In the tradition of the Realms Beyond, I'm going to try something that certainly qualifies as different. Now taking sign ups for:
RB8 - Multiplayer Madness
Welcome to the first multiplayer SG for Civilization 4! (I'm not sure if this was ever done for C3C). This is an attmept to see how well the multi-player aspects of Civ4 can fit in with the SG format. This game will start things off as simple as possible, primarily to see if this type of game will work. If it does, then I hope more games like this will show up!
The basic idea is the same as any other SG game - there will be a roster of 3-4 who will take turns playing the game in an attempt to defeat AI opponents. The twist is this - instead of single players at each point in the roster, there will be teams of two! The map will be a 2v2v2, with the player teams up against 2 teams of 2 AI opponents.
I have a couple of hopes for this game. First, I hope that some people who haven't tried out co-operative multiplayer will take the plunge and give it a shot. RB is a friendly environment and it would be great to have one person on each team that has played some MP before and one that is totally new to the experience. New players are assured that they will be playing with helpful, mature players who will make the experience an enjoyable one. The second is to meet other players in the online environment and hopefully make some new friends, with more MP opportunities resulting!
Difficulty: Prince
Map Script: Continents
Map Size: Standard
Game Speed: Normal
Civ(s): Random
Teams: 2 v 2 v 2
Variant Rules: See below
Victory: Any
Patch: 1.52
Roster
Team 1 - Snaproll* / Drasca
Team 2 - Morred* / thunderbunny
Team 3 - open* / open
Team 4 - open* / open (optional team depending on interest)
Alternate 1 - open
Alternate 2 - open
Alternate 3 - open
* denotes reporting player (see below)
Special Rules
Got it / Reporting time limits - The standard 24/48 for reporting and posting will be modified somewhat. There will still be a 24 hour limit for announcing a "got it", but then you will have a full 96 hours to play. This is to accomodate the increased logistical challenge of finding a time when both players are available. Of course, the faster the better. You still just play ten turns, so the time commitment isn't extreme once the game is set up.
Reporting - Each turn, only one team member is responsible for reporting (denoted by the *). Players will take turns, so you actually only need to report half the time! The reporting player is responsible for taking screenshots and notes and then posting the turns to the forum thread. Of course, the other player is welcome to add thoughts or analysis at will. Take special care in capturing the thought processes and conversations that you have with your teammate during the game - my expectation is that these will be of particular interest of those reading your report.
Alternates - If, at any point, one of the two team members needs to take a skip, instead of skipping the whole team an alternate will step in. Because of this, alternates will almost certainly play, and might end up playing a lot! This should also keep the game moving, as one skip won't actually delay a turn as long as an alternate is ready to step in.
Game Type - Because this is the first time this has been tried, I'm keeping things simple. Continents map, standard size, normal speed, random civs, prince difficulty, teams of 2. Multiplayer options will be simultaneous turns, no turn timer. Teams of two is the obvious starting point because any more and the logistics become increasingly complicated very quickly. I imagine that teams of 3 would be close to the limit for this type of game.
Multiplayer Issues - The game must be saved by the reporting player at the end of each play session and uploaded so the next team can have access. Games can either be played via IP connection or in the gamespy lobby. It would be very nice if teammates had a compatible instant messenger connection to facilitate getting together, although a pre-set time to meet could work too. I would strongly suggest using forum PM's or instant messenger programs to coordinate with your teammate, to keep the clutter in the actual forum thread to a minimum.
Drasca, Morred, and thunderbunny all signed up in pre-game discussion, but there are more spots open. Please, when signing up, include any instant messenger information in your post if it is not already in your profile. If you don't want to include it just make sure your teammate gets the info. Remember, alternates will likely get to play!
