Re: alternative goals

From: phen376022@aol.com (PHen376022)

Date: Sat, 03 Mar 2001 22:08:23 +0000

>I'm talking mostly about the atlantis/olympia/eressea style of
>strategic fantasy game.
>

I agree that "wargamers" can make it tough for those who wish to follow more
peaceful pursuits. One answer is alliances.
3 or 4 peaceful gamers banded together can pool resources to encourage the
wargamer to look elsewhere.

One thing I've noticed in Olympia II, the truly wargamer alliances are folding,
while the more peaceful ones are able to gather members to fill vacancies.

It is beginning to look like the differences between OLY I and OLY II have made
OLY II unwinnable in the classic sense. There is just no way for even a sizable
alliance of warmongers to control the whole main map, let alone the alternate
realities of faery and Hades.

>2. Trade.
>First of all, all games of this type that I have seen so far have a crappy
>trade
>system. In many cases, the system is artificial. In Atlantis, for example,
>trade
>goods are items nobody needs - they are just meant to be traded. Trade is
>also
>utterly unnecessary, as there are far better ways of getting money
>(perversely,
>an army is the best way to make money in atlantis, making powergamers not
>only
>powerful but also rich).
>
In Olympia II, your first point is true, but the the second is absolutely not.
Gold is the only supply line for OLY II armies, and trade is the best means of
gaining gold.
If set up correctly, and utilized properly, my trade route yields enough gold
to maintain a HUGE army. 4k gold per turn, and I only have 5 of my 13 nobles
dedicated to trade, and 3 of those are NPCs.
Trade is essential in Olympia II as many Olympia I veterans are finding out the
hard way. Reliance on 0 upkeep beast armies is a losing proposition in the long
run.

>3. Roleplaying & Storytelling
>You can have a lot of fun fleshing out your faction and characters. Until the
>powergamer comes along and kills them all.

Again, true. Hence the value of alliances.

>5. Quests
>While it's theoretically possible to have quests in a turn-based PBEM like
>this,
>it's extremely hard to design them (weekly turns are really slow) and takes a
>lot of moderation which none of the players seem to be willing to spend.

Questing in OLY II is completely automated, but sadly limited. The money gained
is negligible, and most items gained are weak.
It can prove valuable however, since NPCs can only be gained by the acquisition
of NPC control items found while questing.

A few players have tried to establish quests, a race around the main continent
for instance, but the response has been near nil. Even for sizable cash prizes.

Good topic Enno,

Pat

References

alternative goals
"Enno Rehling" <schick.mir.spam@gmx.de>
Sat, 03 Mar 2001 03:15:30 +0000

Referenced By

alternative goals
"Enno Rehling" <schick.mir.spam@gmx.de>
Sat, 03 Mar 2001 03:15:30 +0000