alternate title: "Diplomacy 2012: Because NESers are unreliable f*cks"
alternate alternate title: "Diplomacy 2012: 99 Problems but a Trustworthy Ally Ain't One"
Welcome to Diplomacy 2012!
Diplomacy? What's that?
Diplomacy is a 1959 board game by Allan Calhamer, later picked up by Avalon Hill, set at the turn of the 20th century when Europe was a bubbling cauldron of political intrigue. Traditionally, the goal of the game is to secure the course of history in favor of whichever of 7 countries - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire - you choose to play as. Being a great general, a diplomatic mastermind, a reliable ally (ha!), and a brilliant statesman are all necessary to achieve victory. You can read the official rules here.
So... what's this thread about, then?
Well, in Days of Yore, NESers would sometimes gather to play a game of Diplomacy on the forums. And when I say "sometimes," I mean "fairly sufficiently often." And I say "fairly sufficiently often" because this idea has been tried many times before. Many, many times. And that's only the tip of the iceberg: even though NESers have a reputation for being so reliable and timely with their updates and order sets, almost all of these Diplomacy attempts has run aground because of the unimaginable scenario of someone, somewhere, failing to follow through. In short, you'd have to be crazy to think that a Diplomacy thread could work. All of history conspires against you!
That didn't really answer my question.
Oh, yeah. This is a Diplomacy thread.
Wait, you just said tha-
Yeah, I know, I know. But truth be told, Diplomacy is a rather straightforward game (in terms of mechanics, anyway), and the potential for it to last from turn 1 to turn more-than-1 is discrete and countable. From experience, you might think that it's futile, but when did that ever stop us NESers in the past?
Well, as a NESer I love bashing my head into a brick wall. What's the plan, Fearless Leader?
Diplomacy is a strategy game of the purest caliber, and orders are relatively simple and straightforward. The idea is it won't take much of a time investment on my part, and there is a sufficiently large number of NESers and IOTers out there whom I can attempt to recruit in case a player or players falls through. That, and I will be using jDip for easiness' sake. While I will attempt to write cutesied-up updates to add a bit of flavor to the game, that will by no means be a priority. Top of the list is making sure we soldier on, no matter what!
Well, that convinced me completely. Where do I sign up?
Not so fast, Eager McBeaver. First we gotta establish The Rules:
That's a lot to take in all at once. What advice do you have for someone totally new to Diplomacy?
Alliances are good so long as you benefit in some way; a calculated, well-timed backstab executed with confidence can lead you to victory; trust no one.
I meant more in terms of mechanics.
Oh. Well, as said, Diplomacy is fairly straightforward (and you can read the rules here). Basically, all moves occur simultaneously and are issued in the form of orders (just like NESes). There are a number of provinces, and some provinces have supply centers. There are three phases each year: Movement Spring, Movement Fall, and Adjustment. You can build armies and fleets in supply centers during the Adjustment phase, but no more total armies/fleets than you have supply centers (and too many armies/fleets will force disbandment). You control a province essentially by occupying it, and battles are mainly decided based on numerical supremacy (numerical equality usually means an inconclusive result). If you're still in doubt at this point, throw caution to the wind and apply to join anyway. If you get assigned a country, you can always pester me on AIM (username: crezth) as though I was one of your chums and ask advice. Who knows? I might even be helpful.
OK, cool. So how exactly do I apply to join?
Either post in the thread or PM me your country preferences, a-like so:
*If you actually preface your post like that, you're out.
I will be assigning countries based on a combination of your preferences, a first-come first-served basis, and incredibly blatant mod bias.
Thank you, Crezth, you're the best!
Heh, I know.
alternate alternate title: "Diplomacy 2012: 99 Problems but a Trustworthy Ally Ain't One"
Welcome to Diplomacy 2012!
Diplomacy? What's that?
Diplomacy is a 1959 board game by Allan Calhamer, later picked up by Avalon Hill, set at the turn of the 20th century when Europe was a bubbling cauldron of political intrigue. Traditionally, the goal of the game is to secure the course of history in favor of whichever of 7 countries - Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire - you choose to play as. Being a great general, a diplomatic mastermind, a reliable ally (ha!), and a brilliant statesman are all necessary to achieve victory. You can read the official rules here.So... what's this thread about, then?
Well, in Days of Yore, NESers would sometimes gather to play a game of Diplomacy on the forums. And when I say "sometimes," I mean "fairly sufficiently often." And I say "fairly sufficiently often" because this idea has been tried many times before. Many, many times. And that's only the tip of the iceberg: even though NESers have a reputation for being so reliable and timely with their updates and order sets, almost all of these Diplomacy attempts has run aground because of the unimaginable scenario of someone, somewhere, failing to follow through. In short, you'd have to be crazy to think that a Diplomacy thread could work. All of history conspires against you!
That didn't really answer my question.
Oh, yeah. This is a Diplomacy thread.
Wait, you just said tha-
Yeah, I know, I know. But truth be told, Diplomacy is a rather straightforward game (in terms of mechanics, anyway), and the potential for it to last from turn 1 to turn more-than-1 is discrete and countable. From experience, you might think that it's futile, but when did that ever stop us NESers in the past?
Well, as a NESer I love bashing my head into a brick wall. What's the plan, Fearless Leader?
Diplomacy is a strategy game of the purest caliber, and orders are relatively simple and straightforward. The idea is it won't take much of a time investment on my part, and there is a sufficiently large number of NESers and IOTers out there whom I can attempt to recruit in case a player or players falls through. That, and I will be using jDip for easiness' sake. While I will attempt to write cutesied-up updates to add a bit of flavor to the game, that will by no means be a priority. Top of the list is making sure we soldier on, no matter what!
Well, that convinced me completely. Where do I sign up?
Not so fast, Eager McBeaver. First we gotta establish The Rules:
- There is no such thing as "unfair" in Diplomacy. You can whine all you want, but don't expect me to intervene if your best-buddy-he-PROMISED-me-and-and-and-we-even-did-the-friendship-dance betrays you. Backstabbing is like 90% of the game.
- You will send orders in a timely fashion. You don't need to use the typical Diplomacy shorthand, but it literally makes things easier for me if you do. No need to, like, go into grand details about your amphibious landing aided by cavalry screens and reconnaissance flights with shore bombardment and naval interdiction. Something simple like "1 army from Berlin into Prussia" will suffice.
- If you don't send orders once, I will issue a "hold" order to all your units. If you don't send orders for the Adjustment phase, I will issue a "build armies" command (not fleets) or a "disband" command at my discretion (and as appropriate, probably should have put that first).
- If you don't send orders twice, or I suspect you won't send orders for a second time in a row, I reserve the right to replace you. In fact, I will always reserve the right to replace you, so don't piss me off (NESing is serious damn business
). - If you're interested in playing, post in the thread or drop me a PM with which countries you are interested in so I can file you in my back pocket. No matter what, if you express interest you will be a priority go-to for replacement over Johnny Random.
- I will be assigning countries initially based on a combination of my whim and my previous perceptions of your ability. However, don't let that discourage you from signing up: I need players, and as I said if I need replacements, the earlier you express interest, the better.
- Vendettas are encouraged. If Nuke is playing, and you really hate Nuke, and he's allied to NPC Austria-Hungary, please join as Austria-Hungary and kill him. No joke, if you send me a PM to join as a country for the sole purpose of killing someone you hate, you will shoot to the top of the priority list. While killing Nuke is a rite-of-passage for NESers, the rule doesn't necessarily apply just to Nuke. Anybody you hate and have an itch to destroy is also a candidate for this what I call the "vendetta rule."
- Starting phase and year: Spring Movement 1901.
- Victory conditions: one player controls 18 supply centers OR there have been no supply center captures for 7 years OR 35 years have passed since game start (game will end just before what would be Spring Movement 1936).
- Alternate/house rules specific to gameplay: There will be no Wing units, and the "Chaos rule" is implemented (as long as you control a supply center, you can build armies - even if it isn't in one of your home territories).
That's a lot to take in all at once. What advice do you have for someone totally new to Diplomacy?
Alliances are good so long as you benefit in some way; a calculated, well-timed backstab executed with confidence can lead you to victory; trust no one.
I meant more in terms of mechanics.
Oh. Well, as said, Diplomacy is fairly straightforward (and you can read the rules here). Basically, all moves occur simultaneously and are issued in the form of orders (just like NESes). There are a number of provinces, and some provinces have supply centers. There are three phases each year: Movement Spring, Movement Fall, and Adjustment. You can build armies and fleets in supply centers during the Adjustment phase, but no more total armies/fleets than you have supply centers (and too many armies/fleets will force disbandment). You control a province essentially by occupying it, and battles are mainly decided based on numerical supremacy (numerical equality usually means an inconclusive result). If you're still in doubt at this point, throw caution to the wind and apply to join anyway. If you get assigned a country, you can always pester me on AIM (username: crezth) as though I was one of your chums and ask advice. Who knows? I might even be helpful.
OK, cool. So how exactly do I apply to join?
Either post in the thread or PM me your country preferences, a-like so:
NESPlayer4201 said:
*If you actually preface your post like that, you're out.
I will be assigning countries based on a combination of your preferences, a first-come first-served basis, and incredibly blatant mod bias.
Thank you, Crezth, you're the best!
Heh, I know.
