Thanx m8! This info is great and has really put it into context for
me. :-))))))))))))))
Additionally, (sry to keep on) can you tell why I have not received an
XML file from ME but only a paper one and as far as recruiting new armies
are concerned can I recruit from any population centre or do they have to
be of a certain size?
Last one...promise!
Jerry :-/
----- Original Message -----
From: Darrell Shimel
To: mepbmlist@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2004 1:13 AM
Subject: Re: [mepbmlist] New Player needing help!!!!!
--- jdivers76 <jdivers76@ntlworld.com> wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Never played a PBM before and I am feeling a little
> overwhelmed -
> which is rather alarming given that I am attempting
> to play the easy-
> to-play BOFA version.
>
[clip]
> Can anyone give me a little insight into what I
> should be doing on
> the onset and how I go about making sense of the
> information I have
> been sent?
>
> Jerry :-((((
1) Read the rule book front to back a couple times,
paying attention to mechanics, ignoring a lot of the
fluffy stuff (like nation descriptions and philosophy
of dealing with other nations).
2) Get access to a site that has the Mouth Of Sauron.
Read these, ignoring fiction and even the nation
strategy articles. There is a ton of info in there on
how the game REALLY works.
3) Get a good mentor. Bounce lots of ideas off him.
4) Treat the game like time is of the essesnce in
everything you do. It is. Now, now, now, in all
things.
Never think things like... "I'm going to skip
recruiting this turn because I want to XYZ." If you
NEED to do XYZ, okay. But something like "I really
want to TrpsMan to get my command rank over 30 so I
can NamComm a C30 instead of a C28.... No. Recruit
or name the C28, but don't WASTE a turn with TrpsMan.
As the Awesome player Kevin Given says, it is a game
of tempo. Get tempo, keep tempo.
5) Ignore anything to do with Vicory Points or Victory
Conditions or Player Rating System. Focus on one
thing, and one thing only: Beat the enemy. NOTHING
else matters.
6) Heavy Troops only. Inf and Cav only. See rule 4
above. Time is of the essence, and nothing gives the
firepower per turn of heavy troops. Cav if you have
mounts. Inf if you don't.
7) Recruit, march, die, repeat. Don't think of your
troops as assets to be trained and protected. They
are fodder.
Meet the enemy with superior forces, don't let him
destroy you in detail, try to destroy him in detail.
Say what? Here is the rule of ME combat. Modifiers
to strength tend to lower strength (ST * mod/100).
Modifiers to Constitution increase constitution (CON *
(100+mod)/100. For naked troops, con is usually about
double strength. As a result, you kill about half as
many troops as you have, per round.
If we each show up with 1200 naked HI, I kill 600 of
you the first round. You kill 600 of me. Next round,
300.... 150... result, both armies go away.
Now, assume you send out 600HI this turn, and 600HI
next turn. First combat, I have 1200, you have 600.
I kill 600, you kill 300. You have nothing left, I
still have 900 troops. Next turn, I have 900, you
600. I kill 450, you kill 300 leaving 600 and 150. I
kill the rest of you, you kill 75 of me.
In two turns of combat, I've killed 1200 of your 1200
troops, but you've only killed 675 of my 1200. By
this time, I've recruited another 800 troops and added
them to the battle. You also have recruited 800, but
at 1375 vs. 800, the battle is going to continue to go
against you.
The above is a combination of "don't get destroyed in
detail(pieces)" and an example of why it is a game of
tempo. Show up first with the most, out kill the
enemy, keep out recruiting and out killing him. Hold
him by the tail and kick him in the butt.
7) NEVER use metal for weapons, only armor. Adding BR
weapons adds about 10% to your strength. Adding BR
armor adds 30% to your defense.
8) Don't worry about nation/terrian, nation/climate,
troop/terrain, morale, training, or weapon modifiers.
They get so averaged together that each has little
effect. Tactics vs. Tactic and relations don't get
averaged... Worry about them!!!
9) Don't be afraid of deficits as long as you can
cover with product sales. Mithril and food are made
to be sold. Excess LE too. Don't sell TI or MO. Use
MO for cav, use TI for war machines, bridges,
fortifications.
10) Figuring out "fed movement" for armies is tough
and takes a bit to understand it. Here is the key
point. An army is "fed" if, and only if, there is at
least 1 FO in the army when it is time to move.
Let's say you have 2 armies. An army of 2000 with no
FO. An army of 100 with 101 FO. Let's say you
Transfer Command (which comes after eating) from the
big army to the small. Well, that small army will
have 1 FO, so all 2100 troops are "fed" for movement
purposes. This doesn't with with transfer troops, as
that happens before eating.
11) Recruits don't eat or get paid the turn they are
recruited. They do eat and get paid the turn they
die.
12) You can't transfer troops (355 order) the turn
they are recruited (400s). You CAN split them or
transfer command with them, but not transfer troops.
13) Economics: Another tough one to understand for
the newbie.
Most people think of it as:
Reserves + surplus (- deficit) + sell - buy.
Wrong!!!! Most of the time this simplified economic
thinking works... Then there are the times it leaves
the newbie scratching his head. Then, there are the
times bankrupts you.
In reality:
1. Collect production and taxes.
2. Buy goods.
3. Sell goods.
4. Pay bills.
Okay, let's say:
You have 3000 gold in reserves.
You collect 14000 in tax/gold.
You are going to sell 10,000 FO at 1 per.
You want to buy 1000 MO at 8 per = 8,000.
You have have 15,000 in bills (-1000 revenue expected)
Using the simplified econ thinking, 3000 (on hand) -
1000 (surplus/deficit) = 2000. +10000 (sells) =
12000. -8000 (buys) = 4000
Using the real econ 3000 (on hand) + 14000 (taxes) =
17,000. 17000-8000(buys) = 9000. +10000 (sells)=
19000. -15000 (bills) = 4000. See, most of the time
the simplified works fine.
BUT, what if you were selling 20K insteaed of 10K and
buying 18K instead of 8K. With simplified thinking,
selling 10K more, buying 10K more... No diff.
In reality:
3000 (on hand) + 14000 (taxes) = 17,000.
17000-18000(buys) = ooops. Your buy amount is reduced
to 17K worth of goods = 0. +20000 (sells) = 20000 -
15000 (bills) = 5000.
What, my buy amount was reduced becuase of not enough
gold, but I still have 5K in the bank? [newbie
scratches head....Hey, I was there.]
Now, let's say the newbie doesn't know about the sell
limit..... say what? That's right. There is a limit
to how much you can make on any given turn from the
market. For 1650 with big economies and big
treasuries, it runs about 30K most turns of most
games. For 2950 with smaller economies and
treasuries, it runs closer to 20K most of the time.
For BoFA, I have no idea what it will be, but I'd sure
find out before I tried to sell one set of goods and
use the money to buy another set of good the same
turn.
For ease, let's take the above example of planning to
sell 20K and buy 18K worth of good, but add in a 10K
market sell cap.
Using the simplified thinking:
3000 (on hand) - 1000 (surplus/deficit) = 2000.
+20000 (sells) ooops, reduced to only 10000 = 12000.
-18000 (buys) ooops, reduced to only 12000 = 0
The newbie would expect his buy order to be reduced to
whatever he has, and end up with 0 in the bank.... NOT
SO!
3000 (on hand) + 14000 (taxes) = 17,000.
17000-18000(buys) = ooops. Your buy amount is reduced
to 17K worth of goods = 0. +20000 (sells) ooops,
reduced to 10000 by market limit = 10000. -15000
(bills) = -5000.
Maybe your taxes will go up to cover the difference...
Maybe raising them all the way to 100% still isn't
enough, and you're out of the game.
Also notice. If you mess up and put the amount you
want to spend, instead of the amount of units.... you
can easily be toast. That is, you want to purchase
1000 mounts at 8 for a total of 8000 gold. You should
put 315 PrchCar MO 1000. Instead, you think how much
you're spending and put 315 PrchCar MO 8000. The game
will try to spend 64,000 on Mounts, using up all your
income from taxes. You then sell, and have to pay
your bills.
Also, let's say you're planning on buying and selling
in the same turn, but the character that was planning
on selling is killed in personal challenge. The buy
still happens, using up all your tac income, and if
you then can't pay your bills, you're out, even if you
had a positive economy.
More than once I've meant to put NatSell 100% and
instead put SellCar 100 items..... Another good way to
bankrupt yourself if you planned on the sell covering
your bills.
The moral is..... most of the time it is okay to think
about economy as on hand + surplus + sell - buys.....
But, this is NOT how it really works. With any buy
and sell order, BE CAREFUL.
That should get you started on BoFA and its limited
rules set.
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