Upscale9n

[ZenCat]

Great game everyone! Scott ran away with it (as usual) but all in all it was very enjoyable. Since there is no way to message the other players even after the game is over I decided to start a post here and see who responds.
Co-operation: The other raider (who turned out to be Dave Rose) and I swapped fleets and worlds early on, then stayed out of each others hair. I dropped art on the collector (Paul Morganthall, who I've never met before that I know of) and he gave me keys and hung around as I went to war with one of the Warlords who turned out to be an old Starweb crony Elliot Hudes!
Hey Elliot! Surprise! I wish the game had lasted longer --- Mike had taken Elliot's Home World and Elliot had moved into my territory with what I assume was pretty much everything he owned. I was still at full production and I don't believe Elliot knew where my Home World was. If Scott hadn't run away with the game it would have been interesting to see how it all would have come out.
Dave: suggestion, on no communication games make it possible for the players to communicate after the game is over.

[drwr]

I also had a positive experience with Paul, as well as (almost) everyone else I encountered initially. The one exception was that Positronix player who just wouldn't stop harassing me and firing at my ships and worlds with no provocation. I mainly let him come into me while I built up my strength, then unleashed it in his direction all at once. Would have done more damage if the game had gone on longer.

Looks like the Warlords still had trouble scoring in this game. Maybe we were all a little too friendly?

suggestion, on no communication games make it possible for the players to communicate after the game is over.

That's a good idea.

David

[esoteric]

Yay it's a math game Kitty ranked a nice score for a pirate for sure. I was on the cusp of having absolutely nothing productive to do so the next turn I was planning to step into Davids territory after having an essentially isolationist experience.

[ZenCat]

I was really hoping to hear from Elliot since he designed the game, and I know he was looking to tweak the Warlord character. He and I both showed up on a world with 2 empty keys early on and neither of us would let go. My struggle for most of the game was to keep my HW at full production (with no trader in the game) while getting enough reinforcements to the world in question. And to do enough plunders to stay within scoring range. When I saw the score getting close I plundered everything in sight (except the home) but hoped the game would last a few more turns. It's a little too easy for the Emperor to win these games by staying out of trouble and building industry everywhere.

[somnos]

Hi All

I'm having trouble getting the Warlord character to work better. It has no special ability and only scores by fighting. Yet in both games the Warlord gets picked on. Some sort of prejudice because of his character name? The Raider is more dangerous with their capture ability and yet people work with them all the time!

I was jumped on by 3 players who each had equal force to what I owned. I never had a chance.

I've created a new specialty game Saints4a. The Warlord still scores by destroying ships, capturing fleets and worlds and bonuses for doing it to a target. I've also tweaked the scoring of the remaining 6 players as is my usual prejudice. But I've added a special ability to the Warlord - he gets increased firepower and is more resistant to damage. Let's see if it works out.

In addition I've supplied RSW with two new character types. RSW needs to do some coding to accomodate how they work and score but they will add more interest and complexity to the game. I hope we get to see them soon.

Elliot