Looking for gamers up for playing Napoleonic Empires, play by forum (on triplea)

[Veqryn]

About Treaties:

There are 4 “Political States” that you can be in with a player: War, Ceasefire, Open-Borders, and Alliance.
War is self explanatory.
Ceasefire is just like being “neutral” in Global1940.  It means you can not enter that player’s land territories.  You can still have ships in the same sea zone though.  Otherwise, you are completely ignored by the other player.
Open-Borders means you can enter that player’s land territories.  You are otherwise completely ignored by that player.  If an enemy of that player, who is neutral/ceasefire/allied to you, attacks that player on their territory, your units will be ignored.  If an enemy of that player, is also an enemy of you, attacks that player on their territory, your units will participate.  
Allied is also self explanatory.  Allied also means you give back any original territories you have conquered from this player (if you were previously at war, or if you conquered it from a 3rd nation, etc).  
If you are allied/open-borders with someone, then they switch to ceasefire, any units you have in their territories may move out of their territories IF they are touching a territory that they can move into (ie: border territories).  If they are in a territory that is surrounded by territories you can not move to, then they are stuck there until either you declare war, or you go back to open-borders/alliance.

What is to stop someone from becoming Allied one turn, then declaring War the next turn?  Let me address this:
When you declare a “political state” with someone, it lasts for a certain number of turns.  The formula is very simple.

When you declare “War” on someone (doesn’t matter what state you were previously), then you are stuck in a State of War for 2 full rounds (this current round, plus the whole next round).  After 2 rounds, you remain in a State of War but are given the option to change it to “Ceasefire”.

When you declare “Ceasefire” with someone (doesn’t matter what state you were previously), then you are stuck in a State of Ceasefire for 1 full round (the current round).  You will remain in a State of Ceasefire after this round, but are given the option to change it to either: “War” or “Open-Borders”.

When you declare “Open-Borders” with someone (doesn’t matter what state you were previously), then you are stuck in State of Open-Borders for 1 full round (the current round).  You will remain in a State of Open-Borders after this round, but are given the option to change it to either: “Ceasefire” or “Open-Borders”.  Additionally, after 2 full rounds, you will be given the option to change it directly to “War”.

When you declare “Allied” with someone (doesn’t matter what state you were previously), then you are stuck in State of Alliance for 1 full round (the current round).  You will remain in a State of Alliance after this round, but are given the option to change it to “Open-Borders”.  Additionally, after 2 full rounds, you will be given the option to change it directly to “Ceasefire”

Essentially, the formula is that you must wait 1 round to go “up” the ladder one at a time, from War -> Ceasefire -> Open-Borders -> Alliance.  You must also wait 1 round to go down the ladder one at a time.  But if you wait 2 rounds, you can go down two spaces (openborders -> war, or alliance -> ceasefire).   Declaring War forces you to wait 2 rounds to do anything.

Alliances and War do not chain together by default.  Meaning, I can be allied to Seth, and Seth can be allied to you, and I can be at War with you.  If you guys do not like that, there is a ‘game option’ that will force alliances and war to chain together.  Let me know.

We have 7 people so far.  Need just 1 more.

Nation choices (in turn order):
France  -
UK  -
Spain  - Funcioneta
Prussia  - Gargantua
Sweden  - Seth The Newb
Austria  -
Ottoman Empire  -
Russia  - Ol’ Blood & Guts

Haven’t picked yet:
Veqryn
Cow
Canuck12

@Cow, sorry but Funcioneta got Spain already.  If you want a naval power, you can do UK.  Otherwise both France and Ottomans usually do both naval and land, while Austria is just land based.

@Canuck, who do you want?

[seth4god]

Does the fact that you’re allied automatically mean you’ll defend together or do you actually have to be at war with the attacking player?

[Veqryn]

You must both be at war with the attacking player, in order to defend together. 
Generally speaking, if you are allied, then you and your ally are probably going to egg each other on to declare war on the same enemies.

If we like, we can click the game option to have all alliances chain together, and war chain together.  It is off by default.  But if we turn it on, then all your allies are forced to declare war on all your enemies (happens the second you become allied).

If we leave it off, then the main advantage of being allied is:
1. you can cross each other’s territory.
2. you can’t declare war on each other (not without stopping first in “ceasefire” or “open-borders”)
3. trust + you end up pressuring each other into have the same enemies anyway

[seth4god]

Seems pretty straightforward, I’m just trying to make sure I figure out what’s going on .  …  at least now I don’t have to count spaces and check for landing zones to make sure air won’t threaten my fleet.  :wink:

What’s the benefit of the ship of the lines anyway? For that price, I’d rather have 2 frigates, frig+corvette, or maybe frig+brig then buy another ship of the line.  I get that we don’t want them too powerful, especially without air to help neutralize them. And historically there weren’t too many nations running around with large numbers of them in the first place. But it seems like a waste.

[Veqryn]

Each ship serves a purpose, and while you will see some bought more than others, a good navy will buy some of each (assuming it can afford to). 
All ships, except Barques, can capture “convoy zones”.

attack / defense / movement / cost

0/1/2/8 Barques are transports.  They can defend (at 1),  but are not good at attacking. They have “3” space, meaning that they can carry 3x marines, or 1x marine + 1x general land unit, or just 1x cavalry.

1/1/2/6 Cutters are like the artillery of the sea, but are also good fodder.  They are cheap, but without units for them to support they are not very good (they support brigs, frigates, and battleships, by giving them +1 attack).  Their main disadvantage, besides the fact that they need ships to support, is that they can not carry any units at all.

1/2/2/8 Brigantines are the mainstays of most fleets. They are hardy vessels, good on defense, very cost effective, and if paired one to one with a Cutter, the Brig will receive +1 attack (making it 2/2).  They can also transport a single marine.

2/1/2/9 Corvettes are special attack and interception vessels. They do not receive support from Cutters, but they have other advantages: First Strike (just like submarines from Revised), and the ability to retreat separately on offense, and retreat on defense, to any adjacent friendly or empty sea zone.  They can also transport a single marine.

3/2/2/12 Frigates are heavy vessels, with good bombardment ability. If paired one to one with a Cutter, the Frigate will receive +1 attack.  They bombard @3, and can carry a single marine.

4/4/2/21 Battleships are the pride of every navy.  They have 2 hitpoints, but do not repair.  If paired one to one with a Cutter, the Battleship will receive +1 attack.  They bombard @4, and can carry a single marine.

The sea units have been balanced for more than 1 year of playing. 
Technically speaking, buying 3 cutters + 3 brigantines, will be better than any other buy you can think of.  But there are very good reasons to buy things other than just brigs and cutters.

If you want the most offensive bang for the buck, you will buy lots of corvettes.
If you want purely defensive power, you will buy mostly brigantines.
If you want the most bombardment for your buck, you will buy lots of frigates.
If you want a well balanced navy, you will buy a good mixture, including many cutters, brigantines, and a few corvettes, and a battleships or frigate or two.

Why should you buy a battleship? 
First, you don’t have much “production space”.  If you move a general (the moving factory, the guy colored in red) into a territory worth only 2, then you can only produce 2 boats there.  Maybe you have enough money to buy 8 brigantines and cutters, but with only 2 space and things to do, you might just need to buy that BB.
Second, do not ever underestimate 2 hit points.  Even without the ability to repair, it is still huge.  For example, lets say you buy 1 frigate and 1 cutter, while I buy a battleship.  If the enemy deals 1 hp of damage, you lose that cutter and the value of your attack shrinks by 2 and defense shrinks by 1.  I absorb that damage and keep hitting you for 4.

You will see that while cutters and brigs are the most popular, Battleships and Frigates and Corvettes are still quite popular.

[Guest]

@Cow:

Spain for me… this reminds me of risk in starcraft. I warn you guys, I never played this before and I don’t make promises I can’t keep. :)

Funcioneta already chose Spain

[Gargantua]

Is this shit show going to happen? :p

Who goes first?

[Noll]

Is there still a spot?
Do you mind me playing this mod for the first time?

I’d like the Ottoman Empire.

[Veqryn]

Noll, I think everyone but me is playing for the first time, so you are in good company.

We have 8 people!!! woooo hoooo, the game can start as soon as everyone is ready!

We could start from next week on Friday May 4th, 2012.  (let me know if that is ok)

Nation choices (in turn order):
France  -
UK  -
Spain  -  Funcioneta
Prussia  -  Gargantua
Sweden  -  Seth The Newb
Austria  -
Ottoman Empire  -  Noll
Russia  -  Ol’ Blood & Guts

Haven’t picked yet:
Veqryn
Cow
Canuck12

@__Cow__, sorry but Funcioneta got Spain already.  If you want a naval power, you can do UK.  Otherwise France usually does both naval and land, while Austria is just land based.

@__Canuck__, who do you want?

PS: to everyone, we need to choose some game options, please let me know your opinion:

1. Low Luck OR Dice.  (default is LL, but dice could make the game interesting)

2. Should Alliances and War be forced to chain together (ie: If you are allied to player A, and A declares war on B, then you are asked if you want to declare war too. If you don’t declare war, then A can’t either.  & If player C is at war with player D, and you ally with C, then you automatically go war with D.)  If we do not choose this option, then you can be allied to someone who is at War with another one of your allies.  (Default is not to chain together, which means politics is very fine tuned)

3. The game allows 4 additional units to be purchased starting on the 2nd Round.  We can turn these off if you guys want a more “simple” game.  The 4 additional units are: Mortella Towers (static), Fortresses (static), Mortars (high offense), and Marshals (special cavalry).  (Default is that they are turned on)

thx,
veq

[seth4god]

I’m usually not a fan of LL, but I’ve never played this game or how it’d affect the gameplay. I’m fine with either option.

No chaining sounds like it could be pretty fun. If we were playing chained, then we may as well just do the regular game. Which doesn’t sound like a bad idea anyway. FFA should be fun though.

I’m leaning towards keeping the additional units.

[Gargantua]

Does it HAVE to be LL?

[Noll]

although I suck at rolling dices and I’m always full of the worst luck you can ever imagine, I prefer dice games.

A note: this map is kinda hard to look at, I wish every empire had their territories colored.

Also: the turquose guys are true neutrals? (Italy, Africa…)
How do they work? You can attack them without any problem?

[Veqryn]

that is 3 for dice and zero for LL, so it will be a dice game unless everyone else votes for LL.

Noll, please change the “Map Skin” to the “Political Map”

to do so:

Start TripleA & then start Napoleonic Empires: FFA
click play, so the game begins

Now go to the top of the screen, click the “VIEW” menu. 
Then go to “MAP SKINS”, and select “POLITICAL MAP SKIN”

let me know if you like that better.

Light Blue = Neutral

There is no penalty for attacking Neutral colored nations.  You start at war with them already.

(so its a good idea to attack them)

Note that you do not get the National Objective for attacking neutral territories.  Every nation on the map has only 1 national objective, and it is the same for all nations:

Politics National Objective:
+6 PUs per turn that you attack and destroy as least 6 PUs worth of enemy units.
This represents the morale boost your nation receives for victories on the battlefield, however small (just 6 TUV is enough).
As light blue Neutral Nations are not aggressors in this conflict, they are not counted towards destroyed enemy TUV, which means you must attack actual players to get this bonus.
(Both ships and land units count, and you are not required to win the battle)

[Noll]

@Veqryn:

Noll, please change the “Map Skin” to the “Political Map”

to do so:

Start TripleA & then start Napoleonic Empires: FFA
click play, so the game begins

Now go to the top of the screen, click the “VIEW” menu. 
Then go to “MAP SKINS”, and select “POLITICAL MAP SKIN”

let me know if you like that better

I love you

[seth4god]

Are we going with projection of power or one of the other victory conditions?

[Funcioneta]

I want normal dice as well. And I’d not use the special units… first game with this map for many, and we don’t need much more complexity

Also, which year is supposed to start the game? Shall I play as Godoy, ‘Prince of Peace’ (up to 1808) or as Fernando VII ‘the Desired One’ ?  :-D

[Noll]

Oh guys, I must tell you that I will be gone from the 9th to the 15th of May due to a wedding.

[Veqryn]

@ Seth, projection of power is fine (and difficult enough to achieve, since it means probably 2 players will have to be knocked out the game before anyone wins)

@ funcioneta, not sure exact date

@ noll, should be fine since you told us in advance

I think we will do:

1. Dice

2. alliances and war do Not chain together (not forced)

3. no extra units (game already has a lot of units, and it is new to everyone)

[Cow]

I’ll take France. I’ll prepare to defend myself from the onslaught of nations.

I do not lie and I keep my word in FFA games. I offer no permanent truces to anyone, only NAPS, if you nap with me we agree to provide a notice of breaking naps 1 full round in advance, should you break your nap agreement with me without notice - prepare to witness all of my units advancing upon your country. I offer no alliances only terms of agreement such as you attack this and I attack that.

[seth4god]

@Cow:

I’ll take France. I’ll prepare to defend myself from the onslaught of nations.

I do not lie and I keep my word in FFA games. I offer no permanent truces to anyone, only NAPS, if you nap with me we agree to provide a notice of breaking naps 1 full round in advance, should you break your nap agreement with me without notice - prepare to witness all of my units advancing upon your country. I offer no alliances only terms of agreement such as you attack this and I attack that.

I vote everyone ally against cow! ;-)

I keed I keed, but I’m still not sure how this game will develop. I should be able to control my little sea if I chose to and have option of landing against Prussia or Russia. Or I could sail out into open seas and challenge Great Britain. Or focus on keeping my toehold(s) on the mainland and go from there. I don’t know what I’m going to do yet . . . . maybe I should start reaching out to others.