Whosit
Entropic Knight
This is the thread for RP1 players who have expressed interest in trying a Play-By-E-Mail game. So if you're not in RP (located here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=362995), you can't join the PBEM, but maybe you'd like to check out the original game. Now then, on to business.
Since I know that many of the players are unfamiliar with the PBEM format, I'll attempt to give a quick run-down of how it works. I intend to use PBEM Tracker to assist in organizing our game, so go ahead and sign up if you don't have an account:
http://pbemtracker.com/
This game will be BTS, current patch (3.19 I believe), with no game-altering mods allowed. This includes BUG, BUFFY, HoF, etc. The only legal mods are things like Blue Marble which do nothing but add graphical changes. So make sure you have a clean 3.19 install on your machine.
Alright, so with that out of the way, what is PBEM? It's a form of Civilization multiplayer, which functions much like Single Player in that turns are played sequentially. Main difference is that your opponents are living, thinking human beings instead of AI. Civ IV is designed with PBEM in mind. You can access PBEM saves by going to your Multiplayer menu, selecting Play By E-mail, and loading the appropriate save. Where does the save come from? E-mail! (Or, in our case, PBEM Tracker.) When you download the save, you will need to put it in your Multiplayer/PBEM save game folder. This is probably in your My Games/Civ IV/BTS/Save Games folder, depending on how you installed your game.
So, you load up your save, create/enter a password for your Civ (assuming you want to prevent another player from accessing your saves), and play your turn. When you hit "end turn," CIV creates a folder with the name of the game and automatically creates a save file for the next player. The naming format of these saves is: GameName_GameYear_to_PlayerName.CivBeyondSwordSave.
You will then upload this save file to the PBEM Tracker, which will then automatically update the current turn (it displays which player is currently up). That player then downloads their save, plays, and uploads the next save. Neat little system. Hopefully I have explained this clearly enough. If anyone has questions, just ask.
With the functional rules of PBEM out of the way, I like to take a moment to briefly cover some informal, well, not rules, but stuff you should be aware of. PBEM games take a long time. 1-turn a day is the ideal pace, but in reality, it is considered a fast pace. Once all game settings have been decided, we will determine turn order based on what times players are most likely able to play the save. While it's a known fact that players will miss their scheduled play times at least a few times (if not more), please do not sign up if you do not believe that you can make a steady time commitment to the game for at least several months. Due to the nature of the game, all it takes is one player to stop playing to completely stop the game. On a similar token, keep in mind that this is a competitive multiplayer game. I can tell you from experience that it sucks when you are losing. I hope that we all have great fun, but realize that you may lose the game, but we need everyone to play until the bitter end. Until they add in the "Circle of Friends" victory condition, that's just the nature of the game.
OK, so assuming that I haven't scared all of my players away, let's get back to the fun stuff! One of the really nice things about a slow-paced MP game (compared to the almost RTS nature of competitive MP) is that there is time for Diplomacy! The best way to handle this in my experience is by setting up an e-mail account specifically for the game (g-mail accounts are free). I'll be using one such account, but if you don't mind giving out your primary e-mail address, and then having game-related mails flood your in-box, then you don't need an alt-account.
Finally, a partially list of who is playing. I got PM confirmation from some; for the rest, I'm relying on my sieve-like memory. PM me, or just post here, if I've forgotten you, or if I've mistakenly added you to the list.
Players
-Whosit (Pacal II/Inca)
-Twinkletoes89 (Elizabeth/Rome)
-Dem Taqat (Hatshepsut/Zulu)
-Aysee (Hannibal/Egypt)
-Nukeknockout (Washington/Mali)
-Ravus_Sol (Roosevelt/Sumeria)
E-mail
Since I know that many of the players are unfamiliar with the PBEM format, I'll attempt to give a quick run-down of how it works. I intend to use PBEM Tracker to assist in organizing our game, so go ahead and sign up if you don't have an account:
http://pbemtracker.com/
This game will be BTS, current patch (3.19 I believe), with no game-altering mods allowed. This includes BUG, BUFFY, HoF, etc. The only legal mods are things like Blue Marble which do nothing but add graphical changes. So make sure you have a clean 3.19 install on your machine.
Alright, so with that out of the way, what is PBEM? It's a form of Civilization multiplayer, which functions much like Single Player in that turns are played sequentially. Main difference is that your opponents are living, thinking human beings instead of AI. Civ IV is designed with PBEM in mind. You can access PBEM saves by going to your Multiplayer menu, selecting Play By E-mail, and loading the appropriate save. Where does the save come from? E-mail! (Or, in our case, PBEM Tracker.) When you download the save, you will need to put it in your Multiplayer/PBEM save game folder. This is probably in your My Games/Civ IV/BTS/Save Games folder, depending on how you installed your game.
So, you load up your save, create/enter a password for your Civ (assuming you want to prevent another player from accessing your saves), and play your turn. When you hit "end turn," CIV creates a folder with the name of the game and automatically creates a save file for the next player. The naming format of these saves is: GameName_GameYear_to_PlayerName.CivBeyondSwordSave.
You will then upload this save file to the PBEM Tracker, which will then automatically update the current turn (it displays which player is currently up). That player then downloads their save, plays, and uploads the next save. Neat little system. Hopefully I have explained this clearly enough. If anyone has questions, just ask.
With the functional rules of PBEM out of the way, I like to take a moment to briefly cover some informal, well, not rules, but stuff you should be aware of. PBEM games take a long time. 1-turn a day is the ideal pace, but in reality, it is considered a fast pace. Once all game settings have been decided, we will determine turn order based on what times players are most likely able to play the save. While it's a known fact that players will miss their scheduled play times at least a few times (if not more), please do not sign up if you do not believe that you can make a steady time commitment to the game for at least several months. Due to the nature of the game, all it takes is one player to stop playing to completely stop the game. On a similar token, keep in mind that this is a competitive multiplayer game. I can tell you from experience that it sucks when you are losing. I hope that we all have great fun, but realize that you may lose the game, but we need everyone to play until the bitter end. Until they add in the "Circle of Friends" victory condition, that's just the nature of the game.

OK, so assuming that I haven't scared all of my players away, let's get back to the fun stuff! One of the really nice things about a slow-paced MP game (compared to the almost RTS nature of competitive MP) is that there is time for Diplomacy! The best way to handle this in my experience is by setting up an e-mail account specifically for the game (g-mail accounts are free). I'll be using one such account, but if you don't mind giving out your primary e-mail address, and then having game-related mails flood your in-box, then you don't need an alt-account.

Finally, a partially list of who is playing. I got PM confirmation from some; for the rest, I'm relying on my sieve-like memory. PM me, or just post here, if I've forgotten you, or if I've mistakenly added you to the list.
Players
-Whosit (Pacal II/Inca)
-Twinkletoes89 (Elizabeth/Rome)
-Dem Taqat (Hatshepsut/Zulu)
-Aysee (Hannibal/Egypt)
-Nukeknockout (Washington/Mali)
-Ravus_Sol (Roosevelt/Sumeria)
Spoiler :
Whosit: whosit.03 @ gmail . com
Twinkletoes89: JBtwinkletoes89 @ gmail . com
Dem Taqat: demtaqat @ gmail . com
Aysee: byebluemon @ gmail . com
Nukeknockout: Drashgorth @ citynet . net
Ravus_Sol: RavusSol @ Gmail.com
Twinkletoes89: JBtwinkletoes89 @ gmail . com
Dem Taqat: demtaqat @ gmail . com
Aysee: byebluemon @ gmail . com
Nukeknockout: Drashgorth @ citynet . net
Ravus_Sol: RavusSol @ Gmail.com