Somnium discussion

[Zechnophobe]

Could we throw in a debug option so that a player with it on can see all the variables the AI sees? % chance of 'bad draw', all cards in all piles, etc. Wouldn't have to be pretty, but for those of us trying to tweak the AI by experimentation, it'd help out a whole lot.

 

[Vrenir]

I just played (well halfway played) my first game of .33, in which I single-handedly defeated the demon hoards with Guybrush, Succulus, and three catapults. It got stressful at times, and Somnium provided a much-needed diversion from the riggers of warfare. Thank you for thinking to include such an original and enjoyable device in this mod!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I just played (well halfway played) my first game of .33, in which I single-handedly defeated the demon hoards with Guybrush, Succulus, and three catapults. It got stressful at times, and Somnium provided a much-needed diversion from the riggers of warfare. Thank you for thinking to include such an original and enjoyable device in this mod!

Well of course you won, if you a god fighting for you. I'd have thought the Compact would prevent that. Maybe he slipped through by misspelling his name. (May I assume you actually meant Saverous?)

Of course, having Succulus on you side would be more fair if you gave you opponents Agarayz, Tallie, Camelouse, Kairnoonnose, Cirronna, Jewnill, Carriedwin, Lougus, Imathawin, Ayeron, Nantoeswellta, Danallen, ect.

 

[Vrenir]

Ah yes, Savorus is probably who I meant. (The green OO hero.) Of course that's who I meant, and if I didn't I shouldn't let such an exploit out in the open should I?

 

[Kael]

I just played (well halfway played) my first game of .33, in which I single-handedly defeated the demon hoards with Guybrush, Succulus, and three catapults. It got stressful at times, and Somnium provided a much-needed diversion from the riggers of warfare. Thank you for thinking to include such an original and enjoyable device in this mod!

Glad you like it, thats exactly what I use it for too.

 

[woodelf]

I now say Sheelba gives me the most fits because of her unpredictability, which is terrific!

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Could you add a way to pause/minimize a game of Somnium, so you can take a break and get back to FfH for a while and resume the card game later?

 

[Vanion]

I second MCs request, that would be great, especially for multiplayer games where you play Somnium waiting for another player and he ends his turn earlier than you expected

 

[Sto]

I will try to think about that for the next version. I don't think i will add a pop up (minimized) but just click again on the Somnium button to continue the game.
I think also about force the hide of the screen in MP when other players pass or being disconnected. That should be a good thing, perhaps a little more difficult to do. Anyway i need to close the screen and be able to resume the game in MP (so in SG too). For the moment if a player leave the game in MP, you can't get out of the screen (you have to press alt-tab and kill the process). And if the player restart CivIV and reconnect it will have an OOS (disconnecting, reconnecting don't cause problems). This was in my mind for the next version anyway and killing the screen, then restore it and send all infos is a good thing -> so a good solution. Thank you.

Tcho !

 

[Wauthan]

Errh... I haven't read the whole discussion but I wondered if would be possible to bet anything else then 1 gold while playing Somnium? No tech trade or other diplomacy actions but it would be nice to play for higher stakes. 10 turns worth of a resource, more gold or even a unit.

Would be neat to see one or two events tied to the game as well, could pit you against a Somnium master in a really high risk game with huge rewards/losses.

 

[Kael]

Errh... I haven't read the whole discussion but I wondered if would be possible to bet anything else then 1 gold while playing Somnium? No tech trade or other diplomacy actions but it would be nice to play for higher stakes. 10 turns worth of a resource, more gold or even a unit.

We dont want Somnium to be a strategic element of FfH2. It is a mini-game intended to add some flavor and fun to the game for those that want to use it. I never want players to feel like they have to play a game of somnium to accomplish something.

Would be neat to see one or two events tied to the game as well, could pit you against a Somnium master in a really high risk game with huge rewards/losses.

Yeap, I think thats a good way to make it interesting without making it mandatory. An event or two that allows the player the options to play a game of Somnium would be very neat.

 

[Wauthan]

We dont want Somnium to be a strategic element of FfH2. It is a mini-game intended to add some flavor and fun to the game for those that want to use it. I never want players to feel like they have to play a game of somnium to accomplish something.

Well... that certainly sounds like a very wise decision. The game is already very complicated and I can see how mandatory sessions of Somnium could make things worse, instead of better. Guess I got a bit overenthusiastic, since it's such a gorgeous addition to the excellence already present.

 

[MorpheusAk]

Pefect Score. All 7s. Against Minister Koun, from my own empire. It was fantastic. And oh so useless. Do I have a screenshot? No. I blame vodka.

 

[woodelf]

Pefect Score. All 7s. Against Minister Koun, from my own empire. It was fantastic. And oh so useless. Do I have a screenshot? No. I blame vodka.

Maybe Sto! can add something where you need to click "End Game" for the final screen to disappear? I've had some I wanted to print, but they vanish too soon. I got beat 66-22 once and thought it was funny.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

I say that once you can close the game without ending it, it should not ever close automatically.

Also, why should be have to press End Turn if our opponent won the opening draw? Why not just make them go ahead and play, and save us mouseclick and a second or so of time?

 

[Sto]

Remember that this is a first version functionnal and all your feed backs to improve the game are welcome. Some want more speed and other not. I didn't want first that the game begin without understanding what happened. I also didn't want to be forced to click at the end of the game. This was not my first priority when trying to make some pauses in the screen without being able to handle actions and prevent others actions to take place in MP while waiting for other players.

But i will try to take that in count for the version 2. I plan to add hotseat games, do some visual effects that show you if you can draw pick a card or end turn, make the structure more clear(and with comments) to be able to MOD the game more easily, add the statistic screen and with it be able to load/save personnal settings like speed of the game, press key at end of game, game start without prompt ... and all that i think i should add as an option for the confort of the player (or you will ask for).
I will also try to be able to hide the screen and continue the game later while pressing the Somnium button especially for MP games when other players pass the turn, being temporaly disconnected or quicked (this should not be so simply to do).

Tcho !

 

[dcorrin]

How about dealing two cards to start, with the lower-valued one going to the player who wins the draw? This balances things a little more, but more importantly give one something to steal if a fool is drawn early.

-Dan

 

[LDiCesare]

I love Somnium. However, I saw a dumb decision by Jonas Endain:
Mid-game, he has a Suns 3 and 4 other cards in hand. Draws The Fool. Picks my Suns 7. Of course, I lose 7 points, but he could have won many points instead.
I believe it might be a good strategy to get rid of an opponent's card but it seemed really dumb.

 

[xienwolf]

Well, were any of the cards in his hand ones which would raise his score? And did you have ONLY the 7, thus costing you a full 7 points? Good move if both of those are true. Possibly not so good otherwise.

 

[woodelf]

Funny game against sheelba. She never once put cards down. Always drawing doubles. I ended up beating her 62-0. Here's a screenie right before the last card is drawn by me.