Space Empires V Play-By-Web Game

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Game link: http://pbw.spaceempires.net/games/antaran
DJAS mod forum: http://www.spaceempires.net/forum-104.html

I am hosting a new Play-By-Web game of Space Empires V using the DJAS mod, which I have created and refined over the past several years. The format is Play-by-Web, which means a new turn is generated every couple of days, so it is not a good fit for impatient players. The mod and house rules contain a lot of elements that you probably haven't seen in SE5 or strategy games in general before and should make for a very interesting game. Hope you can join us!

[Nephtys]

I remember our epic B5 game from years ago. Won't have time for this one, but good luck guys

[Chardok]

Nevermind! I can't get SE V! YEAH!

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Why can't you get SE V?

[Chardok]

Monnnnnnnaaaaay

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

I might have a solution for you. Check your PM.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

We're currently at 8 players with 1 definitely interested and 1 maybe. That's enough to have lots of intrigue, but it would be even better if we could get to 12. If you like multiplayer strategy games and can set aside 30-60 minutes every few days don't hesitate to try this game out!

[Patroklos]

Hmmm, I was a big BIG fan of SEIV but I couldn't get into SEV. I still have the box and game on the bookshelf. Assuming you are still taking players how hard would it be to walk into the game with only an SEIV background?

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

The main challenge is getting used to SE5's craptacular UI. As far as actual gameplay, I don't think you'll be at much of a disadvantage compared to people who have played SE5 but not the DJAS mod. It would probably be a good idea to do a single-player DJAS game before or while the PBW game is going to test out strategies and get familiar with the research tree.

[Patroklos]

Rgr, I'll fire her up tonight and see what I find. I played the SE series all the way back from II, it would be nice to follow through into the last version.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Great, that should put us at 10 players which will make for a very dynamic game. The goal is to start this weekend. That might be optimistic, but the earlier you can join up, the better. The game separates players into tiers so that less experienced players will get a leg up. If you stay a Tier 3 player, you'll be able to receive tech from trades and treaties, and the latest version of DJAS also has an automatic tech catch-up script. There will also be 2 teams with up to 3 players each who can only give tech to a team member if that player is Tier 3, so they might want to recruit a weaker player. The game is won by a team that captures the homeworlds of the other team captain and a powered-up neutral AI (the Antarans), or by a non-team player that captures the Antaran HW and 2/3 of player HW's.

As far as the game engine itself, SEV is a lot clunkier than IV, but it has some nice features that would make it very difficult for me to go back. The real time combat system is a huge improvement, and battles are much quicker and less arbitrary than in SE IV. Many people may prefer turn-based combat in general, but honestly SE IV's system was the worst way to go about it (no initiative, interrupts, or return fire means that whoever goes first gets to leisurely blast the opponent's fleet to rubble). There's a lot more flexibility for modders, which is good because I tried to do something like DJAS for SE IV and it just wasn't possible under the game engine.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

We have an open spot and need a replacement player. It's still early in the game, so jump in if you missed it the first time. I am temporarily playing the missing empire's turns so just post in the game forum or here if you are interested and I will vacate the spot.

(Hopefully this isn't considered a necro, I apologize if it is)