Last update: Oct 15thth 2013
Host:PBEM Llamaserver. Link will follow (//http://)
Age: EA or MA
Map: TBD (//http://)
How Often on Turns: start with 24h interval. Adjust as needed.
Number of Players: the more the merrier
Mods: None
Non-Standard Settings: Hall of Fame entries 15, Renaming is allowed, No graphs, Independents 7
Victory Conditions: Last one standing + Thrones?
Diplomacy Policy: None; do as you wish, keeping in mind consequences in future games, as well as later in that game (if you stab someone early, any alliance later in that game is likely to prove less trustworthy). Trades should be fulfilled
Cheesy Tricks: New players won't know them and won't be ready for them. This is things like sending 50 bad items to someone right as they put up forge of the ancients to make them waste gems; using scouts to constantly siege someone's fortress; and there are probably a few others I historically read about but have since forgotten.
NATIONS (xx)
Yskonyn:
Note1: The hosting time limits are slightly indicative, but we are pressed to make them whenever possible. In other words; if you can't make the turn limit, be sure to post in this thread to let me know in advance so I can extend the time in the llamaserver.
Better yet is sending me an email, which you have gotten in a PM.
I have an irregular working schedule with stops abroad sometimes, so I might put in the odd request for a few more hours/days as well. I hope we can all be flexible about this. If not, then please say so up front.
Note2: (By Lung Drago) I do not expect to meet problems regarding using of exploits that I stumbled upon reading on these forums. But just for the record, I dislike such behavior. Stay fair, people. If you cannot swallow a defeat, then you will be a newbie forever. In spirit of my previous sentence, please do not go AI after a single major battle lost
I will keep this fist post updated with status changes and info as it comes through.
Note3: Remember to keep an eye on the turn interval. I will update changes in interval in this thread.
Be sure to report EARLY if you will not be able to send in a turn in time.
WE CANNOT USE THE ROLLBACK FEATURE! Due to possible savegame corruption.
(Thanks to 3V4JKZ2 for the above format )
Note 4:
I want to put a very good project into the spotlight made by a player called momfreak.
Mod Inspector (http://dom3-mod-inspector.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/index.html?page=item&selectmods=1)
This webpage enables you to select some mods that you will be using for the game and then display accurate information about all the spells and items in the game.
You can also view the stock vanilla game data with this webpage.
Super handy as reference. Works for Dom 4 as well!
Note 5: When the game is setup you will all need to send your pretender to Llamaserver.
You can send your pretender file as an attachment to: (Put in the name of the game in the title, leave the body empty)
pretenders@llamaserver.net
You can find your pretender file in your Dominions 3\savegames\newlords folder.
it has a file format <era>_<nation>_0.2h
It will overwrite and old pretenders for the same era/nation.
After all the pretenders have been sent in the game can be kicked off and you will receive your turns in the mail.
Just send your turn back to turns@llamaserver.net (probably just reply to sender)
Only send in the .2h file. The .trn file is only sent by Llama to YOU.
For a FAQ on Llamaserver go here (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=35160)
OLD POST for reference :
So ladies and gentlemen, here we are at the doorstep of a new era in Dominions gaming!
As per currently available information the game will be released at the end of August. Not too long to go anymore and in order to ramp up the anticipation some more I would like to host the very first Groghead Dom 4 inaugural multiplayer game.
Let's make this massive, and any and all are welcome to join in this orgasm of magic, deceit and warfare! *bombastic music playing*
Reserve your nations already to be ready when the game hits! It will go on a first come first serve basis. The game will be set in the MA to have a (hopefully good) compromise between the new magic and the new normal grunts.
A map will be chosen later, or -if we already know old maps will still be compatible- place your vote for the battlefield right now.
I'd be interested but I'd first like to check out the new nations in single-player and get familiarized with the changes. I suck at this enough, as it is. ;)
I would also be willing to bet that there will be some small updates for a time, after release. Do you plan a delay before starting?
Why not make it random nations, since nobody will have had a chance to try them in any case?
Yes that's a good suggestion, actually.
The idea about this game is just to have fun exploring the new game when it gets here. Like a launch party. :)
Nothing serious, but the more people will play, the more fun it will be.
I like going for random nations for this one!
If I am able to get it at launch I would like to get in on it. Still in the air about that though.
Quote from: alastair on July 29, 2013, 05:01:10 PM
Why not make it random nations, since nobody will have had a chance to try them in any case?
Random selection has an appeal. In the one pbem I'm currently playing, I had joined late and it was a big game. So I only had a small few nations to choose from at that point, and wasn't terribly crazed about any of them. So this could possibly make it easier on the latecomers.
A couple things, however. I wonder which Age will have the best balancing between the Nations? Middle? I also worry about the off-chance that some of us may end up randomly getting a nation they're already playing, or recently played, in a different pbem game.
I'd be interested in this, if you have room for someone new to a forum. And random sounds ok with me. It sounds like everything got changed up, so even the old nations should have new twists.
Sure, you're welcome to join. The more the merrier.
I am a wee bit surprised the rest hasn't shown interest so far... :-\
Quote from: Yskonyn on August 05, 2013, 10:02:58 AM
Sure, you're welcome to join. The more the merrier.
I am a wee bit surprised the rest hasn't shown interest so far... :-\
I'd love to play but I already have two games in progress and I highly doubt they will end before the launch. Also I think this time I'm going to learn one of the nations real good before joining multiplayer.
I think a lot of Dom players hereabouts have multiple games going and aren't in a hurry to sign up for another yet.
I'm debating just when I want to start another one, and I'm only involved in a single one entering the late stages. Can't imagine how others feel who have two or three going.
Exactly, I'm not ready to commit to another game just yet. Groghammer is going to take up all of my allotted Dom time while I'm still in it.
Plus, I don't even know when I'll be able to buy Dom 4.
yeah. not joining too many is a good idea. but dom4 is so tempting
Ow man, so most of you are going to piss on my launch party, eh. :S
I want to join, but a lot of things are going to be going on for me over the next few months, and I don't know how much free time I will have yet. If you are still looking for people in a month or two, I might be persuaded though.
sign me up. I am down to one active game that I am playing and one that I am admining, so I will have time to play. I am fine with random nations or picking them.
Count me in. Just pre-ordered after 2 weeks of debating.
I like the idea of random nations seeing as that way everyone is looking at something new. What ever is decided Random me.
Desura shows the game 'available to play on 31st of August'.
The Illwinter site hasn't been updated since the announcement of the game being inbound earlier.
We'll see. Not long now if they make the date.
I think it has been postponed for a month or so :-\
I'd be interested in playing once the game is released. I'd like to play random as well.
I've decided I'll probably buy Dom4 but it won't be until around the end of September at the earliest, so I'll have to sit this one out. Have fun, all!
Quote from: Huw the Poo on August 25, 2013, 05:23:55 AM
I've decided I'll probably buy Dom4 but it won't be until around the end of September at the earliest, so I'll have to sit this one out. Have fun, all!
I don't think the game is officially coming out until around sept. 28 now. People who preorder may get to play in the beta.
Yeah. The time frame is a bit confusing. Desura still says august. And the website still says august, bit then says its been delayed a month. I would think they would say " now releasing in september." I agree Maybe they are going to do a preorder beta, would be the nice thing to do since they hyped everyone up on an august release.
I will say though I would rather see a delay and then receive quality product. Then get a hurried release to meet deadline and ha e horrible gaping holes.
Ah yes, I hadn't realised. According to the Illwinter website they are doing a preorder beta but the game will supposedly be released on Sep 28.
Guess we are gonna ha e to do 2 inaugural games :) one for the beta release and one for the actual release.
Eurgh, who'd want to play the beta? The actual release will probably be buggy enough!
Ha that's my thought, exactly. :)
I have been involved in a few betas, it's interesting to see how a game is in a slightly rawer state. Honestly with the release supposed to be in 1 month, it shouldn't be too buggy, but that's why you have prerelease "open" betas, to put more stress on the game. Closed beta/alpha testers are gonna catch a lot, but prerelease betas are what catches all the final finishing touches.
In short, just because it's beta doesn't mean it isn't worth playing.
If you look through the changelog of all previous Illwinter titles you'll see that many bugs were caught and fixed well after release. Hell, even triple-A studios have this problem. I didn't say it wouldn't be worth playing at all, but it will come down to personal tolerance. I'm willing to bet that Dom4 will be too buggy for my tastes until at least the official release.
I definitely agree that many trip-A titles are bug ridden on release, and in my opinion most of the games that have that problem is when the studio has gotten lazy. For a group like illuminates I can understand a bit more because compared to the thousands of beta testers that a group like say blizzards Diablo 3 betas had, splinter has what couple dozen, maybe 100.
I expect there to be bugs, but I would still like to get a game going after prerelease. Would probably cut it off at release. But would still like to do one.
I just noticed, right after pre-ording Dom4, that it has been delayed for a month. :-[
Ahh well.. at least they're supposedly gonna give us a beta version on this August release date, so that's something. Probably an excellent idea on their part since it'll get more widely vetted for bugs in the final month, too.
the beta is up and running on desura
Yay, downloaded it.
Was a bit of a chore to find my cd key, cause I cannot find that page on the Desura website... Luckily there is a direct link in your initiate purchase confirmation email if anyone wonders...
Caelum are now normal sized 3 beings! :D /happydance
For anyone else's reference:
To find your serial key, at least in the Desura client, first select the Blue diamond button in the top left and click on History>Purchases or something similarly worded. Then click on the date which you purchased Dom4 (the games you bought that day should be listed next to it) and then click on the work "Key" next to the Dom4 listing. You'll get a pop-up with a button to "generate key" so click that if it's your first time getting one. Otherwise it should display the one you were assigned.
Desura should really have a more direct link to the a serial keys page. I don't think they do a lot of feature upgrades to their client, but a website adjustment would be nice.
Thanks for the pointer Nef!
I do not use the client, so I would really appreciate a website update there!
do u have to preorder to get the beta?
yes you have to
Quote from: parone on September 03, 2013, 04:48:08 AM
do u have to preorder to get the beta?
It's more like a Beta buy-in, at this point. I think you can purchase it at Desura, and get the beta build right now.
I've been surprised by just how much stuff has been tweaked, added, or wotnot. When people were likening Dom4 to an expansion pack for Dom3, it made me think there wouldn't be all that much different. Maybe just a couple additions and a handful of adjustments. But it looks as if nearly everything had some kind of tweak or addition, mostly for balance which it
really needed.
I wouldn't think it in beta if it wasn't for the rare placeholder.
Yes I am just *facepalming* at people now who keep insisting Dom 4 will just be a glorified patch for Dom 3.
They obviously haven't a clue and certainly did not play the beta.
To expect it to be a vastly different game is another thing and frankly, plain silly.
The game is just called Dominions. Like software of the old days it just progresses in version number and we're on the verge of getting v4.0. Same game, just the next version of it. If you (in the general sense) call this merely a patch, then so be it. I do not.
But indeed, I agree wholeheartedly, Nefaro! The spread of commander units within the factions is much better. They have a much clearer function now and have pretty interesting pro's and con's.
Unit cost and gear has been tweaked for many, if not all, units.
It looks like a good hard thought has been made about balance and cleaning up spells.
There are a few powerplayers who have some valuable input over at Desura and some are not happy with certain changes, but Kris is talking to them so we'll see what happens. With the way things are looking I think its going to be a darn fine game!
I've Ben happy with what I've seen so far. From what I heard i thought it was just a patched version of dom3. But having seen it, they definitely have improved things. I like the fact that so much more information is at your finger tips instead of being required to dig through menus.
One thing I'm.not happy about is the change to the mid age shinyu spell "ghost general" they increased the cost and pushed it deeper down the track. I haven't had a chance to test summon, but did they increase the power as well? The big thing was that it was like summoning a bane, but easier and cheaper to go with shinyu whole summon thing, if it is the same unit but with those changes it wouldn't be worth it.
For many issues like you mentioned above, I've seen input from Kris.
You just need to lay the puzzle differently, is the message I get from him. Sure, tactics might need adapting and old ways don't work, but things that have been changed have not just been changed for no reason.
Ok. I feel like a goon now. It's been so long since I actually looked at it I forgot. The shuts has always been 1 step up from the bane, and it looks like they boosted the shura more than they modified the bane, and they increased both gem costs, well at least compared to cbm, also havent taken that into account yet, so on that note, I retract my previous statement, for now.
Just one of the many adjustments.. ye olde Skele Spam combat spell also got moved up a level or two. ;D Looks like a good amount of such adjustments were done. I say well done!
I agree, I have liked most of the changes so far.
I've heard a great idea on the Three Moves Ahead podcast; teamplay.
What do you guys say we try something new and go for team vs team? 3vs3vs3 for example? We could even try the Disciples gameplay this way! Let me know.
Two mere days till release!
I am all for that.
Quote from: Yskonyn on October 08, 2013, 05:20:34 AM
I've heard a great idea on the Three Moves Ahead podcast; teamplay.
What do you guys say we try something new and go for team vs team? 3vs3vs3 for example? We could even try the Disciples gameplay this way! Let me know.
Two mere days till release!
Let's wait for the inevitable post-release update. There was still a few things missing in the last beta version so I'd recommend giving it a bit more simmering time to make sure most of it was caught, fixed, and finished.
A team-based game would be great. I'd even suggest two teams just to keep things as even as possible. However, I'd like to take some more time getting familiar with all the changes & new stuff, not to mention there will inevitably be an update or two shortly after official release. So I may skip the first multi-player game and wait for the second a bit further on - don't let me persuade you to postpone it if you don't want.
Well the idea is to have a launchparty-ish game with warts and all. But to avoid patching hell and corrupt saves in the middle of a game it might be wise to hold off for a little while. On the other hand we have had updates for Dom3 in the middle of our games too, where there was never a problem with continuing.
As far as 'getting to know the game' goes; everyone has the same problem if we start after release.
This round is more aimed at having fun than playing hardball.
Is Llamaserver hosting Dom4 multiplayer already?
I have no idea.
Playing PBEM manually is a chore so I really hope Llama gets Dom 4 support.
BTW It has been confirmed by Illwinter that patches will be savegame compatible.
OK so did the non beta version of Dom4 drop today? if so my Desura is a bag of crap.
Looks like Dom4 is out!
I'm down for a game of dom4 (non-random nations though), but someone needs to host old fashioned (preferably someone with a dedicated hosting machine that is up 24/7).
I have done that once, but I am not going to host manually again. That's a pain in the arse and I will probably take too long to keep the game going on at a decent pace.
If someone else wants to host, fine with me. Or we can wait until Llama supports Dom4.. which shouldn't take too long I'd imagine.
We have to talk about random factions. Some are for some against.
dom3minions.com is apparently similar to llamaserver without all the bells and whistles.
Apparently, dom4minions.com is up and running but even has less bells and whistles and missing webpages :)
And yes apparently llamaserver will be supporting dom4 shortly is what I heard.
There's also the throne issue:http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/claiming-thrones (http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/claiming-thrones)
It's about how H3/Pretender capturing for thrones skews the ability of non-H3 nations to blitz the 3-4 of the last thrones in a few turns. I would therefore suggest that if we play with thrones, there should be significantly less thrones than nations (maybe half the number of nations in thrones) so that a blitz of the last renaming thrones would be capturing 1-2 thrones in a few turns, so that nations that only have a H3 prophet and their pretender aren't totally sandbagged. In general, blitzing is great because (1) blitz has been a valid warfare tactic for nearly all periods of warfare past bronze age (2) blitz adds spice and excitement to the otherwise boring and slow end-game slog. It would be sad to destroy non-H3 nations' ability to blitz because of poor throne claim design decisions.
All in all, the growing pains of a new game!!
We could just set the throne points needed to win as higher then what the Thrones can give, which turns things back into the kill everyone else mode de facto because you can't win by thrones will still letting people play with thrones.
Can you do that in the game setup, or do you need to mod this?
It does sound like an interesting solution.
Do we have an ETA on llamaserver yet?
EDIT; I just read that the backend is complete, but some issues are to be expected. It does NOT accept Dom 4 games yet, though.
Might be a good idea to put this into second gear now.
I'll keep on updating the first post as we go, so be sure to keep checking that one for a summary of things.
First agenda point; Which map do we play and please vote for or against random nations.
My vote; FOR
I am in favor of doing random nations, with 1 chance for reroll.
You can also set a win condition that isn't thrones.
Actually, I want to update: my suggested solution of a very low overall throne count doesn't really work because thrones are evenly distributed, so if you have 5/5 thrones required for victory, on practical terms the 5 thrones are all over the map and you basically have to own the entire map.
So if we want to mitigate the inability of non-H3 nations to blitz multiple thrones per round, we still keep the winning throne count low, but the overall throne count higher.
For example, if you have a 6/12 throne victory condition, practically speaking that means you have to control over half the randomly distributed thrones which will broadly be a little less than half the map. Thus, this 6/12 or even 5/12 would be my suggested setup.
Are we waiting on people? Or waiting on llama server to fully convert to Dom4? Or is there something else we are waiting on?
I don't know; I'm playing a game hosted on dom4minions (which seems hard to navigate, but gp hosts the server and has been willing to setup the game if you email him. Don't know if he does delays though).
We are waiting for Llama. Dom4minions is a pretty hands off affair where game management is difficult. Eventhough GP's initiative is nice!
In the mean time though, I would like an update of who want to join this game:
Well, I am definitely in.
And I vote yes for Random Nations.
OK is it good or bad that I am the only one who has posted anything in like a week here?
I have no idea :)
Perhaps everyone knows Llama isn't ready yet?
It would be nice to get nations setup for testing and pretender design. Ask. If you want to random me a nation withoutother commitment I'm fine with that.
Non-random nation selection would help us pass the time with nation testing...one of the reasons I'm all about selecting a nation. As well as the fact that different nations have huge learning curves and you can apply a much of what you learned with a nation in dom3 in dom4. Learning can scratch from be fun, but I think from scratch learning should mostly be kept in SP as MP you can lose the game by bad pretender design because you are playing a new nation. Not to say random nations doesn't have an appeal, but I think it's better for experienced players that know the basics of everyone nation's playstyle so they won't lose the game right at pretender submission, or face someone who randomly gets a nation they have dom3 experience and then get flatlined as all the dom3 experience is put to good use in dom4.
On turn 24 on a dom4minions.com server...running smoothly. Not much admining though, so just setting set turn timers (28 hours early game, 52 mid, 76 late), and just hoping that unforseen stales affect everyone equally since there is no last minute postponing, which actually seems to increase people's interest since everyone has to get into a regular schedule of checking once a day.
So far, working out great in a 10 player game!
I guess my thing is that there has not been a definitive answer as to whether we are going to do random or picked nations. I don't want to start testing a nation just to find out that to use a different one because we choose to random, it will just make things take longer.
for anyone interested in a dom4 game on dom4minions, I'm starting one - MA, first come, first serve: http://www.desura.com/games/dominions-4-thrones-of-ascensions/forum/thread/a-brave-new-world-mp-game
looks like llama server is ready for DOminions 4
Ah Winged, I didn't notice at first but good to have you in BraveNewWorld. How are you liking Vanheim?
I love the vanheim units, sort of why I picked up Eriu ;)
THey have some vanheim with a splash of other stuff.
Like I said on the game forum though, for a bunch of outcast fairy, and half breed humans, they sure demand a high fee for their services.
Though I really would like to start up a LA Dom4 game. I know Id be target umber one, but I would love to give LA Ryleh a try, they are a bitch to micro manage, but they seem a lot fo fun with the small amount of SP I have done with them.
lol my bad Eriu even.
Eriu has better non-capital researchers than Vanheim, right? That must be nice.
Fairies like gold and trinkets, don't they - maybe that's why they charge such a pretty penny!
llamaserver now supports dom4
im updated to 4.03. would like to join if this ever gets going.
Llamaserver is up indeed, but I have a feeling people might not be into MP much yet. There only have been a few people here recently and there was not much reaction to my latent call to arms a little bit up in the thread.
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 18, 2013, 05:31:05 AM
Llamaserver is up indeed, but I have a feeling people might not be into MP much yet. There only have been a few people here recently and there was not much reaction to my latent call to arms a little bit up in the thread.
need a sale on dom4 to motivate people :)
Perhaps this thread got too big and as the title is the same people might skip over it.
Maybe creating a new recruitment thread will cause some ! mark to apear in people's heads. If not, at least I've tried and aparently the time is not yet right... :)