New GC unlike any other-looking for players

[unmerged(11230)]

If there is sufficient interest I'd like to start a long-term GC in which there is an Ancient twist: the only player countries allowed are those that approximate the major powers of the world as they existed in circa 500 BC.

Papal States (to represent Rome)
Tunisia (to represent Carthage)
Byzantium (to represent Macedon/Greece)
Timurids (to represent Persia).

Athens could be available for a 5th player who could switch to a superpower when/if it needs a replacement. (I would be willing to take Athens myself). I'd prefer players who could play at least twice a week for a couple of hours on a regular basis. I live in USA and can play just about any time.

Rules: Only one that I would strongly encourage, that whoever plays Rome (Papal States) would disband his entire navy at the start of the game (for play balance and to add "historical" flavor). If there's a consensus that the Timurids start out too powerful in relation to everyone else [see the following post], they could be required to disband one or both of their starting armies. I have other suggestions that could be voted on, such as if you lose control of your capital to another human, the AI takes over your nation permanently. Normal difficulty, and either weak or cowardly AI agressiveness is suggested.

I have a 56k connection now but might upgrade to cable modem soon.

If you're interested in joining this game, post here to let me know when you'd be available to play and which nation(s) you would like to have, as well as any suggestions. My ICQ: 171673386

 

[unmerged(11230)]

Even if you don't intend to participate, I'd be interested in opinions as to which countries have the advantage/disadvantage in a game with these settings.

 

[unmerged(11230)]

It's official now, I'm scheduled to have a cable modem installed Oct. 17 so the game if it starts will start on or after that date.

 

[unmerged(11230)]

Due to apparent lack of interest so far I've issued a formal clan match challenge using this game's premise, check the clanbase forum for more details.

 

[Damocles]

It seems shady bro. If you're not using some mod, then I'd feel bad for the poor blokes who end up with Tunisa and Timurids as opposed to those get the Papal States and Byzantium...

 

[unmerged(11230)]

The way I intend to equalize the players is to use a bidding process that forces the stronger nations to pay money to the weaker ones via 1% interest loans, repayment not required. For example, if all 4 players have Papal States as their first choice, the one who would get it would be the one who bids the highest amount of money that would be divided among the weaker nations in a ratio based on a subsequent round of bidding by the 3 other players who would make their bids knowing how much total "foreign aid" the Papal States must pay. If the next 3 players all pick Byzantium, the one who would get it would be the one who would bid the lowest percentage of the total Papal States foreign aid budget. (the bid might be a negative number which would mean that Byzantium instead of receiving money would pay foreign aid to be divided along with that of Papal States among Tunisia and Timurids). Then the last two players would bid among themselves for what percentage share of foreign aid they would require for their choice of either Tunisia or Timurids.

I realize that the Timurids don't have diplomatic contact with the other nations at start, so anything they get would have to wait until diplomatic relations are established, and the players should obviously take that into account when making their bids.

It's possible in the above example that the high bidder for Papal States may bid more than what he has in his initial treasury, in which case he would be required to take loans from his national bank in whatever quantities necessary in order to honor his bid.

 

[Prince Eugene]

Even with that being said the tech group difference is really going to stick out as the game goes on.

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

Originally posted by Prince Eugene
Even with that being said the tech group difference is really going to stick out as the game goes on.

Not to mention that any evil western nation could crush the Timurids by forcing them to endure war exhaustion during the 50 years of their Disintegration phase. Ah, added revolt risk. How nice. Time to move some armies down towards Persia to snap provinces by defection. Considering that the Byzantium player can easily have cleaned out the Ottomans long before 1450, it isn't that farfetched a scenario.

And as for Tunisia and manpower in a world that also contain the Byzantines...

 

[unmerged(11230)]

Good point about Byzantium and the Timurids. I think the way this imbalance can be overcome is that the bid amount must be honored even if it results in multiple bankruptcies. For example, if the Byzantine player bid 5000 ducats to be paid to the Timurids, he would be required to take maximum loans from his national bank, 5 loans at a time until the 5000 were paid.
However, to simplify things I think that both Papal States and Byzantines should be required to disband all of their starting military units in addition to the bidding system. Hypothetically, if you were to play against me (or anyone else) in a 1v1 with the high bidder getting Byzantium, how much would you bid in order to play Byzantium?

 

[unmerged(11230)]

Originally posted by Poindexter

I realize that the Timurids don't have diplomatic contact with the other nations at start, so anything they get would have to wait until diplomatic relations are established, and the players should obviously take that into account when making their bids.

Actually, it's the other way around, Timurids have contact with everybody, it's the other nations that don't have contact with the Timurids. If the Timurids send a diplomat to a nation that does not have contact with them, will that result in automatic contact for the nation that receives the diplomat?

 

[Prince Eugene]

well if I had to take all those loans then this is a game I certainly wouldn't want to play in... I suggest you rethink that policy.

 

[unmerged(11230)]

If you don't like either extending or receiving loans, a neutral 3rd party could decide how much of a loan the stronger power must extend for the game to be balanced and you could pick the other power so you woudn't have to extend any loans. I might even try to do a poll to get a consensus as to what amount would be balanced in a situation like this.

 

[unmerged(11230)]

Originally posted by Peter Ebbesen

Not to mention that any evil western nation could crush the Timurids by forcing them to endure war exhaustion during the 50 years of their Disintegration phase. Ah, added revolt risk. How nice. Time to move some armies down towards Persia to snap provinces by defection. Considering that the Byzantium player can easily have cleaned out the Ottomans long before 1450, it isn't that farfetched a scenario.

I recently played as Timurids in a 1v1 deathmatch vs. Ottomans on Vnet. Normal difficulty, weak AI aggression, no play balance modifications. The Ottoman player gave up in Jan. 1427, even though we had not gone to war yet. I have the save file for that game which I could email to people who might be interested in having a look. I would also consider continuing that game if anyone thinks that the Ottoman surrender was premature and wants to take over the Ottoman position.