Playtesting New Characters

[somnos]

Hi all

I've been working with RSW to develop new characters that would work well within the RSW universe. At present 5 exciting new characters have been developed. Each has special powers, strengths and weaknesses and often unique ways of scoring.

Obviously we wish to play test them to make sure they are fun and exciting and not too weak, too strong or have unfair scoring abilities in relationship to other character types.

Below is a brief desription of the new characters. Already the Game Setup allows for the use of these new abilities in the game. Once we have tried the characters we may have to tweak their abilities and points awarded to balance them out before we allow them to become standard characters that can be put into any game.

If you are interested you will soon see the first playtest offered as a new game. We are looking for a game with 11 players - one of each character type.

The new charactes are:
Architect
Arms Dealer
Skip Tracer
Scavenger
Warlord

ARCHITECT
-------------
The race that created the Stargates that connect worlds are not extinct as was previously thought. Although the era of their total domination of the web is over they still exist in parts of the universe and ply their special power of building, moving or destroying Starbridges (connections) between worlds to allow them to find and capture more worlds and art.

The Architects create, move or destroy Starbridges (connections) at worlds by cannabilizing the stardrives and engines of ships in their fleets.

For the Architect to build/destroy a bridge he requires two fleets. A fleet will be at required at each end where a connection will be made or destroyed. In the case of moving a connection 3 fleets will be required.

All Fleets forming, destroying or moving starbridges cannot fire or move that turn. Starbridges are created after combat - so all the Architect fleets involved must survive combat. Any fleet involved in the Gate remodelling process that is neutralized will cause the Starbridge to fail to form. The first fleet named in the order involving the starbridge will be the Executor Fleet.The fleet at the other end of the created/destroyed connection is called the Receiver Fleet. The Executor fleet is the one that supplies the required ships for the Gate remodelling. If this fleet has an inadequate number of ships for the type of gate being worked on then the starbridge will fail to form. This can happen due to combat or if the Architect didn't put enough ships aboard.

Once the Starbridge forms, seen on the next turn, it can be used but the wormhole connection is very unstable. The Receiving fleet must fly down any newly made connection to the original location of the Executor fleet to stabilize the starbridge and make it permanent. If this is not done (purposefully, accidently or by destruction of the Receiving fleet) then the starbridge will collapse: this connection will not exist the following turn. Architects are proud creatures and want their works to last forever. Any starbridge that fails to form will not score points. Any Starbridge that collapses the turn following it's creation will create a penalty of points equal to half of those awarded for the creation of the starbridge.

After any formation or destruction of a Starbridge a message will follow the fleets involved stating:
'Starbridge Formed'
'Starbridge destroyed'
'Starbridge Aborted' (if it fails to form)
'Starbridge moved'

The cost of creating, destroying or moving a starbridge will depend on the distance (hops) the worlds are apart
- before creation
- after destruction
- after the connection moves

COSTS Points awarded
two hops apart: 10 ships 100 pts
three hops apart: 20 ships 200 pts
four hops apart: 30 ships 300 pts
five hops apart: 50 ships 500 pts
six hops apart: 80 ships 800 pts
seven hops apart: 130 ships 1300 pts
> 8 hops apart: 210 ships 2100 pts

Obviously you will never be able to destoy a world's last connection to the web since the world would therefore be an infinite number of hops away and require an infinite number of ships to destroy this connection.

Orders
FxxxCyyy - Creates a starbridge between worlds where Fxxx (Executor fleet) and Fyyy (Receiver fleet) reside.
FxxxDyyy - Destroys a starbridge between worlds where Fxxx (Executor fleet) and Fyyy (Receiver fleet) reside.
FxxxDzzzCyyy - Moves a connection. The Starbridge between the worlds where Fxxx(Executor fleet) and Fzzz resides is destroyed while a new connection between worlds where Fxxx and Fyyy (Receiver fleet) resides is created. All three fleets must survive the process and Fyyy still has to fly thru the new connection to stabilize this type of new connection.

Defense against starbridge formation, destruction or movement.
Any of the fleets Fxxx, Fzzz or Fyyy can be destroyed on the turn they attempt to create the gate and the Starbridge will not form, be destroyed or be moved. Those resisting the formation of the Stargate have one more turn to get their fleets to wherever Fyyy resides and destroy it before it can fly down the new connection to stabilize it.

The whole purpose of Starbridge technology is to find more worlds and art for the Architect empire.

Thus the Architect receives:
5 points per world owned
5 points per artifact owned

Example

W1
F100(Architect)=40
F2(enemy)=10

W199
F190(Architect)=20
F33(enemy)=20

W55
F88(Architect)=6

#1 Create Starbridge from W1 to W199. Worlds originally 2 hops apart. Enemy shoots.
F100C190
F100 is Executor. F190 is Receiver.

Next turn F100 loses 10 ships in cost and 5 to battle but survives. F190 also survives. Gate forms
W100(W199)
F100(Architect)=25 'Starbridge Formed'
F2(Enemy)=10

W199(W100)
F190(Architect)=10 'Starbridge Formed'
F33(Enemy)=10

F190 the Receiver Fleet must fly to W100 to stabilize the starbridge. In this Example it looks successful and the Architect receives 150 points. If he fails to fly down the new connection the following turn he will then lose the connection and 75 points.

Example #2 - Same as #1 but we try to create the gate from W199 using F190 as the Executor fleet

F190CF100

The cost of this gate was 10 ships for a two hop connection. The enemy destroys 10 ships and F190 is neutralized. The Starbridge is neutralized.
W100
F100(Architect)=35 'Starbridge Aborted'
F2(Enemy)=10

W199
F190()=0 'Starbridge Aborted'
F33(Enemy)=10

The process is similar for Starbridge destruction and movement.

ARMS DEALER (AD)
------------------------
This race's sole interest is the selling of arms. To be specific - ships. Their special ability is to convert metal stores into ships aboard their fleets which act as orbital industrial complexes. The ships are delivered to the homefleets of their happy customers. The turn that the AD is building the ships they are unavailable for ambush or firing but they can prevent capture of the world they are deposited on . In addition the AD fleet is unable to fire their weapons while creating ships or move..The metal being converted must be on the fleet on the turn it is being ordered processed into ships. The AD have the increased ability to deliver their product by flying up to 4 worlds/turn. In cases where the AD is loading metal at a client world preference for loading is given to the owner of the world then at random to any other Loaders present and ordering a load up.
While the AD enjoy commerce and building ships of destructions they are not very good warriors and so they have a much reduced firepower on ships they own and they are very susceptible to damage in combat with an increased Victim multiplier.
The best defenses against an AD could involve firing at homefleet to destroy the created ships before they can be fired and/or firing on the AD fleet which cannot fire if it is creating ships.

Initial Parameters
Every ship created requires that the AD fleet contains 1 ship and 4 metal at the beginning of the turn.
Firepower - fleets fire 1/4 shot per ship
Victim Multiplier - Fleets take twice the damage when shot i.e 1 shot destroys 1 ship (or 2 loaded with metal). Ambush is twice as large so that 1 Pshp can destroy 2 in ambush.
Scoring - The AD receives 8 points/ship created.

Orders for the AD
FxxxB#I or FxxxB#P
FxxxWnnnWmmmWoooWppp

Example
F123B10I --> F123 must have a minimum of 10 ships aboard and 40 metal and it will create 10 Ishps on the ground that are available next turn for use. F123 cannot fire or move. 80 points are awarded for this transaction.

SKIP TRACER
-----------------
These creatures are master trackers and mappers in the universe. They
are powerful spies but not very strong militarily.

Special Power
The Skip Tracer gets a probe of every world connected to a world that
they own. Their fleets can fly up to 4 worlds per turn and are adept at
evading ambushes while mapping unallied territories. Unfortunately their
fleets pay for their increased manoeverability and only carry light
arms. Points are awarded for discovering new worlds and travelling to
all worlds.

Parameters
Fleets only fire 1/2 shot per ship
Fleets only take 1/2 ambush from homefleet or fleets in the air E.g. a
10 ship ambush would only kill 5 Skip ships (or 10 loaded).

Scoring - each time he sees a world the first time, whether it is by probe, visit, or fly-through = 25 points.
Any world seen by fly thru, probe, landing second or subsequent time = 5pts


SCAVENGER
--------------
This race is quite adept at scrounging, salvaging and repairing damaged ships. They are not above outright theft of neutral keys as well.

In combat their fleets can salvage 25% of the destroyed enemy ships whether during regular combat or by ambush. In addition they quite enjoy taking neutral keys as their own despite the presense of other players with fleets not at peace.

If the scavenging fleet is rendered neutral no ships will be salvaged (since the crews onboard are all dead). Only surviving fleets can salvage and only for the damage they caused (not additional damage caused by allied fleets).

Example
F101(Scavenger)=24 versus F50(Enemy)=24

Each ship fires and destoys 12 ships. But 25% of the 12 enemy ships are salvaged = 3 so next turn it looks like this:
F101(Scavenger)=15 versus F50(Enemy)=12

In situations where there are neutral keys present, even those with ships aboard them, if the Scavenger's ships outnumbers non-allies by more than 2:1 he automatically captures all of the neutral keys.

Scoring.
Every ship captured = 10 points
Every key owned = 10 points.

WARLORD
------------
This race thrills to the call to battle. Their special power is increased firepower. They have a 50% increase (1.5) in shots fired in combat or by ambush.

In addition they are a race with a long memory and if slighted can and will selectively target another race.They score primarily by destroying enemy ships, capturing fleets and worlds. They receive twice the tribute (points) versus any race they have targetted.

In addition, in their quest to capture enemy worlds they have become quite adept at taking fully converted or robotic worlds

Points Per Ship Destroyed = 5
Points Per Target Ship Destroyed = 10
Points Per Fleet Captured = 20
Points Per Target Fleet Captured = 40
Points Per World Captured = 75
Points Per Target World Captured = 150

I hope you enjoy this game!

Elliot

[somnos]

Slave3m is the first 11 character playtest.

Sign up soon before all the character types are gone

Somnos

[drwr]

Looking forward to it!

David

[ZenCat]

You two (Elliot and David) must have taken Architect and Skip Tracer because I was 3rd in and had to take Arms Dealer. Scott got Scavenger.
Dale Perkins

[drwr]

Not so. You were fourth.

David

[esoteric]

I suspect my comprehension for what will be occurring in this game will be about zero.

[somnos]

I wish the player base was larger in RSW because I think it would be neat if we has 22 players - 2 of every type. I realize everyone will want to try out the new characters at first since they are a novelty but a game with only the 5 new types wouldn't be very rich. Someone has to be a trader or a missionary. I hope that players ally with the new characters and participate in helping us see what they can really do and perhaps where we have to modify their abilities or scoring. I hope to introduce them on a regular basis to refine them to a point where we can create a template for the characters and they can become a standard part of the game. In this way we can get RSW to grow beyond it's origins of an online clone of Starweb.

Note to David - if we stay stuck at 9 players - I think we should still launch this game!

El
Somnos

[ZenCat]

What types haven't been taken? A missing collector or Missionary wouldn't be that big a loss, but a missing Emperor, Pirate or Berserker would unquestionably effect interactions with the new characters.

[trollfactory]

If i remember correctly, Missionary is still available as last position,

trollfactory

[beane]

I think I have stumbled upon some bugs. I am playing the Skip Tracer. There seem to be inconsistencies with the probe ability. When I opened turn 2, I had a probe of every planet touching a planet where I had a fleet, which is what I expected. That didn't happen this turn. I did get a probe of some of the planets, however there are three worlds that I don't have any information on, but are also next to worlds where I have fleets. As I understand it, that should never happen.

I am also a little unsure about how the score is calculated, but I think that it might not be working as intended. Honestly, it seems like I should be getting more points than I should.

[trollfactory]

trollfactory - emperor
On two new captured planets, i found two new fleets.
With the capture of the planet, the empty fleets are marked as mine as well.
I transferred ships to the empty fleets and gave move orders.
This turn both new fleets are shown as unowned and did not move. They're still over my planet and the planet belongs to me.
Is there some error i made or something that should not happen?
More interesting: Is there a way i can capture the unowned fleets again?

Rainer

[drwr]

beane:

I did get a probe of some of the planets, however there are three worlds that I don't have any information on, but are also next to worlds where I have fleets.

You have to capture the world, not simply have a fleet there, in order to get the free probe of adjacent worlds.

I am also a little unsure about how the score is calculated

You get 5 points for each world that shows up on your report every turn, plus 25 points for each world that shows up on your report for the first time. That 25 points per first-time viewing does mean you get a lot of points real fast in the first few turns; we expect that to settle down as the game progresses, though. Of course, most of these scoring tables are just darts at a board, so we fully reserve the right to bump these numbers down for the next game (or even in the middle of this game if we have to).

trollfactory:

Is there some error i made or something that should not happen?
More interesting: Is there a way i can capture the unowned fleets again?

My apologies: this was indeed a server bug. I have fixed the bug, and I believe I have repaired the damage to your situation, so that it is as if the orders executed correctly.

David

[beane]

Thanks. I figured it all out. Part of the issues I was having getting my score to add up correctly was that I had a bad cursed artifact that I didn't notice. Also, I was expecting to receive a total of 25 points for seeing a planet the first time, instead of 30, 5 for seeing it, plus 25 for it being the first time.

[drwr]

Gotcha. Note that your complete score breakdown appears on the bottom of the text report, as well as under the Game Info tab (click on the "current score" line to expand the breakdown). The breakdown makes it much easier to figure out how your score was calculated.

David

[somnos]

Hey Everyone in Slave3

At the end of the game I would love to see some chatter regarding the new characters - how they interact with each other and the old characters, their powers - too strong, too weak and their scoring.

I suspect some may need tweaking especially in the scoring department. And don't forget - some characters only score well in the hands of an experienced player who is trying to score. In the classic Starweb the berserker (positronix) often scored low in the early years before players figured out how they were best played. But I digress - I do suspect that the scoring will need adjustments.

As to their powers - some are stronger and some weaker militarily. Did this promote more passive and aggressive positions or did it unbalance the game?

I look forward to postgame chatter on all these topics.

I also intend to launch a similar style game with the 11 characters at the conclusion of each game (after a suitable delay to allow discussion and incorporation of revisions) to continue to play test the characters as we adjust them.

Elliot
Somnos