Fantasia(edited) can be fun

*TheArchduke* · 23-10-2003, 23:09

Created by Hive we tried out a new fantasia like scenario. 9 powers all in Europe.

Before the real game commences on Monday next week,a test was done and it is a lot of fun actually.

The Cast:

Barnius - Flandern
Hive - Catalunya
TheArchduke - Guyenne

Other Starters(AI in the test):

Wales, Hansa, Kalmar Union, Ukaine, Hellas and Sicily

Yes, hooray, I was in the middle.

The Starting position of each nations is the following (all subject to balancing change yet!):

3 provinces fortified, lvl2 capital with CoT, 10000 ducats(Trust me, you need them) and cbs on 7 provinces around you (Making some kind of "core" realm) and a cb on each other nation´s capital. (Sort of permanent cb). Each one is catholic and latin techgroup (Religion may be subject to change, who knows.

A little AAR for whoever is interested. (Descriptive, no narration for that one.

)

Waking up between those two, I have no other option to push aggressively to secure my northern and southern border. Upwards through Berri to Orleanais, where my border patrols notice a small flandrian outpost. Immeaditly war is declared, as I can´t allow Barnius to create a base across the river Seine. Completly taken by suprise and unable to reinforce himself there without a fleet, he ceded it for a payment by myself for 50 ducats.

A treaty is signed immeaditly making the Seine the border river of the Guyenne expansion and both parties rush to setup colonies along the Seine, watching each other with cav detachments.

Up: Border skirmishes and an uneasy peace after the conquest of Normandie

Down: Brave sailors of Guyenne exploring the Americas before her rivals through smart island hoping(50VPs)

As tensions in the north rose, when Flandern sent an expedition chor harrasing the foundation of a settlement in Franche Comte, Catalunya advanced from the south with contact being made in Aragon. Alarm bells rang in Guyenne and another hastly constructed strike force and border forts in Roussillon, too near by the capital for the liking of Guyenne, but Catalunya had to be denied access to the Guyenne Plain.

Most unfortunate was also the Flandern infiltration in those years as a small detachment bribing local leaders explored most of the countryside of Guyenne unnoticed and without access. ( Funny bug, build a colony over them, and they may use your country to walk around.

) And as it wasn´t enough, Wales landed in the Bretagne going even as far as making a permanent landfall but soon the Guyenne crown "persuaded" them to leave. The conclusion of those dangerous years was however that Guyenne, boxed in by foreign powers had to finance expeditions overseas to find new lands.

Equipping a 8000 men strike force and 8 ships (warships with low tech, attrition hurts! Ouch) sailed west, encountering, colonizing after getting rid of natives Azores and Bermuda and eventually discovering a new world.

In the east, two new nations, Hellas and Sicily were encountered and as the Duke of Catalunya was so friendly to put it, Guyenne looked like "swiss cheese", shortly after establishing footholds in North Italy:

The Hosting is REALLY smooth and fast without all the information of the AI buggering around. I can only recommend playing around with this idea. It is a bit like Alpha Centauri or Civ 2 from the feeling but is WAY more fun and easy than those two and soon the Eu2 colonization kicks in. A must to try. Hive, Slargos, Barnius and me are working on getting a nice balanced scenario out soon.

Particulary annoying in the Fantasia setup is there are only 8 colors for the 8 original nations, that´s why everyone is so green.

Hope we can change that somehow.

Michaelis · 23-10-2003, 23:49

(muffles a curse) I checked Vnet several times to catch you guys in case you were playing, but I missed you. It sounds like it was a lot of fun, even though I suspect 10k ducats might rob the game of some of its charm for me (I must have an inborn masochistic streak, since I actually enjoy the long slog to make the annual income worth something).

Anyway, hopefully next time I'll catch ya.

Hive · 24-10-2003, 00:23

Quote:

Originally posted by Michaelis
(muffles a curse) I checked Vnet several times to catch you guys in case you were playing, but I missed you. It sounds like it was a lot of fun, even though I suspect 10k ducats might rob the game of some of its charm for me (I must have an inborn masochistic streak, since I actually enjoy the long slog to make the annual income worth something).

Anyway, hopefully next time I'll catch ya.

No, actually 10k is good so that you can get a nation established... it takes the fun out of it if you can only afford to send 2-3 colonists per yeah...

Oh, and you should have expressed your interest in joining the test. You could just have icqed me, my number is in my sig...

Oh, and I will post a couple of screenies tomorrow.

HolisticGod · 24-10-2003, 02:32

All,

I would kill to play a Fantasia game, provided it ran at a good time...

I'll also sub whenever I'm around for Slargos'.

*TheArchduke* · 24-10-2003, 08:14

Quote:

Originally posted by HolisticGod
All,

I would kill to play a Fantasia game, provided it ran at a good time...

I'll also sub whenever I'm around for Slargos'.

As part of the reduced AI or the fact that we were 9 players, hosting was exceptional and totally crash free.

PJL · 24-10-2003, 08:40

Wow, I was sceptical at first about the Fantasia game (are all armies and navies explorerable in this?), but sounds like it mght be a nice little game after all. I see you managed to get to 1444 in the screenshot - impressive for a one night test run.

*TheArchduke* · 24-10-2003, 08:46

Quote:

Originally posted by PJL
Wow, I was sceptical at first about the Fantasia game (are all armies and navies explorerable in this?), but sounds like it mght be a nice little game after all. I see you managed to get to 1444 in the screenshot - impressive for a one night test run.

Ah yes, we started late and stopped early, we played from 20.30/21.00 to 23.00.

Hive · 24-10-2003, 09:39

Quote:

Originally posted by TheArchduke
Ah yes, we started late and stopped early, we played from 20.30/21.00 to 23.00.

Which makes it even more impressive that we got that far. Yes, we were only 3 players - but we played most of the session on above normal speed and without any crashes. And I hosted this with a 512/256 speed connection.

But I think we should stick to 9 nations. Not because we can't handle more, but because it's hard to fit more nations in on balanced positions imo.

Hive · 24-10-2003, 11:16

A few screenies:

Europe at the end of the test.

Comparison at the end of the test. Note that the AI nations are really crappy at this...

Barca · 24-10-2003, 11:31

Looks like you need another power in southern Germany, maybe a Bavaria?

Barnius · 24-10-2003, 11:50

Quote:

Originally posted by Barca
Looks like you need another power in southern Germany, maybe a Bavaria?

That could be right, especially if for example I end up not with English Isles, but Italy: since I WOULD be naval nation, I would not like long land front, so the Italy would be not far north.

Slargos · 24-10-2003, 11:56

There should be a milan actually, but it seems like the duke made short work of it.

Slargos · 24-10-2003, 11:58

OR it could be that Hive moved it to Siciliy..

*TheArchduke* · 24-10-2003, 12:03

Those were the two drawings I made for the balance-brainstorming:

*TheArchduke* · 24-10-2003, 12:04

Finnland, which imo is more balanced than Kalmar didn´t find Hive´s approval, Milan was in the first idea, but Guyenne would have been even more stuffed than it is yet.

Slargos · 24-10-2003, 12:09

I too am of the opinion that Kalmar should start in Finland.

Sicily instead of Milan might make the Italian player lose a lot of chances for manpower though, while giving the french player too much room...

Btw, we should start looking at a startdate... perhaps thursday next week?

*ForzaA* · 24-10-2003, 12:38

I think my suggestion for starting positions (see other thread) still is a good choice

Slargos · 24-10-2003, 12:44

Everyone must start with a port. Otherwise the colonial nations will grab the world leaving poor landlocked country in the shitter.

Mulliman · 24-10-2003, 13:26

If most people are free next week (dont know about the November vacations and other countries), maybe we could do something like a Fantasia-marathon?

*ForzaA* · 24-10-2003, 13:32

Quote:

Originally posted by Slargos
Everyone must start with a port. Otherwise the colonial nations will grab the world leaving poor landlocked country in the shitter.

in my startup none start with a port right??

23-10-2003, 23:09	#1
TheArchduke Testing stuff.. Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 7,210	Fantasia(edited) can be fun Created by Hive we tried out a new fantasia like scenario. 9 powers all in Europe. Before the real game commences on Monday next week,a test was done and it is a lot of fun actually. The Cast: Barnius - Flandern Hive - Catalunya TheArchduke - Guyenne Other Starters(AI in the test): Wales, Hansa, Kalmar Union, Ukaine, Hellas and Sicily Yes, hooray, I was in the middle. The Starting position of each nations is the following (all subject to balancing change yet!): 3 provinces fortified, lvl2 capital with CoT, 10000 ducats(Trust me, you need them) and cbs on 7 provinces around you (Making some kind of "core" realm) and a cb on each other nation´s capital. (Sort of permanent cb). Each one is catholic and latin techgroup (Religion may be subject to change, who knows. A little AAR for whoever is interested. (Descriptive, no narration for that one.) Waking up between those two, I have no other option to push aggressively to secure my northern and southern border. Upwards through Berri to Orleanais, where my border patrols notice a small flandrian outpost. Immeaditly war is declared, as I can´t allow Barnius to create a base across the river Seine. Completly taken by suprise and unable to reinforce himself there without a fleet, he ceded it for a payment by myself for 50 ducats. A treaty is signed immeaditly making the Seine the border river of the Guyenne expansion and both parties rush to setup colonies along the Seine, watching each other with cav detachments. Up: Border skirmishes and an uneasy peace after the conquest of Normandie Down: Brave sailors of Guyenne exploring the Americas before her rivals through smart island hoping(50VPs) As tensions in the north rose, when Flandern sent an expedition chor harrasing the foundation of a settlement in Franche Comte, Catalunya advanced from the south with contact being made in Aragon. Alarm bells rang in Guyenne and another hastly constructed strike force and border forts in Roussillon, too near by the capital for the liking of Guyenne, but Catalunya had to be denied access to the Guyenne Plain. Most unfortunate was also the Flandern infiltration in those years as a small detachment bribing local leaders explored most of the countryside of Guyenne unnoticed and without access. ( Funny bug, build a colony over them, and they may use your country to walk around.) And as it wasn´t enough, Wales landed in the Bretagne going even as far as making a permanent landfall but soon the Guyenne crown "persuaded" them to leave. The conclusion of those dangerous years was however that Guyenne, boxed in by foreign powers had to finance expeditions overseas to find new lands. Equipping a 8000 men strike force and 8 ships (warships with low tech, attrition hurts! Ouch) sailed west, encountering, colonizing after getting rid of natives Azores and Bermuda and eventually discovering a new world. In the east, two new nations, Hellas and Sicily were encountered and as the Duke of Catalunya was so friendly to put it, Guyenne looked like "swiss cheese", shortly after establishing footholds in North Italy: The Hosting is REALLY smooth and fast without all the information of the AI buggering around. I can only recommend playing around with this idea. It is a bit like Alpha Centauri or Civ 2 from the feeling but is WAY more fun and easy than those two and soon the Eu2 colonization kicks in. A must to try. Hive, Slargos, Barnius and me are working on getting a nice balanced scenario out soon. Particulary annoying in the Fantasia setup is there are only 8 colors for the 8 original nations, that´s why everyone is so green. Hope we can change that somehow. Last edited by TheArchduke; 23-10-2003 at 23:16.

23-10-2003, 23:49	#2
Michaelis Major Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 765	(muffles a curse) I checked Vnet several times to catch you guys in case you were playing, but I missed you. It sounds like it was a lot of fun, even though I suspect 10k ducats might rob the game of some of its charm for me (I must have an inborn masochistic streak, since I actually enjoy the long slog to make the annual income worth something). Anyway, hopefully next time I'll catch ya. __________________ Life kills.

24-10-2003, 02:32	#4
HolisticGod Beware of the HoG Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: 4th Street Posts: 5,170	All, I would kill to play a Fantasia game, provided it ran at a good time... I'll also sub whenever I'm around for Slargos'. __________________ HG "Evil triumphs when good men stop playing." -John

24-10-2003, 08:40	#6
PJL Field Marshal Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,769	Wow, I was sceptical at first about the Fantasia game (are all armies and navies explorerable in this?), but sounds like it mght be a nice little game after all. I see you managed to get to 1444 in the screenshot - impressive for a one night test run. __________________ Nico - Icon 'From without a thousand cycles A thousand cycles to come A thousand times to win A thousand ways to run the world' - Nico, 'Frozen Warnings' (The Marble Index)

24-10-2003, 11:16	#9
Hive Lex Superior Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Under A Bloodred Sky Posts: 10,827	A few screenies: Europe at the end of the test. Comparison at the end of the test. Note that the AI nations are really crappy at this... __________________ All religions have been made by men - Napoleon Bonaparte Check out Age of Imperialism 2.5 for EUII Icq me: #173002032

24-10-2003, 11:31	#10
Barca Colonel Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Kansas City Posts: 1,026	Looks like you need another power in southern Germany, maybe a Bavaria? __________________ Dane Johnson on vnet ICQ: 79136515

24-10-2003, 11:56	#12
Slargos The Tyrant from Mordor Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Barad-dûr Posts: 5,434	There should be a milan actually, but it seems like the duke made short work of it. __________________ Public Service announcement: Get the ball rolling! - do not meddle in the affairs of GMs for they are abusive and quick to anger - "...Slauron had become wise and strong and cruel. All feared him and the torment he wrought. He was a powerful GM-tyrant who could change into many forms and could appear fair and pleasing if he wished. Slauron created campaigns by imprisoning dreadful spirits in the bodies of terrible threads. Another of his minions was the vampire HolisticGod, whom Slauron used as a messenger..."

24-10-2003, 11:58	#13
Slargos The Tyrant from Mordor Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Barad-dûr Posts: 5,434	OR it could be that Hive moved it to Siciliy.. __________________ Public Service announcement: Get the ball rolling! - do not meddle in the affairs of GMs for they are abusive and quick to anger - "...Slauron had become wise and strong and cruel. All feared him and the torment he wrought. He was a powerful GM-tyrant who could change into many forms and could appear fair and pleasing if he wished. Slauron created campaigns by imprisoning dreadful spirits in the bodies of terrible threads. Another of his minions was the vampire HolisticGod, whom Slauron used as a messenger..."

24-10-2003, 12:03	#14
TheArchduke Testing stuff.. Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 7,210	Those were the two drawings I made for the balance-brainstorming:

24-10-2003, 12:04	#15
TheArchduke Testing stuff.. Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 7,210	Finnland, which imo is more balanced than Kalmar didn´t find Hive´s approval, Milan was in the first idea, but Guyenne would have been even more stuffed than it is yet.

24-10-2003, 12:09	#16
Slargos The Tyrant from Mordor Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Barad-dûr Posts: 5,434	I too am of the opinion that Kalmar should start in Finland. Sicily instead of Milan might make the Italian player lose a lot of chances for manpower though, while giving the french player too much room... Btw, we should start looking at a startdate... perhaps thursday next week? __________________ Public Service announcement: Get the ball rolling! - do not meddle in the affairs of GMs for they are abusive and quick to anger - "...Slauron had become wise and strong and cruel. All feared him and the torment he wrought. He was a powerful GM-tyrant who could change into many forms and could appear fair and pleasing if he wished. Slauron created campaigns by imprisoning dreadful spirits in the bodies of terrible threads. Another of his minions was the vampire HolisticGod, whom Slauron used as a messenger..."

24-10-2003, 12:38	#17
ForzaA Radioactive Moderator Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Stockholm Posts: 7,028 Blog Entries: 2	I think my suggestion for starting positions (see other thread) still is a good choice __________________ Hostile. Considered angry and dangerous. Yells GREEN warnings. Do not approach. Please read and follow the forum rules.

24-10-2003, 12:44	#18
Slargos The Tyrant from Mordor Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Barad-dûr Posts: 5,434	Everyone must start with a port. Otherwise the colonial nations will grab the world leaving poor landlocked country in the shitter. __________________ Public Service announcement: Get the ball rolling! - do not meddle in the affairs of GMs for they are abusive and quick to anger - "...Slauron had become wise and strong and cruel. All feared him and the torment he wrought. He was a powerful GM-tyrant who could change into many forms and could appear fair and pleasing if he wished. Slauron created campaigns by imprisoning dreadful spirits in the bodies of terrible threads. Another of his minions was the vampire HolisticGod, whom Slauron used as a messenger..."

24-10-2003, 13:26	#19
Mulliman Im The Young Cow Man Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Sweden Posts: 3,866	If most people are free next week (dont know about the November vacations and other countries), maybe we could do something like a Fantasia-marathon? __________________ I play eu MP. So should you... The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head. Rest in Peace, Daniel Auby