Give me 18, but not on Earth - new PBEM

[Nighthawk419]

I´d like to join too. I´m GMT+1 and can do at least 1 turn per day

Michkov - you are in. Any specific times that work best for you or really anytime? Our goal is 1 turn every 2 days, and even thats probably a stretch...

Also, general idea of skill level?

This is going quite nicely, spots are filling up quicker than I expected!

 

[Eclipse4449]

count me in GMT -5
available 7pm-11pm EST almost every day - Skill level: Noble+ Leader: Random

 

[Nighthawk419]

Thanks Eclipse you are in!

only 10 more left, at this rate we will start tomorrow night!?!???!

 

[Eclipse4449]

Thanks Eclipse you are in!

only 10 more left, at this rate we will start tomorrow night!?!???!

1) THIS IS A VERY LARGE AND TIME CONSUMING GAME. Based on some research and questioning on this site, I fully expect this game could take 3-4 years+ to finish to its final completion. Commitment is KEY. Vacations are fine and expected, however all players are expected to commit to keep the game rolling to the best of their ability. If you think there is a chance you will give up on the game simply because the early turns are "boring" and it takes 2 days for you to get your next turn - please leave, this isnt the game for you.

It will be a week at least if not 2 weeks between turns
please try to invest the time for player order, it is more important to veiw when a player plays rather than where he lives, in the later it is more consistant that a player misses the next players playing time and an entire day is lost, most players are consistant with playing at a certain time, I for example wait until after my children are in bed, so I can spend most quality time with them, so thats after 9 Est or gmt -5

I'm very happy to read about the RPGing, these are my favorite games! They are more consistantly interesting particularly if it is within the thread, whether it being bold statements or simple dialog that pokes at people to do the same. I often climb hill and comment about how many forests I might have to chop down and sometimes I'll mention smelling incense that is if I have an extra

Ps I have freinds LoL, I'll try to bring them here

 

[bathsheba666]

@Nighthawk,

I really think you need to vet the people joining and secure some form of commitment from them as regards throughput and responsiveness.

* * * Mandate the use of pbemtracker * * * , or knowing where we are will be hell after the honeymoon period, with regular email hunts for current party.
Posting gps in thread leads to 3 or 4 days lost if someone posts they don't have the save. By the time you figure out they probably haven't also pinged the sender for a fresh copy, another few days have gone by., in which time the sender may not have checked the thread because he's awaiting the save again, and he has plenty of other games to distract.

 

[Eclipse4449]

I've not used this pbemtracker, does it sent an email each time the turn is forwarded? or do you just check there to see who has the turn?

bathsheba666 is right, for me I'm alerted when the turn hits my server, I'll set that up after I get the first one, but unless i'm getting post alerts (subscription) i'm not playing turn enforcer.

maybe a sugestion to not use the ingame emailer and CC the rest of the players when the turn is sent. A PM with all players email addresses separated by a comma, any extra efforts will result in a greater outcome

I think this is going to be great though because large player count games are rare and so long as everyone knows this will be a long haul and accepts that, the game will transition from one milestone to the next (Look here for a great example)

 

[chasbolt]

You upload your turn to PBEM Tracker and it sends the turn to the next player. I check the Tracker site when I grow concerned about where the save is. There are many people who want to know where the save is as stated earlier and they never post a GPS or enroll at PBEM Tracker. The creator of that site may be interested in playing and I'm Emailing him the info.
I agree with bathsheba666 with game expectations. I am GMT-5 and play anytime but best in the early am 5AM-10AM. I play Noble 1-1 because I can win there. I can also win at Monarch but Noble doesn't require deep thought. PBEM is more fun, real people, so I don't play 1-1 very often...I read. I'm fine with random civ and leader.

 

[bathsheba666]

One big advantage pbemtracker has, is that:
- as well as sending an email with the save attached
- it also holds the save as a publicly downloadable object.

So if person X wonders why he hasn't received an email (probably because it went astray) he can go to pbemtracker and simply download the save, rather than having to ping and wait for a resend.

And pbemtracker has a neat feature where it gives you a list of all the games you are involved in, together with 'who has it' for each of them.
No need to scan each game separately - one stop shop.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Lots of activity last night... I have a few things to take care of at work here this morning, but I will address all comments and concerns later today. I appreciate the posts and have already been thinking about solutions, will post later.

Not as much overnight signup activity as I'd hoped either - Eclipse any friends you can bring are welcome, assuming they are committed.

Spread the word everyone, lets try and get to 18... if we fall short though we will adjust accordingly!

 

[Espírito]

Like bathsheba, I too don't believe the game will survive (simply because 18 people will be taking holidays/short breaks almost constantly throughout the year). I do love massive games though, so count me in!

Timezone: GMT, availability varies unfortunately but I'm online several times/day. Probably 1800-2400 is best.
Skill Level: Emperor/Immortal
Leader: Catherine of Russia (a leader I hardly ever play with so will give a go, but I can re-pick if someone else really wants her)

 

[Nighthawk419]

It will be a week at least if not 2 weeks between turns
please try to invest the time for player order, it is more important to veiw when a player plays rather than where he lives, in the later it is more consistant that a player misses the next players playing time and an entire day is lost, most players are consistant with playing at a certain time, I for example wait until after my children are in bed, so I can spend most quality time with them, so thats after 9 Est or gmt -5

I will definitely be spending some time on player order once we are close to full. And yes, it will be based on hours available, not necessary strictly following the sun, that was just a generalization. I'm going to shoot for around the world twice for each turn-set, which hopefully means a turn every other day. I know the feeling with waiting until kids are asleep (same here) so hopefully the schedule will work out nicely. I will post the player order and times for everyone to see in advance of launching to allow all of you to give commentary and any suggestions you might have.

I'm very happy to read about the RPGing, these are my favorite games! They are more consistantly interesting particularly if it is within the thread, whether it being bold statements or simple dialog that pokes at people to do the same. I often climb hill and comment about how many forests I might have to chop down and sometimes I'll mention smelling incense that is if I have an extra

Ps I have freinds LoL, I'll try to bring them here

Yes, again the RPGing is optional, I don't expect to be able to get 18 people who are THAT intense... but I imagine we will at least get people attempting to ally together and comment on world positions. And some of us will be a little more intense with it. Personally as your glorious leader of this game, I plan on providing plenty of color surrounding the Native American empire, as well as general commentary on the state of the world. Hopefully I won't be isolated like my last 2 games!

And yes, bring friends, lets get this filled up asap!

 

[Nighthawk419]

@Nighthawk,

I really think you need to vet the people joining and secure some form of commitment from them as regards throughput and responsiveness.

* * * Mandate the use of pbemtracker * * * , or knowing where we are will be hell after the honeymoon period, with regular email hunts for current party.
Posting gps in thread leads to 3 or 4 days lost if someone posts they don't have the save. By the time you figure out they probably haven't also pinged the sender for a fresh copy, another few days have gone by., in which time the sender may not have checked the thread because he's awaiting the save again, and he has plenty of other games to distract.

I agree 100% on PBEMtracker.

Just in case it wasn't clear in the introductory paragraph - we will be using PBEMtracker for this game. SIGNING UP WITH THIS WEBSITE IS MANDATORY.

It's a very simple website, and takes all of 30 seconds to sign up.

www.PBEMtracker.com

Everyone who has expressed interest in joining this game, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE register on PBEMtracker as soon as possible. Everyone on the list has had a private message sent from me with the password to the game. We will not be launching the game until everyone is signed up and ready to go. The site is great, you load the latest turn right onto the site and it tracks whos turn it is, and you can get alerts when its your turn. A very useful tool that we will need to use effectively to be able to keep this moving.

As for vetting people - we are all adults here (I think?) so I'm not going to have an interview process to join the game - its tough enough to get 18 as it is. However the disclaimer is out there and I'm sure everyone has an idea how long this will take, even for single turns, so please be an adult about it and be ready to commit if you are going to join the game. If and when people drop we will try to find replacements as best as possible, however if need be we can retire the human player from the game... I'm taking my best shot at this, but once we start my preference is to keep it going at all costs - even if its means we are down to 8 from the original 18.

 

[Nighthawk419]

I've not used this pbemtracker, does it sent an email each time the turn is forwarded? or do you just check there to see who has the turn?

bathsheba666 is right, for me I'm alerted when the turn hits my server, I'll set that up after I get the first one, but unless i'm getting post alerts (subscription) i'm not playing turn enforcer.

maybe a sugestion to not use the ingame emailer and CC the rest of the players when the turn is sent. A PM with all players email addresses separated by a comma, any extra efforts will result in a greater outcome

I think this is going to be great though because large player count games are rare and so long as everyone knows this will be a long haul and accepts that, the game will transition from one milestone to the next (Look here for a great example)

In having started this process and judging by responses and interest garnered, I've come to realize that you PBEMers in general are really into the idea of larger games and have just needed a leader to step up and commit his time and efforts into running such a game. A game as large as this will not work with a 5 minute introduction and then let 'er fly and hope for the best. Luckily for you all, I am willing to be your glorious leader and make this happen, and hopefully create a truly EPIC game that will go down in PBEM history as one of the best games yet.

Now that I'm done tooting my own horn ...

I believe using PBEM tracker, you can set up alerts for when its your turn. We will be using the website for purposes of tracking turns and sending turns. However let be known that as your insanely committed and nerdy leader, I will be keeping the ball rolling myself as well. If I don't see action on a turn after a couple hours, I will email people myself to keep it moving. Between PBEM tracker, this thread, and my personal meddling, I am hoping that will be enough to keep the game moving and avoid major delays. Everyone's emails will be for public viewing on PBEM tracker, and I encourage anyone who feels the need to send an email related to anything logistical or related to game mechanics to COPY ME. With a game like this I believe all we really need is someone to keep on top of the status and make sure it is current, and I am willing to do that!

 

[Nighthawk419]

Last post: Espirito - you are in! PM coming shortly with PBEMtracker details.

I agree, this is going to be tough - but its worth giving a shot! worst case we end up with half the people retired and AI's, and still have a nice 9 person game!



Everyone please sign up to www.PBEMtracker.com and into the game using the password provided to you via PM.

Also, many of you have not spoken about your experience/difficulty level or chosen a leader. There is still plenty of time, but feel free to speak up at any time.

 

[Ormylar]

I haven't been playing much Civ4 lately but I'd like to sign up and give this a try. Never did PBEM before but I will look into it on how it works later tonight(I have to go to class in like 10 minutes lol).

Timezone: GMT -6:00 (Central Time North America)
Location: Canada
Difficulty: Monarch
Civ: Zara Yaqob (Ethiopia)
Availability: My schedule is a bit wacked as I'm in university right now so I'll message you later with my schedule.

 

[themdg]

If you still have room, I'd love to jump in.

Timezone: GMT -7:00 (Mountain Time North America)
Location: Utah, USA
Difficulty: Whatever
Civ: Whatever
Availability: No problem taking turns most days or evenings.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Ormylar and themdg - you are both in! Thanks for joining.

Folks we are up to 11 - if you have not signed up on PBEMtracker.com please do so...

Once we are close to launch (say within 24 hours) I will be posting a warning on this thread, so please keep an eye on it. That will be your last chance to choose a leader if you haven't already. Also if you are not signed up to PBEMtracker.com yet, you will NOT be a part of the game!

 

[ParadigmShifter]

Signed in to PBEM tracker.

Thinking of going for Asoka in this game...

 

[themdg]

Ormylar and themdg - you are both in! Thanks for joining.

Folks we are up to 11 - if you have not signed up on PBEMtracker.com please do so...
[/B]

Great! Joined the game on the tracker.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Signed in to PBEM tracker.

Thinking of going for Asoka in this game...

Ah the OVERRATED fast worker...

I shouldn't taunt though... I'm liable to get my a$$ kicked haha