Wanted: 3 people to try a 4 players game :)

[Strategiclayabout]

Hi everybody ,

INTRO
Looking for three other people to try a WWI Break 1.05 4 players game (1914 Call To Arms campaign).
After some testing I feel it should be playable with some home rules.
They mostly state the obvious so don't panic over the wall of text:
a) Only use your own MPPs/units
Any agreement can be made to use/lend specific units
Basic settings would be the following:
*
I TEAMS
1) CP team
Player 1: Austria (& Turkey)
Player 2: Prussia
2) EN team
Player 1: Russia
Player 2: France, UK (& Italy, USA)
(any activated minor will be played by who controls their unit pool)
*
II TURN SEQUENCE
1) CP team
Player 1:
(launch EN Player 2 save game)
(play & decide any event)
(save own turn and email to CP Player 2)
Player 2:
(launch CP Player 1 save game)
(end turn and decide any event)
(wait start of EN turn, save and email to EN Player 1)   
2) EN team
Player 1:
(launch CP Player 2 save game)
(play & decide any event)
(save own turn and email to EN Player 2)
Player 2:
(launch EN Player 1 save game)
(end turn and decide any event)
(wait start of CP turn, save and email to CP Player 1)   
*
III KNOWN ISSUES
1) Password
Of course it will take more time to complete a turn/campaign but each player turn will be shorter ingame.
And obviously game engine wasn't designed for that as you can't save an ongoing turn in Multiplayer-Email.
That said we can use save with Hotseat, players from the same side will just have to use the same password.
One problem is on first turn CP team Player 2 will have to decide/enter EN team password making it useless .
2) Saving turn
Another problem with hotseat turn ends is you need to wait for the following turn's start to save.
That means Fog of War will be lifted while Player 2 save the turn before sending it to the other team's Player 1.
However it will be limited to the area of the map onscreen if you don't wander around and just save the turn.
Those issues make it a no go for tournaments but should be ok between friendly players .
3) Events
Having to share turns also brings some bad consequences as decision events/strategic advices happen when turn starts or ends.
That said several events can be considered no-brainers even if decided by the "wrong" player of each team.
Discussing more strategic choices is ok but not practical unless you have "instant" communication or do it beforehand.
On the good side it will bring some uncertainty and simulate a bit the difficulty to coordinate efficiently with Allies/GHQs.

4) Deployment phase

With Austria starting the game Prussia won't be able to deploy freely those units (HQ, 2 infantry, 2 cavalry, 1 artillery).

Agreement can be made beforehand between CP players to deploy units as they wish.

CP Player 1 can use auto-deploy or manual deployment.

CP Player 1 will make the decision in the end.

*
IV GAMEPLAY
1) Unit use general rules
Player 1 of each team should only use his own MPPs though he has the ability to use Player 2 ones (turn start).
Player 2 of each team should only use his own MPPs even if he has the ability to use leftover ones from Player 1.
Player 1 of each team should only move his own units though he has the ability to move all Player 2 units (turn start).
Player 2 of each team should only move his own units even if he has the ability to move leftover ones from Player 1.
2) Unit use special rules  
Player 1&2 are allowed to use allied units located in their own territory if needed.
Player 1&2 are allowed to use allied units without an HQ located on a front they control (majority of units).
Emergency moves or attacks using adjacent/available allied units are allowed at the end of your turn.

Any agreement can be made between teammates to use allied units here and there.
3) Victory
As in regular WWI Break we will first have a CP or EN win following usual rules.
A Player lose if all of his controlled countries National Morale fall to 0.
Once a winning team is decided, the two remaining players decide final winner by comparing NM %.
If a player controls several countries, I suppose it's better to calculate an NM % average.
*
CONCLUSION
I hope this test will help create more fun as each Player will have to protect both the team and his own NM.
You'll also have to balance help requests as losing control over your units can result in big NM hits.
Use of allied units can also be tricky as you'll need allied MPPs to operate or reinforce them.
Diplomacy should also be quite interesting as teammates can decide to put their chits on different countries.

Anyone interested ^^ ?

 
   
 
 

Edited December 16, 2014 by Strategiclayabout

[sokulsky]

You have my sword.

 

PS. Don't refer to the Imperial Germany simply as Prussia. Soldiers from Kingdom of Saxony, Kingdom of Württenberg and Kingdom of Bavaria would feel deeply offended!

Edited December 16, 2014 by sokulsky

[Strategiclayabout]

Haha,

 

Thanks for your support ! Let's call the whole bunch "Les Boches" then, nobody will be jealous .

So 1 spot taken, 2 remaining, you don't need to be a veteran we just need some pals to push the bodies and test the idea so come in volunteers !

[Strategiclayabout]

Nobody else interested so I'll just cancel the whole thing, thanks for your interest Rafal ^^ !

Well I understand dealing with events and turn sequence would cause trouble with that setting.

Who knows maybe SCGC engine will somehow allow more than two players later on .