[Galactic Council]

Game 4 moderator: Gnaw
7-9 player. Hopefully the full 9.


Game Prep:

• 7+ player game.
  
• Planta and Draco are in.
• Alliances are in with a Round 2 minimum.
• Ancient Homeworlds are in only as filler if we don't get full 9 players.
• Board will be standard RoTA layout:
  • GCDS
  • inner sectors (I) - 6. 8 available
  • middle sectors (II)
    • 7 players: 12
    • 8 players: 12
    • 9 players: 12
    • 14 available
  • outer sectors (III)
    • 7 players: 22
    • 8 players: 24
    • 9 players: 24
    • 31 available

Technology:

• Initial Tech Tiles
  • 7 players: 22
  • 8 players: 24
  • 9 players: 26
• new techs in the cleanup phase
  • 7 players: 10
  • 8 players: 11
  • 9 players: 11
• Predictable technology but hard cap limit of 5 drawn. Gives a bit of a teaser and might help move the game along a little faster.
  • 26 tiles are drawn pregame. 5 tiles for round 2 will be drawn and revealed at this time.
  • 11 tiles in cleanup phase for the next round along with 5 tiles for the following round.
  • Rare techs will not count toward the 26 or 11, but will count for the 5 predictive tiles.
  Total tech available: 125 126 (I think)

• Developments are in with no restrictions. All 9 will be available.
• Non-RoTA Expansion content:
  • Supernova - in
  • Pulsar - in unless somebody cares
  • Ship Pack One - in
    • 325 hex,
    • 339/340 Terran/Magellan HW (We have pictures of them but no hexes yet. I'll use the 269 Mons Auris hex for this one if pics do not be come available.)
    • Ancient Interceptor discovery
    • Security council development
    • Advanced GCDS
    • Turn order variant will not be used

• I will be using Orokos for all things dice related. That allows a combat phase fuckup by me to be moved back to the last roll made prior to said fuckup.
• Reputation tiles are face up (so no unfair advantage to moderator)
• An image file will be placed here showing all of the hexes in the game, so the mod has no unfair advantage in knowing exactly which ones are left and what they look like. Text listing will be included.
• Player order determined by randomizing the sign-up sheet. There are 3 choices to be made. "Play", "Race", "Rotation". All 3 must be picked before race selection begins. "Rotation" applies to both choice of race and direction of first round.
  • First person in the list.
  • Last person in the list. Middle person in the list.
  • Middle person in the list. Last person in the list.

Quote

Example using the player list from game 3.
There were 9 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

• Morgoth
• Twelve
• Khell
• Gnaw
• Solidsnape
• D'rek
• cerveza_fiesta
• Tattersail (ganoes paran)
• Tapper

Timestamp: 2013-08-11 22:54:47 UTC

Morgoth would choose first, SS second, Tapper third. The reason I'm adding Rotation to the list is there is a good chance that Morgoth might decide that the most important thing for him is to make sure he doesn't follow Twelve. So he picks Rotation. SS then has the option of picking Play or Race; he chooses Race. So Tapper will get to play first.

The player order and choices will not be made public until after Morgoth and SS choose. Morgoth will be PMed the list. He makes his choice. SS will get the list and Morgy's choice. Once Tapper replies the game thread will be opened with Player list in order by First player, Race selection and Rotation,. Should Rotation be left for last, then that choice must be made before game thread is started.

In this example play would be

• Tapper
• Morgoth
• Twelve
• Khell
• Gnaw
• Solidsnape
• D'rek
• cerveza_fiesta
• Tattersail (ganoes paran)

with Tapper choosing race first and SS choosing after Gnaw.

With the layout of the 9 player grid all the the positions are not equal. 3 positions have only one connection to the 2xx ring. In game 3 that was Khell, Morgy, and Tapper. Starting hex will be determined by random.org. Only the remaining players will be eligible for this draw. In a 9 player game that gives 4 people a say in determining the initial course of the game.

Spoiler

 game 4 board layout.jpg (362.16K)
Number of downloads: 0

Edit:

• As far as I know IH is planning on running a 6 player game simultaneously with this one.
• The overly complicated Race, Play, and Rotation selection is because I think those 3 components have a huge impact on the course of the game.
• I'm not including simultaneous play variant because I don't think it's at all adaptable to forum style game.

Last content edit: This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 09 October 2013 - 07:04 PM


This edit: change title to reflect accuracy

This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 19 October 2013 - 10:04 PM

[Galactic Council]

Sign up sheet:

• GP (Tatts, Tattersail)
• D'rek
• Morgoth
• Tapper
• Twelve
• CF
• IH/Messremb
• Khellendros
• Gnaw

Messremb would like to play but is covered up the remainder of the year. Is there anyone willing to let him shadow you to learn the game? I will if no one else wants to,

This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 07 October 2013 - 10:58 PM

[Tattersail_]

In

Edit: Oh, you're dead. Guess I didn't need to delete the Mockra post.

This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 05 October 2013 - 10:35 PM

[D'rek]

It's official now, huh?

In.

Mess can shadow me if he wants. We can setup an off-thread PM convo where I explain everything to him ie "so what you're seeing here is that I've instinctively sub-consciously calculated all possible options and the one that leads to optimal VP production will be, so my action is the absolute best possible one _____, but Tatts over there is definitely just making it up as he goes along"

This post has been edited by D'rek: 05 October 2013 - 11:35 PM

[Galactic Council]

D, on 05 October 2013 - 11:32 PM, said:

Ah it's official now, huh?

In.

Mess can shadow me if he wants. We can setup an off-thread PM convo where I explain all the crazy things I do.

Yeppers.

Ye gods, why ruin the show with explanations?

[Morgoth]

I'm obviously playing whatever is offered

[Gnaw]

Game won't start until III is done.

[Tapper]

In.

[twelve]

IN

Was there any doubt?

[Galactic Council]

twelve, on 06 October 2013 - 08:00 PM, said:

IN

Was there any doubt?

Some. Maybe. With IH planning on a 6 player game there might be somebody who didn't want to play in this one.

Bur statistically? None at all.


Tacking this on here: Development tiles have changed to match rules.

This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 07 October 2013 - 02:16 AM

[Messremb]

D, on 05 October 2013 - 11:32 PM, said:

It's official now, huh?

In.

Mess can shadow me if he wants. We can setup an off-thread PM convo where I explain everything to him ie "so what you're seeing here is that I've instinctively sub-consciously calculated all possible options and the one that leads to optimal VP production will be, so my action is the absolute best possible one _____, but Tatts over there is definitely just making it up as he goes along"

After Ghoul Gulch that'd be pretty much guaranteeing half the players spend the whole game trying to grind you/us into a fine pulp, nothing like a challenge!

[twelve]

Messremb, on 06 October 2013 - 09:06 PM, said:

D, on 05 October 2013 - 11:32 PM, said:

It's official now, huh?

In.

Mess can shadow me if he wants. We can setup an off-thread PM convo where I explain everything to him ie "so what you're seeing here is that I've instinctively sub-consciously calculated all possible options and the one that leads to optimal VP production will be, so my action is the absolute best possible one _____, but Tatts over there is definitely just making it up as he goes along"

After Ghoul Gulch that'd be pretty much guaranteeing half the players spend the whole game trying to grind you/us into a fine pulp, nothing like a challenge!

Mafia grudges at least for me stay with mafia. If I hold the lead to victory in the current eclipse game that would make it two in a row for me so it will be you and D'rek that will be looking to grind me to pulp not the other way around.

Quote

Edit: The Surgeon General has determined that excessive bragging can lead to hives, supernovae, and empty hex explorations.

This post has been edited by Galactic Council: 07 October 2013 - 01:15 AM
Reason for edit: Public Service Announcement :D

[D'rek]

Galactic Council, on 05 October 2013 - 10:11 PM, said:

• Developments are in with no restrictions. All 9 will be available.
  • Take random Developments (one more than the amount of players, to the maximum of 8, see below) and place them next to the Supply. Place the rest of the Development Tiles back in the box.
  • The Security Council tile from SP1 will be added to the list. Then 1 tile will be randomly dropped.

I think the reason the original ROTA rules don't go above 8 developments is just because there were only 8 developments possible at that time. So if the game is 8 or 9 players, I think it'd be ok to have all 9 developments in, per the pattern the ROTA rules follow up to 8.

[Galactic Council]

D, on 06 October 2013 - 10:17 PM, said:

Galactic Council, on 05 October 2013 - 10:11 PM, said:

• Developments are in with no restrictions. All 9 will be available.
  • Take random Developments (one more than the amount of players, to the maximum of 8, see below) and place them next to the Supply. Place the rest of the Development Tiles back in the box.
  • The Security Council tile from SP1 will be added to the list. Then 1 tile will be randomly dropped.

I think the reason the original ROTA rules don't go above 8 developments is just because there were only 8 developments possible at that time. So if the game is 8 or 9 players, I think it'd be ok to have all 9 developments in, per the pattern the ROTA rules follow up to 8.

If I print the rules out, disconnect from the internet, turn off my computers, drop my cell phone in the sink, walk into the woods out back with a flashlight at midnight on a moonless night will D'rek still be able to correct my interpretation of the rules?

[D'rek]

It's just food for though, I don't really care which way you choose to run it!

[Gnaw]

D, on 07 October 2013 - 02:19 AM, said:

It's just food for though, I don't really care which way you choose to run it!

Oh, I wasn't criticizing. Far from it Ms D'rek.

[cerveza_fiesta]

Ok, I hope I can still be in. I didn't get your PM until today.


Also

Why are we using planta and Draco when the rules specifically say that they should be avoided in 7+ player games? I thought this issue was resolved long ago.

EDIT

Not trying to be a pain though, I'll play with whatever races are available and it's your modgod decision -- just saying there's probably a really good argument not to use those two races in a large game or else they wouldn't have put that line in the rules. .

This post has been edited by cerveza_fiesta: 07 October 2013 - 12:33 PM

[Galactic Council]

cerveza_fiesta, on 07 October 2013 - 12:13 PM, said:

Ok, I hope I can still be in. I didn't get your PM until today.


Also

Why are we using planta and Draco when the rules specifically say that they should be avoided in 7+ player games? I thought this issue was resolved long ago.

EDIT

Not trying to be a pain though, I'll play with whatever races are available and it's your modgod decision -- just saying there's probably a really good argument not to use those two races in a large game or else they wouldn't have put that line in the rules. .

It's not too late to get in.

Ref Planta and Draco, the rules suggest leaving them out. I looked at the BBG forums and there are a lot of people who play 9 player games with them. And from what I've read it's not because they're OP. They both have distinct disadvantages that leave them at the wrong end of the VP list if they're not played carefully.

[cerveza_fiesta]

OK, I trust you've looked into it. I just didn't follow 100% of the discussion thread. Leave em in then!

I think I'm going to be boring and play Terran. I've done 2 specialist races now and am interested to try a regular one. Maybe magellans...but more likely terran.

[twelve]

I might just let you all vote on who you all want me to play.



Nah!!!

I'm not sure what race I want to try next. I'm thinking I'd like to try the Exiles or the Squids. But I'd be willing to play any race that I haven't had a go with yet with the possible exception of the Lyra. For some reason that race just doesn't appeal to me at all.