I am pretty sure that ANY diplogame players will have to be selected very carefully. I have tried a few times to start up long lasting games, but it has always fizzled. Too often it becomes a case of "no shows" and "I gotta go walk my cat so I can't play anymore" excuses, after the game has been lost for that particular player.
My thinking is that if we had ONE that worked, then more people would be motivated to play. The only problem is keeping them, after the game is unwinnable for them.
That seems to be the case in HOTW, people come and go, only because they want to play this game, but don't realize that it sometimes is not much fun to be stuck with a little bitty weak Civ for five hours while your larger neighbors threaten you and such.
But in HOTW's case, people keep coming back, even though they really are in bad shape. THAT'S what we need in a diplogame. It's not the "house rules" or the map, or even your Civ that keep people coming back. The game itself keeps folks coming back.
Sadly we have no diplogame to speak of here. But we will. But we need to ensure that when the game starts we have people who are committed to finishing the game. Use the HOTW threads as a guide maybe, as you can read the frustration of some of the players there who participate.
I don't know how to link, maybe drake or someone can hook one up for me?
