PBEM Age of Imperialism; 1895-1924, Deluxe Version

RickFGS

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Mar 22, 2006
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Lisboa, Portugal
Hello civers,

The recent release of Sima Qian PBEM multiplayer tool:Here! allows for a PBEM with more than 8 players to be created, so...and with no further delay....let us begin....



I´m going to give the go and start this, lets see if there are enough players, since this is the decade awarded Best Mod/Scenario of the past 10 years, i expect a lot of players to come forward and volunteer to take charge of their colonial empire! :hatsoff:

The scenario is known to most players, but in case you need to download/update/patch it, don´t forget to visit the thread of the brilliant work done by El Justo

(Information on everything you need to know on the scenario):Version 4.1 Here!

:c5capital: This PBEM will need at least 14 players for all the colonial powers present in the map, the civilizations that are able to operate a colonial empire are:

Player 1 - Portugal - RickFGS
Player 2 - France - Bengal Tiger
Player 3 - Russia* - eazyhasaids
Player 4 - Germany - Princeof Persia
Player 5 - United States - Sting
Player 6 - Japan - AnthonyBoscia
Player 7 - Great Britain - Jureil
Player 8 - Italy - Eric_A
Player 9 - Lowlands - AI
Player 10 - Balcan Nations* - Tasonne
Player 11 - Ottomans* - TomYo689
Player 12 - Brazil - P@ndora
Player 13 - Argentina - Eclipse
Player 14 - Scandinavia - Glasnot
Player 15 - Austria-Hungary* - Bowsling
Player 16 - Spain - kleinerheldt

* do not start with colonial holdings but are afforded many of the overseas builds

:c5plus: NOTE: This is the list of Colonial Powers, there are many more civs in the scenario, you can choose one of them besides this list (but not that tiny ones, they don´t have a chance), of course you will be at a disadvantage in comparison to "colonial" ones, SEE list in Spoiler bellow. Civs such as China, Brasil, Argentina or Mexico standout in this non-colonial list.

All CIVS info from El Justo thread here:
Spoiler :


Italy: this position starts with a small colonial empire, a weak industrial base in the southern part of the peninsula but an industrious northern section. the Italians also have their own line of sea units and can pack some punch if the right circumstances are present. as such, this position would probably fall somewhere in the middle with regard to difficulty.

Balcan Nations: this is a 'merged' position in that it encompasses three (3) nations (Greece-Serbia-Rumania). the industrial base is meager to begin with but its starting navy has more teeth than one would think. she is however surrounded by potential enemies but has the ability to exploit the 'Colonialism' resource. this civ is certainly a challenge but not nearly as difficult as some of the others.

German Empire: this position starts with a beefed up industrial and economic base as well as several colonial holdings in Africa and in the South Pacific. the unit lines for this civ are some of the best in the game in that there's lots of goodies to build. empire managment though may pose to be more difficult for the Germans due to their lack of coastal cities. however, they're definitely one of the most fun top-end positions to play.

Russia: this position starts off in bad shape. Russia's economy is lacking and she is vulnerable on several flanks. she does however possess a humongous population base and if managed properly, the human player can build up the Russian position and potentially wreak havoc in Europe and elsewhere. the primary negative with the Russians is that they do not start with a colonial empire and are therefore behind in the VP race. note though that they are able to capture enemy colonial positions and administer the standard colonial mgmt procedures.

China: The Chinese position is surrounded by potential enemies. she also lacks sufficient firepower to expand but the population base is tremendous. thus the manpower advantages offer something in return. China is definitely one of the harder positions in v4.0

USA: the American civ has perhaps the best industrial capacity in the game. she starts off a little weak though but once the production starts rolling, this civ can become a beast. the US starts with only four (4) colonial outposts but has several nearby targets to decide upon. she also has one of the beefiest naval lines in the whole scenario. the US is one of the top-end civs in the game.

Japan: the Japanese civ is definitely a force in the East. a good economy and a semi-developed industrial base enable the human player to build up in a hurry. the naval line for them is also one of the best in the game. accordingly, this civ has a great chance of exerting dominance in the western Pacific rim and is at the top with regard the best nations in the game.

France: this civ has the second largest colonial base in the game (GB is no. 1) and with that, a great deal of attention needs to be paid to managing the colonial holdings and shipping the goods back home. there's potential enemies all around but as one of the most highly industrialized nations of the world at this time, production and economics are on the high end. France is definitely one of the most fun positions to play and is a nice challenge.

Persia: nestled between the Ottomans to the west, the Russians to the north, and the English to the east, this civ is certainly one of the more challenging positions to play. the population base is good although this position lacks the top-end industrial improvements.

Central America: encompassing the modern day nations of Guatemala, Honduras, Nicarauga, Costa Rica, and Panama, the Central American civ is relatively weak. lacking the industrial and economic infrastructure, the Central Americans are quite a challenging position. they do enjoy a sealed off northern border w/ mexico however.

Boer Republics: this landlocked position starts off relatively weak. however, this civ can be quite a thorn in the side of the colonial powers in southern Africa. a de facto house rule on this position is that if you can 'liberate' all of the British holdings in South Africa, you're a winner. easier said than done.

Brazil: this civ is certainly one of the best in South America. while the industrial and economic base is somewhat undeveloped, the capacity to grow is certainly present. potential enemies surround the Brazilian borders but it's fun kicking the colonial powers out of northern South America. Brazil is a mid-grade difficulty imo.

British Empire: the preeminent civ in the scenario, this position controls roughly 25% of the entire globe at the start of the game. as such, the management of the colonial holdings is task no. 1 and the responsibilty to defend them is also mandatory. potential enemies are all over the map but this civ is one of the best in terms of units and the naval line for the Brits is outstanding. a tough position to play due mainly to the management aspects and having to defend far-flung regions. however, for the 'full experience', the Brits are the best choice and offer multiple fronts and a chance for serious micro-managing.

Spain: this civ starts off the scenario in bad shape. her colonial holdings in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines are in disrepair and with potential enemies waiting to pounce. the Spanish position requires a great deal of investment in improving the colonial infrastructure. with the right touch, a human player could reverse the fortunes of the Spanish Empire and resuscitate the decaying colonial holdings.

Scandinavia: this civ is a combination of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland. for v4.0, Scandinavia is the beneficiary of a new colonial location, the Danish Antilles. this civ also has access to a mix of German, French, and British hardware. the industrial base is decent and nice room for improvement. the pop base is just okay but this position can pose a threat if managed properly.

Ottoman Empire: the "Sick Man of Europe" starts the scenario in bad shape. its economy and industrial base is weak and potential enemies are on all fronts. it can, however, operate a colonial empire in v4.0 (unlike in v3.0). unit builds leave something left to be desired but there are some German arty, mg, and aircraft builds.

Hispañiola: this civ comprises La Republica Dominica and Haiti. it starts off the scenario in tough straits. however, the production capacity is there with the right managment. don't forget though that there's potential enemies all over and the Yanks will sniff around also. no doubt this makes this civ one of the most difficult in the entire scenario.

Mexico: the Mexican position starts off in rough shape but like many of the other mid-grade positions, the right management can result in a nice boost in production and gold. the main negative about this position is its neighbor to the north (the US) which poses quite a threat. the Mexicans can actually branch out some to the south or in the Caribbean if they're able to pacify her northern neighbor.

New Granada this civ is the nations of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. like all of the other Central and South American civs, this one has a 'puncher's chance'. production and the economy need work but with the right moves, gains could be had.

Uruguay: one of the tiniest of civs in v4.0, Urugauy is a two-city civ and, no doubt, is one of the most difficult positions. she actually starts with a decent little navy - good enough to stand up to her neighbors in S America. but there is potential enemies all around. but w/ the right management, a human player may be able to make some hay.

Chile: the best part about this civ is the six (6) coastal cities. the Chilean position is like the other Central and South Americans civs in that with the right maneuvering, the human player, in time, can make some conceivable advances. this position has a few flavor sea units.

Austria-Hungary: this civ is stronger that it may appear. while it possesses only one (1) coastal city to start, Austria-Hungary has a decent navy to begin with and some good builds later on. She also has a great industrial base in the western part of the empire. being alligned with Germany also helps. Austria-Hungary doesn't start with any colonial holdings and are therefore a bit behind in terms of VPs. however, she is capable of managing an overseas empire should she capture any of these locations.

Lowland Countries: this civ comprises the nations of Holland and Belgium. the colonial empire is rather large and the routes home are really long so a good convoy system is a must. the industrial base in Europe is good to start. but potential enemies are all around and defensive measures will undoubtedly be a priority.

Portugal: another of the mid-grade colonial civs, Portugal has a decent but unconnected colonial empire in Africa and some other spread out locations. like the other smallish Euro civs, this position needs to pay attention to the homeland defense. in sum, a nice challenge for any human player.

Argentina: this civ is like her neighbors in that the industrial and economic bases need some development. however, the production capacity is good and in time, one can make some nice advances if managed properly. Argentina also has some flavor sea unit builds.

La Plata: aka the nations of Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay, this position is on even ground with her South American neighbors. the primary downfall of this civ though is the lack of coastal cities (only two to start). however, the production ceiling is decent and the human player could make gains if managed properly.

Abyssinia: this position is nestled in between a few different colonial empires in eastern Africa. the lack of a coastal city hurts this civ a little. however, production is decent so long as attention is paid to building it up. keeping colonial enemies out of your territory will be a challenge.

Tibet: this civ is tucked away in the rugged Himalayas. however, potenetially hostile neighbors lie to the north (China) and the south (British India). no doubt one of the hardest positions in v4.0.

Siam: the Siamese position is a buffer state in between French Indochina and British Burma. she has access to the sea, semi-decent production rates, and an uphill battle if this state wishes to butt heads w/ her neighbors.

Cuban Natives: the Cuban Natives start off w/ only one city, low-end production, and almost no gold to start. however, the independence movement on the island has begun and your chief aim is to evict the Spanish from La Isla de Cuba. they've got some pretty sturdy trenchworks though.

Philippine Natives: this position is similar to the one above in that evicting the Spanish from the Philippine Islands is goal no. 1. use caution however as the civ starts w/ almost nothing in its coffers, production is grim, and there's only 1 city among its population base. a nice set of earth works surrounds its sole bastion on Luzon.


:deal: Rules in effect are standard PBEM conduct rules.
- The game MUST be played with the C3C_noraze.exe present on the "...\AoI\Conquests No Raze Patch" folder, to avoid messing up the scenario.
- Other Info: Game level: Commodore, AI Agression: More, No Barbarians.
- Coastal Blocking is allowed;
- Artillery´s can be bought, since there are so few that are available to all players, this won´t be much of an exploit, in fact this will allow more diplomacy, thus more fun;
- Alliance between Germany and Austria is on;
- Minor factions such as Portugal, Lowlands, Balcans, Tibet, Abyssinia, Uruguai, Hispaniola, Cuba. Boer, Siam, Phillipines and so on, that only have 2 or less home cities received an extra 300gp to allow rushing of home defenses for the first turns.
- Declaration of war in the first turn, or turn 0, is NOT allowed.
- All improvements auto producing amphibious infantry units have been reduced from 20t to 10t of completion.
- No diplomacy with AI on turn 0;
- Social Group for this PBEM is: Here!, so please join!

For more details visit El Justo scenario thread.

:c5citizen: House Rules:

:c5production: There will be 15 turn cycles per year.

:c5moves: Turns must be played within 48h, else the administrator will skip you turn, if you ask for more time in advance for some particular reason, more time can be given. Substitute players are also allowed. IF you decide you don´t have more time to dedicate this game please state so and find a replacement before you leave.

:c5gold: Minor human civs lacking initial core defenses will receive an initial bonus amount of gp to allow rushing of defenses and some civil engineers.

:trophy: Victory is achieved in the following ways:
- :c5trade: by the player who accumulates 6,440 VP´s;
- :c5war: Conquest - eliminate all players
- :c5citystate: Domination - 66% of world terrain & population
- :c5influence: Diplomatic UN voting victory

Details:
Spoiler :
Victory Conditions for v4.0

the conditions for victory in AoI v4.0 are relatively simple. amass 6,440 VPs while playing either of the "FULL" versions and you win. well, you ask, how does one obtain the VPs?

VPs are obtained two (2) ways. the first and easiest way is to occupy the VP tiles and you'll recieve one (1) VP per turn for each VP that you occupy. typically speaking, the major and medium powers all start with two (2) VP locales. therefore, obtaining additional VP locales can be accomplished through conquest

the second way to obtain VPs is to ship the 'raw materials from the colonies' units back to any of your VP locales (thus making certain enemy VP locations more attractive in terms of your merchant fleet/TR routes from the colonies). Two (2) VPs are awarded for every 'raw material' unit that is safely sent back to a VP. also, 25 gold is awarded for each 'raw material' returned.

be advised however that if you are in a war w/ another colonial civ that you can capture their 'raw material' units! you'll notice that this is quite common in certain areas (Africa fro example) as the AI has the tendency to 'secure' the 'raw materials' units prior to shipping them back (despite the settings which allow for the 'raw material' units to load and ship out w/out the securing by any particular unit). so, knowing this, prepare accordinly to ship back all captured goods should you find yourself at war w/ a colonial civ.

another victory condition is terrain domination. the set figure on this one is 66%. iow, occupy at least 66% of the world's surface and you are victorious!

the last victory condition is popluation percentage; ie 66%. if you obtain this (usually in connection w/ the 66% terrain dominiation) then you are victorious!



STATUS:​
Game full!​
Game under way!​

AoI PBEM Gazette:- Turn 4 Turn 5 Turn 6 Turn 7 Turn 8

@ To all players participating in this PBEM - Please send me your mail adress and timezone, so i can organize the game and a small forum to discuss it, i will then forward a starting mail, with contacts and forum adress, thank you!
 
Thank you Rick.

Ill take France. Also, seeing as there are multiple human players who can use artillery properly, maybe the AI setting should be Admiral, so they don' get completely creamed. Also, check that you delete Colonial military academy in Basra, I think that was a minor bug.
 
Ok, France it is, i thought about that, when we get enough i´ll check if the difficulty level should be Admiral or even higher, good sugestion, i´ll also see if everthing´s ok with the colonial academy in Basra, thanks!
 
Player 2 - France - Bengal Tiger
Player 3 - Russia - eazyhasaids
Player 4 - Germany - Bowsling
Player 5 - United States - Eclipse
Player 6 - Japan - AnthonyBoscia
Player 7 - Great Britain - Jureil
Player 8 - Italy - Eric_A
Player 10 - Balkan Nations - Tasonne
Player 11 - Ottomans - TomYo689
Player 14 - Scandinavia - Glasnot
Player 15 - Austria-Hungary - Bowsling
Player 16 - Spain - kleinerheldt
 
You guys are seriously crazy! I'm going to lurk here in case there's any issues with the tool.

It might also be worth considering that you can make the AI take a turn for a player that goes AWOL, since you can toggle human players back to AI as well. Just bear in mind that the AI turns get processed after all the human turns do, so if you skip a player's turn by turning their civ into an AI, you'll have to revert it after the next set of AI turns are processed.

Another thing you might think about is for late-comers to be able to take over playing an AI-controlled civ. Might not be very fair depending on how well the AI has been playing, but it can allow for some more flexibility.

Also, IIRC the Ottomans do operate a colonial empire in AoI 4 -- I think TomYo689 was suggesting that they ought to be in your open spots list.
 
Well, he CAN choose the Otomans if he wants, but they are in poor shape and don´t have the "abilities" that colonial powers have, but if he really wants them he can be Ottoman´s, i have no biggy with that.

Thanks for tool and note about AI/human transformation even after game starts (nasty!), let´s see if this turns into a EPIC!
 
My bad Sima Qian alread said what I was about to say...The Ottomans do get everything other colonial powers get.
(delete post)
 
Count me in as Japan.

This is actually my first PBEM (not just Civ 3 but for any game :)), so while this is getting set up, I'll be familiarizing myself with these threads a lot.

Thanks for setting this up, Rick, and many thanks to you, Sima Qian, for making this a possibility. And EJ, of course. I'm psyched, let's get this game rollin'!
 
In the scenario the Ottomans are in a WAY better position than Scandanavia. They're superior to the Balcan nation and probably the step above Italy. I would like to know how many turns of each empire you've played before picking those 13 out of the 30something. It is true the scenario is designed in a way that medium sized countries are the weakest and the tiny 2-city ones are very strong because of their cheap riflemen, they're only unplayable because of their lack of colony ability. Ottomans have all "colonial abilities" for your information. The only clear disadvantage is they get inferior infantry.

If I was the last one to pick and I was stuck with Balcan or Scandanavia I would definitely beg to play as the Ottoman Empire. Certian south American countries are well off too. Not Chile, they're the weakest in south America but maybe Brazil or all the others.
 
@AnthonyBoscia - Japan it is! Welcome aboard!

@TomYo689 - Just checked the thread and it´s true, Ottomans HAVE "colonial abilities", they have been added to the list, do you want to change from Russia to Ottomans?

I choose these countries not because of their size, position or unit roster, but because they CAN export colonial goods for the victory points win, and i thank you for pointing me the ottomans, i neglected them. ;)

Important: We are going to play with ALL the 31 civs, 15 or so humans plus 15 or so AI´s.

I´m trying to get in maximum 15 players, since each player have 48h, that´s 30 days for turn cycle, meaning 12 turns per year! Welcome to the mad house!

Also, please state what level of difficulty you prefer: Lieutnenant or Admiral.
 
@Princeof Persia - Germany it is! I´m sry for not including Sealand as bonus in the scenario, but they would be too powerfull in the map, we have to give a chance to other civs ;)

You have 48h per turn, if for any reason you see you can´t keep that timeframe, tell me so, or get another player you trust to play the turn in your place, better to start planning ahead.
 
I didn't mean add another empire and make the game take 7% longer to play, I was suggesting take out a weak empire and add something else. South American countries may even be better to play as than the aforementioned Europeans. At least in single player a south American continental conquest victory is possible while a small country in Europe gets steamrolled by the bordering superpowers. Of course the multiplayer game victory will depend on diplomacy and who gangs up on who. We're not placing bets on who'll win but my point is what would a player enjoy more. No one would want to play this if it was assumed the British empire would win. This is because the rest of the players will make efforts to deny the victory. We'd want potential for different outcomes and every player may at least want to try to win. If not, a player may at least enjoy surviving longer.

I'd take Ottomans but I mean like take out something else while adding it in. I'm not in control which countries are in and which aren't so if it means 1 less player for faster game I'll stay with Russia.
 
It doens´t matter much between 13 to 14 players, i just feel that the colonial powers beeing able to gather points, plus money from colonial goods to home metros makes the game more strategic, and as you say, beeing huge like England doens´t mean they can steamroll everyone, besides, i will be giving some extra money to smaller human countries once it starts probably, that way, players can short rush needed defenses for the opening turns of the game. Of course this will be open for discussion prior to actual start.

@Changed TomYo689 to Ottomans. Russia is now open.
 
Ok I hope you're right. Ottoman Empire having a weak army and all I hope I'm elidgible for the free gold lol :p

Is there a certain thing we need to download to be able to allow the more than 8 players file? Also I would like to mention when I use the aoi no raze patch the .sav files switch between patch exe and original exe with no problem. You warned against that in your thread is the rules different for multiplayer even if we're only connected by a .sav?
 
Holy cow, this is an ambitious PBEM!

You have 48h per turn, if for any reason you see you can´t keep that timeframe, tell me so, or get another player you trust to play the turn in your place, better to start planning ahead.

At that rate you'll be lucky to play two turns a month! :cry:
 
Nope, you only need to patch up, just like you were playing in singleplayer, don´t forget there are some extra files to patch up frm 4.0 to 4.1, i believe they are 4 small patches explained by El Justo.

Playing at all times through the C3C_noraze.exe is a MUST, since we are playing with AI, the game will be ruined if some crazy computer razes a city on the map.
 
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