The idea of a draft is to completely change the dynamic of the game - what is it like to be the DrL if, perhaps, the WM are you allies - suddenly it might be the Sinda who are hunted.
How good is the CL if the DkL and FK are enemies? Imagine the knife fighting in Mordor.
There are a lot of different ways to evaluate a nation and a lot of preconceived notions will go out the window. That is why I think the idea is interesting.
2950 would be less bloody to start; could be a possibility. If dragons cannot be removed or limited, then 2950 would be better - the Freeps would be at a disadvantage, but 1650 would be just awful if the nations were fully balanced.
If this were grudge, or people were willing to have strong captains, the draft would be very easy to resolve.
If there is no way to limit or remove dragons, that is a game-breaker. Maybe 2950 would be possible (let the Freeps pick first, or give them something else to somewhat compensate).
It would be interesting to see the WK and DrL rampaging, as opposed to getting piled on (not to say that those nations aren’t very interesting in a normal game - there is no greater joy in MEPBM than playing a DrL who hangs on in Mirkwood - although that only happens with a perfect mix of good gameplay, daring, luck and enemy mistakes).
The draft strategy would be a fascinating thing - if you actually think about the draft order, where you would rank nations, a lot of different factors and scenarios pop into mind.
Consider the implications of Alignment on both Dragons and Artifacts. Alignment there can’t be changed - so if the nations have them, they can interact with those aspects of the program where Alignment matters. Make all the nations Neutral and you’ve now removed all the Good or Evil aligned issues from the game AND removed the ability to get nations to Hated or Friendly. Of course, it would be nice to not have to issue any 185’s, but now no multinational companies.
Thus, the flexibility of the program is the problem here.
Mind you, still don’t see why you hate dragon so much - go kill them…
I recently returned to MEPBM after a decade away and so far in the two games I have played, one DS and one FP, a neutral joined the other side on turn 0.
I’m definitely planning to play a grudge game with pre-determined neutrals for my next game.
I won’t be playing in the proposed game, but just offered my suggestion.
Point 1 - The posters all want a different sort of game, so why limit to having the standard Corsairs as a FP in a 12v12 game?
Point 2 - Clint further stated that the biggest problem was in picking two captains. Having established pairings eliminates that difficulty. All Clint then needs to do is set up who ends up where, just like in any other Gunboat game. Because there is communication, it is not exactly like a Gunboat game which further alludes to having a different sort of game never yet played.
In the end, I don’t really care; just suggesting an option.
I know other players with counting issues…Banal must be American like them… But as a returning player, then the internet dynamic must be a shock to you - the game is different now. It’s like going home again, only to find the old lane is a 4 lane road and the old field where you’d climb trees and start fires sometimes is now a 37 storey condominium…there is no going home again, RW or ME.
Right now I don’t have any players signed up or express a preference to me that they would like to play either of these formats. (Draft or 12v12 with normal WC nations: Cor/Dun FP, Har/Rh DS)
Fax, despite the early neutral declarations, I am enjoying the game more now than I did in GSI days (not sure what the miscounting quip was about). I certainly don’t want to go back to the slow paced game of that day, but turn 0 neutrals is definitely causing me to rethink my approach. It seems that the best policy against Rhudaur for the FP is to just attack on turn 1 and get it over with.
Turn 0 is the source… 90% of what people believe to be true is therefore the truth (by definition of the word believe…) but total hogwash. (extrapolate that outside ME at your leisure). Any neutral that makes a move before turn 5 is castigated as a Turn 0/game start ringer and, as per the above, it’s 90% of the time total BS. So I tend to respectfully request (American bashing aside, it’s all Canadians are good at when the ice melts) people refrain from throwing out such accusations. The more recent games I’ve been a part of, the one’s who’ve come out bitching and whining about the neutrals (1 of 3 games I was Neut) and accusing them of Turn 0 ringers, etc, were the people who hadn’t said a thing to the neutrals until that point. (Oh, and of those games, Rhudaur went Free all 3 times, for the record.). Perception vs Reality. Really, neutrals are just people too~!
Well I am in the game gixxx was talking about w/ rhudaur going dark immediately…I am the duns. And I certainly wasn’t about to “join” a side until I felt I had a good handle on what the flow would be like either way…and really after 6 turns now I can honestly say (neutrals can be honest) that I could still go either way…more about which side I chose and why on the appropriate thread.
But overall, I took a neutral to see what the hubbub was about…and let me tell ya after years of only aligned play; being neutral is all about info and feeling like you connect w/ a team than about x’s and o’s…if neither team is overly communicative then you kinda just want to do whatever hits you…it’s not about balance, for me, anyway. It seems to be more about which group of guys you think you stand a better chance with…
Maybe my sample size is too small to make that observation…
But 4th age neutrals face a similar mistrust…more than a couple neutral nations in a 4th age game and the “alliance” is on…and what’s funny about that is the aligned nations immediately jump on them…like there is a two party system in 4th age (American politics)…and any thought to the contrary is bull…lol…
4th age was designed to allow nations to work together even if they weren’t “aligned” the same way…but 1650 mentality took over…aligned is the only way to go…
just my two cents, and the five dollars I found on the floor for good measure…
Fax, in the two games I am referring to, we absolutely did communicate with the two neutrals in question. They absolutely did reject positive overtures from us and they both began aggressive moves with their first orders. For whatever that’s worth. I’m sure what you describe is true in some cases, but not in these two examples.
Excuse me sire but didn’t you get my email about the one week game? Wasn’t it for this or some crazy junta like this. I is confused
Me too, I don’t know who you are… I’ve not received anything, that I recall, but regardless of that I don’t have enough to start taking set-ups for a 1wk game. 2wk game, is fine, or if there’s enough players for a variant then that would be interesting.
But as a returning player, then the internet dynamic must be a shock to you - the game is different now. It’s like going home again, only to find the old lane is a 4 lane road and the old field where you’d climb trees and start fires sometimes is now a 37 storey condominium…there is no going home again, RW or ME.
I’ve not received anything, that I recall, but regardless of that I don’t have enough to start taking set-ups for a 1wk game. 2wk game, is fine, or if there’s enough players for a variant then that would be interesting.