are you talking about?

Discourage what approaches?

Quote
personally i would rather spent my time in three falling realms than in three overly established ones where no any serious changes ever happen, whatever you do.
For an experienced player, that's great. Pick whatever realm you want. Go for any play style you care to engage in.

But I would not recommend deliberately choosing a realm that never really got established, has abysmal prospects for survival, has only four other nobles in it, and probably won't be alive two months from now to a brand new player trying to figure out what the game is about. Especially not when that play style is not what they expected, based on some random forum postings that promised a rich, dynamic, diverse play experience. If they read that it's a realm on the verge of going under without divine intervention, and still decide to go ahead and join, that's great.

Quote
and, yes, it is possible to learn much more in such realms than in "good" realms where nobles receive two marshal orders per day over their whole first rl year.
Better to get two orders per day than to get no messages at all for nearly the entire month following joining the realm. Which is an experience I had myself not too long ago.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Indirik on August 29, 2011, 09:07:14 PM
So how is the morale in Itaulond? Do they have fun with their "challenge the high and mighty" or do they just wait to die?
I'm not so sure that any of the four of them are frequent forum visitors. Maybe Lilwolf ... ?
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 29, 2011, 10:09:34 PM

I've been in realm on the verge of extinction before. And in realms that were holding on by their fingernails. So, been there, done that. Can they be fun? Sure. We had a blast in Kingdom of Alluran back when we had maybe 1.5 regions. And the 0.5th region changed on a daily basis. But a realm like, for example, Itaulond, is NOT the kind of realm I would suggest a new player join. I personally don't think that's the kind of experience that would present BattleMaster's best side. Doubly true if the new player was joining it because he thought it would be a cool place to see lots of action.

the funny thing is that all the difference is coming from new players who would eventually join. so if some new players, do join, some interesting things will be possible, and that is also excellent opportunity for nobles to feel how their presence means much. the fact that there are only 4 nobles just means that 4-5 new nobles would change things radically and offer many experiences.

the fact that some badass enemy can come and destroy everything only adds to thrill to anyone who wants somewhat different approach, and achieving something, anything against odds can also provide incomparably larger satisfaction compared to very predictable wars.

as everyone can have at least one more character, even newest nobles could be able to compare depth bm can provide by joining one typically successful realm and one which looks as hopeless. is that not complete diapason of depth?

What dev intervention are you talking about?

that's my wording ??? i was thinking of tweaks - even without any further efforts of devs with tweaks, game could prove itself to be much deeper only if more players adopt different approaches to gamplay, of course being completely within fair-play practice

Discourage what approaches?

my personal feeling of approach you seem to be presenting is something like ultimate pragmatism, like "i want to be on winning side all the time, i want to win every day, every turn, and everything which obstructs me in that path should be abandoned as it is stupid"

my approach is something like "i will try to develop some story, any story, good or bad, impressive or grey with my char and will true to pursue it, winning or losing fun will be the same as long as others also belong to some story and we cooperate". that is something like RP approach, but without sending long green letters, but rather by living your characters within some role.

i met enough people in game who pursue such kind of approach but also see how it is currently overpowered to the bones, and it is to be feared that these forums contribute that.

to go back to forum-level discussion at its basics - are you really sure that all players want straightforward path? i believe they don't. if new guy is able to witness how things work is one established realm would it not be better if he is able to see radically different type of story as soon as possible, before he begins to believe straightforward way is the only way? of course some find themselves in straightforward way and such guys simply do not need anything else. but some others do not, and if they hear the same kind of advertising and approach whenever they go (on these forums) they can come to wrong conclusion how nothing else is available in game.

Better to get two orders per day than to get no messages at all for nearly the entire month following joining the realm. Which is an experience I had myself not too long ago.

i have number of such experiences but am sure we are all clever enough to recognize when we need to go. what is trouble with trying? all you can lose is some time for some of you chars, and you can win some different experience eventually.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Indirik on August 29, 2011, 10:49:38 PM
the funny thing is that all the difference is coming from new players who would eventually join. so if some new players, do join, some interesting things will be possible, and that is also excellent opportunity for nobles to feel how their presence means much. the fact that there are only 4 nobles just means that 4-5 new nobles would change things radically and offer many experiences.
Sorry, but I completely disagree with you. I don't think that the play experience a new player could get right now in Itaulond is the kind of experience that a brand new player should get for his first realm.

Quote
the fact that some badass enemy can come and destroy everything only adds to thrill to anyone who wants somewhat different approach, and achieving something, anything against odds can also provide incomparably larger satisfaction compared to very predictable wars.
Perhaps if you're the kind of player that likes sitting a realm that can't do anything, has no gold, can't recruit a meaningful army, is hated by everyone around it, and is just waiting for the executioner's axe to fall (or the next 3K CS monster group), then Itaulond is for you. Somehow, I highly doubt that this is the experience that a new player wants. And, after all, we're talking about new players here.

Quote
that's my wording ??? i was thinking of tweaks - even without any further efforts of devs with tweaks, game could prove itself to be much deeper only if more players adopt different approaches to gamplay, of course being completely within fair-play practice
Sure, the game could be more diverse if players do different things. But that has absolutely nothing to do with brand new players joining hopeless realms. Brand new players aren't what Itaulond needs to survive. If it wants to survive, it needs to either cooperate with its neighbors (which, let's be honest, isn't going to happen until Amandil leaves), or get a huge infusion of *experienced* players. And these experienced players are not going to let my random comments on the forum influence them. Heck, some of them may take it as a challenge. :)

Quote
my personal feeling of approach you seem to be presenting is something like ultimate pragmatism, like "i want to be on winning side all the time, i want to win every day, every turn, and everything which obstructs me in that path should be abandoned as it is stupid"
So you think I'm here on the forums trying to metagame people into not joining realms that stand in my way?

Quote
to go back to forum-level discussion at its basics - are you really sure that all players want straightforward path?
All players? Of course not. But, again, that has nothing to do with the discussion at hand. Which is new players being influenced forum discussions about realms. We want new players to have good experiences. As many as possible, as quickly as possible. My personal feeling is that a realm such as Itaulond would not provide that. It has absolutely nothing to do with my characters or their IC goals. I have been know to recommend to new players that they not join certain realms that my characters are in, or to join realms that my characters are currently fighting. Because I think those realms do or do not offer a good play experience, not because their choice would somehow help me win the game.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: Stue (DC) on August 30, 2011, 11:50:02 AM
So you think I'm here on the forums trying to metagame people into not joining realms that stand in my way?

lol, it is not first time that you are presenting some of my thoughts as accusations, always with some surreal logical link.

if you look at my post, you can only find that i tried to describe two different in-game approaches, and i cannot see how would i relate you with metagaming. in that respect, all forum discussions classified as locals could fall into the same category if you would insist on such logic.

as regards to our discussion, we can have different opinions and stay with them. i have no doubt that new people could find both fun and learning even if the whole thing would end in ultimate fall after a while, but that solely depends on some new people coming.

this is nothing but my pesonal opinion and is based on some years spend in mentoring - players who want all the fun at once, everything perfect and prospective all the time are often those who do not stay in game for long.
Title: Re: Oh, Itaulond...
Post by: LilWolf on August 30, 2011, 02:42:22 PM
Itaulond can be quite the opportunity. With so few nobles you're almost guaranteed to get a region or council position. If you get a region, well, if things go badly you can always just join the side that seems to be winning and play the "I just joined the realm! I have no clue about the events before then!" card.