PBM - Ancient Greece. From: strategy@kom.auc.dk (Michael O. Akinde) Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 14:45:20 +0000 During my spare time, I`ve started designing a PBM game based on the city states of ancient Greece. I want to program it according to the `VGA-Planets` model, such that anyone can set up a game, and the computer makes sure that wrong orders are not entered. (The graphics interface can wait.) The game is going to be based around 6-7 citystates, where the rest can then be conquored or forced into alliances with the major powers. The players will receive a score from 1-5 each turn, depending on how powerful they are, and the winner is the player who has accumul- ated most points after a set number of turns. The end result should be a strategic war game where todays friend may very well be tomorrows ally. (Which means, plenty of diplomacy, I hope.) The Major powers in the game so far: Athens: Has a better and bigger Navy, respectable army. (Dominant Player) Sparta: Has the ultimate army, no navy. (Dominant Player.) Corinth: Positional choke point. Respectable navy, bit small army. Thebes: Nice Army, no Navy. (Inland city.) Corcyrae:Positional choke point to Sicilian grain route. respectable Navy, No army to speak of. (Island city.) Argos: Good army, and small navy. (But placed too close to Sparta for their own good.) Thrace: Respectable army and navy. Placed far from other powers and is a choke point on the Black sea grain route. I got the idea after seeing VG`s boardgame Peloponesian War. The game starts after the Persian defeat at Salamis, with all the powers owning only two cities and with more or less equal land forces. Corinth, Corcyrae and Athens will have the biggest navies, wth Athens having an advantage with their ships. Sparta will have the best hoplites (as they did historically.) In fact, defeating a pure force of Spartans will take a force of about x2 1/2 times their numbers to achieve. (Yes, they really were that good.) They will have some economic disadvantages to offset this, though. In addition, Sparta`s advantage won`t help when trying to besiege towns which, at that time was a matter of starving out the occupants. (Impossible to do if the town was a harbor town and it couldn`t be blockaded. Argos is a harbor town and I will give them city walls to be able to withstand sieges. Sparta OTOH will have no walls. They believe that the shields of their soldiers are walls enough. If anyone have any ideas on how to balance the game somewhat better, as well as any special abilities they may be given, I`d very much like to hear. In fact, any thoughts at all about this are welcome. Regards, Michael. Referenced By Up