286
East Island / Re: New War Predictions
« on: January 25, 2013, 02:14:04 AM »Quote
Armonia spilled Nivemus-Sirion-OI plans to Westmoor after allying
Westmoor's known about the Nivemus-Sirion-OI plans for much, much longer than that.
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Westmoor's known about the Nivemus-Sirion-OI plans for much, much longer than that.
287
East Island / Re: New War Predictions
« on: January 24, 2013, 10:35:32 PM »
Funnily enough, Westmoor is one of the few realms on the continent that takes OI relatively seriously. In RP terms, Westmoor sees OI as one of closest traditional allies (this is one of the reasons why Westmoor never directly helped the SoA in the war in the peninsula - but there were also other reasons).
When all of the OI's new mainland regions revolted and switched control to Westmoor, the bulk of Westmoor's armies went into those regions to do civil work and police work to get the regions stable so they could be handed back to OI in good condition (as had been agreed between Realm Councils of both realms). Westmoor put a lot of effort into bringing the regions into a good state, and also partially rebuilt and fed Kazakh, before returning the regions to OI in a well organized way.
Westmoorian lords still sell food to Kazakh and Kalmar as needed (Westmoor tends to sell its surplus to its allies - pretty much as you'd expect).
When all of the OI's new mainland regions revolted and switched control to Westmoor, the bulk of Westmoor's armies went into those regions to do civil work and police work to get the regions stable so they could be handed back to OI in good condition (as had been agreed between Realm Councils of both realms). Westmoor put a lot of effort into bringing the regions into a good state, and also partially rebuilt and fed Kazakh, before returning the regions to OI in a well organized way.
Westmoorian lords still sell food to Kazakh and Kalmar as needed (Westmoor tends to sell its surplus to its allies - pretty much as you'd expect).
288
BM General Discussion / What makes a good BM religion?
« on: January 16, 2013, 07:32:06 AM »
I'm curious about what people think makes for a good, interesting and fun religion in Battlemaster. What qualities of a religion would enhance the game for you, or what would make a religion fun for you? Or, if you tend to avoid the religions, what do you think the in-game faiths get wrong (in terms of not being fun for you)?
Do the religions your characters follow actually effect their actions in the game and become an active part of who they are, who they ally with, and who they war against?
Do the religions your characters follow actually effect their actions in the game and become an active part of who they are, who they ally with, and who they war against?
289
BM General Discussion / Re: Feudal Hierarchy - Respect/Deference
« on: January 14, 2013, 03:04:47 AM »
Most of my characters call a noble who hasn't got an estate nobleman or noblewoman regardless of whether they're newly created or they've moved over from another realm (reflecting that they're not yet within the formal hierarchy so they're due a lesser level of respect).
If a noble has been a longterm Duke or Duchess, several of my characters would continue to address them by that title even if they were reduced to a knight or dame as a mark of respect. If I know another character is a former Duke or Duchess, then Lord or Lady would be the minimum I'd use. "Your Grace", I'd keep for a current Duke.
Former rulers of the realm, or former rulers of other realms, I'd probably also address as Lord or Lady if they didn't have any other high-status title such as Duke, Earl, Baron, etc. Unless I'm writing as a character who wanted to make a point by addressing them as Sir or Dame.
Foreign dignitaries are addressed by title - Ambassador, etc, and are treated with a high level of respect even if the realms involved are at war as long as they themselves conduct themselves in a polite way. But, again, this depends on the character I'm using. One of my characters would be just as likely to send a foreign ambassador back minus his head if he felt the ambassador wasn't conducting himself properly.
Elders of your own religion should always be treated with the respect due to lords as a minimum. If the religion has a leader, they should be considered to be on a par with a king. Priests should have the status of lords within their own religion (mostly, other characters don't give priests of their own religion anything near the level of respect they should be due). Priests of other religions - it would depend on what my character's religion thought of the other faith.
If a noble has been a longterm Duke or Duchess, several of my characters would continue to address them by that title even if they were reduced to a knight or dame as a mark of respect. If I know another character is a former Duke or Duchess, then Lord or Lady would be the minimum I'd use. "Your Grace", I'd keep for a current Duke.
Former rulers of the realm, or former rulers of other realms, I'd probably also address as Lord or Lady if they didn't have any other high-status title such as Duke, Earl, Baron, etc. Unless I'm writing as a character who wanted to make a point by addressing them as Sir or Dame.
Foreign dignitaries are addressed by title - Ambassador, etc, and are treated with a high level of respect even if the realms involved are at war as long as they themselves conduct themselves in a polite way. But, again, this depends on the character I'm using. One of my characters would be just as likely to send a foreign ambassador back minus his head if he felt the ambassador wasn't conducting himself properly.
Elders of your own religion should always be treated with the respect due to lords as a minimum. If the religion has a leader, they should be considered to be on a par with a king. Priests should have the status of lords within their own religion (mostly, other characters don't give priests of their own religion anything near the level of respect they should be due). Priests of other religions - it would depend on what my character's religion thought of the other faith.
290
Helpline / Re: new takeover system
« on: January 11, 2013, 05:26:27 PM »
I've run a lot of takeovers using the new TO system and had quite a lot of opportunities to experiment with it. A balanced takeover will normally take you about twice as long as either a fear or a sympathy one. When you get the TO progress stats each turn, you have to rebalance the TO activities you're having people perform so that you have the right amount of fear activities balancing the sympathy activities (or visa versa). How fast your progress towards a successful balanced TO moves will depend on you finding the most efficient balance between the fear and sympathetic activites - that's something you can experiment with like I did 
Towards the end of the last war I fought I got a successful balanced TO down to about 5 days from start to finish (if I'm remembering it right).
The fastest TOs are done by picking either fear or sympathy and sticking with those activities - i.e. having everyone work towards the same goal, whether that's sympathy or fear. There might be a benefit in have a small amount of fear during a sympathy TO, or a small amount of sympathy during a fear TO - but I'm not entirely clear on that myself. If the people of the region hate you, go for a fear TO. If they like you, try for a sympathy TO. I've seen some military commanders in Atamara just allowing everyone to do what ever activities they want, and that normally leads to the TO taking far too long.
But having said all that, I've really seen no difference in the levels of control in a region after a TO has been completed, regardless of whether it was fear, sympathy, or balanced. In almost all cases I've seen, you can expect a revolt 1 or 2 turns after the end of the TO, which your soldiers will put down by force, and then things should start to settle down (unless you're pushed out of the region by the enemy).
Towards the end of the last war I fought I got a successful balanced TO down to about 5 days from start to finish (if I'm remembering it right).The fastest TOs are done by picking either fear or sympathy and sticking with those activities - i.e. having everyone work towards the same goal, whether that's sympathy or fear. There might be a benefit in have a small amount of fear during a sympathy TO, or a small amount of sympathy during a fear TO - but I'm not entirely clear on that myself. If the people of the region hate you, go for a fear TO. If they like you, try for a sympathy TO. I've seen some military commanders in Atamara just allowing everyone to do what ever activities they want, and that normally leads to the TO taking far too long.
But having said all that, I've really seen no difference in the levels of control in a region after a TO has been completed, regardless of whether it was fear, sympathy, or balanced. In almost all cases I've seen, you can expect a revolt 1 or 2 turns after the end of the TO, which your soldiers will put down by force, and then things should start to settle down (unless you're pushed out of the region by the enemy).
291
East Island / Re: New War Predictions
« on: January 11, 2013, 01:14:35 PM »
The most constructive way for you to look at it is that you've created memorable in-game villains. Taken as characters, both Erik and Durion are so hated amongst their enemies that they would probably both be executed without a second thought if they were captured and the conditions allowed for it. For villains, something like that should be the highest compliment to your skills in characterizing them.
On the RPs, I don't think they've actually offended anyone (at least not as far as I know). But those types of "we are going to destroy you and insult you while we are doing it" RPs are not really to my tastes. Every player who plays in a too big, overpowerful realm needs to remember that they only have fun in wars because the players in the smaller realms that they fight choose to actually put up a fight and resist them.
On the RPs, I don't think they've actually offended anyone (at least not as far as I know). But those types of "we are going to destroy you and insult you while we are doing it" RPs are not really to my tastes. Every player who plays in a too big, overpowerful realm needs to remember that they only have fun in wars because the players in the smaller realms that they fight choose to actually put up a fight and resist them.
292
Other Games / The Lords of Midnight
« on: January 11, 2013, 04:17:08 AM »
For anyone who's never heard of The Lords of Midnight, it's well worth a play.
http://www.thelordsofmidnight.com/index2.html
The game was originally released in 1984 and was light years ahead of its time. This version is newly modified to be playable on iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, PC, etc. It doesn't seem to be well known outside of the UK and parts of Europe. Like many games of that era it never really gained popularity in the States because it was a computer game in a time when North America was much more geared towards the early consoles. Sadly, Mike Singleton, the game's creator, died in 2012 without ever getting the wide-spread recognition he should have had as a pioneering game developer. He did complete a sequel to Lords of Midnight, but the third Midnight game to round out the trilogy was never finished (as far as I know).
The gameplay is a mixture of strategy game and adventure game as you recruit and lead armies on the one hand, while also trying to sneak-defeat the enemy by getting two or three other characters into the enemy lair without being noticed. Either method will get you a win, but don't expect it to be a pushover! One piece of advice to anyone who plays is to download yourself a fan created map so you don't get too lost - the playing area is massive. Maps and other interesting stuff can be found here: http://www.icemark.com/tower/.
http://www.thelordsofmidnight.com/index2.html
The game was originally released in 1984 and was light years ahead of its time. This version is newly modified to be playable on iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, PC, etc. It doesn't seem to be well known outside of the UK and parts of Europe. Like many games of that era it never really gained popularity in the States because it was a computer game in a time when North America was much more geared towards the early consoles. Sadly, Mike Singleton, the game's creator, died in 2012 without ever getting the wide-spread recognition he should have had as a pioneering game developer. He did complete a sequel to Lords of Midnight, but the third Midnight game to round out the trilogy was never finished (as far as I know).
The gameplay is a mixture of strategy game and adventure game as you recruit and lead armies on the one hand, while also trying to sneak-defeat the enemy by getting two or three other characters into the enemy lair without being noticed. Either method will get you a win, but don't expect it to be a pushover! One piece of advice to anyone who plays is to download yourself a fan created map so you don't get too lost - the playing area is massive. Maps and other interesting stuff can be found here: http://www.icemark.com/tower/.
293
East Island / Re: New War Predictions
« on: January 11, 2013, 01:41:33 AM »
It's sadly true that most of the pre and post battle RPs I've seen come out of Sirion when fighting against them have either dealt with rape or the mutilation of corpses. I suppose that if the Sirionites/elves see humans as little more than animals who occupy a world that rightly belongs to them it does make sense in that way, but it seems like much more could be done with the elven lore than stuff like that.
Personally, I find it pretty unpalatable so I tend to just skip over those RPs now. But there's no doubting that some armies in the Middle Ages behaved like that.
Personally, I find it pretty unpalatable so I tend to just skip over those RPs now. But there's no doubting that some armies in the Middle Ages behaved like that.
294
Development / Re: Stealth mode for unitless infiltraitors
« on: January 07, 2013, 08:22:50 AM »
I've always thought the infiltrator as spymaster concept was a brilliant one ever since it was first raised. I do hope there'll be movement in that direction once time allows for it. A spymaster like a spider at the centre of a web of intelligence is a very appealing idea.
295
Atamara / Re: What religion to join?
« on: January 03, 2013, 07:16:07 AM »
I don't know about the other Norse religions, but you don't have to play your character as a Viking to be a member of The Way of the Hammer. My character on Atamara (who's been in Eston, Coria, Caergoth, and Suville) has never been played as a Viking but still follows the Hammer. He also thinks that the Vikings of Maker are sub-human filth. In fact, I'd be hard pressed to think of anyone I've seen writing within the Hammer channel who plays a blood and guts, flea-infested, Viking barbarian.
In terms of Gods to worship, there's a considerable amount of potential there because you have an extensive pantheon of gods to choose from if you're looking for a patron god, or worship them all, or the all-father Odin. There's a ton of RP potential there.
The downside is that it's suffering from a major shortage of priests, which very nearly led to its collapse. It could also use stronger RP within it to make it more substantial.
In terms of Gods to worship, there's a considerable amount of potential there because you have an extensive pantheon of gods to choose from if you're looking for a patron god, or worship them all, or the all-father Odin. There's a ton of RP potential there.
The downside is that it's suffering from a major shortage of priests, which very nearly led to its collapse. It could also use stronger RP within it to make it more substantial.
296
Helpline / Re: Murderous Setting
« on: December 22, 2012, 01:10:43 AM »
Ah, so he'd have to be alone in a region where we have no mobile troops or militia. Then if one of our nobles moved there with murderous settings it would trigger the battle? If that's right it probably explains it. So, all in all, it's fairly unlikely that a battle will happen when you're set on murderous unless you can create a very specific set of circumstances (the target noble is alone in a region when you move there set on murderous).
297
Helpline / Re: Murderous Setting
« on: December 22, 2012, 01:01:05 AM »If he stays in a region and you move a Noble towards that region on murderous settings, he should be considered Attackers and hence attack the Noble.
We've tried that, with no success.
The full situation is that the noble from the peaceful realm crossed the border, so he's inside our regions. The nobles of my realm have moved into one of our regions, set to murderous, while he's been static in that same region. Another time, we've matched his movement from one of our regions to another of our regions, and all arrived in the same region at the same time after turn change (still with units set at murderous). We also tried spreading out so that we had someone in any region he could move into. Nothing happened in any case.
So it seems like we've tried every way to trigger a battle with no success. We haven't even seen a message saying that he's evaded a battle.
298
Helpline / Murderous Setting
« on: December 21, 2012, 10:25:59 PM »
Over the past few days several nobles in one of my realms have been trying to force a battle with a noble of another realm with which we have peaceful relations. I'd always thought this could be done by setting your unit to murderous. But, even set at murderous, no battles have been forced. There have also been no reports of a battle having been evaded.
Could someone please clarify what the conditions are for the murderous setting to kick in and create a battle?
Could someone please clarify what the conditions are for the murderous setting to kick in and create a battle?
299
BM General Discussion / Re: Another Game ?
« on: December 21, 2012, 10:12:26 PM »Divided Loyalties
Powerbroker
Dominion
Ultimate Power
Statecraft
Shattered Thrones
Deceit
Endless Power
King's Gambit
300
Other Games / Re: Crown of Conquest
« on: November 29, 2012, 08:10:34 AM »
Yeah, I also lost the two towns that I'd taken because the changes gave me a mayor limit of 0. Mildly irritating because I'd spent about 5000 gold on each town to try to improve them. But I can see that the mayor limits will probably be good for the game in the longterm.
I'm raiding NPC towns at moment to gather some gold.
I'm raiding NPC towns at moment to gather some gold.